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xp_logsNathan wakes up in the medlab with only a fuzzy idea of what happened in the boiler room. You'd think that would delay the guilt-trip. (Hah. Hahah.)
Nathan really ought to just get himself a permanent bed down in medlab, Madelyn mused as she checked him over again, making sure he wasn't attempting something new and exciting medically. All the factors indicated a concussion and bruises, plus whatever psionic battering he'd received, but with Nathan it never paid to assume. Besides, if he got a bed down here, he'd see more of Moira.
Someone was shining a light in his eyes. Nathan muttered a slurred curse, trying to pull his head away, but it hurt to move. "G'way," he muttered, dimly aware of someone leaning over him. "Trying t'sleep, dammit... turn off the sun..."
"You know, most people when they're trying to sleep don't have a student blow them up," Madelyn said dryly, remorselessly continuing her examination. "And quit being such a baby. It's just a penlight."
Nathan sat bolt upright - and fell back again with a groan. "Oh, fuck... Jono?" He could feel Moira on the other end of the link, focusing on something else - Jono? Concerned thoughts, not frantic... but as he tried to reach down the link, the pain in his head ballooned and he squeezed his eyes shut, swallowing back a surge of nausea. "Oh, fuck... tried to break something with my head, d-didn't I? The wall?"
"Hey, easy..." Madelyn put a restraining hand on his shoulder, gently but firmly holding him in place. "Moira's fine. She had a bit of a shock, but she's fine." The link, of course. It always came down to the link. "Jono's... a little more complicated. At the moment he's some kind of energy cloud. And still bitching about the world in general. Moira's trying to puzzle the whole thing out."
"He wasn't listening...? I think..." What had gone wrong? He couldn't quite remember. Something with the pattern... "Fuck," he said feelingly, in English, and opened his eyes again. The ceiling and Maddie's face were going in and out of focus. He let the air in his lungs out on a sigh, the breath catching in his chest. "A student blew up," he said suddenly, hot color that was a mixture of anger and shame flooding into his face. "My student. Fuck."
"Cue the guilt..." Madelyn muttered to herself. "Nathan, I don't know what happened, but how about waiting for the room to stop spinning before you start beating yourself over the head with it? Jono's... well, we're not sure if 'fine' really covers it, but his mind's intact, even if his body isn't." She sat abruptly on the chair beside the bed, sighing heavily. "Someone up there hates us. I'm sure of it."
Nathan turned his head on the pillow, wincing as both his head and neck protested the movement. Yeah, he had definitely hit a wall. Familiar feeling. He'd done it before. "I'm sorry," he muttered, trying to focus on Madelyn. "Out of the blue... he was doing so well..." What had happened? Why couldn't he remember what had gone wrong?
"What was that you were saying about history and surprises?" she asked, reaching over to lay her hand on his arm so he'd stop struggling so hard to see her. Right here, the gesture said. "If it's any consolation, he seems calm enough..."
Nathan tried to relax. Didn't quite work, but moving around hurt too much. His head was by far the worse, but he could feel enough in the way of bruises that he suspected very strongly that he'd be black and blue in a significant way if he wasn't already. "Askani told me," he sighed, still trying vainly to focus. His eyes just didn't want to do what they should be doing. "Weeks ago. That his original body might not be salvageable, but that it didn't mean he'd die... I kept thinking it was the worst-case scenario." Why could he remember that conversation and not what had gone wrong at the lesson?
Oh, right. Wall.
"She didn't happen to give you any kind of solutions to that scenario, did she?" asked Madelyn. She shrugged a little helplessly. "God knows this is one of the weirder things to have happened here..."
"We didn't talk much about it. She--" Nathan, already instinctively reaching out to Askani, stopped talking with a choked gasp at the sudden, fiercer swell of pain the attempt provoked. Almost as bad as reaching down the link had been. "Ow... shit. I can't--" Buzzing. He could hear the Askani buzzing in the back of his mind, but nothing comprehensible.
"Okay, scratch that idea, at least for now..." Madelyn said to herself with a wince. "Easy, Nathan, no need to sprain your brain any more than it is already. Do you need something for the pain?"
"No--yes," he muttered, common sense overruling his usual distaste for drugs. "Although it's not so bad if I don't do anything..." He squeezed his eyes shut. "Feels like a concussion. Why must psis get head injuries? Really doesn't work out so well..."
Madelyn stood and reached for the water jug and poured him a glassful, before reaching into her labcoat pocket for the extra-strong painkillers she'd foreseen the need for when he woke up. "Can you sit up a little? I'd rather not drown you with these," she said, setting the cup on the bedside table before moving to help him up a little. "And sometimes I think Murphy must be the patron saint of psis. Certainly fits in with the evil sense of humor."
Nathan pushed himself up just enough to be able to take the painkillers with a sip of water. His head was so heavy, nearly impossible to lift off the pillow. But painkillers were good. He laid back down once Madelyn had taken the water glass back and tried to tell himself that no, he did not need to throw the nice pills right back up. That hardly gave them any time to work, did they?
"Can you--can you tell Charles I need to..." What? Explain himself? Nathan blinked up at the ceiling as it went in and out of focus again. "Ask him... but I still need to sort out what happened..."
"I think Charles will probably be coming to see you any way, but yes, I'll tell him." Madelyn patted his shoulder again, noting the inability to focus. Concussion all right. She'd have to get Amanda down at some point. "In the meantime, rest. Like I said, straining yourself over this isn't going to help anything."
He felt like he ought to be apologizing for adding to her workload, or something along those lines. But closing his eyes felt entirely too good, and suddenly the need to do much of anything didn't seem to be quite so urgent.
