LOG: Alison and Haroun - Momento Mori

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Haroun decides that he needs to go on his yearly pilgrimmage to help those less fortunate than him. Alison goes along to assist him.



Haroun looked at the wheelchair parked next to the Medlab table he was currently sitting atop. He was dressed in a very nice button-down shirt and, oddly, a pair of bike racing shorts. Very short ones. "You ready for this?" he asked Alison, not meeting her eyes in favor of studying his hairless legs.

It was, Alison reflected, odd how events could color how you saw the world. She stepped up closer to the table and leaned forward to rest her forehead against his, for a brief moment, before pulling back. "Guitar's in the van. My entire day is yours." For all that it would likely be odd to see him without legs, the fact was this was Haroun and that was a part of things. And sometimes matters were as simple as that. "I'm ready."

Haroun nodded. "OK. Here's how you do this - are you paying attention? Good. You open up this panel here and here..." he said, pressing hard into his mid-thighs in specific places "until you feel the catches give way. Then you rotate the entire thing a quarter-turn to the left, and off it comes." he said, pulling his leg away. "That's assuming that I've told the 'ware I'm going to detach. The combat routine's a little different." he said awkwardly, holding his leg in both hands.

She reached forward, freeing up his hands by taking the now detached leg, and setting it aside in the case he'd unearthed from the medlab lockers earlier. "Got it." With a small nod she then stepped closer once more and rested both hands on his leg - he'd shut off sensation already, that much was obvious. Following his instructions, Alison carefully unlocked the limb and twisted slowly. "Some of this was covered in the basic emergency medical training I followed, you know." She spoke softly, offering him a small smile.

"Yeah, but the manual from what Forge tells me is a little less-than-accurate." he said, watching with a sort of horrified fascination as she removed his other leg and put it into the case. "Make sure you stash the case well, and lock it up. Those legs cost more than I really want to think about, and they're quite literally irreplaceable if something goes wrong." he said worriedly. "And toss me up the bag on the floor while you're at it?" he asked her, taking a rag he had set aside and cleaning off the thick white neuroconductive gel from the stumps of his legs.

The padding for the limbs was carefully set in place after the locking mechanism was covered for each, and Alison locked the case down firmly before pushing it back into place carefully. Taking a deep breath, she turned around - and her heart twisted, not at the sight Haroun presented without the hardware in place, but at the look in his eyes. Still, she picked up the bag, keeping her gestures smooth and steady, walking up to the bed and right next to him before setting it down lightly.

Haroun took out a pair of much more comfortable cargo shorts, and hoisting himself up, managed to put them on without too much trouble. "OK, now for the fun part. You think you're strong enough to carry me to the chair, or should I let 9.8 m/s^2 in a vacuum do the job for me?" he asked with a grin.

"I think we can work out a good solution," she opined, moving to draw the chair closer to the bed, right next to him. It would be easy for him to lower himself down at that point, with her help, and it would also be easy for her to assist him in that.

Haroun grinned, and tumbled into the wheelchair, somehow landing perfectly where he needed to be. "OK, now let's get the blanket going - for cover and consistency - and then you can wheel my plastic butt out to the garage." he said, trying to keep a good face about things. He hated being without his legs - which is why he tried to do this at least once a year. If not more often.

The blanket was retrieved and snapped out, then carefully laid across his lap, such as it was. Alison then took shameless advantage of the situation, walking around the chair to lean down from behind, arms sliding around his neck loosely. She rested her chin on his shoulder, sneaking a kiss on the side of his neck. "Mmm." She pulled only enough so that he could turn to look at her, and smiled at him. "Off we go, then..."

Haroun made a happynoise as she nuzzled his neck, and then nodded. "Let's go. There's some poor traumatized folks who could use my help." he said, putting on a brave face. As much as he might like to, he was in no position to offer bleeding-edge cybernetics to the people he was going to talk to today. No matter how badly he might want to.

A brief brush of her lips against his cheek, and Alison nodded, leaning a bit to get the chair into motion, before wheeling him out of the medlab and in the direction of the elevator. A companiable silence accompanied them until they reached the garage. A battered case lay secured in one corner of the van, and Alison glanced at it fondly. "Figured I'd bring Faith along for this one. Terry will be getting her back at the end of the day, though." A pause, and she considered the options. "Stay in the chair, or front seat for the ride?"

