Take Him As He Is

Participants:

abby2_icon.gif victor_icon.gif

Scene Title Take Him As He Is
Synopsis Abby and Victor have a friendly movie going experience, whereupon life is caught up on, Victor dispenses sage relationship advice about the illegal scruffy grandpa, and Abby gives dating a chance with someone at least her own age.
Date June 3, 2009

Multiple Locations In New York


She hasn't caught up with him in a long time. No psychologists appointment, no school for either person, and Victor had suggested the new Star Trek movie. She was a little leery but eventually, Abby'd relented. So long as she promised there wasn't a lot of blood or sex in it. The theatre was pretty much empty, one of those noon showings that no one else could attend. So when the orion girl and Uhura stripped down to her underwear, Abby had buried her face in Victors shoulder and screeched about how she wasn't wanting to see that! and oh my lordy, Kirk without his shirt on!

But overall, Abigail had been on the edge of her seat, watching, fascinated with the pointy ears of Spock and the green blood. The cowboy can do attitude of Kirk and had bawled her eyes out at the first ten minutes of the movie. Figures. It is Abby. But she's needed this. This distraction from life and the things going on in it. She'd needed a friend and Teo was currently.. going crazy or something and Magnes was playing at double agent, Huruma was.. Huruma and Niki was no where to be seen. Popcorn in hand, Abigail is walking out beside Victor. "God dammit Jim i'm a doctor not a.. not a…" She can't remember the line to finish it.

Vic doesn't mind finishing it for Abby. He's all grins as he says, "I'm a doctor, not a physician!" Okay, so Bones never said that. But somehow Vic finds it incredibly amusing to suppose he did. He almost could forget that he hasn't been you know, into Abby. Not like that. Or very much not for a while.

His own life of course has been a fiasco of less abnormal proportions. There was some weirdness with Gillian that he hasn't pinned down yet, but between the two of them they HAD been doing better. Being a police cadet, he's more clean-cut than he was before. Shorter hair. Something in his attitude. His personality isn't changed, it's just that there's something else there that wasn't before. More of a sureness.

"So you liked it, huh? I loved it. I didn't think the old series was ever that cool, seriously." Vic says as they walk.

"I liked that! I like the engineer. He reminded me of some people. Same for spack? Spock? Spock" The top of the popcorn bag is rolled down as they emerge from the depths of the movie theater and past the noise of the little arcade and the concession to out into the brilliant sun. "I liked McCoy though. He was my favorite. Oh but Victor those skirts were so short!" A hand up to her cheek as she shakes her head. "I swear you could almost see their underwear!"

"Whoa whoa whoa, hold on a second here…" Vic says, pulling them up short outside and walking backward in front of Abby to face her and grin. "Are you pretending not to know Spock before this movie, or do you expect me to believe you NEVER watched Star Trek? Because seriously, Abby? Shelterrrrred." He makes a light fun-poking gesture with both hands over his head as if they're a roof. You know. Sheltering himself. "Also get real. Those skirts are nothing. Anyway you're a girl. You see that stuff every night. If I, as a straight male, am not impressed by their short skirts, I don't see why you oughta be."

"No victor I didn't know who the pointy eared guy was before now. I always thought he was some doctor who tells people how to raise their kids" She reaches over, swatting at his hands before pulling back and sinking them into the pockets of her jeans. "You're right. Isabelle wears shorter. I think she wears thongs, cause, yeah" She doesn't resist giving his ribs a poke with her elbow. "The movie was nice. I would almost go see it again"

Vic plays the part, cringing at the elbow and swatting even if of course it doesn't hurt. But he's all grins nonetheless. Hands in his own pockets, he asks, "Wanna grab some lunch?" He's not going to ask who Isabelle is. In truth Vic has learned with pain and suffering to moderate how much he asks about what Abby's doing and who she knows. It's almost better just to pretend none of it happens. "You know. I would almost take you out to see it again. You would have to ask me nicely."

"Maybe we'll go again next week. I'm thinking I might like to see the movies more often. But lunch sounds good. You pick, since I picked the movie hmm? How's academy? You get to wear a uniform? They run around smacking your hands with rulers if you can't remember what code 8-16 is?" She genuinely wants to know as they walk, messenger bag flopping against her hip as they go.

