Orange Juice And TheraFlu

Participants:

brian_icon.gif katherine2_icon.gif veronica_icon.gif

Scene Title Orange Juice And TheraFlu
Synopsis Veronica is sick and Katherine is coming in from working at the collapse site. Brian walks in on the two hugging; Vee and Brian argue, per usual.
Date October 12, 2009

Veronica and Brian's Apartment


After that first morning at the collapse, Kat has spent every day since down there, assisting with whatever she can. That first failed attempt at rescue has a profound affect on her psyche and she has gone down there every day wanting to make a difference and wanting to succeed at helping. It's late and she's been sent home, she's only a civilian now, after all so they will only let her stay so long before they send her home to get some rest but after promising she can come back the following day.

The way home was long and after changing several buses, she finally gets off at the stop closest to Veronica and Brian's apartment. She pulls a single key from her pocket and opens the door and steps inside. She's filthy dirty once again and she closes the door behind her as she considers taking a shower to get all the grime that has caked onto her body.

Veronica's been gone since the 7th on a business trip, chasing the pile of bodies left, she assumes in this case, by Adam Monroe. She of course didn't mention the focus of her trip to Kat — just that she had to go away for a couple of days. When Kat opens the the door, Veronica is curled up on the couch with a laptop. A chenille throw is draped over her lap, and instead of her usual tank top and boxer shorts, she's in a sweatshirt and flannel pajama bottoms.

Tired looking eyes move from the screen of her laptop to Kat, and she smiles. "Hey," she murmurs, her husky voice huskier with what seems to be a cold. "How are you doing?"

"Oh." is the soft response as Katherine forgot that Veronica was supposed to be home today. At least, she thinks it was today. Perhaps it was tomorrow. All she knows is that when she left today, there was no one here and when she comes home, Veronica is there. "Sorry, I am not trying to leave a mess." she is in front of the door and taking off her dirty shoes so as not to track dirt into the carpet. "I just was going to try and clean up a little bit." She means herself. "I have been helping out down at the collapsed building. I like to help, so I was trying to consider a job that would allow me to do that."

"That's good," Veronica says, looking a little surprised. She sits up a bit. "Don't worry about cleaning, Kat, really. Just come sit down a bit and relax," she says with a shake of her head. "That's great that you're volunteering. Does your ability help you, or is it all just old fashioned manual labor?" She sets the laptop on the coffee table. "That must be really tiring." Veronica's made more of a mess in the last few hours than either Kat or Brian have in the few days of her absence. There are some cold medicine packages on the coffee table and a half dozen Kleenex balls wadded up among them.

Katherine looks at herself for a moment, then to the couch. She's /really/ dirty. "I'll just be a few moments." she reassures Vee as she slips into the bathroom. The shower run and stops within only a few minutes as she comes out wearing a bathrobe and is rubbing a towel over her uneven haircut. "I should go back down to Raquelle's and let him finish the haircut. Sorry about that, by the way. I have been feeling more and more like I've been in the way around here. If you and Brian are getting.. married, then I feel like I'm in the way." Katherine takes a seat next to Vee on the couch. "Can I get you something more for your cold? I'm sure there's a voodoo place down the street I can go to since you've tried everything in the pharmacy." Katherine is starting to get a little of her humor back, it seems. Either that, or she was being entirely serious.

"Don't be sorry. It was my fault, entirely," Veronica says with a sigh, bringing her sock-clad feet up onto the couch, tucking them under the edge of her blanket. "You're not an inconvenience and not in the way, and as you probably noticed, Brian's rarely around anyway." She actually needs to talk to the man, about the latest murder — not that she expects to get any more out of him than she did regarding the last. "And it's not like we're getting married any time soon. We can't even tell people we're dating right now," she says with a sigh, rubbing her eyes. At the last, her lips curve into a smirk. "Sure, go behead a chicken and bring me back an elixir of chicken blood and gator tail, I hear that does the trick."

Glancing at Veronica for a moment, Katherine looks as if she might actually do that. If she weren't in her bathrobe. "You might be careful what you ask for." she reaches over and gives Veronica a gentle poke. "I saw Elisabeth Harrison at the site a few days ago and helped her with a rescue though we didn't get to him in time and he died. I wasn't entirely sure how I felt about that. I mean, it's sad, but I felt like I was doing some good. You know?" she stands and walks back to the bathroom and hangs back up the towel she was using to dry her hair. She then walks over and gets a glass of water. "Need anything from here? Orange juice?"

