February 10, 2005

[stubborn_annie]

The phone rings. Harry's not due home for another three or four days- it depends how long it takes to put all three of the most promising girls through the final testing, and there might be another one on the roster depending on how the Council sees it. It's the wrong time of day for a home call from Philippa, so it's either business or the Army

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[there_is_a_me]

The room looks like an ordinary room. Tables, chairs, a nervous looking woman looking uncomfortable out of uniform and a man who has spent his time torn between prowling the room and looking out the window.

He's smoking. All the time. His eyes are fogged, even now, with drugs but he's aware. Very, very aware, by the time Annie is being led inside he's already turning to look at her.

She's the first person he's met in years who isn't a scientist or doctor. And she's going to take him away from them. She's going to take him...Fuck if I know, but Sarge loved her and that's good enough for me.

[stubborn_annie]

She's seen his picture before, but the one Harry showed her was taken years ago in better times. The resemblance between the Spoon in that picture and the man in front of her now is scarcely more than she might see between brothers- if that. Still...

"Harry told me once," says Annie, "that he called you Spoon- is that all right with you? Now, I mean? I'm Annie Wells, we've never met-"

She glances up to the woman a moment, then back to the haggard, smoking man in front of her.

[there_is_a_me]

"Yeh." He says with a nod, "Yes, ma'am. Spoon is fine." He can smell her distress, and it makes him cover his nose again, just for a second humans don't fucking do that, Spoon before he says in a rush, "Sarge told us that the idea of not seeing you again was what scared him. I'm so sorry, ma'am."

Dr. Ferguson swallows, nobody's told Spoon that he's not the last one and she's certain that it isn't her place to do so. Under-secretary Ingram thought it was best taken care of by someone else. "He's got some medications, Mrs. Wells. They're to be tapered off, not just stopped. We've been working at weaning him down, but I was told to contact my superiors as soon as we'd made any progress at all."

[stubborn_annie]

The gesture doesn't seem to faze Annie, or even register as something unusual. She does start to say something, drawing breath with a puzzled expression; then the doctor speaks and she turns her attention away. "All right," she says quietly. "Is there anything else I ought to know?"

[there_is_a_me]

"There's a lot he doesn't remember...and a lot that we were told that you should tell him. He's as stable as we can get him, Mrs. Wells. I hope that you have better luck than we did." The doctor still looks unhappy, and picks up a leather briefcase that's sitting on the ground next to Spoon's kit. "This has the medication, and his medical files. All of his medical files."

Spoon would like to break in, stop the damn talking over him, get out of here. Instead he paces the limit of the area defined by light from the window, eyes flickering between the two women and the sky.

[stubborn_annie]

Annie glances at the briefcase, nodding. Her eyes flicker up to Spoon for a moment.

Harry does that on the really bad days. Right before.

"All right. Thank you, Doctor," she says. "Spoon, come on; it's a long drive home from here."

She'll sign whatever she has to on the way out the door, assuming she hasn't signed enough papers already.

[there_is_a_me]

At this point they're nearly as glad to see him go as he is to go. "Thank you, ma'am." He says politely, picking up his kit and the briefcase automatically, "Goodbye, Dr. Ferguson."

"Goodbye, Spoon, Mrs. Wells."

Then he turns his face back to Annie, ready to follow her wherever she's going to lead. He's getting out. It doesn't matter where else she takes him.

[stubborn_annie]

This isn't right. There ought to be more than this, some acknowledgment, some statement, something. But there isn't, and she knows there probably won't be. This is the last of the long shadows. At least, she hopes it is. She's not sure England can take any more of them.

She's got her own car, a sensible roomy thing that she uses in her business more than anything else. Once Spoon's kit's in the back and the man's in his seat, she gets in on the driver's side and starts up the car. "We're going to Yorkshire," she says. "Farm country outside of Harrogate, if you know where that is."

This is a car, an enclosed space. She knows Harry's claustrophobia all too well. She's not going to give the poor man any shocking news until she can see how he takes to being in a car again first.

[there_is_a_me]

"I remember." He agrees, quietly rolling down the windows before he even gets into the car. He dips his head, rolling it slightly to the side, at her examination of him. Submissive, because if he blows this chance he's fucked and might as well steal a gun and put one between the eyes.

After a moment of submissive display he folds his arms on the window and keeps his face pointed into the wind. He should say more, he's almost certain of it, so asks, "Which riding?"

[stubborn_annie]

There's only one magazine on the property that'd do him any good, though. Harry saw to that.

"North riding," Annie says. "I've a bakery in the town. The house is on a good-sized bit of land, there's plenty of open space- it's rubbish for farming anything but goats, really. Worth walking out on, when you've the need of it."

They're under way enough, she reckons, and God knows he looks like he'd sooner be balled up somewhere dark and safe. She might as well.

"Spoon," she says as calmly and as carefully as she can, "there's something you need to know."

[there_is_a_me]

"Yes, ma'am?" He turns as little as possible to look at her without losing touch with the smell of freedom. It isn't a comfortable angle to be twisted into, and he doesn't notice the discomfort.

He can ignore lots of things, now.

[stubborn_annie]

Breathe. Exhale. Breathe-

"Harry's still alive."

[there_is_a_me]

"Could you please stop the car, ma'am?" He says after a moment of dead-silent shock, skin gone a remarkably unattractive mix of green and white.

[stubborn_annie]

Silently, Annie nods and pulls the car over. She'll get the wet-naps out of the glovebox once he's out.

[there_is_a_me]

He steps out of the car, and several steps away, before proceeding to throw up until he's dry heaving. Then he sits with his head between his knees don't lose it, Spoon, keep it down, don't think about being lied to, keep it FUCKING DOWN SPOON for another few moments before standing up, "Sorry, ma'am. Thank you, ma'am. Did anyone else survive, ma'am? I was told I was the only one."

[stubborn_annie]

She's out of the car by then, near at hand, and offers him the wipes; they don't smell of anything but alcohol. Fragrance free is a big thing around the Wells household these days. "Cooper did as well," she says gently. "That was all. He's... I think he's in Wales just at the moment."

It occurs to her that his mouth can't be a pleasant place at the moment, so she rummages about in the car again and comes up with a bottle of water, which she uncaps and offers to Spoon.