[for moira] there's no place like home

[gotanymilk]

The dim, artificial light of the Orchid station gives way to shadow. Swaddled in the heavy clothes of a man long since dead, the crouched figure of Benjamin Linus creeps through the tunnel, his steps measured as he feels his way through the dark. The path ends as soon as it begins, an old ladder leading downwards the only way to move on. Move on,

Comments

[nostoppinglife]

Moira's always liked this kind of place, all tropical beaches and vast stretches of sand, but when she's thought, in the past, of spending any time somewhere like this, it was rather more temporary. She's getting used to it, though. Making do is all there is to be done at times, dealing with life here as it comes at her, same as anywhere else.

It isn't often that includes bodies stretched out not far ahead of her. She can't say it's never happened, but it still comes as a surprise when she spots this one and quickens her pace, hastening to the man's side to kneel down and feel for a pulse. Alive, thank God, but she'll not risk moving him just yet, even if she could do it alone. "Sir, can ye hear me?"

[gotanymilk]

Ben's whole body trembles under the woman's touch, and when his eyes fly open in a panic, he breathes out a cloud of cold air that dissipates almost immediately in the hot, sticky humidity. The change in temperature comes as a shock to his body, but not to his mind; he'd been expecting to wake up elsewhere, after all, though there's a familiarity in the sound of nearby crashing waves that takes him by surprise. This isn't the Sahara

[nostoppinglife]

"Careful," Moira says at once, steadying a hand on his back as she sinks back on her heels. She doesn't want to crowd him, but he hardly looks stable just yet and she doesn't have enough information to know what's wrong, not really. Either way, she doesn't need him to rush himself and collapse. "Easy there, easy. It's alright, ye're safe here. I'm Dr. Moira MacTaggert. Just try an' catch yuir breath now, alright?"

She's never had to do this before, introduce anyone to all this, much less under these circumstances, but she's calm under pressure. It's a trait she's always valued in herself and others, one that comes in handy here more than might be expected.

[gotanymilk]

The name bleeds Scotland, though her accent's muddled enough that it's clear she's lived elsewhere - Oxford, perhaps, given her title. As they can't possibly be anywhere near the British Isles, however, it's not much to go on at all. The only thing that's become increasingly clear is that she doesn't seem particularly surprised to find a strange man on the shore, which raises more questions than it answers.

Ben opens his mouth to say something, but he doesn't get very far before bile rises in his throat, and he's coughing up yellow vomit.