Participants:
| Scene Title | Wheel Fans |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Ben drops in to check on Abby once he's heard she's been back to work. |
| Date | December 16, 2008 |
Apartment in the Bronx
Abby's schedule has gone to crap. Somewhat. Sorta, So when she should be sleeping, morning turning into noon, she's awake, has been awake and been cleaning the apartment to her very exacting standards. The tV turned on to the price is right, her new fascination since discovering the joys of cable and not just a DVD player. Pila sits on her knee, enjoying attention and teasing by the brunette, feeding the bird whatever treats it is that they eat.
Ben knocks again, standing in the hall, shifting his weight from foot to foot. He's not dressed in his courier gear at the moment, though he does have winter clothes on and his gray knit cap pulled onto his head.
There's a glance to the phone when Ben's knocking ring s out across the main room of the apartment. Pila is unceremoniously hoisted back into her cage and secured, before she silently pad's across the floor and seizes her shotgun. Loaded it may not be, it's still threatening looking. When she puts her eye to the peep hole though, it shows ben, just ben. Paranoia, one of these days she'll shvoe it deep down where the sun don't shine, till then, it's the flurry of password from phoenix that's called through the door, waiting for Ben to give the reply before she unlocks and opens the door to let him in.
"I still don't know those," Ben calls tiredly from beyond the door. "I don't have your number and I just wanted to see if you were alright. I worried when you weren't at the hospital."
'They need ot tell you those" Thunk go the locks and Ben's ushered in. "And i'll give you my number. I'm fine. I'm sure hte hospital's ina tizzy about a trashed hospital room and a missing patient" She's in flannel pyjama's and socks, brown hair pulled back in a braid. The doors closed and locked behind him. "How are you?
Ben steps inside, brow furrowed. "I'm not a, uh, member. Nobody's called, really. I'm fine. Did the blonde woman nab you? The, uh… you know the Fed is gone, right?"
"From the bed. It was go with her, or she'd shoot Elisabeth and I know Agent Ivanov is dead. I saw the article in the paper, and Teo told me, and I got some stranger when I called his office." The shotgun is unceremoniously popped back into it's resting place and pila chirps her displeasure at being put back in her spacious cage. "So I go back to relying on others"
Ben eyes the shotgun. Well, it's prudent, so he can't really blame her. He looks back to her, eyebrows going up. "What did the blonde woman want? Are you okay?"
'What everyone wants when they call me, or kidnap me, or try to otherwise make me do something. Heal. i'm fine. Frostbite, should be gone in a few days. She released me like she promised when I did what I could. Teo came and picked me up. Life goes on as normal. Want something to eat? Drink? Your allowed to sit down" Abby pads over into the kitchen of the place, the table with some presents stacked up on it, and the makings of tea on the counter. Red bull in cases stacked up in one corner on the floor. She doens't live alone that's for sure.
Ben glances around again and edges toward the closest chair to sit down. "Tea would be great," he says, unzipping his jacket. The presents are glanced at. "Are you in town for Christmas?"
"Can't afford to go home, not with switching jobs and rent for this place, a bunch of other things. So i'm mailing presents home and making dinner for the guys and for Brian. Since he doesn't really have anyone and can use the attention and a friend right now" Tea. She sets into making it. The kettle has hot water but she flips the switch on it regardless to make sure. Abby busies around the kitchen, grabbing grapes from the fruit bin and putting the fat red globs on a plate then onto the table. Sugar and cream go there too for the tea. "What about you?"
Ben rests his elbows on his knees. "I don't know," he admits. "I should probably stop in on Christmas. I think it's happening at my sister's this year. I don't really want to go back to Boston, but… family. How's Brian doing?"
"He's doing. He took back the copy of himself that got hurt, so he's fine. still reeling from the loss of his one copy. I think.. he just wants to be treated like normal. He came to the bar last night and drove me home. He's a good guy" Pop goes the sitch, waters done and abby's pouring a fraction of water into the pot, swirling it around, heating it up then pouring it out before she fills it up proper with hot water and tea bags. A literal quilted cozy slipped over the top and she brings it over to the table and sits down herself. "How the job? Legs not jello anymore? Not freezing your ears off on your rides?
