Participants:
| Scene Title | A Red With A Grudge |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Abigail and Dean talk about that damned grudge bearing commie and Abby manages to guilt her father into temporarily relocating to New York while he manages to guilt her into going back home for work the next day. |
| Date | February 18, 2010 |
Lafayette General Hospital, Lafayette, Louisiana
Elias played transport, and hours after everyone had been settled at a hospital and care taken, Abigail had poofed into Butte La Rose with the former vanguardian with as much money as she could safetly withdrawal from her bank accounts so late at night and the petty cash from the bar that she could legally take, not to mention her stash at home for emergencies that can't be put on her sole credit card or her debit.
Add on more hours getting the rundown of where everyone was, watching the smoking ruins of her home and eventually to Lafayette where her parents had been taken. Dean by ambulance, Doreen airlifted for safety and time.
Though the blonde had been in and out, trying to help take care of things for her parents, filling out forms, insurance, getting her mother upgraded to a private a room as she could get her so that her and her father could stay with her through the night. But now, she was standing at the doorway to the room, lines across her forehead, one hand in a pocket and a tall hot chocolate meant for her mother. But she just watches her mother sleep this mid-morning on Thursday instead of going in further. Guilt riddles their daughters features and she could probably use a nap, but - Like the message she left for Caliban. It's her family and she believes it's her fault. Somewhere, there is like cops or security lurking, just in case.
"Ah know that look, Abigail…" A drawl from Dean as he steps along up behind his daughter, nudging her shoulder gently with his arm and offering her a steam-shrouded cup of coffee; his arm's bandaged up from a slight burn, but he was treated for minor smoke inhalation and let go without too much fuss. "Your not blamin' yourself for this, are you?"
The look that he gives her is severe, if gentle; both stern in his wordless insistence that she'd better not, and more tender in his understanding that she probably will. He knows her well.
"If I hadn't gone, this wouldn't be happening. Dr. Kozlow wouldn't be doing what he's doing and you and momma wouldn't be homeless and momma…" And her mothers arms swaddled in white gauze and all sorts of ointments and facing lots of visits to a doctor in the future. "Can we not talk where she is? She doens't know and.. I'd rather she didn't know that her daughter… consorts with terrorists and alleged terrorists and that .." A whole bunch of stuff.
The coffee is taken from him, exchanged for the hot chocolate which is put down on a counter to be heated later for her mother. "I can't fix this Dah, and I don't.. I don't think this is the last of it"
"Ah think your Ma can take more than you give her credit for," Dean replies in quiet tones, though he does step back out of the room; carefully cradling the coffee in his other hand, he moves to walk with her down the hall towards the waiting room, his head shaking slowly, "You can't take credit for some Red with a grudge, Abigail. You didn't tell him t'come down here…"
Her mother could, of course she could. But Abigail doesn't want to face the possible disappointment of her matriach and the inevitable stern look she might get. Might. Was hard enough telling her that she couldn't heal anymore. "No Dah, I didn't. But what happened over there, what we did, this is a consequence of that. Four others have been murdered, and one hurt. And it's this Russian." Her voice is kept low, subdued due to the subject at hand, and that technically, it's not something she can or should talk about. She justifies it in her own mind because their house is now ash and her parents did get included in her deal with the government regarding taxes.
"What if you hadn't been home Dah? What then? Our house burned so fast Dah. I saw it. Pastor Sumter, he accidentally gave a vision and I saw the house burn and when I got here, it was like I'd seen. Dah, one of our group killed a young boy, who was used by someone else to try and pull off a bad thing and now.. and now his Dah is coming after us. I don't want to loose you. I don't want to loose momma, but these people, they are not content to just let what happened, happen and they're coming for blood"
To that, Dean Beauchamp's silent for long moments as he walks down the hallway, keeping his long stride shorter to match that of his daughter. "A blood feud," he says quietly, low, "Ah might not understand all of what you'n yer friends have got off to, darlin', but ah understand blood. You're right. A man like that, doin' things because of that, he ain't gonna stop. A man like that… he tries t'fill that hole with blood, but blood runs. He won't ever get enough until there's nobody left."
Is that what it's called. She coddles her cardboard cup in her hands, anger bubbling, simmering quietly beneath all the guilt and worry. Huruma'd be having a field day here, and a feast. "We saved the world again Dah. Again. Well, no. They did. I just.. I just stitched up people and got kidnapped again and beat up. Because, I do that so very well. be a distraction. They sent me home thank the Lord and they went on to do the rest and no one is any the wiser that there was almost another flood" She hadn't told him about that part. About the cast that had been around her ankle for a couple weeks.
The waiting room looms and there doesn't seem to be people in it which brings some satisfaction because they can go in and close the door behind them and stop whispering. "Come to New York Dah. I know someone with an apartment building, it's safe there, you and momma can have a place for a bit. I'm sure they'll give you as much vacation as you need Dah and we can get a good doctor, take care of momma's hands and arms and look like it never happened. That it was all a nightmare"
"Won't ever be another flood," Dean replies automatically; according to the Word, after all, God promised never again to send a deluge. "If some fool Reds or terr'rists were tryin' it, then the Lord guided your steps in helping to prevent it…"
The waiting room door's closed, and he turns a serious look upon her. "Th'city ain't for me and your momma, Abigail. You know that. Th'church an'congregation'll help us get back on our feet - an' I'm not hidin' from some bloody-minded russkie."