"Elisabeth Harrison — how is she doing?" Veronica says with a little furrow of worry marring her brow. She's not sure if Kat knows what the woman has been through, nor quite ready to explain it to her. "No, I'm okay. I've been hydrating so much I'll float away if I drink anything else," she says with a shake of head. The mention of Harrison, the reminder of the violence in her life so recently, brings the thought of Minea Dahl closer to the surface, and Veronica glances away for a moment. She has to tell Kat that news, at the least.

Nodding, Katherine closes the fridge and brings her glass back over to the couch. She gives Veronica a glance and can sense that something is up. "Did something happen while you were gone? Are you okay?" She doesn't want to pry, but the curiosity factor tends to take the front seat when Kat senses there's something to be curious about. She sinks back onto the couch after taking a drink from her glass and sets it on the table next to the meds that are piled up.

Veronica nods, and her eyes drop to her feet, covered by the gray blanket as they are. "Minea Dahl," she begins, her voice softer yet, "Minea Dahl was murdered a few days ago. I found out while I was on my trip, or I would have told you earlier." The words make it so final, so true, and Veronica can't help it. She's trying to be strong, so as not to frighten or upset Kat, but there is a limit to her strength; she has lost too many people, and Minea has been one of the few friends she has here in New York, there whenever she needed her. The tears spill over, streaking down her cheeks. "I'm sorry," she murmurs to Kat, both for the unsettling news and for the fact she can't be stronger in giving them.

There's a soft gasp from Katherine as the words sink in and she almost immediately moves to wrap her arms around Veronica, sick or not. She hugs her close and rocks her gently. It's almost as if the words haven't yet been processed by her brain, yet somehow she knows enough to want to comfort her friend. Her own loss is not yet evident because in the end, Minea Dahl was her friend too. As a Company agent, there are things that Katherine should ask, but those parts of her are gone now it seems. "I'm so sorry." Even with her patchy memory, there are parts of her that remember Minea Dahl. But the one memory that she doesn't have is the one where they tried to apprehend Adam Monroe. "Do they know what happened? Who did it?"

The gasp makes Veronica inhale deeply, trying not to cry all the harder. She cried, truly cried, alone in her hotel room after Len called her and told her the news. "I don't know," she whispers, shaking her head and hugging Katherine back, stroking the other woman's uneven haircut lightly. "They don't know." She closes her eyes and takes another deep breath, before sitting back and wiping her face. "She was a good friend to you. To us both." Veronica's strongest memories of Minea are the way the older agent helped her get through Kat's "death," and how she looked after Veronica by giving the other woman documents to get out of dodge if the Company got brought down. "I'll find out about a service, though. And if I find out who did this, well. Let's just say my list is getting longer."

"I don't think my mind works the way it used to, I mean when I did the same job as you. I wish I could help you. Help them find who did this." The old Katherine would have been all about vengeance and payback, but this Katherine isn't about that at all. It's about helping and wanting to help. She can admit when she's not the best she can be. She continues to hold Veronica, feeling that this is what she should be doing for her friend. Her former lover. "I hope you find who did it." Her hand gently strokes at Veronica's back.

"I do too," Veronica whispers. "Part of me wonders if it's the same person I'm already after." She doesn't say the name Adam Monroe. "Which … well, I don't know how I'm going to manage that job either. Even if I can catch up to him and find him, I don't know what to do, how I can get even." This admission only serves to frustrate her all the more. "Anything else happen while I was gone?"

Kat is still trying to figure out how to process someone's death. She's almost grateful for the sidetracking question as Vee asks what else has gone on. "I meant to get over to get my hair fixed, but ended up helping at the collapse site, which I already told you. Um.." Nothing else really. That's all she's done for the past several days. It's been keeping her busy and it's been good honest work, even if it doesn't pay anything.

The door opens and closes, taking the key out of the knob before he kicks it shut the young man tosses the keys into the air before snaking his hand up and plucking them back out of the air abruptly. Shoving them into his pocket the all black clad, Ex-Agent walks into the apartment quietly humming a song to himself. A song Veronica will most likely recognize.

"Hellooo." Brian stops short as his eyes behind the aviators waltz up to the sight of the two women. Pausing he tilts his head somewhat. Group hug? :D

Veronica turns wet eyes to the door — even without the tearful countenance, she looks like crap. In her Cal sweatshirt on top and a blanket covering her bottom half, despite the early evening hour, she's clearly not well. Six different kinds of cold medicine litter the coffee table, along with the balled up Kleenex all pointing to the fact that despite whatever grief and trauma have caused the tears, Agent Sawyer is also fighting a cold. Vee smiles and lets go of Kat to wipe her eyes, reaching for a fresh tissue.

