Participants:
| Scene Title | So You Got A Second Chance |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Hospitals aren't great places to be, but they're better than the alternative. Seren tells Faulkner about what very nearly happened when he stops by. |
| Date | November 3, 2020 |
Fournier-Bianco Memorial Hospital
Isaac Faulkner is not a fan of hospitals.
There's just… something about them. Maybe it has to do with the fact that most of the time when someone's coming to a hospital, it's not for anything even remotely resembling a happy reason. Maybe it's a death, maybe it's an accident — or, even worse, an on purpose — but it's usually not anything happy. Like, for instance, the time he'd been kidnapped. Or maybe the other time he'd been kidnapped. Neither of those had been happy occasions at all.
Today isn't exactly a happy occasion, either, except in the sense that Isaac would much rather visit a friend in a hospital than a funeral home; there's something to be glad of in this, at least.
So here he is, strolling through the corridors of a hospital, scanning numbers and trying to find Seren's. When he does, his steps slow… then, after a moment's hesitation, he peers in to see if they're awake, rapping lightly on the doorframe, trying not to look as much of a mess as he feels right now.
They're awake.
Seated upright with a tiny creature nested against their side, under their hand and forearm, eyes ahead on the television. Seren doesn't turn immediately— either because the sound was dim to them or they're just used to the light knock of nurses and doctors checking in and then leaving— but they turn a moment later when no one enters, catching sight of Faulkner.
Their grey eyes light up with warmth, distinctly lacking the shining silver they normally have.
For that matter, on a second look, the animal under their arm is mundane. Stuffed. Dragonlike, but not Bairdlike.
"Hey," they croak out, then clear their throat to try again with enthusiasm and less rasp to it. "Hey! How are you?" Seren beams a smile, one that shifts their cheekbones and the oxygen line running to their nose. Both hands are free of lines running from them to any standing machines— they've got a hand-dandy traveling monitor tucked in the breast pocket of their smock for that— which they use to pull free the nubs sitting against their nose and snake it free over their head. A visitor deserves their best face, after all.
The halo of wiring is dangled over the side of the bed for later use, though when Seren completes the turn and then settles back down, they're unable to keep their teeth from baring in a small grimace. It's wiped away quickly, replaced with a smaller smile than before, but one just as happy. "What's up?"
"Doing fine," Isaac answers in kind, with a wan smile of his own. Seren's enthusiasm does a lot to reassure him, but the absence of their usual companion is… uncanny.
As to what's up… well. Isaac takes a slow breath. "Heard about the festival," he says. He pauses, trying to put words together that won't make him sound like an idiot; a moment later, he abandons the attempt. Seren's eaten his cooking, they already know he's an idiot. "I was worried about you. Especially when I heard you were in the hospital. I wanted to see how you were doing."
He chuckles, shrugging. "So. How are you?"
Seren might disagree with Isaac's self-assessment, if they knew of it. Compassion and cooking were apples to oranges. Regardless, they're visibly glad to hear he's okay, and their smile slips as they sink back into the bed at knowing he was worries for them. "Yeah…" they murmur, trying to force the smile again. "Sorry about that."
They look down at the plush at their side, thumb and forefinger pinching along the dragon's ridged felt spine to pick their way down it. With a shake of their head they admit, "I'm doing better. Hoping that I'll be able to get off this stupid oxygen, soon. Back when I was down in the ICU everything was a bit foggy, but I remember finding a drain going off my lungs and freaking out about it, so… just an oxygen tank is an improvement. I'll take my wins where I can get them."
They lift their head, visibly nodding at a mental checklist of injuries. "My hip's doing better with that shrapnel out of it. It's still not the greatest feeling to put weight on it, but I'll get there. They seem satisfied the rest of my organs are operating how they should be, after that initial period of shock. I, uh, found out my blood type through this whole thing, so that was cool." The hand which had had the IV into its arm flexes unconsciously at that, remembering the discomfort of the needle. "They don't know if my hearing's going to get better yet or not. Everything kind of sounds… underwater, for now."
