Log [Alison, Madelyn] ~ Girls' Night In aka Girls Just Wanna Gossip

[x-dazzler.livejournal.com]

Saturday evening, Alison and Madelyn indulge in a Girls' Night In. Featuring much gossip, Miss Congeniality (it had to happen), pixie sticks and a very grumpy green icing donut.



She couldn't believe no-one had thought of this before. Wheeling the TV and DVD player on the stand to Alison's door, she knocked, knowing the warning system Forge had rigged up would announce her presence, one way or the other. "Ali? Got a surprise for you," she called, remembering Hank had mentioned something about another stepping down of the dampeners.

Peeking out from the bathroom, Alison blinked at the sight of the DVD player, then grinned widely. She'd pondered asking for one at one point, but the catching up on her reading was nice and being able to hear only partially would likely have driven her nuts - up until today, at any rate. The differences were maybe only of ten percent or so, but they seemed huge to Alison. "You have brilliant timing, you know that?" Her voice was just a touch easier to make out against the dampener she was wearing, Alison grinning widely - she'd turned off the room's wall units earlier, so that Madelyn wouldn't have to live in silence as well.

"Of course I know. I'm brilliant," Madelyn said with a grin. Time with her family had left her in a vastly more relaxed state of mind. "And the clever thing about DVDs is they have subtitles, so we can gossip at the same time. Where do you want this set up?"

Alison grinned towards the far wall facing the bed, still relatively bare. She could make enough of the dim flatness of sound in the room caused by the vibranium lining everything to know that she'd be making good her escape as soon as possible to another room, which meant that she'd not quite bothered settling in properly yet. "And I'm just dying to see what you've brought along. Miss Congeniality in there by any chance?" she asked innocently enough.

"Bah to you. Bah I say." Madelyn wheeled the stand over to the bare part of the wall, and began plugging things in. "Um, possibly?"

Snickering greeted the admission, Alison looking entirely too amused. "Well, you know. I had a copy made available to me, just in case you forgot." She winked and pointed at the desk, which was laden with everything a Girl's Night In needed. "I'd have done the whole pyjama thing too, but since it's still the silk suit, we'll have to skip that part." As well as the whole being silly and girly thing for now, since nail polish wasn't happening either. Yet.

"Well, considering my pyjamas involve whatever it is I'm wearing under my scrubs at any given time, we're close enough." Madelyn flicked on the power, displaying the blue DVD screen. "Right, I have Miss Congenialty, since I knew you'd insist, and I have Troy, for the mocking and the eye candy. Which do you want first?"

Mmm. She and Madelyn were going shopping for something a bit more appropriate than 'whatever it is I'm wearing' soon. Well, as soon as Alison could go shopping. "Miss Congeniality. I don't need the eye candy." Alison looked far too pleased with herself at that, and besides - the movie would allow both mocking and teasing at that.

"You don't at that," Madelyn admitted, wryly. "Fine, mocking me it is." She cracked open the case, slid the DVD into the machine and grabbed the remote as it loaded. "How did Haroun take being evicted for the night?"

"I promised him I'd make up for it." Alison looked angelical as she said this, except for the decidedly un-angelical gleam in her eyes. "Having to wait until this goes," she eyed the suit, "is still driving me up the walls though." The bed had been turned into almost a sofa, the cover on it covered in cushions for Madelyn and fluffy pillows for Alison.

"You'll get there," Madelyn told her with a smile, sitting down and kicking off her shoes so she could fold her legs up underneath her. "I know that isn't exactly comforting, but..." She spread her hands helplessly. "I'm sure you'll make up for lost time, though."

"Damn well intend to." The munchies and drinks were on a nearby side-table, courtesy of Miles deciding to make sure they were well stocked up for the movie-watching and general gossiping. The pixie sticks still drew an amused smile from Alison. "I'm at twenty percent sound now. I figure if thing stay steady..." Another two months. And then they still weren't sure how her power would be, since her nerves seemed to be what participated in the sound to light conversion process. "But you know all thaaaat!" Alison snuck a look a at the TV and snickered.  "They went out of their way on that one."

