Participants:
| Scene Title | Situational Assessment |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Graeme, Jaiden, and Ygraine get a chance to talk; if in a lot of a roundabout manner, due to varying stages of exhaustion. |
| Date | March 18, 2011 |
Hospital
Graeme carefully, quietly closes the door to Remi's hospital room behind him. There's a point, he'll admit, where she's definitely going to be asleep, and he might as well get out and stretch his legs, see if Ygraine's back yet, the like. When he does spot the two of them, in several chairs in the nearest waiting/lobby/seating area, he smiles, makes his way over, sliding into one of them without particularly asking or anything like that.
The pants and shirt he has from the hospital's loaner clothing are loose on his frame, accentuating the slight weariness visible in his posture. "Hey there," he says, greeting. "She woke up for a bit. Seemed most upset that she's missing her performance."
Ygraine offers a low laugh, passing Graeme a lidded cup of still-warm coffee, before using her foot to nudge over a travel-bag. "Your clothing-change, sir", she informs him with a smile - one that just about reaches her eyes, though it doesn't wholly remove the tension visible around them.
Sitting with Jaiden, she's wearing a sleeveless, backless halter top, with tight breeches and over-the-knee boots - having apparently decided that she might as well remain distinctively recognisable as the dragon-marked woman who had insisted to hospital staff that she was Remi's personal assistant the night before, and therefore had a need to be given updates on the patient's condition. A small heap of brought-in supplies - energy and cereal bars, cartons of fruit juice - rests on a chair, offering options not available in the hospital canteen or from its vending machines.
"I grabbed a few things for her as well, for whenever she wants something. But I was running rather low on hands, so… the conventional bunch of grapes and bouquet of flowers haven't yet been acquired."
Jaiden looks exhausted. Caffeine, 4-hour energy, and a lot of bad food from the vending machine across the way has kept him awake, even after the massive adrenaline dump made his hands shake like a bad neon sign. Combat is never fun and this was definitely combat and definitely not fun. His oversized frame is curled on a couch normally meant to hold two people, comfortably holding Ygraine and Jaiden in a close, if not slightly comfortable pose.
Jaiden had changed out of his blood-soaked Armani suit (it will take forever to get clean, that) and is currently in a set of jeans and a t-shirt declaring that it was purchased from "Monster Joe's Truck and Tow" in 1998. This set of clothing usually lives in a small bag in the trunk of Jaiden's Mustang, but being in blood-soaked stuff isn't comfortable. "I guess they gave her something to sleep. I haven't heard a peep out of her, mental or otherwise, since they wheeled her in there."
Graeme nods, with a grateful smile. "Oh good, my own clothes," he says. "Things that actually fit and please tell me you just grabbed some teeshirts and nothing nice. Though uh, I might need Jaiden's help at some point to go get into them." He doesn't particularly sound like he likes the concept. Slowly, Graeme leans back a bit, staring at the ceiling for a little.
"They've got her negated still. I talked to the charge nurse a bit before heading over here." There's a bit of a chuckle. "She should sleep a while more, but … one of us should be in there and make sure someone's there whenever she wakes. I'll go back and all, in a bit." Because his two companions are a lot more exhausted than he is. "The negation's freaking her out, a bit."
"We can arrange to take shifts in sleeping. Getting some real rest", Ygraine asserts, quietly but firmly. "And that includes you, Graeme. From what you've told me, your ability just masks the effects of trauma, but doesn't reduce it. You need to give your body a chance to start healing properly. I was thinking that we could splash out for a hotel room close by - within easy walking distance. Somewhere we can park a car without paying a fortune to do so. Have access to a shower. Laundry service. So on. Save us on traveling up and down Manhattan. For a day or three, it should be quite affordable."
