Log [Alison, Haroun] - Blood Drive, Aftermath

[x-dazzler.livejournal.com]

Alison & Haroun. Set a few hours after the return to the mansion, after the shooting at the blood drive.

Doug knew! He knew all along! That was all the hiding away was about, the planning and the secrecy.

Haroun cleared this throat nervously, and knocked on Alison's door. This was, without a doubt, going to be very unpleasant. But he had to know where he stood - and if she still wanted to be associated with a potential murderer. He would have killed that man if Kurt hadn't talked him out of it before he could finish the job.

Alison was staring out the window, hugging herself and feeling chilled to the bone despite the warmth of the room. In her mind's eye she kept replaying the events of the blood drive - the flash and crackle of the photographers' cameras, the people talking animatedly around her as the nurse finished removing the needle. Cheers and applause stilled by the sudden crack of gunfire. The sight of Doug lying on the ground, unmoving. The screams that followed. She closed her eyes at the memories, not even trying to stop reliving the moment over and over again.

The knock, breaking the silence sharply, snapped her out of that train of thought momentarily. Starting at the sound she turned to look at the door, gazing at it until she realized that opening it might be required. Slowly she crossed over to the other side of the room and turned the handle, leaning on the doorframe as she opened the door.

~Great. She looks like shit.~ was his first thought, then he looked at Alison more deeply. "Hey." he said to her. "Figure that we should probably talk about what happened. Got a few?" he asked her, careful to keep his voice neutral.

Talk. She studied the door for a moment, breathing shallowly. "Okay." Looking up at Haroun searchingly for a brief instead she then opened the door further, stepping back to let him inside. She resumed hugging herself, glancing at the window once more - staring outside would probably not be a good thing, she supposed, just right now.

Haroun took a seat near where Alison huddled in on herself. "I'm sorry." he said after a few moments. "I'm sorry that I very nearly killed the guy who shot Doug and would have killed you."

The words took a moment to sink in and she pressed a hand to her mouth, shaking her head. "No."  It was hard to find the right words, any words at all so she moved to the couch, curling up tightly as soon as she sat down. "I..." The man had been badly beaten up, she remembered that, even though she hadn't even taken it into account at the time. "Can't judge you. I can't judge you on this," she finally said.

"You don't have to. I have been judged, and found wanting. In the case that I'm going to have to be deported, I just want you to know ... no, I'll save that thought for if it actually happens. But there is a chance that I will have to stand trial, and my legal basis for being in the USA is shaky at best." Haroun explained. "I lost control. Pure and simple."

"Deported?" she went still for a moment, hand falling to rest in her lap. "No..." The beating had been more than obvious, of course - there was nothing she could do, yet again. She stilled the trembling that had crept up on her, focusing on the present moment a bit more. "Happens. Loss of control." She knew that, if nothing else. Only too well. 

"It is a possibility. I believe that Charles is working on my behalf to get the charges reduced or even dropped. Too soon to tell how things will play out." he said flatly. "The other thing I wanted to see you about - was just to see you. See how you were doing. So talk to me, OK, Alison? Talk to me. Tell me how you feel. You're free now."

"Free?" she breathed, staring at him blankly. "Free?" Grief colored her voice as she spoke - it hadn't even occurred to her, in all of this, what the sniper being caught meant, how that might change her life. "Doug knew! He knew all along! That was all the hiding away was about, the planning and the secrecy." And it was because of something she had brought into play. "He sent us goodbye emails," she whispered miserably, bowing her head to hide her face in her hands.

Haroun stood up and moved over so that he was next to Alison's sitting spot. Kneeling down, he switched off sensation to his lower half and took her hands in his. "He did." Haroun agreed solemnly. "If he had told you, what would you have done differently?"

The question kept her from slipping over the edge and she tried to concentrate, uncaring of the tears burning her eyes.  "No children there." She was still taking short breaths, unable to breathe properly. "Lorna present to keep anyone from being hurt by the bullet." Try and shoot someone with a magnekinetic around, she thought viciously. "Keep a clear circle around me for one of the photo ops. Give him a clean shot, make it impossible to resist. Kurt to get him once we know his location. Or Paul, or Nathan." She paused, swallowing heavily. "And if that didn't work, take him out myself if that's what it took."

Haroun nodded. "The boy fucked up." he said. "No two ways around it. But sitting in here tearing yourself apart would be a waste of his hard-earned broken ribs." he added gently, squeezing her hands slightly. "The only way to honor his grand gesture is to live. Dance, sing, rejoice. Live your life to its utmost. Not sit here, in the dark, and chew on What Might Have Been."

"I..." she just stared at him, unmoving, what he was saying slowly sinking in. There was a faint feeling of awe as she contemplated what he'd said, the philosophy of life it implied. "You're right." Her voice was barely audible and she took a slow breath. Calm. Somehow, just for this moment, she was calm. It wouldn't last, she knew only too well, but she wasn't about to let the moment go so easily.

Haroun grinned as he watched the slow realization sink in. "You know I'm right." he said, squeezing her hands again. "Now, go take a shower, get changed into something nice, and let's go get some food, OK? After all, there's one less demented music critic out there, and you have a few years of life to catch up on."

He wasn't giving her the chance to go back to hiding again and Alison felt grateful for that. Doug was in the medlab and would be all right. She'd spoken to Miles earlier and he was off with Artie and the boys and he would be all right as well. "That... sounds good." She smiled tiredly at him, strangely unwilling to move just yet.

Haroun stood up, dragging Alison up along with him. "You. Shower. Now. I even promise to be good and wait for you out there. And see? No camera." he said with a very quick grin. "Go on, shoo!" he said, pushing her not-quite-gently in the direction of the bathroom.

Alison laughed quietly as she stumbled a bit at the push and then headed for the bathroom without a word of protest. "I hear and obey," she murmured with mock humility, shaking her head as she disappeared inside the bathroom, the door closing behind her firmly.

Haroun blew out an extended breath. Shaking his head, he couldn't stop the sloppy grin from appearing on his face as he stepped out of her room into the suite's common area. Since Lorna wasn't around, he was going to indulge in some harmless fantasy of what, exactly, was going on in that bathroom right now. Just in the confines of his own mind. He sat down, made himself comfortable, and closed his eyes to better imagine things.