"Glad to hear he's doing a bit better," Ben says, nodding. And he smiles a little. "I haven't caught him really at the courier service. Which is going well, by the way. I'm seeing what I can do about becoming a paramedic, though. I have to take a couple of courses but I think they're willing to hire me on a provisional basis. I should be out helping people instead of running packages, even if they're not necessarily the people I came here to help."
"YOu probalby fit better in with the other paramedics, than with the bike runners. I see you better sort of, in the paramedic jacket, saving lives" Let the tea steep. She leans over towards the counter to snag some mugs and place them beside the teapot. "I'm thinking of registering"
Ben's eyebrows go up. Any time they do, it's like his surprise seems magnified. Stupid eyebrows. "Yeah? Really? How come?"
"Someone asked me, not long ago, whether I was happy with my life. I had alot of time to think while she had me locked up in wherever she had me" Abby's hand closes around her braid and giving it a slight tug. "He thought that if I registered, someone might notice, and try to help me, for the better. Maybe help me get educated. Maybe I could be a paramedic like you are. I don't have the smarts to be a doctor, and I can't, I don't have the time and schedule to do it. I don't know if I'm even smart enough to be a paramedic at that. But my gift, my gift can help stabilize a person till they can get to a hospital. Like Brian in the church"
Ben leans back in his seat, nodding. "Your gift could help, yeah. Paramedic or EMT. There's the idea that having registared Evolved in positions like that would probably help people realized Evolved shouldn't be discriminated against. That's what my friend Nate always believed, anyway." He glances toward the window.
"You don't think it's a good idea? Someone helping, that was a best case. Worst case, was that I get snatched and put to other uses" The tea suffeciently steeped, abby starts to pour. 'Wish I had been there, to help your friend"
Ben shrugs a shoulder before looking back to her. "I don't know if I think it's a good idea or not. If people snatch you when you're unregistered, hell, maybe being registered will help protect you some. I'm not sure."
'How hard is it to become what you became? To become an EMT or a paramedic?" She's switching to a better topic. "I have a GED, nothing more. How would I go about starting down that path, registered or no?"
"I was in my last year of medical school," Ben tells her, squinting an eye. "That's why I'm sort of provisional for now, until I take some courses. A paramedic has a little more training than an EMT, so you'd start out as an EMT. A college education probably helps there, but maybe just the courses would work. I could look into it."
'Could you? I don't want to say anything to Teo right now. He'd only just crow and push and prod more. I might not be able to" His mug is passed over and she pours for herself. "I can't do medical school. I can't and still come when called for healing. I'd end up missing classes, and I'd have to get loans for tuition regardless, I'd just like to know what i'm potentially getting into before I commit to it.
Ben rubs the back of his neck. "I couldn't do it," he admits. "Medical school and helping out Nate and his friends. Luckily I had some scholarships so I'm not too bad in debt." He takes his mug, curling his cold-but-getting-warmer hands around it. "Medical school and… this sort of thing don't mix. That and it's a long ride. I have way more free time than I ever imagined having for the first time in around ten years."
'Too much free time?" Abby adjusts her tea as needed before her own hands curl around the cup. The radiator kicks in in the other room, that smell of vanilla starting to waft through the apartment.
Ben has a small sip of his tea, nodding. "Yeah. I thought I'd be busier. I'm finally catching up on reading?" he offers with a faint smile.
"readings good. see, now you'll have time. Since they're not calling on you for help, so you said. jsut finish off your courses and then, get to go out on calls. I'll still at least be at the bar for you to drop in and say hi to. Or to tell me if there's something big happening, and where to go so I can help"
"Will do," Ben tells her, inclining his head. "I drop by Lucy's sometimes." He pauses, then asks, "Should we have passwords or something? Since I don't know Phoenix ones."
