2007-10-10: Crowded Clinic

Starring:

Cass_icon.gif Sharon_icon.gif Claire_icon.gif Eric_icon.gif Peter_icon.gif Nathan_icon.gif

Summary: Three's a crowd, but that doesn't stop Bat Country Labs getting even more visitors. Sharon shows up for her blood test, Eric comes to find Elena, Claire arrives to help, Cass may or may not be sleeping, and Nathan and Peter are bad at being patients.

Date It Happened: October 10th, 2007

Crowded Clinic


Bat Country Labs

Has Cass slept since she found Peter's advanced case of the virus? It's unsure. She's at least changed her clothes, but they're still rumpled, as if they've been kept folded for awhile. Her lab coat is wrinkled, the arms rolled up to the elbows. Her hair is pinned up in a lackluster fashion, strands falling out haphazardly without a care. Sequestered in the lab, she's run most of the samples she's had so far and is gathering quite a stack of folders. Each have a corresponding color slashed on the front so she can tell whose is whose, some are getting much thicker than others. Just like the centrifuge, the other machine that hasn't been turned off yet is the coffee maker. It's possibly the only thing keeping Cass awake now.

Sharon hasn't slept either…but for entirely different reasons. Having called ahead to get set up for a test, Sharon arrives. She's got her gymbag, though this really has more than her normal stuff in it. A few books and junk, in the event she has to be quarantined. There's a knocking on the door, and Sharon sticking her head on through. "Cass? It's Sharon," the woman says as she looks at the coffeemaker and it's foreign substance. Blech.

People staying at the labs should be getting some rest. Operative word being 'should'. So why Nathan isn't might be beyond some people. Right now, he's in the office, door partially open, and is apparently using the phone there. You can make your own decision as to whether or not he asked Cass's permission, but the murmur of one-sided conversation can be heard faintly from the labs proper, where Cass and Sharon are situated.

There's another person in quaratine, actually. Peter's dressed fully now, even if he's feverish and pale, and has a blanket around his shoulders to try and keep warm. He's leaving one of the rooms, the one Elena is asleep in actually, and closing the door behind him, before moving toward the labs. The word that Ramon didn't have it meant that he didn't call Claire and cancel her coming, though he would have prefered more definite 'not contagious'. He starts toward the front and by the office, spotting Nathan, "Hey," he says, before looking beyond toward the labs. Company? Small c-company. And not Claire, from the sound of things.

It takes a little while for Cass to compute that someone other than her other visitors is calling for her and coming to the lab. Making a slow and sort of jittery motions to pin her hair back again, she slides off the stool in her lab and makes for the main room. Glancing toward the office, she doesn't see Nathan, but the door is opened suggesting someone is in there. Especially since Peter is right by the door. Her eyes shift over toward Sharon and she gives her a tired smile. "Sharon. Hi." Resting a hand on the door frame, she looks over at Peter again, then back at her trainer. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, I called about, you know. The test for the thing that seems to be going around," Sharon says, taking notice of the woman's tired look. These are the days she wishes she could temporarily grant people her power. "If it's a bad time, that's alright. Thought it was today, but I could have gotten my days mixed up," Sharon tells Cass. This happens when your days literally run together. She does keep her voice down, though those patients may hear her. Hard to say.

Nathan glances over at Peter as the younger brother moves by the office, nodding to him without breaking conversation with whoever he's talking to on the phone. In jeans and a heavyish sweater, along with the more visible symptoms of this sickness, he doesn't look like the Senator-would-be he sounds like, scratching his jaw as he apparently apologises to whoever he was supposed to be meeting with that afternoon. At the sound of new voices, although he doesn't really make out any words, he peers past Peter towards the woman he doesn't recognise, just as he sets down the phone. He picks up a few pages he had set down on the desk, moving for out. "We got company?" he asks quietly towards his brother, unknowing voicing Peter's thought.

"Yeah— looks like Cass' trainer. She's nice— met her in the dream incident," Peter says, leaning against the door frame for a moment to give himself a breather. He's not looking too well, really. "I mentioned the virus to her— I'd seen not long before I came in, when I was already feeling pretty sick, so I thought she should come in and get tested— just in case. Even if Ramon's clean it does mean everything's all clear." He lifts his hand up enough to glance at his watch. "Claire should be stopping by too today. Not sure when exactly— but pretty soon I think."

