Alison, Nathan and Bridge, Sunday evening

[x-cable.livejournal.com]

After pulling her prank on Haroun, Alison takes the rest of the Silly String and visits Nathan. Bridge gets to play target. Nate and Ali make a lemonade date.



GW Bridge liked to think that he didn't need much in the way of sleep. He could generally get by on four-five hours a night for stretches of weeks at a time before he started to feel really wrecked. But sleep hadn't been first on his list of things to do this week, even before he'd hopped on the first of four planes to get from Afghanistan to the States.

And really, the chair he'd pulled up beside the bed was entirely too comfortable, and Nathan was right out like a light again, so he hardly needed to be watched like a hawk... despite the fact that part of Bridge was still moderately determined to do so. And the book he'd snagged off the shelves was terribly boring. So a nap... not a bad thing, really... in fact, rather good...

A few moments later the door opened silently, a blond head slowly peeking in. Still on her high from pranking Haroun, Alison grinned wickedly. Ooh! Prey! Unawares too! Tip toeing inside carefully she let the door close, without letting the lock latch in though to avoid any sounds, and crept closer slowly, purposefully doing the "happy bubbly thoughts" thing she'd been accused or teased about more than once.

Bridge sat bolt-upright in the chair, reaching instinctively for the gun he was of course not carrying. The boring book hit the floor with a thud, and Nathan grumbled, hiding his face against his pillow.

Bridge blinked at the intruder, feeling a little foolish. "Uh, hi, Alison," he said with a crooked smile, careful to keep his voice low.

She grinned at him impishly, wagging a finger at him and pointing at Nathan. "Don't wake up the baby, silly!" she said back, in the same 'not a whisper' tone of voice, amusement more than filtering through. The can in her hand looked unobtrusive enough, even unlabeled as it was, and she walked to the other side of the bed, setting it on the nightatble before looking down at Nathan pensively.

Bridge tilted his head, intrigued by the expression she was wearing as she stared down at Nathan. "He's okay," he said quietly. "Got out and around a little much today, I guess. I promised Moira I'd sit on him if he tried to go wandering again - she stepped out for a few minutes." He smiled a bit wryly. He fully expected her to come back and crash anytime now, though.

"Wouldn't sitting on him kinda squish him though?" she pondered, looking very solemn as she tilted her head to the side, still peering down at him. He looked as though he'd had some sleep, at least in that the tension she'd come to mark as part of him seemed to have eased.

"I've sat on him before," Bridge said with a soft chuckle. "He's usually survived."

"He's telling the truth, too," Nathan muttered, his voice mostly muffled by the pillow before he turned his head again, blinking a bit blearily up at Alison. "Even fell on me the once. Out of a window. He's very heavy."

"Aw. Poor baby," she cooed, hiding a smile and still remaining very serious. "That was very man of him," she nodded once, before sitting down on the side of the bed slowly. "Didja get him back for it?" She gave Bridge an innocent look, before focusing on Nathan again.

"Mmm... I don't remember. Think there was something with a mule and a shotgun wedding in Kashmir..." Nathan reached out rather tentatively and laid a hand over one of hers where it rested on the bed. "Hi," he said, much more quietly. Bridge merely leaned down to get his book, smiling a little to himself.

Laughing lowly, not just at the mentioned revenge but also from contentment at his ability to reach out on his own, Alison lightly placed her other hand above his, smiling warmly. "Hi yourself, friend. It's good to see you back here."

He raised an eyebrow. "Mostly here," he corrected with a tired little smile. "Still not quite with it."

"Oh, was that what the animated conversation with the stuffed rabit was about?" Bridge asked innocently, then smiled blandly at Alison. "He was asking it its opinion of how he'd look in a kilt. I'm not sure what that was all about."

"Kilt?" Alison grinned, without the trace of a leer and wasn't she being a good girl! "Gee, Nathan. What was that whole kilt thing about anyway?" she asked, because she wanted to know of course. Not knowing things that could be Very Useful later was always a bad thing. Besides, it was promoting the silly, which was more than a good thing just now.

Nathan hid his face in the pillow again. "Nothing," he replied, muffled.

"Right," Bridge said dryly. "Then they were debating whether inside or outside was good, and whether Moira would be too hard laughing to give him a yes or a no..." He grinned suddenly as Nathan raised his head and gave him a dirty look. "Hey, bro, not my fault if you've got a one-track mind. Even after you got it all blown up, again."

Low, amused laughter was all Alison could manage for a moment, not only because of the easy camaderie between both men, but also because it quite simply could be managed. Oh yes, it was so very nice to see Nathan like this. As opposed to what she remembered not so long ago. "So. Thinking of proposing to Moira in a kilt, then?" As far as Alison was concerned, that was a rather good kind of one track mind.

"Happy thoughts," Nathan said, still not removing face from pillow. "They don't make me fall asleep."

Bridge's smile turned a bit pained, but he wrestled with himself for a moment, managing to go on in the same amused tone. "Yeah," he quipped lightly. "You mentioned that to the rabbit."

