Logs [Lost and Found] The day after...

[x-dazzler.livejournal.com]

Wednesday, very late morning. Alison starts out her day by heading for the medlab and getting nabbed on her way by Madelyn for a quick medical exam. Bruises and after-mission reactions are discussed.



Alison had not quite managed to sneak her way down to the medlab, after waking up far too late that day. Scott's post had been very clear in that no one the team was to try and do anything except breathe today, but well - going down to the medlab was a good thing, right? Even if it had taken her far too long to do so, all the aches and pains she'd somehow managed to ignore the previous evening had decided to make themselves know since the moment she'd woken up, loud and clear.

At least she'd managed to remember to bring her laptop down with her, to have a go at writing up her report again. That was good. She kept it close to her chest, not wanting to rest it on her side, not realizing she was almost holding it as a shield as she carefully walked down the hallway and towards the medlab door. Check in on Haroun. And Nathan. And the others who were still there. And then Morgan. The mental checklist unfurled slowly, and after a moment, Alison realized she was standing in the doorway to the medlab, not moving while lost in her thoughts.

Intent on the sheath of test results for Andrea Gibbs, the medic with the skull fracture, Madelyn didn't even notice Alison standing in the doorway until she practically ran into her. Backpedalling with a wince - she was a bit stiff from the large amounts of exercise entailed in hiking through
thigh-deep snow and being flung around by the final explosion - she managed to avoid a collision. Even better, her coffee didn't spill. "Ali, didn't see you there. Sorry," she said, recognising the spaciness as an indication of someone who was processing a lot of emotional Stuff. "I'm glad you came down - I wanted to check up on you, make sure you weren't carrying any injuries form yesterday. It wouldn't do to miss something crucial amongst all the major stuff we've had."

"Just bruises." Focusing on Madelyn, Alison took a careful step to the side nonetheless, looking around the medlab briefly - but there was no rush, not if Madelyn was looking like that, taking the time to talk to her. "Stiff too." The band of tension still wrapped around her chest went unmentioned, the soreness easily attributed to everything else from the previous evening, she hoped. "Figured should come down. Check in on the others too, and maybe work on some things." Typing up a report was not moving - Scott wouldn't be able to go on about that, she was sure.

"Well, humour me any way? Besides, after the excitement of yesterday, I could do with a nice simple set of bruises. Everyone's resting quietly; plenty of time for me to reassure my medical paranoia and then you can do all the follow-up you want." As she spoke, Madelyn was gently steering Alison towards one of the exam rooms. Hank was back on deck after Moira had
taken over once everyone was settled last night, so there was plenty of time for her to reassure herself Alison was all right. Despite her team leader status, Alison was exactly a hardened veteran.

Letting herself be led through to the exam room, Alison simply kept a hold on her portable, slowing down only enough to be able to get one last look at the sleeping form deeper in the medlab. "Okay." Her lips quirked in delayed reaction to the expression 'simple set of bruises'
considering that she felt like a walking bruise, really - but then again, she'd got off lighter than any of the others still in the medlab and hardly had anything to complain about. Morgan would wake up at one point. Alison wasn't looking forward to that, and far less Nathan waking up as well. It would be nice to be able to just hide out somewhere and not be strong for a bit longer. "All sleeping?"

Madelyn nodded. "Like babies. Better than, actually, since there hasn't been the need for four hourly feeds." She grinned briefly, before gesturing at the exam table. "Up you get. I'm still getting briefings from everyone, but I heard reports of you being tossed around a bit. Any problems with your neck or back? Any tingling or numbness in your hands and feet?"

After a moment's consideration, Alison carefully set down her laptop on the chair in the room, wincing absently as she had to lean over to do so. "No numbness or tingling, no." Making her way to the exam table was dead easy, though managing the small hop needed to sit on it was unfun. "I had the body shield going a lot. Lots of sound for me to work with. Soaked a lot of the hits that way. Leathers did too." She had to remember to let Madelyn know that she and Hank had been right - it was easier, for some reason now, to do more with less sound. That the others were still sleeping and Madelyn was so relaxed was good. Alison relaxed as well in reaction, just a bit - even managed a small smile, as she slowly started to pull off the sweater she was wearing.