Claire probably would have been less enthusiastic about coming if she knew that there was a small soiree already gathering in the lab whose address is currently scrawled on the scrap of notebook paper in her hand. Currently sporting a pair of heeled black leather boots, pale denim jeans, a black zip up hoodie, a pair of big black plastic sunglesses and a black satin scarf to pull back her curled blonde hair from her face, Claire is going for 'unobtrusively chic'.

She stands outside the door for a good few minutes before daring to lift her hand to knock. She looks at her phone for a moment, taking it its entire lack of missed calls and the time. Hopefully she's in the right place. Then, at long last, the teenager lifts her hands and raps lightly against the door. If no one answers, though, she is totally dashing out of here.

As Claire stands there outside the door, a car pulls up outside the place. Its a sporty thing, a Mustang. Its whips quickly into a spot and almost before the engine is off and the car is stopped a familiar young man is leaping out of the drivers seat. Eric, dressed in clothes that are entirely too rumpled and mildly slept in(long plane flight) looks down and dusts himself off. Not even looking up though he doesn't notice Claire until he's nearly to the door.

He pauses then, stareing almost slackjawed at the young woman there he just blinks in suprise. "…I…Claire?" He says as he skids to a stop, glancing between her and the door. "…what…are you doing here?"

A surprised blink. "Oh! Yes. Hi. Sorry." Cass is sort of out of it at the moment. "I mean, no it's not a bad time, yes you did call." Rubbing her eyes a little, she looks toward the office. Right, she did have a phone that she could use at one point in this laboratory. That was before she had a senator-hopeful quarantined here. Might as well just pretend that it's property of Petrelli for Senate. She'll consider it her campaign contribution. "Come in, come in. Sorry. I've…I'm a little distracted." Her mind's been in protein coatings and cell counting and not keeping appointments. "Come in. I hope you're not afraid of needles? I'm just going to have to take some blood. It's simple, really. I can try to answer any questions you have, if you'd like." At the knock, Cass looks at Peter. Wait. He shouldn't be answering the door while sick. Or leading Sharon back to the lab. Or, well, doing anything other than resting. But. "One sec." Making for the door, she opens it to find Claire. And Eric. Blinking, she recognizes the young blonde from awhile ago. They only met once, but it's hard to forget someone that got hit by a car and lived. "Hi! Claire?" Even in her sleep fogged mind, something clicks. "You're…" Peter's regenerative friend. O-ho.

"No problem," Sharon says. And she's going to hang out right there. Still out of sight of Claire and Eric, however. Of course, it might be a little odd when Claire shows up, but that's life. She doesn't come in, instead just standing there and waiting. She figures that just waltzing on in and poking around might be seen as a little on the rude side of things.

He hasn't taken over the whole office just yet. Just the phone has probably been tied up more often than it should be, but it's either that, or moving to where phone reception is better, and Nathan has been careful not to go beyond where he should. Carefulish. He's not very good at quarantine, really. The papers he was referencing too are folded up and pocketed and, with his arms wrapped around him, Nathan moves for out. "Should we be out here, then?" he asks, of the fact that maybe-not-virus'd visitors are coming a-knockin'. Probably not. Come on, Peter, let's shrug exaggeratedly together in sync.

"Sorry, Cass," Peter says, not reading her thoughts so much as catching her glance and then seeing her decide not to ask him. He's not dumb, really, and he can figure out why she'd look at him. Technically he would be working here, helping her out if he could. But he's sick and that's not really an option right now. He does wave towards Sharon, drawing some attention to his apparently flu-ridden self, and then look past the door to see who it is. "Claire," he says, a hint of a smile, before looking back at Nathan. Should they be out here. "I…" Honestly he doesn't know. Insert a mirror of the exaggerated shrug.

Whirling around at the first call of her name, Claire's blue eyes grow very, very wide behind the large lenses of her black sunglasses. Then Noah's invaluable training comes into play. When in doubt? LIE. LIE LIKE THERE IS NO TOMORROW. "Eric! I…" Am not going to be able to finish the lie, because there the door is, opening behind her.

When Claire whirls around and finally matches Peter's 'My friend is Cass Aldric' to the 'Cass Aldric with the bookstore and the tea who saw me get hit by a car'. There's a tiny, sharp inhalation through her nostrils. There's a sudden realization that Peter may not even really be in there and that this is a really clever setup. In moments, the blonde's head is in a hundred unpleasant places. "Ms. Aldric. Is… Is Peter here?" Oh. Hey. There he is. She's still not comfortable with stepping inside immediately. "Hey, Peter," she offers with a small frown. Then there's another glance over her shoulder to Eric, eyes narrowing behind her sunglasses that she is, YES, wearing inside.