Alison didn't feel pained at all, really. This was so much better than before, really. There was just no comparison - but maybe Bridge didn't need to know that.

Instead she merely nodded wisely and picked up the can she'd set down, placing it next to Nathan's hand. "This would certainly be in the realm of happy thoughts, then. I had some left over and thought you might have fun with it."

Nathan looked up from the pillow, the wary look in his gray eyes turning curious as he saw the can. "Silly string?" he muttered, reaching out and taking it. He shifted over onto his back. "Messy stuff," he said after a moment, and then, without warning, sprayed some at Bridge.

Bridge yelped, giving him an indignant look that turned into a helpless grin as Nathan responded with a shameless, if rather bleary attempt at puppy-dog eyes. "Well, that's nice," he laughed. "I rush here from Afghanistan just to hold your fucking hand, and you spray me with Silly String."

Laughing as well, Alison wrinkled her nose at him. "And serves you right for teasing him about the rabbit, too!" she winked, whipping out a small digital camera and snapping off a few quick shots for posterity. "Can't let a moment like this pass now, can we?" If anything, she'd learned to keep the camera at hand, to take shots of Miles whenever she could. Bridge wasn't green, but that wasn't his fault.

Bridge shook his head, grinning, and got up out of his chair. "I'll be right back," he said, heading into the bathroom. "You two are unbelievable."

Nathan smiled a bit tentatively at Alison as Bridge vanished. "You were here before, weren't you?" he asked after a moment. "Sometime when I was asleep... on Friday? I thought I felt you here for a little while..."

"Yes," she nodded, still smiling. "You were sleeping like a baby though, so I just stayed for a bit then crept out." She'd thought of warm sunlit gardens and lemonade while she had been there, realizing only then that it had been ages since she'd even allowed herself to remember those days. And now she was again. All thanks to a little dream trip by Askani.

"Been doing a lot of that. Sleeping, I mean." He smiled a little more wearily. "Did we go back in time six months when I wasn't looking? Although the nodding off is a little less heart-stopping this time, got to admit..."

"It's normal," she patted his shoulder lightly, giving him a wry look. "Mind and body need the time to heal and rest up. And besides, I'd say you need it on general principles anyway, mmm?"

"Long week." He stared up at her for a few moments, ignoring the sound of Bridge puttering around in the bathroom, very blatantly Giving Them Some Privacy. "You and I should... lemonade. In the garden. You think?"

She blinked at him once, eyes watering for a moment, before smiling. Heart so full she wasn't sure what she was feeling, but wistfulness was there, so very much. "Yes." Firm and without a doubt. "I'd like that." She'd talk to Ororo about the weather at that. And... there was Jean's rose garden, at that.

Not falling asleep, Nathan told himself fiercely as he reached out to take her hands. These were good feelings. Nothing that had to make him sleep... "I don't know how to tell you how..." Uh-oh. Eyes getting heavy. "I could hardly breathe," he murmured, persisting stubbornly. "Felt so... trapped. By everything. And there you were, asking me what I wanted..."

"Someone did that for me, once," she held on to his hands, throat tightening with emotion. "I just figured that with everything that had happened..." She trailed off, shaking her head. "It felt right. Couldn't tell you what to do or think. Wouldn't have been fair." And the garden memory had been the one single thing she knew without a doubt would be untainted by anything but positive emotions. Safety.

There went the 'Nap! Now!' nudge again. More of a push, this time, and Nathan sighed, his eyes drifting closed again. Not letting go of Alison's hands, though. "It's starting to feel real again," he murmured. "All of you. Here. Not as afraid to sleep as I was..."

"I'll stay for a while," she promised softly, hands tightening just a bit. "You can sleep now..."

Bridge came out to find them in that same position, Nathan sound asleep, Alison sitting on the edge of the bed holding his hands. "Out again?" he asked quietly, unnecessarily.

"Like a light," she replied, smiling a bit at the idiom but still unable to not use it. "And looked when I got here like you might need a break too. Why don't you let me keep an eye on him while you catch up on a bit of sleep, mm?"

"These bags under my eyes are fashion statements, really," Bridge said with a soft chuckle, sinking back down into the chair he'd vacated. She raised an eyebrow at him, and he shrugged. "I can sleep in the chair, Alison," he said lightly. "Just... don't want to go wandering off just yet."

She couldn't entirely argue with him on this, and she supposed the chair was actually very comfortable compared to some of the spots he'd had to make do with, while on missions or the like. She certainly had to admit that even she would find one comfortable after Asgard. "Ok. But you sleep. I won't leave till you wake up, 'kay?"

"Suppose it's silly," Bridge said with a sigh, slouching into a more comfortable position. His eyes moved to Nathan and stayed there. "Not as if anyone'd get him out of here, even if they tried..."

"Silly?" She smiled at him, shaking her head. "Naw." He was obviously worried about his friend and willing to do anything to see he remained safe. Who was she to call him silly over that? "Rest up. I've had tons of sleep, I'm good to keep watch for a while." And think of sunlit gardens, and perfect lemonade.