Giving the pixie sticks a considering look, Madelyn decided to wait before inflicting a sugar high on Alison. At least until the middle of the film. "Yeah, they did," she said wryly, amused by just how scruffy they'd made Sandra Bullock look. "And very scarily familiar. Although I at least know what a hairbrush looks like. It's that prickly thing I stand on in the middle of the night, yes?" Without asking, she poured Alison a glass of water and passed it over. "Fluids are your friend," she said solemnly.

"Yes ma'am," Alison replied meekly, taking a small sip before placing the glass on the small shelf which had been set on wall next to her bed. "I'm taking you and the rest of the medlab staff out to a spa soon as I get the ok on it, you know?" Innocently, Alison went on. "They have classes for this sort of stuff. And we could get your hair done, and manicures and pedicures. And even go clothes shopping after."

Madelyn wasn't fooled by the innocent look. "You're worse than Carlie and Mom," she said, rolling her eyes. "All the time I was there, I got to hear about how run down I was looking, and how I really ought to look after myself better." She gave Alison a pitiful look. "It's not _that_ bad, is it?"

Oh yes it was, and Alison wasn't giving her any pity now. "Be happy my fashion adviser isn't here. Edna would be walking all over you, waving that damn cigarette of hers around and wailing about how desperate a cause you are. And then take it as a personal challenge." She grinned evilly. "Maybe I should call her? We have a lot of shopping to do. Silk pyjamas to start with. Hrm. Maybe an entire wardrobe revision while we're at it. Those are fun!"

"Don't you dare. I have a tranq gun and I'm not afraid to use it," Madelyn said, looking less than pleased, but her tone still teasing. "Silk pjs sound  good, I have to admit." She didn't add that there was pretty much zero likelihood of anyone else appreciating them any time soon - that was too pathetic for words. "If I agreed to let you take me shopping, if... You'd have to promise not to go overboard. It's not like I can go parading around medlab in anything fancy."

"Okay!" Alison smiled brightly. It was always easier to get your way if you asked for far more than you actually wanted - though this had been entirely about teasing Madelyn and not much else. "Erm." She looked down and would probably have twiddled her fingers if she'd been able to. "Actually? I may have to ask you to get dancing shoes and a dress soon and it's really a huge favor I need to ask of you because I feel terrible for missing out but it's been two weeks now and-" she paused, looking up and not quite batting her eyes at Madelyn, but almost.

"Why do I get the feeling I'm about to be set up?" Madelyn asked wryly. "Dancing shoes... I'm already helping Kurt with the class. What else do you need  me to do?"

"Kurt and I usually go dancing once a month." Alison sobered up, looking serious. "Outside. We pick a place a few days before hand, used to use the inducers both of us though I guess now I won't have to, once I'm better." She shrugged a bit, though she was entirely earnest about this. "Only now that I'm like this we've already missed one and he doesn't get the chance to just go out dancing otherwise and - he needs it, Madelyn. It's driving me nuts to know he's not going, he has so much fun being able to just let go and dance and be silly. And it's only once a month…"

"He didn't say, but now I think of it, he has been a bit quiet..." Madelyn gave the other woman a suspicious look. "This isn't a date or anything, is it? Because I've already caught Clarice giggling every time Kurt comes down to the medlab to check I'm eating and sleeping properly." The look deepened into something more serious. "He's just a friend, Ali. That's all."

"Uh, Madelyn? I've been going out to dance with him once a month for nearly a year." Alison grinned, wrinkling her nose. It wouldn't be a date- unless Madelyn or Kurt decided to change that little detail. "We call those evenings 'date not a date' when we go. Same thing like when I drag Pete off for supper since I'm the one who suckered him into the counselor gig. Which he's pulling off nicely and I'm kinda smug about that one. It was a nice setup and he just waltzed right into it."

"Sorry, I'm a bit sensitive about matchmaking - Carlie's insufferable, and I'm sure she and Jubilee were plotting." Madelyn mollified herself with a handful of popcorn, setting the bowl between them. "Okay, I'll go - can you set it up? Since it looks less like me asking him out that way."

"Sure, I can take care of that. Looks like I owe you another, huh?" Looking a bit sheepish, Alison picked up her glass again for a bit of water. Setting it down with a grin, she inquired as to the girls' tactics. Maybe an email to them wouldn’t be a bad idea, although them being obvious about it didn't mean she couldn't just use that to her advantage. "What did they do?"