Future is so bright, Claire has to wear shades. Yes, even inside. However, Eric just blinks a moment before he shakes his head and smiles towards her. "…well…your the last person that I expected to see here…" He says as he rubs his shoulder slightly and stifles a yawn. He would have followed it up with more conversation, but then the door opens and his gaze is turned towards her. Most of the panic and worry in that gaze is hidden, lost behind the redness of lack of sleep. Most at least.

"Cass," He says with some relief evident in his gaze. "…I'm…I'm sorry to bother you…but I got this message from Elena that worried he heck out of me. I flew back here as soon as I can…but now I can't get ahold of anyone…I…what happened?" He asks with a slightly sheepish smile coming to his lips. Peter and Nathan? They both just just nods of greeting…looks like…um…everyone is here. He has NO clue whats going on exactly though.

There's a lot to do. Since Claire is obviously here to see Peter, Cass just opens the door wide enough to allow both Eric and Claire to enter and smiles at them. "Peter's right that way." Of course, they can see that, but she's reached the point in her state of mind wher she'll just state the obvious if she has to. "It's good to see you're alright." Not that she wouldn't be, but the last and only time they met the girl was hit by a car. To Eric, she gives a strained smile. "Welcome to the worried club. I'm not totally sure. It's a virus, but we're working on it." There's a few things she has to take care of. "I'll just be in the next room," she tells the Petrellis and then goes to join Sharon. "Here, let's go to the lab for the moment. You can come if you'd like, Eric. I can try to explain more in there." That way the Petrellis and Claire can talk about what they need to talk about in peace.

Wait, is that the kid Sharon ran into at the park? It's hard to tell with the sunglasses. Eh, nah. Even that is stretching fate and coincidence, right? Nope, no reason to be paranoid at all, Claire! She glances over at Eric and raises her eyebrow. "Sure, Cass," Sharon tells the woman. What is this, some sort of makeshift hospital party? "Lead the way," she adds to the woman who is apparently going to draw her blood. "Any specific information you need from me?" she asks Cass. "Or just the poking part?" she questions.

Oh hi Claire. Nathan's back straightens a touch when he sees her at the door, even if he did actually know she was coming, she didn't necessarily know he'd be here. He glances towards where Cass is leading Sharon out, and possibly Eric also— who gains a very eloquent doubleblink from Nathan. Just— one of those people you don't expect to show up here. As if Peter must have all the answers, he gains a glance from his older brother, before Nathan steps more into the main room, shutting the office door behind him. "We're gaining roommates like nobody's business," he adds, once Sharon is out the door. Hopefully for her sake, she won't be one, but so far it's been pretty dire for people getting their blood tested.

"I hope they're not all going to need to stay," Peter says to his brother at first, before he does his best to move away from the wall, but still stay out of the lab itself. Don't want to contaminate the samples, or anything— or worse make anyone else sick. "Hey Claire— Eric." Small world, right? He hasn't seen Eric for quite some time, and there's a quite expression on his pale face. His hair has been cut short since the last time either Claire or Eric had seen him, almost short enough to be an army cut, but not quite. It just barely lays over instead of sticks straight up. It helps him look skinner, really, just like the blanket he's wrapping around his shoulders and huddling inside. To Eric, he adds, knowing good and well who he's probably looking for, "Um— Elena's in the back asleep, but she's doing okay… You shouldn't come back here. We're pretty sure it's not airborn or anything, but…" He looks over at Claire. "Sorry— I didn't know it would be this crowded."

"Thanks, Ms. Aldric," Claire offers politely before offering a small flicker of a smile to Peter, intending to allow it to communicate an 'It's Okay' even when she doesn't really feel it. Slowly, she takes a few steps inside the door, stopping just inside the threshold and then balling up her hands into loose fists and plunging them inside the pockets of her knit hoodie. Oh, awesome. Her father's here, too. And they're in public. Ish. Together. Ish. The girl rolls her shoulders to try to dispel the sudden tightness there. "Peter. …Nathan." There's a small frown as she finally takes off her sunglasses so she can gauge for herself the paleness of both men, but her gaze lingers on the senatorial hopeful of the pair. "You sick, too?" This is just getting better and better.

