⇒ 41
Who: Max Guevara, Eliot Spencer and Jo Harvelle
What: Telling Jo about Sam.
When: After the Isis battle, wee hours of the morning.
Where: Leverage Tower
Rating: PG-13
Max: [is bone tired, but she's making her way back through the castle anyway. she had shoved off a trip to the clinic in favor of trudging up to the Leverage tower. Six bodies. Six people dead and while only one of them she knew? it was still six too many. She might even head back to her room and get some sleep after this. but she has to do this first, and eventually she's knocking on the door and trying not to look as bad as she feels]
Eliot: [had been pacing since he'd read Claire's entry. This was the horrible ending that all of them were trying to avoid, and now he just was torn between not being able to do enough and knowing that the worst was still yet to come. However this ended, it was going to have a hell of a lot of fallout. He hears the door and moves to open it, seeing Max, who looks like she got run over by her own bike this time] Jesus... I'm not gonna like this am I.
Max: [shakes her head] Where is she?
Eliot: [frowns, his hand running over his features, he'd have to tell Bela. He gestures over his shoulder] She's in one of the guest rooms. Top of the stairs.
Max: [nods and edges around him as she heads past him to the stairs] There were six total. Only one I knew was Sam, so I'm not sure if there was anyone else you did.
Eliot: [he just exhales, not even sure who all would've been of those six... he'd known a few names on the list, knew York knew them too.] I'll... I'll find out. She might be asleep.
Max: [nods, and she jogs up the stairs slowly, looking for the room in question]
Jo: [isn't really asleep, she's got the dogs all in the bed with her. Fingers scratching behind the ears of Alice, who seems to hear someone coming earlier than Jo's willing to acknowledge it. Sam... Sam would just walk in, but she's already worried that it's going to be a knock.]
Max: [hates giving bad news. She really does. she stops in front of the room and hesitates for a minute, before knocking]
Jo: [Her eyes close as she exhales softly; the dog on her lap whines a bit, head lifting to pay attention to the sound at the door. Squaring her jaw, she steels herself, trying not to immediately expect that this moment is going to be just like Carthage.] It's open.
Max: [lets herself in, and gives her a half smile as she closes the door behind her] Hey.
Jo: [the half a smile doesn't do anything for Jo's mood, she just lets it roll off of herself, shifting to face Max, and shoo one of the bigger dogs off onto the floor. Cooper moves from near her knees and goes over near the door] Hey. [glancing up at Max, she can see that she's been through a lot] Are you alright?
Max: [shrugs] Been worse. Just a little worn out, that's all. [crouches down to scratch Cooper behind the ears] You? [not that it makes a difference for five minutes from now, but it's stalling. Max is good at that]
Jo: [the new dog, scrappy as Hell, moves trying to get attention, but Jo just shoves him away gently] I don't know. [she meets Max's eyes, trying to see if she can see what she's going to answer, even before she poses the question] He's an idiot, isn't he.
Max: [swallows] Isis had them strapped down to tables. Some kind of ritual to bring Osiris back. She got through about four of them before they could get in there, and got two more after the fact. Sam was one of them.
Jo: [she swallows hard, nodding, biting the inside of her cheek, not too hard, but enough so that she feels that twinge of pain instead of the sinking feeling in her gut] Okay.
Max: I'm sorry. [she isn't sure for what. probably the fact that she didn't get there sooner is at the top of it]
Jo: [she shakes her head, not really focusing on Max anymore, just on the sound of her voice, trying to reassure her] It's not your fault. [her voice wavers with that though, losing most of the strength that she had been clinging to]
Max: [pushes up and makes her way over to the bed, placing one hand on her shoulders as she sits next to her. she's not so good with the words, but the hugging thing? that she can do]
Jo: [she's trying hard not to break, because she has to make it out of the tower and down to Sam's room... she has to take care of the dogs and she has to tell his friends... but the weight on the bed, that's not quite what it should be and the press of a hand -- it's all it takes as her bottom lip quivers. Her chin wobbles slightly as she tries hard not to cry, but it's far too late for that as they spill across her cheeks]
Max: [shifts closer and slides her arms around her, just getting as close as she can. she knows she's not the same, not by a long shot, but it's something she CAN do, and she's going to do it]
Jo: [her arms lace around the other girl, holding tight as her shoulders finally shake, letting the sob slip free before no other sound comes from her, it's just Jo clinging to Max as she can't stop herself from crying]
Max: [holds her for as long as it takes, one hand rubbing her back gently as she gets it all out]
Jo: [this is far from letting it all out. Jo feels empty, like by telling someone that she wanted to stay, that by saying she was happy here that the castle just ripped it all away from her. She didn't get her goodbye, she didn't get her moment to understand how her friend -- how Lois -- possessed or not, couldn't have seen that it was Sam, that it was someone that didn't need to die. It hurts in her chest and her stomach is knotting up from the stress and the snot that she keeps pulling in so that it doesn't get on Max]
Max: [she'll stay there as long as she needs to] I can tell everyone, if you want. Or I can take the dogs ...
