[closed] two, two, two logs in one!

[elfstoned]

WHO: Jack and Aaron, then Aaron, Lyall and a ferret
WHERE: South of the Dead District, moving into LSR Clinic
WHEN: April 15, afternoon/evening for Jack; Tuesday, April 16 for Lyall and Romsca.



Aaron stepped out of the clinic and locked the door behind him. Patients had kept him busy all morning and into the late afternoon, and now that he had sent the last on her way, he was starving. He didn't know if it was a late lunch or an early dinner, but the growling in his stomach was drowning out the particulars.

He slipped the keys into the pocket of his worn, gray overcoat, and set off down the street.

Comments

[elfstoned]

He's going to die, Aaron realizes. Jack was going to pursue leads while compromised, make the wrong call, and be either captured or killed.

Would that be so bad? Aaron finds himself wondering. If Jack died, then there would be no chance of a violent relapse. Aaron wouldn't have to worry about whether or not to tell the network about Jack's military history, because it wouldn't matter.

Then, crushing guilt sets in. Aaron feels a surge of shame for even considering such a thing--it wouldn't just be murder, it would be cowardly, underhanded murder.

There was only one course of action open to him now. Aaron gave Jack a nod. "I see I can't make you stay with reason." He stands. "Is there anything else you'll need that I can give you besides the stimulants?"

[twopercent]

"No. I'm fine," Jack says. Honestly, despite getting a battering a week or so ago, Casval patched him up pretty good -- and the torture hadn't left a lot of marks either. He was tired, but other than that, in good enough shape to carry on.

Eager to be gone, away from intrusive questions he doesn't want to hear and echos of memories he doesn't want to think about, Jack moves to the door, ready to follow Aaron to wherever he stores the meds.

[elfstoned]

Aaron nodded. He waked out to the storage room, took out a ring of keys, and opened a locked cabinet. The angle was such that Jack would have a very hard time seeing exactly what he was doing, but a small, blue, plastic bottle was pulled out and opened. Aaron handed two capsules to Jack.

"That should be enough to keep you going until tomorrow night," he said, and it was not a lie. Deceitful and misleading, but not a lie. "I do ask that you stay for half an hour at least so I can be sure you won't suffer the worst of this drug's possible side effects."

[twopercent]

Jack reluctantly grunted his assent. What the hell did he know about medication? Just do whatever it says on the bottle or whatever the army docs say, that'd always been his approach. He popped them in his mouth, tilted his head back, swallowed. All he was really after now was to finish up here and get out, but if he's got to stick around, he might as well push his luck.

"Just give me a few more for the road. Promise I'll catch some sleep after this round, Doc, but I don't know how long I'm going to have to stay on the run. Could be useful to have on hand."

[elfstoned]

"You're welcome to them," Aaron said, handing over the bottle willingly enough. (It wasn't as though Jack would have it long.) He went out and got a glass of water, handing it to Jack to wash the drug down.

It could take up to half an hour for the BZD to take effect, so Aaron headed back into the office to tidy up after the makeshift meal. He hoped he was doing the right thing, he hoped to God, but he couldn't send Jack out with only dangerous stimulants, not after he had realized how convenient it would be if Jack died. It would be murder, nothing less -- murder through deliberate inaction.

[twopercent]

Jack doesn't come with him, but instead finds a footstool in the storage room to sit down on near the door. Sit out that half hour, away from detailed questioning of his approaches and reminders of the past that he doesn't want to talk about, especially with Doc Strider. Maybe Aaron didn't understand yet, but with the General's words about an invasion constantly nagging at Jack's mind, he at least wasn't about to forget. This was war, albeit a quiet one... so far. Jack figured, though, that it wouldn't last.

He seriously considered simply leaving then and there, regardless of Aaron's suggestion. But... well, he didn't exactly feel safe here, but at least it was a quiet place to sit down for a minute. Wait for the drug to take effect before heading out again. So to kill time, Jack took a few minutes to check ammo left in both guns' clips... and with disassembly and cleaning out of the question, was left with nothing to do but wait anxiously.

And it did seem to have been a good idea to sit down for a few, because as time passed Jack was starting to feel a little nauseous, maybe a little light-headed. Maybe he shouldn't have eaten so fast, Jack thought. Maybe it was the drug. Waiting a couple more minutes, the feeling didn't seem to be fading, so Jack stood up to go find Aaron. Just in case. That was when the dizziness really hit, and he staggered forward a few feet to lean on the hallway door. Jack got as far as turning the handle and pushing it forward before he passed out completely, collapsing into a pile in the hallway with a loud thud.

[elfstoned]

That was his cue. Aaron appeared in the hallway, and for a second, he just looked down at Jack.

Then he sighed, and hauled Jack up into a fireman's carry. He placed Jack in one of the handful of hospital beds in a back room, shut the door (but didn't lock it) and went back to work. Jack would be out cold for at least eight hours, likely more. He would be in early the next day, and would...well, attempt to explain, at least, in the morning.

[FADE TO BLACK... CUT TO NEXT MORNING]

[twopercent]

For the second time since that inital flash of pink light, Jack had been out in the dark dreamless sleep of the near-terminally exhausted for a few hours. But as the sun rises the next day and the drug's effects began to wear off, he'd been more restless, turning back and forth on the bed, lashing out at empty air every so often in his sleep. They weren't new dreams, blood-drenched and peppered with the sound of gunfire, but that didn't make them any more comforting.

By the time Aaron comes into the clinic, the initial quiet is broken by a bloodcurdling scream from the back. Several more incoherent yells follow before Jack calms for another few moments, still sound asleep in his bed behind closed doors.