"Best get used to the chair, so I think I'll stay in it. Want to try something, though. Do me a favor, though? Get a fire extinguisher." he said with a thoughtful look. "I think I can afford to replace the wheelchair if this doesn't work."

Alison raised an eyebrow at that, but went to fetch one of the small, easily carried fire extinguishers from the far wall, and returned with it in hand. She had a vague suspicion as to what he was about to try, but stopping him never even occurred to her. "Ready."

Haroun nodded, and grabbed the arms of the wheelchair tightly. Slowly, wobbily, the entire thing lifted into the air with a sulphurous explosion of heat and noise. "Bad idea!" he shouted and touched back down. "Yeah. Definitely a bad idea." he said as he panted. "Note to self: Don't do that, dumbass."

A careful inspection revealed that the extinguisher wouldn’t be needed, and Alison crouched down beside him, making sure the metal of the chair hadn't overheated. "But now you'll know," she replied matter of fact, though she'd been holding her breath the entire time. "I have some water in the van. Want some?" She didn't wait though, fishing out a bottle from a bag on the front seat. The smell of sulfur would fade soon enough, and she didn't worry about it overmuch.

Haroun stopped to think about that for about four nanoseconds, and then nodded. "Yes, please!" he said, making a gimme! gesture with his hand. He got himself situated in the van, and then promptly rolled the windows down for better ventilation. "Ahh, good old bottled tap water. How sweet you taste." he said to his bottle of water, before slamming it down in a titanic swallow.

Power use meant a thirsty Haroun. Alison's lips quirked as he tanked the water and she resisted the impulse to stare at him with a goofy expression, instead walking around the van to climb in the driver's seat after having made sure the wheelchair was properly secured. "So, have I told you today?" She smiled at him as she adjusted the rear view mirror and started the van, the electric door of the garage opening smoothly as she headed out into the driveway.

"Told me what?" he said as she merged out into traffic. He grinned at her as they played their old game - very pleased that she'd taken the initiative. She was doing that far more often than she used to, which absolutely thrilled him. Now, if he could just talk her into more headscarves, that would make the Muslim part of him quit bitching quite so loudly.

"Mmm." She drove carefully, without the habitual carelessness usually displayed, settling into the traffic calmly. "That I love you." She'd been supposed to tell him that he was handsome, but variations were acceptable, was the on the spot decision. She glanced back in the rearview mirror as she said the words, to catch a glimpse of his expression before focusing on the road again.

Haroun grinned. Once again, she'd managed to lift his mood with just a few words. "Love you too, darlin'." he said sincerely. "Hey, can I ask you something?" he said, still trying to keep his grin on. "Do you ever wear anything to cover your head with when you're out?"

It wasn't hard to guess at some of the dimension of his question, considering they'd already touched on this not so long ago - Alison pushed back in the seat of the van a bit, paying attention to the traffic as she thought it over. "You mentioned that for the restaurant, already. And... I've worn scarves now and then, either on a whim or as a fashion thing. But I usually like having the wind in my hair," she finished honestly.

Haroun nodded. "Of course. Just asking." he said hurriedly, and then fished around for a way to change the topic. Now is not the time to turn into a traditionalist! he reminded himself sternly. "You'd look good in the right one." he said off-handedly - and completely transparently. "Something to set off your golden hair and blue eyes." he grinned.

A small smiled greeted that, Alison glancing at him in the rearview mirror, before looking ahead - the gleam in her eyes was entirely fond amusement. "I'm not one to wear scarves all that much, Haroun. But if you're trying to tell me that it would make you happy if I got creative about wearing one, now and then," she put emphasis on the words, though not overmuch, "I think we could compromise on that." She smiled, knowing he could see her reflection. "For special occasions?"

Take your victory where you could get it, al-Rashid! He smiled back at Alison. "I don't know - they could be very sexy. After all, isn't it about what you show versus what you hide?" he suggested with a grin. "I like unwrapping presents." he insinuated.

"I'll remember that," she purred in return, taking the insinuation and running with it rather gleefully. There were fun things to do with silk there, oh so much. But for now, it was prim and proper and Alison composed her expression thus, mischief piercing through now and then as they hit town, slowing down accordingly as they headed into smaller streets. "We're nearly there."

