Participants:
| Scene Title | B1 and B2 |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Almost a week later and things have calmed down just a little… They've also almost run out of formula. |
| Date | November 13, 2010 |
The darkness does nothing for the creepy feeling the infirmary gives off. Illuminated in one corner by a small oil lamp, Delia Ryans sits beside a cot wiping the forehead of its occupant with a wet cloth. The five year old's fever hasn't broken since she got here and the young nurse is somewhat beside herself with worry.
There's a tiny moan as the little girl calls out for a mother that's no longer there. Gathering up the preschooler in her arms, Delia rocks back and forth, trying to lull her back to sleep. "Shhh ssshhhh…" she vowed that she wouldn't enter the child's dreams for the simple fact, she couldn't handle the heartbreak that would result when the little girl finally woke up.
That little girl isn't the only one that's ill though, there's others and with the tiny groan comes a symphony of others ranging in pitch and volume. The adults are kind enough to keep theirs to a minimal groan of pain and a request for more medicine when she has the time, the other children aren't so patient.
It's been a few hours since the meeting and this is all that Delia's been doing.
With Kasha tucked against his chest, Brian shoulders his way into the infirmary. Eyes adjusting to the lamplight, Brian walks in slowly and silently. Rocking the baby slightly up and down with a spring in his step trying to encourage the baby to stay in it's semi-drowsy and sleepy state. He doesn't want another crying infant polluting the semi-silence in here.
Eyes locking on Delia, Winters moves forward steadily. "Hey." He lets out quietly, eyeing her own children she's taking care of. "Umm.. Someone told me that I could find some formula here. I don't know if this is the wrong place or what.. Do you know where I could find some?"
"Hmm? Oh.. formula.. uhm.." The redhead looks exhausted and nearly unable to comprehend the simple request. Laying the child in her arms back into the bed, she covers her up with a gray wool blanket guaranteed to itch. Beggars can't be choosers though and since the child is too sick to complain, the absence of it isn't missed. There are more than enough complaining already.
Getting up, she brushes off the front of her clothing and then rubs her eye with her fist. "Yeah… follow me, I.. I have some. She isn't lactose intolerant, is she? That might be a little bit of a problem." Raising one hand, she rubs the back of the little baby before turning to lead the way into the supply room.
"No she didn't mention anything like that." Brian comments, referring to the baby. A tiny joke, maybe it coud get Delia to at least smile a little bit. Following her to the supply room, he continues to give little Kasha tiny rocking motions with his arms. Pausing at the door to the supply room, he looks in affter her.
"Do you need help in here? I could lighten your load.. by a lot." The replicator informs. "You just say the word and you can have five.. no six, extra hands in here." For a moment there he thought one of his copies only had one hand, apparently.
As she reaches for a can of formula, Delia's eyes meet Brian's and there's something of a grateful yet tearful expression on her face. "R-really? I mean.. I couldn't .. No you'd overtax yourself. I couldn't. I'll be fine, I promise." Giving the replicator a weak smile, she pulls the lid off the can and inspects the contents before tilting it toward him.
"There should be enough in here for a day or so… I'll put formula on my list. We should have more than this…" Certainly Kasha isn't the only baby in the entire castle, maybe the smallest, but not the only one.
Grabbing a couple of bottles and a small pot, she fills them with water from one of the only working faucets in the building. "Are.. Are you the one that I met in the Lighthouse? I mean.. the one of you?" There's a worried curl to her eyebrows as she asks the question possibly just her natural expression.
"I'm pretty good at my power D." Brian informs looking over at her. Yes he's tired, yes he has had copies out for a while. But still, Company training in his ability very much helps out with his endurance. "I really can help you." Winters states calmly. "I can at least keep one of me in here. That should help out, right?"
Watching her he gives a little nod. "If we bring the other kids here, I'll bring some on my way." He says gently, watching her get the bottles ready. He lets out a light laugh at her concerned question. "Does it really matter? If this is the exact body you met? What difference does it make. I'm the same guy, no matter what body you see me in. They're all the same anyway." Brian chuckles quietly as he rocks Kasha. "I've never met anyone so concerned about that. And.. Honestly. I don't know. It's hard for me to keep track. Because it doesn't really matter."
the young woman shakes her head and gievs him a little smile, "No… I was just wanting to know if you kept your promise and didn't get hurt." The fact that he can't keep track sort of helps her disposition on the entire subject. "It doesn't matter that you're the one or I met or not, I just didn't want you to get hurt." A quick glance in his direction has her eyebrows furrowed a little more, "Uhm… you.. Do you feel it when one of you gets hurt? I mean… I wouldn't want, it'd be awful. You know?"
The prepared bottle gets put into the little pot of water and then she reaches into her pocket to strike a match to light a nearby kerosene burner. Gently, the pot is lifted over the flame and set onto a stand to heat up. So the wait begins. "And yeah… you being in here would help a lot. There's only two of us to take care of everyone and I hate to ask Missus Young to do everything… so I take most of the night and some days." Which could be why she's running a little ragged around the edges.
"The first time I died I was knocked into a spiral of depression and pain. Yeah." He admits, holding Kasha close to his chest as if to protect her from the knowledge off his death. "I've learned to disconnect myself from that pain. Like.. just turn it off. Block it. So yeah, I still feel pain. It's hard to describe. I can feel it without being fully effected by it. If that makes sense. I just have a very vivid feeling of what that pain is. Like a taste, I guess." He shrugs.
