Nate, G.W. and Amanda - Tuesday evening
May. 18th, 2004 10:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsFollowing this post Amanda goes down to medlab to check on Nate and finds Bridge dealing with Loopy Nate. Between the two of them they manage to calm him down - or at least make him go to sleep.
"Moira is going to kick your ass, you know," Bridge pointed out, holding the water cup so that Nathan could take a sip from the straw. The laptop was back across the room where Nathan couldn't reach it, and G.W. fully intended to take it away with him when he left. "Straining yourself like that..."
Nathan relaxed back against the bed as G.W. set the cup back on the bedside table. "Had to... do it," he muttered, his head spinning and pounding just from lifting it far enough to take a sip from the cup. His heart wasn't pounding in his ears anymore, though, not like it had been after waking up from that dream of Manuel skewering Askani with his foil. He could hear her trying to talk to him, still, like she had been ever since the dream had ended, but there was a buzzing in his ears and he couldn't focus on her voice.
"Well, you wound up sounding like a total psycho," Bridge grumbled, eyeing Nathan worriedly. He was not entirely here, G.W. could tell; he had seen that look in Nathan's eyes often enough before, when pain or something else had put him just a few too many steps beyond the realm of rational thought.
There was a tap at the door, and then it opened and Amanda put her head in before either man could respond. "'S all right for me t' come in?" she asked - it didn't take mutant powers to see the worry radiating off her. She still looked tired, the dark circles under her eyes exacerbated by the paleness of her face, but there was a certain stubborn set to her chin that didn't bode well for Nate.
"If you can cope with him being pretty much out of his head, come on in," Bridge said with a tired, more or less humorless chuckle. "If not, you may as well turn around right now."
"No swords," Nathan rasped, squeezing his eyes shut. His stomach was trying to rebel, even from that small sip of water. "No boyfriends and no swords."
"It wouldn't be the first time," Amanda said wryly to Bridge. She came in and closed the door behind her. "Manny ain't with me, Nate, I promise. An' I'm blockin' the link as much as I can" she said a little louder, trying her best to reassure Nate. "An' no swords. They ain't my thing." She sighed, noting Nate's distress, and looked helplessly at Bridge. "Maybe I should go - I came t' heal him some more if I could, but that was before all this..."
Bridge gave the girl a measuring look, wondering if she was actually up to that. She looked worn right out. "Why don't you sit down for a bit?" he suggested gently. "Don't worry about the healing for now."
Buzzing, still, and Nathan's good hand clenched in the blankets, going white-knuckled. Not touching that button, he told himself hazily. If he did, Manuel might sneak in and do something to the Askani while he was asleep.
"I'm fine," she said almost automatically, but crossed to the chair on Nate's other side and practically fell into it. "What a fuckin' mess," she murmured, shaking her head. "An' I'm buggered if I know what t' do about it."
"I'd say you've already done a lot to help," Bridge said, eyeing her, "but something tells me you're not talking about the mess he's in physically."
#STOP IT,# Askani's voice boomed in Nathan's mind, sounding exasperated, and he jerked, a moan escaping as the motion sent off renewed waves of pain, red streaks flashing across the inside of his eyelids.
Bridge gritted his teeth, leaning over the bed and hitting the control for the IV. "I was hoping to avoid doing that," he muttered, watching Nathan's face concernedly. "I have no idea why he won't do it himself. Okay, so he's got an absolute phobia about drugs, but this is ridiculous."
"He's afraid," Amanda said quietly, eyes slightly unfocussed as she looked at Nate's battered form. "He's afraid somethin'll happen to them." Then she
blinked and rubbed her eyes. "Sorry t' go all Yoda on you. I've been usin' a lot of magic this last few days an' it starts rubbin' off. I think Manuel said somethin' to him last night about the Askani an' it's freaked him out a bit."
Bridge blinked at her, and then looked down at Nathan again. "Manuel... that's the kid who's an empath, right? Moira said something about having kicked him out of here in the middle of the night last night--"
"She did? Oh, someone's so gettin' cut off for a while for that..." growled Amanda. Seeing Bridge's confusion, she answered his question. "Yeah, Manny's the empath. He an' Nate tend t' piss each other off on a regular basis. He was sayin' somethin' in the journals 'bout Nate bein' possessed or some such shite, by these future people from his pre-cog. I told him he was talkin' bullshit, but he probably don't believe me. Stubborn pillock." Nate stirred fretfully again, and she reached out to pat his forearm, since the back of his hand was occupied by the IV.
