xp_logs | Nathan and Madelyn, Tuesday evening

Nathan wakes up in the Box (having missed both the water fight and the giant squid - what a shame) feeling, on the whole, much calmer. Amazing what twelve hours of psi-shielded sleep will do for a person. Madelyn brings him his pants and hustles him upstairs for some food.

He felt like he was waking up in stages, which was odd. Usually, he went from asleep to awake like flipping on a switch, when he wasn't hurt or sick or... drugged. That was right, Nathan thought dimly, shifting a little on the bed and wincing at the stab of pain in his side. Sedative. He remembered Hank saying something about that.

And he was still in the Box. So quiet. He let the air in his lungs out on a careful sigh, opening his eyes. His own thoughts were almost settled. Odd feeling, after the last week or so.

Nathan's pants draped over her arm, Madelyn paused at the door of the Box. He'd probably be awake by now, given his usual reaction to sedatives. "Nathan?" she called, tapping on the door. "It's Maddie. I have pants for you. And coffee could be involved too."

Pants? Nathan frowned and lifted the blankets. "Pants-stealing blue person," he muttered a little groggily and sat up, very slowly. "Come in, Maddie..." She opened the door, smiling at him, and he mustered a weary smile in return. "Do I even want to know what time it is?"

"Probably not," Madelyn agreed cheerfully, coming in and laying the pants on the bed. "It's around eight in the evening - you slept all day. But I think you'll agree you needed it - how are you feeling?"

Nathan paused for a moment before answering, as if taking stock. "Well, the cracked rib and the bruises still appear to be there, but I feel... better," he said, a touch of surprise and relief both in his voice. "I don't think I realized how rundown I was getting... or what it was doing to my shields." He picked up the pants, raising an eyebrow at her and making a turn-around gesture.

Rolling her eyes mock-dramatically at him, Madelyn turned her back on him. "Hank strapped your ribs, so I won't go poking around at his work," she went on, talking to the wall as behind her there was a soft grunt as Nathan got out of bed. "And the bruises will heal in their own time - at least you won't be gathering any more."

"One hopes." He got his pants on, then sat back down on the bed for a moment to catch his breath and let his equilibrium sort itself out. The sleep must have done him a lot of good; he could look back on the Danger Room session and its aftermath without more than a certain weary irritation at himself. "I'm guessing you and he will be glad to have me no longer stumbling into medlab after every session and falling over, too."

"Well, yes, and not just because we're lazy." Madelyn peeked over her shoulder and, seeing he was be-panted, turned back around. "It wasn't enjoyable seeing you coming in like that. Very worrying. In a way I'm glad Moira wasn't here for it - she would have hit the roof."

"And adding to her stress would not have been good," Nathan agreed, taking an experimental deep breath. Yeah, cracked rib still definitely there. He looked up at Madelyn, wondering just how much of a mess his hair was at the moment. "You mentioned coffee? I think I could go for food, too, believe it or not..."

"Nathan wants to eat? After having slept? Wonders will never cease. " Madelyn grinned at him. "I'll walk you up to the kitchen - I need to check on the girls any way, make sure they haven't glittered my room or something."

Okay, going upstairs involved getting up. Nathan concentrated on that for a moment, managing it successfully. "Strange day," he said, following Madelyn out. "Even before I slept through most of it. I need to congratulate Hank on his choice of sedatives. Didn't dream a thing."

"So I've heard - Al was explaining her Grand Scheme and your breakthrough. I don't like the extremes they went through, but I can't argue with the theory." Madelyn didn't take his arm, but walked close enough that he could reach her if he needed support.

"So strange." Nathan was quiet for a few moments as they headed towards the elevator. "I don't think it would have worked without the extremes. I had some fairly extreme things that worked to drum that into me in the first place."

"Oh, I can see the logic, definitely. I'm just glad it finally worked - any longer and you would have been black adn blue permanently." Madelyn hit the button for the elevator and looked at him curiously. "So, how does it feel? To break through a pattern of behaviour that ingrained?"

Nathan rested a hand against the wall as they waited, and shook his head at Madelyn's question. "I felt... panicked, at first, almost. Then furious at myself for not seeing it... then ashamed, funny as that sounds." He swallowed, grimacing a bit. "The old pride's smarting, to put it mildly."

