Everything is Different, Nothing has Changed, Part 2
Title: Everything is Different, Nothing Has Changed, Part 2
Author: miashay
Characters: Bob Rebadow, assorted OZ characters
Ratings/Warnings: R overall for strong language, some violence, mentions of rape. No surprises, if you’re familiar with canon.
Word Count: 815
Summary: Time behind bars is boring as hell.
Ryan O'Reily
Bob Rebadow
The return trip to Oz was not nearly as quiet as the one to Bare Hill had been. This mostly due to the fact that I shared a seat alongside Agamemnon, a man who’d never met a moment of silence he couldn’t fill. He was nothing like Tobias had been, still and quiet as the grave. I admit, I’d found his behavior slightly unnerving at the time, especially in the wake of such an unusual and dangerous an attack, as the one on Oz.
There was talk that he was responsible, then Keller, then, more specifically (and, more accurately), Keller, in the name of Beecher’s safety. Of course, everyone knew the safest place for Beecher was outside of prison walls, but Keller had already obliterated that option, at least for Tobias’ foreseeable future. Better to violently destroy all his lover’s enemies, than to allow him his freedom.
I’d wondered if that same reasoning is what drove Keller over the second story railing of Emerald City, if he was self aware enough to realize just how dangerous he had become to Beecher. But love is rarely self aware or selfless, no matter how well meaning our intentions, or how much we want to believe otherwise.
-
Emerald City was just as we left it. A little cleaner, perhaps, scrubbed down and disinfected before our arrival. Otherwise, it was exactly the same as it had been at the time of the evacuation. Busmalis was certain other changes had occurred: a coat of fresh paint, new cots, or new chairs at the guard’s station. He spent our first evening back in our pod trying to convince me that something was different, that something had changed.
The next morning at breakfast, he rattled on about the chairs and tables of the dining hall, the exact shade of the walls, and the concrete floor beneath our feet. He questioned the inmate who served us our food about the condition of the kitchen equipment, and lifted his tray after he’d finished eating, to check for signs of wear and tear.
“I can’t believe it,” he finally declared, “all that time away and everything’s the same. Unless, I suppose we haven’t seen the infirmary, or the library, maybe? What do you think, Bob? Has Stella mentioned anything? New shelves or books, a new book cart, even?”
I shook my head no, but he plowed on, determined, seeking out change.
-
Our second day back in Emerald City, Ryan O’Reily joined me for cards in the courtyard. He was quiet for most of the first game, uncharacteristically so, and looking far thinner than I remembered. When he finally spoke, his voice was hollow, perfunctory.
“So, you still banging that librarian, Rebadow?”
I watched him over the table, twitching restlessly in his seat. He seemed more anxious than bored. I set down my hand, and looked him square in the eye.
“You don’t want to hear about Stella. There’s something else you want to ask me.”
“Yeah? And what’s that, old man?” He asked, sounding just as flat and unconcerned as before. His face, however, told another story; lips thin, yet quirked up at the corners, eyes darting side to side. It was the most animated I’d seen him since his brother’s execution.
“You want to know if I’ve heard anything about Doctor Nathan.” I replied.
“No! I mean, yeah, but, only if you have. Have you? Heard anything?” He asked.
“I have.”
O’Reily was blushing now, like a nervous schoolboy with a crush. I paused to enjoy the moment, ignored his growing, and rather obvious, frustration.
“I’ve been told she’ll be returning sometime early next week.”
He exhaled in relief, and then covered quickly with an uneasy laugh.
“God tell you that?”
I narrowed my eyes at him in mock confusion, just long enough to get him fidgeting again, before admitting I had spoken to Stella. He gave another uneasy laugh, and let the conversation rest.
-
We played two more hands before O’Reily spoke again. This time, he asked about Keller.
“Word is, he’s all healed up and headed back to Em City. You know anything about that?”
I glanced over his shoulder, towards Tobias’ pod. O’Reily turned in his chair to track my line of sight. When he faced me again, his lips were pursed thoughtfully.
“He talking yet?”
I shrugged- Beecher rarely took the time to speak to anyone, anymore- and backtracked to address his previous question.
“Keller is being transferred from Benchley Memorial this week. After that, I imagine McManus will be requesting his transfer back to Emerald City.”
O’Reily threw another quick look behind him, then stood, and threw his cards on the tabletop.
“Well fuck, it’ll be just like old times, then.”
He stormed off, looking moody and confused. I gathered all the cards together, stacked them neatly and shuffled, before dealing out a game of solitaire.
