Participants:
Scene Title | Giving Back A Cat One Life |
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Synopsis | Felix is far too happy, Abby's far too happy, Teo's just Teo and there's a Doctor who's in love with Abby's gift. |
Date | January 29, 2009 |
There are a lot of victims. The halls are crowded with those sufficiently healthy to not need monitoring equipment, resting on gurneys. It's like a war zone. Fel, however, is in the ICU. There are two doctors exiting the ward. "I remember that guy. He used to be a cop," says a dark haired, tiny woman, discarding bloodied rubber gloves. "I treated him for a double GSW a few years back. Apparently he has some awful luck." "Awful luck?" retorts her partner, a tall, rather stooped blonde man. "He survived. That's lucky enough."
Abigails waiting, looking enough after her work on teo and her rest like she could be one of the people who might be resting in a wheelchair. When the doctors backs are turned, the blonde slips in, a takeout container with half a sandwich left and a salad. Red bull in her backpack clinks when it connects with the door frame and she looks back, worried that they might have heard her. But success. She has her ID, her registration card as well, but she'd rather not be wrangled into more healing, not yet than she has to. Already on her way to Felix's room she spoke a prayer and touched a few people, improving how they were as she 'talked' with them, pretending to be a candy stripper. She'd do more of that, later. Right now, there was one Agent Ivanov on her list.
A glance around to find his chart as the bag is put down, as well as the food so she can see what she's dealing with. Chart, chart, chart. Back outside the door? She ducks her head out and success, there it is. It's snapped up and she sits in his room. Totally prepared to flash the card if she needs to. Hoping she doesn't. Pages flipped, looking for the injuries listed, know what she has to deal with while she pops open a red bull and guzzles.
The equipment hooked up to him beeps dully. Felix, according to his chart, is a hair away from death - there's a stab wound in his back that nearly killed him, as well as a good bit of blunt trauma. Massive blood loss. He's actually on his belly, for easier access to that terrible wound. His face is turned to one side, pale as the pillowcase it rests on, mostly hidden by the oxygen mask. The hospital is busy and noisy, but here, at least, it's quiet.
Some part of her whines, that she spent so much time down in Teo's room. But it's Teo, and she'll never justify going to him first. She just does. Felix though, she can't do a single damn thing for the blood loos except eye the bag of red that drips into him. There's a stool near the bed, on wheels and she takes that, picking it up so to avoid unnecessary noise and sets it down on the side that he faces. "I'm here Agent Ivanov. I'll get you back up. I promise" She murmurs, treating him as if he could hear her.
There a deep breath and she settles a hand on his back, and one on the upturned side of his face. I will not die an unlived life. I will not live in fear of falling or catching fire. I choose to inhabit my days, to allow my living to open me, to make me less afraid, more accessible, to loosen my heart until it becomes a wing, a torch, a promise. I choose to risk my significance; to live so that which came to me as seed goes to the next as blossom and that which came to me as blossom, goes on as fruit." The first few words trigger it, her ability and start to fix the agent once again. Warmth and tingle, thing within his body slowly start to tweak, rearrange, knit, make themselves proper.
He's still low in blood pressure, pulse weak and thready. But the pain eases, the skin knits itself slowly back up - what was a gash in muscle down to bone becomes a raised, livid mark, as if it'd had the benefit of weeks of time to heal. Ugly, but no longer deadly. Fel himself remains limp, but his breathing eases, becomes less of a struggle behind the mask.
She's taking her time, not pressing her skill or luck. She's just a day shy of having fished herself out of a river and severe hypothermia. The prayer ends, falling silent with a soft "amen" but the healing doesn't stop. The hand on his back slides up to the back of his head. Silent benediction now, prayers for the Agents well being, requests to god to see fit to send his servant healing and bring him back from the slippery slope that Felix teeters on. "Ivanov" Abigail calls quietly. She may not get all of him done, not this time around. She needs to eat, finish eating, get more red bulls in her, maybe a nap but she can get him out of danger at least. Another few minutes on low should do it.
