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xp_logs2004-10-05 12:09 pm
x-cable.livejournal.com) wrote in xp_logs2004-10-05 12:09 pm
Nathan, Amanda and Haroun
While Moira is off discussing his test results with Madelyn, Nathan finds himself with company. Amanda needs a little reassurance. They banter a little about the real reason he wound up in the medlab.
Moira wasn't far away, he could still sense her clearly, but she wasn't in the room anymore. She had told him she needed to show Madelyn some of the scan results, and he'd told her to go ahead, that he'd be fine. It might have been a bit of a stretch, Nathan admitted to himself bleakly, keeping his eyes closed. But he was not going to panic and have her come running back in here. He wasn't.
Then a small hand crept into his, the other laid softly on his forehead, and a familiar accented voice murmured: "Still thinkin' 'bout that plastic bubble, you know."
He tried not to jump. He'd been concentrating so hard on the link that he hadn't sensed her come in. "At this point?" he said a bit hoarsely, trying to smile. "I'd take it, believe me. This is no fun at all."
"Sorry, didn't mean t' startle you. Thought you would've noticed me comin' a mile off, with everythin' that's goin' on in my head," Amanda said wryly, glad he couldn't see her face just then. He'd told her once she didn't have the complexion for crying, and he hadn't been wrong. "Need anythin'? 'M yer designated medlab helper for the duration, an' it's not often you get t' order me around, so I'd make the most of it."
Nathan, a bit warily, opened his eyes. No change. He knew she was right there - she was holding his hand, after all - but he couldn't even make out her outline amid the shifting patterns of color. "Glass of water, maybe?" he suggested, managing the smile a little more easily. "And I'll try not to exploit the opportunity. I'm sure you medlab helpers have a union or something."
She saw the way he was squinting, trying to make her out, and covered his eyes gently with the hand that had been resting on his forehead. "Don't strain yerself," she warned. "Let the docs do their thing. Eyes're tricky bastards." Satisfied he was going to keep them closed at least for now, she turned and grabbed the cup of water that she'd brought with her for just such a request. "An' yeah, come the revolution, we'll look well on our mates," she went on, with a wobbly smile. "Fight the overlord oppressors, make this a glorious worker's paradise an' the like."
She put the cup in his hand and he pushed himself up on an elbow, taking a couple of long sips before he let her have it back. "I should've figured you for a rabble-rouser," he said with a faint chuckle. "But you'd better keep an eye on Rahne, General. It's always the quiet ones, you know."
She put the cup in his hand and he pushed himself up on an elbow, taking a couple of long sips before he let her have it back. "I should've figured you for a rabble-rouser," he said with a faint chuckle. "But you'd better keep an eye on Rahne, General. It's always the quiet ones, you know."
"Oh, she's the evil genius behind it all, didn't I tell you?" Amanda replied, the smile growing a little less wobbly as Nathan was more his old self. He'd looked... scared, almost, when she'd first seen him. "Of course, I'll have t' kill you now you know our secret plans for revolution..." She held onto the cup, in case he wanted another drink, trying not to crush the plastic between nervously-clenched hands.
He could sense what was beneath the cheery banter. "Hey," he said, as casually as he could. "You know my fiancee? Frighteningly clever woman?"
"She's sort of hard t' miss." Amanda knew what was coming, and she did have faith in Moira's ability to find what was wrong, but it still didn't make it easy to watch him peering around like that. "I know, she'll fix things. 'S nothin' t' worry about, right?"
"Right," he said firmly. "See, this is just a conspiracy to make me break my no-medlab streak. They're all going to jump out from behind the furniture and yell 'Surprise!' anytime now."
"An' here I was thinkin' it was all a play t' get into the limelight again," she teased, a bit more naturally this time. Nothing to worry about. Really.
"Really? Haroun was stealing my medlab-related spotlight. I needed to get it back. That's what this is all about." She sounded better, he thought, relieved. That was good.
"You look better in the Drama Queen tiara," Amanda said, patting his hand reassuringly. "No need t' go t' extremes in makin' sure he can't steal the title."
A little later, Haroun happens by and does his best to provide Nathan with some distraction, in his own inimitable way.
Moira had promised they were done running tests for now, and given him something more for the headache that had him kind of pleasantly drifting. She was off talking to Madelyn or something, Nathan knew, but he wasn't as bothered by being alone as he had been earlier. It would have been nice to be let out of the medlab to nap, but apparently they wanted to run another set of tests in a few hours. So here he was. In the medlab. Again. What had it been, a whole six weeks...?
