2007-09-25: The Glad Game

Starring:

Meryl_icon.gif Benjamin_icon.gif

Summary: A somewhat drugged Meryl teaches Ben how to play the Glad Game from Pollyanna.

Date It Happened: 25 SEPTEMBER 2007

The Glad Game


Hartsdale, Company Hospital

They gave her painkillers. Good ones, even though she said she could live without… After all, it's just a few (deep) gouges on her hand that required several stitches to close. She's had worse! Really.

The side-effects of this medication, though, as she sits in one of the cement-block rooms with no windows, is that she's out of it to the point of being almost asleep. At least she's not a prisoner here, at least her door's open. That's something to be thankful for. She's sure she heard someone beating on the door down the hall earlier in the day, trying to get out. It's almost been a day now, since the incident, and Meryl was just here to get her hand looked at, to make sure there was no infection or fragments of plastic. "Half a dose next time," she mutters to herself as she tries to keep her eyes open. She has important work to get done! Like… Uh. She can't remember. There was a report or something, she's sure.

—-

There's a knock at the open door to Meryl's room. A little surprised (and upset) to find her still in the hospital wing, Benjamin looks through the assortment of 'Get Well!' and apology balloons he has with him. They were just going to be left in Meryl's office, along with the box of chocolates.. but seeing as she's still over here in the hospital wing. "Hey Meryl.. I'm /really/ sorry about yesterday.. it's not worse than it looked is it? I mean you're still in here.." Or maybe it's for everyone's safety (and Meryl's!) that she's here while on pain meds.

—-

She's fully dressed, the bed's made… It looks like she's a temporary guest, at least. Good news, right? Startled at hearing Ben's voice, she turns, smiling broadly when she sees the balloons. Her eyes are unfocused, though; seeming almost confused, she looks from the balloons to Ben's face. "Oh, I came back," she slurs, blinking, reaching up to rub her eyes with the back of her right hand - that's the one that's not bandaged. Fortunately, and in an uncharicteristically normal turn, Meryl is, indeed, right-handed. Waving the bandaged appendage, she adds, It doesn't even hurt. My hand's all hot, though, but they say I have to keep the bandages on. I say it's not fair. They say they'll tie me to the bed. I say that's hot. Then they give me drugs. I think I'm at a disadvantage."

—-

Benjamin would raise a hand to pinch at the bridge of his nose as Meryl continues, but seeing as his hands are full. The smile he gives her is the indulgent smile an adult would give a child after accidentally breaking a toy or outing promise. "You.. came back? I think.. that it doesn't hurt because you're on a lot of drugs. Why don't you just take it easy and do what the doctors say? Someone'll make your bed for you, bring you meals and clean up after you. It'll be like a game." There. Put a pretty bow on it and see if she'll accept it. "Oh.. here. These are for you." That would be the box of chocolates, and the balloon assortment. The balloons are thankfully tied together with their ribbons with a small weight to keep them from floating too high out of reach.

—-

On one hand, she's glad Benjamin's being nice to her now. On the other, she almost wishes she hadn't told him. Then again, she knows it's hard to find a good balance between treating her like a child and treating her like an adult. Standing, Meryl blinks hard to get the room to stop spinning; her hand reaches out to the night stand for support. "A game, Bingo?" she asks. When her eyes open, they're still unfocused. "Benjamin, it's not like I haven't been hurt before. This?" She holds up the other hand, which almost unbalances her. "This is nothing." Pause. "I mean, it hurts like hell when I'm not medicated out of my mind, but I'm not… I do understand what's going on. You don't have to treat me like I don't." The chocolates… Will be devoured when she's awake enough to enjoy them. At the moment, Meryl decides it's a good idea to sink back down onto the bed.

