Putting It Off

Participants:

elaine_icon.gif quinn2_icon.gif

Scene Title Putting It Off
Synopsis Quinn finds Elaine following the riots a bit worse for wear than she had been before, and they both decide to go somewhere safer - though safety is a relative thing at the moment.
Date November 9, 2010

Village Renaissance: Quinn's Flat


It was a longer night than Elaine had anticipated. Getting home was harder than she thought, not to mention once she was inside, she hadn't wanted to move. And once she'd sat down, she was out cold. Since Sable wasn't around, she'd made it no further than the couch, sprawled on it, her shoes even still on.

It's a little late for Halloween, but the redhead would make a convincing corpse. A little scuffle involving the frontside of a car left Elaine with a decent number of tiny, almost meaningless scratches and a few more not-quite-as-visible injuries that were a bit worse. The overall pain left her pale, the dirt and small hints of blood on her clothes adding to the corpse-like effect. That and the fact that she's sleeping like a corpse doesn't help. She'd meant to clean up, but she'd not gotten further than the couch.

There’s a bit of a rattle before the door flies open, Quinn stepping hurriedly into the room, door flung shut behind her. It takes her until she’s almost past eh sofa the register the woman practically passed out on it, Schrödinger have settled down on Elaine’s stomach as she’s slept. The sight brings Quinn to a quick stop, and for a moment, a wave of relief washes over her.

At least, until she actually walks over to Elaine, lifting the calico cat up off her stomach and into her arms, and only then does she realise just how bad Elaine looks. “Jesus Christ, what the…” Reaching out and placing a hand on Elaine’s shoulder, Quinn shakes the woman gingerly, though not without an air of anxiousness to the motion. “Elaine? Elaine, wake up!” A look over the woman is given, bringing a frown to her face, the pallor of her skin mixed with – is that dried blood? The shaking gets a bit more fretful.

What? Warm kitty's moving off her stomach! That's the first thing Elaine thinks before Quinn's shaking and words rouse her. "Ow, ow, don't shake, don't shake, Quinn, everything hurts." The redhead groans, a hand scrubbing her eyes as she tries to adjust. "Where'd my phone go—gotta call…" Elaine blinks blearily at Quinn. "Oh, guess I don't have to call you."

The fact that Elaine awakens brings a bit of relief to Quinn, visible on her face as she lets out a sigh. “Oh thank God. What happened t’ you, Elaine?!” Quinn sounds worried, ceasing her shaking as requested. “No, I’m right here, you don’t have t’ call me, Elaine. Are you- can you sit up?” Schrödinger is released from her other arm, the cat seemingly annoyed with being removed from her perch.

Elaine doesn't respond to that, she just shifts up a bit with a wince, deciding to find out first hand if she can sit up. "Uh, there was a car and it ran into me." She reaches a hand to the back of her head, wincing. "Kinda hurt when I landed but I walked away just fine, so I'm probably okay. I ache. Worse than a hangover… at least that meant you had a good night if you have a hangover…"

“It what?!” Quinn’s eyes open wide, the Irishwoman once more looking over Elaine. “Jesus, what are you doing here and not a hospital?” This is, of course, assuming that they would have even had the room for her. Quinn jolts upright, causing the cat to spring away from the sudden movement. “You have blood on your shirt! Come on, we need t’ at least get you in the shower…”

Room is exactly why she didn't go. Elaine shook her head. "I needed to get back here in case Sable showed up so she wouldn't worry and they would have just let me sit there for hours and been too busy taking care of people who actually needed help. And I don't like hospitals, and I don't like being in them alone so I wanted to come back here. So I came back here. I probably should have tried seeing if I could find a taxi but I was kinda worried that all infrastructure would break down and that there wouldn't be any taxis running so I walked which was probably bad. Schrödinger kept me company when I got here so I was okay. I meant to shower but I sat down and couldn't get up and the cat was warm!"

It’s a bit of a whirlwind explanation, and Quinn just sort of nods, frowning all the while. “Okay, well.. you can walk, I suppose that’s good…” Quinn kneels back down in front of Elaine, a hand placed up on her cheek. “If I can go with you to the hospital, will you be willing t’ go with me? If not… I’m supposed t’ go meet Ferry people. I’m sure someone can patch you up there, but I’ll be there for a few days…” Her eyes close, and she exhales sharply. “But a shower comes first thing.”