Haroun nodded. "Whatever you do, remember that these people are still men and women, not just cripples or objects to be pitied." he said. "Self-esteem is critical to people like them." And me, he added mentally. "The loss of a limb - it's never easy."

"I'll remember." Turning into the parking, she selected a free spot near the start of the ramp rather than the stair, turning off the engine and then unlocking her seat belt. She then turned around, giving Haroun a calm, steady look. "Anything else I should know about our plans for the day, before we go in?"

Haroun shook his head. "Not that comes to mind. Just be yourself, everything else should attend to itself." he said with as close to a grin as he could muster. "Let's go ahead and do this thing."

That earned him a smile, along with a brief kiss once Alison had walked around the van and opened the side door to unlatch the chair from the floor. "Off we go," she murmured, before claiming her guitar case and slinging it over her shoulder.

~*~

The van was parked a short distance away and Alison was seated on a small bench, outside a weather worn building, the sunlight streaming down steadily. Her shoulders felt warm and the wind was mild, playing in her hair every now and then and she glanced up over the rim of her sunglasses, staring right into the blazing orb of light, a small smile dancing on her lips.

The visit had hit Haroun hard, that much was obvious. He'd been quiet and pensive from the moment they'd left the hospital, not speaking other than to ask for her to bring him here, at the mosque. She hadn't said much more herself, other than to nod quietly in reply before heading to the address he'd given her, lost in her own thoughts as well, and the memories of the medical tapes she'd seen of his own injuries. And other things, which would take a while to dim yet, she knew.

Slowly, by ones and twos, men started exiting the door on the right of the mosque, and women - all of them covering their heads at the very least, and some few their faces as well, exited from the left door. They chatted among themselves quietly but animatedly as they headed for the parking lot to go home. At the very end of the line Haroun wheeled himself out, talking with a bowed head and in low tones to the imam of the mosque. With a handshake and a smile, followed by some words exchanged in Arabic, Haroun continued to head for the van while the imam turned around to head back into the mosque.

Tracking his progress, Alison waited until the right moment before rising to her feet to join him with a small smile of welcome. She kept quiet however, waiting to see how his mood was - there was nothing wrong with a pleasant silence, after all.

Haroun looked up at Alison and smiled. Some of the tension was gone, but clearly not all of it. "Good evening." he said with a small wave. "Sorry I couldn't ask you to come in with me, but this mosque is rather traditionalist, and you don't have any way to cover yourself." he said with a shrug. "Despite that, they're good people."

"That's okay," she answered serenely, leaning on the side of the chair and resting a hand on his shoulder lightly. "It was a nice wait outside. The sun isn't set just yet and it's nice and warming." She tapped the tip of his nose on impulse, and continued. "If being traditionalist works for them, then so be it. Far be it for me to judge."

Haroun nodded. "The theology is pretty American, but the cultural stuff is pretty traditional." he said with a smile. "It works for me pretty well. Anyway - up for grabbing a bite to eat? We're not far from a certain place of our mutual design..." he grinned.

"If we can leave the van in the parking lot, we could even go there the scenic route," Alison offered, smiling down at him at that. It was odd to have to plan everything they would do or everywhere they would go whole having to keep in mind the fact that he could not walk. When she was used to him being able to walk. But it was a small thing to have to do, in the grand scheme of things, she thought.

Haroun paused, thought it over, and nodded. "Sure, why not? It shouldn't be a problem to leave the van here. Just make sure we lock it before we go." he said with a firm nod. "Be a beautiful evening for a roll with my favorite girl." he said with a grin.

"S'all locked up already and we're ready to go then!" She straightened up, no longer leaning on the chair, one hand brushing against his cheek lightly by pure reflex, the need to reach out and touch. His mood was lighter and she was happier as well for it, the thought of a quiet evening out after such a long day being an infinitely pleasing one. "I'm starving now," she remarked, then chuckled lowly. "Happens every time we decide to go there too. Go figure, huh?"

"I think I hear a bell ringing, Dr Pavlov." he said with a grin. "And you're not the only one." he said with a laugh. "Anyway, let's go!" he grinned and pushed off towards the restaurant.



PS: OOC apologies to any actual Muslims who might be reading this. The Web was not kind to my efforts to look things up, so I winged it. If it's really offensive, let me know, I can and will make edits.