LOG; how you deal is your business; MAX + MATTHEW
Blabla, at the hospital, blabla.
Max had been spending most of her time working as a go-between for everyone hanging around the hospital, she'd volunteered to take care of a few things that Jasmine normally would have been doing (but she was a little preoccupied with other things at the moment). And the more things Max had the focus on, the less time she had to dwell on other more important things. She didn't particularly enjoy being in hospitals so the idea of running errands had appealed to her, it meant she always had an excuse to leave without looking inconsiderate or insensitive.
She'd just come back from 14K's estate with a few things for various people, being a gopher was better than being stuck there. With the hospital smell and the bad vibes and the sad people, so maybe she was inconsiderate and insensitive but at least she was trying to be helpful. She'd finished dropping things off to people before finding Matthew outside Vienne's room; she didn't want to look inside, the one visit into her room was enough.
Max cleared her throat before approaching him, holding out the bag and staring at his shoes, even after a year of working for him Matthew still intimidated her. "Jasmine said you'd probably need a change of clothes."
He'd been sitting outside her room for a few minutes only, the coffee in his hand still warm when Max approached him. Matthew knew he needed to go back to his office soon, even if the ones closest to him were capable of handling the 14K, the fact remained that he still needed to be the Shan Chu, even with his sister comatose in Queen Elizabeth's. Vienne would have told him to do just that, but still. He couldn't leave yet. It hadn't even been a week, and he definitely didn't want to leave to learn that she had woken up, -- without him there.
So when the carepackage arrived, he wasn't surprised it wasn't Jasmine to deliver it, the woman doing her best to keep the house in order and worry about his sister. Come to think of it, she probably should've been here with him, and he knew she wanted to. Maybe she was just a stronger person than he was, or maybe she felt he had more right.
Looking up at Max, he reached out for the bag, placing it on the table beside him. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," she said as she took the chair beside him, pulling her feet up and resting her chin against her knees. She didn't know what else to say to him, he'd probably heard 'I'm sorry' more times than he'd needed to and making jokes around Matthew was probably a dumber idea than making jokes around Scott. So she sat there quietly for a while, hoping she'd get a call to run another errand to get her out of the hospital.
People had brought him enough coffee to spare in the last few hours, so Matthew grabbed the warmest cup off the table that hadn't been sipped from and handed it to Max without saying anything. Even if she usually didn't need more pep, it was probably a good distraction just to have the cup.
She took the cup and mumbled her thanks, looking at the coffee. At the moment, Max could use all the pep she could get. She'd been sleeping but she didn't feel rested at all, even with Scott to keep her company most nights she couldn't shake the anxiety and guilt (and pretending she wasn't anxious or guilty was getting harder). "She's going to be okay, you know."
Matthew glanced at her before leaning back in his seat, staring at some spot on the wall, while sipping his coffee. It didn't do much to keep him awake anymore, but he couldn't sleep much either. The four hours he'd gotten earlier had been helpful, but Andrew's presence even more so. Maybe sleep really had nothing to do with his peace of mind right now, since he seemed to be running on untapped reserves anyway. Or something.
"Everyone tells me that." He paused. "They say the longer she stays under, the less likely it is for her to wake up."
Max looked over to him and gave him a determined look, "It's because it's true. She's going to wake up."Because if she doesn't, everything will fall apart. "She'll wake up and it'll be fine."
Someone had to keep saying it, someone had to keep being optimistic. Someone had to try and keep their head on straight because if everyone went into a depression over this nothing would get done. There were servers to maintain and maintenance to be done and video feeds that needed surveillance, she wasn't going to let her end of 14k fall apart because doing her job was the only thing keeping her together.
Matthew didn't answer. He didn't really have much to say on the subject of anything right now, his eyes falling on Vincenzio through the windows on the side of the door to Vienne's room. If he'd ever doubted the man's commitment before, this did enough to certify it, if nothing else.
"Max." He looked at her, setting the coffee down. Maybe he just needed to say it because he never had before. "You're doing a good job."
... He'd never directly complimented her before, in fact, few people did. That probably explained a lot of her personality flaws. Her eyes were stinging like she might cry and she knew she couldn't, if she couldn't cry over Vienne, she wouldn't let herself go at something this simple and stupid. So she smiled and did what she did best, acted like she was unaffected.
"Nah. I just have a good boss."
He almost smiled, turning his eyes back on the interior of the room through the window. He didn't push the subject, everybody had different ways of dealing, after all, and he didn't particularly have a need to impose on anyone else's. As long as they didn't comment on his.
"Don't work yourself into the ground with errands."
Max nodded, getting out of the chair and putting her now-empty cup on the table with the others. She moved to leave but gave him a glance over her shoulder, "Don't worry, I won't. Someone has to be around to fix everything if the servers crash."
She wouldn't say anything about how he was dealing, out of everyone, he had the most right to fall apart (though Max thought he was doing a better job at keeping it together than others would have been). She'd go back to the estate, see if Jasmine had anything else that needed doing. Or maybe she'd check up on Scott, or call her mom. She wasn't sure.
"I appreciate it." He'd already said that, but it held true.
As far as his dealing went, he was collecting himself to go do what he had to do. Eventually. Not yet.