"No, it's okay. I just usually ask a question" There's a gesture to the budgie in the cage. "That's Pila. I'll ask you about her if I ever run into you and doubt who you are"
Ben turns his head to regard the cage. "Is she yours?" He wouldn't really take Alex or Teo for bird people. He would be WRONG.
"Not mine. I just, like her alot. She's Teo's. I play with her while i'm home and we both enjoy watching the price is right and sunflower seeds" It sounds goofy, she knows it. "Which is why when I ask you whats the name of my bird, the answer of course is that I don't have a bird"
"Tricky," Ben says, with another hint of a smile. "I like it. The Price is Right? Seriously? You know, if Bob Barker wasn't Bob Barker, he'd get in so much trouble for being smarmy. But it's okay, because he's Bob Barker."
"I didn't have cable till I moved in here. I just had my TV and my DVD player and my few movies. Usually too busy cleaning and getting as many shifts at the diner as I could. better pay at the bar, and, well, less expenses with splitting the place here. but the price is right! I love it"
"Big fan of the wheel?" Ben asks, miming pulling the wheel for a spin with one hand and nearly sloshing tea on his hand from the effort. "Or dinette sets?"
"I think it's the dinette sets. And the look on their faces when they get called down to take a try at judging the price. There's worse things to like that people guessing prices. And it's someone named Drew Carey, not Bob Barker, who's hosting. He's okay. I just like the people"
"…They replaced Bob?" Ben blinks. "I had no idea. Whoa. They actually replaced Bob Barker? With Drew Carey?" And now a squint. "I dunno if I like that much."
"I think so. They don't call that guy Bob Barker" Abby looks to the sloshed tea and grabs a dishtowel draped on a cupboard handle and wipes it up. 'Just came by to check on me, see how i'm doing, take my pulse and make sure i'm alive. If your not going elsewhere for Christmas, your welcome to come for dinner, I think we could get at least four more people in here"
It was only a little tea. "Yeah? I should probably go back to Boston. If I do come by, though, I'll bring something. In theory I can bake. In theory."
"In theory, anyone can bake. in practice, it's always different. I'll keep a plate out for you just in case. Now, lets see. I'm thinking of going purple this time around. Think the lord will smite me for doing that? Cause I don't think I could do black. Or maybe I should just go back to blonde"
"Maybe back to blonde," Ben says, snickering a little. "I didn't think God had a thing against purple, mind you."
'Blonde. I think so too. Red was nice, but blonde, I miss my hair. Lets finish up tea" THe grapes are pushed towards him after she plucks a few and nibbles on them. "I have errands to do, and probably meeting someone else for coffee before I have to start heading to work"
Ben nods, taking a longer gulp of tea. "Glad to see you're alright. I'll poke into the EMT thing, ask around. Maybe you could get some kind of special provision for your ability, too, but I won't bring that up unless you're okay with it."
'Only if I register. I think, I think I'm gonna wait on that, i don't know. Or I may jsut walk down to the police station and do it today. Sometimes, one has to have faith yes?" Says the baptist.
Ben finishes his tea and heads toward the kitchen to put the mug in the sink. "It's a pretty big step. Think on it for at least three days."
'Three days. I promise. I can do that much. I know some first aid. But, i'm sure there's alot more training besides what I can do, to being an EMT" She stands up too, taking her own cup and the pot to the sink, rinse off both and put them to the side for washing later.
Ben rinses his cup and places it next to hers before reaching down to zip his jacket up again. "Some training. It's a good idea if you go with it, Abigail."
"Won't tie me down, and I can still help when called by others. And I can still work at night. Just a matter of whether I'm educated enough to get my foot in the front door" Satisfied that Ben's dressed warm enough she nods, heading towards the door to open it. "stay safe you. See you around"
Ben ducks back outside. "Ditto. On the staying safe. Later, Abby."
 December 16th: The Academic and the Terrorist |
 December 16th: Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger |