Pam and Alex | Backdated to August 27th
Aug. 27th, 2018 08:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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ax_mainPam takes a moment to assess Alex's condition after being rescued from the Right. Again.
Pam led Alex through her portal into an empty infirmary room, and gave him an apologetic look. "We'll get out of here as soon as they make sure you're ok," she promised. Granted, he looked ok. Physically. And being in a hospital room sure as hell wasn't going to help with mentally. But if they got this part over with, hopefully they could get the hell out - and in the meantime, there'd be someone to stay with him while she went to pick up the rest of the team.
Shifting slightly with the barest hint of discomfort, Alex nodded and hopped up on one of the empty exam tables; he'd been through this routine often enough to know he'd be asked to do so, sooner or later. "Okay," he said. "I feel fine, though. They hardly had me long enough to do anything to me at all, except lock me in that room." The memories that had evoked had been bad enough; combined with the helplessness of being both alone and deprived of his powers, it was a minor miracle he was as engaged as he was.
"Yeah well, they're gonna want to check." She eyed him critically. "And would you remember if they did anything else? Because you seem kinda not there." Which, okay, she'd seen before, and she didn't remember him ever losing his memory over it. On the other hand, he'd never been re-kidnapped before, either.
"I'm here," Alex objected, though there wasn't much heat in it. "I just ... needed to put some space between me and ... " he trailed off, waving a hand vaguely. "And I'm pretty sure I remember everything that happened since they grabbed me. How long was I gone, anyway?"
Forever. "A few hours," Pam replied instead. "And I know. It's not like I've never seen you do it, moron. I just wasn't sure how much space you put." And whether or not he was back.
"I think it was a lot," he admitted, scrubbing the back of his head and failing utterly to rise to the description of "moron". "Like, it feels like I was only gone a few minutes. Or a few days. It's ... a really weird feeling. Like, even when Scott and Pyro and Eileen and Billy showed up, it didn't surprise me, or anything. Not because I thought I was definitely gonna be rescued, though. More like ... everything had started to matter so little, I couldn't even make myself care." Alex's eyes were a little worried as he added, "Is that crazy? Did I finally go totally crazy?"
"What do they say, if you're asking the question you're probably not?" Pam shrugged. "You seem okay. Or, y'know, mostly." She reached for his hand, ignoring the bandages on hers.
He turned his palm up into hers, though he held her hand carefully. "Mostly," he repeated. "I guess I'll take mostly. It's better than I thought I was doing." Alex looked down at the bandages wrapping Pam's hands as if seeing them for the first time. "What happened? Did you get hurt during the rescue?"
"Nah." Pam sighed and threaded her fingers through his carefully. "Just clawed my palms up, waiting. The fuckers wouldn't let me go on the mission; I smacked my head into a wall." She tried to meet his eyes. "I'm sorry. I should've been there."
"You were there when it counted," he told her with a small smile that was meant to be reassuring, but still didn't quite measure up to a genuine expression. It was definite progress, however. Alex touched one of her temples gingerly. "If you hit your head, I'm amazed they let you come at all. Don't be sorry; you can't do everything yourself, no matter how much you want to, or think you should."
Pam's eyebrows climbed. "Because if it'd been me, you'd have let them keep you from being there?" She knew better. "Anyway, they pretty much said I could do transport if I could stay visible. So, visible."
Alex didn't bother to dispute her point; if it had been Pam who had been taken, he would have found a way to go along, even if it meant blowing a hole in the side of the school. "You don't have to stay visible anymore," he pointed out, instead. "Don't force it."
"I need you to be seeing me," she said, shaking her head. Because he hadn't been, and she hadn't been sure...she felt her eyes well up and she closed the gap between them as best she could, considering he was sitting on the damn hospital bed. "Don't you ever do that to me again," she demanded.
"To be fair, it wasn't one hundred percent my idea," he pointed out wryly, then caught her around the shoulders in a hug that was made only slightly awkward by their relative positions. "Don't worry--I have no plans to be kidnapped again anytime soon. Not that I can think of why anybody else would bother, if the Right is really, finally gone." It seemed too good to be true, given all the other times the group had resurfaced after having been seemingly destroyed ... but maybe a little cautious optimism wasn't completely uncalled-for.