"Hey, Brian," she says to the man she hasn't seen since leaving on the business trip six days ago. She wipes her eyes again with a tissue, this time. "I was just telling Kat — you should know, too. Minea Dahl was murdered."

The door gets Katherine's attention as she glances up at Brian as he walks into the apartment. As Vee explains about Minea's death, Katherine feels the need to add. "And Veronica's sick." Not that it wasn't a clue with all the cold medicine on the coffee table. "She's taken medicine already though, so she should get well soon." Because that's the way it's supposed to work, right? Katherine starts to rise. "You can sit here if you want," she offers as she can easily move to another chair.

Slinging down his black bag, Brian steps around the table, one hand swinging out to seize Katherine's wrist as she starts to move. "We can all sit together." He says with a sweet smile in addition. It's just that he's trying to be nice. Really. Nothing to do with Cardinal's suggestion of a threesome. :/ Plopping down on the couch, he goes to sling one arm around Veronica and should Katherine allow it, her too. Though Veronica is the one that gets a kiss atop the head. "Minea." He says dully, frowning slightly. "Were you close?" He asks, frowning deeply at Katherine's comment on how Veronica is sick. "I'm sorry Vee, want me to make some soup or tea or something?"

No, this isn't awkward at all. Veronica is also not the type to want coddling when sick. "No, thanks. I don't even want to eat." She wrinkles her nose at the thought of it. "And I've had TheraFlu already." Another wrinkled nose. That stuff is disgusting. "Yeah. We were close. She was there for me when things were rough," she says, her husky voice raw from the cold and the emotion. "If it's public enemy number one behind it, I expect you to tell me," she says, her voice chilly as she glances at him. "And also, know about anything happening up in Maine? It's where I caught this lovely cold."

Katherine doesn't stop him from putting his arm around her, though after a moment she does rise from the couch. In bathrobe, she marches into the kitchen and places her glass into the sink. "Sounds like you two have some things to discuss that I probably shouldn't be privvy too, so I'll.." She'll? She sleeps on the couch, so she can't really just go to bed. "I have a couple of things I need to do." She slips into the bathroom, taking a few moments to change. "I'll be back in a couple of hours." With that, she slips out of the door.

"Good use of privvy." Brian says quietly as Katherine takes her leave. Though when he looks back to Veronica he realizes now might not be the best time for jokes. With his arm around her shoulders, he attempts to pull her into his chest somewhat giving a shake of his head. "If Adam made a move on Minea, he didn't let me know about it." Brian says, quite honestly. It's refreshing. And then back to lies. "Maine?" He gives a little shake of his head. "What happened in Maine?"

Veronica frowns a little as Kat runs off again, but it's true, she probably should talk to Brian regarding Maine without Kat in the room. "Be safe," she calls after the other woman, then turns to Brian as he answers her questions. Or doesn't answer her questions, as the case may be. "Another founder. This time the body's missing, though," she says, leaning against him. Her forehead against his neck is warm, feverish. "It feels different than the others. The body missing, for one. He didn't keep any of the others."

"Maybe he changed things to shake things up. I don't know, was there sign of a struggle? Maybe someone else killed her. The Company has a lot of enemies." It's truth in form of a lie. Adam didn't kill Victoria, and neither did he. A mysterious third party. But it's the only veiled hint he can give. Leaning down he goes to plant a kiss on her hot forehead. Looking to the door, he glances back to the bathroom. "Wanna take a shower? Showers always make me feel better when I'm sick."

"I already took a shower," she says, closing her eyes and leaning her head back on the back of the couch. "Bit of a struggle, it looks like. Shotgun bullet in the wall, some blood. There was a kid." She frowns at that. "I don't know. Anything you can tell me on Monroe these days? I'm beginning to think it's all pointless. I mean, no matter what I do, I'm a step behind — pretty soon they'll all be dead, and I won't have stopped a single murder. And even if I catch up to him — what then? I can't kill him." Defeatist attitude, a side effect of Thera-Flu?

"Well it's clear now that he's taking out all the founders." Brian tilts his head for a moment. "He's obviously been going after the lower profile members. But there are a few more. A few more which are harder for him to get to. But that doesn't mean he won't quit altogether. Maybe you should talk to them? Like Linderman, or Angela Petrelli? Hell, I could take you to Linderman myself." Brian offers, bringing one hand up to go through her hair. "A kid. You got a picture of this kid? Know what he looks like?"