Jo: [nods against Max's shoulder, pulling away a bit] I ... I don't know. I can't [she takes in a shaky breath] I can't tell people... I don't want to be this... [she's wanting to start talking about how weak she's being, how Sam'll be back and that it wasn't his fault, but it all hurts]
Max: I'll take care of it.
Jo: [she sits up, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand, the dog nosing at her] Okay. [she exhales, slowly, through her mouth because she knows if she even tries to use her nose, she'll be way stuffed up and about to vomit]
Max: Okay. [pulls back from the hug, before glancing towards the door] Maybe you should stay here with Eliot for a bit. Just ... until things calm down a little. [and ... they clear out the ballroom]
Jo: [her brow furrows, fingers rubbing at her eyes again, not even sure what she should do except curl up and sob] I'll... I'll think about it.
Max: [her hand comes up to brush some of Jo's hair out of her face] Just spend the night here, at least. Okay? [there's a bit of tone there saying that Jo really, really doesn't want to go downstairs]
Jo: [she hears the tone and that almost makes her want to go down there, to hit him.. or what's left of him -- or find out what the Hell they're doing to ... she almost wants to say to Lois, but she knows, even through all the grief, that no one will do anything to Lois. Instead, she just nods, agreeing to at least nod her head in response to what Max is requesting]
Max: [nods as well, and she'll track down Eliot before she leaves, tell him to make sure she stays put, because as much as Jo may want to go down there, she doesn't need to see Sam like that. No one does]
Jo: [exhales another shaky breath, reaching for the blankets to tug closer to herself] Thanks for letting me know, Max.
Max: [nods] Let me know if you need anything, okay?
Jo: [she nods, but her gaze has already dropped to her lap, keeping her focus there instead of on the rest of the room] Yeah, I will.
Max: [takes a breath and pushes up, turning and heading towards the door]
Jo: [feels the weight, the wrong weight, lift off the bed and she doesn't look up. She's just keeping her focus on her hands, because if she looks to that door, she's going to realize once again, that Sam's not going to come through it.]
Max: [quietly slips out and heads back downstairs to the common room]
Eliot: [sees her coming down the stairs and stands up] She alright?
Max: About as alright as she's gonna be. [sighs] Don't let her go downstairs till tomorrow. Isis took over the ballroom, and ... [smells like so much blood it makes her sick] ... it's a mess.
Eliot: [frowns] The ballroom? How the Hell'd she manage to get past us all?
Max: Some kind of magic dealio? I didn't really ask.
Eliot: [grumbles, then refocuses] You alright?
Max: [nods] Just tired. Gonna go home and sleep off a couple hours and recharge. [a beat] I told her I'd tell people about Sam. Just worry about keeping an eye on her.
Eliot: [he nods, but he's still worried] I'm not gonna open the Lux, not for a few days. I don't really care if the ghosts mess with it, but I want everyone on staff... [since they all ended up in this mess one way or another] I want you all to take some time.
Max: [nods] Thanks, boss.
Eliot: [exhales] You're welcome, Max. Thanks for tellin' her. I'm not sure it'd have been good if she'd just read it.
Max: [nods again as she slides her hands in her pockets] Just keep an eye on her. I'll be in my room if you need me.
Eliot: I'll do my best.
Max: [turns and heads out the door to go back to her room and just collapse into bed]
Eliot: [heads up the stairs and just sits on the top step outside Jo's room, just in case she calls for him]
What: Telling Jo about Sam.
