milliways_bar | (no subject)

He's met right at the infirmary door by a Horta bearing sandwiches.

"Welcome back, Hank. As your hatchmate, I demand that you fortify yourself before going once more into the breach."

Hank grins at Naraht, then chuckles.

"I see. Well, thank you, my friend. Sounds like a good idea to me."

He cocks his head as he grabs a sandwhich.

"How are you? Any residual effects?"

"Aside from an urge to talk people's ears (or equivalant audial organs) off, everything's back to normal," Naraht says cheerfully. "And I suppose that little annoyance will wear off soon. How about yourself?"

"I'm tired bu good. Had a bit of a crisis back home, but it is handled and handed over to a couple of good helper's hands. How have things been going ehre since last night?"

"Well...I hesitate to tempt fate by using the 'q-word' out loud," Naraht says. "But people have been slowly putting themselves back together again. Oh! Ray made it back, by the way."

He smiles and munches some before answering.

"Good! Some good news and some great news. I cant wait to see all the victims bettered."

He smiles at Naraht.

"It is most well to see you happy again Iohor-hatchmate."

"And the feeling is quite mutual, Hank-hatchmate," Naraht says. It's hard to tell with a Horta, but he's casting an "eye" toward the Door which has appeared for him again.

"Though it looks like I will be heading home for a bit. But I won't leave until I'm sure everyone's on the road to recovery."

He snorts. "I also need to speak to Lincoln again before I go. Make sure he won't do anything stupid while I'm gone."

Hank gently hugs his friend.

"Well, when you go, you will be missed."

He grins.

"It shouldn't be for long," Naraht says, hugging him back. "I never seem to be gone for more than a few days by this timeline no matter how much time I spend back home."

A sigh. "And I really should go back soon. Things are heating up in the Romulan Empire."

Hank nods, a worried look on his face.

"We will miss you anyway. I will, I know. And you will do fine back there. I am sure you and your crew will do excellently."

"We manage," Naraht says with understandable pride. "Usually. But this situation promises to be...tense."

Hank smiles.

"You will do fine. I have every faith in you. "

He smiles, then stands, after gently playing a hand on Naraht's shellskin.

"I should get inside and start looking into things. Not that I am likely to have any more patients, but, just in case..."

He smiles at his hatchmate.

Naraht fringe-flicks in agreement. "Sure thing. The rest of these sandwiches are for the folks left in there."

It's a very large tray.

Catherine's there, looking up as he comes in and smiling at him over a couple of heads.

And hank bounces over and sweeps her into his arms, kissing her ever so softly.

"I love you, baby."

"Mmm--" She kisses him hard for a moment, then gently puts her hands on his chest and draws back. "Later, I promise. What needs to be done?"

Her voice is all professional calm.

He smiles.

"At this point, it is mostly cleaning up and writing reports. All of the curse patients managed to recover by themselves when the curse was broken. Each one waking up, and either by themselves, or with help, getting back to their rooms. So far, mostly, it looks like I will be having fun with notes, scans, and memories to write reports, and re-tidy the infirmary."

He smiles at her.

"You have a trained mind and hand for note-taking and at seeing how things lay and noting it down, I know, from your job. If you can do a sweep through ther infirmay and note the condition of the area, anything laying around, places where there is wear and tear, anyh observations your trained eyes spot, that would be helpful, while I start logging sensor readings. Hionestly, right now, it seems like that is most of what is left for anyone to do."

She nods ruefully, rummaging around to find a notebook and a spare pen. "I'm on it. What happened at the mansion?" --ducking behind a cot and beginning to examine up close.

He smiles and rifles throuigh his office drawers, finding some notes and his connectors and laptop. As he starts around, connecting the laptop to sensor machines, he clears his throat.

"One of the more repated mutations is a lycanthropic one, the ability to transform into a wolf-like creature. Well, one young man hit puberty and his mutation activated at exactly the wriong moment in Gym class. His slashed up a fellow student fairly badly without even knopwing what was going on and had to be checked out himself after the other kid was saved. Took most of the day getting both of them stabilized and getting the kid to agree to see a coulnselor who knew what he was going throguh. Had a few very touch and go moments saving the kid he hurt, though."

"Is the kid with the mutation safe now--to be around other kids?" Catherine's voice is muffled as she peers under one of the tables.

Hank glances up at her as he unhooks from one machine and moves to the next, his movements methodical and slow.

"Yes. He will need training, and a lot of it. But we are lucky thta, as I said, this is a more repeated mutatuion. We summonned some old friends to come and help him learn the basics,a nd they will also talk to him about the feelings that come with it. It will be a week or more before he can actually be in the regular physical classes with the others again, but the rest of the time, he will be okay and safe to be around."