"I can imagine." The doctor's expression was sympathetic. "But like you said, it's a way of behaving that's been driven into you through some fairly extreme means, and reinforced over many years. It was going to take some budging - just pointing it out wasn't going to work. So, no shame required, although the dented pride is understandable."

The elevator doors opened, and Nathan let Madelyn precede him in. "Just makes me wonder how much I do have to jettison, of the way I do things," he muttered, more than a little troubled by the thought. "Makes me want to reexamine my motivations and all. And I am way too tired still to be having this sort of conversation." He offered her a slightly steadier smile. "How's the little sister settling in?"

"Scarily well. I think it's going to be hard to get her to leave, even after the drama of Saturday night," she said, sounding amused. "It's been good, having her here. Especially for Jubilee - she's got a devoted nurse, and better still, a friend. Kid needs more of those, I think."

"Our climbing went well, before her accident." Nathan leaned against the wall of the elevator as it moved upwards. "Ought to do that again... she liked it."

"I heard all about it, when she came back - she really did get something out of it." Madelyn grinned. "And you'll never believe this - I caught her and Amanda actually having a conversation that didn't involve insults in any way, shape or form. Speaking of breakthroughs, I think they've had one of their own. Not that I expect they'll ever be actual friends - there's been far too much done and said for that."

"Huh." That was about all he could come up with, in response to that. Part of his brain was probably still asleep, that was the problem. The elevator came to a stop, and Nathan followed Madelyn out, surprised by how quiet the mansion seemed to be. Or maybe his shields were just in better shape after resting for that long. "You sure I didn't wake up in a slightly-alternate dimension mansion?"

Madelyn laughed. "I'm not really sure of that myself - if we are in an alternate dimension, I think I prefer this one."

"I am hungry," Nathan said, with some surprise. "You'd think, after the sedative... then again," he admitted a bit sheepishly as they headed towards the kitchen, "I have not been doing well with the eating thing, the last few days. Again. Moira would have my head."

"Then it' s a good thing for all concerned she hasn't found out - you wouldn't be the only one on her list if she found out we'd been neglecting you after promising to keep an eye on you for her." As they entered the kitchen, Madelyn pointed at the table. "Sit. I'll fix you something."

Nathan sat down, resting his chin in his hand and watching Madelyn move around the kitchen. "I feel kind of drained, more than anything else," he confessed after a moment. "Like I don't want to think too hard about any of that. I mean, not that I'm going to be allowed to get away with that for very long..."

"Then take advantage of it while you can, Nathan," Madelyn advised. First things first - she filled a coffee mug with the precious fluid and brought it over to him before going to the fridge. "You're in luck, she said. "Lorna's dinner leftovers haven't disappered yet. It looks like chicken cacchiatore - how's that sound?"

"Sounds great. Have you eaten?" He smiled a little at the look Madelyn gave him. "Practicing fussing," he explained. "Don't want to lose the knack before Moira gets back home."

"And you do it so well, when you do..." Unable to help a snicker, Madelyn pulled out the container with the leftovers and spooned two pieces of chicken breast and sauce onto plates. "And salad, I think, to go with it? You need your greens." She grinned at him. "See? I can do the fussing thing too." She popped one plate in the microwave before opening the fridge again and pulling out basic salad fixings - lettuce, tomato, cucmber and some feta cheese she noticed tucked away in the corner.

"Greens are good," Nathan said, watching her. It struck him then that there was coffee in front of him, and he picked up the mug, sipping at it. "I'm going to be behind on classes now," he said, making a bit of a face. "Was supposed to have history and geography this afternoon..."

Madelyn finished rinsing off the vegetables and started tearing lettuce into bite-sized pieces, her movements as quick and efficient as they were in the medlab. "Well, considering missing classes isn't altogether an unusual thing for either students or staff, they'll adapt. I think Ororo covered your history class, at least. Probably geography as well." She started cutting tomato into chunks, and went on. "I was actually thinking of having you come and talk to my criminal justice class, once you've had time to readjust and recover."