That's Ygraine, always thinking. Hospitals are more for the comfort of the patient than for the people that are there for support. Sure, they try, but having a hide-a-bed built into a chair isn't the same as having a real bed with a blanket and a pillow. Perhaps it's their way of ensuring that you don't stick around more than absolutely necessary, or perhaps it's just the fact that they're concentrating more on the patient than the comfort of the visitors. "That's a bloody good idea, Ygraine." The sleeping in shifts, and the hotel room. "I'm sure we can grab a place nearby for a few days. I'm sure parking on the Mustang is already up to around $100 for being in their garage." Jaiden stretches, reaching over for his lukewarm cup of coffee, gazing into it like one would gaze into an abyss, and then drinks it down, shivering as it hits his tongue. "Get some good coffee too." The face he makes indicates that this is not very good stuff.
"I can imagine the negation would freak her out. It's probably the first quiet sleep she's had since she first manifested."
Graeme nods, with a bit of a glare at Ygraine. It's the same glare that she got when she was very firmly telling him not to be stupid earlier, and then he tries to stretch a bit. Graeme doesn't quite wince, but there's a clear amount of discomfort. He's not a very good patient. "Something like that. What'd incapacitate someone else basically minorly inconveniences me, but my body still has to deal with it." He grumbles. "They gave me some sedatives so that I can sleep every night for a week or so. I'm really not sure … not like I'm tired." He takes a sip of his own coffee, drinking it more for the fact that it's warm than anything else.
"It takes time for the body to knit itself back together", Ygraine says dryly. "And with you able to ignore minor warning signs like pain and fatigue, I'd guess that there's a real chance of you doing yourself more damage. The shoulder is an astonishingly complex joint. Any damage near to it runs the risk of… well. Take the medical advice. Sleep. And avoid maiming yourself for life. If only because Remi'll never forgive herself if you do."
Glancing back to Jaiden, she musters another rueful smile. "From my own experience of surgery… I'd guess that for the next day or so she'll just be drifting in and out, too… tired to get seriously worried. But after that, negation might start to really worry her. Or become an active joy, depending on how it feels for her. But I was thinking that we should try to distract her. American Ballet Theatre, I would guess, will want to go ahead with their performance… and I was thinking that we should make sure it's recorded. And that we have access to that. So that we can show it to Remi whenever she's up to it. Not as good as being there, but as a surprise - and this is one of the few times we might be able to truly surprise her - it might be rather welcome. I hope."
"You are her personal assistant, after all." Jaiden chuckles at Ygraine, tapping her on the knee lightly. "It should be fairly easy for you to get that arranged, and if not, I'm sure I could grease a few palms here and there to get a recording done that we could give her." He turns to Graeme. "You are superhuman in the endurance range, but that doesn't mean your body doesn't need time to work itself back into some semblance of shape. Did they say if you were going to have to have surgery to get you back to 100%, or is it something that should knit itself? I'm good with a suturing kit if you need some stitches taken out." He gives a knowing nod to Ygraine, patting the woman's knee lightly again.
Great. He's being lectured. Again. Graeme tilts his head to one side, before there's a resigned expression on his face. "I'm wearing the stupid sling and strapping, and I'm trying not to move it by accident or anything," he says, almost pouting. "They said it should heal by itself. I've got no activity for a week, and only light activity after that, no lifting or anything." He grumbles under his breath again, a bit, but it's clear that in this, Ygraine and Jaiden have won the discussion for now. Even if they might have to prod him and remind him about things like sleep.
And Ygraine does press that last point, albeit with a gentle smile. "Just remember that their estimates for how a body heals are based upon people sleeping eight hours or more each day. Every moment that you're awake and upright, gravity is pulling down on your shoulder. The sling helps, but it doesn't wholly remove it. In bed, it gets support it simply can't get while you're up and about. But… don't worry. We're going to have to take on much of the work of staying with her soon, so that Jaiden's business doesn't run into the ground. I'm sure that, as soon as she's coherent and alert again, she'll be quite demanding enough to provide you with plenty of running around being useful - that I will gladly pass over, rather than having to do it myself."
To Jaiden, she nods pensively. "Was thinking that I should head off and see them early this afternoon. Make it clear that I'll hire a professional to do it, if need be, and we can sort out costs later. I suspect Remi'll refund the cost personally, if required. But it could be useful to them - visual evidence of the show going on. Something to use for publicity, to try to focus on the troupe and the ballet rather than their choreographer being attacked by a serial killer."
