Day 59: Game Room (Fourth Shift)

[razing_phoenix]

Guy's head was still spinning from finding out that his friend was back once again. He realized that he'd done a good job of keeping his cool while explaining everything to Luke, mainly because nothing would have been solved if both of them had been reeling, but

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[human_sponge]

Well, that had been one of the more interesting intercom announcements that he'd heard. During the day, at least. Peter couldn't help laughing to himself a little as he left the cafeteria, although his concern for Firo hadn't completely left his mind. Still, there was just something funny about overhearing that. It made it clear that maybe some of the people involved in this were more human than they wanted to let on.

Then again, was that a good thing? Maybe not, seeing how there might come a time when they had no choice but to fight against these people in a more direct way. It would be a lot easier to do that if he saw all the soldiers as drones.

Not that that was an immediate problem. No, more important was getting his notes together for the healing group. He had a list of names now, though he'd also learned that Search and Rescue had lost a large number of its members already. That was disappointing, but it meant that the two groups could probably just combine their efforts.

Which meant that he could lead some people up to the experimental rooms with him tonight and then leave Tear to try and round up others for a more mobile group. Peter went ahead and tossed up another message about that before moving into the Game Room.

Honestly, he'd never really known what to do in this room. The video games were almost always snatched up before he got here and he'd never been that into those anyway. Most board games required at least four people, and he had never been that good at cards. Nathan had claimed that it was because he was too open with his reactions to his hand, which... he had to admit was probably true.

There was always checkers. Peter sat down at a table that had a board for that particular game set on it, toying with the idea of setting it up and seeing if someone wanted to play.

[For Claire Bennet!]

[autophoenix]

Finding her uncle was kind of second nature at this point. Like Where's Waldo, but with a worse haircut and not such exciting clothes. She picked him out of the game room and smiled when she saw him in front of a checkers board. She headed over, rolling her eyes a little at the announcement that had gone off. As she seated herself across from him, she smiled.

"You'd think eventually they'd get the hang of the press button for on and off idea," she mused with a wry look. She picked up some of the checkers themselves and turned it over in her hands. Figures. Nothing to tell them anything about where they were or when, just standard board games that had been used for at least the past twenty years. Beyond that, she was so far from obligated to know.

Actually, she realized, she didn't really need to know any of that history stuff anymore. It's not like she'd be taking another test on it anytime soon. Nope, did her no good in the institute, less so than her normal weirdness. At least that was marginally reassuring. With a thoughtful look, she seemed to accept this with a certain cheeriness as she set the checker out onto the board.

[human_sponge]

It was only when Claire took a seat across from him that Peter realized that he really hadn't devoted much of his time to worrying about her today. It was usually something that was always at the back of his mind, but it just went to show how busy he'd been trying to get the whole paramedic thing in order. He would have felt bad about it, but he was guessing that Claire would actually be glad to know that he wasn't putting his stomach into knots worrying over her.

Still, it was his responsibility. If anything happened to her, he'd have more than a few people to answer to, his brother being one of them.

So, despite all of that, a relieved look immediately washed over his features as he greeted the girl with a crooked smile. "Tell me about it. You wouldn't think that it would be that hard." Still, it had given them something to chuckle over, so it wasn't all bad.

"How've you been?" he asked, even as Claire started up a game. He reached out to move a piece of his own into play. Checkers was easy enough that he was sure they could play and have a conversation at the same time. "I haven't been seeing as much of you these past couple days." Which really meant that they hadn't been spending as many of their nights together. It was a little worrying, but Claire was clearly fine. In fact, she looked better now than she had in a while -- rested, almost.

[autophoenix]

"Surviving. I know, no surprise there; it's what I do best," the way she said it had edges of wry humor. Call her jaded, but she was starting to learn that there wasn't much reason to get all panicked and hysteric about this place. She was the survival master, this place was one big game of it … but, it was never going to get better. For the variances of answers to 'how've you been,' good was never going to be an option in here. The scale was different. Alive was good. If you were dead, no one would be asking you anyway.

"I've just sort of been keeping quiet. Which, believe it or not, has greatly reduced the number of monsters I've encountered." She smiled at that, but shook her head. "I'm sorry." For not seeing him more, and for striving to take this whole thing as far from seriously as possible. He probably didn't share her sentiments there.

"What about you? Your'e all in one piece, that's a nice change. You know, every time I come in here, it's like I keep expecting to see you rocking the wheelchair again."

[human_sponge]

Keeping quiet and avoiding monsters was all fine by Peter when it came to Claire. That's what he had wanted her to do from the start, but it seemed like the best way to actually get that result was by not pushing her. The moment he'd left her to her own devices she seemed to have calmed down and lost some of that urge to toss herself into the middle of everything.

It almost made Peter reconsider making her a part of the healing group. She didn't need to be rushing around and seeking out danger with him, if there were other options. Sure, he still needed to make use of her blood and Claire had already told him that she was fine with that, but...

Honestly, he needed to refill his syringes. The ones he'd taken before were probably spoiled by now... unless Claire's blood was so magical that it always stayed fresh. He hadn't checked, honestly.

Her comment about the wheelchair earned a raised eyebrow out of him, though. "Seriously? That only happened once, Claire. I don't really plan to make a habit out of it. Anyway, I'm glad to hear that things have gotten a little less crazy for you." He wasn't sure that the same thing could be said on his end, but things certainly hadn't been that bad as of late.