"I know it isn't. Some days I don't think it's for me either, but Dah.. the house is gone. Are you going to live in a hotel? Are you going to find a place here in lafayette to rent? Momma's not gonna be able to do much for weeks and you" There's a glance down to his arm and she abandons her coffee to a table to reach out and lay a hand on the gauze wrapping his arm. "I wish I could heal. Even if this was the only time I'd ever be able to do it again. Take it away, leave momma back as she should be and you…"
But that's not happening and Flint doesn't have it anymore to bed him to come down. "And if Agent Parkman wants to take you both into protective custody, are you going to tell him no? Dah, he's dangerous. He heals, and the way he heals, doesn't leave things as they were. it scars and can be painful. And the other man, Dreyfus, he's not dumb. He's.." he's dangerous. Abigail clutches at her fathers hand, morose. "I'd feel better if you were safer, that's all. I'm scared Dah. I was scared when Pastor Sumeter's gift went off and scared when Elias popped me into the yard and I saw the house. I'm scared for momma Dah"
She knows just where to hit him. Himself? He's not afraid for. Doreen, on the other hand, is another story. Dean's frown deepens all the further as he looks back down to her, listening in silence even though the pressure of her hand probably hurts on that gauze. He carried her out himself, not even noticing his sleeve was on fire.
Those rough fingers curl about hers in a firm squeeze, his head dropping with a laboured sigh. "Alright. Alright, alright, you win, darlin'. For your mah's sake, we'll come up to that damn city for a li'l while."
"Just for a little bit. We'll find someone to take really good care of Momma's arms and hands and.. and you can both play tourist. You can have a vacation. I got money, from the bar and such, I can afford to do right by the both of you for a bit and i'm sure that Cat will easily put you up and it won't cost a dime, or maybe a pittance. I'll insist on at least a pittance. I mean, the house.. it's gone, but there's insurance and you can have it rebuilt and Momma can have that sunroom she wants. I'll help her plan it all, and decorate. You could even squeeze in a bigger workshop"
She lets go of his arm after a moment, sliding her hands down to his hands and squeezing back. "You'll never fathom dah, how much you agreeing will make me feel. I don't want to loose either of you and… it came close" She lets go of his hand then, going up on toes to wrap her arms around her fathers neck and bury her face in his shoulder. "I'm giving up a fancy shin dig and… I'm not gonna make my first day of work because of this but, you're both worth it"
"Oh, you're not," Dean states rather flatly, pulling back after returning the hug and resting his hands on her shoulders, looking down towards her with a stern frown, "You are gonna make work, darlin'. It'll be a few days 'fore we can make arrangements t'move out anyway, an' no daughter've mine is gonna get a reputation for shirkin' work. What're you doin' these days, anyway, darlin'? I thought you were still in school?"
"I'm done Dah. I finished. Amazing what a letter from the president thanking you for service to your country can do about getting you back in where you left off. I graduated. I'm not the top of my class but I'm.. I'm up there. I got a job too, riding in an ambulance, assisting a paramedic. I'm supposed to start tomorrow, I got.. all my stuff bought and my uniforms and all that. I can push it a few days, they'll understand Dah, I'm sure." She looks up, way up, looking her father in the eyes. But it's a loosing battle. He forfeited to her and it's only fair that she probably forfeit this battle.
"Oh, no." Dean smiles, one hand lifting to lightly brush the tip of a finger to her nose, "You're showin' up at work. We'll have neighbors an' folk comin' to check on us anyway, we'll be safe for now."
It would ordinarily bring a smile to her face, goofy and childish. But with Joseph in the state that he is, leaving Flint, the fire, Kozlow and the others, it's a little harder to bring it to the surface for her father. "Elias can bring me back here, in a moments notice. If he can't I know another teleporter and she owes me. I'll call it in if I have to. You don't go anywhere, you stay safe, and if anyone with an accent comes near you, you yell for the cops, you understand Dah? For me"
"Ah didn't live through the Cold War without endin' up suspicious of Reds, baby girl," Dean replies, trying to joke with her, a strained smile just-touching his lips, "Ah understand. Not plannin' t'leave your momma's side, in any case."
"Okay" Okay. "I'll see if Liz knows a place or whether Cats still got her place. If Momma's gonna recover in New York, then she's going to be comfortable. I don't have room atop the bar and i am not bringing Momma there" She's satisfied with the answer. "I'll head back tonight, get my things in order, and.. I'll come back over the weekend and we'll see when Momma'll get released. See what we need to get her to New York." Her hands stroke and smooth out the shoulders of her dad's shirt. "Maybe we'll find someone to draw up the new house, yes? There got lots of architects up there. It can be your dream home. Or the same, whatever you want" She's feeling better. Still guilty but she's making plans to make her family safe, and that makes her feel better.
A low chuckle from Dean, his head shaking as he holds up a hand, "What d'we need of some… fancy big-city architect? Darlin', when we rebuild, I'm nailin' the boards down with my own two hands, you'd best believe it." He leans forward, then, pressing a kiss to her brow and murmuring, "Ah might not approve of every li'l thing you do, darlin', but I still believe you're doin' God's work. An' I'm proud of you, an' love you."
Father's approval. Who doesn't want it, need it? Accept it. "I'm trying Dah. It's a little hard to think you are when someone comes for your family" Revenge is usually lost on her. Not something she'd ever figured she'd actually get and prefers it legally instead of illegally. 'Come, lets go back to Momma's room. I got the rest of the day then, i'll book a flight home. Save Elias for the weekend"
Dean drapes an arm around her shoulder, and he reaches out to push open the waiting room's door. "Let's go see your moma, then, darlin'."