"Here, let me help with that," Madelyn said, noting how stiffly Alison was moving and gently easing the sweater over her head. This close up under the bright lights of the exam room, it wasn't hard to miss the black eye, even with the expert make up job on it. "One hell of a shiner you've got there, Al," Madelyn remarked, tilting the other woman's face toward the light, looking for other bruises that might have been covered up. The scratch on her cheek was messy, but
not deep, and already treated with antiseptic. "Want to give me the vague rundown on what else I'm looking for? Saves time if I know where I'm going."

"I put ice on it last night." It hadn't started truly showing up until later, Alison not even having realized at first for some reason - perhaps being too busy with other things, she reminded herself, had something to do with that. "Side. Got shot, armor ate it. Fell on left side when Morgan tossed me about, ankle... same one." Her voice faltered a touch at that, but she continued. "Upper back is sore. Think I landed funny at one point. S'all just bruises or stiffness today, nothing bad really." She shifted on the table, moving a bit so Madelyn could see her side better, not really feeling up to getting back down to get rid of the jogging pants she'd slipped on in the morning just yet.

Madelyn winced, both at the sight of the welter of bruises blossoming along Alison's side, and the mention of the ankle being grabbed again. She'd have to double check that, and see how Alison was dealing with the whole thing. Not well, at a guess - she noted the faint tremble of her hands, the vagueness. There'd been a fairly major panic reaction in the recent past, if she was any judge. "This bruise on your side - the gunshot? It's pretty spectacular. And your bruises are meeting other bruises and having lots of baby bruises. Standard treatment, ice on the worst of the bruising, hot bath for the muscular stiffness..." She indicated that Alison should lie down. "Let me have a look at that ankle - that's going to be a weak point for you."

Alison looked down and then frowned. "That shouldn't be like that." She considered the bruise on her side for a moment, then remembered. "Oh. Konstantakis kicked me there too I think. Might have hit me a few times. She hit hard. And fast." And it had been impossible to block her until her precog had been neutralized. "Figures." Her lips quirked, real humor suddenly showing through for a heartbeat. "My bruises are getting more action than I am." She sighed, shaking her head a bit then slowly laid down on the side that was far less bruised, before turning on her back. It felt suddenly rather good to be lying down again. Maybe she could file her report that way, once Madelyn was done. There was a thought. She considered that carefully, even as she watched Madelyn closely for the first time. The other woman was moving a bit stiffly as well, but nothing major, or so it seemed. That was good.

"The uniforms did their job well," Madelyn said, carefully easing off Alison's sock so she could
examine the ankle. She kept up the reassuring chat - Alison tended to be sensitive about that ankle, with good reason. There were bruises, shaped like enormous fingers, but little underlying damage. "Kurt got shot a few times as well, but the body armour took the impact. His ribs are about in the same shape as your side. And this ankle's going to be tender for a few days, but nothing permanent." She paused, then added in the same matter-of-fact tone. "Having the same
ankle grabbed... Not great timing."

That explained why Kurt had been moving so gingerly, when they boarded the 'bird to leave. Alison nodded at that, glad Scott had laid down a 'no moving' rule on the team, really. "I nearly fried Nash's hand off." She had, despite her best effort, tensed a bit as Madelyn pulled off the sock to look at her ankle better, but nothing more - and now she was staring at the ceiling, frowning a bit. "My body shield - it flared up. Didn't mean for it to. Heck, never even done that with it before, running it that hot. " She'd kept it to light while in contact with him, thankfully. "I didn't feel it all that much. Not even when I finally feel asleep last night." She finally changed her focus, looking at Madelyn. "I am very much feeling all of this today, though." Her voice was a bit rough, if you knew what to listen for.

"I don't blame you - it's a hell of a lot to feel. I know when I finally got off duty I spent about half an hour in the shower with the shakes. Shades of my first few assignments after I finished basic training with the Bureau," Madelyn said, with a small, wry smile. "You never get used to being under fire... but you do get better at dealing with the aftermath. Or at least hiding it."

