Participants:
| Scene Title | No More Bullet Holes |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Lynette returns home to the Benchmark and tells their daughter what happened. |
| Date | April 24, 2018 |
Benchmark: The Benchmark: Ruiz Family Suite
The Ruiz Family apartment is a welcoming one. The morning sun hits the corner windows of the main room, giving the apartment a warm glow even through the curtains. A couch and coffee table sit opposite an entertainment system that was a bit of a splurge. But with the collection of movies, music, and games that sit there, it was a good choice for them. Near by, there is a pair of guitar stands, one of them quite small, where Mateo's guitar and his charango live when they're not in use.
The walls hold a gallery-style grouping of framed pictures. At the center is a panoramic of a beach in Mexico that is, quite frankly, gorgeous. But it also includes a photo from Lynette and Mateo's wedding day, Silvia covered in paint and laughing, the three of them squished together and laughing. And such things to showcase a happy family.
Silvia's artwork is sprinkled around the room as well, enough to show that her parents are proud of her talent and hard work, but not quite enough to be totally embarrassing. It's a delicate balance.
Off the living room, a hallway leads to the family's bedrooms while the other direction opens into a small kitchen.
By the time Lynette makes it home, night has well and truly fallen. Blood stains her suit and her hair, so she tries to be quiet as she comes into the apartment. She'd left in a rush, so she doesn't have much with her as she comes home. Keys get dropped in a dish on a table, her shoes kicked off, her jacket removed so she can survey the damage.
She should probably be more alarmed at how many suits she has been losing to bloodstains lately.
But she isn't. What she is, is tired. Emotionally, physically. And yet, rest is out of the question. There is a lot to tell Silvia, after all. It would probably be better not to look so alarming when she does it.
Lynette might not get that chance to clean up after all. The simple noise of the door alerts Silvia that someone's entered the apartment. And given the late hour, it's certainly going to draw attention. Slipping over to the doorway to her bedroom, Silvia opens the door a crack to peek out.
Seeing Lynette's state, though, she pushes the door open and heads out. "Mom? What's wrong?"
Hearing Silvia's voice, Lynette turns to look down the hallway. Her hands run through her hair as she lets out a heavy sigh. "Sil," she says, dropping onto the couch. "Everything's okay," she says, although that is clearly not accurate. She seems to realize a moment later, because she adjusts her statement. "Going to be, anyway. Come sit."
She lays her jacket over her lap, covering the worst of the stains before she turns back to her daughter. "Your dad got hurt," she says, her tone gentle, but she doesn't hedge around the point. Silvia's been through enough in her life, Lynette knows better than to sugarcoat bad news too much. "It's serious, but he's stable."
Silvia makes her way over toward Lynette, her eyes looking between the woman and the door before heading in closer. She slides into a seat next to Lynette. "What happened?" She's certain it's a mess if Mateo got himself hurt—he's a capable person, it'd take a lot to bring him down.
"He's stable, that's good… but is he going to be alright? I mean, like… he's not going to get worse, right?"
When Silvia sits down, Lynette puts her arm around her. "He got shot. He made his way to help, though, so he's been patched up. And he's being looked after while things are still touchy. He'll be okay." Whether or not it's possible for her to know that, she sounds confident about it.
"Do you want to go see him? He'll understand if you need to skip it, so don't feel like you have to if it'll be too much. But if you want to, I'll take you over right now."
"Nono, I want to see him. I want to see that he's okay myself." Silvia leans in against Lynette for a moment, looking down at her feet. "I want to see him, even if he's in bad condition." She bites on her lower lip. "Why'd he get shot? Was he helping someone?"
Her eyes go back up to Lynette, questioning. "I'm just glad he got to safety."
"He hasn't been able to talk about it yet, so I'm not sure what happened. He'll tell us, when he can, yeah?" Lynette hugs Silvia tighter when she leans in, to both give and get comfort. "So am I, lovely. God, so am I." The alternative to safety… well, she's glad things didn't go that way.
RayTech's SafeZone Branch
Security knows to let them back in, at least, when the other Ruizes show up at RayTech's doors. Lynette was only gone long enough to collect their daughter and change her clothes. A guard leads them to the room Mateo is recovering in. Far from the entrance. No windows to the outside. Secure. And clean. Lynette holds the door open to let Silvia in to see him first. The sound of the door opening is really Mateo's only warning that he's about to get visitors.
Between the gunshot wound and the transfusion, Mateo still looks pale and a little sweaty when he sits up as he's given the warning. Or tries to sit up. The bed props, as most hospital-like bads do, but he can't actually support his own weight enough to sit up. His dark hair curls even more than usual, but he's been cleaned up a lot. No blood on his mouth, his chest is wrapped and the bandaging covered a little too so the teenager won't be traumatized by the sight of a bleeding wound. Not like his wife had been, at least.
The power was back on, too, which was good. The cleaners had been cleaning the lobby when they came through. "Sil…" he responds as soon as he sees the girl, voice hoarse and tired, but he's speaking. Breathing.
Silvia pushes past the doorway to make her way into the room, hurrying over to Mateo's bedside. At least he didn't look too bad, albeit pale. She moves close, her hands resting on the edge of the bed.
"You look good for someone who got shot." She offers him a smile.