"I dunno that I can stand that long, though, I kinda hurt my knee a lot…" Elaine protests, letting out a breath. "You're gonna be gone for a few days?" There's a soft whimper. "Do you know where Sable is? I don't know where anyone is and I don't want to be alone for days…"

“Well, I’ll help, if I need t’,” Quinn replies, furrowing her brow. “Hell, a sponge bad may be in order, an’ I don’t mean that in a dirty way either.” Elaine’s whimper makes Quinn frown, looking off to the side. “She an’ Ygraine are where I’m goin’. You’re welcome t’ come, I doubt anyone’ll protest too much. An’ I’m sure Delia’ll be there, she could check you up. Make sure nothin’s broken. But… it’s kinda a big Ferry thing. No real leaving once we get there, not for a bit.”

"I can probably shower if you keep me from falling over. I think my knee's kinda swollen.." Elaine glances back to her. "If Ygraine and Sable are gonna be there I'd better go too. I haven't heard from Magnes yet so I'd rather just go with you guys and not be alone. If you gotta hide me in a closet or something that's fine too, just as long as I can stay close."

HOw about we ice it for a bit, an' then we'll see about a shower. I can help you walk to some form of transportation or somethin'. You can rest on the boat ride, an' someone can look at you when we get there. But don't worry, we won't be far." Quinn gives a bit of a slow nod, rising back up to her feet. "No one will mind. People know you, I can vouch for you, Sable an' Ygraine can vouch for you. I'm sure Colette will too if she's around. I think it's better than you sittin' round hurt. I'll have t' get someone t' look over Shrodinger though…"

Elaine swallows hard, shaking her head a little bit. "Guess Poe was right," she mutters, then shakes her head. "It's just as dangerous to go there as it is to stay here and I'd rather be around people. I didn't live through getting hit by a car to sit around by myself. Not that you aren't lovely company, Schrödinger, you're wonderful company and so warm."

Quinn can’t help but laugh at Elaine’s addressment of Schrödinger, but it subsides rather quickly. “I’m glad you won’t mind havin’ the cat around. But… who’s Poe?” Quinn quirks an eyebrow, crossing her arms as she looks down at Elaine. “If you think it’s too dangerous – an’ I’ll understand if so – I can drop you off at Linus’ or something.”

"No! You aren't leaving me." Elaine states, then shakes her head. "Poe? You know, like Edgar Allen… aside from being a very dark if not brilliant author he's this guy I talked to yesterday… my ability is brilliant. Close to pure thought…"

Quinn smiles weakly, giving a nod. “I would never want t’ leave you Elaine. Just… I want you t’ be safe and comfortable. Not everyone like consorting with people who are wrongly bein’ branded terrorists. I mean, it’s not like the Ferry is Messiah or anything.” She rolls her shoulders in a shrug, smiling. “Brilliant? See, I told you this once. Not everyone needs t’ be flashy t’ be awesome. Glad he got it through your head, though.”

"It's not like any of us are safe anymore, Quinn. After this? Things aren't the same and even if you're not a terrorist the government's gonna start seeing it as terrorism with you just being Evolved." Elaine shrugs. "So safe and comfortable are relative terms. I'd be safe and comfortable as much as possible around the people I care about, regardless of what the government thinks of them or who they associate with." She turns towards Quinn intently. "I never thought about what language I think in and then I thought about it and I realized I don't really think in terms of language cause I always understand it so I'm not entirely sure if it's a language or if it's something else and God, I am so hungry!"

Blinking, Quinn seems a little caught off guard by the very sudden switch in topics. The idea of languages and thought and the like is admittedly rather over Quinn’s head, so instead she just gives a slow nod. “I can throw something in the oven right quick, if you’d like. We can set about getting things t’gether for the trip while it cooks, hmm?” A look is cast towards the bedroom – Quinn would need clothes at the very least. Probably take her guitar, too.

"I've got a backpack in my bedroom of stuff that I brought over before when I remembered I might need some stuff and all the stuff is still in there so we can just grab that, but food would be fantastic." Elaine shifts so she can move her legs towards the floor with a bit of a groan. "It's morning, right? What time is it?"

“A little bit before noon,’ Quinn replies, pulling her phone out of her pocket – it’s dead, but more importantly this reveals Quinn’s bandaged hand to Elaine, the Irishwoman moving to plug her phone into it’s charger, than into the kitchen. “Only the 9th, so it’s not like the movies where you were out for days. Though that might’ve been better t’ be entirely honest.”

Elaine shakes her head a little, reaching up to rub it a little. "Sleeping for days isn't good, though, is it? Wow.. I must've been out for like.. thirteen hours?" She notes the hand carefully as Quinn heads into the kitchen. She attempts to get up to her feet, holding onto the couch while Quinn's not looking.

The freezer opens and closes, chicken tenders and mozzarella sticks drawn out and poured on to a metal sheet. “Probably not, but I kinda want t’ go t’ sleep an’ just wake up when all this shit is over, you know? I mean Christ…” A hand smacks down abruptly on the metal baking sheet – the unbandaged hand – as Quinn lets out a distinct sound of exasperation. “I mean, Christ, hard as I tried, I still ended up in fucking Queens waking up in a burning house. At least I didn’t break my arm this time.”

