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| Scene Title | Some Sort Of Catnip |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Finding her in the infirmary, Quinn talks to Lynette about several things. |
| Date | March 29, 2011 |
Pollepel Island: Infirmary
It's a solemn place, the infirmary full of victims of the evo flu. Even more so because those that are lucid are having to hear about those that aren't making it. And then the rest are just too out of it to even realize what's happening and that adds it's own level of tension.
Tonight, there's the odd sight of Lynette perched on a stool next to a bed where… Lynette is laid out. The sick one's hands grip the edges of her cot and she's all tense, from the toes to her eyelids, and obviously frozen in fear. And sweating. Although that part might be from the fever. Whatever she's hallucinating about at the moment, the healthier version of herself sits there, one hand on her arm and the other pressing a cold washcloth to her forehead.
In the next bed over, Abby lies comatose.
There is evidence of an easier time. A checkerboard still sitting in mid-game, a little stack of trashy romance novels. Abby's bible. But these things have been forgotten as the sickness progressed along.
The infirmary had been a place Quinn had been wary of visiting. The last thing she needs to do is get sick. Not to mention there's a good chance she'll be in the way. But when she hears it's the best place to find Lynette, somewhat reluctantly she had made her there as quickly as she could. Armed with one of those ugly face masks and some gloves, just in case, she had made her way in.
But she didn't make her way to Lynette. Not before she heard news.
So when she does find Lynette, even with her mask, she looks worse for wear, eyes and cheeks red as she spies the blonde and- the blonde. Whoa. Wait, no, Quinn has what she thinks is a clever quip for this one. She's not going to pass it up. And that's a nice, comforting thought, once that brings a smirk to her face, edging away a bit of sadness as she waves to the sitting Lynette.
"I feel like I just walked into a Double Mint ad." In retrospect, it feels a lot less witty. She's probably heard that one a hundred times! "Hey Lynette. And, uh… Lynette." A look is offered towards Abby, a frown returning to Quinn's face. She hadn't heard about Abby until she got here. "How's Abby doing? How're you doin'?"
Lynette looks up as Quinn speaks up, and whether she's heard it before or not, the woman smirks. Amused. "A lot less cheery than their usual fare," she says, pulling her hand away from the wash cloth as she straightens up. The sick one has no greeting to offer at this point.
"She's slipped into a coma," she says, of Abby, and as much as she tries not to sound worried, it's still there in her voice. "So it's a waiting game for now. Much like my twin here. I heard she'd hit the hallucination stage and I thought… I don't know. I know what she's probably living through right now, who would know better, hmm? And thought maybe it would help if I was here. But I doubt she's even noticed."
Even though, word has it that this Lynette has been down here quite a bit.
A bit of a hollow laugh comes from Quinn, the Irishwoman shaking her head. "I dunno. One twin nursing the other could be an inspiring ad. An' at the end, a stick of gum clears it all up! It's like Mentos with a catchier song." The punchline comes kind of flatly though, QUinn looking for a chair to sit in. "Yeah, I… heard when I got here." A pause, and her head hangs a bit as she finds a seat, hands resting on it's back. "I heard about a few things when I got here. I… hope Doyle's okay," is all she can manage to say before she feels she needs to move on, or risk crying all over the twin Lynettes.
"SHe'll come out of it, I'm sure. Abby's strong. An' doesn't she turn int' fire? I mean, that says a lot right there." The chair is dragged over, set just to the side of Lynette's. "I'm glad you're doing alright. Even if there's another you that's doin' alright. This whole thing is kind of weird still."
"Well, I suppose I wouldn't mind double your pleasure, double your fun being my own personal slogan," Lynette says with a quiet chuckle. But that expression fades when Mala is brought up, if peripherally. "Yes, well. I suppose we'll have to see how everyone is doing when this all finally passes." She's trying to be blase, but there's a tightening of her jaw that lingers a bit even when Quinn changes the subject.
