Dayshift 31: Game Room (Fourth Shift)

[uruz_vii]

"Games are a perfect way to meet new friends, Akihiro!" Sousuke's nurse gushed after dragging him away from Hinasaki and into the Game Room. He didn't quite understand her fascination with making him do these ridiculous activities that seemingly had no point, but for now he'd follow her lead. He didn't want to be sedated again, not when he had a

Comments

[fly_petrelli]

[Waiting of Pete and Max]

Thankfully, he'd been able to eat his lunch in peace. With the next shift looming before bedtime for all the crazies, Nathan thought it would be best to try and find his brother to hopefully develop some sort of plan for the evening. They hadn't gotten anywhere the previous night, and he'd be damned if he just rolled over and let this Landel jackass do whatever he wanted without a fight.

On the look out for Peter, Nathan decided to try to Game Room first. When he couldn't pick his brother out of the fairly small crowd gathered already, he took a seat without bothering to pick up a game or anything. With any lucky, Pete would be looking for him too. If he kept moving around, neither of them would be able to find each other.

[human_sponge]

When it came to having to decide between two rooms for the shift, Peter found a hard time deciding where to go (mainly because he didn't know which one Nathan would pick). Figuring that he hadn't seen the "Game Room" yet, he opted to head there. He had already slept in the Sun Room earlier in the day, after all

[transgenix]

Max was happily full from lunch, and the interlude with Dean had put her in a good mood. Hands were tucked casually in her robe pockets as she sauntered into the game room after leaving the cafeteria.

Glancing around for a familiar face, she spotted the two males from the night before - Peter and his brother. The latter, luckily, was conscious once more, and after a moment of silent debate, she headed in their direction.

"Well, you two look like you're in better shape," she spoke in greeting, walking up behind Peter with a crooked smile.

[fly_petrelli]

"Kinda weird is an understatement," Nathan remarked, probably not showing that he was actually pretty relieved Peter had found him so quickly. He leaned back, no longer finding a need to pay such close attention to who came and went. There was a lot to talk about, mostly in the realm of what they could do to actually make some real progress tonight, but Nathan also felt some sort of nagging concern in the back of his mind to ask how Pete was doing. Apparently, he'd taken one hell of a beating the night before, and, contrary to popular belief, the older brother did have a conscience, especially when it came to taking care of family

[human_sponge]

It was a pleasant surprise when Max showed up, since Peter had been planning to point her out to Nathan when he got the chance. It seemed only right that the two properly met, considering that Max had carried Nathan and all. Peter had to wonder if he should bother with giving his brother the details on that, but he figured that it was a hit to his pride that Nathan probably didn't really need. If Max decided to point it out, though, then it was out of his hands

[transgenix]

Max gave the older brother a confident smile, reaching out and taking his hand, giving it a brief, firm shake. "You can call me Max. Nice to see you up and awake, Nathan."

"And there's no thanks owed," she continued with a casual shrug. "The cats can be a real pain in the ass, believe me. I'm glad they didn't leave you too banged up. We were a little worried when you didn't wake up right away, but you don't seem much the worse for wear today."

She cast a smile down at Peter, gently ruffling the younger brother's hair playfully. "You, however, I'm betting are feeling more than a bit sore today. I'm sorry there wasn't more I could have done for you last night. I'm not a healer like some in this place, I'm afraid."

[fly_petrelli]

"Watch out for the gophers too. If you ever go outside at night," Nathan replied dryly. Still, he wasn't sure he wouldn't have to tangle with them again. It wasn't as though nearly every corner of this place wasn't filled with some mutated creature

[human_sponge]

While Max's hand ruffling his hair was a little unexpected, Peter's immediate response was to send a friendly smile in her direction. He wasn't used to other people getting comfortable with him as quickly as he got comfortable with them, so it was a nice change. All things considered, Max seemed like a pretty good person, and Peter only hoped that he would be able to help her in the future.

"Hey, don't apologize. I would probably be dead without you." He was sore, but there was no reason to start whining about it, especially since neither Max nor Nathan could do anything to help. Finder a healer might be a good idea (and it looked like Nathan was definitely thinking along those lines), but he didn't know how easy it would be to track one down -- and who said they would be willing to help a complete stranger?

He couldn't help raising an eyebrow skeptically at his brother, though. Bats and cats were one thing, but... "Gophers?" There was a chance that Nathan was exaggerating for dramatic effect, but still

[transgenix]

"Gophers?" Max echoed the same time as Peter, then laughed. "Great. Next will be the invasion of the happy little lawn gnomes," she snorted, sinking down into the empty seat beside Peter

[fly_petrelli]

"M35," Nathan echoed, not wanting to pursue the subject of the gophers or lawn gnomes or whatever the hell they'd been. "Thanks again. Keep this up, and I'm going to start owing you money," he had to add dryly but not without the faintest hint of a smirk. Stuck outside, though? That couldn't be good. He'd have to ask Cid later. For now, there were plans to be made.

And, of course, the subject of Claire. The small smile Nathan had sported quickly faded as he grew more and more concerned. And guilty. Definitely guilty.

"I haven't seen her since that lunch period when the riot broke out," he admitted, unsure whether that was bad thing or not. Had she gotten out? Sadly, Nathan was far to cynical a man to hope for the best. At least not in this case. "We could try using that Bulletin Board to contact her." The frown deepened.

"Or there was a guy she seemed to be familiar with."

[human_sponge]

Right, the clinic. Peter repeated the room number over in his head a few times so that he wouldn't forget until he realized that he had a journal he could write things down in if he wanted. Except that he had left it in his room, but he could at least scribble it down when he got back

[transgenix]

"The bulletin's usually the quickest and most painless way to find people," Max agreed, leaning her chair back on the back two legs as she listened to them exchange information. "Finding someone at night when you don't know where they'll be is seriously like looking for a needle in about a dozen haystacks."

[fly_petrelli]

Nathan gave Peter a look, not entirely convinced that he wasn't just trying to act like his injury wasn't a big deal. If he needed more medical attention, they'd get it. Wasn't that what a clinic should be used for anyway? If Pete got healed up, they'd be at less of a disadvantage. Yes, that was the biggest reason he'd insist.

"Yeah. We might have to wait until tomorrow. She should be fine," Nathan replied somewhat reluctantly, not really wanting to let the guy he'd met during lunch get another night to fill Claire's head with whatever ideas he'd been putting into them. He didn't like Wesker. Not one bit. "I'm in 21. Meet me there as soon as you can tonight."

The shift seemed to winding down, Nathan noted with a frown. There never seemed to be enough time in a shift. Turning to Max, he piped up again.

"Thanks again for everything. We'll be in touch. If you need anything, I owe you one," he offered again, perhaps a little uncomfortable in his shattered pride but fairly genuine.

[human_sponge]

While Peter caught that look, he did his best to act like he hadn't. While it would be difficult to argue with Nathan when the time came, he could always act oblivious until then. It just didn't seem right to be using up those resources when there were probably other patients who were in much worse shape than he was.

Looking for Claire during nightshift seemed like a waste of time, if what Max was saying was to be trusted, and Peter figured that it was. He nodded to Nathan, not quite sure himself that his brother's words were true. But they didn't have much of a choice, and they were just going to have to have faith that Claire could take care of herself for a little longer. "Yeah, I'll be there."

The intercom went off and the nurses started heading toward them, which Peter took as his cue to get up. He glanced back to Max and smiled. "Yeah," he agreed after Nathan had made his point. "And good luck with whatever you're doing tonight." With a quick wave to Max and another nod to Nathan, he went to meet one of the nurses.