Sooraya, Haller: Visiting Hours
Dec. 19th, 2023 12:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xp_legion posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
xp_logsWith the other man finally cleared for visitors, Sooraya visits an only slightly disoriented Haller.
Sprinkling the spring onion over the salad, Sooraya looked it over with a careful eye. Plenty of beans for good protein, some veggies for the vitamins and to provide some color, a spicy salsa for the flavor and pita chips to eat it with.
Five minutes later, she knocked on the door of the Box. "Lunch is served. Jean said you were up for visitors." She called out gently.
The door opened a little hesitantly. The man who opened it blinked at her a few times before his eyes focused in recognition.
"Oh, Sooraya." An instant later his face seemed to catch up to his brain, and a tired but genuine smile spread across Jim's face. "Um, hi. Sorry. Yeah. Come in."
The telepath stepped back, holding the door open for her. He'd set up a temporary work station that wasn't seeing much actual work; mostly he found himself dozing on and off between streaming the odd movie on his laptop. There were a few other items, like Davey's Switch and ancient stuffed rabbit. One was good for small bouts of distraction, and the other was reassuringly familiar.
Jim let the door close behind Sooraya. A message had been carefully printed on a piece of paper and taped to the back of it.
You're David Haller. It's December 2023. You're recovering from an injury. It's normal to be confused when you wake up.
Keep your breathing deep and regular. Pick up objects and focus on what they look and feel like. Don't think. This will help you calm down until you remember who you are.
It'll be okay.
Heading over to the work station, she quickly set down her tray before stepping back to face Jim. "It's good to finally see you awake. I've been worried about you." Slowly, making sure he could realize what she was doing, Sooraya moved closer and quickly wrapped him in a warm hug, ignoring the height differences.
"Sorry I made you worry," Jim said, returning the hug without reservation. He still felt so disjointed that touch was a comfort -- especially here in the Box, where he didn't need to worry about his patchy shields drowning out the physical world. He gave her an extra squeeze before pulling away. "Thanks for visiting me when I was out of it, too."
"Where else would I have been?" She smiled at him, just a touch of wetness in the corner of her eyes. "I know I'm not the only one. Heck, I even ran into Worthingon and Jess a few times. So how 've you been holding up so far?"
"Pretty good, all things considered. It was a major reconstruction. Jean did a good job. I'm still a little um. Things are settling. But I've been through this before. It's normal." He returned the smile, a little wry. "It wasn't great, but at least I don't have three years' worth of catatonia to make up for in rehab this time."
"That's good to hear... And about the rehab thing..." Sooraya gestured at her tray. "I brought you some lunch. Jean let me know about some of the stuff you needed, so I just made you a bean salad with a bit of spice."
Jim winced, but sat down at the desk in a resigned way. "Shoud've known. I feel like I'm always in the middle of some kind of re-feeding plan. I guess I should be glad they at least took out the tube." He picked up the forked, looking at the salad, then paused.
"I thought I dreamed it," he said after a moment. "But before the professor came . . . you saw one of the others, didn't you?"
"You mean one of your alters? Yeah, I did." Sooraya pulled a stool for the corner, joining Jim at the desk. Absentmindedly she stole a pita chip. "I was a little startled, but the professor explained it to me."
The telepath glanced at her, then let his eyes slide away. "I'm sorry. I mean, I know it was fine. You were fine. I just . . ." He shook his head, frustrated at his own lack of articulation. "I don't know. A lot of things in my head aren't pretty. I don't want other people to have to deal with those parts, that's all."
"Isn't that what family and friends are for though? To help us deal with the "not so pretty" part of ourselves. In your case it was just a little bit more literal this time."
Jim gave a soft laugh. "So I always tell my patients. Theirs aren't usually so obvious, though." He let the fork clink against the tray and pushed a hand through his hair. "Sorry. It's just a lot to ask people to deal with. Not just the others, but the physical things, too. Feeding me, exercising me, everything that went into caring for me. I never wanted anyone here to . . . you know."
"Jim..." Sooraya leaned forward, tapping his hand so he would meet her eyes. "Say it'd happened to me? Wouldn't you have done the same? Heck, I bet even if it was Worthington, you'd still have done it?"