Watching the pot, he goes to lean against the back. "You have any extra clothes in here? I could get started now, if you want. I have enough energy to give you two." He smiles. How generous.
Looking around the supply room, Delia wrinkles her nose and shakes her head. "Nothing really warm that closes in the back, I'm afraid. But if you don't mind giving everyone a good show…" She reaches over and pulls a scavenged hospital gown off the shelf and holds it up for Brian's inspection. "You'd just have to keep away from the kids, of course." You never know what kind of teasing he'd get from a bunch of kids who've just seen his bum.
"If you could though, I'd really appreciate it. I might be able to get a few hours of sleep, I haven't seen my room since I got here." There's a wider smile from the redhead as she tilts her head to look at the baby. "You'd have to keep her out of here though… I'd be scared that she'd catch something. What's her name, anyway?"
"I have a few pants and shirts in my bag." He quickly protests. "I'll get them. Gowns give me the creeps.." Regardless Brian takes one hand to grab the gown. "Here. Hold her. Her name's Kasha." Passing the baby over to Delia, Brian trades for the gown and goes to turn around. As soon as he turns his back, skin slides off skin and through the material of his clothing a full figured identical twin of Brian steps out of him. Completely naked the second Brian quickly takes the gown, dons it and is quickly rusing out of the infirmary, back to his room.
Looking back to Delia, he smirks lightly. Going to take the baby back, "Little Kasha." He muses as she's back in his arms. "I'll be just a second and I'll have two in here. Trying to dodge people in the hallway right now."He looks at the pot again to see iff it's almost done. "So was that your dad in there? I thought you said your dad wasn't a Ferry."
Shaking her head as she passes the baby back, Delia frowns a bit and purses her lips. "I don't know what he is anymore… Last time I talked to him, he was still separating himself from the rest of us. There were 'his people' and the Ferry… I don't know. Stuff's confusing right now." One of the reasons why she's stayed sequestered to the infirmary, it's just that much easier to deal with the sick and dying.
"You're lucky you have stuff, I lost my pack when I got caught." There's a bittersweet smile on her lips as she glances out the doorway and into the main room. "That guy that my dad and that lady, Huruma, went ballistic over.. Mister Lazzaro? He saved my life and got me to the boats, even though he got shot in the process. You'd think that would give my dad a reason not to go for his gun when he saw him, right?"
Brian shrugs lightly. "You know I could try to pick you up some stuff on my way here from Jersey." He offers with a light smile. "I bet you're not wanting to put a new pair of jeans on your supply list. But if you want, I can grab some stuff." He continues to rock the baby. "Who are 'his' people? I've been out of the loop on fferry stuff, I have no idea what's goin on with Lazzwhatever."
"You could? Really?" Her face brightens a little bit before it falls again and Delia shakes her head yet again with a sigh. "No… There's other people that need stuff way more. I'm alive." It's a good concession for her. "You could bring more blankets? We're already running short on them and people aren't going to get better under these conditions. We'll be lucky if we can keep the really bad ones stable."
There's a wrinkle of the redhead's nose before she lowers her head and shrugs. "But yeah… a pair of jeans would be really fantastic." Lifting her eyes to meet Brian's, the young woman gives him a sheepish sort of smile. "I don't know when I'll be able to pay you back… I haven't had much money since August or so…"
"Just write down your sizes for everything." He instructs, turning a bit. As he does, two more Brian's walk in. Both wearing a different shade of jeans and a white shirt. He'll be chilly, but he'll survive. Smiling, he looks down at the pot. "I think it's done." He pauses. "would you stop doing that? It's okay for someone to do something nice for you. It's okay that other people need things. I'm giving you a gift. You don't need to worry about it."
"Ok blankets and some clothes. You got it." The two Brian's come to stand at his back. Though the one before her is the only one that speaks. "So what kind of stuff do you want me to do?"
"Uhm…" Realizing she hasn't told him about her father yet, Delia gets up and checks on the bottle before doing anything else. A few spits to the inside of her wrist and she nods, "It's not really warm.. but it won't give her a tummy ache if she drinks it too fast. She's old enough anyway, the heat will just put her to sleep easier." The young redhead walks over and passes him the bottle and the can of formula, stopping to place one of her hands on the baby's head and pet it once.
"Okay, you shoo… The baby's probably all full of germs by now. They pick up everything, you know." It's said with a light hearted grin and Delia loops her arms through the other two Brians' and tugs them out toward the cots. "Okay, do I call you both Brian or can I give you nicknames? Or what? Don't say B1 and B2 because I'll be singing the bananas in pajamas theme song all night."
Taking the baby, Brian leaves with the formula but at the same time.. Stays. Hanging behind, Brian smirks a little bit at Delia. "Usually I just take control with one.."
"But you seem to really enjoy this..
"So maybe I'll multi-task."
The voice is the same but where it comes from shoots back and forth on either side of Delia. Being tugged toward the cots, Brian gives a little laugh. Snaking loose with one body, the other remains hooked. "You can just call me.."
"Brian." He smiles, folding his arms. "So boss,"
"What do we do?"