When: After the Isis battle, wee hours of the morning.
Where: Leverage Tower
Rating: PG-13
Max: [is bone tired, but she's making her way back through the castle anyway. she had shoved off a trip to the clinic in favor of trudging up to the Leverage tower. Six bodies. Six people dead and while only one of them she knew? it was still six too many. She might even head back to her room and get some sleep after this. but she has to do this first, and eventually she's knocking on the door and trying not to look as bad as she feels]
Eliot: [had been pacing since he'd read Claire's entry. This was the horrible ending that all of them were trying to avoid, and now he just was torn between not being able to do enough and knowing that the worst was still yet to come. However this ended, it was going to have a hell of a lot of fallout. He hears the door and moves to open it, seeing Max, who looks like she got run over by her own bike this time] Jesus... I'm not gonna like this am I.
Max: [shakes her head] Where is she?
Eliot: [frowns, his hand running over his features, he'd have to tell Bela. He gestures over his shoulder] She's in one of the guest rooms. Top of the stairs.
Max: [nods and edges around him as she heads past him to the stairs] There were six total. Only one I knew was Sam, so I'm not sure if there was anyone else you did.
Eliot: [he just exhales, not even sure who all would've been of those six... he'd known a few names on the list, knew York knew them too.] I'll... I'll find out. She might be asleep.
Max: [nods, and she jogs up the stairs slowly, looking for the room in question]
Jo: [isn't really asleep, she's got the dogs all in the bed with her. Fingers scratching behind the ears of Alice, who seems to hear someone coming earlier than Jo's willing to acknowledge it. Sam... Sam would just walk in, but she's already worried that it's going to be a knock.]
Max: [hates giving bad news. She really does. she stops in front of the room and hesitates for a minute, before knocking]
Jo: [Her eyes close as she exhales softly; the dog on her lap whines a bit, head lifting to pay attention to the sound at the door. Squaring her jaw, she steels herself, trying not to immediately expect that this moment is going to be just like Carthage.] It's open.
Max: [lets herself in, and gives her a half smile as she closes the door behind her] Hey.
Jo: [the half a smile doesn't do anything for Jo's mood, she just lets it roll off of herself, shifting to face Max, and shoo one of the bigger dogs off onto the floor. Cooper moves from near her knees and goes over near the door] Hey. [glancing up at Max, she can see that she's been through a lot] Are you alright?
Max: [shrugs] Been worse. Just a little worn out, that's all. [crouches down to scratch Cooper behind the ears] You? [not that it makes a difference for five minutes from now, but it's stalling. Max is good at that]
Jo: [the new dog, scrappy as Hell, moves trying to get attention, but Jo just shoves him away gently] I don't know. [she meets Max's eyes, trying to see if she can see what she's going to answer, even before she poses the question] He's an idiot, isn't he.
Max: [swallows] Isis had them strapped down to tables. Some kind of ritual to bring Osiris back. She got through about four of them before they could get in there, and got two more after the fact. Sam was one of them.
Jo: [she swallows hard, nodding, biting the inside of her cheek, not too hard, but enough so that she feels that twinge of pain instead of the sinking feeling in her gut] Okay.
Max: I'm sorry. [she isn't sure for what. probably the fact that she didn't get there sooner is at the top of it]
Jo: [she shakes her head, not really focusing on Max anymore, just on the sound of her voice, trying to reassure her] It's not your fault. [her voice wavers with that though, losing most of the strength that she had been clinging to]
Max: [pushes up and makes her way over to the bed, placing one hand on her shoulders as she sits next to her. she's not so good with the words, but the hugging thing? that she can do]
Jo: [she's trying hard not to break, because she has to make it out of the tower and down to Sam's room... she has to take care of the dogs and she has to tell his friends... but the weight on the bed, that's not quite what it should be and the press of a hand -- it's all it takes as her bottom lip quivers. Her chin wobbles slightly as she tries hard not to cry, but it's far too late for that as they spill across her cheeks]
Max: [shifts closer and slides her arms around her, just getting as close as she can. she knows she's not the same, not by a long shot, but it's something she CAN do, and she's going to do it]
Jo: [her arms lace around the other girl, holding tight as her shoulders finally shake, letting the sob slip free before no other sound comes from her, it's just Jo clinging to Max as she can't stop herself from crying]
Max: [holds her for as long as it takes, one hand rubbing her back gently as she gets it all out]
Jo: [this is far from letting it all out. Jo feels empty, like by telling someone that she wanted to stay, that by saying she was happy here that the castle just ripped it all away from her. She didn't get her goodbye, she didn't get her moment to understand how her friend -- how Lois -- possessed or not, couldn't have seen that it was Sam, that it was someone that didn't need to die. It hurts in her chest and her stomach is knotting up from the stress and the snot that she keeps pulling in so that it doesn't get on Max]
Max: [she'll stay there as long as she needs to] I can tell everyone, if you want. Or I can take the dogs ...