"Well, she doesn't turn into fire just now, but I do see your point." She shifts her chair to angle toward Quinn when she sits. "You're telling me. I'm alright and I'm alright, but I'm not alright at all. It gets confusing."
"Personally, I think that's a real good slogan," Quinn remarks with a wink, a hand placed - just for a moment - lightly on Lynette's arm. Okay, so she couldn't let that go. But it's better than the other comments that raced through her head. For once, flirting isn't on her agenda for the night. Particularly not here or now, but it goes get her to smile a bit again. And that's really what's important. It doesn't linger though, much like her reference to Mala, it's fleeting.
"Do you… feel what they feel? I don't even understand how that kind of thing works," she remarks, eyeing Lyentte for a moment as she draws her hand back. "Anyway… I wanted t' come t' you because I had somethin' I wanted t' talk t' someone on Council about, an'… well. I don't even begin t' know where Eileen is, or really anyone else on Council. Plus you're the easiest t' talk t'. The rest of them either intimidate the //fuck out of me, or are impossible t' find."
Lynette can't help it. She likes Quinn. And so that wink and comment get a laugh, in much better spirits for the moment. "Well, this one, we don't feel her. She's her own entity at the moment. I have no idea if that's… permanent. Assuming she recovered. But the other that out there, it's like it's all happening to me. And trust me, it's as weird as it sounds. I mean, imagine standing out in the woods. It's cold and damp and sort of spooky. But at the same time, you're standing in a crowded club, where it's stuffy and sweaty and smells like too much alcohol. All at once. I'm surprised I haven't had some sort of existential breakdown by now."
The more official business being brought up makes her lift an eyebrow, although there's something amused about the expression. "I suppose intimidation isn't really my forte, no. I never liked scaring people anyway." She smiles crookedly, but friendly as she gestures her on, "What's on your mind, hun?"
The laugh makes Quinn smile wider, and though Lynette can't fully see it with the mask on, it's easy to notice the corners of her mouth turning up. "So you're literally in two places at once? that must be- surreal. I mean, I can think of a few times it must be useful, but… Geez, I have no idea how Brian handled that. Freaky." In fact, she shivers a bit thinking about it.
But on to business. Quinn crosses her legs, letting out a bit of a sigh. "I… have someone I want to put up to join the Ferry." A pause. "Again." She looks at Lynette, giving her a yes, yes, I know look. "But… but it's different this time. I had her ask me. Someone who already knew about the Ferry, someone who's already been to Grand Central. She knows a lot about us, but she's never been a member of the Netowrk. Just… not even really an associate. A relative." And then she smirks. "But I know you know Nicole Nichols, so I'm guessing I'm wasting my breath."
"Quite literally, yes. And it is useful. I'm just not sure I want to get used to it," Lynette says with a crooked grin. "I must say, as many of him as I've seen him use… I have a new found respect for him."
The news gets a smirk and a shake of her head. "I swear, you've got some sort of catnip on you, Quinn." Of course, when the name comes out, Lynette blinks, then tilts her head some. Interesting. "Well, I don't know her, not yet anyway. She wants to join? This isn't because of the dream, is it? I mean… She has…" A normal life? One that doesn't involve huddling on an island? "I suppose I should be asking her, hmm?"
"Not the kind of catnip I'd choose, personally," Quinn remarks with a soft chuckle. "I… went t' talk t' her about the dream, after we talked. Figured I'd see if she had one too. She did, but…" She shifts a bit in ehr seat, eyes moving between the two Lynettes. "It seems t' have been coincidence. She’d been considering it beforehand. She already knows a lot about the network because of Colette. She's been to Grand Central. She knew Colette, Tasha, Sable, an' I were Ferry. Hell, she'd been to Gun Hill more than a few times. We planned Colette's birthday there." Reaching up to scratch her cheek, her eyes settle back on the conscious Lynette. "For what it's worth… it's been this long, and she's known so much. I think it's kinda a formality. I know I'd trust her more than enough. She's a good friend, an' a good person from everythin' I've seen."
