(Untitled)

[in_verbatim]

He doesn't know how long he's been asleep, but it's been a long time.

At least, it feels like a long time. When he wakes up in the quarantine wing of the clinics, his head aches with the sort of sluggish tug of a too-long nap. It's a little difficult to sit up, but he manages anyway. He stretches his arm out in front of him, watching it waver and

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[jmlevitt]

The coughing continues for some time before Keyser gets any sort of a reply. It's the sort of wet, wheezing cough that tends to only come from the extremely ill. "Ah God," he groans when it's finally over. He's been awake longer than Keyser, but he's spent most of that time wishing he wasn't. He puts his own bag back down, staring glumly at the garish biohazard sign.

Did someone just call his name a minute ago? Was that Keyser?

And that's when it finally hits him. He doesn't know. The little tug in the back of his mind, the one that told him where Keyser was, is gone. "Keyser?" he asks, his voice fearful and timid. "Keyser, is that you?" He has to ask. For the first time in six months, he's alone in his head.

It's over. You're free, he realizes. He's no longer chained to a dangerous sociopath. His life is his own again. That's supposed to feel good, right? He should be happy.

But he's never felt so alone in his entire life.

[im2sexy4mysnark]

It's when he doesn't look at the table, is when it appears. How she does it is one of those mysteries of life, of the universe, and of everything. And that answer, alas, isn't fourty-two.

There's a small bottle of vodka on the table next to Jeff, with an origami butterfly attached to it with a small string meant to appear as its antennae.

Unfolding the butterfly reveals that it's a note:

I have a feeling you'll need this as much as I do, darling. And I wouldn't blame you if you shared it with Mr. Soze.

~A. Bastion. *a small butterfly is next to that.*

[in_verbatim]

"Yeah," he says, voice worn. "Yeah, it's me."

There's a pause while he coughs into the bag again, and then another while he collects himself.

What now?

"Are you okay?" It's another thing he shouldn't have to ask. It's terrifying, actually, but he does everything to hide the fear in his voice.

What now?

[jmlevitt]

"There are mushrooms in my lungs, Keyser. Mushrooms." He doesn't sound particularly angry or horrified by this fact, but he's exhausted and sick as a dog, and those emotions take more energy than he has. "Feel like shit. Could be worse, though." Inane, but it gives him something to focus on. Something to think about other than what just happened to him.

He reaches out and clumsily opens the curtain next to his bed. He looks like hell, skin pale and greenish. He tries sitting up to see the other man better, but that only results in another wave of nausea. A bad one. Give him a moment.

...

"Oh Christ, that was in my stomach?"

[inthetower]

At some point, one or the other or both of them are going to wake up.

And find a pair of hands and a bearded face pressed against the glass. Yes, quite literally. Complete with big green wibbly eyes directed at Jeff and the occasional squeak of glass as these scenes always seem to create.

Wibble.

*skweeeeeek.*

[jmlevitt]

Jeff spends most of his time asleep, exhausted by his body's efforts to rid itself of billions of dead spores. Eventually, however, he senses Rassilon's presence, and his eyes flutter open and turn to him, smiling weakly.

Hi.

[in_verbatim]

...You know, he's just going to pretend to be asleep. No need to interrupt here.

[inthetower]

Rassilon knows he's pretending, but that doesn't matter. He leaves Soze alone and concentrates on Jeff, instead.

Good, grief, what's happened? You disappeared for days and now this? And ... you're ... you're separated, now, aren't you? His eyes are round with shock, now.

[sarah_branigan]

One of the hospital staff enters the quarantined wing dressed in a protective suit reminiscent of the film Outbreak, gussied up slightly thanks to Nexus technology.

It's not obvious it's Sarah right away, because of the gas mask, but the fact that she pauses at a respectful distance and waves instead of coming right over to poke and prod at Jeff should be a clue.

If the curtain between Jeff and Keyser's bed is still pulled back, she's really not going to be happy, but she'll deal.

[in_verbatim]

The curtain is pulled over, thankfully, and Keyser is asleep. If Sarah wants a private conversation, she can manage one for now, at least.