"Sure. Katz's has a new place re-opened down the block from here." So Vic's going to lead them to a Katz's Deli. He falls into step next to Abby and says, "Yeah I'm in a little sailor boy uniform and they have cop-nuns walking around slapping us with rulers. Except in reality world where really we just wear these polo shirts that say NYPD Academy on them and these slacks to go with them. And we have duty-belts with the holsters and all that on them. But we're not allowed to wear real guns yet. They give us these plastic practice guns to put in the holster to stretch it out and get used to feeling it on your hip."

"How long till your out and about and being a real cop. Even if it's on a tight leash? I'll have to call you 'Officer Childs' instead of Victor" Well, she'd do it a few times, just to tease him. "And I'll have to tell Isabelle that you drink at the bar for free cause you're a cop" Abby grins at that, looking for the Katz sign. She could do with a really big ham sandwich right now. "So other than the academy, how you doing?"

"I have about three more weeks, including this one." answers Vic easily, from his tone of voice very much ready to be done with it. "Well, I WAS doing better. A lot better. But now it's just so-so better. Did you know Gillian and I made up?" That's his bright spot. He loves his sister, even if she is crazy. And in spite of all the Sylar business. "And I dunno. I've made a lot of peace with things. That whole…you know what I was in the middle of. I came out on the other side of it. I mean, on the one hand I kind of found out who my friends were. And were not. But I feel cleaner now. I dunno. I guess…spiritually."

"Hard to be at odds with family" Abigail agrees. "I'm glad though Victor, that you made up with Gillian" Time to not tell Victor that Gillians going through some things of her own right now. "And it's good, that you feel that way too. The spiritually clean thing. Always good to feel that. I'm proud of you. I'm sure soon enough you'll be in a good better place as opposed to so-so

Another lesson Victor's learned: Be observant. Know more than you tell. Abby isn't the only secret-keeper today.

He looks sidelong at Abby as if to judge whether she's pulling his chain, but Vic can tell how she means it. "Thanks, Abby." he says with sincerity. He steps down off a curb to cross the street and adds, "I just need a place to fit. And I think I found it. Maybe not exactly with the police, but doing that kind of work. Protecting people. Trying to do the right thing by others. In the open, where it should be done. That cloak and dagger secret hidden world? I can't live there. It was killing me."

"Kills me too at times. I don't think that's going to be much of an issue though from this point forward" Abigail's red hair flips from side to side as she looks both ways before crossing the street. "Ham sandwich or… smoked meat on rye… Heavens I'm so hungry right now. Classes start up again next week. I'm actually going to be learning the real stuff and not some British history or how to structure sentences better. I have math, biology, even a chemistry class and then actual EMT courses. By the end of the year, I should be good enough to ride in a rig if someone will take me"

"Hey, you get to wear a uniform too. I still think you ought to be a nurse or something. You know how many fantasies you'd inspire?" kids Vic with a grin, stepping up on the other curb and subtly watching Abby's feet just in case she has an issue there. Because he's a gentleman, but enough of one not to want to SEEM like he's watching out for her. "I saw…smoked roast beef on rye. I'm on the veggie thing again so I'm getting a mushroom sammich." Yes, he said sammich. "What's the latest with you, besides school?"

"Uhh, my parents were up. Someone gave them tickets to come up and spend some time with me. So they were up during mothers day. Was nice. They don't like the city, my dah called it a modern day Babylon and that I'm forgetting who I am and where I'm from and my real friends" She gets up the curb easily, a slight hop to it as she looks around and files into the deli with him. "But I think they had a good time, we went and saw a show, one of the ones that still go. My Dah went and tried to rip the police department a new one with regards to them not able to actually arrest anyone for my kidnapping" Abby shrugs as she looks over to Victor. "I uh.. I can't heal anymore. That's new" It's reluctantly tacked on there.

This is where Vic tips his hand a bit. Not in that he knows stuff, but in that he is able to fool somebody. One would expect him of course to fly into reaction to that last tacked-on bit, right? He doesn't. What he does instead is go, "Wow. Parents are embarrassing sometimes." Swear, it's almost like he didn't hear her say that. He's just good-naturedly carrying on about the parents. "Gilly called home finally, had some kind of thing with Mom and Dad. Now they're leaning all over me about her and I'm still pleading the Fifth. I will not tell them anything about her. It's just not my place." He gets in line for the counter to put his order in and is quick to decide on his mushroom sandwich and all. With sun chips and water. Still eats like a Californian.

