[log] Grave Men, Near Death [closed]

[jumpthegun]

Characters: John Watson, Rhys, Enoch, Beckett, Stephen Strange, Nathan Young, David Bouchard
Location: Building 327 and Building 317
Date: Day 377 and Day 378
Summary: Meeting up with Stephen and co for antibiotics and then mercy killings in the clinic.
Warnings: Possibly character death, violence

Comments

[jumpthegun]

[John's lips thin.]

I already told you when we were on the network. Hasn't changed since then.

[thewarningafter]

...I remember.

[He sounds strained as he fights down the urge to recite exactly what John had listed off to him on the network, and embarrassed at his outburst.]

It's not what it sounds like. The MN poisoning....

[jumpthegun]

I know. [He does, and yet.] Can you give pills away right now, or...?

[thewarningafter]

Yes.

[If he sounds testy, it's because he is.]

By the way, if you're still carrying any of Brian's medications he should be alright for the coming month. I ran into him in the bunker a few days ago and gave him the bottle I'd been carrying.

[See? He doesn't point out that those anti-seizure medications could have been personally useful to him for inhibiting nerve pain. Of course, he'd previously agreed to coordinate with John specifically because of Brian's propensity to collect prescriptions, and was apparently too addled to mention it to him before now....]

[jumpthegun]

[John's gaze is suspicious as he continues to eye the other man critically.]

I gave him a bottle about a week ago. That should keep him for the next few months, then.

[thewarningafter]

Look, I don't--I don't need any of what you're carrying. We both know that. But I'm not going to hoard it or start using the supply.

[In other words, there's no need to take away the pills he's carrying. Don't you dare try to take those away.]

[jumpthegun]

[That just elevates John's suspicion.]

Stephen, I think you wanna stop talking now. I'll give what I can to Nathan. How about that?

[It would settle his mind that someone else is holding onto the pills.]

[thewarningafter]

[Stephen lets out a disbelieving huff. Nathan. Dr. Watson trusts the convicted criminal more than Stephen. He's still trying to keep his voice down, but it's probably getting obvious to the people across the room that he's growing increasingly agitated. And no, he's not going to take the advice to shut up.]

What do you want from me, John? I didn't ask you to hand anything over; you offered. Right now the supply is split up between us and that's the way it should be. If you want to have an actual conversation about creating a more even distribution I'm all ears--but if you're just playing some kind of mind game to see how I react to the offer, I'm not interested in discussing this with you.

[jumpthegun]

I don't actually do mind games. I didn't realize how bad this was, Stephen. I'm not trying to jerk you around, but I want to make sure your symptoms aren't gonna cause a problem. What's the next stage for an obsession? [He frowns.] Pretty sure I remember Ecks ripping up her stuffed animals at one point. Is that where this goes for you?

[thewarningafter]

[And now he's being compared to a mentally ill pseudo-child.]

There is a world of difference between my situation and hers. Do you seriously think I can't handle this? You know what I've been through. You should know what I'm capable of.

[John's seen the movie, after all.

But what if John is right? He can't think that. He's better than that. He's in control of himself.]

[jumpthegun]

I seriously think you've got a lot of little machines crawling around in your brain, pumping out poison, which you've never had to deal with back home. These things can make us murder each other at the drop of a pin, Stephen. You think it's your personal force of will I'm doubting? It's really not.

[thewarningafter]

[That's a really good point, so Stephen doesn't address it directly.]

So you want to give them to Nathan? Have you met Nathan?

[jumpthegun]

Yeah. I have. He's a better kid than he pretends to be.

[He's going to stand in solidarity with his fellow Across the Ponder, thank you.]

[thewarningafter]

[Stephen lets out a disgusted sound because he can't actually contest that. Since he's become capable of actually remembering the things he learns about his traveling companions, he'd be inclined to agree on the whole.]

You know I'm also traveling with an actual cop, right?

[Not that he wants to give the pills to David, either.]

[jumpthegun]

[An actual cop with a foul temper and questionable policing skills from what John has observed at a distance.]

It wouldn't hurt to split things between those two, then.

[thewarningafter]

[Well, he walked right into that one.]

I suppose it wouldn't. If we were splitting the supply.

[Yeah, he has no intention of following through on that.]

[jumpthegun]

Which is what we talked about doing... I'll give a bit to each of them, just in case something happens.

[thewarningafter]

[Stephen hesitates for a second, distrustful. Then he realizes what he's doing and nods sharply, annoyed with himself for his hesitance and for what he said a moment ago. He really must look like he's falling apart.]

Alright. Yes. I think that's sensible.

[jumpthegun]

Good. Thanks for coming here to give me the antibiotics. Hopefully we won't need them, but better to have them just in case. Good luck in the bunker. That's where you're headed, right?

[thewarningafter]

Yeah.

[He nods almost convulsively.]

Yes, we--it's been long enough away for us to take another attempt at it.

[jumpthegun]

All right. Be careful for the bugs in there, mate.

[thewarningafter]

Yeah. Of course. And you be careful of...everything else.