"Not a lot beyond a lot of giggling and gossiping in corners, but Kurt's name came up once or twice over dinner and Carlie pretty much pounced on Jubilee afterwards when they were cleaning up, and I just know she's planning something." Madelyn sighed. "It wouldn't be the first time she's got it in her head that there's something more - if my partner in the Bureau hadn't been twice my age and married with three kids, she would have been matching us up as well."

"Be glad it stopped her," Alison grinned wryly. "There were a few people in the band set who seemed to think that was no barrier to matchmaking when I was the target of their evil machinations." She shook her head a bit, rolling her eyes. "If you need them called off at one point, just let me know. I can see about being fearsome a bit and all at them." Or, you know, just redefining the meaning of subtle might be enough - once she got a good idea of how Kurt was about the situation, at least. She was fairly sure it wouldn't be too hard to figure him out on that though. Kurt was transparent in a way that made Alison want to hurt anyone who might want to take advantage of that to cause him pain.

"I can handle them. I'd just hate for Kurt to be on the receiving end of some kind of plan, that's all. He's too much of a good friend to have to put up with that kind of nonsense." Okay, she was sounding grumpy here. Time to change the subject. "Did I tell you what Moira gave me for my birthday?"

A blank stare greeted that. "I missed your birthday?" Oh dear, that sounded rather dismayed and then not just a little bit. "I didn't know. Whe- oh. When I was in iso, huh?" Pursing her lips, Alison made a mental note to get that tended to soon. Though it gave her the leeway to find that perfect thing that screamed Madelyn at her without a deadline on time, which was the best way to get presents in her opinion - that was why she'd had Lorna's for almost three months in advance, after all. "What did Moira give you?"

"November 11," Madelyn confirmed. "If it's any consolation, I forgot about it too, with Jamie's turn." She shrugged. "Not a big deal. But you remember Iceland, right? The powers? Well, Moira's set up a fund. The 'Cornucopia and Anodyne Foundation', to provide for the needy."

"I remember." She didn't go on about Iceland though, smiling slowly instead at the idea of the Foundation. "Damn. That's brilliant." Her gaze sharpened and she focused on Madelyn intently. "You've got it set up as a charity right? Non-profit organization, all donations being tax-deductible? When's your first fundraiser?"

Madelyn laughed. "See, I knew you'd ask that when I told you, so I went and did my homework. Yes, it's a charity. Moira's providing the initial funding to set it up, and I'm handling the paperwork side of it. We're registered, and in the process of setting up the appropriate accounts and such. As for fund-raisers... well, we haven't really had time to plan that yet, in between medical crises."

"You should talk to Jamie." Networking was something Alison still remembered only too well how to do. "HeliX can do stuff for you there, as can the band too. I can set you up with a good accountant unless you guys already have someone lined up. He does all my stuff and he's got a thing for working pro bono for charities. Same for a lawyer - that'd be Christian, he's the one who represented me when one of the distributors tried to sue me for concealing that I was a mutant, after I came out." Alison blinked and then stopped, looking a bit sheepish. "Um. I'll send you a really long email later?" If Madelyn took her up on the accountant offer, well - it'd be dead easy to setup anonymous donations, too.

"I'll be counting on it," the doctor said with a grin. "This sort of thing... well, I know some of what's involved, and Moira's got more knowledge in that head of hers than an encyclopedia, but we want to do it right." She reached over to lightly brush Alison's hand, knowing it would still hurt, but that Alison would understand the need. "Any help we can get would be most welcome."

"You want Sophia then." Alison nodded firmly, smiling - she hadn't minded the flare of pain in the least as it soon faded into the rest of things. "She's set up every charity the rich and famous have ever wanted set up in this town." And the salary could be negotiated in secret, unless Sophia decided to make this a pet project. "I'll send her coordinates to you and Moira soon as I fish them out of one of the boxes."

"That sounds like a plan to me." Madelyn beamed. "I'm quite excited about this whole idea. Moira thought of using Muir as a base for the medical-type stuff, then expanding as the funding allowed."