Jo: [nods against Max's shoulder, pulling away a bit] I ... I don't know. I can't [she takes in a shaky breath] I can't tell people... I don't want to be this... [she's wanting to start talking about how weak she's being, how Sam'll be back and that it wasn't his fault, but it all hurts]
Max: I'll take care of it.
Jo: [she sits up, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand, the dog nosing at her] Okay. [she exhales, slowly, through her mouth because she knows if she even tries to use her nose, she'll be way stuffed up and about to vomit]
Max: Okay. [pulls back from the hug, before glancing towards the door] Maybe you should stay here with Eliot for a bit. Just ... until things calm down a little. [and ... they clear out the ballroom]
Jo: [her brow furrows, fingers rubbing at her eyes again, not even sure what she should do except curl up and sob] I'll... I'll think about it.
Max: [her hand comes up to brush some of Jo's hair out of her face] Just spend the night here, at least. Okay? [there's a bit of tone there saying that Jo really, really doesn't want to go downstairs]
Jo: [she hears the tone and that almost makes her want to go down there, to hit him.. or what's left of him -- or find out what the Hell they're doing to ... she almost wants to say to Lois, but she knows, even through all the grief, that no one will do anything to Lois. Instead, she just nods, agreeing to at least nod her head in response to what Max is requesting]
Max: [nods as well, and she'll track down Eliot before she leaves, tell him to make sure she stays put, because as much as Jo may want to go down there, she doesn't need to see Sam like that. No one does]
Jo: [exhales another shaky breath, reaching for the blankets to tug closer to herself] Thanks for letting me know, Max.
Max: [nods] Let me know if you need anything, okay?
Jo: [she nods, but her gaze has already dropped to her lap, keeping her focus there instead of on the rest of the room] Yeah, I will.
Max: [takes a breath and pushes up, turning and heading towards the door]
Jo: [feels the weight, the wrong weight, lift off the bed and she doesn't look up. She's just keeping her focus on her hands, because if she looks to that door, she's going to realize once again, that Sam's not going to come through it.]
Max: [quietly slips out and heads back downstairs to the common room]
Eliot: [sees her coming down the stairs and stands up] She alright?
Max: About as alright as she's gonna be. [sighs] Don't let her go downstairs till tomorrow. Isis took over the ballroom, and ... [smells like so much blood it makes her sick] ... it's a mess.
Eliot: [frowns] The ballroom? How the Hell'd she manage to get past us all?
Max: Some kind of magic dealio? I didn't really ask.
Eliot: [grumbles, then refocuses] You alright?
Max: [nods] Just tired. Gonna go home and sleep off a couple hours and recharge. [a beat] I told her I'd tell people about Sam. Just worry about keeping an eye on her.
Eliot: [he nods, but he's still worried] I'm not gonna open the Lux, not for a few days. I don't really care if the ghosts mess with it, but I want everyone on staff... [since they all ended up in this mess one way or another] I want you all to take some time.
Max: [nods] Thanks, boss.
Eliot: [exhales] You're welcome, Max. Thanks for tellin' her. I'm not sure it'd have been good if she'd just read it.
Max: [nods again as she slides her hands in her pockets] Just keep an eye on her. I'll be in my room if you need me.
Eliot: I'll do my best.
Max: [turns and heads out the door to go back to her room and just collapse into bed]
Eliot: [heads up the stairs and just sits on the top step outside Jo's room, just in case she calls for him]