Participants:
Scene Title | Ready To Make Nice |
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Synopsis | Megan and Brennan descend on the brick house to tend to Doyle as per the call that went out through the Ferryman. Headway is made, confessions and second impressions. |
Date | February 4, 2010 |
There isn't much in the way of light at the Brick House, given that most of the exterior windows have been literally bricked up, presenting an ominous facade to any who might wander across it. There's lights inside, but even then there's a subtle claustrophobia to the whole place, especially as the only way in is through the tunnels… and generally access isn't allowed during daylight hours.
Needless to say, security is pretty heavy under Rourke's management of the building.
Somewhere inside, Eric Doyle's laying on a thin, uncomfortable mattress on a bed with some stretched-out springs, dressed in a big white t-shirt and half-covered with sheets, propped up on a few pillows; he's still looking rather pale even for him, and some two-day-old bandages are taped across the side of his neck. This evening, he's got some ratty-looking finger puppets that seem hand-made, and he's making them talk to each other in a quiet whisper, smiling to himself vaguely as he does so.
When the call had gone out for a doctor, for antibiotics and someone to watch over Doyle at the brick house, it was likely not with the understanding that it would be Brennan who would answer the call. There are other physicians who are in the ferryman just…
SO after gathering the necessary supplies, a blindfold when appropriate and a journey through the tunnels that were fraught with stumblings, curses, sighs and even more curses.
If they had tied his hands together it would have been just like good old times in third world countries. But it's not a third world country (compared to third world countries, eric's got it good) and when he's finally brought in and the blindfold taken off, the tall broad shouldered man is blinking a bit to get his bearings. Once those are found, it's off to Erics room with Megan in the lead and Brennan bringing up the rear, already getting out some purple medical gloves.
It's only once they're all the way in the building with all the doors closed that Megan allows Brennan's blindfold removed. The redhead grimaces and murmurs yet another apology for the necessity, but since Harve doesn't seem to hold a grudge, she merely leads him through the hall and up the stairs to the room that Doyle — no, Jason — is staying in. She taps twice before opening the door — never know what crazy patients might be doing in there! — and then steps in. "Jason, I've brought someone to take a good look at that graze for you, make sure the sutures are going to hold and you're all squared away." And she steps sideways to let Brennan into the room, where Doyle can finally get a good look at him. "Be nice," she admonishes, though to whom exactly is a good question.
"…we need your help! Only you can defeat the…"
A falsetto tone falters as there's a knock at the door, and Eric's head lifts — a bit too quickly as he winces with a grimace, the motion pulling against still-healing flesh. "C'mon in," he calls, and then the doctor comes into view, his eyes narrowing a little, "What're you doing here?"
Maybe he wasn't listening when Megan spoke!
"Apparently, changing that bandage… They weren't kidding" The last part is shot to Megan. Even he can see that the bandage across eric's neck is in need of changing with something fresh. "Evening Jason. I'm sure you remember me. I'm Dr. Brennan, but you can call me Harve" He's offer his hand, and starts too but then remembers the gloves. "Megan said you got shot, that they needed some help and some drugs to make sure you don't leave this earthly spire in search of better grounds"
He bypasses around megan, pausing long enough to pass her the second bag full of drugs and some supplies. "We'll see if we can't get you up and running around with Kaylee soon enough huh?" He offers a smile to the man, doing his best to be polite, even as he's grabbing a chair or something to sit on and bring it towards the bed.
It's one of the reasons Megan is staying in the room — Jason's reaction. She takes the medical bag from Brennan and does what any good nurse does. Aids and abets!
The ratty finger-puppets are tugged off, and Eric reaches over to drop them on the table. "I don't— I mean, why would you want to help me?" He sounds not angry, just honestly baffled, as if he's surprised the man would lift a finger to keep his head out of a guillotine. He grimaces a bit at the mention of the bandages, shifting to sit up a bit, "Do either of you - do you know what happened? I heard they came back to the Meadows…"
"Hippocratic Oath jason. I can't turn you away. you haven't lifted a finger to hurt me and mine so" He sets about to laying out what he needs, tossing out the names of what he needs to Megan to pass over from his supplies. He lifts his eyes to regard the other man then back down to the medical tape that he's cutting out into specific sizes. "Besides. You seem to have an avid, maybe even rabid activist when it comes to defending your character in Colette." It's so dryly spoken that it could come off as humor from Brennan. "Damn girls a stubborn headed fighter if you ask me. As for the meadows."