Funding, Alison decided on the spot, would never be a problem. She might not have had many contacts left, but the ones she did have were beyond good, for the right things. And something like that Foundation of theirs would be just the right thing. She could let whoever their chief organizer would end up being know about possible contacts for larger types of fund raisers too, when the time came. "Tell me more?"

"Well, the basic plan is to provide help to those that need it. Not focusing on mutants specifically, anyone who needs it. Clothing, food, medical attention for starters, then looking at job assistance, housing, what it takes to get them on their feet." She smiled a little wistfully. "Like Moira talked about, on Iceland. Changing the world. It'll just take us a bit longer this way."

"And it'll still be all yours. Results may not be as immediate, but you'll be drawing a lot of people in with you too." She remembered seeing the looks on their faces, after they'd come back from the mission, in Iceland. Fund raising CD off the sales of an artist compilation album from Little Green Man records. Alison grinned to herself - she was brilliant, really. And some of the bands showed a lot of promise. Not for now, but later, yes. And then she happened to glance at the screen again, and nearly burst into laughter.

Madelyn turned her attention back to the movie and snorted. The lunch scene with the English groomer. "See, Sandra Bullock is pretty under-rated as an actress," she said, waving a handful of popcorn at the screen. "Especially when you compare this with say... 'While You Were Sleeping'. Two completely different roles."

"She has a great sense of humor too. And doesn't actually laugh like a donkey in person either," Alison observed casually, still looking at the screen and shaking her head just a bit, eyes dancing in amusement. "She's one of the few people in the business who is utterly unafraid of ridicule. You have to admire that."

"Oh, I do. So many take themselves far too seriously." Madelyn chuckled again. "And she's not afraid to look less than glamourous, either."

Alison considered that, and grinned. "There's that and the fact that she could wear a potato sack and still knock the eyes out of the potatoes." Which the actress was proving on screen at that very moment, despite the costuming department's ever attempt to change things.

"True. That must have driven them crazy in wardrobe..." Madelyn stretched, wriggling her socked feet luxuriously. "Ah, I'm feeling much better. Four hours of Jubilee's J-pop on the drive back was getting a bit much."

"Well, that and I probably have the comfiest bed this side of creation." Alison grinned. She didn't know how had changed the bed for her but it had been a stroke of genius. "I'm keeping this when I move. It's mine. Anyone trying to take it away from me will regret it," she purred, patting the cover fondly. "And it's nice and big too." It was hard to look innocent when saying that. "Wonder if I can get the shower moved out with me too."

Madelyn laughed at that - it was impossible not to with the not-so-innocent look Alison had on her face. "Minx," she said. "I'm sure if you batted your eyelashes at Cain, he'd make the attempt, at least."

A slow smile greeted that. "You know... I bet I could if I asked nicely." She gazed off, eyes un-focusing a bit as she contemplated that. "Bigger bath too. Would need to remodel the bathroom in my new suite when I move out of here, that's all. He'd have plenty of time to work on it." She needed a pen. Now. And her portable. "Madelyn? My portable is riiight over there. Wireless connection. Wanna shop with me?" She batted her eyes at Madelyn - how could she possibly say no?

"Just use that icon," Madelyn said, getting up and bringing the portable back with her and moving the popcorn so it could sit on the bed between them. "Shopping? What kind of shopping exactly?"

"Bathtub shopping. Big bathtub shopping," Alison specified, looking rather pleased. "And shower too." She narrowed her eyes a bit, eyeing the window contemplatively before shrugging, just a bit. "Though a flyer's landing platform for the window will probably have to be custom-made. Still, once of the standard suites should do and there' s a few singles free still. If I lay dibs on one now and we start the remodeling next week, it really shouldn't take long."

"So..." Madelyn hesitated, not sure if it was any of her business. "Well, with Alex moving in with Lorna, I suppose she wouldn't be moving back with you, but... How are things? Between you?"

"We talked." Alison looked up at Madelyn, smiling brilliantly - and then looked a little sheepish. "We should have done that earlier. We really should have. But well," she looked down at the synthsilk suit, "let's just say now we can't get as distracted as easily?" If anyone should know things were going well, it was Madelyn really. "He scared me a lot by leaving like that. And all the little details, how things just stacked up and seemed to say things that-" she sighed, shaking her head. "But talking was good. Very good."