There was a small pause, Alison not speaking for a bit until Madelyn was done with her ankle, the sock slipped back on as carefully as it had been removed. "I'm good at hiding it." It was all she said at first, back to staring at the ceiling at the same time - the next few breaths were slow and steadying, Alison figuring that shrugging out of the jogging pants wasn't going to be necessary. "There used to be a lot more." The word panic attack was never spoken out loud. Ironically
enough, Hank had been witness to a few of them, not that Alison had wanted him to find out. He'd helped though - giving her methods to work through them, to deal with things. "They're a bit stronger now, but not so often anymore."

Madelyn nodded. "It's how it goes. I remember..." She smiled wryly. "I was in a fair state after Vermont. What happened, the kids... it reminded me of the assignment that made me switch from active field duty to forensics. I don't know if Nate mentioned it?"

Alison pushed herself up slowly, reaching for her sweater though she made no move to get off the table or make a break for it. "No, actually..." Focusing on her voice was easy and soothing - something which Madelyn had to know, from what she was hinting at not so subtly. "Tell me about it?"

"There was an assault on a cult - we tried to negotiate, but they weren't interested." Calmly,
steadily, Madelyn told the story of that day, the discovery of the room with the cult's dead women and children, gassed whilst negotiations had been going on. "When it was all dealt with, and as soon as I could get away, I just... fell apart. Locked myself in the bathroom for so long my room mate threatened to break down the door. I went on a couple more assignments after that, but I couldn't face it. Not the danger to me, but the worry that I might screw up, crack at the wrong moment. A few months later I transferred into forensics - at least if I screwed up, I wasn't going to get anyone killed."

The story reminded Alison only too keenly of what had happened in Belgium, and the room full of bodybags... and what she and Nathan had done, to break Mick's conditioning. "No transfers." Meaning that there wasn't anything for Alison to retreat to, for the fear of messing up. And, somewhere within - she refused to do so. Even now. Not after everything that had already happened. "I..." She sighed, and just reached out, catching Madelyn's hand in hers, with a grip that was stronger than she'd meant it to be, only holding on was good and she hadn't realized how cold her hands were, with the shock of warmth that followed.

"No running away," Madelyn corrected, slipping her free arm carefully around Alison's shoulders. "If it helps, if you need to talk... or just have someone to hang onto until the shakes stop... I'm here, Al."

"Nothing to run to," Alison amended, even as she returned the embrace, leaning into the hug without a second though. The exhaustion was still there, even if she'd slept like the dead until far too late, after everything else had settled down the previous night. But she was right, she knew - Miles' best chance at something somewhat normal was here. Teaching alone would drive her insane in short time she knew. And doing nothing... was something she was unable to contemplate. And many of the things others did Alison was simply unqualified to do. "Doing what I can," she added tightly. "Can't not." Even if she wished otherwise, at times. Walking away was simply put - impossible.

"I know," Madelyn replied, wrapping her other arm around Alison and hugging her tightly. "And you're doing it well, even if you think you aren't."

There was a muted, somewhat strangled sound at that, but not an outright protest, at least. Partly because Alison knew protesting wouldn't be useful but also because, all things considered, things could have gone far worse. And they hadn't. One could even say they'd done extremely well, with all the unpredictable events thrown in their way. Even though there would have been more... and some things had been badly handled by her. She was down spiraling again and she knew it. "Okay." There, no arguing from her. "Tim?"

"Still sleeping," Madelyn told her, wisely switching away from the 'you did a good job' talk. Alison wasn't ready to hear that, wouldn't hear it, and it would only make her more upset. "Elliott tells me he'll be fine - the conditioning's completely gone. He's suffering from some burnout of his powers, but that should clear up in a few days' time."