Brennan reaches over, motioning to doyle to life his chin and lean his face away so he can start picking at the tape and carefully peel it back. "They were arrested, various charges. Seems the guy on the roof I chased after was a type of empath. Can incite rage, or so that's the rumor. It started to calm once accidentally negated him"
Megan's hands slide into gloves as well and she's busily being Nurse over there. Hello Nurse!
"Heh!" A rough snort of humor from Doyle, "She actually kept up with that whole thing, trying to prove us innocent and all…?" Again, he sounds bemused, half-smiling as if expecting someone to reveal that it's a joke at any moment, "Heh. I should thank the girl…" A grimace, then, his head tilting back a little. As the tape's peeled away — well, they're not the best sutures in the world, but they're combat medic quality at least, and it's healing up slowly. He's pale as hell, which suggests he's still recovering from bloodloss, which makes sense given where the bullet grazed him.
"Well, I no longer think you started the riot" because the tapes proved that. "Unless you can manipulate metal" She leans back, getting a look at the wound and letting Megan get a look in herself with a wrinkle of his nose. He can appreciate the stitching, sure. But it's like asking an renowned artist his opinion on a kindergartner's fingerpainting.
"Should probably take them out and set them properly. See if can't minimize the scarring" Or at least that's his opinion and he's now looking to megan for her thoughts.
With the glance in her direction, the redhead comes over to take a closer look at the stitches. "They're not as nice as they could be," she agrees mildly. "Guess it's up to Jason on whether he wants them replaced. I can prep a suture kit." She looks at the man on the bed. Her priority in this situation has been to make sure he's got no infections and is stable. She'll let the doc worry about pretty.
"I don't think that the person who did them exactly had the time to be prissy about them," Eric admits with a grimace as his stitches are examined, "And if it'd… make it not scar, then sure. You're the doctor. I'm not."
"Might be scaring, just be less. I'm not a plastic surgeon. Promise you won't feel a thing though" Brennan give s anod to megan to start the kit while he sets about to peeling off the bandaging completely. "Looks like you're stuck with me here for a few days. I admit, we started off on the wrong foot" They started off in a riot over medicine. "I'm Doctor Harve Brennan. I work at the Suresh Center and with my wife. I'ma registered evolved and .. I'm sorry for accusing you of starting the riots to get the medicine. It was wrong of me, without proof, to do so and I was… under a great deal of stress and we'd lost our child and almost lost my wife in the riot" He peels off his dirty glove and offers his hand. "I'd like to start off on the right foot now, since you'll be my patient"
There's just a hint of a smile as Megan turns her back to get a suture kit and an injection to numb the area ready. That's always the worst part, honestly. The stuff that numbs the area burns like a bastard until it kicks in. While the two men talk and 'Jason' is distracted, Megan moves up beside the bed to gently tip his head sideways. She waits until after they've shaken hands, though, to jab him. The only warning he gets is a soft, "Don't jump." And then the needle slides in and the plunger depressed expertly. Twice even! "It'll just take a few minutes to kick in."
The doctor's regarded in silence for a few moments, and then Doyle's hand lifts at the offer— hesitant, almost wary in his look at the man, before he grips the other man's hand. "Jason," he offers slowly, and then he rolls his eyes, "That's what they call me. I'm— my name's Eric, really." Suddenly changing his mind about the alias, grimacing a little, "And we didn't start any riots, I mean— we did plan on stealing the medicine, for the kids, yeah, but we didn't want anyone to get hurt. Whoever started all that had nothing to do with us."
Then his head's tilted by Megan, and he closes his eyes, murmuring, "I won't. Trust me, lady, people've done worse things to me with needles than you ever could."
