Starring:
Summary: Upon visiting Peter, Nathan finds Cass instead. She's still morphine crazed because they are destined to never have a sober conversation.
Date It Happened: 29th of May
Jell-o In Space
Beth Israel Hospital
It's been quite an eventful week for Cass. What with the shooting and the being in a coma and the waking up and the being drugged out of her mind. Lachlan is conspicuously absent from Cass' room, but that's probably because he's partaking in some of his liquid comfort and grabbing himself something to eat from the cafeteria. He's never gone for too long if he can help it. For once, she's awake and all but alone in her hospital room. There's one nurse checking on her IV, but she's not in there for very long. Cass is randomly babbling to her as they go along, too. "So, you know, they say that it was /aliens/ that taught all the Mayans agriculture and to build stuff. And the pyramids. Well. That was the Egyptians. But…have you seen that /Stargate/? It's supposed to be /like that/. But without interdimensionary travel and more with flying saucers. /Aliens/! Isn't that /awesome/? I think the aliens were the one that took my Jell-o cup from my food tray last night, by the way. It just beamed up. I bet it's hard to make Jell-o in space."
Hospitals suck. And yet, every day, Nathan manages to drag himself there, whether for fifteen minutes or stretches of hours. It's like a daily prayer, or something - some days may be more significant than others, but you still do it. Today, Nathan actually has some time on his hands, so he's not marching through the halls to get to Peter's room, brood there for a while, and march back out. Instead, 'meander' would be a better word, and he even takes in the setting. He was trying not to, before, but there's really no escaping the fact that yes, he's yet again in a hospital building.
And so when he can hear someone talking, Nathan actually glances over… and stops, frowning. He recognises her. With a glance around, Nathan walks over, not entirely sold on actually visiting, it's none of his business— Jell-o in space? Screw it. He moves towards the door, knocks on the frame to announce himself. "Cass?" Oh god, it /is/ Cass, right? That 2% certainty that her name is actually Kate or Cath niggles at him, but he's /pretty sure/ it's Cass.
The nurse, the lovely woman that she is, just keeps nodding and smiling at the poor little crazy person. Cass is so hopped up on drugs to lessen what normally be /very painful/ couple of weeks that she doesn't seem to mind. Nathan calling out her name makes her turn toward the door slightly. The sudden movement makes her wince and put a hand on her shoulder. "Oh. Ow." But, then, she's studying the man in the doorway. He looks familiar. He looks like someone who should be being punched by Lachlan. Possibly because he was? Oh! Oh! This is Peter's brother! "Nathan?" she's confused.
A glance to the nurse, then to Cass, and Nathan invites himself into the room, frowning. Much like the last time they met, he's dressed pretty casually, just another guy. He mostly ignores the nurse, as he comes to stand by the bed, a little tentative because, well, awkward. He didn't come to see Cass, or expect her to be here, or to ever really run into her again. And she looks— well, the last time he met her, she was buzzed on whatever she was drinking. Now it seems she's riding a morphine drip. "Uh. Yeah. Hi." A pause. "What happened to you?"
Having done all she needs to do, the nurse quickly high tails it out of the room of awkwardness. Cass smiles happily at Nathan. She never thought she'd see him again, either, but, hey, isn't it a small hospital? And isn't she /just so happy/ that it is? "They saaaaay that I got shot or something. But I think they're /lying/ because I haven't seen any needles so far and this is a /hospital/." No, not that kind of shot, Cass. "People keep seeming so worried or something. No one really tells me anything. I'm just the girl in the bed." These two are destined to never have a sober conversation together.
…wait nurse come baaack. Come back and interpret! I didn't mean to ignore you like the irrelevant person you are! Nathan glances longingly at the door, hesitating, before he draws a chair closer and sits down. "You were shot," he repeats, somewhere between a question and a statement. He's not sure whether or not to take this as fact, or if she's confusing this, because it seems unlikely to him that someone like Cass would get caught in crossfire… then again, who knows. "I was just coming to see my brother," he adds, as if to explain his presence.
"I was shot?" Cass repeats Nathan with her own bit of a question. Memory, oh where have you gone? It comes and it goes. As does her clarity. And when Nathan mentions that Peter is here as well, well, that nags at the one sliver of lucidity she has left. "Peter? Peter's here?" Now she just sounds confused. And worried. Because no one /told her/ that Peter was here, too. "What /happened/ to him?" It's like she's back to normal. "Was it the ninjas? They're in hiding right now because Dr. Dickstein got the bottled ships…but I think they're just waiting for night to fall so they can attack from the shadows." Nevermind.
Oh boy. Nathan really shouldn't find people high on morphine funny. Ever. Hell, he spent at least a month exactly where she is and Angela hasn't even made comments on his likely inane observations when he was motivated to try the talking thing. But, still - ninjas. A flicker of a smile, and Nathan shakes his head. "It wasn't the ninjas. He just…" Here, he pauses. Does he really want to inform the babbling drugged girl about the truth? Eh, sure. No one will believe her, in this state. "His powers got the better of him again. He'll be alright."