"I've got a bit of savings - I'm donating about $5000 to make up for anything lost fundraising-wise, so at least that coming from an anonymous donor would look good as far as the newspapers go. And it would lead into the show that we're doing about the dome. Get the world thinking about other things, besides what just happened here in the middle of New York. Again." He grumbles softly, rubbing his face with one hand, blinking the sleep away. "And my business is doing just fine, thank you, Ygraine. I've got a few jobs that still need to be done, but my clients are very understanding with delays. These ones I have now aren't cars that they normally drive to work and back, unless it's on a racetrack. I've got a comfortable two week window before I really have to do the eight or ten hours of work that's sitting in my shop." Jaiden smiles faintly. "I'm sure she'll want me around just as much as you. It honestly wouldn't surprise me that, the day she's out of the hospital, I see her hobbling her way into my garage to properly thank me, or whatever it is she'll do."
Graeme nods again. "I don't think I'll get eight hours even with the sedative," he says. There's another series of shifts in an attempt to sit comfortably before Graeme gets up, stretches a little, and sits back down on the couch. "I did learn that I can't lay back right now, though. Most I can do is half-recline." There's a bit more grumbling, but a smile works onto Graeme's face. "I think she'll appreciate the surprise, overall, really. And that's another thing, It'll probably take all three of us at times to keep her within whatever they say for her activity limits, really." He'll obey his own, even if he complains about it.
"Stacks of pillows", Ygraine says ruefully, nodding to Graeme. "I've… landed on a shoulder more than a few times. Never had it punctured, save by surgeons, but… gentle support is good for it. And… yeah. Remi, I'm figuring I should accompany whenever she goes out anywhere. We can try to make sure that she takes lifts - elevators - wherever possible, but where not, I can have her bypass steps. Which should help a lot, whether she's on crutches or 'just' using a stick."
Quirking a smile at Jaiden, she ducks her head. "I promise I'm not trying to tell you how to run your business. I'm just… concerned that you'll ignore it in favour of helping out. Though I confess that I do have every intention of getting you to help push ahead with the exhibition. I'd like that to happen soon, if we can manage it."
"I know you're not trying to be an advisor on my business, but I just wanted to let you know everything's under control." That's the thing about Jaiden's life - he tries to get as much stuff under control as he possibly can so the strange and crazy things, like attacks by bone-spur shooting evolved who want to kill Remi, can be dealt with with as little muss as possible. "And as far as the show goes, I've got about fifty photos in two separate sets - the city in one, the survivors in the other. We'll use that red sun one with the mother and child that I showed you as the cover, I think, and I've tried to get into contact with them, but so far, no luck." Jaiden's tired, so his subject is kind of malleable at this point, shifting from one to the other on butterfly wings. "Might be good to invite the people in the pictures, if we can find them, to _really_ put faces to names."
There's another nod. "Tomorrow or Sunday, I'm going to be bothering the physical therapy department here, they gave me a referral. Find out what I can do in the mean time. And they referred me to a doctor, too." There's a grin, and for a bit, Graeme's more than content to listen to Ygraine and Jaiden talk. "Because otherwise I'll just go stir-crazy." He tilts his head to one side, for a moment. "Jaiden, another thing. Some of the high schools, see if there's a way to organise it showing for some of the senior classes, maybe combine it for two to three schools in various boroughs at a time. I know I've heard from some of the teachers, it's a subject that's difficult overall. And anything that can open the topic would help, I think."
"Mmmm. Very good idea. And I've been trying to put together the competition you suggested, for people to work with Liberty's Creative Commons images and the song", Ygraine responds, nodding warmly to Graeme.
"Getting people there might be harder than it ought to be, unfortunately", Ygraine says ruefully, looking back to Jaiden. "The… set-up in Staten is… impressive. People are starting to need to justify getting out as well as in, from the reports I'm getting. I checked for any urgent messages while I was at home, and… it seems that the area's being used for all Evolved the government thinks need to be 'rehoused'. So in with the homeless refugees from the Island and Queens, you have Registration-dodgers they regard as untrustworthy, unregistered minors, and the like. People in good standing can get in and out, and that should cover all 'our' people, but… the default seems to be that you need to show the gate-guards that you can leave."