Haroun had just ducked into Medical for a quick second to refresh the supplies in his medkit - he had a sparring session coming up with Scott, and after his boast he felt he'd better be prepared to handle anything the X-Men's field leader could dish out. Hence his raid on supplies. While a sullen Cecilia took the kit and refilled it, Haroun wandered over to where Nathan sat and waved hello. "Weren't you supposed to, I don't know, not _be here_ anymore?" he asked.
"Look who's talking," Nathan murmured, not opening his eyes. The colors were making him vaguely nauseous when he did that. "How long's it been since you tried to drown yourself...?"
"At least two weeks." he said with a grin. "But when it comes to Medbay Frequent Flier Miles, you're still the one, the only, undisputed Champion of the Worrrrrrrld..." he said in his best Sports Announcer Voice.
"You're a loon," Nathan accused him, unable to help a faint smile. "And I don't think I'm making it to our training session tomorrow.... " He sighed. "Unless, you know, I wake up not-blind tomorrow. Which would be nice."
"I am not a loon." he protested playfully. "And that's a shame about the session - I was looking forward to kicking your ass up one side of the mat and down the other. Guess it'll have to wait until you stop going blind for a while."
"Right," Nathan said, his smile turning a little strained. "Raincheck. I'm game for that."
Haroun quirked his head at Nathan - he was perceptive enough to see that change of mood. "Do I need to drag your engaged ass out to Harry's?" he asked with a mock-snarl. "So that I can mock you, err, congratulate you on your upcoming enslavement, err, marriage to the good Scot?" he said with a teasing grin.
"Well, why don't we wait and see if I'm going to need a seeing eye dog first?" Nathan said, trying to keep up the bantering tone. "You know me and my trust issues. I wouldn't want to give you the opportunity to let me walk into a door or something."
Haroun smirked. "But it's so _entertaining_ when you get that little kicked-puppy expression and then turn the door into matchsticks. I'm sure Moira thinks it's just devestatingly cute."
Nathan grumbled something uncomplimentary under his breath and risked opening his eyes. Still nothing. Although the colors were moving in a slightly different way, now, less random. As if they were starting to collapse back into patterns. It was a cheering thought, even as his stomach started to get queasy again.
"I'm sure you can find someone else to play with while I'm lying here feeling sorry for myself," he suggested.
"I could, but they don't need the break nearly as much as you do. Besides, as a soon-to-be-married man, aren't you the go-to guy for puzzling out all things female?" he said with a grin.
"Uh-oh," Nathan said wryly. "This sounds ominous. What did you do?"
Haroun shrugged. "If I knew that, I would rule the universe with an iron fist. I have no idea what I did. I'm not sure I did _anything_!"
Nathan closed his eyes again. If he was going to hear Haroun out, getting sick to his stomach wouldn't be such a good idea. "Well, first thing you need to admit is that you did do it. Whatever it is. Even if you didn't."
Haroun rolled his eyes. "It is times like these when I somewhat regret my taste for strong-willed women. I didn't do anything, I swear! I think she's just got something she's chewing on inside her mind. Damn, sometimes I wish I was a telepath. Then I remember how much telepathy _sucks_. I want to help her out, but I don't know _how_."
A loon. But a well-meaning loon. Then again, there was that saying about the road to hell... oh, he was in a pessimistic mood today. "There's not much you can do, if that's the case," Nathan said, knowing he wasn't really being helpful. "Other than be around for her to talk to if or when she decides she wants to do that." He smiled a bit. "I could always take a crack at her. Engaged and all. I think that only makes me technically a man."
"Well, Moira does keep your manhood in her purse, remember?" he said with a teasing grin. "But that's not a bad idea. I have every intention of being around for a while if she wants to talk. I have to say, though, that if you fuck this up I am going to be _extremely_ upset with you. Scan me, Dayspring?"
Nathan grimaced and opened his eyes again, glaring in the general direction where he could sense Haroun. "I suppose you were more or less obligated to say that, but still. I am a telepath, remember? Give me a little credit."
Haroun nodded. "I know, but I felt that it was better stated openly, rather than relying on you to pull it from my mind. I like things to stay as much on the up-and-up as possible when they can be." he added. "At the risk of being turned into oxides because you've been asked this question a million times - you two set a date yet?"