He's lost in dreams of violence, blood on the snow, the sound of gunfire. But he comes up out of it, momentarily panicked, sucking in a deep, sudden breath behind the mask. The monitors all squeal in protest. It takes him a few heartbeats to recognize where he is, and who's with him. Still not yet able to speak, though he fixes Abby with a questioning gaze.
"You'll be okay" The hiccup and squeal in monitors of course are going to draw attention, but she anticipated that. Laid out on top of Felix's chart on the movable table is her evolved ID. Abigail Beauchamp, Registered tier 0 evolved healer. Her neat little ID number and picture that match the woman there for anyone who comes. "Just stay still, relax, if you can. I'll get you stable, and then nap, and then I'll get you the rest of the way. Then you can fight with the doctors about discharging you Ivanov, and … I'll melt away as if I was never here" She can hear people moving towards the room, but her attention is solely for the man who's feeling better as the second hand on the clock ticks over and over.
His hands are bound with IVs - needles in each arm. There's a little futile twitching, before he realizes he can't properly roll over, or take off the mask. He fights to get enough breath, enough strength to speak. "Owe you," is what comes out, in a ghostly wheeze, followed by a definite nod. "We win?"
No comment to the owing. "He's dead. By my hand Ivanov. We won. We lost a few. Someone will fill you in, another day. Not me" There's an agry looking doctor who's at the door, striding in followed by nurses. "What are you doing here? Who are you? Remove your hands from mypatient!" the outraged physician as the other two make to check Felix's vitals. Abby doesn't remove her hands though, not both, just one to reach over and grab the registration card and offer it up. "I can heal. The agent here is a friend of mine. I'm taking care of him. I don't' suggest taking my other hand off him, till I can taper off the healing and it's safe to stop" which, really, is anytime, but she's not about to tell them that.
"s okay. 's okay," Fel is trying to be helpful, even from such an undignified position. The doctor stops short. "What's he doing conscious?" demands the male nurse who's flanking him, utterly confused. The female nurse on the other side crosses herself, unthinkingly. "He was in a coma," says the doctor, anger somewhat defused by sheer wonder.
She's not going to point out the obvious. Cause the obvious is in his hands. Just keeps pumping the healing, turning it up now that Felix is awake. She shares a look with the fed, a very near invisible roll of her eyes for the doctor's anger and obliviousness.
There's a funny little wheezing sound from Felix. It'd be laughter, were it more robust. The doctor's already checking him over with the dispassion of a vet with an animal, and he doesn't object. "It's fine," he rasps. "She is what she says. I'm…better." Not entirely healed, but better.
There's a pull whenever one of the others hands come in contact with Felix, if there's anything to heal, even tired worn muscles, and sore feet. That makes the blonde frown. 'Can.. can you not touch him till after. I have what I have for him and your pulling on it. It's.. Sorry, just it wears me down and I'm already so very tired" She's not trying to sound snarky, though she blows across Felix's ear to make him stop laughing.
Fel obligingly stops. The doctor snatches his hand away. "You can do that on demand? Do you have any limitations?" he wonders. He's like a dog pulling on the leash - even Fel is incidental to Abby's power, now.
"yes and no" She's really really not about to say "when god lets me" to the doctor. Fel gets a completely different look now, one that's annoyance, like she knows what might be coming down the pipeline. "And yes, I do. Have limitations" She's not elaborating.
Fel looks innocent, blue eyes wide. The doctor is still eying Abby with something like greed. "I think," he says, "You're welcome on my ward whenever you choose to visit. So long as you check in. I'm Phillip Abbot," He holds out a hand to her, and then lets it hang, rather awkwardly. Oh, wait, no touching.
