as_damaged | ☤ seventeen

It's a quiet part of town.

[And now he's back, close-up on his face as he walks.]

So tell me how you were planning on getting back, again?

I was hoping you could give me directions. Or introduce me to someone who could.

I'll go one better if you can hold up long enough for me to get there.

It's not as if I've got anywhere to go.

Point taken. [And the screen is suddenly brighter as he's obviously heading outside.] Won't be long. Don't...

Try not to speak to anyone who looks weird.

[That just gets a bit of an eyeroll. She's not a child, after all.]

[Don't try that with him, young lady.]

Have you looked around at all?

Nothing's tried to eat me yet.

Yet.

[Chase keeps his voice teasing, but it's a genuine concern.]

See any white knights on the horizon? White lab coats?

[On screen she shakes her head, amused, and glances up; turning to look up the block, she spots-- at least, thinks she spots-- what might be her mysterious benefactor, and gives a hesitant little wave, forgetting the camera entirely for the moment.]

[While he watches the wave on the screen before looking up to track the source. And it's not like she's tiny, but she's definitely not actual size. And he's stopping there before his mind equates size with anything like 'fun' or 'treat'. God, how old is she?]

[He quickens his pace towards her, but stops at one of the carts lining the square, holding up a finger before joining the queue. Two minutes later he's headed her way again. With coffee.]

[For once in her life, Chase, she'll meet you halfway. Up the block, smiling, if a little bit cautious. Somehow his explanations don't quite fit together, but she gets the sense he means well. Probably. She'll give him a chance, though she's not letting her guard down much.]

[He's got two of the paper cups: plain black with stacks of sugar, and one with less sweetener and a shot of one of their weirder flavoured syrups. This is the one he holds out to her.]

Should help you after that long night. I'm Doctor Chase.

[He nods to the PDA in his pocket because, well, obviously. And after the coffee, he holds out his hand.]

I'd guessed. Thanks.

[She smiles, bright as ever, and accepts the coffee, taking a moment to breathe in the sugary scent before she takes a sip. Only a small sip, but it tastes all right-- under the circumstances she's a tad wary, but she did at least see it poured.]

[Given that she woke up in a strange apartment in a strange city, a little paranoia seems healthy. She takes the offered hand.]

I'm supposed to tell you to take me to see the dinosaurs.

[She's not sure if she's kidding. Dinosaurs? Really? Honestly, she's curious to see what he'll say to that.]

[Dinosaurs. Well, that skews his 'unfeasibly sleepy college town that might have a circus troupe passing through' cover story somewhat. He hasn't even been to see the dinosaurs himself yet.]

[Gradually giving up the game, he ducks his head, rubbing at the back of his neck.]

They're a little out of our way, but yeah, if you want. Do you think we could talk first? As public as you'd like.

[Coffee hand gestures towards the fountain.]

Maybe a bench?

[Her eyes widen at that. Apparently that stranger on the network-- she didn't catch his name, which might be all for the best, really-- was serious. Well, taken aback or not, she nods.]

Sure...

[She'll follow his lead to that bench, fidgeting a little with the cup as they walk.]

[He's sheepish again at how startled she looks. Well, he could just be teasing, after all. The bench isn't a long walk - it's one of the good ones, nice view but out of the way of the fountain's spray, and he lets her sit down before picking the opposite corner. His coffee cup balances precariously on a curved wooden slat.]

I've never had to tell anyone this.

[He admits, first. Your baby died; fine. You're not in Kansas anymore? Harder, and more cliche.]

Everything else I say to you will be the truth. But I lied about showing you the way home. You get out the same way that you came.

[She nods a little at that, expression going rather serious.]

I... was kind of getting the idea, that this isn't what you said at first.

[So she confesses, looking down into her coffee cup. She won't hold it against him; almost everyone wanted to soften the blow a little bit. She suspects (correctly) that she'd try to do the same, were the situation incomprehensibly reversed. Allison glances up, takes a sip of her coffee.]

[He shakes his head, almost grateful that she's picked up dinosaurs from somebody else. It should make him sound a little less insane.]

Would you have agreed to meet me if I'd told you this is a bad science-fiction story given life? I bet you didn't meet the dinosaur guy.

No. Though I had agreed to meet you, first.

[She teases, tilting her head a bit as she watches him.]

It's... [A little sigh, and her glance flicks away.] I don't see many options. Either this is real, or I've lost my mind completely.

I can't tell you what this place is, exactly. I don't know. It's something like what you'd get if you coupled the many worlds theory with Narnia and a few really hard drugs. If you want to believe the guide, people are brought here from all imaginable possibilities. Most of the people who know your name here aren't even from our world.

['Our' being key to that. He stretches out his legs, looking down at the slightly scuffed converse trainers lurking under his otherwise neatly turned out appearance. The tie isn't even clashing today.]

I am.

So you've met me, even if I haven't met you. Yet.

[That's a thought that takes a little getting used to. Allison is a fairly practical person, if slightly less of a cynic than she will be, someday. This stretches credibility past the breaking point-- and yet, it explains a day that's otherwise totally inexplicable. And, after a moment, she laughs. Partly because there's no better way to react, partly because something has occurred to her.]

I guess I can panic a little less about med school, then.

Top of your class, I'm told.

[And he's been told a lot, from around about the time Foreman was brought in with the most prestigious fellowship. Trying to brag right back at her would never have worked - she knows about the nepotism.]

[He can't help looking at her, even if it's only stolen sideways glances. It's nice to hear her laugh, though he's aware the situation is ridiculous enough to demand it.]

We work together. Three years so far at the Princeton-Plainsboro teaching hospital. You're an immunologist. A bloody good one.

Yeah?

[She smiles, looks a little sheepish at that flattery, privately doubting him somewhat. She's smart; and she knows she's smart, but she's never been the top of her class, although she's consistently near it.]

[Allison mulls this over for a minute, swinging crossed ankles underneath the bench as she drinks her coffee. Consciously not looking at him looking at her. She smiles, when she does look back at him.]

I appreciate your looking out for me.

I couldn't let the dinosaurs get you.

[The least of his worries, really. The number of lost, alone teenage girls announcing over the network that they were lost and alone, the city should have had higher crime rates.]

We can go and check them out if you want. I've been avoiding the place, myself.

Video;

Video;

Video;

Video;

Video;

Video;

Video;

Video;

Video;

Video / Action;

Video / Action;

Action;

Action;

Action;

Action;

Action;

Action;

Action;

Action;

Action;

Action;

Action;

Action;

Action;

Action;