"Oh, right... I'd put some thought into that already," Nathan said, wrenching his mind onto a new train of thought. "A basic talk on criminal law in the international context, maybe?" He gave her a mischievous, if subdued grin. "I had good reason to be very well-informed on that subject for a number of years, after all."

Madelyn laughed again, moving onto the cucumber . "That sounds perfect. I want to corral Sean into something, but he's still away, and your rather unique take on things might be appreciated by the kids." She grinned. "Angelo's really enjoying the class so far. It's good to see."

"Yeah? That's good to know. I know he was interested." Nathan's eyes went distant, though, and the cup of coffee sat there on the table, forgotten.

"Penny for them?" Madelyn asked as she scraps the tomato chunks and the cucumber into the salad bowl and cut the cheese into cubes. Greek salad, nice and simple. The microwave pinged, and she replaced the plate with the other before reaching into the fridge for the dressing.

"Just starting to wonder about where I go from here. That's a good sign, right? Starting to think of the next step, already..." Nathan shrugged, picking up his coffee again. "I seem to have lost touch with my scarily-driven self, though. I think he ran away from home while I was asleep."

"Maybe he's having a well-deserved break?" Madelyn suggested. "Time, Nathan. I don't expect someone with a broken leg to start tap-dancing again the next day, and the same goes for you." She brought the salad and the heated chicken over to him, going back for cutlery and hers as the microwave pinged.

"Time to think, huh? I suppose you need it, after things like this." He peered at his plate. "I somehow think Jack will be here as scheduled on Thursday, if not before..."

She snickered a little. "That man deserves a medal." As Nathan gave her a hurt look, she countered it with a reasonable: "Well, he does. You have to admit, you're not exactly one of his easier patients. Which isn't to say you aren't making progress." She tapped the plate he was peering at. "Food. Eat."

"Progress. Making more progress than I know what to do with these days, I think. Usually head-first." Nathan picked up his fork obediently, turning his attention to the salad. "At some point I am going to stop having to be hit over the head with stuff, right? At least in the literal sense..."

"Please. I think your skull can't take too many more blows to the head. Maybe Forge can invent a rubber replacement skull?" The chicken was delicious, as usual, and Madelyn made a happy noise. "Damn, I'd feel inadequate next to Lorna's skills, but this tastes too good to even think about it."

"I suppose getting on a plane for Scotland tomorrow would not be an option," Nathan said a bit wistfully, his eyes going to the clock on the wall. "Too late to call her tonight, too..."

"Email her, and she'll get it first thing," Madelyn suggested. "Any word on how things are shaping up over there? She knows Hank and I will be there like a shot if she needs us, right?"

Nathan nodded. "She's getting things under control," he said, "slowly but surely. Some of the local nurses have come in to help. A few might be staying, apparently. She still does need a replacement for Rory, though." He made a face.

'Hank's working on that - he's already gotten some expression's of interest, he just needs to find the right person... I suppose it was to be expected, given how Rory lost his leg, that he wouldn't be able to handle what happened, but leaving Moira in the lurch like that, not to mention the patients... Grr."

The chicken really was very good. "I hope he's all right, wherever he is," Nathan said. "Not that I like the man, at all, but he was a good friend to Moira for a long time."

"No word at all?" Madelyn asked, frowning a little. "Have they checked his credit cards and the like for recent traffic?"

Nathan nodded. "Hell, Pete made a few phone calls last week, too. Nothing." He decided to focus on his dinner and not think about Rory. "What a week," he said finally, with a tired smile. "And this pants-stealing thing is getting repetitive..."

"I think Hank enjoys it far too much, personally," Madelyn said. "I think he may have a secret pants fetish."

Salad, chicken. Chicken, salad. The problem wasn't lack of appetite, it was the energy needed to get the food on the fork and get it to his mouth. "I suppose it's something he only does with difficult patients. Like me. Although I bet he perfected the technique on Scott."

"I think he did. Ororo says there are pictures of Hank chasing Scott down the halls in his underwear..." Madelyn giggled. "One day I'll find this treasure trove of nostalgia and have fun with the scanner."

"And five years from now, people will be making mock of our pictures, too," Nathan said after a moment, then smiled. "Nice thought, isn't it?"

"Worth all the mockery they can come up with," Madelyn agreed.