—-

It's not that he's treating her like a child.. well.. Benjamin /is/, but isn't. Balloons just struck him as something Meryl would like more than flowers. "I didn't mean to.. Sorry. I just know pain meds can kind of make you out of it. Been there, done that." He does wince at getting a look at the bandaged hand. "I'm sure you've gotten hurt before. Working here, I don't think anyone here hasn't been hurt at least once." But still, was it accidental friendly fire? The chocolates are set onto the bedside table, placed on the ribbons so the balloons are weighted down further. "Need some help? I feel.. really.. /really/ bad about yesterday."

—-

"Nuh— " she mutters, pauses, and rubs her forehead. She's starting to think that the dose was meant to knock her out, and it's made her a lot more … subdued. Leave it up to Meryl to only be able to have a sane conversation when she's half asleep. "Is okay, s'ok," Meryl goes on. Ever so slowly, her head is drooping, even if she's attempting to keep her eyes open. There's a long pause before pats the bed next to her. "Siddown for a bit so I can lean over on your… shoulder for … awhile." … "And bring those chocolates. I'm fighting fire with sugar and caffeine. Dammit— Hey, don't feel bad." She manages to look up, smiling. "You ever see Pollyanna? It's this old Disney movie. You have to find things to be glad about, that's how you play the game. The Glad Game. I'm glad that the phone wasn't near my face. See, now it's your turn."

—-

Benjamin was just in the process of thinking about leaving Meryl to sleep.. but gah.. he SHOT HER HAND. (By proximity.) The least he can do is oblige her, right? Shifting a few things on the table to sit in lieu of the chocolates on the ribbons, the box is picked up. Seeing as Meryl's a little one handed at the moment, he opens up the box, getting rid of the cellophane wrapper.. Then it's handed over, as he takes a seat on the bed next to her. The things one can be guilted into right? "No.. I can't say that I have seen it." Usually he doesn't have a problem finding things to be glad about, it's just not everyday where you come >< close to shooting someone's face off. "I'm glad it wasn't near your face too."

—-

Chocolate. Yes. Generally, it's a good idea to keep her out of anything sugary, but Meryl needs it to keep up her strength! Fully intending to down the whole box in one go, she finds that she only has enough energy to pick up one at a time. The first one, she procedees to nibble all the chocolate off from around the outside of a squishy centre, which she puts back into the box. "You can't say the one I already said, that's cheating." Yes, you can cheat at the glad game. "I'm glad… that you brought chocolate." Pulling another one out of the box, this one is eaten in its entirity, she leans on Benjamin's shoulder. "Your turn again."

—-

It's a bit like watching a train wreck, sitting around Meryl. Benjamin stares in horrid fascination as the woman nibbles her way around the centers.. and puts them back. WTF. Nevermind, he doesn't want to know.. just next time.. no assorted centers for the chocolates. "I didn't know it was cheating, it's something I am glad for." It's simply better to humor the woman, he's seeing that now. "I'm glad that you're okay."

—-

The assorted centres are the best part, though. when all the chocolate's gone, you can squish them all together and make a super centre, which you can then jam into someone's shoe. Probably not Ben's shoe, he's being too awesome. Maybe Bob's. Or Noah's. Still leaning on Ben's shoulder, she glances up at him smiling. "Okay, tha's boring, but accept'ble. I'm glad I was holdin' Niel's cellphone n'stead of a nuclear warhead."

—-

Benjamin really doesn't want to know what Meryl has in mind for the centers of the chocolates that are no longer where they were intended to be. It's just.. better not to ask. He snorts out a laugh at Meryl's next choice in being glad. "I'm glad Felix took the gun away from me."

—-

The chocolate has not yet worked its sugary magic, and chances are, it just doesn't have the power to bring her back from the brink of eventually falling unconscious. That's okay, she could probably use at least a couple hours of sleep before getting back up to her normal mischief - and by mischief, that means 'paperwork.' Really. "Oh, that's a good one. I'm glad for beginner's luck." Because that's what it was, as far as Meryl's concerned. The accident could have been a hell of a lot worse. Ah, but she has something to say, and so she stuffs about five chocolates into her face in an attept to shock her brain back into working. It takes a while for her to finish them. "Look, Ben, it's not all your fault. You're the New Guy. I mean, yeah, common sense - don't shoot at other people - but I'm damn sure you didn't expect the gun to go off."