The annoyance isn't for him, Felix, but it vanishes as she lifts her eyes to the Dr. "Dr Abbot, Abigail Beauchamp. I'll remember that for the future. If you like, I'll come visit next week, and I can spend a little time with everyone who's up here" Since ICU is filled with high risk people. "In exchange for letting me stay here, and help my friend" the warmth and tingling stop as Abby cuts off the healing, feeling her energy reserves going quick. She still doesn't take his hand. "I don't like to touch, unless I'm healing" Leaving that by way of explanation. "I'm not done with him, I just need to rest some, I've been running around the hospital, dishing out a little here and there, but, if I could have a cot, in here? So I can rest and I can fix him up. I can get him out of your hair faster"
Abbot lets his hand fall, but doesn't argue. "You heard the lady," he says, quietly. the nurses scatter like roaches when the kitchen light comes on. "You have a deal. Why him?" he says, jerking his chin at Felix.
"Why not him? He's.. He's a federal officer, who does much to protect us. He's someone I know and we go to church together" They did. Once. But he was under a different name and she didn't know. "He's a friend, and I hate seeing friends hurt" She shifts in the seat, looking down at Felix. She seems to have gained about 10 years since he last saw her, ten years that will disappear with rest and time.
"You better be worth it, buddy," says Abbot to Felix, who merely nods mutely from behind the oxygen mask. "Keep him under observation for the next 24," he adds, curtly. "Lady, you ask for what you need."
"Just the cot, warm blanket and coffee. I have all the redbull I need. Thank you Doctor Abbot. he'll still need blood. I can't replace or fix blood loss. I suggest, next week, by Wednesday, that you try and get a bunch of transplant people in? Five of them. I think I can handle that." hint hint. She was better off putting down that limit so that he doesn't bring in ten. "Five Doctor abbot, no more"
The doctor nods. Abby's just made herself another friend for life, clearly. "Get him out of here when she's done," he notes. "He sure as hell doesn't need to be in the ICU anymore."
"Thank you Doctor" And with that, he's devoid of her attention, formulating some kind of attack and game plan for handling the man. It was bound to happen, was just a matter of who was the doctor to broach her about what she did. Her attention is back to the injured man, waiting for the second bed to be rolled in, or a cot, something. "Just a nap. Like an hour or two. Can you hang in till then? I'm sorry, there's probably still pain, but.. I'm just.. bone tired Ivanov"
Felix finally works a hand up to where he can loosen the mask. "Abby, I'm fine. I should be dead. Don't kill yourself," he rasps to her, offering a shaky smile. He still looks like a corpse.
'Your not fine. your not fine till I can get you on your back and your walking out of here" Look, here comes something for her to lay down on, and for the first time, she smiles since in his presence as a cot is dug up from somewhere, pillows, blankets. The nurses thanked profusely by the woman and they depart. She just sinks down onto the cot, her arms resting on her knees and when there's no one listening, she's back to giving Felix her gaze. "Kazimir Volken is dead. He was right, my touch was deadly to him. Sylar is alive. Helena I think has been captured by Homeland. They were coming onto the bridge as it was collapsing. A bunch of us fell into the river and no, i don't know who all survived. Teo's downstairs, and alive. Dr. Bianco pulled some strings and got him into here. He's lacking a plate in his head, but he's also got back parts of his brain that a bullet hit and the plate was pressing in on"
"Thank god. Thank god," Felix says gently, but with real fervor. He's smiling at Abby, an oddly sunny expression. It makes him look almost young. "Lie down," he urges her, "Sleep. I'll be fine," he adds, as if he were the one to give orders.
Abby nods, a glance to the monitors above and behind him, "Just a little. Then I'll get you up proper" There's a satisfied sigh and with that, she shifts down to tuck herself under the blankets on the cot and lay her head on the pillow. "You too"
He laughs at that, and it's a surprisingly unbitter sound. "I'm good as I am, though the sooner I'm back on duty, the better. It's still bad out there, or so I understand."