"Didn't have the time to ask Charles or anyone else," Alison confessed. The mission's aftermath had consisted mailing of making sure everyone was seen to and the Blackbird turned over to Scott for much fussing and a final visit to see a very knocked out Haroun before checking in on Miles and tucking him in. She'd then slunk off to hide in her room. Details got fuzzy after that, for a while. But that was normal, she knew. "Came right down here after I woke up." She slackened the hug just a bit - just because she was inclined to hang on until oh, doomsday, didn't Madelyn would be, after all.

Madelyn noticed the loosening of Alison's grip, but didn't let go. "Things were a bit crazy down here for a while," she said. "I still haven't given my full report yet either. And we won't know exactly what happened until Nathan wakes up."

Alison stiffened at that, shaking her head. - but didn't pull away, leaning back in after a moment. "He still had the Trojan Horse MacInnis had set in his mind. He triggered it during the fight with Morgan." The words were flat, each articulated carefully. "That's the one line of my report I actually managed to write out last night. Have to do it up properly today. Should have last night."

"It can wait a little longer, Ali. And MacInnis told me something like that last night. I don't see how, after Charles got rid of all of the triggers, but at least they're both here, and alive. And they'll both make a full recovery. As will Haroun."

"If it was still there, Charles knew about it," Alison sighed a bit tiredly. "And I'm willing to bet Nathan wanted to keep it. Self-sacrificial..." She stopped, not saying the rest. "Can I stay in the medlab to write my report." Finally, she pulled back, though it was only to resettled into leaning against Madelyn. "I'd like to be there when Haroun comes to. The burns..."

"Of course," Madelyn told her. "Use my office - the comfy couch is pining for you any way." She tightened her hug again. "And Haroun will be fine. Stiff and sore for a while, but he'll be back on his feet in no time. After being a grump sob for a while and making our lives miserable."

"Maybe I'll nap a bit," Alison confessed, even though she did very much plan on doing that report. "Is he going to wake soon or not for a while yet? If not... yeah. Maybe a nap. But I'd rather be there for when he wakes up." It was, perhaps, silly and unnecessary, but she'd reviewed the medical files finally, just days ago and she still shuddered at the memory of it all.

"Not for a good while - we've got him tranqued up pretty well. The longer a break from the pain of his back he gets, the better. It'll heal, but it's going to be painful for a while." Madelyn kept her tone as gentle as she could, without being patronising - Alison would appreciate the truth much better than platitudes. "Once he looks like waking up, I'll come get you, 'kay?"

"M'kay." Matter of fact worked for Alison, in terms of information being imparted, even if she hated, but oh so hated, the idea of him being hurt. Or in pain. Or in more pain, since the medical files had been clear on the fact that it was part of everyday life for him, already. "I'll have us shifted to off duty. We were supposed to be secondary this week but..." She trailed off, shaking her head. "Bet you if I check, Scott and Ororo already did the shift anyway. Too many details, and she was starting to slip up on them. And the unreasoning want to be there now, by his bedside, wasn't letting go. "Can I work on my report next to him? I'll be quiet?" she asked, in a small voice.

"As long as you're quiet, and go nap on my couch if you need to." Madelyn rubbed her back comfortingly. "And I'm positive Scott's done everything that needs to be done since he needs to keep busy at times like this. Don't worry, hon. Work on your report, if you can, nap if that's what you need to do. Just give yourself some breathing space, while you can, okay?"

"Okay." The memory of what she'd seen while going over everything in Haroun's medical file surface briefly - the going down in flames during a flight, joy turning to despair. The screams and the agony and the pleas to be allowed to die. Emma Frost there, every step of the way, until the final decision was taken. Staying nearby was a bit more important than napping - she could always snooze on one of the chairs nearby, if anything else. Reaching for her portable, she nodded slowly. "I guess I'll start on the report."

"Here - take two of these now, and two more four hourly, for the pain," Madelyn told her, stepping back so she could slide off the exam table and handing her a bottle of Tylenol. "I'll be by to check on Haroun in a bit." And send Alison to a comfy place to nap if she found her asleep in any of the chairs, given the battered state she was in.

"Okay." There was, really, absolutely no argument there. The bottle was claimed and a glass of water planned for and Alison slid off the exam table to reclaim her portable. "I'll go there now, then. And... thank you, Madelyn." The ghost of a smile accompanied those words.