She shakes her head, tapping the notebook with her pen. "Poor guy. Going through puberty normally is bad enough..."

He sighs, thinking for a moment, as data downloads into his laptop.

"Unfortunately, while most mutants have a relatively easy mutation expression, some have the lucky genetic markers to suddenly develop explosively different forms or powers at the point when the hormones reach a particular maturation and saturation point, causing an alteratuion and transformation that can be hazardous to others and to the child itself."

he shakes his head and moves to a new machine again.

"It isnt easy for any mutant, but for those few, it is much harder. Which is a large part of the definition of the Xavier Institute's existence. We are there to teach them that they arent monsters and that it isnt the end of the world. "

Catherine looks at him seriously from her kneeling position on the floor. His world is only a few steps removed from her own, and she can imagine what some of those kids might face in Las Vegas's playgrounds or elementary school classrooms. "It's hard, though, isn't it? When you have to be locked away from the world to grow up in safety, to disguise yourself just to walk down the street..."

He nods, and thinks for a moment.

"It can be hard. We try to instill in them that they are no different than any other ofthe races of men upon the earth. And that their differences that they do have, are not things to be ashamed of. We teach them caution, and how to defend themselves, and how to try to be normal as possible, while not shutting out what they are. It is a tightrope like it is for all kids. And yes it can be very hard, but we try to treach them the basics. I am not so much a teacher as a doctor, but tyhe others truly do get into these subjects a lot."

"Being different when you are young is hard on every teenager, being a mutant and so obviously different...yes, It can be very hard indeed."

She looks at him for a long moment, wondering. "Was it tough for you?" Her voice is soft.

He moves his laptop to yet another machine as he considers her words, his hands connecting it without even looking.

"Yes and no? On the one hand, I was always tall and big and had larger feet and hands than most, but most people just thought I was a backwoods hick who maybe had some inbreeding. They looked on me as a godsend for the football team and didnt ask too many questions. This form didnt come till much later. Remember the picture I showed you? I looked normal-ish, back then. So it was a little hard, but nothing like these kids have it. It didnt get hard for me, truly, until I was out of college and the motre advanced mutation began."

he shakes his head.

"I had ot easier than many of them do, by far."

She reaches over to rub a gentle hand over his back, considering. "If they could see there's a world here, that's just as different and unusual as they are, if they could come here..."

he smiles softly at her.

"well, some it might help, some it might not. Remember they are mostly regular kids, for all their mutations. Many of them would not be so glib about being among so many different people and kinds of experiences. The best way to handle it is education. Thats why we practice immersion education, with dorms on the campus. That way we can help them find their lives better by living amongst others going through wht they are going through."

he smiles softly and kisses her hand.

She makes a wry face, blushing at that last. "Has it worked?"

"For some, yes, form some no. It is hard to tell. In the world as it is, time must pass for one to know if anything works."

he shakes his head.

"Only the future will tell us."

She looks down at her notes, letting her pen rest for a moment. "I think I've got everything..."

He nods as he finsihes downloading from the last machine.

"The rest of what I need to do will be just me collating all the information for a report. Not exciting, but neccessary after the upheaval of the last few weeks."

He sets his laoptop down and comes to her, taking her in his arms for a moment and holding her close.

"Thank you my dear lady. Working with you is a pleasure I cherish. Makes the work go far faster than otherwise."

She leans close, closing her eyes and just letting herself relax into his arms. "Time never goes slowly enough when you're around..."

He smiles as he holds her, enjoying that sweet sensation.

"You make me feel like... a man who could do anything when you are around."

He kisses her gently on the top of the head.

"You are my light, the love that makes this world seem brighter and mopre alive to me. When you are here... nothing else seems even remotely as powerful."

he grins at her softly.

Geez, go make a muse all teary-eyed, Mun doesn't mind...

She nuzzles against him and kisses at his ear, burying her face in his shoulder. "You know, if you're done work here..."

He smiles softly and nips at her neck playfully.

"I do have to write those reports, but they wont take long. Did you have something in mind, My dear Miss Willows?"

"Maybe..." Her breath is hot against his neck, her lips drawn back in one of those slow, seductive smiles. "Of course, if you're busy with the reports--"

He pulls her close and kisses her very hard and passionately, not letting up till air becomes an issue.

"Does that answwer your question, my love?"

She gasps softly, because air is a rather pressing issue at the moment, and murmurs against his shoulder, "Crystal clear, I think... my room?"

He grins at her and scoops her up in hi arms.

"Sounds delightful, my dear."

He grins wickedly at her as he begins to carry her.

[ooc: Annnnd fade?]

(ooc: fade is good. we still need to finish their last...session--*grins* from before the curse was ended...heh - one of these days we need a slowtime finishing day...lol)