"Still, I was thinking that many wouldn't want to be at the formal opening in person in any case. Might feel a bit like circus freaks, with the great and good - or the gawping and curious - coming to peer at them. Some recordings of brief accounts, or comments, would make sense. And I believe that the two of us can still get in and out to talk to people, deliver help, arrange contacts. So collecting recordings and showing people the images themselves should be possible. And if anyone does want to be there, it'd be great to have them. Especially so long as we can ensure that they have quiet places they can retreat to, to get away from it all if they need to."
Jaiden leans up on one hip and fishes out a small notepad and a well-gnawed nub of a pencil. Flipping through the notes to a blank page, Jaiden starts taking notes about what needs to be done, about the recordings, the pictures, and seeing if he can get a few people to make appearances and a green room for those who manage to make an appearance. It's a massive undertaking, but it'll be a lot of fun and do a lot of good, too.
The comments about Staten Island give Jaiden a sigh. "Warsaw Ghetto, anyone? Liberty is needed now, more than ever." He blinks. "Hey….remember when that lady shot at the midtown man? I'd swear that the lady who tackled her was Eileen…and she was helping Sylar? Ir was that a image made by that man?"
Graeme does a bit of a double take, sitting upright with a bit of a start. "Unregistered minors, god I hope she waited until Liz could make inquiries…" he murmurs, under his breath, trying to figure out things. "Shit." He shakes his head. "Alice Shaw. She told me this was coming, forcible relocation. It was one of the topics that she pressed me on a lot when I talked to her." He shakes his head a bit.
"The woman who came to warn Remi - she was Eileen under some kind of disguise", Ygraine murmurs. "But don't mention knowing anything about her. She's wanted. She… then seemed to protect the person who bumped into me while invisible - the one she was defending was the one I attached to a glass in mid-air. Remi was clearly being warned about something urgent; an unknown… presence barged past me, straight towards her. I stopped it. But the one who stabbed her? That was the other - the second one. Remi herself, once she's able to think clearly, might have a better idea…."
Mustering a wan smile, she inclines her head to Graeme. "Shaw was also very keen not merely for me to go back to Remi and ask for more help with Liberty, but specifically mentioned that I 'should' support her at her party. It seems that I was very much intended to be there."
"Know who?" Jaiden's voice drops a little, wishing he had Lizzie's power to manipulate sounds to bring forth their very own cone of silence that's portable and easy to set up - kind of like Ygraine's little white noise generators. "There's always the chance we were meant to be there. I mean, the group that you're speaking with showed an interest in her, and if they knew something was going on and wanted to keep Remi from getting taken…." Jaiden sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "I hate being a pawn in a game that I don't know the rules in."
There's a brief furrow of Graeme's brow. "That makes at least more than one of us," he says to Jaiden. Graeme looks at the two of them, clearly aware that he has even fewer cards he can see in the game than they do, but not pressing the matter, because it's neither the time nor the place for such a discussion. "I wish I knew Shaw's agenda, more than just connecting people." He suppresses a yawn as he speaks.
"Survival", Ygraine murmurs ruefully. "That was her very last word to me. I thank her for being kind enough to see me, after I showed up unannounced and uninvited, and polite enough to share what information she had given. She said that it was not, in fact, politeness - but survival."
"Survival for who, I think is the question…" Jaiden looks from one to the other, stretching out his legs, his knee popping softly as he does. "ow…Survival for us? for the evolved as a group? For them? Shadowy groups giving out information rarely just give it away for free."
"She did say that the Group supported my idealism. Not idealism in general, but mine. Which suggests that they at least want me to think that there is something about me, and my efforts, that is specifically worthy of aid - though not enough as to make them risk being associated with it. Or… perhaps that's the wrong way around. Perhaps it matters enough that they can't be seen to be connected. Because that would guarantee direct attention from other 'players' in the game…."
