[Video] Then I drown in a precious little meltdown...

[gaveherwings]

To all my patients...

[Daedalus is speaking levelly to his holobook NV, which is propped up in the booth of a diner possibly recognizable as the one across the street from Skye Medical Center. A waitress passes with a pot of coffee, gives him a comforting pat on the shoulder and an 'It'll be okay, Doc' which he half-cringes away from, before drawing

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[proxysearch]

[Brb, you'll have a Proxy bodyguard in about four minutes, Daedalus.]

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[gaveherwings]

[Oh god please don't, Re-l...you're a newcomer caseworker! The last thing you need to do is have your work here slandered too by showing up in the middle of this.]

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[proxysearch]

[Like she cares. Just be glad that she didn't hit anybody when she pulled up in her car, even if the urge is there. She practically sweeps herself right to his side, easily pushing past the camera people.]

Daedalus.

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[gaveherwings]

[Daedalus, spare for looking as though he's been shoved face-first into special platter number 5 and his life is over...between being mobbed by reporters-

His face lights up briefly at a familiar face sliding through the crowd and coming to his side, then quickly shifts into a panic, struggling to follow her lead out of the diner]

What are you doing here! Re-l...we've got to move.

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[proxysearch]

[Re-l's in absolute control of her powers and of her temper but that doesn't stop her from psyching someone out before she grabs Daedalus by the hand. She flashes her police badge once and that gets the point across. She turns to Daedalus.]

Go. Get inside and lock the door.

[And she immediately turns on the reporters.]

Which one of you would like to be first in the back of a squad car?

[It quiets them and makes them shift in uncertainty long enough for her to follow Daedalus right out to the car, sliding in the driver's seat. The engine rumbles to life and all the doors immediately lock once Daedalus is in.]

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[gaveherwings]

[He's shaking for a good ten, fifteen seconds before he realizes it, hands moving automatically to fasten seat belt and stare numbly at his knees. The car roars into motion and his body jerks limply with the momentum.

His head hurts. He's very tired. He doesn't want to look Re-l in the eye, ashamed that this news got out, and that he's been dragged into the public spotlight. His personal space has been invaded, he's needed some rescue just to get out of his favorite breakfast spot, and...he's been stripped of most authority he's worked his damnedest for five months to earn.

Great way to start off your Thursday, before it's even 8am.]

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[proxysearch]

[She lets him sit in silence and she barely bats an eyelash back to him except to make sure he's okay and not...slipping into some kind of post-traumatic shock.

Two weeks is how long you're supposed to wait to evaluate the symptoms. Two weeks after Romdeau's destruction, she was just arriving. She glances back at him once and then says nothing as they pull up to the apartment complex.]

We're home.

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[gaveherwings]

[He focuses on steadying his breath, the ride progresses in quiet between them- he doesn't even know where to begin, or if Re-l's angry with him for letting this happen, or if she thinks less of him for being stripped of almsot everything, or if she's just...worried for his sanity which is holding on a very tenuous thread right now.

His throat feels closed, muscles too tight. He'd be sick, but he hadn't really been eating anything since far earlier on in the shift.

He looks up at her apologetically, then glances cautiously = into the passenger's side mirror as they pull up.]

No one's followed us?

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[proxysearch]

[It's all the latter, more concerned for his emotional stability and his sanity than anything else. She unhooks her seat belt and slides out of the car.]

No, I took a back way to get us here.

[She gestures for him to head inside.]

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[gaveherwings]

Yes. [He shuts his eyes and nods, exhaling smoothly, his shoulders relaxing. He unhooks his seat belt and moves as if in a daze, following her with a softer tone, reaching a hand to the small of her back, as if he's the one doing the steering.]

Very good, Re-l. Very clever...as always.

Let's go back inside.

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[proxysearch]

[She closes the door and turns back to him just long enough to give him a questioning gaze. Re-l tenses and nearly jerks away from him in distress, but she composes herself long enough to walk with him to the door and open it for him.

Go in front of me, she silently begs. Don't touch me, please.]

Here.

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[gaveherwings]

[He gives her a weak smile when he passes her at the door, the sort of desperate look in his eyes that's silently begging for some sort of help he can't quite fit to words for the moment.

A deep breath of the warmth and clean air of their ionized apartment, safe. Safe, for now, and...

And the flood of exhaustion hits him too suddenly, and he sways on the spot three steps into the living room, then straightens resolutely.]

I'm...going to shower off.

[Plainspoken. Detached. Suppressing the urge to be overwhelmed by his emotions.]

If anyone calls...

[A weak wave of the hand, as he shuffles forward.]

I'll...I'll deal with them in a little while.

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[proxysearch]

[To get too close to Daedalus now would be a mistake, she knows, but he's already cracking from the inside out now. Her eyes search his and it's all she can do to not reach forward and pull him into an embrace. Not now, she chides herself. Not when they're outside.

Re-l follows him and when he's close to pitching over, she puts a steadying hand on his arm. Nodding slowly, she sighs.]

Go on. I'll take care of things. Just try to relax.

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[gaveherwings]

[Relax. He laughs, a hollow, helpless sound and meets her eyes briefly, pleading, before sliding out of her reach with an ashamed shudder of his shoulders.

No, really he's angry, frustrated, too many things at once.

Daedalus closes the door and loses himself the the solitude of tiled walls.

He'll try drowning it out with steaming water and sharp, pepperminty minty soap...usually it clears his head, but this time he still feels sick, and with a terrible building headache behind the eyes.]

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[proxysearch]

[She takes the next twenty minutes of solitude to call Raul Creed and update him on the situation. Then she gets out something softer and more comfortable for Daedalus, putting it just inside the bathroom for him. Beyond that, she puts on some tea and just sits at the table.

For the first time in months, she wishes she wasn't here. She wishes she could be elsewhere...but this is her responsibility too.]

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[gaveherwings]

[He finds flannel pajamas left out for him on the sink- by now he's just letting himself be dragged around on autopilot, toweling off his hair, avoiding his own eyes in the mirror.

Moving into the doorway, he stares across the room at her briefly, yearning...he opens his mouth halfway, but then realizes he's unsure what's to even say- all the fight and the indignant fury and the strain has melted off in the steam, along with any desire to be self pitying.]

I'm...just going to take a few messages, and then lay down.

[Startlingly sane, just...aloof. Worn out.]