Pam could think of at least one who might, but she wasn't about to mention the Pale Man to him now, when he was actually starting to sound like he was there. Instead, she tightened her arms around him and nuzzled her face into his chest. "Yeah, well, it stands anyway. And I'm allowed to worry."
"Sure, you're allowed," he acknowledged, resting his cheek against the top of her head. "I just wish you wouldn't. But I'll do my best, either way. I think our adolescent years have been eventful enough, already."
Despite herself, Pam let out a snort of laughter that held only a slight hint of hysteria. "'Our adolescent years' - people don't talk like that, moron. Well, maybe Dr. McCoy and Simon," she amended. "But not normal people." Despite that, she didn't move, didn't loosen her hold on Alex any. Because he was there, talking like a brainiac, and he nearly hadn't been. He could talk however he wanted.
He gave an aggrieved little huff. "I'm allowed to sound like a smart guy every once in a while," Alex insisted. "And either way, I'm nowhere close to normal. I don't think I'm even in the same time zone. Possibly not the same planet."
"Yeah, well. I wouldn't have a fucking clue what to say to you if you were, so who cares?" Pam pointed out. She pulled back, just a little, and looked up at him. "Feeling better? Because I should probably let the doc know we're here."
"I feel ..." Alex cocked his head thoughtfully and considered the question. His emotions still felt a little ... distant. Like he was feeling through the filter of a layer of thick, wet cotton. But, "I feel like I will start to feel better? Like I can deal with this, once I get some distance again. So if you want to find Simon or one of the doctors, I'll probably be fine for a few minutes."
"It won't take that long, even," she promised. Relucantly, she let go of him and headed for the door, digging her nails back into her palms as she went. She could hold it together just a little bit longer. She could.
"I'll go with you," he announced suddenly, hopping down from the bed and reaching for her hand. "I mean, they're just going to bring me back here, anyway. No sense in you going off by yourself, and me sitting here by myself, when we can accomplish pretty much the same thing together. Right?" Alex's face creased into a small smile.
Surprised, Pam smiled back and threaded her fingers through his. "Yeah. Definitely."
Pam led Alex through her portal into an empty infirmary room, and gave him an apologetic look. "We'll get out of here as soon as they make sure you're ok," she promised. Granted, he looked ok. Physically. And being in a hospital room sure as hell wasn't going to help with mentally. But if they got this part over with, hopefully they could get the hell out - and in the meantime, there'd be someone to stay with him while she went to pick up the rest of the team.
Shifting slightly with the barest hint of discomfort, Alex nodded and hopped up on one of the empty exam tables; he'd been through this routine often enough to know he'd be asked to do so, sooner or later. "Okay," he said. "I feel fine, though. They hardly had me long enough to do anything to me at all, except lock me in that room." The memories that had evoked had been bad enough; combined with the helplessness of being both alone and deprived of his powers, it was a minor miracle he was as engaged as he was.
"Yeah well, they're gonna want to check." She eyed him critically. "And would you remember if they did anything else? Because you seem kinda not there." Which, okay, she'd seen before, and she didn't remember him ever losing his memory over it. On the other hand, he'd never been re-kidnapped before, either.
"I'm here," Alex objected, though there wasn't much heat in it. "I just ... needed to put some space between me and ... " he trailed off, waving a hand vaguely. "And I'm pretty sure I remember everything that happened since they grabbed me. How long was I gone, anyway?"
Forever. "A few hours," Pam replied instead. "And I know. It's not like I've never seen you do it, moron. I just wasn't sure how much space you put." And whether or not he was back.
"I think it was a lot," he admitted, scrubbing the back of his head and failing utterly to rise to the description of "moron". "Like, it feels like I was only gone a few minutes. Or a few days. It's ... a really weird feeling. Like, even when Scott and Pyro and Eileen and Billy showed up, it didn't surprise me, or anything. Not because I thought I was definitely gonna be rescued, though. More like ... everything had started to matter so little, I couldn't even make myself care." Alex's eyes were a little worried as he added, "Is that crazy? Did I finally go totally crazy?"