His powers. This /means/ something. And through the morphine haze Cass /desperately/ tries to force it into making sense in her head. Peter. She was training Peter. His powers. Sometimes he overuses them and something happens. Her face is contorted into a thinking face. Because this is taking /a lot/ of brainpower right now. But this means that Nathan knows about what Peter can do. "Did he absorb too many?" It's a legitimate question and it finally is /not/ prefaced with talk about ninjas or aliens or Jell-o. It's something she needs to know. Even if she'll forget it soon.
Now, Nathan doesn't know the full story about this. Somehow, he's managed to miss everyone who actually knows exactly what happened, and whether Cass was somehow involved? Hell, he didn't even know she was hurt. No one would think to tell him so, either. "I think he tried to do too many things," he answers. "I guess that's how it works. I'm fuzzy on the details." And Cass is likely fuzzy on the reception so it all works out. "Uh. You got your boyfriend looking after you in here?" Nathan is not a charitable personality. However. He knows what it's like to be laid up like this, alone, and hates it. He doesn't really want to condemn someone to this.
For a moment, Cass gets so frustrated with her inability to think of anything /other/ than ninja assualts and pirates searching for parrots that she contemplates just yanking out the morphine drip attached to her arm. But that's crazy and she doesn't even really have the strength to do it. This is important. She /knows/ it is because it has to deal with Peter and /still/ she can't concentrate. "He…he keeps doing that to himself. He pushes himself. Does too much for others. Cares too much." Not like /she's/ one to talk. She shifts and makes a hissing sound as she does so. Even if she's on morphine, it still hurts sometimes. "Lachlan? He's here. I asked him to find out where the pirates are keeping the ninja they took hostage for negotiations. They're very good at hiding things."
That's when Nathan glances to the door, as if expecting a looming Lachlan to appear. But he doesn't, yet, so. I mean honestly, what's he going to do? Punch him again? It's a hospital. And besides… Cass, despite her morphine-related crazy, is speaking some sanity. "I know," he agrees, gravely. Not about pirates, about Peter. "He just wants to save the world." A beat. "A lot, and some more." This last bit is slightly muffled as he brings his hands up to rub his face, wearily. "Glad I'm not the only one who thinks so." Freakin' Peter.
It's unlikely that Lachlan is /actually/ tracking down the stray ninja. He just told Cass that to humor her while he is off wandering and pretending like he's searching for the poor trussed up sod. He'll come back with a sandwich and more scotch. "He'll do it, though. He's getting better at controlling what he absorbs and using what he knows." Her hands roll up part of the blanket she has covering her legs for something to do while she thinks. "I just…I don't want him to get killed." Because Peter's her friend and that's not something she can accept. "It's a lot harder to…but it could happen. But, I know what we're doing is what's right. The tornado, the virus. It's important. It's got to be stopped." A thoughtful pause. "I don't know what to do about the zombies they're trying to pass off as dead bodies in the morgue, though. Zombies isn't my specialty." Because, really, whose is it?
So. Cass isn't simply Peter's employer, or even just a girl who knows about all this. She's entrenched in it. Nathan squints a little, regarding her. Shot. How many times, he wonders. What if it wasn't crossfire? Ah, conclusions, and the jumping to them. Of. Whatever. Still, colour him curious. "Tornadoes, though, viruses - those are your specialties?" he asks.
This is a conversation Cass /probably/ shouldn't be having on morphine. The filter between brain and mouth is basically non-existent. And this is a very sensitive topic. And she may randomly insert alien abductions into it. So, well, maybe this isn't so bad a time to have this conversation. "A lot more now than I was a couple months ago. It's a weird topic. Involving paintings that can tell the future. Who knew paintings could /do/ that? Isn't that weird?" Her hand falls back down to her side and she finds something that's trapped between the bed and the safety bars. A Jell-o cup! "Hey! The aliens /didn't/ steal it. It must have just fallen off the tray. Well, that's a relief."
"Oh, good," Nathan says, dryly, glancing to the jell-o cup. "I'm glad. Though it must be a bitch to make in space." May they always have conversations with some degree of inebriation between the two. He actually reaches out to touch her hand - a very friendly touch, and unassuming, just a warm clasp over the back of it. "Paintings /can/ do that. But they don't have to." It's easier to be nice to people when they won't remember it - and hey, giving a little optimism to someone who can't do much of anything but wait and feel. That won't cost him anything. "They don't always work out." He stands, now. "I'll let Peter know you're doing alright." Even if he's coma'd.
"That's what /I/ said!" Cass beams at Nathan for his Jell-o remark. It's like she's found a kindred spirit. Someone who /knows/ about aliens and Jell-o. Will she remember this shared moment later? Who knows. The touch on her hand is received with another smile. Getting touched /there/ doesn't hurt her at all like on her shoulder or arm. "I know. It can freak me out if I think about it too hard." And when she can't do anything else but sit and think? Well, maybe that's why there's a huge dramatic battle between pirates and ninjas going on in the hallways. "Thanks Nathan. I met your wife before. She's lovely."
Cass gets offered a peculiar, sad smile, with a hint of surprise. "She is," Nathan agrees, after pondering a response for just a moment. "I'll come by this room next time if you don't already have company." Because as much as he loves Peter… he's sort of unresponsive right now. And even if Cass is hopped on morphine… hell, that's not even a bad thing. One last nod, and Nathan turns to head out the door, resume his usual course.