"Talking usually is," Madelyn said with a pleased smile. "I don't think I've ever been so angry with him as then, and that's counting the mess with Jono and Nathan. He's a good man, just sometimes doesn't tend to use that brain of his." She hung her head, looking slightly ashamed. "I have a confession. I know you said to leave it, but I emailed him while he was in London. Let him have it with both barrels."

Alison blinked at that, eyes widening a bit. And didn't give in to the urge to flail at Madelyn, which was a good thing because that would have hurt. "You did what?" She hadn't mean to squeak quite that way either. "…what did you tell him? What did he say?" 

"I'm sorry. I have a temper, did I tell you that? And I was so angry at him, and it was email him or use Kurt as a punching bag again..." Madelyn went from 'ashamed' to 'contrite' at record speed, difficult not to with Alison squeaking at her like that. "I basically told him he was a moron for not telling you he was leaving, and he agreed with me. It was very sad - he does apologetic so very well." She looked down at her hands. "I might have threatened to replace his testosterone with estrogen the next time he was in the filter as well. To see if that gave him any more sensitivity," she admitted in a small voice

If she didn't stop opening and closing her mouth like that, Madelyn could start calling her 'Fish' all she wanted. Lack of scales and gills notwithstanding. Still, it took a few more tries before she regained her composure. And started giggling. "But I like him with the testosterone!" It was hard stopping the giggles once she'd started, but she managed somehow. "Yeah. He does apologetic well. Sort of ran right over me with that - started with a red rose and what's a girl worrying if she even has a boyfriend anymore supposed to do against a red rose, mmm?"

"Not a hell of a lot, and they know this well, damn them," Madelyn snickered. It was kind of funny, and she was still going to use Moira's bagpipe music as the soundtrack to Haroun's next filtering process. Because she was evil that way. "He's a doofus," she said between giggles. "A big, insecure, annoying doofus. Who would give you the shirt off his back if you asked for it. And probably pose a lot."

Snickering madly, weaving a bit to the side and ignoring the flashes of pain at the laughter, Alison waved a hand. "He does! Pose I mean! And I'll have to keep the shirt asking bit in mind." As soon as she could stand taking a shower for once, she had Plans. "And well... so long as he's my doofus, he can be as doofusy as he wants…" Alison sighed a bit wistfully, though the smile on her face was mostly nothing else but silly.

"Aw, now that's just too cute," said Madelyn, still giggling. "Possibly even Hallmark rating cute, although we may have to go to the panel of judges..." It was possibly a good thing Alison couldn't throw anything at her, she supposed, although she would have stood any amount of flailing with pillows if it meant Alison was pain-free enough to do it. "And it sounds like you've sorted things out enough for him to consider himself your doofus, so it's all good. Although there may be the occasional bit of mocking when I see him in the gym. Just so he doesn't forget."

"Mocking is fine." Alison nodded wisely, eyeing the pillows surrounding her more than a little longingly. She was starting to owe way too many people way too many assorted hugs or thwaps as it was. And now a pillow fight to add to all that. "Doofusitis is fortunately not a fatal disease except in extreme cases," she continued solemnly and with a somewhat pompous tone. "With years of practice-" Whatever else she might have said was lost as she leaned over, starting to giggle anew.

"And with therapy, the sufferers can hope to have a normal, if sometimes highly amusing life..." continued Madelyn, before the giggles caught up with her as well. "You know, there could be a Nobel in this. Discovery and treatment of a virulent new condition..."

Lifting up one hand, pointing to the sky, Alison struck as good a 'conquering hero' pose as she could manage. "Saving the lives of countless of men around the world before their significant others decide to strangle them out of sheer frustration! Think of the service we'd be doing manki- waaaaiiitaminute."

"There is a flaw to that logic, yes," Madelyn said. "Think of all the good old fashioned bitch sessions we'd be eliminating. Whatever would women talk about in salons if they're men weren't doofuses any more." She paused. "Is that the plural? Doofuses? Doofi?"

"Plus, that'd be a lot of men gone in one fell swoop," Alison pointed out, shaking her head sadly. "we just couldn't let that happen. Much." Her lips quirked at that and she gave in to the snickers, shaking her head. "Doofuses sounds better. I vote we go with that. Doofusing around? Can that be turned into a verb too?"

