"That long?" She isn't quick enough to catch her wince. She notes his hands shaking though and she finds the respect she had for his honesty ratcheting up a notch when she realizes just how long it's been for him. "No wonder you looked so freaked when I came in here just now..."
It's a wonder he didn't shoot her on sight himself, now she thinks about it. "Two months, I guess. Give or take. I kinda woke up in it." Her shoulders lift in another shrug and Cordelia is pleased to see that some things don't change even if the world has. She's still pretty adept at not letting other people see how much some things have gotten to her. "Coma. Don't recommend it. Or the subsequent fleeing from a hospital full of the walking dead."
She breathes out at that, changes the subject, though it's not like it's a better one. "So, just us, huh? Gotta say God must have a pretty wacky sense of humor leaving the fate of the world resting with a werewolf and a half-demon." Though, honestly? She's not sure she even believes in the guy; maybe she never did.
Well, God doesn't screw with Free Will. Not even in a situation like this, apparently. My Guardian couldn't keep a zombie from biting my wife. [And his legs don't want to hold him up anymore, so he just... sits, abruptly, on the floor. Staring at the large and ostentatious wedding ring he still wears.]
Maybe He just finally gave Mankind up as a bad job.
"Nah, he just screws with everything else," Cordelia murmurs, though it's not necessarily God she's mad at since it's pretty hard to be mad at a guy that a) seems to have checked out on the world and b) might not have existed anyway. Mostly? She's mad at the Powers That Be. They were the one's who let her get knocked up and put in a coma and look at what's left...
It's on the tip of her tongue to say as much but the look on his face quietens her protests. She glances at the wedding ring and then at Ben and sighs before dropping to sit beside him, kind of a show of solidarity to the only other human (well, technically) she's found alive. "Mankind wasn't that bad," she decides on finally, "It didn't deserve this."
Ben scrubs a hand over his face. "No, it really didn't. No one's really sure what happened. Science run amok or a terrorist act gone horribly awry. Something. I guess it doesn't matter." He grimaces. "The smell is starting to get really appalling, though. I don't know how resistant you are to illness, but getting to a place where there aren't so many damn bodies would be a plus."
"Yeah, the smell is pretty disgusting," Cordelia nods. It's rivaled only by what she smells like herself and that? Really not pretty. She would give anything for a shower. And something decent to eat. And a chance to sleep uninterrupted without a gun in her hand - y'know, the simple things in life. "I'm guessing that's your plan, to get somewhere with less bodies?"
She levels her gaze with his then and, for a nano-second, she's taken back to that first day in Angel's office, the uncertainty and the hope that maybe, just maybe, the guy (vampire, if you want to get technical) actually wants her around. "Want some company?"
"OhGodyesplease." Well. That didn't sound desperate at all, Ben. "I don't--" He shakes his head. "I'm not so good by myself. Like I say, Pack animal, and now... they're gone. Even the angels got called back Home." A sigh. "On the plus side, so did the demons, or, at least, the ones I was fighting. Guess the Hound of God gig is over."
He gives her a serious look. He'd better give her the Full Disclosure speech, because if she finds all this out later and then walks out on him, it'll be unbearable. "You should know, though. I have issues. I get nightmares. Waking me up by touching me is a bad idea. And sometimes flashbacks are a thing with me. If you can put up with that, I'm happy to have you. More. Than happy."
A tiny shrug. "On the plus side, I'm an excellent shot, a good hunter and provider, I have camping expertise, and I'm easy to get along with."
It's a wonder he didn't shoot her on sight himself, now she thinks about it. "Two months, I guess. Give or take. I kinda woke up in it." Her shoulders lift in another shrug and Cordelia is pleased to see that some things don't change even if the world has. She's still pretty adept at not letting other people see how much some things have gotten to her. "Coma. Don't recommend it. Or the subsequent fleeing from a hospital full of the walking dead."
She breathes out at that, changes the subject, though it's not like it's a better one. "So, just us, huh? Gotta say God must have a pretty wacky sense of humor leaving the fate of the world resting with a werewolf and a half-demon." Though, honestly? She's not sure she even believes in the guy; maybe she never did.
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Maybe He just finally gave Mankind up as a bad job.
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It's on the tip of her tongue to say as much but the look on his face quietens her protests. She glances at the wedding ring and then at Ben and sighs before dropping to sit beside him, kind of a show of solidarity to the only other human (well, technically) she's found alive. "Mankind wasn't that bad," she decides on finally, "It didn't deserve this."
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She levels her gaze with his then and, for a nano-second, she's taken back to that first day in Angel's office, the uncertainty and the hope that maybe, just maybe, the guy (vampire, if you want to get technical) actually wants her around. "Want some company?"
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He gives her a serious look. He'd better give her the Full Disclosure speech, because if she finds all this out later and then walks out on him, it'll be unbearable. "You should know, though. I have issues. I get nightmares. Waking me up by touching me is a bad idea. And sometimes flashbacks are a thing with me. If you can put up with that, I'm happy to have you. More. Than happy."
A tiny shrug. "On the plus side, I'm an excellent shot, a good hunter and provider, I have camping expertise, and I'm easy to get along with."
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