Lynette watches Silvia pass into the room, lingering at the door as she looks over at Mateo. For a moment, there's panic in her expression. But she looks away, collects herself, and follows after Silvia with a light smile.
"He can't help it, he's always handsome," she says, coming to the other side of the bed. To fuss. The angle of the bed is checked, his pillows fluffed, a blanket moved over his legs.
That makes him laugh, but he regrets the laugh a moment later. Ruiz winces and settles back onto the raised bed. "'could have been worse." She could have shot him in the head. Thankfully that hadn't happened, or— well— he's not about to point fingers at who had been involved. "no one else was hurt. That's what matters."
Though he's concerned about the blackout. That could have harmed someone, but he hadn't really had a choice. He couldn't out run her in a conventional way.
Reaching out toward the girl, his daughter, he rests his hand on hers, neverminding that he has an IV sticking out of it and tape holding the tubing and needle down. He's honestly too weak to grasp her hand, but he can lay it there, at least. A sad look is cast from her to Lynette.
"You're right. He's the best looking." Silvia states proudly as she looks between Mateo and Lynette. Her hand moves to take Mateo's, doing the grasping for the both of them. "Don't you go getting yourself shot again, though, alright?" Her gaze goes back to Lynette for a long time. "And you either. Neither of you are allowed to get shot."
She squeezes Mateo's hand. "There are a few people who need you around. At least. Probably a lot. You're a very influential person." She chuckles lightly.
At that sad look, Lynette moves her hand to brush through his hair, her smile bittersweet. But when Silvia speaks, she looks over to the girl. "I second that. No more getting shot. The Ruizes have reached their limit on bullet holes." None left for Silvia.
Her hand moves to Mateo's good shoulder, fingers gently brushing his cheek on the way there. The last words from their daughter get a light laugh and she looks down at Mateo again. "Yes, and who else would finish the alarm system, hmm?" As if that were the real issue here.
"No more bullet holes, agreed," Mateo responds with a small nod, eyes sliding shut for a moment as he leans back. The painkillers they'd given him aren't as strong as they could be, but they were strong enough. "You shouldn't have to stay the night here. I'd hate for you to miss school." Especially since he knew it was near the last week. That part had been to Silvia. "But it's good to see your face."
It reminds him of the last of the people he was fighting for, fighting to be different than the man he'd once been for. In fact…
She'd been the first. The first one he'd tried to change for. The first one he'd found as someone he could make amends with.
"No more bullet holes." Silvia looks at the two of them before her attention goes back to Mateo. "Really? You don't want me to miss school when you got shot? Nothing happens the last week of school anyways." She looks back over to Lynette as if asking for permission.
"Sorry, my darling," Lynette says to Mateo, although she gives Silvia a crooked smile, "I don't think you're going to be able to get rid of us. I'll handle the school." She shakes her head a little, in disbelief. This man. "I think she can miss a few days of filler. And in any case, it would be very hard to be in class when there's something like this to worry over, right?"
"Fine, you can miss school," Mateo responds with a sigh, though he sounds amused. He'd laugh, but that would move his shoulders and it would hurt, so he doesn't. "I'm sure that they can move in a few extra beds for the two of you." Then he half grins for a moment as he adds, "As long as you don't snore too, Silvia." And by too, he's implying Lynette does.
Jokingly. Because she doesn't really.
"Yeah, no school!" Silvia grins. "And really, I think you two would be right at my bedside if I got shot. Only fair if we were here." She snorts. "And no, I don't snore. I won't do that until I'm old." Now she's taking shots.
"Alright, you two," Lynette says in playful chiding, "The things I put up with." She flips her hair back over her shoulder with a huff.
But a moment later, she leans over to kiss Mateo's forehead and breaks away from the bed. "Sil, stay with your father. I'll see about getting extra beds moved in here." She stops next to her, too, to kiss the top of her head before she slips out to bother the nearest RayTech employee.
As Lynette leaves, Mateo's eyes follow her, before he shifts his hand again to hold onto his daughter's a little better. He at least gets his fingers to curl around her hand this time. "I'll be okay. I'm leaving you again."
Cause he'd left her many times before. But not this time.
Silvia watches Lynette leave as well before her attention turns back to Mateo. She squeezes his fingers gently and gives him a look. "You'd better not. Don't know what I'd do without you… either of you. I'm not ready to be on my own." She gives him a genuine smile. "I know you'll be okay. You'll always make it back, if not for me, than for her. True love and all that."
"True love," Mateo responds with a soft sound that might be a hint of laughter. Cause he knows how cheesy it sounds, even if he agrees with her. But he also knows that they might be, somehow, destined to lose each other. A woman who seemed to know something about that seemed to believe it…
"But remember, I loved you first," in a completely different way, of course. He'd loved that little girl made of sand, so much that when he finally found her again, when he finally felt ready to be what he knew he wanted to be for so long, he'd adopted her.
There's a grin from Silvia. "Yeah, I was first, so don't you ever forget that. You love me too." She leans down and kisses the back of his hand. "You saved me from a lot of things and I'll always be grateful. I couldn't ask for a better dad. And hey, I love you too."
For a moment, Mateo looks as if his eyes are watering. Just from the pain, really, but he pulls her hand closer and kisses her hand right back. "Good, cause you're stuck with me."
For a long, long time, he hoped.