[jmlevitt]

Jeff blinks in surprise for a moment, then smiles and waves back. "Hi Sarah," he says hoarsely, with a slight questioning note to his voice. After all, how many people who actually work here does he know? He's going to be totally embarrassed if he's wrong, though. He's pale and tired-looking, hooked up to an IV containing drugs normally used to treat fungal pneumonia. "Good to see you."

[sarah_branigan]

"Hi, Jeff," Sarah replies, finally approaching his bedside. It's obviously her now, what part of her face Jeff can see. It's her voice, too, coming in clearly via a tiny speaker outside her suit. It's a little weird, like she's throwing her voice, but at least she's easy to understand.

She sits down carefully, still getting used to the suit. "Good to see you, too. Looks like you're fighting off the fungus." Yeah, she read his chart. One of the perks of being on emergency staff.

[handle_gently]

Someone else-- a small someone, this time-- arrives wearing a protective suit. If Jeff's asleep, he'll wait; if Soze isn't asleep, he'll bow and greet him politely.

[in_verbatim]

Soze's awake this time around, and so he returns Hanatarou's bow with a polite nod.

He puts one hand on the curtain separating him from Jeff. "Do you want me to close this?" ...Not that it blocks out sound or anything, but it's good at pretending to be private.

[jmlevitt]

Jeff is actually awake, typing away on the old laptop they've allowed him. He looks up when the door opens and smiles widely, leaning forward to peer inside the suit's visor. He can guess who it is, but it never hurts to be sure. "Hanatarou!" he exclaims, and pays for his enthusiasm with a coughing fit. Give him a moment. "Ugh, sorry," he says sheepishly when he finishes. "I've missed you."

He shakes his head at Soze. "Nah, it's fine," he says. "You don't have to unless you want to."

[handle_gently]

"Me too," Hanatarou says (in a muffled, tinny voice, although that isn't his fault). He takes a seat at Jeff's bedside, puts his hands in his lap, and scrutinizes him carefully. "You look..." --he hesitates, then decides to assess honestly: "... awful," he finishes, with a sheepish laugh.

[mrseysidescousr]

Someone else was brought from the Sanctuary in the middle of the night by a tall, blue, fuzzy bamf-ing Avenger. He's in quarantine with Soze and Jeff, and he's been asleep until this morning (morning? noon? who knows, it's the Nexus?). Gabriel doesn't look as bad off as the other two, but he wakes up coughing, looking for something to... oh. How nice, a bag. He coughs until it hurts, and then continues for another few minutes. The stuff is still black, with too much dark red.

Exhausted, he flops back to the mattress.

Jesus Christ, I'm tired of this fucking place.

[in_verbatim]

He doesn't see Gabriel come in, but he hears the coughing. Maybe it's because he crushed his windpipe once (...augh), but he realizes who it's coming from easily enough.

Now. Which one is this? The one that remembers him, or the one that doesn't?

He only remembers one Gabriel at Flowerclock, though, and this one was writhing on the ground shortly before his 'exit.' Sounds like a reunion to him.

He says nothing for now. No need to draw attention to himself when he's in such a vulnerable position. Still, it's inevitable that he coughs up some spores, and his coughs are just as loud as Gabriel's. He's hardly hiding back there.

[mrseysidescousr]

Gabriel does hear the coughing, but he isn't as astute in placing the sound with a face. He does hear the similarity, and this piques his curiosity.

"Hello?" he calls out with a rusty voice. "Who's here?" Not loudly enough to wake whoever might be sleeping. Unfortunately, speaking brings on another round of coughing, so it might be a moment before anyone can respond.

[jmlevitt]

"Mmmnh?" Jeff has been spending a lot of time sleeping, and the sound of a new voice wakes him up. It's a long moment, and a long coughing fit, before he's able to answer though. "Ugh. Christ."

He clumsily pulls the curtain aside, blinking with bloodshot eyes (though nowhere near as red as they were for their last meeting) at Gabriel. "Got you too, huh," he says, looking down. "Fuck. For what it's worth, I'm sorry."