"Any time, hon." Madelyn returned the faint smile with one of her own. "Let me know if there's anything I can
do, okay?"

"I will." Alison nodded, taking a slow breath. "I'm going to slowly trudge my way over there now and start working on the report. And I'll behave. Promise."


Mid afternoon. While Alison is working on her report, she dozes off. What wakes her up isn't exactly what she expected, but really - kids will be curious and wander about. Talia and Perry get a little screen time and Miles drops by for a visit.



It had been so very easy to just doze off for a bit, the sound of the monitoring equipment bleeping quietly in the background enough to lull her slowly to sleep, the laptop resting on the night table next to the pitcher of water and glass left there in case Haroun woke up. Her legs were stretched out, the chair someone had brought in for her at one point far more comfortable than the standard medlab guest chair, and a blanket was draped over her. If Madelyn saw her, she'd fuss and try to make her go nap again, but so far she'd been lucky and had escaped that fate all but once. For now, a short nap would do, or at least that was what she had told herself before closing her eyes.

Dozing, she didn't notice the two pairs of eyes peering at her thoughtfully from the doorway, noting the fact that the blanket was sliding off. The blonde girl looked down at her companion, who shrugged.

"All right, I'll do it," she muttered and slipped in, going over to adjust the blanket over the sleeping woman.

A faint tremor and Alison's eyes snapped open, focusing on the girl in front of her. And then everything else settled into place and she slumped back into the chair with a small wince, the bruises protesting vociferously at the treatment she had just given them. Blinking, she looked down - and realized what the girl had been doing. "Oh." Her quirked and she looked sheepish, all of a sudden. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. You looked cold." The girl looked sideways at Haroun. "Is he going to be okay?" she asked, keeping her voice low.

"Yes, he is." It would be unpleasant for a while, but Haroun would be Just Fine. Alison tilted her head to the side - most children whispered, not realizing that the sounds carried out louder that way. This one didn't, however. Neither had Miles, now that she thought to it. Why did some children have to learn things like that the hard way?

Alison looked over at the doorway, and the other form she could see hovering almost out of sight. A sidelong look revealed Haroun was sleeping the sleep of the blissfully doped up silly. "You know, I'm not so cold. And if we put the blanket on the floor and steal one of the couch cushions, you guys could join me for a while if you feel like it."

The girl looked back inquisitively. "Come on, Perry," she urged him quietly.

He crept in, looking wary. He looked no more than ten, while the girl was clearly closer to fourteen. He went immediately to her side, standing a little bit behind her.

Well, if there wasn't going to be any couch cushion stealing... Alison pondered that seriously for a moment, then slowly handed the girl her blanket. "I'm Alison." She nodded, just a bit - forgetting about near everything else in the wanting to simply keep things easy and quiet for the both of them. "Hrm. Think we have a few spare pillows in one of the storage units over there." She started to pry herself out of the chair to fetch them.

"I'm Talia." The girl colored a little. "It's a stupid name," she muttered, but then shook her head at Alison. "I'll get them. Perry, stay there," she said, handing him the blanket.

Perry stayed there, staring at Alison with very wide, very wary eyes, and holding onto the blanket rather tightly.

Alison stared for a moment at the girl, the name reminding her of another. Oh. Boy. Still, she wasn't about to protest not having to move and Talia had that determined, used to organizing air about her that led her to believe being told to stay put would follow if she tried to move. So instead she focused on Perry - and melted at the look on his face. It was like seeing Miles again, little over a year ago. "Hey there," she murmured gently, voice softening in reaction.

"He isn't really talking much yet," Talia said from where she was retrieving the pillows. "I don't know why. The man in the wheelchair said he feels better when he's not alone so I brought him with me."

"My son was like that when we found him," Alison said, automatically, her gaze never faltering at the words as she nodded slowly at Perry. "Not talking is okay. You will when you're good and ready," she added for his benefit, before looking at Talia. "Man in the wheelchair's name is Charles. Or Professor Xavier if you like better. Thank you for getting those pillows, Talia."

