Doc Hollidayy and Adriann Bell were in an exam room where Bell was taking Doc's blood for a battery of tests including Adriann's specialty, genetics testing. The Doctor was concerned about his sudden forgetfulness and recent erratic behavior.
Lucas met Spider who was being taken about the hospital on tour, so to speak by Joey. Spider is learning some things, such as how to get clean and Joey hopes to teach 'him' -- who he calls Cider -- how to eat with a fork and spoon. It was Marshall Demoss who first called Spider 'him' and it seems to be sticking with the hospital staff though examinations have shown that the youth possesses complex sexual organs. Lucas was interested in Spider's development and wanted to know the extent of Spider's signing ability. Joey and Lucas decided that they'd start from scratch to see what Spider's signing contained and would decipher it over lunch with the unusual boy of dark hair and gunmetal eyes...
When Adriann reached the lobby, he teased Erin about her height for which she smacked him. Then he found that Elliot's speakers sound card was on the fritz. Elliot reported via text on the front desk monitor that the technitions were working on the problem.
April made her way up the steps and to the doors of the hospital with only a slight limp. Her leg had been healing nicely and she'd been told that in short time the limp would be gone.
The double doors parted and April proceeded through, shifting the backpack on her shoulders a bit. She ambled though the lobby, looking for someone who seemed to be in charge.
She heard someone behind her, and glancing back, April gave a darkhaired nod to a man with wild, wind-blown blonde hair and a harsh blue-eyed glare. She noted one of his fists clenched neatly around a pipe, the other around something she couldn't see. He returned her smile calmly, but there was no emotion that she could see in his gaze. Then he glanced upward. "Elliot. Can you locate Teagan for me?" So polite.
The man, who was known as Tieryan, shifted his glance as the sound of a wheelchair caught his attention and the subject of his inquiry rolled out of the cafeteria and into the lobby. "Nevermind, Elliot." He stuck his pipe in his mouth and looked at the red-haired medic.
Hmmm, Teags would do, April thought, nodding to herself. She slid the backpack down her shoulders, letting it settle onto a chair and began unfastening the main section. Elliot's speakers made a funny high pitched whine and hiss. Since the sound came from all of them, it was clearly something wrong ... elsewhere. At the odd sound from the speakers, she glanced upward with a scowl. "What the..." she muttered. Then she shrugged and turned to offer Teagen a half-smile. "Hi Teag. I have something for the hospital, but it can wait 'til you're done with him first." She indicated Tieryan.
"Ah, hello April." Teagan answered but, her attention was focused on Ti and what he was handing to her. Tieryan glanced over at April again. "This'll just take a moment."
With another nod, April acknowledged, "No prob, take your time." It wasn't as if she had anywhere to go. She settled on the chair to rest her leg, sliding the backpack to the floor.
Two familiar voices caught April's attention and she glanced across the lobby to see Erin sitting at a terminal with Adriann Bell standing nearby. April's brown eyes lit up warmly; she hadn't seen either of them in months. But Tier was leaving and her errand came first. She lifted two large containers of water from the backpack. "Teags, do you think the hospital could use these?"
Teags was silent for a moment, seemingly lost in thought. Then April's voice drew her back. "Can always use water April. What do you want in trade?"
"Oh it isn't for trade, April clarified. It's payment for my treatment the other day. Where do you want me to put it?"
"Oh..okay hon, just run it into the kitchen when you get a chance." Teag's gaze returned to her hand. "And thank you, April."
"Okay, I'll do that. You're welcome." Seeing that Teags was a bit preoccupied, April meandered over to Erin and 'Riann.
"Heya Erin. That you 'Riann? Been a long time..."
Erin blinked and looked around. "April! Hey, how are you?" She grinned. Hadn't seen April in ages.
"Good 'nuf, Erin," April assured her. "You doin' okay?"
"I'm getting by," she told April, the grin still firmly in place.
"Glad to hear it."
'Riann heard Erin say "April" and was busy picking his jaw off the floor. Erin looked up at Adriann and chuckled. "You okay there?" She reached up and made a show out of lightly tapping at his jaw to close it.
"Where've you been keeping yourself, April?" Erin slid her chair out from the terminal and turned it somewhat, so as to be a bit more social.
"Oh, y'know life on the streets ... all over really. How've things been here?" She leaned against the desk, weight on one leg, crossing her bad leg over at the ankle.
"Been wild, actually, pretty wild here. Well, really it's back and forth. Crazy, then quiet. You know. Um...I'm a nurse now, finally graduated."
She beamed at Erin, eyes sparkling for a moment, "Oh that's great Erin, congratulations!"