"Yes, I do see how she'd end up drifting this way." Lynette looks down at her sick double as the woman starts to whimper. And Lynette pulls off the wash cloth to dip it in a bowl of cold water before putting it back on her forehead. It only seems to sooth the woman a bit, but Lynette looks back over at Quinn. "How do I get a hold of her?"
The whimper draws Quinn's attention as well, a sympathetic look on her face. "I can give you her number. I've never actually been by her place or anything, but…" She leans back in her chair, her hands moving a bit in her pockets. "That was the other reason I came to you. She wants t' meet you. That is because of the dream. I didn't… give up your name or anythin' . she already knew it. I told her she might be disappointed, though, if she's expecting anything shocking," is said with a grin. "Or she comes by Studio K sometimes, since her fiancée works there. I can grab the other you and drag her out t' lunch when I get back. Whatever works for you, really."
"Yes, she knew my name in the dream. It seemed like she'd been a part of us for a while. That really is cheating," Lynette says, her smirk taking any seriousness out of her words. "It might be best if we set something up for a neutral location. I wouldn't want to be spotted going to her or her fiancé’s places of business and so forth. Just in case. Set up something, Quinn. I'd like to meet her, too." Also because of the dream, no doubt. But how often do you get to meet the woman of your dreams, eh?
There's another quiet chuckle from Quinn and a shallow shake of her head. "It is cheating. But at least now I know t' see Raith or someone about teachin' me how t' shoot, hmm?" Oh, right, Quinn hasn't told Lynette about that yet. "I'll get it set up just fine. It's not just her fiancee's place of work, it's my place of work. So, I'd never set somethin' up there anyway. It shouldn't be hard, I'll knock 'er up once I get back t' the mainland." A nod, and Quinn leans forward, elbows on knees and head in palms as she looks at the sick Lynette, and past her to Abby. "Kaylee's still about, right? I… had more dreams an' I want t' talk t' her about them." It's a somewhat abrupt change in gears, but it's really the only other question QUinn has.
"Yes, that is for the best, likely. Are you learning to shoot?" Lynette nods as she goes on, though, "Sounds perfect. I forgot you're a regular at Studio K these days. Too much time on this island. I'll remind myself to check it out. And just let me know when we're set up to meet and I'll be there with bells on."
She looks over toward Abby as Quinn does, but her gaze returns to the Irishwoman quick enough. "I do believe Kaylee's around. If you find her, let her know I want to talk to her, too. Might as well get this thing figured out. It's too bad we don't have Delia around to help out on this one." And she is genuinely disappointed there, perhaps thinking a dreamwalker would be more appropriate given the circumstances.
"Not yet. I've never even held a gun, really. Even… when I had t' go do some of the crazier shit I did in the fall." Reaching back and scratching the back of her neck, Quinn sighs. "Nut after the dreams I had, it feels like an inevitability." She falls silent for a moment, before she looks back up at Lynette. "One a' them… Magnes, Sable, an' I were on the run. If these things are of the future, it had t' be a while form. Lance was in it. I think it was him. AN' he was like… late high school age or college or somethin'. But… FRONTLINE got us. An'… Magnes ended up dyin' so we could get away." Quinn bites her bottom lip for a moment, several seconds of silence passing before she continues.
"The other? Was a bunch of people… Sable, Nadira, if you've met her, some womanI've never met before, me… I'm not sure where we were, but there was a lot of fire, soliders, buildings burning by the bay. AN' I had some kinda pistol on me. We found soldiers about t rape Nicole. I… shot one in the head. Just out of pure rage. An' she had a daughter, it was- surreal almost. That's… that's not me. Not now, at least."
"You can't let these dreams make your decisions for you, Quinn. If you don't want to learn to shoot a gun, don't. If you do, do. But don't do it because of these things we're all seeing. We still don't know if they really are the future, or if they're just someone's idea of fun mind games." Lynette reaches over and puts a hand on Quinn's arm. "You don't have to become what you saw there. It doesn't have to be that way. The Ferry was never… very militant. I still can't decide if I like this trend we're on of getting more so. It may be necessary for the Network right now, but it isn't for you, if you don't want it to be."