Looking back to Isaac, they sigh, "I really miss Baird. I hope he's not too mad at me when they let me go home. It's… been a really long time since the last time we were apart this long." Seren glances briefly to the information board hanging in the room across from their bed. A high dose of Zodytrin is present on their medication list. They focus back on Isaac quickly rather than linger on that. "I'm hanging in there, though. Bored, for sure," they admit with a quick grin. "But hanging in there."
Faulkner takes all of this in with an even, attentive expression, trying not to grimace at Seren's laundry list of injuries. "It's a good thing to know," Faulkner says mildly when they mention their blood type. Faulkner idly wonders what his blood type is right now; science is probably working to figure that out at the moment, but thankfully it's not a critical situation. Somehow.
Seren's talk of Baird brings a grin to Isaac's face, though. "He'll forgive you," Isaac predicts confidently. "You've been friends for half of forever, right? If it was me, I'd want you to do whatever it took to get better. Even if I couldn't be around for awhile."
He chuckles once, then gives Seren a more somber look. "I'm glad you're hanging in there, though." Faulkner is silent for a moment. "And I'm glad you made it out of there."
That's the thing that breaks Seren's smile, bringing them to look down. Their picking at the plush at their side intensifies, a breath taken in to speak, but the words are awkward and heavy and unpleasant. It touches a truth they've not gotten to discuss with almost anyone.
"I-Isaac, I—"
The words sit almost visibly on the edge of their teeth as they look back up, the light dim in their grey eyes. It takes swallowing before they admit, "I'm not so sure I did, actually." Putting it to words is difficult, and they shake their head as they try to search for an explanation that makes any sense. "I'm here, obviously. I don't think any of this is fake. I don't think I'm in hell or a liminal space. But I… I definitely…"
"I didn't make it."
Made uncomfortable by confronting that just as much as saying it, it takes effort for them to look back to Isaac. "I don't understand what happened— I think someone rewinded time?— and so I'm alive, but… I…"
They shift the plush dragon properly into their lap, holding onto it more tightly. Seren looks away with another small shake of their head. "I haven't told them that I remember that happening. I'm not sure it matters, if the end result is that I'm still here. I should just count my lucky stars, and…" Their brow furrows sharply suddenly. "But I do— I remember everything that got rewound. And I'm not sure what to do with that, if I'm being honest."
There are a number of quips that suggest themselves at Seren's words. Isaac makes none of them; instead, as it becomes how seriously Seren is treating this, Isaac's eyes narrow. He regards them with an unblinking stare as he listens and tries to comprehend what they're saying.
"So you're saying that you remember… dying," he says slowly, hesitating on that last word. Then he frowns. "But then you remember it being… undone? Changed?"
Seren rolls their teeth against their upper lip, trying to manage their memory and their conflicting feelings regarding it. "I remember being hurt. Bleeding. Some of the people I'd joined with were trying to help. I could smell gasoline— and then it caught fire. I watched it run. The van we'd landed by suddenly turned bright. I could hear it. It was so loud I heard it."
"Then I didn't feel anything at all."
They let out a slow, long breath and wipe the corner of their eye with the side of their hand. "I'd seen this wash of green go through the sky, go through everything just before that happened. And then when I started breathing again, the stars were back." Seren shakes their head once. "We got out right away. And I could feel the shake in the ground when it happened again, even though we were far away from it then. Everything else is kind of a blur, but I remember that shake because it felt exactly like the first one."
Their shoulders tilt up in a meek shrug. "In any other group of people, that'd sound crazy," they acknowledge. "But there were so many Expressives there, Isaac. And I think someone saved us with their ability. I'm only here because someone gave us a second chance."
Isaac listens in dead silence, barely even seeming to breathe, until Seren finishes. Only then does he nod slowly. "My thought exactly," he says gravely. "It was a gathering of Expressives; it's not beyond the pale that someone would have a power like that."
As to the rest of it…
Isaac thinks on that. Considering Seren's story. Considering Seren. Considering his words.
"So. You got a second chance," he says, nodding gravely, his eyes still on Seren. "What will you do with it?"