"Sleep is sounding awfully good…" Elaine agrees, hopping on one foot towards the kitchen, holding the other stiffly in front of her as she heads over. "I thought you were going with Ygraine out, anyways? Why were you in a burning building?"

“We need t’ get you a crutch or something,” Quinn remarks as she looks back up at Elaine, sighing. “You should sit back down until we can ice your knee. I’ll take care of you until we can leave, I promise.” She smiles at Elaine, moving to put the food in the oven, before returning to the freezer and taking out an ice pack. “I don’t want t’ talk about it. I’m a soddin’ idiot, is the short of it.”

Elaine gives a nod, hopping back towards the couch a bit unsteadily. "Okay, if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. I'm still going to worry, though. As long as you're okay. Well, I guess okay's the wrong kind of word to use right now, I suppose as long as it doesn't hurt too much or anything and you're mostly physically okay…" She flops down on the couch. "Whew, that was… harder.. than I anticipated.."

Quinn grimaces as she walks over, handing the ice pack down to Elaine. “Let me get an ace bandage,” she mutters, walking off to the closet. “There’s not much t’ talk about. I’m a soddin’ idiot. I found out a friend a’ mine – Tess – got shot the other day an’ ended up manifestin’ an evolved ability. An’, I dunno. I went out. I wanted t’ have a little fun before the end of the world. Instead, I woke up in Queens sometime yesterday evening.”

"You… got drunk?" Elaine rubs the back of her neck for a moment before she slowly rolls up her pantleg, revealing a pretty black-and-blue swollen mess of a knee. She places the ice pack on it, shivering at the cold. "I thought you told me it wasn't going to be the end of the world…" She looks down a bit, quiet.

Quinn closes her eyes for a second, pulling down the ace bandage and walking back over to Elaine, sitting down next to her. “It’s not, I was exaggerating. But it’s really not. Things are just… going t’ be harder for a while. No matter who we are, or what we do. Martial law an’ all that’s been declared. It’s going to be… weird.”

"I know it'll be weird…" Elaine sighs heavily, staring unhappily at the ice pack. "I don't want it to be harder. I want to still have you and Sable and Magnes around and actually not have to worry about getting shot in the head or put in a concentration camp or something for crossing the street."

“I don’t think it’ll be that bad. At least, as long as we’re not stupid, you know? An’ you’ll always have me, Sable, an’ Magnes, I’m sure.” Quinn shrugs a bit, beckoning Schrödinger up on to the couch. Truthfully she’s not so sure about Magnes, with his chequered history, but she doesn’t voice this concern. “Just make sure you always have your registration with you. Be careful, always.”

Elaine shakes her head vigorously. "I saw some of the rioting out there… people are freaking out about people who are Evolved. I wouldn't be surprised if the government decides to just shoot some Evolved because they're able to now, just because they're scared."

There’s an uneasy look on her face, running hands through her hair. “I dunno. Just up an’ shooting some evolved sounds like the stupidest thing they could do t’ me. I dunno. I don’t think it’ll be that bad once we get… past all this madness, you know? Once we get past this week. …maybe month.”

"They got away with that kind of thing in Germany, Petrelli's been compared to Hitler before. I mean, they already have a database of us. They could hunt us all down if they wanted and come up with any number of excuses." Elaine shakes her head, then leans against Quinn. "I'm sorry, I'm being all dark and depressing on you.."

“Yeah, well, if it starts looking that bad, we’ll all move t’ Ireland,” Quinn replies, sounding resolute in this. “You have every right t’ worry, Elaine. I’m worried too. But until things get unbearable – which I know is totally a possibility – I’m going t’ try and do things as normal as I can.” A pause, and Quinn reaches back to scratch her neck. “You know. With a little bit more helping people confused for terrorists on the side. But I know the people in the Ferry. They’re only helping people who need it.”

"Okay, but if we move to Ireland you're damn well learning Gaelic for sure and that's all we'll speak at home." Elaine teases. "House rule." She insists, shifting a bit in her seat and wincing. "Damn… I hurt all over."

Quinn laughs, leaning over and kissing Elaine on the cheek. “I could live with that. Good luck with getting Sable t’ agree t’ it though. I think Ygraine only speaks Scotch Gaelic too, the traitor,” she continues, jokingly. The comment about hurting has her worried, though. “I’ll get you some pain killers. Think of anything you need t’ do t’day, because once we leave, we eon’t be abck for a bit.” With that, Quinn rises from her seat, moving back to the closet.

