Moira and Nathan

[x-mactaggart.livejournal.com]

Moira comes back with the unsettling results of Nathan's blood work, showing that it took quite a bit to keep him down. He tries to remember and can't and they both agree that he's going to become quite the homebody for some time.



He really, really hated this damned place, Nathan thought bleakly, staring up at the ceiling of the Medlab room. Amanda had finally gone again, and he was alone, waiting for Moira or Henry or Madelyn to come back and tell him what the blood tests had said. It was like being on one of those cop shows, waiting for the forensic evidence, he reflected glumly. Well, except for the fact that he was still alive...

In the other lab, Moira grabbed the test results as they spewed from the machine. And then proceeded to freak out quietly. There were enough residual drugs in his system to knock out a small elephant and they were potent ones at that. As she flipped through the stack, too many pages her mind whimpered, she spotted scopolamine, some bizarre sedative and...she squinted.

Lovely. Dilantin, an anti-seizure drug.

Moira pinched the bridge of her nose as she tried to calm herself down and then headed to where Nathan was being kept. The ring he bought her bounced on a silver chain she found against her chest...no way of losing it easily this way and the weight of it against her chest kept her grounded a little.

The door opened, and Nathan sat up slowly, wincing at the pain in his side and then grimacing at the look on her face. Not that he hadn't sensed she wasn't happy on the link, but... "You have that 'Why is the world like this?' face on," he tried to quip, but the joke fell rather flat.

"Ye 'ave an answer for me?" Moira asked, tired all over again as she shut the door behind her. "Nathan, when I run blood work on ye, I'm nay supposed ta get back an entire *book*." With a sigh, she crossed over to stand in front of him. "Looks like nay o' these damned chemicals messed wit' th' virus any, though, thank God."

"A book?" he asked a little uncertainly, his eyes on the papers in her hands. "I thought maybe just... some kind of sedative or something..."

"Amon' other thin's." One hand held the leafs of paper while the other one counted off, albeit slightly shaky. "Scopolamine. Th' sedative. An' dilantin. An' enough ta keep ye damned well loopy from whenever they injected ta when ye woke up this mornin', Nathan."

Nathan opened his mouth and closed it. "I remember saying something about liking your hair in the morning," he mumbled finally, flushing a little. "It seemed to make sense at the time..."

Moira couldn't help a small smile at that. "Say it again tomorrow mornin' an' I'll pay more attention t' th' comment, aye?" She gave him a quick glance. "Ye feelin' any better, though? Most o' th' drugs seem ta be runnin' themselves out o' yer system but ye might still be feelin' some o' th' side affects."

"A bit groggy still," he confessed. "And I can't seem to drink enough water." He had gone through half the pitcher on the table already.

"Nay a surprise, wha' wit' th' amount o' scopolamine in yer system." Reaching out, Moira cupped his chin and tilted his head, checking his eyes for signs of redness and making sure his retinas looked okay. Still, the damned shaking hadn't gone away yet. "But 'tis seems yer nearly all th' way back wit' us..."

"I've been trying to remember," he said slowly, shivering a little at her touch. "I don't like some of it, Moira..." His voice wavered a little and he closed his mouth abruptly.

"Dinnae push it, Nathan," she murmured, concern in her voice. "It'll come an' ye'll might 'urt yerself if'n ye push ta 'ard." Moira caressed his cheek and tried to settled her own worry in her stomach, reassuring herself that he was safe and home. And would not be going anywhere without her for a while.

He leaned into her touch a little, hearing the thought on the link and choosing not to dispute it. In fact, he thought that burying himself in preparing this syllabus and not going anywhere at all for a while would be a marvelous idea. "I gather I worried some of the kids, too," he said quietly. "Amanda was just here."

"Ye could say tha'," Moira said just as quietly, relaxing as she continued to stroke his chin. Being able to touch him, to reassure her frazzled mind that yes, he was there and not just her mind being mean to her. "Amon' other people. Pete's probably goin' ta try ta beat ye up, by th' way. I promised ta save 'im some when I was done wit' ye." It was a good thing for him that he had returned that morning, her next step was to call Bridge.

"Pete..." Nathan stopped, his eyes widening a little. "I don't know why I didn't..." There was a stab of pain behind his eyes, and he winced, tilting his head as if to shake it off. "I'll come alone, I don't need backup," he mumbled, starting to shake.

As she reached for him, eyes wide, Moira also reached out mentally. #Nathan? 'Tis all right, shhh, yer safe, yer 'ome...calm down...#

Her hands were cool, framing his face, and he took a deep, shaky breath, focusing on her. The pain died away, and he mustered an uncertain smile. "I'm--okay," he said a bit unsteadily. "Don't know what that was, but I think I'm okay."

Still, she didn't let her hands drop away and she couldn't help touching the link, though she didn't use it to talk. "Ye sure?" Moira asked, a little bit of fear and worry in her eyes, words, posture...she swallowed and tried to force it down.

He closed his eyes for a moment, mustering his composure. "Yeah," he said softly, as she let her hands fall to cover his. "I'm home. That's the important thing, right?"

"For now, it 'tis," Moira responded. "Yer 'ome, safe an' whatever 'appened...we'll find out th' rest soon enough. I promise." Her smile was bright but shaky. "I missed ye."

Nathan did the only thing he could, at a moment like this. He pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her tightly. She did the same, careful of his side. "I never wanted to scare you like this," he murmured, his voice shaking despite his best efforts to keep it level. "It just... got out of control, and I don't even remember how...and I don't know why I didn't take Pete with me, Moira, that doesn't make any sense. I was going to..." Pain, again, and he squeezed his eyes shut tightly.

"I know, love, I know," she said, soothingly but she still blinked back tears as she gently buried her head in his neck. "Whatever 'appened, it wasnae yer fault. I know ye, ye would 'ave taken Pete since ye told me were goin' ta. An' right now, I'm t' glad ta 'ave ye back ta beat ye up. Think I'll leave tha' ta Pete. Jus' warnin' ye...nay goin' ta let ye go away for a while, nay without me."

He laughed nervously, not letting her go. "I told Amanda I was going to be a homebody for a while. I think that's a good thought."

It wasn't quite a laugh, but it was something. "I'd 'ave ta 'urt ye if'n ye 'ad decided anythin' besides tha'," she muttered into his neck.

"Well, good. Then we're all clear."