Wearily, the Briton rubs at her eyes. "That was also one of her warnings, the cost of things. Specifically about Remi - that I should expect to have to trade for her aid. But that things in life were rarely free. Interestingly, not never - just 'rarely'." Ygraine sighs, shaking her head, then sighs again as the pocket of her jacket emits a rippling sound. Rising to her feet, she moves to collect her cell, glancing at the number.
"Someone from Survivors. I'd best take this. Sorry guys - back soon, I hope", she apologises, thumbing an answer and moving away to avoid speaking over their conversation.
Graeme nods. "Time will tell, overall." He looks over to Ygraine. "Don't worry about it," he responds, continuing to muse after Ygraine has walked away. "I wonder, though, how they really pick the connections they make. I wish I knew…" He sighs, blinking off tiredness and looking at Jaiden. "Survival's all well and good, but I hate when things are framed in shadow and everything…"
"Survival isn't what I'm personally hunting. I'm wanting to thrive. Just surviving means living at the lowest common denominator, if you can call that living. Thriving….that's what America was built on. What Liberty stands for." He watches as Ygraine wanders off to take her call, sitting back in the couch with a huff. "Enigmatic groups rarely tell the criteria that they use to choose things. I'm afraid that, at some point, someone will show up on my door to 'select' me for some kind of project."
Graeme nods a bit. "Eh, I still wonder how I got to be on their radar," he says, still not quite taking to Jaiden, leaning back on the couch some more. "Maybe Ygraine's right, maybe I should get some sleep," he mutters. "I've been up for just over four days now." And unlike Jaiden and Ygraine, Graeme hasn't gotten much more than an hour's sleep.
Bending to grab his backpack, Jaiden unzips it, rummages around, and pulls out his iPad. "Here, Graeme….to keep you sane." The shiny black contraption is offered, with promises for internet connections, angry birds, and even plants versus zombies in a throwdown over a perfectly manicured lawn. "If you can't sleep, this'll be pretty low-impact but will keep your brain working."
There's a nod of thanks, and Graeme takes the iPad, crossing one leg and resting it on his lap. "Thanks, I knew there was something I forgot to have her grab from the apartment. My tablet's set aside such that I'll have to go get it myself at some point. Tomorrow morning, I guess." He looks over at Jaiden. "Thanks. I'm … wary of taking the meds to sleep, at least for now. Maybe tonight I will."
"One good thing about Remi being on negation drugs, she probably won't be able to pick up what you're dreaming about, or at worst, have a running commentary of what you're dreaming. I can just imagine hearing things from the peanut gallery while I dream them." Jaiden laughs and grabs his iPhone, checking his mail quickly before tucking it away again. "It's pretty much blank aside from the apps, so don't worry about finding out any deep dark secrets. And as far as the meds….give it a shot. Long, hard sleep is probably what's needed. With your endurance, it'll be easy to hurt yourself enough to where your shoulder turns into a knot of scar tissue, and if that happens movement will be a long distant memory."
"Yeah," Graeme says, nodding. "Like I said, when I sleep at the hotel tonight. I'm just not sure how I'll react to them and frankly I'd prefer not to find out by myself." He sounds a bit sheepish at the admission, and pulls up the web browser on the iPad.
"Does your endurance extend to pharmaceuticals? Can you tolerate more than the 'average dose' given?" Jaiden turns to speak a little more closely to Graeme. "And if you don't need to be alone, I can hit the hotel with you. Wherever we get it'll be two king-sized beds, and I did have some training as a medic, so I could take care of you pretty easily, all things considered."
"To be honest, I have no clue whether it does, or doesn't," Graeme comments. There's a nod to Jaiden's offer, appreciation without getting too much towards awkwardness. "I haven't actually been to see a doctor since before I manifested, except for one bar fight that landed me in the emergency room when I was in college, and that was only to patch up a few minor scrapes. And one time I saw the doctor at the school health center when I ended up with a headcold. Other than that, well, I tend to avoid anywhere doctors can be found, really." He tilts his head to one side, the motion he's been substituting for a shrug.
