Amanda, Nathan - Thursday late morning
Feb. 10th, 2005 12:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xp_daytripper posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
xp_logsFollowing Nathan's post to the journals, Amanda pays a visit. Because basically, who could stop her? They discuss respective adventures, although the focus is on Nathan's, as it should be.
There had been no reply to her comment yet, but Amanda figured she'd go down any way and ask Moira if Nate was well enough for visitors. Or rather, make a rather undignified mad dash down to medlab and turn the full force of the cute on Moira in the hope it would work. It took various promises not to do various things and to do various others if something happened (like call for help straight away if his brain started leaking out his ears), but finally she was allowed in.
Only it seemed like Nate was asleep again. Well, no matter, she'd creep up to the bed quiet as a mouse and sit with him a while and think nice soothing thoughts at him, just in case.
He hadn't really meant to drift off again, but Moira had come down to relieve him of the laptop, threatening dire things if he didn't close his eyes and get some actual rest, and to be honest, he still was ridiculously tired. The headache wasn't going away, though, so he wasn't sleeping very deeply. Eventually, the fact that there was someone sitting beside the bed registered on him, and he opened his eyes, blinking as Amanda came somewhat into focus. "I know you," he said, his voice a little hoarse, and smiled. "A, something that starts with an A, right...?"
She looked a little worried, clearly thinking he was serious until she saw the smile. "Gettin' senile, old man," she said. "All that brain sprainin' - told you it wasn't good for you." Her relief was palpable as she picked his hand up and rubbed her cheek against it. "Can't leave you alone for five minutes..." Her voice broke a little on the last.
"Hey. Not to worry," he said as firmly as he could. "Just strained the TK again. Kind of unavoidable, under the circumstances... and it was worth it." Every bit of the headache was more than worth it. "You seen our six little rescuees?"
She nodded, a smile breaking through - Nate didn't need her all sniffly at him. "You did it," she said, pride evident in her voice. "I've been helpin' out, makin' sure they sleep okay, that sort of thing..." She blushed a little. "Gave one of 'em a werelight, since he's scared of the dark. Don't tell - 'm not supposed t' be usin' the magic."
Nathan frowned a little. "Not at all...?" he asked, trying to wake up a little more. "You didn't... didn't hurt yourself or anything, did you?" He peered at her, wishing his vision would clear a little more. Was that always going to be the weak spot, when he did this?
"No, nothin' like that. Tante... 'm supposed t' only use the magic when there's no other way, like healin' that woman with the skull fracture." Amanda gave him a wry grin. "The whole bit 'bout power havin' a price an' havin' t' take that into account again. Thought I'd give it a try, any way." She patted his hand reassuringly. "'S nothin' t' worry about - but I won't be able t' train with you any more. TK tricks count as non-essential."
"I think we'd just about reached the limits of what we could do there anyway," Nathan said with a faint smile, not sure what to think about all of this. He settled for cautious optimism. Not seeing Amanda exhausted all the time would be a very good thing. "So it sounds like you had an interesting time..."
"Two weeks in a swamp gettin' eaten alive by mosquitoes an' eatin' stuff I couldn't even begin t' tell you what it was..." Amanda said with a grin. "Tante bein' all Yoda at us, only a lot scarier. An' then for added fun, we got t' stop some mad bastard turnin' Mardi Gras into a 'Shaun of the Dead' remake, only less funny. Well, Remy got t' stop him - Angie an' I got t' mind the door." It was probably a good idea he didn't know about the fact there had been a little more to it than that.
"Mmm." Obviously a very interesting time. He wasn't going to press her about it, though. Didn't have the attention span at the moment, if nothing else. "Good to be home, though?" he asked a bit fuzzily.
"Always," she said with another smile, reaching out to touch his face briefly. "Tho' you didn't need t' blow yerself up t' get me back here, y'know."
"Like I said, kind of unavoidable..." He frowned a little, his expression gone distant as he turned the still-fragmented memories over in his mind for a moment or two before he gave up. It would be entertaining, trying to write his report on the mission when he finally got to it. "Didn't mean to worry you," he said, focusing on her again and mustering a tired smile. "When it comes to first missions, I sure can pick them."
"Trouble magnets, the pair of us," she said with gentle, wry humour. "You did good tho', Nate. Saved those kids, showed those bastards runnin' Mistra they can't always do what they like. I'm proud of you. An' worried, but 'm used t' that by now. Moira said you had a headache that won't go. Want me t' do me usual?"
"The headache potion'd go over real well right now, yeah. Or well as it usually goes over," Nathan joked a bit feebly.
"If it tastes good, it's not medicine, or at least that's what Homily tells me," Amanda replied, grinning. "Stay put, I'll be right back. No takin' up tap dancin' or anythin' while I'm gone, yeah?"