"You don't have to worry about me turning you into oxides over that question. Moira might beat you to death with her microscope if you ask it anywhere that she can hear you, though. But no," Nathan admitted, closing his eyes again. Keeping them open was encouraging the headache to come running back full-force. "She wants it on Muir, which almost guarantees spring at the earliest."
Haroun grinned. "That _will_ be nice." he said. "And a microscope is _hardly_ the best instrument to use for a beating. At a glance, I'd use the fire extinguisher." he added with a smirk. "Room at your wedding feast for an Arab?" he asked teasingly.
"At best guess, there will be room at our wedding feast for most of northern Scotland." Despite the circumstances, Nathan couldn't help a chuckle. "Which may not wind up being too far off the truth... you know that Moira is actually Lady Kinross, right?"
Haroun nodded. "I'd heard the name, but didn't bother to follow up on it. Scot nobility, as far as such things go. What of it?" he asked.
"Well, think about it for a minute. The whole school's getting invitations, obviously. Then all of her friends. And all of my friends." And dear God, he still had to tell the Pack... "Then everyone in the vicinity of Muir Island. And probably large numbers of her distant relations... the castle might not be big enough to hold everyone."
"The _whole_ school? You're actually inviting de la Rocha to your wedding? You're a far better man than I." he said with a low whistle. "But I see your point about the crowds. When you mentioned a big wedding, you weren't _kidding_."
"She wants one," Nathan said a bit wistfully. "Her version of my 'shouting it from the mountaintop' idea, I suppose. As for Manuel..." He snorted softly. "Amanda's probably going to be in the wedding party, so."
Haroun just shook his head and laughed. "Sounds like you should get someone with the cattle prod handy in case he gets out of line. Fifty thousand volts to the buttocks should settle him _right_ down."
"Don't tempt me," Nathan said dryly, and then fell silent, listening to the link. Moira was coming back. "So I'll talk to Alison, see if I can figure out what's bothering her," he said. "Not making any promises or anything, obviously."
"Tempt, tempt, tempt." Haroun taunted. "Oh, look, your penis-leash-holder is coming back. My cue to scram, I think. Have fun in here, and when you can see straight we'll head out to Harry's and see if we can fix that." he smirked. "Take care, Nathan."
"My... I am so going to kick your ass," Nathan grumbled, but all he got in response was a laugh and the impression of Haroun wandering back out the door.
Moira wasn't far away, he could still sense her clearly, but she wasn't in the room anymore. She had told him she needed to show Madelyn some of the scan results, and he'd told her to go ahead, that he'd be fine. It might have been a bit of a stretch, Nathan admitted to himself bleakly, keeping his eyes closed. But he was not going to panic and have her come running back in here. He wasn't.
Then a small hand crept into his, the other laid softly on his forehead, and a familiar accented voice murmured: "Still thinkin' 'bout that plastic bubble, you know."
He tried not to jump. He'd been concentrating so hard on the link that he hadn't sensed her come in. "At this point?" he said a bit hoarsely, trying to smile. "I'd take it, believe me. This is no fun at all."
"Sorry, didn't mean t' startle you. Thought you would've noticed me comin' a mile off, with everythin' that's goin' on in my head," Amanda said wryly, glad he couldn't see her face just then. He'd told her once she didn't have the complexion for crying, and he hadn't been wrong. "Need anythin'? 'M yer designated medlab helper for the duration, an' it's not often you get t' order me around, so I'd make the most of it."
Nathan, a bit warily, opened his eyes. No change. He knew she was right there - she was holding his hand, after all - but he couldn't even make out her outline amid the shifting patterns of color. "Glass of water, maybe?" he suggested, managing the smile a little more easily. "And I'll try not to exploit the opportunity. I'm sure you medlab helpers have a union or something."
She saw the way he was squinting, trying to make her out, and covered his eyes gently with the hand that had been resting on his forehead. "Don't strain yerself," she warned. "Let the docs do their thing. Eyes're tricky bastards." Satisfied he was going to keep them closed at least for now, she turned and grabbed the cup of water that she'd brought with her for just such a request. "An' yeah, come the revolution, we'll look well on our mates," she went on, with a wobbly smile. "Fight the overlord oppressors, make this a glorious worker's paradise an' the like."
She put the cup in his hand and he pushed himself up on an elbow, taking a couple of long sips before he let her have it back. "I should've figured you for a rabble-rouser," he said with a faint chuckle. "But you'd better keep an eye on Rahne, General. It's always the quiet ones, you know."