"Tell Jasmine I'll be home soon."
Max had been spending most of her time working as a go-between for everyone hanging around the hospital, she'd volunteered to take care of a few things that Jasmine normally would have been doing (but she was a little preoccupied with other things at the moment). And the more things Max had the focus on, the less time she had to dwell on other more important things. She didn't particularly enjoy being in hospitals so the idea of running errands had appealed to her, it meant she always had an excuse to leave without looking inconsiderate or insensitive.
She'd just come back from 14K's estate with a few things for various people, being a gopher was better than being stuck there. With the hospital smell and the bad vibes and the sad people, so maybe she was inconsiderate and insensitive but at least she was trying to be helpful. She'd finished dropping things off to people before finding Matthew outside Vienne's room; she didn't want to look inside, the one visit into her room was enough.
Max cleared her throat before approaching him, holding out the bag and staring at his shoes, even after a year of working for him Matthew still intimidated her. "Jasmine said you'd probably need a change of clothes."
He'd been sitting outside her room for a few minutes only, the coffee in his hand still warm when Max approached him. Matthew knew he needed to go back to his office soon, even if the ones closest to him were capable of handling the 14K, the fact remained that he still needed to be the Shan Chu, even with his sister comatose in Queen Elizabeth's. Vienne would have told him to do just that, but still. He couldn't leave yet. It hadn't even been a week, and he definitely didn't want to leave to learn that she had woken up, -- without him there.
So when the carepackage arrived, he wasn't surprised it wasn't Jasmine to deliver it, the woman doing her best to keep the house in order and worry about his sister. Come to think of it, she probably should've been here with him, and he knew she wanted to. Maybe she was just a stronger person than he was, or maybe she felt he had more right.
Looking up at Max, he reached out for the bag, placing it on the table beside him. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," she said as she took the chair beside him, pulling her feet up and resting her chin against her knees. She didn't know what else to say to him, he'd probably heard 'I'm sorry' more times than he'd needed to and making jokes around Matthew was probably a dumber idea than making jokes around Scott. So she sat there quietly for a while, hoping she'd get a call to run another errand to get her out of the hospital.
People had brought him enough coffee to spare in the last few hours, so Matthew grabbed the warmest cup off the table that hadn't been sipped from and handed it to Max without saying anything. Even if she usually didn't need more pep, it was probably a good distraction just to have the cup.
She took the cup and mumbled her thanks, looking at the coffee. At the moment, Max could use all the pep she could get. She'd been sleeping but she didn't feel rested at all, even with Scott to keep her company most nights she couldn't shake the anxiety and guilt (and pretending she wasn't anxious or guilty was getting harder). "She's going to be okay, you know."
Matthew glanced at her before leaning back in his seat, staring at some spot on the wall, while sipping his coffee. It didn't do much to keep him awake anymore, but he couldn't sleep much either. The four hours he'd gotten earlier had been helpful, but Andrew's presence even more so. Maybe sleep really had nothing to do with his peace of mind right now, since he seemed to be running on untapped reserves anyway. Or something.
"Everyone tells me that." He paused. "They say the longer she stays under, the less likely it is for her to wake up."
Max looked over to him and gave him a determined look, "It's because it's true. She's going to wake up."Because if she doesn't, everything will fall apart. "She'll wake up and it'll be fine."
Someone had to keep saying it, someone had to keep being optimistic. Someone had to try and keep their head on straight because if everyone went into a depression over this nothing would get done. There were servers to maintain and maintenance to be done and video feeds that needed surveillance, she wasn't going to let her end of 14k fall apart because doing her job was the only thing keeping her together.
Matthew didn't answer. He didn't really have much to say on the subject of anything right now, his eyes falling on Vincenzio through the windows on the side of the door to Vienne's room. If he'd ever doubted the man's commitment before, this did enough to certify it, if nothing else.
"Max." He looked at her, setting the coffee down. Maybe he just needed to say it because he never had before. "You're doing a good job."
... He'd never directly complimented her before, in fact, few people did. That probably explained a lot of her personality flaws. Her eyes were stinging like she might cry and she knew she couldn't, if she couldn't cry over Vienne, she wouldn't let herself go at something this simple and stupid. So she smiled and did what she did best, acted like she was unaffected.
"Nah. I just have a good boss."
He almost smiled, turning his eyes back on the interior of the room through the window. He didn't push the subject, everybody had different ways of dealing, after all, and he didn't particularly have a need to impose on anyone else's. As long as they didn't comment on his.
"Don't work yourself into the ground with errands."
Max nodded, getting out of the chair and putting her now-empty cup on the table with the others. She moved to leave but gave him a glance over her shoulder, "Don't worry, I won't. Someone has to be around to fix everything if the servers crash."
She wouldn't say anything about how he was dealing, out of everyone, he had the most right to fall apart (though Max thought he was doing a better job at keeping it together than others would have been). She'd go back to the estate, see if Jasmine had anything else that needed doing. Or maybe she'd check up on Scott, or call her mom. She wasn't sure.
"I appreciate it." He'd already said that, but it held true.
As far as his dealing went, he was collecting himself to go do what he had to do. Eventually. Not yet.
"Tell Jasmine I'll be home soon."