"What do they say, if you're asking the question you're probably not?" Pam shrugged. "You seem okay. Or, y'know, mostly." She reached for his hand, ignoring the bandages on hers.
He turned his palm up into hers, though he held her hand carefully. "Mostly," he repeated. "I guess I'll take mostly. It's better than I thought I was doing." Alex looked down at the bandages wrapping Pam's hands as if seeing them for the first time. "What happened? Did you get hurt during the rescue?"
"Nah." Pam sighed and threaded her fingers through his carefully. "Just clawed my palms up, waiting. The fuckers wouldn't let me go on the mission; I smacked my head into a wall." She tried to meet his eyes. "I'm sorry. I should've been there."
"You were there when it counted," he told her with a small smile that was meant to be reassuring, but still didn't quite measure up to a genuine expression. It was definite progress, however. Alex touched one of her temples gingerly. "If you hit your head, I'm amazed they let you come at all. Don't be sorry; you can't do everything yourself, no matter how much you want to, or think you should."
Pam's eyebrows climbed. "Because if it'd been me, you'd have let them keep you from being there?" She knew better. "Anyway, they pretty much said I could do transport if I could stay visible. So, visible."
Alex didn't bother to dispute her point; if it had been Pam who had been taken, he would have found a way to go along, even if it meant blowing a hole in the side of the school. "You don't have to stay visible anymore," he pointed out, instead. "Don't force it."
"I need you to be seeing me," she said, shaking her head. Because he hadn't been, and she hadn't been sure...she felt her eyes well up and she closed the gap between them as best she could, considering he was sitting on the damn hospital bed. "Don't you ever do that to me again," she demanded.
"To be fair, it wasn't one hundred percent my idea," he pointed out wryly, then caught her around the shoulders in a hug that was made only slightly awkward by their relative positions. "Don't worry--I have no plans to be kidnapped again anytime soon. Not that I can think of why anybody else would bother, if the Right is really, finally gone." It seemed too good to be true, given all the other times the group had resurfaced after having been seemingly destroyed ... but maybe a little cautious optimism wasn't completely uncalled-for.
Pam could think of at least one who might, but she wasn't about to mention the Pale Man to him now, when he was actually starting to sound like he was there. Instead, she tightened her arms around him and nuzzled her face into his chest. "Yeah, well, it stands anyway. And I'm allowed to worry."
"Sure, you're allowed," he acknowledged, resting his cheek against the top of her head. "I just wish you wouldn't. But I'll do my best, either way. I think our adolescent years have been eventful enough, already."
Despite herself, Pam let out a snort of laughter that held only a slight hint of hysteria. "'Our adolescent years' - people don't talk like that, moron. Well, maybe Dr. McCoy and Simon," she amended. "But not normal people." Despite that, she didn't move, didn't loosen her hold on Alex any. Because he was there, talking like a brainiac, and he nearly hadn't been. He could talk however he wanted.
He gave an aggrieved little huff. "I'm allowed to sound like a smart guy every once in a while," Alex insisted. "And either way, I'm nowhere close to normal. I don't think I'm even in the same time zone. Possibly not the same planet."
"Yeah, well. I wouldn't have a fucking clue what to say to you if you were, so who cares?" Pam pointed out. She pulled back, just a little, and looked up at him. "Feeling better? Because I should probably let the doc know we're here."
"I feel ..." Alex cocked his head thoughtfully and considered the question. His emotions still felt a little ... distant. Like he was feeling through the filter of a layer of thick, wet cotton. But, "I feel like I will start to feel better? Like I can deal with this, once I get some distance again. So if you want to find Simon or one of the doctors, I'll probably be fine for a few minutes."
"It won't take that long, even," she promised. Relucantly, she let go of him and headed for the door, digging her nails back into her palms as she went. She could hold it together just a little bit longer. She could.
"I'll go with you," he announced suddenly, hopping down from the bed and reaching for her hand. "I mean, they're just going to bring me back here, anyway. No sense in you going off by yourself, and me sitting here by myself, when we can accomplish pretty much the same thing together. Right?" Alex's face creased into a small smile.
Surprised, Pam smiled back and threaded her fingers through his. "Yeah. Definitely."