Quinn laughs a bit, looking down at her hand as she flexes her fingers. "I know. I don't want t', really. Trust me, you're tlakin t' someone who doesn't buy int' all this fate bullshit. We make our own futures." Her hand sets back down into her lap, looking back up at Lynette. "But… in case things are going t' even get somewhat that bad? I feel like I should be a little prepared. That… the first dream I meantioned, we tried t' hide. Lance keeping us quiet, me keeping us invisible. They still found us and hit us with that awful negation gas I've heard about. We would've been pretty much dead if it hadn't been for Magnes." She takes a deep breath, nodding. "So… I feel like I should know how t' defend myself a bit better. But I have no intention of becoming someone who'll shoot a guy without thinkin' twice. I… didn't even try blinding the guy or anything,s tuff I would do now. I just shot him. An' that's me, an' if I ahve anythin' t' say about it, it never wll be."
The subject of teh Ferry going millitant sours Quinn's expression just a little bit. "I don't either, t' be honest. But I'm here t' help, an' that's not going t' change until either I can't, or things just get too unbearabl.e But either way, I'm not about to become what I saw in that dream."
"Good, I'm glad to hear it. All this madness… I suppose I'm still hoping we can stave it off. Things can get better. And for those of us in the Network with real lives and good opportunities, I don't want to see those thrown away if we can salvage them at all." Lynette pulls her hand back and lifts her shoulders a bit. "Times like these, we have two choices. The right thing, or the safe thing. It would be safe for the Ferry to hide away and stay underground. But it wouldn't be right to leave people to what's out there right now. They set the tone, we're just singing along. Someday, we'll be able to go back to being what we were, I believe that." Or maybe she's just trying to convince Quinn. Or herself. It's hard to tell.
"It makes it hard t' be positive," Quinn admits, her head dipping a bit. "But someone's got t', right? Like someone just told me, we can get through if we stick t'gether. So… that's what I plan t' do. Things'll get better. We just gotta stick t'gether and help things work out right." Her head rises into a confident nod, Quinn looking Lynette in the eye. "Things can't stay like this forever, an' I know I'm not going t' let things get like they've been in those dreams. An' I'm not the only one."
"That's right. We'll figure a way around this whole thing. Once we find out what it is that's giving us these dreams, we'll have a better idea where to go from there." Lynette meets that gaze, and she gives a nod. "You certainly aren't. None of us want that future."
She pauses a moment, her head tilting as she looks back to her double there on the bed. "You think the soldiers are getting these dreams, too?"
Letting out a long sigh, Quinn shrugs. "I don't know. Maybe some of them? I know not everyone in the first dream I had - the Funeral - had that dream. Kaylee certianly didn't. So… hard t' say. I hope they are, though. Maybe knowing what happens'll give themrgood reason not t' head down that path."
Leaning back in her seat, her arms cross as she looks at Lynette. "I guess… what do we do now, though? About these dreams. I'm going t' go t' Kaylee, but… what can we do? We can't keep these things in mind forever."
"The first step is finding out what we can about these dreams. Kaylee will do all she can, and we just have to help her for now. Once we have an idea of what we're dealing with, we can make a plan for how to move on from there." Lynette smiles at Quinn, though, before she moves to refresh the other Lynette's wash cloth again. "If the worst thing that happens to all of us is some crazy dreams, I count us pretty lucky for now."
"I guess that sounds good. You're right about Delia, it's a shame… I mean, it's not Ferry business, really, but I'm kinda scared t' even text her about it now, you know? An' Sable & Delilah are getting moved out to Staten now too. Though apaprently they'll be fine with coming and going, but… it has me worried." But that's not the topic at hand, right? "ANyway, I hate just… sittin' here an' waitin' t' know moer, for something t' happen that lets us form a plan. At least in tehf all, when people were gettin' pulled int' the past… at least then there was somethin' happening."