"Heavens my Dah was very embarrassing. I apologized to the detective after. He was just being protective. Not like they can do much of anything anyways" Nope, it's a smoked meat on rye, double meat, mustard, grilled onions. French fries. she has put on about five pounds but it seems to have stuck to just that. "Momma loved her ladybug brooch. Probably wearing it to church every Sunday. They were over for dinner and kept assuming Teo was my boyfriend and they kept grilling him. I swear my Dah would have whipped out my shotgun in a heartbeat if Teo had looked at him funny" Her only concession to healthy is a bottle of water too.

Once they get their food and claim a seat, Vic sits and grins at Abby. "What happened with you and Magnes? I know he was all over you." He takes time fiddling with his food, not in any particular hurry to eat. That's unusual for him. He is, after all, the vacuum of food.

"I think he finally got the clue that I wasn't interested. He went to Japan for a bit. But, he keeps doing stupid things and I keep yelling at him and he's picked up that clue phone that i'm not interested in him. Last I knew, he was living out on Staten I think" Also neck deep in stuff that was dangerous.

Vic winces at that news, kind of taking it in with a slight shake of the head. "So. How'd it happen?" he asks, slipping that in there as deftly as Abby slipped the news in that makes him ask it. In the meantime he fills his mouth with sammich.

"yeah. Yeah, he's not gonna like me soon. I can tell you that" Getting her sandwich, Abby takes a bite, trying to decide how to say it. "There was a guy, i was behind the bar, near the basement doors, with a friend talking. I guess he's been going around, switching people's abilities? That's his ability" Abby gives a slight shrug. "He got us both. Friend is running around with gods gift and I'm.. I'm pretty much mundane now. Everyone says they're sure it'll come back, they're sure that god wouldn't take it away forever but…" But most others save for Pastor Sumter don't have the relationship with god that she does. "I got nothing. I can heal still, but, you know, with polysporin and a bandaid"

The eyes that Vic watches Abby with are those carefully watchful eyes that a listener uses. Some people learn to listen with their eyes, watching stuff like body language. Somehow it seems like Vic's becoming one of those people because he sure wasn't like that before. Giving a bit of a shrug, he remarks, "I'd give you my power if I could, and if you wanted it. Because it's never brought me anything but trouble. I think that guy probably did you a favor."

"Most peoples gifts don't bring them anything but trouble. Lord knows, what he gave me brought me no end of grief" She takes another bite of her sandwich before leaning over. "I miss how it makes me feel though. I really do. It's been over a week and.. I miss it" She wants it back. Abigail plucks up a fry.

Perhaps he senses it won't go unappreciated, but Vic stretches a hand across to squeeze Abby's hand, and just leaves it at that. Not trying to hold onto her or turn it into anything. It's just what it is. "Well my instructors don't know what to do with me half the time. I'm usually exempted from PT. When we go on runs on the track or something…heh…" there's probably a story there. He shakes his head and has a chip. "I convinced them it's best just to let me concentrate on weights and stuff. The runs are grueling for me, to have to stay back with everybody."

"Hows that car commercial go? Zoom zoom?" Abby grins. "Ain't no purse snatcher gonna get away from you Victor, that's for sure. Or any other criminal making a break for it, so you see, it's not gonna bring you trouble" She points out verbally, squeezing back his hand. "Thanks. Kinda, rollercoastery still, about it."

Vic's expression is polite but a little pained. "I dunno, Abby. I'm in good shape anyway. But I mean, because of my speed I got lied to and given a runaround, and people tried to protect me that didn't need to protect me. Totally none of their business. I mean, I forgave you for your part in that, but you weren't the only one." sip of water, "But I did get to share it with Gilly. She got to find out what it's like." He grins at that.

"IF it's any consolation Victor, I highly doubt that Gilly and those she's with are even going to look at me twice anymore, since I can't heal. No need for me anymore. For what it's worth, I'm sorry that I just didn't outright tell you that she was.. consorting with Phoenix. But the rest, I told you. I'm not good at keeping secrets. I can keep them, but if someone out right asks me…" Then she's more than likely going to tell the truth.