Nathan really ought to just get himself a permanent bed down in medlab, Madelyn mused as she checked him over again, making sure he wasn't attempting something new and exciting medically. All the factors indicated a concussion and bruises, plus whatever psionic battering he'd received, but with Nathan it never paid to assume. Besides, if he got a bed down here, he'd see more of Moira.
Someone was shining a light in his eyes. Nathan muttered a slurred curse, trying to pull his head away, but it hurt to move. "G'way," he muttered, dimly aware of someone leaning over him. "Trying t'sleep, dammit... turn off the sun..."
"You know, most people when they're trying to sleep don't have a student blow them up," Madelyn said dryly, remorselessly continuing her examination. "And quit being such a baby. It's just a penlight."
Nathan sat bolt upright - and fell back again with a groan. "Oh, fuck... Jono?" He could feel Moira on the other end of the link, focusing on something else - Jono? Concerned thoughts, not frantic... but as he tried to reach down the link, the pain in his head ballooned and he squeezed his eyes shut, swallowing back a surge of nausea. "Oh, fuck... tried to break something with my head, d-didn't I? The wall?"
"Hey, easy..." Madelyn put a restraining hand on his shoulder, gently but firmly holding him in place. "Moira's fine. She had a bit of a shock, but she's fine." The link, of course. It always came down to the link. "Jono's... a little more complicated. At the moment he's some kind of energy cloud. And still bitching about the world in general. Moira's trying to puzzle the whole thing out."
"He wasn't listening...? I think..." What had gone wrong? He couldn't quite remember. Something with the pattern... "Fuck," he said feelingly, in English, and opened his eyes again. The ceiling and Maddie's face were going in and out of focus. He let the air in his lungs out on a sigh, the breath catching in his chest. "A student blew up," he said suddenly, hot color that was a mixture of anger and shame flooding into his face. "My student. Fuck."
"Cue the guilt..." Madelyn muttered to herself. "Nathan, I don't know what happened, but how about waiting for the room to stop spinning before you start beating yourself over the head with it? Jono's... well, we're not sure if 'fine' really covers it, but his mind's intact, even if his body isn't." She sat abruptly on the chair beside the bed, sighing heavily. "Someone up there hates us. I'm sure of it."
Nathan turned his head on the pillow, wincing as both his head and neck protested the movement. Yeah, he had definitely hit a wall. Familiar feeling. He'd done it before. "I'm sorry," he muttered, trying to focus on Madelyn. "Out of the blue... he was doing so well..." What had happened? Why couldn't he remember what had gone wrong?
"What was that you were saying about history and surprises?" she asked, reaching over to lay her hand on his arm so he'd stop struggling so hard to see her. Right here, the gesture said. "If it's any consolation, he seems calm enough..."
Nathan tried to relax. Didn't quite work, but moving around hurt too much. His head was by far the worse, but he could feel enough in the way of bruises that he suspected very strongly that he'd be black and blue in a significant way if he wasn't already. "Askani told me," he sighed, still trying vainly to focus. His eyes just didn't want to do what they should be doing. "Weeks ago. That his original body might not be salvageable, but that it didn't mean he'd die... I kept thinking it was the worst-case scenario." Why could he remember that conversation and not what had gone wrong at the lesson?
Oh, right. Wall.
"She didn't happen to give you any kind of solutions to that scenario, did she?" asked Madelyn. She shrugged a little helplessly. "God knows this is one of the weirder things to have happened here..."
"We didn't talk much about it. She--" Nathan, already instinctively reaching out to Askani, stopped talking with a choked gasp at the sudden, fiercer swell of pain the attempt provoked. Almost as bad as reaching down the link had been. "Ow... shit. I can't--" Buzzing. He could hear the Askani buzzing in the back of his mind, but nothing comprehensible.
"Okay, scratch that idea, at least for now..." Madelyn said to herself with a wince. "Easy, Nathan, no need to sprain your brain any more than it is already. Do you need something for the pain?"
"No--yes," he muttered, common sense overruling his usual distaste for drugs. "Although it's not so bad if I don't do anything..." He squeezed his eyes shut. "Feels like a concussion. Why must psis get head injuries? Really doesn't work out so well..."
Madelyn stood and reached for the water jug and poured him a glassful, before reaching into her labcoat pocket for the extra-strong painkillers she'd foreseen the need for when he woke up. "Can you sit up a little? I'd rather not drown you with these," she said, setting the cup on the bedside table before moving to help him up a little. "And sometimes I think Murphy must be the patron saint of psis. Certainly fits in with the evil sense of humor."
Nathan pushed himself up just enough to be able to take the painkillers with a sip of water. His head was so heavy, nearly impossible to lift off the pillow. But painkillers were good. He laid back down once Madelyn had taken the water glass back and tried to tell himself that no, he did not need to throw the nice pills right back up. That hardly gave them any time to work, did they?
"Can you--can you tell Charles I need to..." What? Explain himself? Nathan blinked up at the ceiling as it went in and out of focus again. "Ask him... but I still need to sort out what happened..."
"I think Charles will probably be coming to see you any way, but yes, I'll tell him." Madelyn patted his shoulder again, noting the inability to focus. Concussion all right. She'd have to get Amanda down at some point. "In the meantime, rest. Like I said, straining yourself over this isn't going to help anything."
He felt like he ought to be apologizing for adding to her workload, or something along those lines. But closing his eyes felt entirely too good, and suddenly the need to do much of anything didn't seem to be quite so urgent.
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Date: 2004-11-14 03:26 pm (UTC)*bwahahahahas*
Ahem, okay, possibly not the most appropriate reaction given the subject of the log, but! Icon! Funny!
*gives you your favourite Maddie one in response...*
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Date: 2004-11-14 03:27 pm (UTC)