"According to the kids, any word can be a verb if you feel like it," Madelyn pointed out. "Or an adjective. Clarice was trying to tell me it she was experimenting with the nature of language. I think it was the second green icing donut she had, personally. Those things scare even me."

Alison remained very quiet for a moment, then grinned impishly. "It was a mutated Hulk type donut? Did it growl at you a lot? Have a massive snit fit and try to bite Clarice's nose off? Run amok in the medlab?" It was probably bad of Alison to place both hands (carefully) under her chin and bat her eyes, apparently waiting for Madelyn's answer with rapt delight.

"No, that was the terrible space monkeys..." Madelyn managed before moving quickly into Giggle Central. The mental image of a little Hulk donut running amok... She buried her face in the cushion she had sitting in her lap, shoulders shaking, laughing uncontrollably.

Utterly deadpan, Alison moved one hand in a half circle, fingers flexing slightly. "Grawr!" She might not have been able to throw pillows at Madelyn but she could make her fall off the bed laughing if she put just a little bit more work to it, she was willing to bet. Of course, not following herself might be a challenge, snickers escaping her far too often and threatening to turn into a full fit of giggling as well. Oooow. No giggling. But. "Raawr!"

Madelyn flailed a hand helplessly at Alison, trying to stop the laughter, but the killer donut impersonations were too much. Trying to breathe, her ribs aching, she flailed some more.

Oh no. The hand flailing reminded her far too much of another particular giggling session and Alison whimpered once before the giggling took over entirely. A vague hand snapping motion was made, easy to mistake for more dreaded angry donuts attack by Madelyn, even though the gesture referred to something else entirely - which Alison vaguely promised herself to explain to Madelyn as soon as she stopped laughing and aching all at the same time.

Giggling was contagious - Alison starting in was enough to set Madelyn off again, and she clutched at her stomach, trying to breathe. The movement upset the delicate cushion balance, and she abruptly found herself rolling off the bed, landing on the floor only to keep rolling with helpless laughter down there. "Death by giggle attack," she managed to gasp.

Seeing Madelyn roll off the bed of all things was too much - if there had been any chance for Alison to regain some control it was lost then and there, the blonde leaning on the side of the bed as she laughed helplessly. Flapping her hand weakly at her 'victim' of all things, because it was just too damn hard to make a gunlike motion. Ow ow ow! Oh, her ribs were protesting this fiercely along with every other part of her body, but it felt good to laugh like this nonetheless.

Finally Madelyn got enough control of herself to sit back up, her hair tumbling down over her face. "Ow," she said, still snickering a little. "I think I broke my laughing bone." She shoved her hair back and clambered back onto the bed, mock-scowling at Alison. "You did that on purpose, I'm sure you did."

Stiff limbed against the motion, Alison looked as innocent as she could manage under the circumstances. "I'm not the one who brought up green frosted donuts, I'll have you know," she declared, a touch self-righteously. "Being vilified, I am!" The pout was carried off rather well, she thought, along with a haughty sniff of disdain. Damn the sneaky giggle that ruined it all.

"Me thinks the lady doth giggle too much," Madelyn replied, itching to throw a pillow at her but restraining herself. All the better for sneak attacks when she could handle it. "Besides, I never mentioned Hulk donuts. Even if the frosting does look radioactive."

"Well, as long as the donut ddn't talk to you, your'e safe." Alison nodded wisely, then paused. "Wait. Do other donuts talk to you? Tell you to do things? Baaad things? Or maybe it's the coffee. Moira's coffee could be bullying it into trying to take over your mind. Yep." She was rambling and she knew it - and didn't care in the least.

Ow, no more laughing, her stomach muscles protested, reminding her that perhaps some abdominal work might be a good idea in the gym next time. Especially after her mother's cooking. "No talking donuts. I'm trying to train them to jump out when I call, but so far experiments have been pretty inconclusive." She snorted. "Did you know Hank and I did a chemical analysis of Moira's coffee? There was a big ol' 'Unknown' right smack in the middle of the results. God knows what she's planning with that stuff, but I have to say, it does keep me awake during an extended shift. Even if I can feel my stomach lining corroding."