She put the cup in his hand and he pushed himself up on an elbow, taking a couple of long sips before he let her have it back. "I should've figured you for a rabble-rouser," he said with a faint chuckle. "But you'd better keep an eye on Rahne, General. It's always the quiet ones, you know."
"Oh, she's the evil genius behind it all, didn't I tell you?" Amanda replied, the smile growing a little less wobbly as Nathan was more his old self. He'd looked... scared, almost, when she'd first seen him. "Of course, I'll have t' kill you now you know our secret plans for revolution..." She held onto the cup, in case he wanted another drink, trying not to crush the plastic between nervously-clenched hands.
He could sense what was beneath the cheery banter. "Hey," he said, as casually as he could. "You know my fiancee? Frighteningly clever woman?"
"She's sort of hard t' miss." Amanda knew what was coming, and she did have faith in Moira's ability to find what was wrong, but it still didn't make it easy to watch him peering around like that. "I know, she'll fix things. 'S nothin' t' worry about, right?"
"Right," he said firmly. "See, this is just a conspiracy to make me break my no-medlab streak. They're all going to jump out from behind the furniture and yell 'Surprise!' anytime now."
"An' here I was thinkin' it was all a play t' get into the limelight again," she teased, a bit more naturally this time. Nothing to worry about. Really.
"Really? Haroun was stealing my medlab-related spotlight. I needed to get it back. That's what this is all about." She sounded better, he thought, relieved. That was good.
"You look better in the Drama Queen tiara," Amanda said, patting his hand reassuringly. "No need t' go t' extremes in makin' sure he can't steal the title."
A little later, Haroun happens by and does his best to provide Nathan with some distraction, in his own inimitable way.
Moira had promised they were done running tests for now, and given him something more for the headache that had him kind of pleasantly drifting. She was off talking to Madelyn or something, Nathan knew, but he wasn't as bothered by being alone as he had been earlier. It would have been nice to be let out of the medlab to nap, but apparently they wanted to run another set of tests in a few hours. So here he was. In the medlab. Again. What had it been, a whole six weeks...?
Haroun had just ducked into Medical for a quick second to refresh the supplies in his medkit - he had a sparring session coming up with Scott, and after his boast he felt he'd better be prepared to handle anything the X-Men's field leader could dish out. Hence his raid on supplies. While a sullen Cecilia took the kit and refilled it, Haroun wandered over to where Nathan sat and waved hello. "Weren't you supposed to, I don't know, not _be here_ anymore?" he asked.
"Look who's talking," Nathan murmured, not opening his eyes. The colors were making him vaguely nauseous when he did that. "How long's it been since you tried to drown yourself...?"
"At least two weeks." he said with a grin. "But when it comes to Medbay Frequent Flier Miles, you're still the one, the only, undisputed Champion of the Worrrrrrrld..." he said in his best Sports Announcer Voice.
"You're a loon," Nathan accused him, unable to help a faint smile. "And I don't think I'm making it to our training session tomorrow.... " He sighed. "Unless, you know, I wake up not-blind tomorrow. Which would be nice."
"I am not a loon." he protested playfully. "And that's a shame about the session - I was looking forward to kicking your ass up one side of the mat and down the other. Guess it'll have to wait until you stop going blind for a while."
"Right," Nathan said, his smile turning a little strained. "Raincheck. I'm game for that."
Haroun quirked his head at Nathan - he was perceptive enough to see that change of mood. "Do I need to drag your engaged ass out to Harry's?" he asked with a mock-snarl. "So that I can mock you, err, congratulate you on your upcoming enslavement, err, marriage to the good Scot?" he said with a teasing grin.
"Well, why don't we wait and see if I'm going to need a seeing eye dog first?" Nathan said, trying to keep up the bantering tone. "You know me and my trust issues. I wouldn't want to give you the opportunity to let me walk into a door or something."
Haroun smirked. "But it's so _entertaining_ when you get that little kicked-puppy expression and then turn the door into matchsticks. I'm sure Moira thinks it's just devestatingly cute."
Nathan grumbled something uncomplimentary under his breath and risked opening his eyes. Still nothing. Although the colors were moving in a slightly different way, now, less random. As if they were starting to collapse back into patterns. It was a cheering thought, even as his stomach started to get queasy again.
