FTEC, Monday Day Shift

[headologist.livejournal.com]

Granny was laid out in Exam Room Two, clutching a sign that said "I ATEN'T DEAD".


[Will be AFK for most of the day, so will have to do slowplay.]

Comments

[union-jane.livejournal.com]

Seras had tried the whole 'sleep' thing, but the bad dreams and intermittant nosebleeds had nixed that. She lay in the clinic bed, doing her best to follow Stark's instructions and not move her head. This pretty much limited her actions to staring at the ceiling and thinking.

Her train of thought circled around two topics: a) What the ghost had said to her at the campfire on Saturday and b) how everyone was supposed to 'take care of eachother' in fandom and how she'd failed rather spectacularly at that.

Seras squeezed her eyes shut. She'd already counted every crack on the blasted ceiling, anyhow.

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

Walter had handwavily asked around and found out that Seras was still in the clinic. He found his way in past the nurse with a handful of books including a crossword puzzle book.

"How are you feeling?"

[union-jane.livejournal.com]

Seras looked up, surprise evident on her features.

"Oh...hi," she said, doing her best to sit up.

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

Walter set the books down on the bed table and looked around, remembering that the last time he'd been here their positions had been reversed.

"I heard you were here. How much longer before you get out?"

[union-jane.livejournal.com]

Seras shrugged.

"I don't know," she said, looking down at her hands, "No one's really told me what's wrong with me. But, I'm still dizzy when I move and my nose still bleeds, so..."

She shrugged again.

"How are you?" she asked, looking up, "And everyone else?"

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"I'm alright. Joxer was slapped around by a tentacle a bit, but I saw him at the bar last night, so I have to assume he's not too badly hurt." He pulled up a guest chair and sat down. "Nadia dislocated her shoulder, but Pippi wasn't hurt. We took care of the demon, though. No more false ghosts."

[union-jane.livejournal.com]

Seras nodded.

"Yeah, those were..." she shuddered, "That's why I'm in here. A ghost distracted me long enough for one of those tentacles to...flip me in the air and knock me out, I guess."

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

Walter gave her a tight smile and nodded while he thought.

Finally, he said, "I don't know if it is any consolation, but I had almost the same thing happen to me."

[union-jane.livejournal.com]

Seras snorted followed quickly by a wince.

"'Almost' being the operative word," she said with a smile, "I can't quite see an over-grown squid getting the better of you, Walter."

She cleared her throat.

"Your ghost? Are you still thinking about what it said to you?"

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

Nice of her to have such faith in him after the thing had picked him up and used him like a club against Nadia.

He nodded shortly in answer to her question, but said nothing.

[union-jane.livejournal.com]

Seras looked down again and smoothed out the bed sheets in front of her.

"Me too," she said quietly, "I didn't have much to do, yesterday, apart from think and...I think what my ghost said to me...might've been right."

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"Your ghost, and mine, and all the others were just things the demon created to make us hurt or angry or distracted," Walter said earnestly, needing to believe that for himself. "You can't give it that sort of power, even if it is destroyed."

[union-jane.livejournal.com]

"I wish I could believe that," said Seras, "But, just because I don't want something to be true doesn't mean that it isn't. I mean...would these ghosts have been able to affect us so much if there hadn't been a grain of truth at the centre of them?"

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"Yes," Walter said decisively. "If they were taking the cues from you about how to attack you most effectively."

[union-jane.livejournal.com]

"Walter..."

Seras bit her lip. This was difficult, but she wanted very much to explain herself. To have someone see and understand and not just be reassuring her to be 'nice'.

"The ghost that that demon chose to show me was one of the men who killed my parents. It told me that it didn't need to be a ghost to haunt me. Because it was basically with me every day. And, so much of what I am now is because of what happened to my family. I...If I'm honest with myself, I can't say that that's entirely a lie."

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

Walter shook his head, not understanding. "Who we are has to be because of what we've seen and done."

[union-jane.livejournal.com]

Seras nodded, carefully this time.

"Yes. So, what my ghost told me was the truth. And having the person you hate most in the world that they've been the deciding factor in nearly every decision you've made up to this point..."

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

Walter shook his head. "I still don't understand. Did you decide to become like him?"

[union-jane.livejournal.com]

Seras frowned.

"Well, no..."

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"Then where is the problem?"

[union-jane.livejournal.com]

"The fact that he is in my head, and I don't want him to be there! And, now I'm not sure if I'll be able to do anything with out feeling like he's staring over my shoulder at me."

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"No. His memory is in your head. That's not the same thing at all."

[union-jane.livejournal.com]

"Fine. His memory is in my head. That doesn't change the rest of it."

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"What? That who you are is because of what he did? There's more to you than that and you know it."

[union-jane.livejournal.com]

"Bollocks! The only certainty I had was that I KNEW I was going to be a cop. And, now I find out that it's because of what happened that I want it so badly."