"The painkillers they gave me after they sewed it up didn't make me woozy, though, and the nurse was pretty certain they would. So maybe it is, to some extent." There's another pause. "The hospital arranged for me to have a follow up appointment with a doctor, though. One Dr. Brennan, since I don't actually have a doctor at the moment I've been seeing, and an acquaintance of mine said he's got experience with people with abilities." He stares forward for a little, past the people who bustle along the busy hallway of the hospital. "Seemed as good a choice as any." Then Graeme looks down again, tapping at the iPad that rests in his lap and grinning at the little monkey popping balloons.
The soft clomp of leather soles on frequently-cleaned flooring precedes Ygraine's return, the woman's expression tired and apologetic. "Sorry about that. Did I miss any major revelations or conclusions? Or have I just been volunteered to do another coffee run?"
"Nothing more than the usual dramatic tension and revelations that we've come to expect and love. did you know that Graeme is the love child of Elvis and Ghandi? True story. And he's going off to fight the government to get back our right to smoke pot. Or something." Jaiden gives a soft chuckle. "Christ I'm tired."
"You're way, way lucky you're sitting to the right of me, and that I'm right handed, and that I can't use my right hand right now, you know. And that I like you," Graeme mutters, carefully putting the iPad to one side so that he can twist to playfully shove Jaiden a bit, with his left hand. Not that he should be twisting around, either, but it seems the better choice, and Graeme grins, then scooting over on the couch so that there's room for Ygraine to sit down if she so wants to, iPad back in his lap.
"We were just talking about my ability. I'm reluctant to actually take the drugs they gave me to sleep until tonight, and still reluctant to do that unless there's someone else actually there with me. I have no clue how my ability interacts with medications, and well, I haven't been terribly keen to find out, overall." He tilts his head to the side again. "Don't mind me. I'm a little bit more run-on than usual, but I'll be fine until tonight, as far as sleep goes." Really. Graeme might be experiencing slight sleep deprivation symptoms as far as it goes, but, he's stubborn.
Ygraine eyes the pair of them, then chuckles as she reclaims a perch on the sofa. "Right. I think that I should sort out that hotel room immediately, and then get Jaiden off there for the first shift of passing out. And… you can use the shower properly, while Graeme shouldn't get his bandages wet."
Jaiden chuckles and rocks away from the shove with the left hand, Graeme's admittance that he fancies Jaiden not seeming to faze the big Australian in the least. He looks up to Ygraine with a sleepy, half-dazed look and nods. "Aye aye, Ygraine. And if this bloke asks properly, I may wash his back for him."
There's half a chuckle from Graeme at that, and he nods to Ygraine. "After Jaiden's caught some sleep and got back here, you should go and do the same," he murmurs, "so that Jaiden can head back with me when it's my turn." His tone of voice betrays how much he dislikes that he's currently not terribly self-sufficient. It's something to do with masculine pride and such that the two of them should both recognise.
"We'll see how you're doing", Ygraine responds with a smile, raising a brow at the pair of them. "I've gone out, cleared my head, got clean. I've got a bit of a… third wind, I suppose it is by now. Whoever needs it most can pass out once Jaiden's recovered a bit. I don't look like it nowadays, but I used to ride a hundred miles in a day. I can cope with fatigue well enough to keep going for a while longer. So we can cross that bridge when we come to it - see how you're coping, once your shoulder starts to stiffen up fully and the like."
"Trust me, Ygraine, you still look like you could push a truck up a hill by yourself." Jaiden blinks after a moment. "You got a room already? Point me toward it so I may clean out the mini bar and luxuriate naked in the king-sized bed." He probably just said that to aggravate Graeme a little, or he gets loopy when he's running on 48 hours of no sleep.
Or both. Graeme just shakes his head a little bit, and laughs. "Right then." This time, Jaiden just gets a look, and Graeme isn't going to attempt to push the other man again. It wasn't the best experiment the first time. "Like I said, I'll be fine," Graeme says. "It's still bothering me at the level of annoyance, and the more bothersome part is knowing that I shouldn't try and move it, do anything with it, and that I'm right handed, and there goes things like a proper shower, or anything, let alone playing basketball or skateboarding for a while."