Eric doesn't look sick, he looks jetlagged, and like he hasn't had sleep or food for hours. He did just fly halfway across country to find out just what the hell was going on. A glance between Cass and Claire before he looks back to Peter as the older man addresses him. Between Cass' words and Peter's relief calms him somewhat, his shoulders sagging slightly as he breathes a deep sigh. "…good." The look on his face when he looks at Peter isn't anything but relief, eyes closing for just a moment before he shakes himself out of it. Peter looks sick too, and the young man has to smile in sympthy. "…you don't look too good yourself Peter." He says with a slight grin before turning away, intending to take himself off after Cass. "See ya around again Claire," He adds with a slight smile.

"…a…virus? Does Peter have it too?" He asks of Cass quietly as he walks behind the lady with a a thoughtful look on his face, his eyes downcast as he walks quietly after her. Worry is writ on his face, but it wars with his logic. If it was /that/ bad, Cass would be more worried. Right? Right?!

It seems that Bat Country Labs went from being a place where it was mostly frequented by only Peter and Elena and Benjamin to a place where everyone is. Strange. It's a little like what happened to Enlightenment Books. But this actually has the equipment and the comfy chairs to accommodate people. "Um, actually, I do have some initial questions. How have you been feeling lately? Feverish? Tired? Cold?" If so, then she'll rush the results. If not, then she'll still hurry on them, but less so. Gathering up what she needs to take Sharon's blood, she gestures Sharon toward one of the lab stools to sit on. "Just roll up your sleeve, if you would." The others talking in the main room are a little tuned out for the moment.

More worried? It would hard for Cass to be more worried. Hence why she's barely slept in the past few days. This is probably not the best situation for Eric to fly back into. At least when he was in Europe he was isolated from the virus. "Yes. A virus. I'm…you'll have to talk to him about it." At least she'll do some semblance of the doctor/patient privilege. "I'm trying to work through it now. At the moment I'm just getting all the information I can."

"No, I've been feeling fine," Sharon tells Cass. "So if it's laying dormant or anything along those lines, I imagine it'd be best to catch it early". Especially given her occupation. She could spread things quickly. "Haven't felt tired or feverish at all". If she'd felt tired though, she'd have been over here a whole lot faster. So far, she's trusting this Eric fellow, mainly because Cass seems to know him, so he's getting the benefit of the doubt for now.

This isn't fair, they (the biodad-biodaughter duo) haven't even graduated to being not awkward in private, let alone in a room with other people. Nathan just sort of hovers (no, no literally) at Peter's side, where he adds, "We may need to consider a relocation if they do." It's not exactly the most spacious of places, all things considered, even if it is nicely furnished. Turning to Claire now, Nathan nods in a greeting to her, keeping himself closed off, arms folded - but that's mostly due to chills than defense. "Hey," he greets, then nods once. "Yeah, I am." A glance towards the labs, where Cass took the stranger to have her blood tested, and he adds, "You just stopping by?" He didn't ask too much of the nature of Claire's visit when Peter told him.

With the other three mostly leaving the family alone (though they may not know this) for a moment, Peter looks between father and daughter, noticing the awkward stage and suddenly realizes something… he's not been in the presense of both of them since he was going nuclear in Kirby Plaza. How strange things start to come together. "I'm not any better— obviously," he says, looking from one to the other. "But we're working on it. Cass has a few theories and… we're working on it. I'm glad you stopped by. Nathan wanted to see you too." Nathan is standing right beside him.

"If it was just a social call, I seriously would not be coming here," Claire replies to her father, tucking her glasses into her pocket and then peering for a moment into the other room. Then there's a look that's given to Peter. It's a sad sort of look, hidden underneath a disbelieving arch of her eyebrows. "Look, Peter. I came. You don't have to throw the bucket of sugar on it." Looking to Nathan, she tries to smile. It mostly fails, in all honesty. "It's okay. You don't have to… you know…" Pretend you even know anything other than my name. "It's okay," she repeats lamely.

That little bit said and done, Claire is back to looking like everything is status quo. She tilts her head towards the door where Cass and the others slipped through. "They gonna be able to keep quiet if I try to help, or should I just go?"

"I've been feeling alright, but I've been in Europe and Californa for awhile," Eric says softly as he stands over near the wall and watches Cass work on her patient. His arms are crossed over his chest as he leans his shoulder against the wall. A glance towards the door where Peter and the rest are before he looks back towards Cass. Oh he knows there most likely isn't…but…he has to make the offer. "…is there anything I could do?" He asks quietly towards her as he tries to ignore the little Family of Awkward in the other room.