Jim snorted. "I thought we were pretty clear that this was an exercise in 'do as I say, not as I do'," he said. "But okay. I get the point."
"Yeah, that's why I'm saying it. Everyone who knows you a little, knows you are far too good at that." Sooraya gently ribbed him, just a little. "How are things feeling in your head right now? Is everyone kinda behaving?"
"We're . . . recovering. The others were hurt, too. I'm having some power issues, hence . . ." He gestured to the Box. "Mostly it's my telepathy. I don't know if it's because of what Radha did to me first or just a hazard of the reconstruction, but my shields are shredded. I didn't really have that normal manifestation phase of catching every stray thought, so it's taking some adjustment. Charles is helping."
"I'm glad for that. Cannot hurt that you also have your dad nearby as well. Have you heard from Moira if she is coming by the way?" Sooraya asked, little wishful note sounding through her voice.
"Maybe if she can find time," Jim said in a tone that tried to sound like it wasn't a big deal either way but failed miserably. The doctor had been more of a mother to him than his own had been, but he tried to keep perspective. He was only sporadically successful; he would have liked to blame Davey and the aftermath of the surgery for his sudden craving for maternal support, but there was a very real possibility that at forty-one years old what he really wanted was someone who would give him permission not to be the adult in the room, at least for a little while.
"Yeah, she was pretty swamped last time I talked with her. But that's kinda a permanent thing..." Sooraya shook her head, making a mental note to call Moira tonight to see if she could pop over. Even if it was only an evening visit with Clarice teleporting her back and forth, maybe with a little bribe? "It's been too long since I've seen her too. I miss her."
"It's okay. You can always join us for video chat." Jim disinterestedly toyed with his fork. "It's okay," he repeated, lamely.
"We try to video chat if we can. But it's not the same." Sooraya glanced over and hesitated for a moment. Definitely she was gonna try to get Moira over here asap. But that wouldn't help now. So she simply reached over and pulled Jim in another hug, even if it was a little awkward with how they were seated.
Jim gave a short, surprised laugh as she wrapped her arms around him. "Hey, really, don't worry about it," he reassured her as he gave her back an awkward pat before they disentangled again. With a rueful shake of his head the telepath raised the fork. "Okay, enough self-pity from me. I'll eat. All right?"
"You better eat."
Sprinkling the spring onion over the salad, Sooraya looked it over with a careful eye. Plenty of beans for good protein, some veggies for the vitamins and to provide some color, a spicy salsa for the flavor and pita chips to eat it with.
Five minutes later, she knocked on the door of the Box. "Lunch is served. Jean said you were up for visitors." She called out gently.
The door opened a little hesitantly. The man who opened it blinked at her a few times before his eyes focused in recognition.
"Oh, Sooraya." An instant later his face seemed to catch up to his brain, and a tired but genuine smile spread across Jim's face. "Um, hi. Sorry. Yeah. Come in."
The telepath stepped back, holding the door open for her. He'd set up a temporary work station that wasn't seeing much actual work; mostly he found himself dozing on and off between streaming the odd movie on his laptop. There were a few other items, like Davey's Switch and ancient stuffed rabbit. One was good for small bouts of distraction, and the other was reassuringly familiar.
Jim let the door close behind Sooraya. A message had been carefully printed on a piece of paper and taped to the back of it.
You're David Haller. It's December 2023. You're recovering from an injury. It's normal to be confused when you wake up.
Keep your breathing deep and regular. Pick up objects and focus on what they look and feel like. Don't think. This will help you calm down until you remember who you are.
It'll be okay.
Heading over to the work station, she quickly set down her tray before stepping back to face Jim. "It's good to finally see you awake. I've been worried about you." Slowly, making sure he could realize what she was doing, Sooraya moved closer and quickly wrapped him in a warm hug, ignoring the height differences.
"Sorry I made you worry," Jim said, returning the hug without reservation. He still felt so disjointed that touch was a comfort -- especially here in the Box, where he didn't need to worry about his patchy shields drowning out the physical world. He gave her an extra squeeze before pulling away. "Thanks for visiting me when I was out of it, too."
"Where else would I have been?" She smiled at him, just a touch of wetness in the corner of her eyes. "I know I'm not the only one. Heck, I even ran into Worthingon and Jess a few times. So how 've you been holding up so far?"
