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

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[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.

Staying seated (there was no reason to stand and put more pressure on his back, after all), Peter merely smiled at Max, a silent indication that he was doing a lot better. It was still sore and his movements were restricted as a result, but he wasn't bleeding all over one of the hallways, so that was a definite improvement.

Either way, it seemed like Nathan had been able to piece together who this woman was quickly enough, so Peter was content for them to get introductions out of the way. Hopefully there wasn't anything Nathan needed to say to him that couldn't be done with a third party present. He knew how the older man had a tendency for keeping secrets.

[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.

Strange that it was somehow more comforting to reflect on the monsters that swarmed the halls than it was to consider the fact that an attractive woman had pretty much saved his life the other night.

Nathan frowned when the conversation turned on Peter, clearly not happy that his brother had taken such a beating when he'd only been rendered unconcious. Though it wasn't in his nature to make a fuss, Peter was one of two people here that he had ties to and could honestly say he'd protect with his life. It was difficult to swallow the fact that he was so helpless.

"There are healers here?" Nathan had to ask, perking up slightly at the thought while simultaneously feeling sick to his stomach. A power that could heal would be fantastic, but since both he and Peter were here? That meant that there was a chance Linderman was too. The old man was dead, sure, but from what Nathan had seen, he wasn't sure that being dead stuck in Landels like it did back home. Ideally, there would be someone he could take Peter to that wouldn't be a blast from the past.

[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.

"Anyway, I'm thinking we need a different game plan for tonight," he continued a little more seriously. "And have you seen Claire around at all?" Peter had been looking during the various shifts, but he hadn't caught any sign of her. That didn't mean she was around, though -- there were a lot of patients, and she was pretty small, so it would have been easy to miss her in the crowded rooms.

[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.

"Keep an eye on the bulletin boards if you need a healer, I know I've seen people talking about it on there. There's also a clinic here at night if you get into a bad scrape again, I think I mentioned it to you last night," she added, flicking a sideways glance at Peter before looking back to Nathan. "It's in M35. I don't know if they've got the Healers there or just people with medical knowledge, but that seems to be the base for the injured. I know that's where a lot of people headed when everyone got caught outside a few nights back." She grimaced at the memory. That had been a walking nightmare.

She leaned back as Peter brought up a game plan for their night. It was a good thought for them, and she'd let them hash it out, but she didn't want to get in the way, since she had littler help to offer them tonight, having already thrown her lot in with the shinigami. She'd see how it went tonight and see if they were worth sticking with.

[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.

"Maybe we'll head over there," he commented to Nathan with a shrug. He knew that his older brother might insist, but Peter wasn't sure about the idea himself. It sounded like that place was for patients who were severely injured. It might have been a good idea for him to have gone there last night, but he was cleaned up and wrapped up pretty well now. He didn't want to waste their time.

"It's kinda late to use the bulletin now," he pointed out with a sigh. The shift would probably be ending soon, so the chances of her actually seeing their message was slim. "We might want to go looking for her tonight, but I don't really know where to start." He realized that Max probably could have done with an explanation, but that might have to wait for later. He wanted to make sure everything was clear between him and Nathan before the nurses came to collect them.

"What's your room number, anyway?" he asked Nathan. They had run into each other rather easily last night, but it was still good to know.

[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.