"He told me his name was Charles," Perry volunteered, then looked a little abashed when Talia, coming back over with the pillows, blinked at him. "In my head."

"I heard him talking in my head too," Talia said with quite remarkable aplomb. "Like Elliot. From the helicopter."

"He's a telepath," Alison nodded in confirmation. "Just settle them down where you like best," she offered. "Normally I'd let you guys have the chair, but I'm a little bit creaky right now," she added, letting amusement color her voice, keeping things light.

"Did you get hurt?" Talia asked, arranging the pillows and then nudging Perry to sit down. "We went and saw Neil before we came here. Doctor Maddie said we could."

"Just a little stiff, that's all." Alison waited until they were both seated to continue. "If Madelyn said it was okay, then it was okay. How is he doing?" She remembered who Neil was - the darkforce manipulator, the one she'd been asked to stay clear of as he shielded MacInnis, his team and the children.

"His arm's broken," Talia said. Perry was watching Haroun curiously. "Plus he's really tired. Keep drifting off to sleep while we were there. He did a... shield-thing around all of us when we crashed."

"I remember. Elliott had to warn me, so I wouldn't come too close and mess it up with my own power." She lifted one hand, the glow lasting over a heartbeat, so as to not startle either child. "Sounds like Neil is going to be fine once he gets a lot of sleep to catch up on things." Which, in fact, described everyone rather nicely.

"They wouldn't let us see Carey or Malcolm," Talia said, looking unhappy for a moment. "Carey was really brave. She went running out when we crashed--"

"She runs really, really fast. You can't see her properly when she does," Perry offered, then fell silent again.

Talia went on. "There was this woman shooting flames? And Carey ran right into her and knocked her down. But she got burned." Her lip quivered a little.

Alison nodded quietly, wishing they were a bit closer so she could offer a hug. She shifted a bit in the chair, considering getting up. "That's because burns can get infected really easily,sweetie, and Carey has third degree burns. You have to be really careful with those - but they're taking really good care of her." She looked back at Haroun, checking on him for a moment - still sleeping, under the effect of the sedatives. "Haroun has up to second degree - that's not as bad, which is why I can be in here. And you too."

"The old guy was looking through the door at her," Perry volunteered. "We're not that tall, though."

"He wouldn't tell me his name," Talia said with a frown.

The first thing that popped to mind was most certainly inappropriate. One did not tell children to call the man who had, after all, gone through great danger to save them, by the name rat bastard. No matter how tempting it was. "It's probably best that way," Alison said, simply. They weren't stupid. They'd get the idea - especially after everything else. Perry, she was amused to see, seemed to be able to speak just fine, too. "But you could ask Hank to help you up later, if you'd like to check in on her. He won't mind at all."

Talia and Perry exchanged looks with each other, and Talia ventured a hesitant smile as she looked back at Alison. "I'd like that. She was so nice, when we woke up..."

"They all were," Perry said. "Except the old guy."

"I'll mention it to Hank when I see him, just in case." Alison nodded reassuringly, and then shook her head just a bit. "Sometimes... some people forget how to be nice. Even when they have the best intentions in the world." A small noise at the door drew her attention and her expression lit up. "Hey there, little man."

"Mama should be resting." The stern admonishment was nonetheless soon accompanied by a wide smile, Miles sneaking into the room and carefully leaving the door half-open behind him before crossing the distance to carefully hug Alison. He'd snuck by earlier during lunch time, but still. Checking in a few more times was a good thing to do.

Talia blinked, then turned that hesitant smile on Miles. "Hi," she said. Perry had shifted a little closer to her upon Miles' sudden arrival, but seeing that Miles wasn't an unknown adult, visibly relaxed a little. "She's your mom? You're lucky."

Miles turned to smile at them, without reserve. "Yes! Miles is very lucky." All the while ignoring that small sound Alison was making which generally meant she wanted to hug him silly for some reason or other, he looked back at the other two children for a moment with open curiosity, before looking up at Alison's face carefully. Yes, that was the tired but not wanting it to show Alison face. "Miles brought some books down. And sandwiches Lorna and Danielle made earlier." A sideways tilt gave him a good view of Haroun, who seemed to be sleeping peacefully, despite everything else. That was good.