While she was gone, Nathan set about sitting up, which was a slightly more complicated process than usual. His head throbbing a little more insistently at the movement, but he ignored it, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and rubbing at the back of his neck. Automatically, he checked the light link he'd established with Tim - it was an expenditure of energy he couldn't really afford, but he couldn't afford not to keep an ear out - and was reassured when he sensed the younger man deeply asleep. Precisely what he ought to be doing.
When Amanda came back in with a steaming mug, he smiled at her. "Thanks," he said as she handed it over. "So," he asked after a cautious sip. "You see the crater on the news? I hear Hank played a joke and dropped a word in a few ears that it might be an alien landing site." He couldn't help a chuckle.
"Saw a couple of spots - the tin hats're wettin' 'emselves over the whole thing. An' the glass trees were very pretty, by the way. Looks like somethin' from Fairyland out there." Without thinking about it, Amanda pulled herself up onto the bed beside him, leaning against him a little. "Maybe we can use that as an excuse more often? 'Aliens did it'
sounds like a good explanation t' me."
Nathan snorted softly. "Might work. People are generally dumb, in case you hadn't had ample opportunity to notice that yet." He took another sip of the potion, making a face that was only partially due to the taste of it. "I'm still amazed that Tim and I managed not to kill everyone in the vicinity by accident."
"Tim... that's the other bloke you brought back, yeah?" Amanda asked. The helpers had been kept clear of his room, but she'd listened to the talk that had gone around. "Like you did that time with Mick?"
"Exactly like Mick. His conditioning's gone, too." Nathan blinked down at the potion for a moment, wondering if Amanda would recognize him from Columbia. Well. Time enough to worry about that later. He knew the medical staff were running interference right now, making sure Tim had the space he needed to rest. "So I suppose that makes him our seventh rescuee. Although he's my size, so not precisely 'little'."
"No wonder yer head hurts." Amanda was quiet for a moment, thinking it over. "Will they be after him? Dom told me back in November that they were sniffin' 'round Mick an' the Pack in Berlin."
"They wouldn't be able to recondition him," Nathan said, tossing back some more of the potion. It was less awful if you drank it quickly. "If they ever got their hands on him again, they could hurt him figuring that out, then. And at that point he'd be of no more good to them." He sighed. "He's not safe here, just like Mick wasn't. I'll have to figure out what next once he's back on his feet."
"You'll all come up with somethin'," Amanda said, nudging him with her shoulder gently. "After all, you got him clear an' that's the hardest part, isn't it? The rest'll sort itself out."
There had been no reply to her comment yet, but Amanda figured she'd go down any way and ask Moira if Nate was well enough for visitors. Or rather, make a rather undignified mad dash down to medlab and turn the full force of the cute on Moira in the hope it would work. It took various promises not to do various things and to do various others if something happened (like call for help straight away if his brain started leaking out his ears), but finally she was allowed in.
Only it seemed like Nate was asleep again. Well, no matter, she'd creep up to the bed quiet as a mouse and sit with him a while and think nice soothing thoughts at him, just in case.
He hadn't really meant to drift off again, but Moira had come down to relieve him of the laptop, threatening dire things if he didn't close his eyes and get some actual rest, and to be honest, he still was ridiculously tired. The headache wasn't going away, though, so he wasn't sleeping very deeply. Eventually, the fact that there was someone sitting beside the bed registered on him, and he opened his eyes, blinking as Amanda came somewhat into focus. "I know you," he said, his voice a little hoarse, and smiled. "A, something that starts with an A, right...?"
She looked a little worried, clearly thinking he was serious until she saw the smile. "Gettin' senile, old man," she said. "All that brain sprainin' - told you it wasn't good for you." Her relief was palpable as she picked his hand up and rubbed her cheek against it. "Can't leave you alone for five minutes..." Her voice broke a little on the last.
"Hey. Not to worry," he said as firmly as he could. "Just strained the TK again. Kind of unavoidable, under the circumstances... and it was worth it." Every bit of the headache was more than worth it. "You seen our six little rescuees?"
She nodded, a smile breaking through - Nate didn't need her all sniffly at him. "You did it," she said, pride evident in her voice. "I've been helpin' out, makin' sure they sleep okay, that sort of thing..." She blushed a little. "Gave one of 'em a werelight, since he's scared of the dark. Don't tell - 'm not supposed t' be usin' the magic."
Nathan frowned a little. "Not at all...?" he asked, trying to wake up a little more. "You didn't... didn't hurt yourself or anything, did you?" He peered at her, wishing his vision would clear a little more. Was that always going to be the weak spot, when he did this?