To hear Isaac say it brings a soft, incredulous note from Seren. A second chance. "It's hard to believe, because… I didn't go there even thinking I'd be putting my life in danger. I— I guess I got complacent. I never thought that…" Trailing off when a nurse enters the doorway, they look up, brows lifting in question. They shake their head. They're fine, they try to convey silently.
The nurse in the door doesn't enter further, just bows her head in a knowing look and taps the side of her nose, a tablet in one hand. Seren balks, head ducking sheepishly, and then they reach for the oxygen line they'd discarded. It takes but a moment to refasten it to their nose, and the nurse looks down at her tablet, at the readings produced by the sensor taped to Seren's index finger. She simply provides a thumbs-up when she sees the percentage she'd been eyeing begin to climb again, and leaves without a word.
Finishing fixing the tubing around their ear so the line doesn't fall, Seren sighs. "It hasn't hit me yet, I don't think. I'm not thinking of things in terms of second chances. I'm just… looking forward to going home to Baird, to things going back to normal as much as possible."
"I guess I'm going to make the most of it," they decide. "Live, and not let anyone take that from me. But I do wish I could tell whoever it was thank you." They frown to themself briefly, looking back to Isaac. "You know?"
"Maybe if I call SESA, they'll tell me…" Seren murmurs thoughtfully. Then a dose of realism hits them. "Maybe not."
"Prrrrobably not," Isaac replies, grinning broadly for a moment. Then he sobers a bit. "But. This is just my take on it, mind… but if it was me, I'd be happy to know that you're planning to make the most of that second chance." He falls silent for a moment, musing on the festival and the tragedy that had unfolded there… and maybe, just a bit, musing on how it might have played out if he hadn't turned down Seren's offer. But brooding is something he can do just as well on his own time. "Anyway. It's… it's good to see you're getting better."
Seren manages a smile again, a little reassured. They dip their head into a nod. "It's good to see a familiar face," they enthuse softly in reply. "I'm glad you stopped by. I can't imagine how weird it is to just…"
Letting out a faint, broken laugh, they look around the room in a silent gesture at all of this, and then lifts their shoulders up in a small shrug. It almost seems like they're not sure what to say next, mellowing and sobering, but a thought hits them and a spark enters their eye again. "Oh!" Even a moment of delight, now— happiness at not missing an opportunity. "Holy shit, could you do me the biggest favor? Could you get a phone charger and bring it to me? Mine was dead by the time I was anywhere near conscious enough to care about it… I'm not sure if it still works thanks to the case, or if I landed on it wrong, or the explosion did something, but… man, it'd be a great way to pass the time if I could get it charged up and it works."
Isaac nods at Seren's glance around the room, giving a tiny grin… but at their sudden request, he laughs aloud. "A phone charger? Ha, easy peasy!" he proclaims, giving a cocky grin. "Pigeon Courier Services specializes in deliveries," he says. Then, more seriously, he nods. "I'd loan you mine if I had it, but I don't; shouldn't take me too long to track one down, though," he says, already starting to think about where might be a good place to grab one.
It takes Seren a second to catch up, having forgotten the name of Isaac's workplace, but they let out a laugh of their own as everything slides into place. They smile broad and sincere again. "You have no idea how much I'd appreciate it. The television gets pretty boring, and I'm stuck in here at least a few more days yet."
"You'll be my hero," they say without a trace of mirth or sarcasm.
Isaac blinks once at that, momentarily caught offguard by Seren's sincerity… then he lets out a chuckle, grinning back. "Is that so? Well… if that's the case, I guess I'd better get a move on, then, hadn't I?" he says, giving Seren a wry look, a gleam of amusement in his eyes.
"After all… part of the whole hero thing is that they're never late; they always arrive right in the nick of time." He raises his hand to his forehead, giving a lazy salute.
Then he sobers a bit. "Anything else you can think of? I can probably score some snacks or something if you're tired of green Jell-O or whatever it is they're trying to pass off as food here — not homecooked, of course. I want you to get better, after all."
With a wry, mirthful twist of a grin, Seren ventures, "Well, if you're offering…"
Thankfully, they don't ask for the moon. Just for some comfort food to pair with the reading material Isaac will enable them to have… and a request to stop by their apartment and let Baird know they'll be home soon.