"Books?" Talia brightened even further.

"Books!" Miles kept his voice low, even though there was obviously a lot of approval with that reaction. Several of the kids had gotten together for the book collection to be sent down to the medlab, which meant there would be some for all the kids in terms of age and all.

Alison chuckled lowly, not quite giving up on the loose hold she had on him. "You book mad thing, you." A firm kiss was planted on the side of his head, Miles wriggling a bit in her grip at that. "Mamaaa! Miles has to go show the books now. Miles will come back to visit again later, okay?"

Talia got up, Perry moving almost in unison with her. "Should we put the pillows back first? I don't want to leave a mess..." Perry simply bent over and started collecting them.

"Why don't you just take them with you to read on?" Alison knew all about how useful pillows could be when several children were in the same room, by now. Lifesavers, even. "It'll maybe even give you enough for a pillow fight later if you feel like it."

"Okay." Talia hesitated, looking at Haroun and then back at Alison. "I hope he gets better soon."

"He will." Alison smiled at her, some of the tiredness showing through. He will. She'd been assured of that several times already, after all.

Talia, her arms full of pillows, turned to follow Miles and Perry out of the room, but hesitated. "Thanks," she said very quietly, an all too serious look in her eyes.

Alison just smiled at her, nodding quietly. Somehow, 'you're welcome' didn't seem to cover things properly somehow, and the simply nod seemed to satisfy Talia before she left the room.


Late afternoon. Alison's patience is rewarded, Haroun waking up for the first time since the previous day. There is no complaining about Gatorade this time around and the search for a replacement XO is firmly set aside as not happening just yet.



The room was quiet, the silence only interrupted now and then by the sound of the keyboard as Alison edited her report (yet again), or the shifting of the bed sheets as Haroun stirred. He'd started moving, every now and then, in the last hour or so - something which she took to meaning that he'd wake up soon. Maybe. Or maybe he'd just keep on snoozing lightly, which wasn't a bad thing at all, even if it meant waiting here a bit longer and fending off Madelyn trying to (sometimes successfully) talk her into another nap.

Haroun was in an ocean of pain. Everything hurt. But despite all of that, and the cold grey whisperings of status reports in the back of his head, he swam slowly back towards consciousness. He flicked open his eyes, and then scrunched them closed again - the lights in Medlab were very bright and right now he didn't like bright lights. His eyeballs hurt.

The flinch drew her attention - not surprising, considering most of her attention had been focused solely on the man sleeping nearby, as opposed to the notes she'd rewritten more than a few times by now. Moving slowly, she set the laptop on the small night table nearby and leaned forward, one hand reaching out to caress his cheek, feather light. "Haroun?"

Haroun opened his mouth, but his mouth was as dry and as nasty as the deserts back home. He croaked, then forced his eyes open so that he could see who it was who was talking to him. Her touch on his cheek hurt, but he accepted the pain as his due and dismissed it from his mind. "Hey." he managed to croak out.

She knew that look - had suffered far too many migraines when her power had started manifesting to not recognize the 'bright lights want me dead' expression a mile off. "Hey yourself," she murmured softly, smiling at him. "I'll turn the lights down. And water, yeah?" She didn't wait for a response, prying herself up and out of the chair to dim the lights, almost entirely at that. Once that was done she returned to his bedside, picking up the glass of water that was there. In the condition he was in, as much as she would have liked to offer him the glass first - helping seemed far wiser. "There you go."

Haroun drank greedily, but not very much. Just enough to wet his throat. "Thanks." he said in something more closely resembling his normal voice. "Did we win?" he asked her. With the room much darker, he could actually open his eyes (his eyelids hurt. How unfair was that?) and take a look around. "You look good." he said, finally seeing her in all her glory. "Real good."