"I don't think so." Cass is relieved to hear that Sharon isn't exhibiting any symptoms. That means that it's very likely that the virus isn't airborne. Something else that they don't have to worry about. Of course, she'll reserve judgement until she sees the results of the test. "It's a lot like any other sickness. It's better to catch it in the early stages." Then, she looks between Eric and Sharon. "Oh. My. I'm sorry. I haven't actually introduced you. Eric, this is Sharon - she's training me in self-defense. Sharon, this is Eric - he's a friend and someone I trust." Just in case she was wondering. Exhaustion kind of makes her manners fly out the window. If Bat Country had windows. Wrapping a rubber tube around Sharon's arm to make the veins pop out, she deftly inserts a needle and takes a vial of blood from Sharon. As soon as she has enough, she takes back the needle, undoes the rubber band and puts a cotton ball right where she put the needle in. "Um, actually, Eric, there are band aids in that drawer." She points. "If you'd grab one for Sharon, that would be great." Cass, meanwhile, wastes no time in putting Sharon's blood in the centrifuge.

"Good to meet you, Eric," Sharon tells the man, offering him the free hand. She lets the woman prick her with the needle, taking the shot well. She is a trainer, so being poked with needles isn't exactly uncommon. "Though I can't say the circumstances are ideal," she adds on as an afterthought. "Travel a lot for work?" she asks, making conversation as she is poked at.

Nathan shoots Peter a glance when's spoken on behalf of, sort of a non-verbal, sarcastic 'nicely done, Pete' and kind of shifts uncomfortably when his daughter assures him he doesn't have to want to see her. Well this is fun, isn't it. He focuses on the topic of conversation, rather than try to salvage anything, however. "Cass won't take too long if you can spare a few more minutes," he assures, voice a little roughened, likely from his own ailments. Then, he offers her a slightly wry smile. "Maybe you can pretend like it's a social call until she's done."

Social call. There's a glance between father and daughter again, a longer glance toward the other area where the other three are, and then Peter focuses on Claire, wrapping his blanket around himself. "Probably best to wait. I mean— everyone here has their own secrets, but…" Some secrets are best kept to a small amount of people. Less people know about what her blood can do, the better. He's honestly just glad she's even offering to help without having to be asked. Cause neither him nor Nathan wanted to. "How's school going?" That's social, right? "I need to sit down," he suddenly says, moving unsteadily away from the wall and slumping into a stool not too far away. He really doesn't look too great.

"That I can do," Eric says with a smile towards Cass. He walks easily over to the drawer, pulling it out and rooting around for just a moment before pulling the bandages out and nodding. It helps him to feel useful it does. He walks over and hands it over to Cass, even as he smiles towards Sharon and holds out his hand to take hers in a firm grip. "…well good. Someone should teach her just a bit about of self defense, just so she doesn't hurt herself." He says with a slight smile that seems to take in both of them. He has no worries about having manners at the moment, now is not the time.

Shadows thicken and thin around his hands for a moment as his worry gets the best of himself and he frowns at them. Stop that. Bad powers. He turns his eyes back towards Sharon a moment before he grins ruefully towards her at the question. "Well…" He drawls out. "…I will now. I bought a plane to get back here, so now I better use it."

"It's great," Claire offers with what must be a hereditary sarcasm. "My ability to read and speak in complete sentences has been a total boon to my academic career. Whoda thunk." The last of her bitterness from the reception given by Nathan — he could have at least argued a LITTLE — seems to ebb away when Peter starts to go all woozy. She starts to move to help, but it seems he's got it under control. That leaves her to shove her hands back into her pockets and look down at the floor for a second as she thinks of how to continue the conversation. Looking to Nathan, it's his turn for a question. "How are Heidi and the kids?" It's like a game of hot potato. Catch a question, throw it off as quickly as you can to the next person.

There's another weak smile for Sharon. "That's true." Cass rarely meets people in the best of circumstances for some reason. As for Eric's comments, she laughs. "Hey, I some day will manage to fall on someone and save the day." Band-aids given, vials of blood in the centrifuge, there's not much else for the three to do here separated. "You bought a plane?" Those crazy rich folks. "Well, that's about all I have in here. I should have the results tomorrow. I'll call you and tell you about them," she tells Sharon. "If you have any questions. About this or about…anything else. Feel free to ask." She's already starting to move for the main room.