"Pretty good, all things considered. It was a major reconstruction. Jean did a good job. I'm still a little um. Things are settling. But I've been through this before. It's normal." He returned the smile, a little wry. "It wasn't great, but at least I don't have three years' worth of catatonia to make up for in rehab this time."
"That's good to hear... And about the rehab thing..." Sooraya gestured at her tray. "I brought you some lunch. Jean let me know about some of the stuff you needed, so I just made you a bean salad with a bit of spice."
Jim winced, but sat down at the desk in a resigned way. "Shoud've known. I feel like I'm always in the middle of some kind of re-feeding plan. I guess I should be glad they at least took out the tube." He picked up the forked, looking at the salad, then paused.
"I thought I dreamed it," he said after a moment. "But before the professor came . . . you saw one of the others, didn't you?"
"You mean one of your alters? Yeah, I did." Sooraya pulled a stool for the corner, joining Jim at the desk. Absentmindedly she stole a pita chip. "I was a little startled, but the professor explained it to me."
The telepath glanced at her, then let his eyes slide away. "I'm sorry. I mean, I know it was fine. You were fine. I just . . ." He shook his head, frustrated at his own lack of articulation. "I don't know. A lot of things in my head aren't pretty. I don't want other people to have to deal with those parts, that's all."
"Isn't that what family and friends are for though? To help us deal with the "not so pretty" part of ourselves. In your case it was just a little bit more literal this time."
Jim gave a soft laugh. "So I always tell my patients. Theirs aren't usually so obvious, though." He let the fork clink against the tray and pushed a hand through his hair. "Sorry. It's just a lot to ask people to deal with. Not just the others, but the physical things, too. Feeding me, exercising me, everything that went into caring for me. I never wanted anyone here to . . . you know."
"Jim..." Sooraya leaned forward, tapping his hand so he would meet her eyes. "Say it'd happened to me? Wouldn't you have done the same? Heck, I bet even if it was Worthington, you'd still have done it?"
Jim snorted. "I thought we were pretty clear that this was an exercise in 'do as I say, not as I do'," he said. "But okay. I get the point."
"Yeah, that's why I'm saying it. Everyone who knows you a little, knows you are far too good at that." Sooraya gently ribbed him, just a little. "How are things feeling in your head right now? Is everyone kinda behaving?"
"We're . . . recovering. The others were hurt, too. I'm having some power issues, hence . . ." He gestured to the Box. "Mostly it's my telepathy. I don't know if it's because of what Radha did to me first or just a hazard of the reconstruction, but my shields are shredded. I didn't really have that normal manifestation phase of catching every stray thought, so it's taking some adjustment. Charles is helping."
"I'm glad for that. Cannot hurt that you also have your dad nearby as well. Have you heard from Moira if she is coming by the way?" Sooraya asked, little wishful note sounding through her voice.
"Maybe if she can find time," Jim said in a tone that tried to sound like it wasn't a big deal either way but failed miserably. The doctor had been more of a mother to him than his own had been, but he tried to keep perspective. He was only sporadically successful; he would have liked to blame Davey and the aftermath of the surgery for his sudden craving for maternal support, but there was a very real possibility that at forty-one years old what he really wanted was someone who would give him permission not to be the adult in the room, at least for a little while.
"Yeah, she was pretty swamped last time I talked with her. But that's kinda a permanent thing..." Sooraya shook her head, making a mental note to call Moira tonight to see if she could pop over. Even if it was only an evening visit with Clarice teleporting her back and forth, maybe with a little bribe? "It's been too long since I've seen her too. I miss her."
"It's okay. You can always join us for video chat." Jim disinterestedly toyed with his fork. "It's okay," he repeated, lamely.
"We try to video chat if we can. But it's not the same." Sooraya glanced over and hesitated for a moment. Definitely she was gonna try to get Moira over here asap. But that wouldn't help now. So she simply reached over and pulled Jim in another hug, even if it was a little awkward with how they were seated.
Jim gave a short, surprised laugh as she wrapped her arms around him. "Hey, really, don't worry about it," he reassured her as he gave her back an awkward pat before they disentangled again. With a rueful shake of his head the telepath raised the fork. "Okay, enough self-pity from me. I'll eat. All right?"
"You better eat."
