A Haven to Call Home: What's going on?
Oct. 11th, 2023 04:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xp_darcy posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
xp_logsInez and Darcy are having a date night when things get medically scary.
TW: Neurological issues/symptoms.
Darcy's chin was hooked over Inez's shoulder, arms loosely around the other woman's waist as they curled up on the couch. The TV was quietly playing a movie they'd both seen, but she was content to soak up the cuddling and chatting she'd missed while Inez was away. "How was your trip? I missed you."
"Missed you too," Inez replied, cuddling back into Darcy and enjoying some quality time with her gal pal. "It wasn't too bad, I guess, have had better, had worse," she reasoned. "Glad t'be back, though, and with you again." She leaned over and gave her a quick kiss. "How 'bout you, darlin'? Get up t'anythin' excitin' in my absence?"
"No, not really. Another trip, but I spent most of two days in meetings or networking. Carved out just enough time for a cafe I like and to pick up some local snacks to bring back." She gestured to a bowl on the coffee table, mostly full of brightly wrapped candy. "Local snacks are some of the best parts of my trips."
"Twist my rubber arm," Inez said, grinning and reaching out to grab some of the colourful candy. She hovered a hand over the bowl, wiggling her fingers in exaggeration as she pondered which one to sample, then she plucked up a silver wrapped square from the middle of the bunch.
As she lifted it up, her arm halted abruptly, fingers going slack and letting the candy fall back unceremoniously into the bowl again. She frowned and grasped for it again, trying two more times before finally scooping it back up and pulling it to her body.
"Huh," she said with a confused look, cradling her hand close to her and rubbing it with her other. "Must've been asleep or somethin'," she reckoned. "Though I don't thiiiiiiiink I was sittin' on iiiiiit," she drawled, more than usual, which also added to the confusion on her face.
"You weren't," Darcy verified, giving Inez a concerned look. "Is it tingling? Burning? Anything like that?" Maybe she'd tweaked a nerve, something minor. Still, it was worrying enough that she wanted to get to the bottom of it. The long drawls had been something she'd noticed over the past few days or so, but she'd been able to chalk it up to time zones and the weird early/late hours they'd managed to catch each other during.
"N-no," she replied, "nothin' like that, I don't know what's goin' on, I..." Inez snickered, trying to make light of things, to laugh off any concern Darcy might have for her. The snicker turned into a chuckle, then a series of giggles, until she was doubled over and laughing uncontrollably.
"I- I-," she tried to speak, unable to for lack of breath from laughing too hard. "N-not tryin'.. .t'be..." Tears rolled down her cheeks and she fell over onto her side, still giggling hysterically.
"Hey, hey," Darcy slid to the floor beside her, slowly rubbing her hands along Inez's upper arms. "Focus on me and try to copy what I do, ok Cowgirl?" She focused on the blonde's face, taking exaggerated slow, deep breaths. "In and out, slowly, c'mon." She timed her breathing with the slow movement of her hands, anything she could think of to get Inez to focus and hopefully get back to something a little less hysterical. She tamped her own worry down - that was for later, once Inez was calm enough to be talked into medical.
Nodding to Darcy, Inez still couldn't stop laughing, but she fought it back as best she could to keep it to bursts of chuckles. While she was laughing, there was anything but humour in her eyes, her fear evident whenever they met Darcy's gaze. She tried to cover them up with her hand, which shook and trembled every time she brought it close to her eyes, and then ... then the laughs turned into sobs, tears of laughter morphing into jagged bouts of crying.
"W-what's goin' on," she managed between gulps and ragged breaths, both hands shaking now until she gave up and collapsed against Darcy, crying and too afraid to even try to move again.
"I don't know, hon, but we're going to get you down to medical and let them check you out as soon as you feel up to doing a little walking." Darcy kept her voice even, arms wrapping around Inez and rubbing up and down her back as she rocked the two of them slowly back and forth. "I can take most of your weight and keep you between me and a handrail, but if your legs can't handle that right now I'll get someone else to come help us get down there." Terry wasn't in the suite at the moment, or it'd be an easy ask. Worst case, she'd bang on doors until one opened and then demand it, regardless of who was on the other side.
Inez remained leaning against Darcy for another little while, still crying in spurts but eventually she pulled her head back up and put a shaky hand on the floor to help push herself up to her feet. She leaned on Darcy as much as she dared, not wanting to hurt or pull the other woman down, then took a deep breath.