"I'm sure you can find someone else to play with while I'm lying here feeling sorry for myself," he suggested.
"I could, but they don't need the break nearly as much as you do. Besides, as a soon-to-be-married man, aren't you the go-to guy for puzzling out all things female?" he said with a grin.
"Uh-oh," Nathan said wryly. "This sounds ominous. What did you do?"
Haroun shrugged. "If I knew that, I would rule the universe with an iron fist. I have no idea what I did. I'm not sure I did _anything_!"
Nathan closed his eyes again. If he was going to hear Haroun out, getting sick to his stomach wouldn't be such a good idea. "Well, first thing you need to admit is that you did do it. Whatever it is. Even if you didn't."
Haroun rolled his eyes. "It is times like these when I somewhat regret my taste for strong-willed women. I didn't do anything, I swear! I think she's just got something she's chewing on inside her mind. Damn, sometimes I wish I was a telepath. Then I remember how much telepathy _sucks_. I want to help her out, but I don't know _how_."
A loon. But a well-meaning loon. Then again, there was that saying about the road to hell... oh, he was in a pessimistic mood today. "There's not much you can do, if that's the case," Nathan said, knowing he wasn't really being helpful. "Other than be around for her to talk to if or when she decides she wants to do that." He smiled a bit. "I could always take a crack at her. Engaged and all. I think that only makes me technically a man."
"Well, Moira does keep your manhood in her purse, remember?" he said with a teasing grin. "But that's not a bad idea. I have every intention of being around for a while if she wants to talk. I have to say, though, that if you fuck this up I am going to be _extremely_ upset with you. Scan me, Dayspring?"
Nathan grimaced and opened his eyes again, glaring in the general direction where he could sense Haroun. "I suppose you were more or less obligated to say that, but still. I am a telepath, remember? Give me a little credit."
Haroun nodded. "I know, but I felt that it was better stated openly, rather than relying on you to pull it from my mind. I like things to stay as much on the up-and-up as possible when they can be." he added. "At the risk of being turned into oxides because you've been asked this question a million times - you two set a date yet?"
"You don't have to worry about me turning you into oxides over that question. Moira might beat you to death with her microscope if you ask it anywhere that she can hear you, though. But no," Nathan admitted, closing his eyes again. Keeping them open was encouraging the headache to come running back full-force. "She wants it on Muir, which almost guarantees spring at the earliest."
Haroun grinned. "That _will_ be nice." he said. "And a microscope is _hardly_ the best instrument to use for a beating. At a glance, I'd use the fire extinguisher." he added with a smirk. "Room at your wedding feast for an Arab?" he asked teasingly.
"At best guess, there will be room at our wedding feast for most of northern Scotland." Despite the circumstances, Nathan couldn't help a chuckle. "Which may not wind up being too far off the truth... you know that Moira is actually Lady Kinross, right?"
Haroun nodded. "I'd heard the name, but didn't bother to follow up on it. Scot nobility, as far as such things go. What of it?" he asked.
"Well, think about it for a minute. The whole school's getting invitations, obviously. Then all of her friends. And all of my friends." And dear God, he still had to tell the Pack... "Then everyone in the vicinity of Muir Island. And probably large numbers of her distant relations... the castle might not be big enough to hold everyone."
"The _whole_ school? You're actually inviting de la Rocha to your wedding? You're a far better man than I." he said with a low whistle. "But I see your point about the crowds. When you mentioned a big wedding, you weren't _kidding_."
"She wants one," Nathan said a bit wistfully. "Her version of my 'shouting it from the mountaintop' idea, I suppose. As for Manuel..." He snorted softly. "Amanda's probably going to be in the wedding party, so."
Haroun just shook his head and laughed. "Sounds like you should get someone with the cattle prod handy in case he gets out of line. Fifty thousand volts to the buttocks should settle him _right_ down."
"Don't tempt me," Nathan said dryly, and then fell silent, listening to the link. Moira was coming back. "So I'll talk to Alison, see if I can figure out what's bothering her," he said. "Not making any promises or anything, obviously."
"Tempt, tempt, tempt." Haroun taunted. "Oh, look, your penis-leash-holder is coming back. My cue to scram, I think. Have fun in here, and when you can see straight we'll head out to Harry's and see if we can fix that." he smirked. "Take care, Nathan."
"My... I am so going to kick your ass," Nathan grumbled, but all he got in response was a laugh and the impression of Haroun wandering back out the door.