He sighs, a bit. "And knowing that I don't particularly have the impulse control to not attempt to do things that I shouldn't do, if I'm by myself for too long." The last admission is quiet, nearly petulant.
"I stopped off at home, to get the clothes. And let myself have a shower while there", Ygraine informs Jaiden, laughing softly. "No room yet, but I should be able to sort one very rapidly. I've pulled up a list of local hotels on my phone. And this isn't exactly tourist season."
To Graeme, she nods ruefully. "I've dislocated my right shoulder more than once, in crashes. Not as serious, but… the limits it imposes are similar. You learn to adjust, surprisingly quickly. It's still annoying, but… the major bits you can't reach are ones you don't really want to be poking at while the bandages are in place anyway."
Jaiden is the lucky one. Out of all his adventures, all his scrapes, he's only been shot once in a grazing way and has never broken anything major, like an arm or a leg or a spine. For all he's done, he's injury free. Still, rebuffed at his desire to get a room, Jaiden slumps back, then leans forward to rummage again through his pack, pulling out a wallet with a few cards. Flipping through he offers one to Ygraine. "Make a reservation somewhere, then. On my tab. I'll write it off as a business expense on my taxes."
Graeme chuckles a bit. Then he looks at the juice Ygraine brought, and pulls the iPad more firmly onto his lap as he tries, again, to sit comfortably. He hasn't really successfully figured out 'comfortably' yet, though, so it's been a lot of shifting and fidgeting and all that.
"Could one of you pass me one of those orange juice? And maybe like, four of the energy bars? I think my metabolism is starting to catch up to me." He grins. "I hadn't really been hungry yet today, and I am pretty sure I am now. And they tried to feed me hospital food, some time last night, but…" Both Ygraine and Jaiden should remember Graeme's reaction to that. Which emphatic, and negative.
"I was thinking that we should take a portion of the stash to the hotel room, so we've got supplies there", Ygraine says wit a smile, rising to her feet and moving to snare Graeme's requested items. "And definitely lay in coffee, if they're at all short on it. Most places have at least a kettle in the room, after all. But you're both welcome to help yourselves to it. I've not got through as much as I usually would, given my… absence from home and my curtailed exercise regime after it. So don't worry about using up my supplies - I've got boxes of these bars, in particular…. Just remember not to try to live on them."
Hauling out her phone once more, she nods to Jaiden. "You about ready to go? And are you in a fit state for a short drive? I'm not insured for your Mustang, so I'd rather not be the one to move it."
"With one arm, I don't think you'd be driving a stick shift very well either." Jaiden gets to his feet, wobbles a little, stabilizes, bends to get his pack, and shoulders it. "By your command, m'lady. Just be sure wherever you reserve a room is close and has two king-sized beds in the room."
With the additional space vacated on the couch, Graeme shifts a bit, with the eventual sitting position taking up about three quarters of the couch now, the iPad settled in his lap, and the food put in easy reach. It also provides an easy view of the entry to Remi's hospital room, and the FRONTLINE guard stationed at the door, without having to do more than look up. Half the carton of juice is downed, before he actually nods to Ygraine. "Yeah. I know." The first of the energy bars is unwrapped, bitten into. "Plus, I highly prefer real food, but well. This makes up the caloric requirement a bit quicker, and I'm hungry." He grins up at Jaiden. "Sleep well. Or try to."
"Bah. You never need more than first gear!", Ygraine gently teases Jaiden, before nodding and smiling to both the men. "If I can, I'll try to get a deal on two adjacent rooms, or something. An aparthotel, perhaps - more expensive, but a proper bathroom and a living room might make it somewhere we could bear to spend a little time… and we might even get a couple of bedrooms."
"If you can gather up, say, half of what Graeme's not taken for himself now, and tuck it in the bag, we can transfer that to the hotel now. And while you're doing that, I'll start making calls."