"I-I'm scaaaaared," she admitted to Darcy, tears still streaking down her cheeks. Her hand moved to brush some of them away, and the closer it got to her face the shakier it got until she gave up and just let the tears fall where they may.
"Me too," Darcy confessed, thumbs running lightly across Inez's cheeks. "But we're going to get you downstairs to Jean and Clarice, and they'll figure this out." The strength training she'd done after Baltimore came in handy now as she got to her feet, one arm wrapped securely around the blonde's waist. "You lean on me as much as you need, and we'll go slow. Don't worry about hurting me if you have to grip tight or squeeze to keep hold. I'll survive a few bruises." She started moving slowly towards the door as she talked, a slow, shuffling step that she hoped Inez's body could keep up with.
Inez leaned on Darcy a little more than she'd usually want to - because it was either that or collapse into a heap on the ground again - and moved along with her, slowly for fear of her limbs betraying her. It seemed like her legs were mostly alright but her arms still twitched and shook if she lifted them up much higher than her hips, which in turn made her cry harder, so she shuffled along with Darcy's help and kept as quiet as she could.
"Do you want me to sit in with you once we get downstairs, or the waiting area?" She didn't plan on going far until they knew something, but she'd respect any privacy Inez wanted to have. It wouldn't stop her from dwelling, but she knew full well that searching Dr. Google would get her something completely mundane or absolutely horrifying, no middle ground. The stairs were painstakingly slow, and Darcy was biting the inside of her cheek to keep the concern back.
Not trusting her voice to not betray her again, Inez simply nodded in response. She reached down for Darcy's hand and, after a couple of attempts, grabbed a hold of it to let her know she wanted her to stay with her until she found out what the hell was going on here. Each step felt like forever but she didn't dare try to increase her speed for fear of her legs acting like her arms.
The crying began to fade away and Inez opened her mouth to say something but instead her lips just trembled, too scared to chance setting off either more laughter or tears, or to hear that exaggerated slurring again.
Darcy squeezed her hand back. "We're almost there," she encouraged. The door to medical was just a few steps away, and it'd never felt like such a long walk in the entirety of her time at Xavier's. As they finally pushed through it, she came to a stop, leaning against the frame and taking the other woman's weight in the hopes that any start of a fall could be turned into a controlled slide and sit. "Clarice? Jean? Bit of an emergency here!"
TW: Neurological issues/symptoms.
Darcy's chin was hooked over Inez's shoulder, arms loosely around the other woman's waist as they curled up on the couch. The TV was quietly playing a movie they'd both seen, but she was content to soak up the cuddling and chatting she'd missed while Inez was away. "How was your trip? I missed you."
"Missed you too," Inez replied, cuddling back into Darcy and enjoying some quality time with her gal pal. "It wasn't too bad, I guess, have had better, had worse," she reasoned. "Glad t'be back, though, and with you again." She leaned over and gave her a quick kiss. "How 'bout you, darlin'? Get up t'anythin' excitin' in my absence?"
"No, not really. Another trip, but I spent most of two days in meetings or networking. Carved out just enough time for a cafe I like and to pick up some local snacks to bring back." She gestured to a bowl on the coffee table, mostly full of brightly wrapped candy. "Local snacks are some of the best parts of my trips."
"Twist my rubber arm," Inez said, grinning and reaching out to grab some of the colourful candy. She hovered a hand over the bowl, wiggling her fingers in exaggeration as she pondered which one to sample, then she plucked up a silver wrapped square from the middle of the bunch.
As she lifted it up, her arm halted abruptly, fingers going slack and letting the candy fall back unceremoniously into the bowl again. She frowned and grasped for it again, trying two more times before finally scooping it back up and pulling it to her body.
"Huh," she said with a confused look, cradling her hand close to her and rubbing it with her other. "Must've been asleep or somethin'," she reckoned. "Though I don't thiiiiiiiink I was sittin' on iiiiiit," she drawled, more than usual, which also added to the confusion on her face.
"You weren't," Darcy verified, giving Inez a concerned look. "Is it tingling? Burning? Anything like that?" Maybe she'd tweaked a nerve, something minor. Still, it was worrying enough that she wanted to get to the bottom of it. The long drawls had been something she'd noticed over the past few days or so, but she'd been able to chalk it up to time zones and the weird early/late hours they'd managed to catch each other during.
"N-no," she replied, "nothin' like that, I don't know what's goin' on, I..." Inez snickered, trying to make light of things, to laugh off any concern Darcy might have for her. The snicker turned into a chuckle, then a series of giggles, until she was doubled over and laughing uncontrollably.