—-

Benjamin laughs into his hand at the beginner's luck comment. "I should have known better than to aim it anywhere but away from people. I've only picked up a gun one other time." And Angie was there to smack him over the head too if he put a toe out of line. "No. I didn't. Still.. new guy is no excuse." Maybe training him in guns will be reconsidered.. Hrm…

—-

That's what her report will say: Recommended: GET THIS GUY SOME TRAINING BEFORE HE KILLS SOMEONE. In all caps, possibly in hot pink, on black paper, so it cannot be missed. Basic gun safety can only help, but Meryl's still going to stand by her opinion that he should be trained with a Nerf gun. Sitting up momentarily, Meryl swings her feet onto the bed, and lies back against her pillow. "Bingo, you're a good guy. I'm not mad. Sure, I'm gonna hold this over your head for the next century, but that doesn't mean you should beat yourself up over it. Look at the positive." She yawns widely. "S'what I had to learn to do after what that guy did to my head, n' I never looked back. So you shot someone. At least it was me, and not, say, Bennet. You'd be in a bodybag about now if it was. Hell, even if you killed him doing it, he'd still manage to kick your ass so hard you'd be wearing it as a hat. So…" She yawns again, and this time, no words follow. Meryl might be asleep.

—-

"I kinda figured you would." Benjamin states, but he doesn't sound sour about it. It was expected. He has reason to hold being punched in the face over Nova's head, but he has to face it.. he ignored an order to stand down. He didn't, she acted. "Oh God.. don't say that.." Bennet eats guys like him for breakfast! Even if that's not true, it's the image that's kept up and circulated. Keep the newbies scared, it's a good tactic. "I'm trying to not beat myself up. Just give me a few days.. I know I can't dwell, if I did, I wouldn't last very long here at all. Like everything with Megan for example." Which he goes on a little about.. being part of the kidnapping unwittingly, tagging her.. he hasn't noticed if Meryl's gone to sleep yet. Although going quiet is usually a sign to check on the woman.

—-

Aw, Bennet's a good guy. If you're his wife or his daughter. Other than that, you should be afraid. Meryl, being rather incapable of fear, is still afraid of Noah, and that's saying something. Unfortunately for Ben, just when he's decided to open up a bit to Meryl, she's soundly passed out on the uncomfortable hospital bed, thanks to the strong narcotics. The rhythmic breathing indicates that she's still alive, but… Benjamin was essentially just talking to himself. Oops.


Later…

Meryl awakens several hours later, thanks to the pain killers wearing off. Thusly jarred awake by the pain, she presses the heel of one hand against her eyes and says something rather vulgar. At least she can say that whatever they gave her did work, it's just that she can't function if she's knocked out all the time. Standing, heading to her purse, she pulls out a bottle of tylonol and finds that it's impossible to open with one hand. DRAT.

After visiting one of the on-call doctors, she returns with a little bottle with an easy-to-open cap, full of extra strength painkillers that won't completely knock her the hell out. As she goes to pick up her purse, though, she notes that her phone is beeping - she has an email.

Flipping it open, she enters the Mobile Email password; the message is from Ben. That's surprising.

Meryl,

I've done some research on Dorsey. Found more than I had last time, but still no known location as of this point, though I think he might still be breaking and entering. There's a hint that the locations are Classified… Probably as a security measure. I don't have access… do you? I attached what I found so far, but without locations, he could be anywhere in Australia. We have to narrow it down.

Winters

After thinking for a moment, Meryl snaps the phone shut. No, she doesn't have access… But she knows someone who might be able to help.

Later, Benjamin will find a card pushed under his office door. It just says 'Thanks :)' with the little smiley face drawn next to her name… In crayon, of course. At least she didn't staple it.

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