On the streets? 'Riann whistled low. The streets were good for some people it seemed. 'Riann was looking at April and hopped up on the counter though he heard slow foot steps and the soft tones of Joey's encouragements to someone he hadn't yet seen. "Andy told me you'd changed... " 'Riann said by way of greeting to her.
April turned her brown eyed gaze to 'Riann. "Andy said--"
"Thought you were gonna join us here at Memorial, April?" He interrupted.
"So'd I ... but y'know, things changed on me. I miss it." The sparkle in her eyes faded, replaced by something else ... darker and more melancholy, almost a bitterness. She didn't really explain why she hadn't stayed, hoping to evade the issue.
Erin shook her head. "If you miss it, then come on back, April. No reason to be out there by yourself."
'Riann smiled, not missing the sad look on April's face. "Hey listen, you can always come back ya know. We always need hands. Right Erin?" His blonde bangs dangled in his eyes like always. He sure hadn't changed much.
"Always," Erin said firmly.
As soon as she spoke of missing the hospital April knew she'd made a mistake. "I'll think about it," she conceeded slowly.
"What's to stop you, April?" Erin was looking concerned now, very.
April's leg was starting to hurt again. She leaned down to touch her throbbing calf above where the wound was; the 'little girl' April who'd hidden in coveralls in the past was now all curves. 'Riann looked from one brown haired lovely girl to the other. It was a good day to be in the lobby...
April straightened, looking at Erin. "It's all Sean's fault." Her voice was almost sharp. "I just ... can't."
"He won't let you?" Now Erin was looking a bit mad. Protective she could be, very much so.
April knew it wasn't really all Sean's fault but he was a convenient scapegoat. "He needs me to help him find stuff." She wished he still needed her ... they'd been partners, a team .. until he'd just up and taken off. "He needs me, he needs me real bad, yanno?" April felt tears welling in her eyes and she let them come.
Erin stood up and put an arm around April. "If he cares about you, he'd want you to be safe, April," Erin pointed out softly. "What about what *you* need, yanno, honey?" She hugged the girl a bit.
"Where is Sean, April?" 'Riann asked suddenly as he slid off the counter again and moved around to face her. He tried to say it gently.
"I do okay. We both do." She froze, looking at 'Riann. "Out on the streets -- I dunno 'zactly where right now."
"You don't sound like you're doing okay." Erin was looking at April's tears. 'Riann exchanged a look with Erin, nodded faintly, agreeing
with her.
In truth, April wanted very much for Sean to still need her, but she knew he didn't at all. Not anymore .. if he ever had. She'd just
needed him. Well, she'd decided she wouldn't need anyone. She'd take care of herself. "I just injured my leg the other day and it hurts. Must be time for the meds, y'know? But I brought in some water for payment - I do just fine." She spoke assertively, shaking off the tears and slipping into the facade of the attitude. She hated to be evasive with friends and even more to take a sharp tone, but she had to keep her distance, no one could find out what she was.
Erin looked at Riann. Disbelief on her features, clearly. Her words were for April. "We all need help now and then, hon. You don't need to pay us for it. Listen. Why not just stay one night? Rest that leg."
"No! ... er .." Her voice softened,"Really, I can't." She backed away from 'Riann a flicker of some emotion in her eyes. "I'm just
gonna take this water to the cafeteria like I promised. People should keep their promises."
Erin had heard words like that before, seen reactions like this, but they were in a different context. The last time she'd seen a young
woman act like this had been abused. She began to wonder...
"April," 'Riann reached out as she stepped away, catching her hand in his. "Why are you so afraid of us? We only want to help." Jumping in where angels feared to tread...
April swung her hand away trying to break 'Riann's hold. Her hand quickly clenched into a fist and she let the water drop from her other hand, with little apparent concern for it. "I .. I know. But, you can't help ... you can't change things..." ~You can't change what I am.~ she thought.
'Riann let her go because he'd felt something when he took her hand and the feeling had been well... really weird. "If there's a problem and you share it with us maybe we *can* help, April." He stepped toward her. The container of water was plastic so it mostly bounced. Thank the gods for small things.
"Exactly. How do you know we can't help if you won't give us a chance?" That from Erin, who was staying her distance for now.
"If anyone finds out, I might as well have signed a death warrant ... or worse. So please .. just let it go?" She was begging them now.
"Who would want to kill you, April?" She was scared silly for the girl now. "I don't understand..."
She forced the words out, her voice a whisper that could barely be heard, "I'm not a 'normal' huumunn."
'Riann narrowed his eyes to look at her carefully. "What do you mean not 'normal'?"
"Some people like to 'experiment' with my kind ... others would enjoy teasing or worse. No one must know -- ever."
Elliot would have defined it for 'Riann, but his speakers were still fritzy.
Erin was quiet, her brows drawn together in a frown. "Then stay here, April. They can't get to you here."
"If I stay here someone will find out. They almost did before ... that's why I had to leave."