Author: miashay
Characters: Bob Rebadow, assorted OZ characters
Ratings/Warnings: R overall for strong language, some violence, mentions of rape. No surprises, if you’re familiar with canon.
Word Count: 815
Summary: Time behind bars is boring as hell.
Ryan O'Reily
Bob Rebadow
The return trip to Oz was not nearly as quiet as the one to Bare Hill had been. This mostly due to the fact that I shared a seat alongside Agamemnon, a man who’d never met a moment of silence he couldn’t fill. He was nothing like Tobias had been, still and quiet as the grave. I admit, I’d found his behavior slightly unnerving at the time, especially in the wake of such an unusual and dangerous an attack, as the one on Oz.
There was talk that he was responsible, then Keller, then, more specifically (and, more accurately), Keller, in the name of Beecher’s safety. Of course, everyone knew the safest place for Beecher was outside of prison walls, but Keller had already obliterated that option, at least for Tobias’ foreseeable future. Better to violently destroy all his lover’s enemies, than to allow him his freedom.
I’d wondered if that same reasoning is what drove Keller over the second story railing of Emerald City, if he was self aware enough to realize just how dangerous he had become to Beecher. But love is rarely self aware or selfless, no matter how well meaning our intentions, or how much we want to believe otherwise.
-
Emerald City was just as we left it. A little cleaner, perhaps, scrubbed down and disinfected before our arrival. Otherwise, it was exactly the same as it had been at the time of the evacuation. Busmalis was certain other changes had occurred: a coat of fresh paint, new cots, or new chairs at the guard’s station. He spent our first evening back in our pod trying to convince me that something was different, that something had changed.
The next morning at breakfast, he rattled on about the chairs and tables of the dining hall, the exact shade of the walls, and the concrete floor beneath our feet. He questioned the inmate who served us our food about the condition of the kitchen equipment, and lifted his tray after he’d finished eating, to check for signs of wear and tear.
“I can’t believe it,” he finally declared, “all that time away and everything’s the same. Unless, I suppose we haven’t seen the infirmary, or the library, maybe? What do you think, Bob? Has Stella mentioned anything? New shelves or books, a new book cart, even?”
I shook my head no, but he plowed on, determined, seeking out change.
-
Our second day back in Emerald City, Ryan O’Reily joined me for cards in the courtyard. He was quiet for most of the first game, uncharacteristically so, and looking far thinner than I remembered. When he finally spoke, his voice was hollow, perfunctory.
“So, you still banging that librarian, Rebadow?”
I watched him over the table, twitching restlessly in his seat. He seemed more anxious than bored. I set down my hand, and looked him square in the eye.
“You don’t want to hear about Stella. There’s something else you want to ask me.”
“Yeah? And what’s that, old man?” He asked, sounding just as flat and unconcerned as before. His face, however, told another story; lips thin, yet quirked up at the corners, eyes darting side to side. It was the most animated I’d seen him since his brother’s execution.
“You want to know if I’ve heard anything about Doctor Nathan.” I replied.
“No! I mean, yeah, but, only if you have. Have you? Heard anything?” He asked.
“I have.”
O’Reily was blushing now, like a nervous schoolboy with a crush. I paused to enjoy the moment, ignored his growing, and rather obvious, frustration.
“I’ve been told she’ll be returning sometime early next week.”
He exhaled in relief, and then covered quickly with an uneasy laugh.
“God tell you that?”
I narrowed my eyes at him in mock confusion, just long enough to get him fidgeting again, before admitting I had spoken to Stella. He gave another uneasy laugh, and let the conversation rest.
-
We played two more hands before O’Reily spoke again. This time, he asked about Keller.
“Word is, he’s all healed up and headed back to Em City. You know anything about that?”
I glanced over his shoulder, towards Tobias’ pod. O’Reily turned in his chair to track my line of sight. When he faced me again, his lips were pursed thoughtfully.
“He talking yet?”
I shrugged- Beecher rarely took the time to speak to anyone, anymore- and backtracked to address his previous question.
“Keller is being transferred from Benchley Memorial this week. After that, I imagine McManus will be requesting his transfer back to Emerald City.”
O’Reily threw another quick look behind him, then stood, and threw his cards on the tabletop.
“Well fuck, it’ll be just like old times, then.”
He stormed off, looking moody and confused. I gathered all the cards together, stacked them neatly and shuffled, before dealing out a game of solitaire.