"I don't blame you for being worried. I have something I need to ask Delilah, too, so I hope they do keep their promise that they can come and go. Maybe you can have Delilah and Sable talk to Delia. I think she'd be an asset to have looking into things. I know another dreamwalker, but I have no idea how to get a hold of him now." Now that she isn't using refrain to get his attention anymore. Lynette smiles, though, as Quinn goes on. "True, it feels better to have something to do. So I guess the faster we all help Kaylee, the better. And if you speak to Delilah, can you tell her I'd like to ask her about how she knew to warn me at your concert. Actually, Cat wants to know, too. If she feels like talking to Cat, I'm sure she'd be all too happen to drop a thousand questions on her." It is possible that Lynette doesn't approve of Cat's methods, but she did make a promise to pass the request along.
"The concert? What about?" QUinn looks a little confused, tilting her head when it comes up, a frown forming a bit on her face. "I mean, I didn't actually see what heard happen, happen. But, I mean… I don't know. I can pass on word t' Delilah, let her know t' find you at least. Cat… I have no idea how t' send someone t; find Cat. Cat finds you. At least, that's my experiance with her." DOesn't help that the only times she ever foudn Cat were before the riots, in The Rock Cellar. "But they better God damn well keep their promise! We have a band t' make successful" Quinn remarks in a bit of a mock huff. "Mad Muse can't go anywhere if Sab;e locked up in a place more locked off than Roosevelt was. That what worries me about this more than anyone else… for all the stuff I heard about Roosevelt Island, this place on Staten sounds even worse. That's what scares me."
"Well, if she's alright with talking to Cat about it, let me know and I'll tell Cat to do her thing and find Delilah. I just didn't want to drop it all on her without asking her first. She's got the baby, and now she's moving, too." Lynette can't help but smirk, though, as Quinn goes on. "Don't worry. I don't think anyone could keep Sable away from the music."
That earns another loud laugh from Quinn. "I think the government would literally ahve t' lock her in a room an' not let her out t' keep her away from music, yeah. Doesn't stop me from worryin' though. I guess I should follow my own advice, I was just tellin' Ygraine the other day that she should worry less. It's never good t' get so hung up on things. But… the dream I had after I talked t' her really rattled me." She shakes her head a bit, sighing. "But yeah. I'll pass that on t' Delilah. I'm sure she won't mind in theory, but it might be hard. They might be watchin' the people the move int' there. Or maybe that's me hangin' around paranoid people too much."
"Something like that," Lynette agrees with a soft chuckle. "I don't blame you for feeling rattled. These dreams are a little intense. And it sounds like yours have been particularly so. But we aren't there yet. So that's something, at least." She echoes her chuckle at those last words and nods, "Well, you're around me often enough these days, and that's enough paranoia for anyone. Come on, let's go get some coffee. This room is depressing." She glances back over at her other self, frowns, then pushes up from her stool and looks over at Quinn, "It's not great coffee, but at least it's warm."
"Ugh, I could use something warm, even if it's total rubbish," Quinn replies with a relieved tone. "I'm still chilled from the boat ride over. I wish we could build a big fire without catching too much attention." A shake of her head, and Quinn rises up, a hand rested on Lynette;s back. "You don't make me paranoid. I mean, even if the government is looking for you, you keep a good mood. And lord knows that's what all of us need right now."
Though, as she looks around the room, it almost feels like the mood won't last. "I'll be a moment, though," she says quietly, looking down at the sick Lynette, and Abby beside her. "There's somethin' I want t' do." Removing her hand from Lynette's back, she steps over between the pair of beds and sighs, closing her eyes.
And she prays. For them, even if one is some kind of clone thing. For the rest of the people stuck sick in the infirmary. For those recently lost, young and innocent as they might have been. And then she's just quiet, only letting out a sigh after a moment.
"Makes me wish I'd brought my bible," she says quietly when she speaks up again, a sad smile angled over towards Lynette. "Come on. Let's go. I'm about to freeze to death."