Nathan opened his eyes at the contact, and blinked up at her, trying to bring her face into focus. "Amanda," he murmured. "Tell him... not to... please..." His voice broke, not from weakness this time but from emotion, and he squeezed his eyes shut as they started to burn.
Bridge felt a sudden surge of rage at this Manuel, but squelched it, carefully guarding his thoughts. "Listen to me," he said softly, bending over Nathan, laying a hand on his forehead. Nathan shivered, but Bridge
concentrated on projecting soothing, determined thoughts. "You trust me, partner," he murmured very gently. "Nothing's going to happen to them. Or you. Never let you down before, have I?"
"No..."
"Then you relax, okay?" Bridge looked up at Amanda again, unable to quite keep the unhappiness out of his eyes. "Kiddo, I owe you a lot for what you've done for him, so I'll be good and not kick your boyfriend's ass. But do us all a favor and suggest to the lad that he should maybe leave well enough alone for a while?"
Amanda nodded, her face pinched with worry and tiredness. "You don't have t' ask. I was goin' t' tell him t' leave Nate alone, an' now I just might kick his arse meself." She sighed. "'M sorry, Nate," she murmured, stroking his arm. Her fingertips glowed, just a little, as unconsciously she reached out to ease his distress the only way she knew, with the healing spell. "He won't come near you, I promise. Even if I have t' chain him up an' stuff him in a cupboard."
Bridge smiled a bit sadly at the girl. "Sorry you're winding up as the middle-person here," he said. "I know that's not fun."
"Said he was... trying to help," Nathan managed, his eyes so heavy he couldn't keep them open anymore. "Just didn't understand..."
"So what else is new?" Amanda said - she could have been responding to either man, and didn't clarify. "We'll sort this out later, Nate, I promise. But not now. You need to rest and let yerself heal, all right? The Askani'll be safe, we'll make sure of it."
Nathan breathed out, almost on a sigh, and finally let go. Askani was sighing at the back of his mind, murmuring something soothing.
Bridge reached down, adjusting his blankets slightly with his good hand. "Thanks," he murmured to Amanda, warmly.
She shrugged. "Didn't do nothin' much, but yer welcome." She rubbed her eyes tiredly and stood. "I should go. Got exams an' all in the mornin', and there's a history book that ain't gunna read itself, more's the pity."
"Moira is going to kick your ass, you know," Bridge pointed out, holding the water cup so that Nathan could take a sip from the straw. The laptop was back across the room where Nathan couldn't reach it, and G.W. fully intended to take it away with him when he left. "Straining yourself like that..."
Nathan relaxed back against the bed as G.W. set the cup back on the bedside table. "Had to... do it," he muttered, his head spinning and pounding just from lifting it far enough to take a sip from the cup. His heart wasn't pounding in his ears anymore, though, not like it had been after waking up from that dream of Manuel skewering Askani with his foil. He could hear her trying to talk to him, still, like she had been ever since the dream had ended, but there was a buzzing in his ears and he couldn't focus on her voice.
"Well, you wound up sounding like a total psycho," Bridge grumbled, eyeing Nathan worriedly. He was not entirely here, G.W. could tell; he had seen that look in Nathan's eyes often enough before, when pain or something else had put him just a few too many steps beyond the realm of rational thought.
There was a tap at the door, and then it opened and Amanda put her head in before either man could respond. "'S all right for me t' come in?" she asked - it didn't take mutant powers to see the worry radiating off her. She still looked tired, the dark circles under her eyes exacerbated by the paleness of her face, but there was a certain stubborn set to her chin that didn't bode well for Nate.
"If you can cope with him being pretty much out of his head, come on in," Bridge said with a tired, more or less humorless chuckle. "If not, you may as well turn around right now."
"No swords," Nathan rasped, squeezing his eyes shut. His stomach was trying to rebel, even from that small sip of water. "No boyfriends and no swords."
"It wouldn't be the first time," Amanda said wryly to Bridge. She came in and closed the door behind her. "Manny ain't with me, Nate, I promise. An' I'm blockin' the link as much as I can" she said a little louder, trying her best to reassure Nate. "An' no swords. They ain't my thing." She sighed, noting Nate's distress, and looked helplessly at Bridge. "Maybe I should go - I came t' heal him some more if I could, but that was before all this..."
Bridge gave the girl a measuring look, wondering if she was actually up to that. She looked worn right out. "Why don't you sit down for a bit?" he suggested gently. "Don't worry about the healing for now."
