Nathan and Doug, early Monday morning

[x-cable.livejournal.com]

Before the lesson with Manuel, Doug runs across a very angry Nathan in the kitchen and subtly defuses him. Clever Doug.



Doug entered the kitchen, intent on finding something snack-shaped to get rid of the slightly smoky taste in his mouth. He had stayed out with Angelo and Amanda for as long as he could, and stood upwind as much as possible, but eventually the chain-smoking had gotten to him. As he entered the kitchen, he saw Nathan standing impatiently over the coffee pot, waiting for it to finish brewing. "Um, hi, Nathan," Doug said, not wanting to startle the telekinetic. He looked a little jumpy.

Nathan gave Doug a narrow-eyed look, trying to remember the details of Doug's participation in the Journal Thread'O'Idiocy. "Hello," he said a bit darkly, but decided that nothing Doug had said had been objectionable. "I'm waiting for the coffee," he muttered, turning his attention back to the coffeemaker.

Doug made his way to the refrigerator, relieved that he wasn't going to have any bodily harm done to him as long as he didn't come between Nathan and the coffee. "I noticed," he replied as he fished through the drawers in the refrigerator, trying to decide what he wanted. Taking a look at Nathan's tense body language, he said "Um, you know that I was very firmly against any and all lunacy, right? And also, I finished grading that first quiz for you." He decided a change of subject might help a bit.

Nathan took a deep breath, leaning heavily against the counter for a minute. "I know you were. And thank you. I'm just..." He gritted his teeth, managing to keep his voice left as he went on, despite the way the dishes rattled softly in the cupboards. "It... blows my mind. Like I said."

"Oh, me too," Doug replied conversationally, carefully not reacting to the background rattle. "You want anything with your coffee?" he asked, indicating the open refrigerator. "Or should I go get an IV bag from one of the docs to get the caffeine in your bloodstream faster?" He smiled slightly to take the edge off the ribbing.

"Food would be bad. I have class with Manuel this morning," Nathan said and then blinked, shaking his head, some of his anger draining away. "That really didn't come out right."

Doug shrugged. "No, it's okay, I think I understand what you meant. What are you teaching Manuel, exactly?" he asked, curious despite himself. He disliked the Spanish empath, but tried to be considerate where he was concerned, unlike Jamie who was perfectly content in avoiding Manuel.

"We're working on his empathy," Nathan said with a sigh. "Today, at least. And that's really all the details I can give you." He limped over to the table and sat down heavily, trying to shake off the bad mood. None of the kids were going anywhere, and there were trained adults going out to find Sarah and bring her back. "How were the quizzes?" he asked.

"Kind of a mixed bag, for the most part," Doug replied. "Jubilee has a bit of an advantage in Mandarin, of course, but I don't think anyone is really behind the curve yet."

"That's good," Nathan said, rubbing at his temples. The Askani were unsettled this morning, and he wasn't sure whether they were reflecting his mood or whether they were agitated for reasons of their own. "Going to miss you while you're gone, I suspect," he said, managing a half-hearted smile. "But you and Angie need to go have a great time. Getting away from the madness is an excellent idea."

Doug nodded. "I'm looking forward to it. I'll have to keep a bit of a low profile at home, because my parents took some flak when I tested positive for the X-gene, but all the same, it'll be nice to go back. I'm a little nervous about meeting Angie's parents, though."

The smile grew a little more natural. "I imagine. They sound a bit... odd."

Doug chuckled. "I think it's more her mom than her dad. Her mom is...super-religious, from everything Angie says. She's convinced that Angie is Joan of Arc reincarnated, and after Pentecost, she decided that my power is the result of the Holy Spirit descending on me 'as a tongue of flame'." He shook his head.

Nathan shrugged. "It's a week," he said as lightly as he could. "Just focus on being pleasant and stultifyingly normal, and possibly reality will dawn on her."

Doug nodded. "One can only hope," he responded. Cocking his head, he asked "Not to put too fine a point on it, Nathan, but are you doing okay? You seem a bit...I dunno, stressed. Events of this morning getting to you?"

"Oh," Nathan said with as dismissive a wave as he could manage. "Just... well, yes," he said, his voice brittle. "Feeling particularly useless again." He couldn't help a glare at the cane.

Doug nodded, as he had suspected as much. "You're not, you know," he replied seriously. "You're teaching, you're helping Manuel, which seems like a colossal task to me, and you're good for Doc Mactaggart. Your body will heal in its own time, and that's hardly the only measure of your usefulness. So go a little easier on yourself, hm?" Doug chuckled. "Granted, this is a 'do as I say, not as I do' bit of advice, but still."

Doug doesn't need to hear about your frustration, his conscience pointed out. "Given that without Amanda's healing spells I'd probably still be spending a fair amount of time in bed, I should grouse less," Nathan said dryly. "And I used to be more patient than this."

"Patience is a virtue, Nathan," Doug intoned deadpan. He struggled to keep a straight face, but erupted in a fit of snickers. "One that we both lack, I think." He grinned.

"I once camped out for twenty-three days in Siberia in January, waiting for a particular train to pass by," Nathan said, a slightly smile playing on his lips. "Like I said, I used to be patient. I think that's gone the way of my common sense these days."

Doug whistled. "Twenty-three _days_? In Siberia? Ouch. And I think you'd have to go a ways to ditch your common sense as spectacularly as other members of this mansion." Doug paused. "Sorry, was that too catty?" He grinned.

"Catty and true," Nathan grumbled, and then jolted up out of the chair as the coffeemaker went on. Grimacing as his weight came down too hard on his bad leg, he hobbled back over and filled a cup. "I just hope to hell that she doesn't get killed. Or get anyone else hurt."

Doug nodded. "Going up against a team of ex-military single-handedly does seem like the height of egotism. Especially when you consider that they managed to get in and out with Ms. Braddock that one time, like Jamie said."

"I wouldn't have used the word egotism," Nathan said with a sigh, sipping at his coffee, "but I suppose it fits." He leaned back against the counter, shaking his head. "I need to settle down," he grumbled. "Before I go spend quality time with an empath."

Doug looked concernedly at Nathan. "I know of your addiction to the black bean, but I don't think coffee's going to help you settle down. Is there anything I can do to help?"

Nathan rubbed a hand over his face. "Thanks, but I'll be okay," he said, closing his eyes and concentrating on pushing the anger and tension down and away. "Empathic conditioning's good for some things."

Doug looked pensively at Nathan. "Burying things behind an artifical good mood, maybe. But not for actually dealing with it." He sighed. "You're sure there's nothing I can do?"

"I don't think so, Doug," Nathan said, unable to help a slightly tired smile. "I do appreciate the offer, though. Maybe I'll go out and break some rocks, once I'm done with Manuel. I'm not sure anyone's going to be in the mood for Arabic today anyway, while this stuff with Sarah is all up in the air."

Doug nodded. "I can hand back the quizzes if you'd like, and let everyone know. And after breaking rocks, if there's anything I can do to help, you'll let me know, right?"

"I'd appreciate that," Nathan said. "I'll make an announcement on the main journal... may as well use it for something rational, huh?" Apart from the fact that most of the kids were in a state, the lesson with Manuel was probably going to leave him fairly drained, too. This was probably the best idea all around.

Doug nodded. "Sounds like a plan to me. I should be around, unless I'm doing something with Angie. But all my packing is done, so I don't need to worry about that. So come find me if you want."

Nathan gave him a grateful look. "You're my very favorite TA," he quipped.

Doug grinned. "I'm your very _only_ TA, Nathan."

"You had to point that out and ruin our little moment here, didn't you?"