A dismissive wave bats away the apology. Vic doesn't even answer it beyond that. "I'm good at keeping my mouth shut. But that's it. What I am bad at is lying. I'm a bad liar, but I can shut my mouth and keep it shut. Nobody ever bothered to learn that about me." He grins then. "But they learned I don't give up. I still got Sylar arrested." And yes, he's proud of that. Even if it didn't stick.

Got him arrested, but even Abby knows that the man is free and clear and running around and not collecting abilities. "I'm terrible at lying too. Maybe itty bitty white lies I can do but even those. I hate lying. Lordy but I hate lying. It's like some little black mark on your soul that god can see. But yes, you did get him arrested. Nearly broke every bone in your body doing it"

"What would you have done?" asks Vic, an air of the curious to his tone. "Just forgiven him and moved on?"

"I don't know Victor. I might have done the same thing, I might not have. I don't know unless i'm put in that situation" SHe wasn't trying to come off as lecturing him. She had been trying to tease him at the state she had found him in in the hospital.

Vic replies with a grin. "It's okay. Nobody really talks to me about it but I think I get a lot of credit for the whole thing at the Academy. I dunno if anybody'll care about that a year down the road though. I mean Sylar got loose the next day, but there's not much to do about that." He shrugs and looks at the table, picking at his chips. "So you still playing hard to get with the guys? Haven't seen Brian hanging around you lately."

"Brian stayed with me a bit after Staten Island. So I had someone around at night. Nightmares. But no, he's not been hanging around for.. a month now. Not so much playing hard to get as just… "Abby shrugs. 'The guy who got God's gift. Lord Victor. I'm sucha jezebel. Praying doens't work for him, but I know he likes girls right, and I knew he had a thing, has a thing, for me. so I.. kissed him a few times, told him he'd get another if he'd learn to control it, lest he be sleeping all day from it being on all the time"

Of all the people in the world Vic knows of exactly one anywhere that would refer to herself as a jezebel. It's because he knows she's serious that he stifles the grin that wants to come up. "So….do you have a thing for him?" he asks.

'We're oil and water. He's older, scruffy. Not exactly one who walks on the legal side of things. does not believe in god" Abby sighs softly. "Probably, my psychologist says, has more to do with the fact that he's got.. what I had and that I'm possibly transferring my want and need to be near or have my ability back, even if by proxy or by being close"

"Do you think that's what it is? Because that sounds like a reach to me." muses Vic with a smirk. "I mean, it doesn't really occur to me to try to get my powers back by osmosis, if I lost them."

"I like him Vic. I like him enough that I was willing to sit on his lap and do what I did, kiss him, but.. it's like … apples and oranges. Besides, every time I turn around we're mad at each other and he .. He's too old. Like like, forty. My momma and Dah'd have a fit. Lordy my father met him and we had a fight over him." Abigail fishes up another fry and offers it to Victor. "I dunno, your top of my list too. I like you too"

The fry vanishes in a too-fast motion, just gone. Vic continues messing with his chips. If it wasn't already known what he could do that might very well have been unusual. As it is, it's just a fun parlor trick. He grins though. "Yeah well, I've gone through two potential girlfriends and neither one worked. One vanished before we even got to know each other well, and the other…she doesn't really have the time. And I got over you." That last is said with a good-humored protest which includes him pointing a finger at Abby accusingly. "I take a hint. Ask a girl out enough and she says no, and she's got other dudes hanging on her. I back off and let you do whatever you're gonna do. So this older guy…" He purses his lips and rolls his eyes upward, thinking. "Want my opinion?"

"Give me your opinion Victor" She'll take the honest criticism.

His eyes go directly on Abby. "Don't worry about what your dad thinks or wants. Take a lot of time to figure out what you want. Your dad's not gonna be living with whoever it is you settle on. You are. And also? This guy you like isn't gonna change. We don't change for other people, nobody does. I'll never change for anybody else, you'll never change for anybody else. We might try, or want to, but we won't. Nobody does. So if you're trying to figure out what you think about uh, Illegal Scruffy Grandpa, just remember you're pretty much gonna have to take him as he is." Vic finishes that up with stuffing the last of his sandwich in his mouth.

"Am I the one that got away?" Abigail asks, with a smile. Victors words are taken, rolled around, appreciated. "You and Ben. your like.. my grounding. You both help me get my head right and find a better path" She's taking her time with her food though she's almost done. "Illegal scruffy grandpa" She laughs at that.

