Moira and Nathan, Tuesday night

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Moira walked a little faster. She wanted to get Nathan settled in, preferably before he decided to redecorate the MedLab in some weird fashion. Unable to find Charles, she had decided that since the only free room she -knew- of was Cain's, she would place Nathan in there until official word was handed down. Besides, she'd knew he rest easier knowing the carpet was made with vibranium fibers. No echo, no chance of bugging in the room. She walked passed a couch and glanced briefly down at the snoring giant on it before heading on.

She stopped. "Han' on one bloody second." Turning, she walked back over and stood above Nathan who was soundly, throughly asleep. She didn't want to admit it but it was kind of cute. The couch was way too short for him, so he was half-hanging off of it. And snoring. Loudly.

"Nathan!"

There was a harpy in his dream, and she was shrieking at him. Nathan grumbled, reaching out for something he was only peripherally aware was a pillow and covered his head with it. His head hurt. Damned harpy.

Sighing, Moira reached down and grabbed the couch pillow from his hands.

THWACK!

"Now -tha'- was a satisfyin' thump," she said cheerfully, looking down to see if hitting him with the pillow had done any good.

Nathan sat bolt upright and then cursed, grabbing feebly at the back of the couch as his equilibrium abruptly deserted him and his stomach lurched. The light hurt his eyes, but he ignored the discomfort, the only thought in his mind to identify who had just hit him.

He had half-started to lash out with his telekinesis when the identity of the person standing beside the couch penetrated. "Moira--what?" he said dazedly, not understanding why Moira was hitting him. "I could have--" He stopped, blinking around at his surroundings. "Um. Where the hell am I?" Suddenly defensive, he looked up at her. "You didn't drug me again, did you?" he demanded.

"If it hittin' ye again wouldna result in ye in a crumpled heap at me feet, I'd do it again," she replied, just as indignant. "I was hittin' ye because ye fell asleep on th' couch when I asked ye ta stay put!" Dropping the pillow, she grabbed him and then, more gently than she really should have, pulled him into an upright position.

It sank in that this was definitely not the medlab, and Nathan stiffened, trying to regulate his breathing as a sudden surge of adrenalin went through him. "I--I didn't mean to leave," he said unsteadily, not meeting Moira's eyes. "Damn it, I don't remember leaving--"

"Nathan, look at me, 'tis okay," she soothed, placing a hand on his forehead and looking into his eyes. "I believe ye...what's th' last thin' ye remember?"

He tried to think. "I was talking to Shinobi," he said after a moment, still staring at the carpet in front of him. "I--started to see those lights at the edges of my vision again."

Frustrated that he wasn't looking at her, she crouched in front of him and firmly placed her hands on his knees. He had no choice but to look. "Another vision?"

He couldn't remember. Why the hell couldn't he remember? His hands were shaking, so he folded them together in his lap. "I can't believe I left the medlab," he said raggedly, forgetting that she'd asked him a question. "What if one of the kids had--"

"'ey now, yer okay...THEY'RE okay, nothin' 'appened," Moira soothed, curling her hands around his. "Yer awake now, I'm here, 'tis okay. Ye were probably sleep-walking...remember, ye did tha' once at Muir? THA' ended badly, since ye ended up in th' pool 'alf naked." She was unconsciously rubbing his hands, trying to make the shaking go away.

An entirely too wild-sounding laugh slipped free as her words brought back that particular memory. Repression would be a good thing, in some cases. Too bad he could never quite manage it. "And you never let me live it down," he said, breathing deeply for a few more moments before he went on. "Damn," he said finally. "I really can't remember, Moira. It had to have been another episode - my head is splitting - but I honestly don't know how I got here." Admitting that was terrifying.

Moira nodded. "I believe ye...I know ye're too worried ta wander off like tha'." She squeezed his hands. "I'll 'elp ye, I promise. How're ye feelin' now?"

Several answers sprung to mind: chagrined, furious with himself, desperately in need of something to kill. He closed his eyes for a moment, another less-than-pleasant laugh trying to bubble up from somewhere deep inside him. "Other than the headache? Not bad. Kind of shaky. I'm not sure getting up is a good idea at the moment, but I'm sure you want to lock me somewhere safe--" He regretted the words as soon as they were out of his mouth, because they provoked another flood of adrenalin. His heart pounding in his ears, he tried desperately to clamp down on the instinctive panic-response.

Moira grimaced as Nathan clenched her hands. "I will nay be lockin' ye up," she chided him gently, removing one hand from the death grip. She fished around in her pocket and pulled out a weird looking candy bar. "Eat this, ye may feel better wit' food. Dinnae ask...Jubilee thought I would enjoy it." She pressed it into his free hand. "I want ta keep an eye on ye, tha's fer sure. But I'll never lock ye up. There's a room ye can 'ave, probably fer a good lon' while. If'n ye want, I'll crash on th' floor...in fact, I'll probably do tha' anyway."

Nathan stared down at the candy bar. The label said 'Mr. Terrific' and boasted of being both crunchy and chewy, with two different kinds of chocolate. He didn't think he wanted to know. "People keep offering me food with sugar in it," he said a bit dazedly. "You with the candy bar. The woman with her chocolate chip cookies."

"Nathan, eat tha' or I'll drug ye again...or jus' force ye ta eat it. Sugar may stabilize ye somewhat." She glared up at him.

Nathan started to unwrap it, glad that his coordination seemed to be coming back a little. "If I stay--" he started, then fell silent as he wrestled with the wrapper. Moira shook her head and took it from him, tearing the wrapper briskly. "We have to figure something out. Anyone who's going to be hurt if I accidentally blow them into a wall needs to keep their distance."

Moira scowled at him and stuffed the candy bar in his mouth. "Nathan, if'n ye do nay stay until yer better, you'll end up draggin' me ass inta unpredictable situations because I'd follow ye. An' aye, I'll send word around. I'll tell th' staff what's goin' on an' let everyone know what ta watch out for." She drummed her fingers against his knee and glared up at him.

One hell of a glare, that one. Nathan bit off a small hunk of it before he took it out of his mouth, then chewed and swallowed. It tasted vile, of course. "Okay," he said a bit shakily. "And then you'll tell me?"

"I'll e-mail ye th' exact same thin' I tell them, right after I send it. Ye know I wouldna hide it from you." She was slightly hurt that he might think that. As if she would!

The chocolate bar really was vile. "Okay," he said again, knowing he sounded like a broken record. "Um--how far is the room? Because lying down is sounding awfully good."

"Not tha' far. 'Tis up two flights o' stairs, but if'n ye lean against me, I think we can do it." She paused and then grimaced. "Nate? 'elp me up, will ye? I cannae feel me knees..."

He swallowed, and managed to get to his feet without falling over, although the dizziness was back and he had to correct for a bit of a lurch. Once he was sure he was more or less stable, he reached down and pulled Moira to her feet. "I don't think I've mentioned how grateful I am yet today," he muttered, staring down into her eyes. "I should--tell you that more often. On general principle."

Moira felt uncharacteristically flustered for a second. "I...well..." She blinked. Nathan never really -thanked- her before. Not with words. They had helped each other through a difficult period in their lives and had relied on actions to talk for them, not words. She smiled up at him. "Thank ye...I'm jus' glad I can 'elp, in -any- way." She slide an arm under his and around his waist. "Now, jus' lean inta...ouff, ye've gained weight...there we go..."