xp_logs | Nate, Amanda - Friday afternoon, medlab

Amanda sneaks in to see Nate and reassure herself he's all right. They talk, nothing particularly heavy, and Nate makes a suggestion that just might come back and bite him on the arse.

It had taken a while for Amanda to work out why she hated the medlab so much; she had no major problems with doctors (apart from preferring to do her own mending), and there were no traumatic memories associated with being experimented on. It was, she realised, as she made her way to Nate's room, boots ringing on the floors, all the metal. It was almost if it was reminding her of her particular weakness, and to be surrounded by it made her a bit nervous. She ignored the uneasiness and carefully opened the door to Nate's room. Moira had been sent upstairs for a shower and clean clothes and some rest, and Doctor Bartlett had said Nate would be able to see her, provided she was quiet.

He was unconscious, but this time it was actual sleep, and not the eerie stillness of a coma. With a relieved smile, she curled up in the chair next to the bed and waited. She wanted to talk to him, make sure he was all right, but she wasn't about to wake him up.

Nathan was dreaming again, this time of Muir Island and skipping rocks down by the water. When he turned to find another suitable rock, he spotted Amanda up by the path, standing and watching him with a sort of hopeful curiosity. He opened his mouth to call her name, but then the beach was gone from around him and he was opening his eyes in the medlab, a bit dizzied by the transition but altogether more clear-headed than he had been the last time he'd woken up.

And Amanda was sitting in the chair next to the bed. Wearing the same clothes she had been in the dream, which puzzled him a little, but he was still entirely too tired to be able to do more than mess around with his shields. "Hey, trouble," he said, a bit annoyed when his voice cracked and wavered.

"Hey, old man," she replied, a smile of pure relief crossing her face. "You scared the shite out of us." There was a water glass with a straw in it on the cabinet, and she reached for it. "Here."

He took a grateful sip and watched her set it back on the bedside table, easily within reach, before he went on. "Heard I was out for a while," he said, his voice still a little hoarse, but better. "Don't remember anything after dinner on Wednesday, though..."

"Moira said you'd been talkin' t' Manuel an' you had another vision," Amanda said carefully, watching his face for any negative reaction. She added, wryly. "I keep gettin' you into trouble, don't I?"

"Don't be silly," he said, managing a smile. "I live for getting into trouble. Just ask Moira." It bothered him that he couldn't remember talking to Manuel, though. There was part of him that thought it would probably be a very good idea if he kept track of every last word he said to the boy. Just in case.

"Next time, pick a time when I can do somethin' t' help, okay?" she said, her voice light but her eyes worried. "'S not fair, havin' the medical emergency when we magic's on the fritz."

"It all worked out okay," he said, trying to reassure her. "Still breathing and all, here. I probably needed the nap."

Amanda wrinkled her nose at him, tempted to smack him but reminding herself that smacking people who had been in a coma for several days wasn't exactly preferred medical practice. And she didn't want to get kicked out of medlab for beating up the patients. "I can see why you 'n Pete are mates," she said instead. "Both annoyin' as all fuck." Then, almost shyly, she added. "'M glad yer still with us, tho'. Moira too."

"Glad to still be here," Nathan said, his gaze drifting to the ceiling as he thought about the dreams. "I wasn't bored while I was asleep," he said slowly. "Had the weirdest dreams. Moira kept showing up in places in my past where she wasn't supposed to be... guess she was trying to reach me on the link."

"She's Scottish - they're born stubborn," Amanda said with a grin. "An' things weren't exactly quiet while you were out. There was a fire at a horse stud near here, an' most the school turned out t' help."

"This... Red X thing?" Nathan asked slowly, digging back into his memory. "Things turn out okay? No one got hurt?"

Amanda nodded. "Yeah, that's it. I ain't officially a member - well, not until a few hours ago when we had that meetin' - but they needed people who know horses t' help get them out." Her grin was pure happiness. "If I ever need a job, I know where t' ask."

Nathan smiled faintly, filing 'likes horses' away in the mental drawer labeled 'Amanda'. "Good experience, then," he ventured.

"It was. No-one hurt, and all the horses got out. 'S been a while since I got t' work with 'em." She realised she was babbling. "Sorry t' bore you. 'S just... well, yeah, I like horses. Easier than people, sometimes."

"Don't apologize. Helps to fill in my missing time with something," Nathan said, and was halfway through a chuckle when his ribs abruptly reminded him that laughing was not appropriate. "Owww... shit," he wheezed.

"You want me t' get the docs?" Amanda asked. It was a sign she had learned her lesson of Sunday night that she didn't immediately offer to heal him herself.

"N-No," he gritted out, stumbling a little over the word. "Just... bruises, that's all. From the CPR."

"I could... that is, if you want, I could help with that," she said. "Things should be back t' normal by now."

Nathan gave her a close look through eyes narrowed against the pain. "If you can tell me with 100% certainty that it's safe and not going to give you a headache."

"'S only bruisin', an' that don't take much," she said, evasively. "An' it's been a whole day since the headache stopped..."

He raised an eyebrow. "Uh-huh," he said, but softened the skepticism with a faint grin. "I'll live, Amanda. But thanks."

She pouted, but only a little - she'd tried a couple of small spells the day before and the sensation had been like putting her finger in an electrical socket, the pathways she used for channelling magic still raw from being overloaded. "I'll just have t' remember not t' make you laugh then," she said mock-solemn.

"That would be good," he said, matching her tone as closely as he could. His eyelids were beginning to feel a little heavy again, though. "You kept Moira company, didn't you? While I was out..."

"Yeah. Figured she could do with it. An', well, I owe her. She didn't give up on me, even when I was bein' a right bitch. Least I can do is t' make sure she takes a break every now 'n then."

"Thanks," Nathan said quietly. "I owe you one for that."

"We can call it even, after the other night," she told him with a smile. She took notice of his drooping eyelids. "You look like you need yer rest, an' I don't want the docs sayin' I tired you out. 'Sides, I need t' go and bully Paige into red leather for this clubbin' thing tonight."

"Mmm," Nathan said, not quite ready to let her go just yet. "What're you wearing? Or should I ask?"

"Nothin' as scandalous as Paige. Or Sarah, for that matter," Amanda said, her chuckle covering a twinge of... jealousy? envy? "Rom took me shoppin' in Soho before I left London, so I'm now a member of the leather pants wearin' community. Them an' a tight enough top should get me a few free drinks."

"I would say 'be good', but that would make me a hypocrite," Nathan murmured wryly. "So I'll stick to 'be safe'."

"Always am. Least, nowdays I am," she said, grinning. "Don't tell me I shocked you?"

"You've really got to meet Dom when she's over here finally," Nathan said, and then wondered for the first time if that might not be sooner rather than later. After all this... "Or maybe you shouldn't, actually. She would be such a bad influence..."

Amanda giggled. "Maybe I'll be a bad influence on her, you never know."

"Not possible," Nathan said firmly.

"Then she definitely sounds like someone I should meet," Amanda said decidedly, her expression still mischievous.

"I'm going to regret bringing that up," Nathan said, managing to hold back another soft laugh. "No need to be precognitive to know that."