"So then shut up and rest, and let your body catch up with what I did Ivanov. keep them away from me too. They're gonna come stare at me from the door while I sleep and I wouldn't put it past the doctor or someone to like.. do something" Her ID's been tucked away so it can't be pilfered from her and she turns over, her back to Felix. "I'll be awake again soon. Promise"
"I'll keep watch on you while you sleep," he assures her, gently. "Sleep well, don't kill yourself."
The back of Abby's head moves as if she's nodding before she closes her eyes. Blankets drawn up, pillow dented with her head and sending herself off to dreamland as quick as her body sends her. "Thank you"
Three hours later
Fel's as good as his word. He's tired, but far more comfortable. And he's sitting up, to the amazement of his doctor and nurses. Nor does he let them interfere with Abby, though it's all highly unorthodox. He's smiling to himself for the most part, even as he scans over the grim news in that day's edition of the Times.
Not that Abby's been disturbable. She's dead to the world if there's been any loud noises or people talking. Still as death. She stirs though, three hours later, a deep breath and uncurling of the blonde's legs. She's not turning over, not yet. She' still coming to, getting her bearings, stretching. That process from sleep to wake that people go through.
She's way up there on the list of people Fel would walk through the fire for, and he's mostly managed to keep the staff away. "Morning, sunshine," he says, blithely, as she comes back to consciousness.
"Your so perky" She's not used to perky Ivanov each time she's run into him. Thankful Ivanov, grumpy Ivanov and neutral Ivanov, but perky Ivanov. Abigail shfits so that she's eventually on her back looking up, blinking at the ceiling. "What time is it? Do you know?"
"Just past eleven," he says, easily. Ivanov isn't used to perky Ivanov. But then, he's not been on his meds for the past couple days, really. And that has much to do with it.
Teo has arrived.
Abigail's on her back on a cot against the wall of Felix's ICU room. Outside the room, there's often a look cast to the room and a whisper or two about whats happened in there. Coma patients who were written off as near death, sitting up, breathing, talking, shooing them away. Felix is sitting up in his bed with the newspaper. She blinks at the ceiling, still gathering her duff around her. getting the motivation to get her ass out of the cot. "Eleven. Okay. Three hours, roundabout" Slowly she pulls herself upright, rubbing at eyes and looking around for coffee, if there's any.
"What do you need?" Fel says. He's still got stitching in his back, to heal that horrible gap. But now it's mostly irrelevant, the wound healed, the stitches coming out, as if Fel were a worn-out toy. He looks….cheerful, despite the grimness of the headlines on the paper sprawled out over his lap.
"Coffee" Spoken as she gives a series of coughs. You don't escape nearly drowning in a river without getting something. It's leftover really. "Just, lots of coffee." After uncovering her mouth, she reaches up, running a hand through her hair. Usually only Teo and Al are privy to how she is in the morning. She's human, she's not a morning person. She's just like everyone else.
Teo wasn't stupid enough to strut out under his false identity with his miraculously healed head boasted about on the end of his neck like a prize balloon. No. He— got one of the Ferrymen's associated nurses to make sure the way ahead was clear, first, and pulled the hoodie up over his head to hide before loping off to check on Abigail and her most recent patient.
"—Caro." In an eye-blink, he's running toward the girl. Drops onto his knees, hands out to grasp her forearm and her cheek, momentarily forgetting the normal prohibitions for spontaneous touch. He remembers to spare Felix a brief glance, eyes narrowed to reassure himself this is only what he thinks it is, before he's studying Abby's face again. "You all right?"
Fel does not say Teo's name. He merely smiles, and it's completely weird on him. Like it's an expression from someone else's face entirely. Felix smirks, grins, but he never smiles like that. He's not in a hospital gown, though he has the sheet modestly pulled up to his waist - there's the topography of scars that Teo is familiar with, on shameless display. He lets her answer, and does not press the button for the attendant nurse.
"I'm fine T.. Samuel" Catching herself at the last moment. He's there, right there and by habit, her face jerks back. Personal bubble! "woke up. Need to finish healing sunshine over there and then.. and then…" Well. She doesn't have a clue really. "Sonny let you loose?"