Sharon somehow manages to NOT notice the shadows on Eric's hands. Trick of the light maybe? Or perhaps she's just distracted because the man just said he BOUGHT A FRIGGIN' PLANE? "Well…I would hope you'd make good use of the investment then. Gas prices aren't cheap for those things, I hear," she tells him as she releases his hand. "Alright, Cass. That should be fine. I'm just laying low from work, so my cellphone should be reachable," she explains. "You have the number, right?"

Nathan is easily distracted when Peter goes to sit down and even announcing he has to do so, concern briefly flashing across Nathan's face. Simply because Peter's symptoms are more progressed and truly Nathan's just waiting for them to get worse. When Peter seems not about to keel over and DIE, Nathan looks back at Claire, caught slightly off guard by her question. "Mm? Oh. They're fine," he says, which is just a stunningly insightful revealing answer, isn't it. "I'm sure the boys would love to see you again sometime, they liked it when you visited last." There, that's pretty good, isn't it?

"Always good… to be able to read, speak and form complete sentances." Peter leans against something while sitting on the stool, so there's quite a bit of weakness shown. The blanket gets wrapped around tighter, and his foot is shaking a little. Restless, maybe? Or uncontrolled cold chills. "Yeah— they talked about you for a while. You're one of their favorite babysitters." He could list off some of their other babysitters of the past. Elle, for example. She'd been cool, if a little scary. "I told them I took you iceskating," he adds, voice growing a little rougher. "They wanted to come next time… since you've… gotten the… hang of it now." His voice trails off in there, but he gives his head a shake. He's still awake. He's still breathing. He's not pancaked on the floor. All is not good, but it could be worse.

The little bit of encouragement from Nathan makes Claire at least try to smile. She likes her half-brothers; they amuse her. "Maybe sometime," the blonde offers non-commitally with a small shrug of her slender shoulders. That would require, after all, Nathan giving permission for his legitimate children to be seen in public with the secret bastard kid. Usually not so great a gamble with a political career looming. Angela was always very clear about that. "Are you okay, Peter?"

Laughter is sometimes the best cure of things. Espicially dark moods, and when Cass manages a laugh and a smile Eric smiles right back. "Perhaps you will," The young man replies with a grin curving up his lips but not touching his eyes for the moment. A sheepish smile flashes to his face for a moment before he shrugs slightly. "Well…I…paniced…and wanted to get back as soon as I can," He says with a slight shake of his head. He turns back towards Sharon and smiles slightly. "…well yes gas isn't cheap at all. Thankfully I can get it as a business expence if I actualy use it for business." A glance then towards Cass then before he rubs his head just a moment. "…I just want to know if the'll be alright." He murmurs quietly towards her. "And how is Ramon?"

"I'm pretty sure I do. And if I don't, Peter does, right?" Because Peter had to have told Sharon about this place somehow. Who knows. It's kind of sleep logic. Cass keeps heading for the main room. "I'll get these done as soon as possible. But if you're not exhibiting any symptoms, I think you'll be fine." Of course, that may just be her optimism talking and not her professional opinion. As soon as she spots Peter, though, that's where she's headed, even if she's a little disjointed. "Peter? Are you okay?" Immediately the back of her hand is going to check his forehead for a raised temperature. She looks over at Nathan and Claire as if they'll have more answers. For Eric, she shakes her head, replying in the same softer tone. "I don't know, Eric. I hope so." As evidenced by her exhaustion and worry, she's willing to work as hard as she needs to to make sure everyone is cure.

Sharon nods. "You'll have to excuse me; I have to finish some errands fast. It was good meeting you," she says. And Sharon is going to make her way out, and back home. "Say hello to Peter for me, would you?" And she's gone.

'Maybe sometime'. Nathan shrugs back at her with a nod, leaving it at that - the offer open. He's not going to be campaigning forever, after all, and if the rest of his family is clicking with the girl… Nathan's gaze goes to Peter. "Maybe you should be lying down," he adds, which— stones and glass houses, yes, but at least Nathan doesn't have to use things like walls to keep himself standing, and he's not bundled in a blanket, just a winter sweater. That's about when Cass comes in and he gives her almost a crooked smile. "We're not very good at being patients."