When Jaiden is tired, he switches into a mode he likes to call 'automation,' where he listens and understands what's being said and just does it without comment or question. it's a holdover from his time in the SAS - when you had to go through hell week on very little sleep to learn your limits, getting the job done no matter how tired you were was the important bit to do. "First gear if you want to smoke the tires down to the steel belts, maybe, and burn the camshafts and warp the heads, definitely. You need the higher gears to keep it in the low RPM range - we're not drag racing, after all." Well, not yet but….
Jaiden gathers up half of the stuff Ygraine brought and tucks it into his cavernous backpack, a few more bulges appearing. "We should hit up a store, or at least I should, once I'm awake to stock the kitchen up with food. Fruit and the like. good food."
Graeme looks up at Jaiden again. "And a lot of it, while you're at it, please," he says. "I dunno if Ygraine's mentioned just how much I actually have to eat to keep up my metabolism." He grins, finishing off the juice and the first of the energy bars, with a wistful look at the empty carton.
"Like most Brits, I learned with proper gears. I still find automatics weird", Ygraine gently assures Jaiden - before stepping away as the connection goes through, letting her set about spending some of Jaiden's money for him.
It's not Jaiden's money. It's the promise of payment at a future time from a small account that will pay instantly. Credit cards are evil but necessary in times like this. "Don't worry. I'll keep you fat and happy, Graeme. It'll be stocked with enough to keep the three of us fed and healthy. some cereals, hot and cold, some bread, some rice….stuff you can cook for yourself or just throw in the microwave." Jaiden smiles, rocking back and forth as his body compensates for him standing without sleeping for 48-ish hours. "Proper gears are manual, like we have now. They wouldn't put them in the Lotus or the Aston Martin DB-9 if they weren't nice."
There's a grin and a chuckle from Graeme. "Yeah, well, that's good," he responds. "Just remember I probably eat as much as the both of you together will twice over. Stupid metabolism." The second of the energy bars is opened, bitten into.
On hold for a few moments, Ygraine looks across at the other two, chuckling and shaking her head. "Make sure to cut back a little on what you'd normally eat. You're doing less, and you'll be losing muscle mass in that shoulder. Adding fat as you lose muscle won't help. Ah - yes. Yes. Today. In a few minutes, if possible. Yes…." And she's back to sorting out the booking. Fortunately, it sounds as if it's going well.
Gold American Express card opens doors. It's amazing what a 10,000 limit will do when someone starts doing a little research. One of the perks of being an old journalist - you keep the old stuff handy sometimes. "Don't strain yourself. I make food and I make enough. I'll just double anything I cook when you're around and will take one out of the four servings. Problem solved." Jaiden rubs his eyes with the back of his hand, waiting for the okay from Ygraine on where to go and what to do.
Graeme looks over at Ygraine. "Right," he murmurs. It's more like a grumble, but it's also still soon enough that he remembers exactly how persuasive Ygraine can be on these issues, and acquiescence is smarter. "Hopefully I'll find something to keep up some sort of activity level. Because really," he says, tucking away the wrapper of the second energy bar and starting on the third, speaking in between bites, "I'm going to go stir-crazy."
Ygraine offers Graeme a thumbs-up… nods at her phone, re-spells her name, then reads out Jaiden's card details once more… before finally thanking the person on the other end and hanging up. "Right. Two-bedroom apartment in an aparthotel booked. One twin room. So we've each got a bed to make our own. And some space to store things. Not quite as close as I'd have liked, but a few minutes of walking each way will do us good. Now… c'mon, you. Let's get ourselves sorted out."
"By your leave, m'lady." Jaiden says with a smile as he retrieves his credit card and tucks it away safely in his wallet. Shouldering his pack agian, he looks over to Graeme and tosses him a charger for the iPad, just in case it runs low and he needs to give it some juice. "I'll be back in a few hours to relieve you once I've shaved, showered, slept, and….hit the bathroom." Jaiden chuckles softly.
The charger is tucked next to him, and Jaiden and Ygraine get a nod of acknowledgment, as Graeme busies himself with fairly slowly and tediously typing out emails to the few people he knows in New Mexico, and then with games.