"I'll teach Sable all the naughty words and that's all she'll need to know." Elaine giggles like mad, resting her head back against the couch. "I should probably get stuff from home, then, my bag of stuff is only like… one day of stuff and since the clothes I'm wearing are shit I'd have nothing else to wear. So i should pick up a few things, at least…"

“Keep it reasonable. We have t’ go by boat, an’ it takes a bit. Stuff may get wet, but we can only bring so much. I’m just bringing a few clothes, and food, really.” Because Quinn has no idea how that situation is going to be either. “I’ll take you by Siann Hall for a bit, then. I have to… run by Tartarus, like I said. Find Melissa. Think you’ll be fine for a bit if I do?” Quinn walks back over with a large bottle of extra strength pain killers, handing it over to Elaine. Shaking two- wait, three – out of it, she places the top back on and hands it to Elaine. Take this. Keep it close, you’ll need it.”

The bottle is happily accepted and Elaine tucks it away. "I'm sure I will." She notes about the bottle, then looks back over. "Okay, well, I won't worry too much about what I bring. Just some clothes, I guess, maybe a book." She looks back to Quinn. "Take your time. I dunno if Magnes will be back yet and if he is I'd like to check that he's okay."

“I’d suggest more than one book. Chances are we’re going t’ be off grid, if it’s as bad as I heard…” Quinn replies cautiously, moving towards the kitchen and claiming a bottle of water from the fridge. The painkillers are swallowed down – though all this, Quinn has still been dealing with cracked ribs, as much as she tries not to show it. “Aright. Soon as we eat an’ get you through the shower, we’ll head out. Can’t take too long though.”

Elaine nods slowly, peering from Quinn to the kitchen as she watches her head off. "Okay. Sounds fine to me. I just want to sit somewhere and not die. Not dying would be good. And maybe just kinda sleep for the rest of my life. Or at least until this is over. You can sleep with me too, you're warm."

"Are you talking to me, or the cat?" Quinn calls back, laughing after she does. "Because I don't think I can bring Schrodinger along, unfortuantely. Wish I could, I feel bad about leaving him alone for so long, even if someone is going t' watch him." A look at the oven reveals that enough time has passed, and an oven mitt is grabbed, foor hastily retrieved from within. Hitting the counter with a clang, Quinn smiles. "Sweet shit, I managed not t' burn anything! Fantastic!"

"I was talking to you. I'm sad we don't get to bring the kitty, but… it's okay. I'm sure he'll be okay with Melissa to come feed him." Elaine smiles, cheering as soon as she hears the food isn't burnt. "Oh, you have no idea how happy that makes me. I'm so hungry. I don't remember when I ate last. Hell, I'd have eaten it if it was burnt."

Grinning, Quinn slides the food on to two plates, one carried in each hand as Quinn comes back into the common room. “What you are about to eat is a one in a hundred miracle – food I have cooked in an oven and managed not to burn. Enjoy it, it may not happen again for a while.” Actually, Quinn’s getting better at this, but it’s still not a given. “I wish we could take him too. But he’s already been left behind once. I don’t want to take him and end up having to leave him again if something goes wrong.” Which implies that it’s a possibly, of course. Each plate it set down on the table, Quinn settling in next to Elaine. “We’ll watch a bit of Scott Pilgrim while we eat. I can always watch Lucas Lee get his ass kicked. Then we’ll head on out.”

Elaine takes the food, pretty much digging in as soon as it's handed to her. She nods towards the TV, indicating her approval of Scott Pilgrim-ness while they eat. She leans weakly against Quinn's side, seeming just glad to have her there. That and glad of food. She probably wouldn't have bothered with food, were it not for Quinn!

“Mm, careful,” Quinn says Elaine leans over, adjusting her position a bit so taht it doesn’t bother her. “Don’t… forget about the ribs.” Giving a bit of a weak smile to Elaine, Quinn pulls the plate of chicken tenders up to her lap, so they don’t have to reach down for them – she’ll leave that fate to the mozzarella sticks. “Alright. Just try not t’ fall asleep. I’m not Ygraine, I can’t carry you downstairs.

Elaine laughs a bit. "Did Ygraine carry you down the stairs? Romantic." She teases. "I'll not fall asleep. I ache too much to sleep right now. I can sleep when I don't need to move soon." She nibbles on a chicken tender, just leaning against Quinn, careful and mindful of the ribs.

"She's carried me a few places," Quinn replies with a bit of a wide grin as she bites down on her chicken tender. She doesn't say more, instead just enjoying the movie and the lunch. Much like her breakfast with April, Quinn's trying as hard as she can to put off thinking about what wll inevitably consume her mine, trying to avoid venturing back out into the wilds of New York again, for what time she can.

It won't last long enough.


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