Just as warm, if not a little warmer than the last time she checked, Peter looks up as Cass approaches, looking to see where Sharon must have walked off to, but realizing she probably left while he was trying to not fall out of stool and carry on a conversation. "Yeah— we're crummy patients. Can't stay still. I really hate being sick." Which should answer Eric's question from earlier. How can his girlfriend manage to sleep for hours and hours and he can't keep still long enough. Then again, he had his phone set to wake him up so he'd come out to meet Claire. Which is half why he's up. He was asleep all day. "I wish I was well enough to help out. I could at least be taking blood samples for you… that's supposed to be my job." Instead he can't do much of anything.

Stepping back into the room, the young man glances down at his hands for a moment. They curl into fists before he shakes his head as he tries to calm himself down again. Nothing he can do. Eric /hates/ hearing that there is nothing he can do. He blinks a moment before he sighs slightly. "No one likes being sick Pete," Is all Eric can say really before he smirks slightly and glances towards where Elena is sleeping soundly. Yeah. Pretty obvious just why /he/ is here at least. "…you just concentrate on trying to feel better." He adds finally towards Peter before turning his gaze towards Claire.

…geeze. Small world.

Now that Cass is here, Claire falls into a small silence for a bit, letting her talk to Nathan and Peter. She is, after all, just following their advice to keep it social until it clears out. Oh, wait. Social means talking. "I really appreciate you helping, Ms. Aldric." Man, overdose on the polite much? It was all Cass the last time, but now that there's a little more secrecy necessary? Southern etiquette and good sense says to ramp up the nicey nice. There's a nervous glance shot to Eric, and then there she is, dropping her gaze to stare at her toes. What the heck is she supposed to do now?

"Seriously. I'd like to get a refund on you guys as patients." Cass gives Nathan a bit of a smirk, easily falling into a bit of their old routine despite the situation. "Don't worry about it, Peter. You're allowed a few sick days. It just means that when you're better I'm taking a vacation and you'll be in charge of things for awhile." Unlikely to happen, but she'll tease. "Seriously, don't worry. Focus on getting better." To Claire, the woman gives a bit of a smile and seemingly understands some of her apprehension. Especially with the help of the nervous glance given to Eric. "Please, call me Cass. Keep calling me Ms. Aldric and you'll make me think I'm getting as old as Nathan. And honestly, I couldn't just not do anything." Hence the helping. "Thanks for coming by. I actually had a few questions for you when everything's not so crazy. And I'm sure Peter would like a chance to talk to you in private, too."

"Yeah and that's pretty old," Nathan adds, with a look to Cass. His supposed friend. Supposedly. "And Peter, if I'm not allowed to go to work, then you're certainly not— " And abruptly, the phone rings from the office just behind him, Nathan glancing over his shoulder, towards the watch on his wrist, then to Cass. "That'll probably be for me," he says, despite… it not being his office. Or phoneline. So much for not allowed to work. "Sorry." Not really. He reaches out to give Peter's shoulder a squeeze, before giving Claire one more glance. "Thanks for coming," he says, whether she wants to take it as genuine or not, although to the world, it sounds it. Before anyone can tell him to go and get some rest, he slips back into the office.

"…oh come on," Eric smirks slightly as he seems to come back to life. "You can't be /that/ old," He teases towards Cass and Nathan both. After all he grew up next to Nathan and Peter, he is allowed to tease! Or…something like that. However he looks tired. Very very tired. He stifles a third yawn since he got here before he shakes his head slightly to clear is. He honestly has no idea what he is going to do here, or just what Claire is doing here, or that she's related to Peter and Nathan. He'll just take a spot on a wall and watch for a moment, before smiling at Claire. "…I'm sorry I kinda suprised you outside." he murmurs towards her…before he goes glancing around for…maybe…a couch. A couch would be nice to sit on.

"I'll be fine," Peter says to Eric— and Cass and Nathan and Claire and everyone else ever, in a way that sounds like he's said it a couple dozen times. And he possibly has. And it's less true every time he says it, most likely. "And when I'm better I'll take you up on that. You could use a vacation after this." She's been doing most of the work, and it's probably quite a headache for her. But anyway— he looks at Claire, unsure what else to say, but that could be because he's not feeling too well. She's not anywhere near Nathan's age, though. She's only a year older than uncle Peter, right? Eric. He looked toward the back rooms. "I can have her call you when she's feeling better. She's not that bad— she's just really tired." That seems to be her worst symptom, but it's not much of a reassurance, he knows. "You two know each other?" he adds, looking from niece to… girlfriend's… sorta ex? Um. Then Nathan leaaves. To answer phone. His eyes follow, but he can't really tell him 'no, come back.'