"You should try with the deep fried Twinkies Jamie brought back from the farm for Hank. I bet you those would jump around at a moment's notice." God, those things were scary just looking at them. Hank on a sugar high from those was a terrifying notion in general. "…I knew it. I knew that coffee wasn't normal. It ate through my mug Madelyn! That's how not normal it is!" Alison winced a bit as the motion reminded her that laughing previously along with everything else in general had left her that much more sensitive to, well... anything. "It's devil coffee."

"Gah, my cholesterol levels increase just thinking about those Twinkies." Madelyn's shudder wasn't entirely theatrical. "And this coming from someone who has Frequent Shopper status at the local donut place. And I'll agree with you on the coffee - although don't mention the Satanic elements to Illyana, otherwise she'll be down with her easy-to exorcism kit."

"No exorcisms." It was a gut reflex reply more than anything else, really, something Illyana would have recognized on the spot if she'd been there (having been the target of that line on a regular basis). "I got her to do Jubilee's laundry once." Alison snickered a bit, enjoying the respite from the laughing if only because it meant she was getting the chance to not move for a little while.

"You did? I bow before your superior skills," Madelyn said, her amused tone overlaying a certain amount of respect. "Anyone who manages to get little Miss Rasputin to do anything has well and truly earned my respect. She's a horrible patient."

"Asgard." Alison sobered up a bit at that, looking down for a moment. "Don't think I'd have.. whatever leeway it is I have with her now, if it hadn't been for the time we spent in Asgard together." She smiled just a bit, a hint of fondness lurking in her eyes. "I like her. She's got a good head on her shoulders - she's just used to fending for herself and being considered like an adult. I just treat her that way."

"See, I try, but she's convinced the medlab staff are here solely to make her life miserable by keeping her confined to bed when she's nearly been eviscerated," Madelyn said dryly. "Fending for herself I can understand, but making a game of 'let's see how much I can annoy the medical staff so they'll let me go', is entirely another. Still, she's not the only one."

"Defense mechanism." Which was what it was. Well. "Also, pure snark and the need to not just be meek about anything." Alison grinned innocently. "I'm a much better patient. I just like to be coddled and waited upon hand and foot and generally spoiled rotten. Don't you love that!?"

"Yes, you more than make up for the bad ones. Although the reason you are a patient is a little more spectacular than I like, but I suppose I can't pre-order injuries, can I?" Madelyn said with a dramatic sigh.

"At least I don't go boom every other week!" Protests were in order at that one. "And I don't plan to go boom ever again. Ever. Besides. I'm supposed to do everything spectacularly. That's my trademark." Alison didn't bother to explain how that tied into shopping and make-overs in general and how even needing to get just one dress and a pair of dancing shoes could become a production if she felt like it.

"Drama queen," Madelyn told her with a grin. "And yes, I do hope there's no more booms. Booms are bad." She stretched again, glancing at the movie again. Ooh, the SING part. "Besides, Nathan will pout if someone breaks his boom record, I'm sure."

"Nathan pouting would be a bad thing. Moira would take exception to it and chase us down with her shotgun. Or worse even." Alison shuddered - just a bit - in mock horror. "She'd sick the devil coffee on us and our fates would be sealed. We'd be dooooooomed."

"Moira's coffee is just about a weapon of mass destruction on its own," agreed Madelyn, echoing the shudder. "For all that I actually drink it sometimes - sleep deprivation is a horrible, horrible thing. Makes you lose any common sense and sanity you might have had."

Alison swallowed heavily at that, ducking her head to look down, her cheerful expression growing strained for a brief moment. She knew that only too well - and the experience was still far too recent for her to be able to shrug the comment off lightly.

'Gah,' Madelyn thought as she realised how that had sounded. Still, Alison wouldn't want her guilt, or apologies. "Of course," she went on, hoping she wasn't about to make things worse. "Not all of us can pull off insanity as well as you did. You've got the whole inherent rockstar glamour thing, not to mention the grace and poise to really pull off a stylish losing of one's mind..."

Looking up at that, Alison started to laugh, not a trace of her earlier discomfort showing. Clearly, Madelyn had struck the right chord. Lifting an arm up to mock drape it over her face, Alison struck the typical melodramatic Pose of Woe and Angst. "You mean something like this?" she asked cheerfully, ruining the entire image while winking at Madelyn.