"No, nothin' like that. Tante... 'm supposed t' only use the magic when there's no other way, like healin' that woman with the skull fracture." Amanda gave him a wry grin. "The whole bit 'bout power havin' a price an' havin' t' take that into account again. Thought I'd give it a try, any way." She patted his hand reassuringly. "'S nothin' t' worry about - but I won't be able t' train with you any more. TK tricks count as non-essential."
"I think we'd just about reached the limits of what we could do there anyway," Nathan said with a faint smile, not sure what to think about all of this. He settled for cautious optimism. Not seeing Amanda exhausted all the time would be a very good thing. "So it sounds like you had an interesting time..."
"Two weeks in a swamp gettin' eaten alive by mosquitoes an' eatin' stuff I couldn't even begin t' tell you what it was..." Amanda said with a grin. "Tante bein' all Yoda at us, only a lot scarier. An' then for added fun, we got t' stop some mad bastard turnin' Mardi Gras into a 'Shaun of the Dead' remake, only less funny. Well, Remy got t' stop him - Angie an' I got t' mind the door." It was probably a good idea he didn't know about the fact there had been a little more to it than that.
"Mmm." Obviously a very interesting time. He wasn't going to press her about it, though. Didn't have the attention span at the moment, if nothing else. "Good to be home, though?" he asked a bit fuzzily.
"Always," she said with another smile, reaching out to touch his face briefly. "Tho' you didn't need t' blow yerself up t' get me back here, y'know."
"Like I said, kind of unavoidable..." He frowned a little, his expression gone distant as he turned the still-fragmented memories over in his mind for a moment or two before he gave up. It would be entertaining, trying to write his report on the mission when he finally got to it. "Didn't mean to worry you," he said, focusing on her again and mustering a tired smile. "When it comes to first missions, I sure can pick them."
"Trouble magnets, the pair of us," she said with gentle, wry humour. "You did good tho', Nate. Saved those kids, showed those bastards runnin' Mistra they can't always do what they like. I'm proud of you. An' worried, but 'm used t' that by now. Moira said you had a headache that won't go. Want me t' do me usual?"
"The headache potion'd go over real well right now, yeah. Or well as it usually goes over," Nathan joked a bit feebly.
"If it tastes good, it's not medicine, or at least that's what Homily tells me," Amanda replied, grinning. "Stay put, I'll be right back. No takin' up tap dancin' or anythin' while I'm gone, yeah?"
While she was gone, Nathan set about sitting up, which was a slightly more complicated process than usual. His head throbbing a little more insistently at the movement, but he ignored it, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and rubbing at the back of his neck. Automatically, he checked the light link he'd established with Tim - it was an expenditure of energy he couldn't really afford, but he couldn't afford not to keep an ear out - and was reassured when he sensed the younger man deeply asleep. Precisely what he ought to be doing.
When Amanda came back in with a steaming mug, he smiled at her. "Thanks," he said as she handed it over. "So," he asked after a cautious sip. "You see the crater on the news? I hear Hank played a joke and dropped a word in a few ears that it might be an alien landing site." He couldn't help a chuckle.
"Saw a couple of spots - the tin hats're wettin' 'emselves over the whole thing. An' the glass trees were very pretty, by the way. Looks like somethin' from Fairyland out there." Without thinking about it, Amanda pulled herself up onto the bed beside him, leaning against him a little. "Maybe we can use that as an excuse more often? 'Aliens did it'
sounds like a good explanation t' me."
Nathan snorted softly. "Might work. People are generally dumb, in case you hadn't had ample opportunity to notice that yet." He took another sip of the potion, making a face that was only partially due to the taste of it. "I'm still amazed that Tim and I managed not to kill everyone in the vicinity by accident."
"Tim... that's the other bloke you brought back, yeah?" Amanda asked. The helpers had been kept clear of his room, but she'd listened to the talk that had gone around. "Like you did that time with Mick?"
"Exactly like Mick. His conditioning's gone, too." Nathan blinked down at the potion for a moment, wondering if Amanda would recognize him from Columbia. Well. Time enough to worry about that later. He knew the medical staff were running interference right now, making sure Tim had the space he needed to rest. "So I suppose that makes him our seventh rescuee. Although he's my size, so not precisely 'little'."
"No wonder yer head hurts." Amanda was quiet for a moment, thinking it over. "Will they be after him? Dom told me back in November that they were sniffin' 'round Mick an' the Pack in Berlin."
"They wouldn't be able to recondition him," Nathan said, tossing back some more of the potion. It was less awful if you drank it quickly. "If they ever got their hands on him again, they could hurt him figuring that out, then. And at that point he'd be of no more good to them." He sighed. "He's not safe here, just like Mick wasn't. I'll have to figure out what next once he's back on his feet."
"You'll all come up with somethin'," Amanda said, nudging him with her shoulder gently. "After all, you got him clear an' that's the hardest part, isn't it? The rest'll sort itself out."