"Uh uh. I got away from you. I'd rather be single than spend my time chasing someone who isn't interested." Vic says with a wink. "By the way, love your hair. I don't think I said it before. And you can totally tell him I called him that."

She was teasing him, the small smile on her face. a hand coming up to run through the red waves. "Do you? I need to touch it up. My blonde is showing" Would she actually tell Deckard that he's scruffy illegal grandpa? No. no. Likely not. "We could try Victor? It's not like my time anymore, likely, is going to be spent running around and saving people from near death… or well, you know, outside of when I actually become an EMT"

Vic shakes his head and laughs lightly, "Don't play with me. I still like you." He starts grabbing napkins out of the table dispenser to actually wipe up the table, cleaning up after himself.

"I'm serious Victor" Abigail watches him, grabbing a napkin too to wipe at the table or her side at least, scooping crumbs off into her hand then tilting her hand over her plate.

It's evident pretty quickly that he's sorely tempted. Mostly from the way Vic avoids eye contact. Hey, maybe there's actually some deeper emotion to that he's been sitting on. If so he isn't really vocalizing it. "What if you get your gift back?" he asks, glancing up at her. He manages another grin, "It's funny, but I get it now. What you were doing. You wanted to use what you were given responsibly. I can tell you I feel like I'm doing that now, with what I can do."

"If it comes back, then, I have to learn to balance it and the rest of my life together. Like I've had to learn to balance school and work and healing. I'm not going to run away, I can tell you right now, that I'll give it… three dates. And if we don't rightly find that we're working fine, then either party can back off, and we can stick to just being friends" Abby crumples the napkin, ducking her head to catch his eyes. "Yeah. God gave it to me for a purpose and to not use it, to make the world better, was a waste, when I so obviously could"

It takes Vic a silent moment to answer that. Because he's obviously thinking it over. "I won't lie. I'd like to date you. Because I do still like you, Abby. I mean, you're really a nice girl. You're pretty. I mean I was always asking you out for a reason." He chuckles at that a little. He looks back up to her and says, "All right. Yeah."

"Just.. I'm not like every other girl, so.. you know. I'm still trying to make myself be more.. physical with people so…" She was warning him ahead of time. "I'm a good christian girl, despite everything that you know"

Vic smirks and says, "Three dates isn't gonna have me fondling you, Abby. Give me some credit, huh?" Then just to try it out he reaches for her hand and this time it's more or less an effort to actually hold her hand. "I'm okay with just this for now. And I'm not Illegal Scruffy Grandpa."

THe corner of Abby's mouth comes up in a big smile. "You are not illegal scruffy grandpa, no." It takes a moment or two for her hand to relax in his. "You won't get fondling. You try and, oh boy, you'll have an angry Italian in your face"

Eyes narrow ever so slightly and Vic says with no small bit of backbone, "I think he and I have had words before. He doesn't want a piece of me again. Not after what he did last time. If it's the same guy." No threat to it, just again the confidence of a guy who knows he can punch a guy in the nuts about two thousand times before he has a chance to blink. "But seriously. All I want in my life is…some kind of…sense. You know what I mean? Maybe if I help you with that, who knows? You can help me with it too."

"Worst comes to worst, we stay friends, I'm sure we can stay friends. Three tries, see if it works and.. help each other make sense of the stuff in our lives right now" She hasn't let go of his hand but she smiles. "You beat up Teo?"

"Deal." agrees Vic easily. "Hell, I sure don't need anymore enemies, that's for sure." He hesitates and asks, "If it's the same guy I'm thinking of, I call him Mailbox Man. He made the mistake of talking trash to me when I was looking for Sylar. For his trouble I ran him a full city block and slammed him into a mailbox in half a second. And then I bawled like a baby and made a big spectacle of myself. Which only had to look worse for him because his butt got kicked by a crybaby."

Yeah… yeah that fits with what she had healed. There's a shake of her head. "Men. I got errands to run now and I need to go visit someone I know in the hospital, but.. you have my number and I have yours and we can.. think of something to do yes?"

Vic lets go of Abby's hand easily and nods, "Sure thing." He gets up and offers, "Take your trash for you? I'll call you tonight. Okay?"


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