Buzzing, still, and Nathan's good hand clenched in the blankets, going white-knuckled. Not touching that button, he told himself hazily. If he did, Manuel might sneak in and do something to the Askani while he was asleep.
"I'm fine," she said almost automatically, but crossed to the chair on Nate's other side and practically fell into it. "What a fuckin' mess," she murmured, shaking her head. "An' I'm buggered if I know what t' do about it."
"I'd say you've already done a lot to help," Bridge said, eyeing her, "but something tells me you're not talking about the mess he's in physically."
#STOP IT,# Askani's voice boomed in Nathan's mind, sounding exasperated, and he jerked, a moan escaping as the motion sent off renewed waves of pain, red streaks flashing across the inside of his eyelids.
Bridge gritted his teeth, leaning over the bed and hitting the control for the IV. "I was hoping to avoid doing that," he muttered, watching Nathan's face concernedly. "I have no idea why he won't do it himself. Okay, so he's got an absolute phobia about drugs, but this is ridiculous."
"He's afraid," Amanda said quietly, eyes slightly unfocussed as she looked at Nate's battered form. "He's afraid somethin'll happen to them." Then she
blinked and rubbed her eyes. "Sorry t' go all Yoda on you. I've been usin' a lot of magic this last few days an' it starts rubbin' off. I think Manuel said somethin' to him last night about the Askani an' it's freaked him out a bit."
Bridge blinked at her, and then looked down at Nathan again. "Manuel... that's the kid who's an empath, right? Moira said something about having kicked him out of here in the middle of the night last night--"
"She did? Oh, someone's so gettin' cut off for a while for that..." growled Amanda. Seeing Bridge's confusion, she answered his question. "Yeah, Manny's the empath. He an' Nate tend t' piss each other off on a regular basis. He was sayin' somethin' in the journals 'bout Nate bein' possessed or some such shite, by these future people from his pre-cog. I told him he was talkin' bullshit, but he probably don't believe me. Stubborn pillock." Nate stirred fretfully again, and she reached out to pat his forearm, since the back of his hand was occupied by the IV.
Nathan opened his eyes at the contact, and blinked up at her, trying to bring her face into focus. "Amanda," he murmured. "Tell him... not to... please..." His voice broke, not from weakness this time but from emotion, and he squeezed his eyes shut as they started to burn.
Bridge felt a sudden surge of rage at this Manuel, but squelched it, carefully guarding his thoughts. "Listen to me," he said softly, bending over Nathan, laying a hand on his forehead. Nathan shivered, but Bridge
concentrated on projecting soothing, determined thoughts. "You trust me, partner," he murmured very gently. "Nothing's going to happen to them. Or you. Never let you down before, have I?"
"No..."
"Then you relax, okay?" Bridge looked up at Amanda again, unable to quite keep the unhappiness out of his eyes. "Kiddo, I owe you a lot for what you've done for him, so I'll be good and not kick your boyfriend's ass. But do us all a favor and suggest to the lad that he should maybe leave well enough alone for a while?"
Amanda nodded, her face pinched with worry and tiredness. "You don't have t' ask. I was goin' t' tell him t' leave Nate alone, an' now I just might kick his arse meself." She sighed. "'M sorry, Nate," she murmured, stroking his arm. Her fingertips glowed, just a little, as unconsciously she reached out to ease his distress the only way she knew, with the healing spell. "He won't come near you, I promise. Even if I have t' chain him up an' stuff him in a cupboard."
Bridge smiled a bit sadly at the girl. "Sorry you're winding up as the middle-person here," he said. "I know that's not fun."
"Said he was... trying to help," Nathan managed, his eyes so heavy he couldn't keep them open anymore. "Just didn't understand..."
"So what else is new?" Amanda said - she could have been responding to either man, and didn't clarify. "We'll sort this out later, Nate, I promise. But not now. You need to rest and let yerself heal, all right? The Askani'll be safe, we'll make sure of it."
Nathan breathed out, almost on a sigh, and finally let go. Askani was sighing at the back of his mind, murmuring something soothing.
Bridge reached down, adjusting his blankets slightly with his good hand. "Thanks," he murmured to Amanda, warmly.
She shrugged. "Didn't do nothin' much, but yer welcome." She rubbed her eyes tiredly and stood. "I should go. Got exams an' all in the mornin', and there's a history book that ain't gunna read itself, more's the pity."