Almost instantly, Teo's features cave into a hopeless sort of amusement. Samuel, she says with one breath. Sonny, the next. The need for secrecy flipped over, utterly backward.
It's fortunate that they have that much on Ivanov, or Phoenix might seriously have to consider the possibility of pre-emptively putting a lawman out of his misery. The smile he can still see in his peripheral warrants an erratic twitch of the younger man's jaw, stifling his rue with morbid alarm. He takes his hands back. "I'll help you up. We're out of here in an hour," he offers, by way of answer.
Fel is an ally. Now and for good, for so many reasons. And Teo and his blackmail material, well, that helps too. He settles back into politely attentive neutrality, more like his old self. "You should rest," he advises. "More. Good to see you're well," he says to Teo, naming no names.
"I need.. to come back Wednesday. They'll have some transplant patients for me to heal. I promised" As if Teo's her keeper. "I just need coffee. You know me" Coffee pot that's more sophisticated than a space shuttle. Coffee always ready and waiting when she wakes up and shuffles to the pot. "He's still hurt. I need to finish fixing Ivanov. I'll sleep when I'm dead" nooooo qualms about joking about that now. She offers Teo her hand though, so he can pull her up. "Red bulls in the purse. oh good lord, you don't have anything on" Abigail realizes belatedly, of the agent.
A little faith goes a long way. Or Teo's merely been lucky with his decisions, thus far, and insofar as he still doesn't know the full extent of the blows his small circle of heroes have taken. It's good that Felix is alive, though.
Doesn't hurt that he's naked, either. As he ushers Abby up to her feet, the Sicilian's expression — always expressive — conveys that much, pallid eyes gone slightly crescent-shaped, a smile crooked and not quite reluctant inside the shadow of his fabric. It's good to see you too. Though you look like Hell. What the fuck, dude?
A little faith goes far enough. So despite recent news, the new guillotine hanging over the burning bird, he merely nods. "You do what you have to have to do, signorina. I'll get you your coffee now, and we'll be in touch later."
And now Felix smirks. Nice to know that for -someone-, at least, despite thirty six years and a lot of rough miles, you got still got it. He scoots down enough to pull the sheet up to his shoulders. "Does that help?" he offers, quite prepared to do what he can to indulge her modesty. He can show off the new scar to Teo later, some other time.
There's a bobble headed nod and hard swallow. "Thank you. Won't take an hour Teo. Fifteen minutes maybe. Then we can go" She leans over to flip open the top of her pack, draw out three of the red bulls and open each one. Abigail chugs them down while hoping the heat in her cheeks goes away, her nose flattening when she inhales after she surfaces for air with each can.
All that smug satisfaction is an ironic if not entirely unexpected departure from the notes on which the two men separated last. Teo watches the older man from around the rhythmic push and pull of Abigail's shoulder as she replenishes her batteries. He entirely forgets to look troubled. Blame it on brain damage, maybe; it's probably better for group morale, the fewer people who know about that. Reaching up, he tweaks the hem of his hood down an inch, turns to take care of coffee, to ask if Sonny's awake yet. Mostly, to wait.
Felix settles down, propping himself against pillows, to wait. No rush there. He looks wearily content. It's all over.
And Abigail settles her butt back on the stool. Settle in to get the fed fixed up so he can get out there. No nurses or doctors to bother her this time around and poke or prod Felix. Just her hands on his chest while Teo searches for caffeine (conveniently, such is available. Gotta keep the healer happy you know, so she'll follow through on her promise and come back) Soon enough, Felix is right as rain, left to the mercy of the remainder of his observation as instructed by the doctor, but not in ICU. Abigail and Teo, off to meet up with Dr. Bianco and escape from the hospital quick as can be. Ghosts in the hall, rumors within the staff. Miracles of many kinds and hopefully more to come.
January 29th: Yesterday |
January 29th: Jet Flyin' And Limo Ridin' While Stylin' And Profilin' |