"We got the kids back," she reminded him, unable to repress a sudden smile at his last words, relief and sudden easing of the tension all at once showing through. The pressure reminded her of the black eye she currently sported, still expertly hidden under carefully applied make-up. "Mmm. Course I look good. S'what I do." She was still smiling as she said that, though her tone suggested there was hardly anything serious about the line, really. She was wearing one of this sweaters, fingertips peeking out of the sleeves as she leaned on the side of the bed. "Everything hurts, huh?" Her fingertips twitched, but she managed to keep from reaching out again.

"I think I bruised everything. First guy I fought had some sort of weight power - I got really heavy really fast. Was very hard on my body." he said slowly, working through the pain and the fog of the drugs. He looked at her again, and attempted a smile. "You always look good." he confirmed for her.

She nodded slowly as he worked out what had happened, not surprised he was still a bit foggy. "Wait till you see me in a cucumber mask," was all she said, the smile not quite leaving her face - he was awake. And coherent. And happy to see her at that, which of course he would be she reminded herself, but still. It had been so worth spending the day here for this. "Picked up a few bruises of my own. Got off light though, mostly." She leaned in, just a bit closer - that at least she could do, even if it wasn't nearly as close as the contact addict in her would have liked.

"Cucumber mask?" he asked, still fairly out of it. "You going to hide your face now when we go out?" he asked her groggily. "Who bruised you? Let me know, so I can thump them." He tried relaxing himself as much as he could, but no matter what he tried, he just could not get comfortable. "Uh-oh" he said as another Biological Necessity made itself known to him.

"Silly. Mask. Women use those for the prettifying up rituals." The look on his face, confusion changing to determined 'must deal out retribution' had her wincing for a moment, as her side reminded her chuckling was not good. Not matter how good it felt to be able to do so. "Mm. I talked one into walking away and thumped the other back once I figured out how," she murmured, before raising an eyebrow slowly. "Uh-oh? What uh-oh?" Going from amused to ready to call in the medstaff in a heartbeat was a bit nerve-wracking, just now.

"I come from a land where women do not show their faces. I think I can be excused for not knowing." he said, making "more water, please?" greedy-faces at Alison. Haroun squinted for a bit, and then sighed. "Stupid biology." he muttered as he looked sheepishly at Alison. "Good thing I'm cathetered right now." Not that he could feel it if he was, but he didn't see any stains on the sheets or on the bed, so it was a safe guess to make.

"You are," she confirmed for him, relaxing a bit even as she offered him more water, carefully and slowly. "And I forget, sometimes, how different things must be for you here," she admitted, finally giving in and stealing another, light touch, before setting the glass down within easy reach and sight - a simple glance would be enough to tell her if he wanted more. "Mm. More than sometimes." Which was why it probably blindsided her so much when the differences reared up quickly, every now and then.

"Why would you do such a thing?" he asked after a moment of reflection. "Must look silly." He rallied himself as much as he could, and took as deep of a breath as he dared. "I'm off active duty." He reminded her. "Appoint an interim XO until I heal?"

"Good for the skin tone, actually. Natural elements in the cucumber..." Alison gave him a pensive look at the request though, shaking her head slowly. "You didn't hare off and get yourself a new CO when I was sidelined." The comment was calm and steady. "I was going to have us set to non-active duty this week, and then see about next week. Madelyn hinted you should be up and about by then, so we can re-evaluate then though, if you're going to insist on that."

"I was the new CO until you got better. Part of the job." he explained laboriously. "If we're needed, you need someone who can do what I do. Coordinate, not get beat to shit." he added after a few moments. "I'm very tired." he said. "Fatigue talking."

Sighing just a bit, Alison reached out again, oh so carefully brushing the back of her hand against his cheek. "Don't worry about it now. We're off duty this week anyway. Rest." Her lips quirked, and she looked a touch sheepish. "No matter how selfishly pleased I'd be to be able to talk to you a bit longer, I'll have to make do with watching you sleep." A pause. "Oh horror. The agony." The smile that peeked through showed she didn't mind that much, really.

Haroun nodded as best he could, considering that his neck hurt just as much as everything else did. "Guess I'll take a nap now." he said, closed his eyes, and was out like a light.