"Exactly. With such a model of insanity, how are the rest of us to compete?" Madelyn asked, inwardly breathing a sigh of relief. Yay for not traumatising her friend through thoughtless words. "How was Thanksgiving here, by the way? Did Jamie and Rahne complete their mission to make sure the remaining hordes were fed?"

"Of course they did. Between those two, the food didn't stand a chance. Well. Between Rahne and the multitude of Jamies that swarmed the kitchen, that is. Rahne rode herd on him nicely when he got hyperactive. Or egged on to much by Miles." She'd hadn't had the chance to enjoy any of the cooking, but Miles had given her a very full report before keeling over from food overdose.

"Mom would be a terror to behold if she had Jamie's power - she's a one-woman dynamo as it is." Madelyn snickered at the thought. "The topic of you came up over dinner, and she told me to make sure you're drinking lots of cranberry juice - apparently it's good for the kidneys. Sometimes I think she forgets the years of medical school." She shook her head. "Oh, and that idea we had for Carlie visiting? Not an idea any more. It's now a cast-iron plan with locked-in components and threats of dire and messy death for me if it doesn't happen - she's insisting on coming back with me after Christmas and staying for a week over New Year's."

"That's what Jamie's mother said," Alison grinned at that, amused. "Good thing I like cranberry juice, isn't it?" She was adapting to the pain, it seemed - she knew it was there, but it wasn't constantly nagging at her anymore, the way it had used to. Well, not when she was being distracted anyway. Clearly having fun was just what the doctor had ordered. "We might be going up to Muir for New Year's and I'm not sure about Christmas yet, but I'll make sure to find a way to be here to see her, then." Alison shrugged carefully, the following statement slightly wistful sounding. "Of course, I'm assuming I'll be able to go out by then. I might be here for the entire holidays."

"Well, considering how well you've been doing lately, and if you don't have any setbacks, you never know... You still might need a dampener for a while, but I think we'll have you actually leaving the house by the middle of next month." Madelyn pretended to look ashamed. "And oops, doctor talk in the middle of girly gossip. My bad."

If she could have done so, Alison would have hugged her. Instead, she reached out and deliberately placed a hand on Madelyn's arm for a moment, eyes softening in gratitude. "Thank you. Again. For everything," she finished with that, pulling back with a mischievous expression. "You know what the advantage of all this is?" she asked, picking up a pixie stick and eyeing it with great speculation.

Madelyn looked at her and the pixie stick suspiciously. "What would that be?" she asked, with a feeling she was definitely about to find out.

Alison brought up the pixie stick to eye level, frowning just a bit in concentration as she wagged it back and forth for a moment. "This!" Expression remaining just as angelic as ever, she flipped the pixie stick straight at Madelyn, bouncing it off her head  neatly.

"Hey!" Madelyn picked the pixie stick up from her lap, and realised that there was no retaliation to be had. At least not in the usual 'tit-for-tat' form. "That is very, very unfair," she mock-scolded.

To say that Alison looked smug was certainly something of an understatement. Very deliberately, she reached for another pixie stick, picking it up with a calculating expression. And then a second and third, just in case more ammunition was needed. "I know. Innit great?"

"Should I remind you I'm the person who does your tests?" Madelyn countered, holding up a cushion as a shield. "You should be nice to me."

Two pixie sticks hit the cushion with light, rustling sounds before falling on the bed. "Ha! When I have such a blatantly huge advantage?" Alison laughed, carefully taking aim for when Madelyn lowered the cushion to peek, the third pixie balanced just right to be thrown promptly.

"Well, yeah..." Madelyn made the mistake of dropping the cushion to give Alison her best pathetic look, and the next stick hit right in the middle of her forehead. "Wench. Just wait."

"Pbbbhhhtt!" Yes, this whole being protected from (immediate) retaliation thing was fun. And setting oneself up for eventual retaliation of doom was even more fun, in some odd way. Or maybe it just meant hoping to get better soon enough that it would be possible.  Humming to herself, Alison eyed the snack table, pondering on her next ammunition.

This had been so very overdue.