"I- I-," she tried to speak, unable to for lack of breath from laughing too hard. "N-not tryin'.. .t'be..." Tears rolled down her cheeks and she fell over onto her side, still giggling hysterically.
"Hey, hey," Darcy slid to the floor beside her, slowly rubbing her hands along Inez's upper arms. "Focus on me and try to copy what I do, ok Cowgirl?" She focused on the blonde's face, taking exaggerated slow, deep breaths. "In and out, slowly, c'mon." She timed her breathing with the slow movement of her hands, anything she could think of to get Inez to focus and hopefully get back to something a little less hysterical. She tamped her own worry down - that was for later, once Inez was calm enough to be talked into medical.
Nodding to Darcy, Inez still couldn't stop laughing, but she fought it back as best she could to keep it to bursts of chuckles. While she was laughing, there was anything but humour in her eyes, her fear evident whenever they met Darcy's gaze. She tried to cover them up with her hand, which shook and trembled every time she brought it close to her eyes, and then ... then the laughs turned into sobs, tears of laughter morphing into jagged bouts of crying.
"W-what's goin' on," she managed between gulps and ragged breaths, both hands shaking now until she gave up and collapsed against Darcy, crying and too afraid to even try to move again.
"I don't know, hon, but we're going to get you down to medical and let them check you out as soon as you feel up to doing a little walking." Darcy kept her voice even, arms wrapping around Inez and rubbing up and down her back as she rocked the two of them slowly back and forth. "I can take most of your weight and keep you between me and a handrail, but if your legs can't handle that right now I'll get someone else to come help us get down there." Terry wasn't in the suite at the moment, or it'd be an easy ask. Worst case, she'd bang on doors until one opened and then demand it, regardless of who was on the other side.
Inez remained leaning against Darcy for another little while, still crying in spurts but eventually she pulled her head back up and put a shaky hand on the floor to help push herself up to her feet. She leaned on Darcy as much as she dared, not wanting to hurt or pull the other woman down, then took a deep breath.
"I-I'm scaaaaared," she admitted to Darcy, tears still streaking down her cheeks. Her hand moved to brush some of them away, and the closer it got to her face the shakier it got until she gave up and just let the tears fall where they may.
"Me too," Darcy confessed, thumbs running lightly across Inez's cheeks. "But we're going to get you downstairs to Jean and Clarice, and they'll figure this out." The strength training she'd done after Baltimore came in handy now as she got to her feet, one arm wrapped securely around the blonde's waist. "You lean on me as much as you need, and we'll go slow. Don't worry about hurting me if you have to grip tight or squeeze to keep hold. I'll survive a few bruises." She started moving slowly towards the door as she talked, a slow, shuffling step that she hoped Inez's body could keep up with.
Inez leaned on Darcy a little more than she'd usually want to - because it was either that or collapse into a heap on the ground again - and moved along with her, slowly for fear of her limbs betraying her. It seemed like her legs were mostly alright but her arms still twitched and shook if she lifted them up much higher than her hips, which in turn made her cry harder, so she shuffled along with Darcy's help and kept as quiet as she could.
"Do you want me to sit in with you once we get downstairs, or the waiting area?" She didn't plan on going far until they knew something, but she'd respect any privacy Inez wanted to have. It wouldn't stop her from dwelling, but she knew full well that searching Dr. Google would get her something completely mundane or absolutely horrifying, no middle ground. The stairs were painstakingly slow, and Darcy was biting the inside of her cheek to keep the concern back.
Not trusting her voice to not betray her again, Inez simply nodded in response. She reached down for Darcy's hand and, after a couple of attempts, grabbed a hold of it to let her know she wanted her to stay with her until she found out what the hell was going on here. Each step felt like forever but she didn't dare try to increase her speed for fear of her legs acting like her arms.
The crying began to fade away and Inez opened her mouth to say something but instead her lips just trembled, too scared to chance setting off either more laughter or tears, or to hear that exaggerated slurring again.
Darcy squeezed her hand back. "We're almost there," she encouraged. The door to medical was just a few steps away, and it'd never felt like such a long walk in the entirety of her time at Xavier's. As they finally pushed through it, she came to a stop, leaning against the frame and taking the other woman's weight in the hopes that any start of a fall could be turned into a controlled slide and sit. "Clarice? Jean? Bit of an emergency here!"