"Look, look... okay... " 'Riann was trying to sound confident but in situations like this he was typically frenetic. He was doing his all just to control his imagination. "You can be protected here." He knew all about experiments! He knew all about genetic testing, good gods did he know! He was maybe just a little bit pale.
"Protected, yes. Asche could arrange something ,maybe." Though as she said it, she was thinking of how Chi had been killed right in a secured room...
April folded her arms in front of her, hands carefully tucked in, underneath her arms. "Can I?" She didn't sound convinced in the slightest. "I don't believe things don't ... 'leak' out .. information gets passed along. Especially something like this."
"It's your hand isn't it," 'Riann hissed softly, looking at Erin then at April. "Something they did... " He was thinking about that too. Murder right in the hospital. All sorts of weird crap. Asche's Ghosts, which he knew about because she trusted him, but man...
"Her hand?" Erin was clueless on that, but already her mind was racing ahead. "If the hospital can't keep you safe, there might be others..." She knew of a few, possibly.
April blanched, and stepped back another pace. "They didn't do anything to me. I was born this way ... a blessing and a curse Sean said."
He wanted to say he'd felt it, but he saw the blood drain away from her face. "Okay, I'm sorry... but you can trust us, April." His verdant eyes were pleading. "You can trust me. How can you trust what Sean said? You're not cursed... "
"Listen....maybe we could..." Erin broke off, realizing she was being paged. Insistantly. She glared up at the speakers. "Damn. I...listen, April. Just don't vanish on us, all right? Give us a chance."
Helluva time for the speakers to kick back in, 'Riann thought. "Gotta love the techies," he muttered.
"I .. okay, I'll try," April told Erin. "... maybe .. I'm sorry." April's coherancy faded as she grew more rattled. She watched Erin leave, her expressive brown eyes intense with a mixture of emotions; regret, gratefulness ... fear. So Erin left them as had all the others. The Duty nurse hadn't come on shift yet. They were alone in the lobby. She turned back to 'Riann, the fear almost sullen, defiant, though the attitude was crumbling.
"Look, I don't mean to say that ... I mean ... " 'Riann sighed, breathed, closed his eyes a moment and tried to steady himself. "We could try to keep you safe here. The Cult is dangerous, but they don't threaten us here because we don't let them." He was confident of that much. He opened his eyes. "And we might be able to help." He blinked. "I might."
April blinked. She didn't know what 'Riann did for a living though she'd heard vague rumors. Some sort of doctor. A specialist. "You've got to swear ... no one can ever find out. If they do ... it will be like wildfire. I don't want anyone to know. Rumors even run through this hospital ... it would be too much to keep to oneself."
His mind was whirling. If April had been born with the strange ridges on her hand that he'd felt, and it made him shiver again, all over, to think of them where he'd expected warm flat palm. He could have sworn he'd felt them move against his own hand. "Rumors can be dangerous. If I need to consult someone else on staff, I promise I won't tell anyone without getting your permission first. Okay?"
If it hadn't been the Church... and it hadn't been the PTBs... and he would have known if it had been! Then she must have been born that way and she feared discovery.. but just for a deformity?
"There's more to this than what's on your palm isn't there?" His voice was soft, lower than Elliot's speakers could pick up. "You're not just afraid that the Church will come back and call you mutant freak... or that the Cult will see it and think you're one of them." He could see in her face that he was at least partially right. "C'mon. We'll deliver your water to the kitchen, then we'll go someplace quiet and talk, okay?"
"Okay," she nodded slowly. He knew far more than made her comfortable and seemed to be figuring out even more. She ignored his questions for the moment. She had to know more about him. As they headed for the cafeteria she asked, "What did you mean by, 'You' might .... help? What are you that you could?" Fearful again, suspicious. Could she trust him? Was it a con, a trap? Her brown eyes narrowed -- he 'seemed' sincere. She was reassured that he recognized the danger of rumors and that he'd ask her first before going to anyone else.
He tilted his head slightly as he answered. Talking about himself was not easy. "I'm a scientist. I used to work for the Legion, but they didn't need me anymore. I know about genes, the things that build people, make them what they are when they're growing before they're born."
In silence they dropped off the water and went back into the corridor. He led her to the lift and then paused, aware of her desire to be cautious. He knew he didn't fully have her trust yet. "Elevator or stairs?"
"Elevator please." She didn't like the closed in feeling but her leg ached. "So, you experiment?" ~Were the rumors true? Did he want to know about her so he could help her, or did he want to experiment on her in the guise of seeking 'scientific knowledge' for the benefit of huumunnkind?
Tierynan told Teagen that Langdon was dead and Teagen subsequently gave Doc a pendant that belonged to her father that Tier had retrieved from Langdon.