"They all know. I assume the richer ones, the ones the Company truly gives a shit about, have bodyguards, but some of them are arrogant and will assume they are untouchable, I'm sure," Veronica says with a shrug. "It's not part of my job description at any rate. Told it's been handled, but…" she shrugs again and runs a hand through her hair. "So Adam and his crew didn't go to Maine recently? Are they in town?"

"Yes. They're in town." Brian says softly, frowning. "Are you sure you should be so concerned about this? A friend of yours just died Vee. It's okay to mourn. It's okay to have some down time. You're not invincible Vee. You don't have to try to be hard here. I've seen you cry baby, if you need to grieve, you can grieve." His arms go to loop around her waist, pulling her partially into his lap.

"Crying won't stop them. Whoever killed her." The words are clipped, mostly so she can keep the clamp on the tears that threaten to spill. "I'm not saying I don't cry, or that I'm above it, but it doesn't solve anything." She shakes her head. "Why am I running around like an insane person on a wild goose chase when you know where he is?"

"I don't have a GPS tracker on him Veronica. For one he's immortal, two, he's well guarded, three he has a troupe of Evolved that would die protecting him. Go shoot him in the head Vee, and watch the bullet pop back out of his skull. Something like this takes patience, it takes strategy, it takes a lot of planning, and some compromise." Compromise of morals. Like hauling a dead woman's body across a state border. "How did she go?"

"I know. Believe me, I know." She sighs and reaches for the file that's under the box of Kleenex, pulling a photograph from it of the young boy. "Dahl was shot. In the chest." She frowns and looks into Brian's gray eyes. "You swear to me you're on my side here? That you're not trying to protect Monroe, for God knows what reason? Was he in town last weekend? You have enough resources, replicates, you could know where he is at all times if you wanted to. You don't need GPS."

"If you're accusing me of protecting Adam Monroe. Of being on his side. Get off of me right now." Brian says coldly. "You're upset and you're sick, so I'll pretend you didn't just imply that." His teeth click shut as he delivers a solid look down at her. "You know I love you. Everything I ever do is for you. To make sure you're safe."

The cold tone surprises Veronica, and she does in fact get up and off the couch. "You never answer anything I ask. I get that you have things you're working on, but it's always 'I'll get back to you' and you never do. You can't blame me for doubting, can you?" Well, maybe he can. Her eyes fill with tears as she picks up the mug that held Thera-Flu and heads into the kitchen. She puts the cup in the sink. "Everyone lies about everything, Brian. My whole life's a lie. So is yours. How the hell do we know what's true?"

Leaning forward, Brian slowly goes to stand. Taking a few steps towards the kitchen he sighs softly. "Everything I do is for you Vee. Isn't that enough? I love you. And I would do anything for you. I would tell you everything. All my secrets and lies, if that's what you want." He takes a few steps closer to you. "Just don't leave me." He ends rather pathetically.

She's the one who said they probably should keep their secrets to themselves, wasn't she? She leans against the counter, her shoulders slumped, her head barely lifted. "I'm sorry. It's not that I think you're really on his side, but maybe you're hiding stuff to protect me. To keep me safe." His own words. "But my job, it isn't safe. And I can't do it if I'm being protected." She brings her eyes upward, the rims swollen, the whites bloodshot. "Just help me get him in the end."

Going to lean against the counter next to her, he folds his arms across his chest. He frowns lightly before looking over at her. "Of course Vee. I hate him every bit as you do." He sidles closer to her, one arm slinging around her back. "You can do your job just fine without relying on me, Vee. Not every agent has a rogue fiancee working with the enemy." He smirks a little bit, tugging her in. "So. Fight's over right? You too sick for make up sex? Katherine said she would be gone a couple hours."

"Will you settle for make-up snuggles? You should stock up on Vitamin C by the way," she says weakly, yawning a bit. The last few days have been busy and emotional. "I can't breathe well enough as it is." As if to punctuate her words, she sneezes, and reaches for another Kleenex, this from a box on the kitchen counter.

"Make-up snu— What?" Brian says , his lips draggin down some. "But.. It's been like a week, Vee." He whines, pushing himself away from the counter, throwing his hands out as he goes to follow her and her kleenex to the bedroom. "You don't even have to do anything!" His arms flail about in his desperate attempt as they fade out of the kitchen.


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