Pulling a pen out of her jacket pocket, Claire begins furiously scribbling on the piece of paper that previously bore the address. Once she's done that, she hands over the piece of paper to Cass. Then there's a glance to Nathan, and the tiniest of more genuine smiles. Only for a moment does the smile lsat because he's already gone. "Here. When you have a good chance to talk. I can find a way to get back if you need me to." Then to Eric, a shrug. "It's okay." Back to Peter her attention goes, and staring at her shoes is suddenly a great activity for her eyes. "We've just run into each other before. No big deal."

Of course Cass is Nathan's friend. She's helping to relieve the tension between him and his daughter. Not that she knows that this is his daughter at all. She's just trying to lighten the mood as best she can. "Well, you would be very young in turtle years." See? Helpful. "For— " So now Nathan's getting campaign calls on the lab's phone? Sigh. "Alright." Then, turning back to Peter, Eric and Claire, she goes back to trying to smile. Though not exactly happy with Peter's temperature, there's little she can do about it other than keep feeding him Tylenol and trying to keep everything in check. "Maybe I will." Need a vacation, that is. Taking Claire's number, Cass nods and moves to get something to write down her own number to hand over to the blonde. "This is mine. Feel free to call me. Especially if you develop a fever, or if you're feeling overly tired." Much like everyone else here is. "That goes for you, too," she tells Eric.

"…I'm overly tired because I havn't slept for nearly a day," Eric replies with a wry smile curving his lips as he glances towards Cass. He doesn't offer to help her tend Peter, partly because they still don't know just what passes the thing from person to person. There is a thoughtful look on his face though as he glances once towards the back again, then turns towards Peter. The looks he gives the man is almost entirely neutral too. Not bad, not good, slightly worried /for/ him. He nods once towards him in responce to the words he says. If anyone would know it would be Peter. The neutral look on his face slowly turns thoughtful as his mind turns in on itself and he looks away. "…I'll call Cass." He murmurs quietly. "…and you call if you need anything from me or mine. Anything at all." A smirk. "Even if its just more bandages…" Then a smirk. "…and I think after this we might /force/ a vacation on you. I'm sure Nathan would love to stick you in a packing crate." His mind-mouth filter is failing him after this much time awake dammit. Give him a break. To Claire though he just nods once. Noting the oddness, but not knowing the reason. "…twice…I didn't know she knew…" He waves his hand around with a amused look on his face. "…things."

Pocketing the phone number without really looking up, Claure smiles at the floor. "I will, but I'm not planning on getting sick." While her face may not tilt up, her gaze goes to her uncle. She'd hug him if she could, but that might make people ask questions. Questions are bad. Thus, he gets a smile. "I'll be back soon, Peter. I promise." Then Cass gets her smile, tight and nervous. "I guess I'll talk to you later." Then Eric gets his. "I really don't know all that much," she offers as her hollow lie. "But I'd better get going. It was good to see you again. Probably will see you again soon." And with that, Claire leaves her awkwardness hanging in the air as she starts fleeing towards the door.

"Come back soon, Claire," Peter says, watching his niece scurry off toward the front door, and giving Eric a look for a moment. He's going to ask about how they met later, and probably more, but for now he'll let it drop, and let her flee with the excuse that she really doesn't know that much. He's not even sure he could explain how he knows Claire without it sounding weird. He remembers a certain FBI agent asking him if he was a pervert for hanging around the high school at homecoming. When he'd really just been trying to save one girl. He lets out a long breath and slides off the stool finally, looking toward Cass. "I think I'm going to lay back down. Call me if you… need me to do anything." With the blanket around him, he starts to slump off toward a room. Only it's not the room he shares with Nathan. But luckily Eric doesn't know this. Cass and Nathan do, though.

She lies as well as he does. Eric just shakes his head slightly. He says nothing about it though before he pushes himself off the wall. He's already said everything he needs to do, and he now needs to go and pass out. The drive home is going to be difficult. One last look at Peter, before his eyes close and his sighs. A slight smile spreads across his face before he turns his feet towards the door. "…goodnight." Is all he murmurs, looking…just as tired as Peter…not sick but just tired. Thoughtful and tired. He'll be better in the morning he believes. He hopes. "…take care…all of you." And with that last quiet statement he strolls out of the door.

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