The After Effects

[notrosesshadow]

Characters: Martha Jones and Eddie Brock
Rating: PG... maybe PG-13 dealing with a dead body and all.
Time Period: Modern Day
Location: Basil's room and probably back to Martha's
Relative Date: Directly after this
Status: Closed... PM to enter

Martha walked the way to Basil's room, stopping only once when they passed her room to grab her med kit. She was

Comments

[eddie_plus_1]

Eddie followed Martha to Basil's room still bristling and smouldering with bottled rage and boiling frustration. They were running out of bottles and fast.

Inside the room they laid the body down upon the bed, arrangeing the arms at its sides comfotrably. Then Eddie stepped back to let Martha to her work though they thought amongst themselves that such a think was for morticians and the like to attend. Guilt work, perhaps? Something to keep her busy and take her mind off of his death.

"Its not your fault that he died," Eddie put in clumsily. "It was that vampire's fault," he added for good measure. Just to keep everyone on the same page.

[notrosesshadow]

"Yes, it was the Vampire's fault," she replied, her voice weary and quiet. She reached for her bag and found the supplies she needed for her next task. She needed to keep herself detached for a little while longer.

"Thank you for coming when I called. It means a lot to me... I..." she steadied herself with a deep breath... but fell silent when she realized she didn't quite know what she was going to say next. She didn't want to anger him more than he already was.

[eddie_plus_1]

"Of course," Eddie said gently, voice softening if only a touch, "Its what friends do."

Removed from the occupation of carrying the body Eddie took up a position against the wall, leaning against it and folding his arms across his broad chest. "You want to say something." More a guess than an understanding but he tried his best to sound encouraging and certain of his observation. They had a number of things they wanted to say to her in return. But those things could wait a breath or two. Their immediate value decayed the longer and further they got from Alexei although Basil served as a grim and posthumous reminder.

There would be time later for those things. Plenty of time. The rest of their (un)natural lives, even. However long or short that turned out to be.

[notrosesshadow]

"I know you have things you want to say to me," she finally said. She really didn't know where she had been going before, and she figured at this point, it'd be best if Eddie just said what he wanted to say. She continued stitching up the wounds.

[eddie_plus_1]

Eddie snorted at the mention of Jack having a better context. "We have trouble with the way you agree with his methods as described. No one seems willing to turn such a blind eye to justice but they'll happily strand who knows how many people with a hungry vampire because its far away from here."

Pushing off the wall Eddie shook his head, unfolding his arms. "You're our friend, Martha. You don't have to tell us what we want to hear. You're a good woman and you want to keep us on a leash because you feel our actions will become your responsibility. We just want you to know, that they are not." Eddie's voice was gentle, understanding even. "But we don't understand you and your doctor, the way you gamble with the world. Preserve a man who derailed world stability in the hopes that he might become better when he could turn on you at any moment and go right back to his old tricks?

Have you heard that one about the scorpion and the frog?" he asked, drawing up short beside her.

[notrosesshadow]

She shook her head mutely as another tear rolled down her cheek. She could feel the damn breaking, and she couldn't allow it to happen yet. She turned back to Basil's body, hoping that watching it would bring the numbness back. "What about the scorpion and the frog?" she asked.

[eddie_plus_1]

"Well, there's this frog right? He comes up to the river and he sees this scorpion standing there. Its a wide river and the scorpion can't cross it on his own so he says to the frog 'Frog, ferry me across the river.' And the frog says 'if i ferry you across you have to promise not to sting me or we'll both surely drown

[notrosesshadow]

Frogs... she flinched a little when he said it. It hurt, but then she didn't fully understand why she believed what she did. She was about to say something when she cried out instead. "Eddie, the body!" Basil's body was decidedly less solid and more translucent than it had been a minute ago.