"Yeah. I still think you both took it, but that's neither here nor there for me to decide. Pleased to meet you Eric" Shocked at getting a real first name. "Lets get you hooked up to some antibiotics to go along with that bag 'o' saline and whatever else I can piggy back on it, we'll get you a little something for the pain later when the injections wear off and we'll get you back up and running and me back to my wife" He offers a lop sided grin, watching Megan set about to work on getting things ready.
"Best nurse in the world helping you too" Gloves are switched out and everything he needs to take out stitches one by one and replace them. It'll be a bit, that's for sure, but it'll be a sight better than the emergency job Eileen had to do. "So, you have finger puppets huh?"
Megan doesn't even blush. She smirks, though. "Flattery will not get you out of whatever sparkly things your wife says you owe me, mister," she comments mildly. While the numbing agent takes effect, Megan readies both a shot of painkiller for later, and an antibiotic shot for now. The latter she presses into the IV with efficient movements. She checks the bottle of antibiotics she has here too, making sure there's enough in there for the man in the bed to take them for the five days he'll need them. And then she simply starts handing things to Brennan before he can even ask for them.
"I'm a puppeteer," Eric says tiredly, gaze dropping down to his hands, fingers curling in towards the palms and then relaxing, just sitting there as the IV's filled with antibiotics, "I had a theatre and everything, you know…" A sad little smile as he looks up, "Doyle's Marionette Theatre. I used to put on shows, do parties… the kids loved them, I mean, even these days, with TV and all. I miss those days…"
Brennan takes what Megan gives him, waiting until Doyle's happily numbed and starts to make with the snip and stitch, hands working in tandem and with Megan's to replace the stitches little by little, one below the surface and then later, above it with dissolvable ones. No need to have them taken out at a later point.
He frowns at a pesky stitch, thick brows pushed together in the center as he casts his mind around words and planning his next stitch and how to put it. "Least wasn't clowns… So how come, Eric, you're here, in a safehouse in the embrace of the ferryman and not in theatre, working with the puppets?"
"Because I've spent the last several years in one illegal prison or another," replies Doyle in a quiet voice, his eyes closing as the stitches are worked out and replaced, brow twitching a little at the little tugs as he feels them, mostly distantly from surrounding skin rather than the numbed place, "I can't just go open another theatre. They'd just roll me back up again, or have me killed, since I probably know too much by now. Heh. Besides — the kids at our safehouse need me. They don't get much chance to just be kids, or laugh…"
There's that secret prison thing again. There's a glance to Megan then back to the stitches in question. "Wasn't a criticism. I just… Maybe I'll just learn to shut my mouth and do my own job some day huh? Downside of being doctor and having to ask question to find out what's wrong. Sometimes you don't know when to stop asking questions. Or appropriate small talk when stitching up conscious people. Seems like though, you do a good job entertaining the kids here who really badly need, like you said, just to be kids"
A slightly sad smile twitches to Doyle's lips. "Yeah. At least I can do that…. it's some good, anyway," he admits quietly, "I never really fit in with— normal people, anyway. I'm happy here. Well, not here, here. Back at the safehouse I live at. I can just… be myself."
"We'll get you back there soon enough, just give me a day, possibly two maybe a little more. Gunshots are tricky things. But, we'll have you back to the kids in no time. How about.. you show me something I can do for my girls, in return for me doing this? Cause I promised to take them out to the mall this weekend and I won't be doing that. But you're a puppetmaster, so, teach me something, I can do this and watch at the same time. They'll get a kick out of it, i'm sure"
"Hm? Well, do you know how to use a marionette…?" The question's asked, and then Eric pauses, "Wait, all of mine are on the island. Hmn. I don't exactly have any of my stuff here…"
Brennan gestures to the finger puppets with the scissors and raises his brows.
"I can teach you a little show, I guess," Eric admits with a quiet chuckle, shoulders shaking a bit as he reaches over for them, "Alright, so this the princess, of course, and this is a dragon…" And so some time passes, with an introduction to a little puppet show for Brennan's children.