[autophoenix]

His disbelief at her comment made her feel a little self-aware. So, maybe she was being beyond ridiculous. Maybe she didn't need to worry because Peter, more than anyone, knew what they were doing. He was her hero -- she needed to stop forgetting that. Being here had put them on more of an equal plane, but he was still her uncle and way older (kind of older? she honestly wasn't sure how much) and this wasn't the first time he'd ever fought bad guys. These bad guys were just … well, slimier.

"I know. I -- I get that. I just … I worry, Peter. You're all I've got." There was a twinge of something softer in her eyes. Something more honest than the flippant attitude she'd been putting up. He meant the world to her, and being here meant constantly worrying about him.

It was hard -- really, it was damn near impossible. But, she couldn't do anything about it, and she couldn't ask him to cool it. People needed his help -- their help. She needed to accept that as much as she wanted to be selfish and make sure he was safe above everyone else, she needed to share him with the rest of the institute.

[human_sponge]

You're all I've got. Peter didn't quite know what to make of that, and the smile that he gave in response was a mix of relieved and a little sad. While he was glad that the two of them had each other to rely on, in many ways they only had each other. Mr. Bennet wasn't here, Nathan wasn't here -- and there didn't seem to be much sign of them coming back. It was just the two of them and Sylar, and Peter was beyond the point of hoping that the killer was gone. It seemed like any time he actually let himself believe that, the guy showed up to ruin his life all over again.

"I know," he said, reaching across the checkers board to grab for Claire's hand and hold it in his. The truth was, Peter did have some other people who he could rely on here, such as Sam and Depth Charge and now Tear, but he didn't know how many people Claire had gotten close to. There was the other Peter, but... well, who knew what was going on with them now?

"So did you have any plans for tonight? I was going to head upstairs again" -- he was going to assume she knew where without having to say it -- "with some other medic types." Kibitoshin had the ability to heal, which Peter still needed to see with his own eyes. Granted, he'd rather they weren't in a position where it was needed, but that was sort of the point of this whole thing.

[autophoenix]

When her uncle grabbed her hand, Claire instinctively squeezed it. It was more comforting of a gesture than she was prepared for, and before she could even become conscious of it, she was clinging to that. It was tiny, but it was still more than she'd let herself have in all her time in the institute. A little depressing, really.

She worked up a smile, though, even if it had melancholy edges to it. Even if Peter was the only person she had to rely on, even if he was it -- which was debatable, between Bella and the other Peter -- then it was still okay. Because, that wasn't so bad. It was more than she had back home, where Peter didn't even seem to care enough to comfort her. So, she just smiled.

"Not yet," she shook her head, loosening her griffon his hand once she was jerked back to more cognitive than instinctive reality. "I mean, I thought maybe I'd head to the kitchen, because I don't think not feeling it even begins to describe the food they've been serving lately." She shrugged. "But, I hadn't really decided. If you want -- I mean, if you need help, or my blood, I could meet you somewhere."

[human_sponge]

Her smile seemed to mirror his, but the fact that they could manage to do that at all -- even if they weren't the brightest smiles -- meant that they were still holding up. Peter could accept that. He held onto her hand for as long as she gripped back, only pulling away when Claire let go of him. It was enough to make it clear that he was always there to support her, though she should have known that already.

"Well, I've got a couple people set to come with me already. And... I don't really want to make you go up there again." What he meant was that he didn't want to force her into that hallway where they'd gone through those terrible hallucinations. He hoped he wouldn't have to spell that out.

"I'm fine with you checking out the kitchen, so long as you've got someone with you." Maybe she didn't need a bodyguard -- in fact, if he was being realistic Claire should be the one taking the lead during nights -- but he just didn't like the thought of his niece wandering through dark hallways all on her own. "I do need more blood, but maybe tomorrow night is better for that." When he was on a rescue mission, he didn't really have time for that kind of thing.

[autophoenix]

His dismissal brought an unpleasant tension to her gut. He was babying her. As badly as she didn't want to face down the hallucinations again, he was babying her and that was quite possibly worse than the hallucinations themselves. She could handle herself, but he'd never believe that. So, her smile looked strained for a minute, but she forced herself to let it go.

She'd show him, one of these days. She was stronger now, stronger than she'd ever been. And she didn't need the mollycoddling, even if the comfort she was taking from holding his hand seemed to very much contradict that.

"Okay. I'll be careful, and I'll come by tomorrow night." Nowhere in there did she promise to bring someone with her. So, technically, she wasn't lying. But, there was no reason for her to drag someone else into danger. She'd be fine. She was always fine. Other people who wound up in the line of fire with her had a way of being not-so-much so.

[human_sponge]

If Claire didn't like what he'd said, she at least didn't admit to it vocally. Maybe she was just trying to avoid another fight, or maybe she was getting used to the fact that he was going to be overprotective. Peter didn't see that behavior changing any time soon, seeing how he was the one person here who could look out for the girl. She'd just admitted to that earlier in the conversation, hadn't she?

"Tomorrow night sounds good," he agreed with a nod. "I'll try to make sure it hurts as little as possible when I take the blood." Claire had obviously been through so much worse than a prick from a needle when it came to pain, but Peter still thought it was worth making it clear that he was going to put that effort in.

With that settled, Peter glanced down at the checkers board that they had managed to forget about during their talk. He nodded to Claire. "It's your turn." Maybe it was silly to try and do something normal when nothing about their situation was, but Peter thought that made it even more important to put the effort in.