InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "For my prince."

ɢᴀʟᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴡᴀᴛᴇʀᴅᴇᴇᴘ (galeofwaterdeep) wrote in colligo_threads,
@ 2010-04-16 04:40:00

Entry tags:

claire saunders, stephen hart

WHO: Claire Saunders and Stephen Hart.
WHAT: Meeting the new flatmate and coffee.
WHEN: Shortly after this.
WHERE: Apartment 110D.
RATING: Likely not very high.
STATUS: In progress.

Claire had never wanted anything so much as she had wanted to escape the Dollhouse, the hell she'd lived in for so long. They had put her back in her body, but it wasn't really hers she supposed, after what had happened, and filled her in on what she had missed. She felt sick inside with the knowledge of what she had done, of what they had done to her. It filled her with a physical ache to look at Topher and know what she had put him through. What Clyde had put him through using her body. She had been violated in the worst way, her mind shoved aside and her body used as a shell. Her Original Personality was gone, so it really was her body now, as much as it would ever be. As if that meant anything really.

She hated them all, and she had desperately wanted to leave and never come back. But the reality of finding herself elsewhere was overwhelming, and she'd sat on the library steps for almost an hour before she'd thought to use her PDA. She'd never done well outside the Dollhouse. Being outside made her nervous, and people made her panic. Stephen was helpful and his directions gave her something to focus on. She had followed his instructions, and eventually made her way to the apartment building where she was meant to live. She found the door labeled 110D and nearly knocked before remembering it was her home too. She opened the door, looking around anxiously, almost wishing something had come up to make him leave. "H-hello," she said hesitantly. She still wasn't quite in a place of trusting people.

(Read comments) - (Post a new comment)

ikickdinosaurs
2010-04-18 04:41 pm UTC (link)

Nodding as Claire spoke about the meaning of the name of the city, he couldn't help the scowl when she continued speaking. Just what he needed, someone else apparently trying to manipulate his life. Not that it was much of a surprise. Someone (or something) had gone to a lot of bother to bring him back from where he'd been, and then to put him here with the one person who could help him get through it. Call him a cynic, but he didn't think that had been done out of the sheer goodness of that someone/something's heart.

"Another planet, yeah. I know, it sounds mental, but..." he trailed off with a small shrug. "It makes as much sense as anything else in this place."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

galeofwaterdeep
2010-04-18 04:47 pm UTC (link)

Claire watched as Stephen scowled, and fought not to flinch. She really wasn't good with confrontation, and clearly he wasn't happy with what she was saying. "I'm sorry," she said immediately, looking down into her cup of coffee rather than at him. "I guess that's probably not what you want to hear, is it?" Who wanted to hear that they were probably being toyed with by some sort of higher power...if you were the spiritual type...or just a screwed up but powerful individual, which Claire was more inclined to believe.

"I guess," she said, finishing her coffee and setting the cup down on the table. "I wish I could say this was a huge departure from reality for me...but my life was never exactly normal."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

ikickdinosaurs
2010-04-18 05:33 pm UTC (link)

"What? Oh, no. Not really, no. And you don't need to apologise. I'm just, I'm still... adjusting." How well he was managing it was yet to be seen, but he was working on things as best he could.

When she mentioned her life before arriving here, he crossed over to sit on the far arm of the couch from her. He hugged his arms close to his chest so that he wouldn't start fidgeting with his fingers, then looked over at Claire. "What did you do, if you don't mind my asking. I know you said you're a doctor. Is that a medical doctor?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

galeofwaterdeep
2010-04-18 05:39 pm UTC (link)

"I can see how it would be an adjustment," Claire said carefully. She had never been a fan of small talk, and she really wasn't sure what to say. This was possibly the longest conversation she'd ever had with someone who wasn't a coworker, and she was starting to wish she could just close herself up in her room and hide.

She looked wary when he approached, but relaxed as he sat at the other end of the couch. At his question, she smiled ruefully. I'm whatever they want me to be, was her immediate instinct, the bitter words highlighting how she felt right now. But she couldn't bring herself to say them. That would bring too many questions. "Yes," she said. "A medical doctor. I was the doctor for a...private facility."

She twisted her fingers together in her lap for a moment. "And you?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

ikickdinosaurs
2010-04-18 07:16 pm UTC (link)

"I... I was a lab technician," he said, "at CMU in London. Evolutionary Zoology. Cutter was the lecturer, I did all the setting up and labs. It was good." Back when he wasn't worrying about Helen being in his shower when he got home or things from the future kidnapping Abby or fuck knows what. It was second nature to not talk about those things to people outside of the ARC, though, so the almost-lie was out of his mouth before he could even think about telling the truth. "We were on secondment, though. When we were, uh." Killed. "Taken."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

galeofwaterdeep
2010-04-18 08:32 pm UTC (link)

"That sounds nice," Claire said with a small smile. "I started off in research, before..." The words felt wrong on her tongue, even though it was what she remembered. "I was seconded as well...in a sense. They needed a doctor, and that's what I was. It was classified, and it wasn't what I was used to, but I was fond of my patients. They're the one part of it all that I miss. They were good people." Because she wanted to protect them, for all that she resented them for serving as a constant reminder of what she had once been.

"Most of them, anyway," she said, her hand coming up almost unconsciously to touch one of the scars before she jerked it away. She got to her feet and walked to the kitchen, washing out the cup and drying it. Suddenly the apartment felt too small.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

ikickdinosaurs
2010-04-19 06:44 am UTC (link)

That sounded far too familiar. Classified and not what he was used to. He stayed quiet as she spoke about her patients, frowning again at the end when she almost touched her scars as she trailed off. Huh, so maybe a patient gave her those?

She was up and out of the room before he could say anything, and he stayed where he was for a moment, unsure. He got up after a minute and crossed the hallway to stand in the kitchen doorway. Watching her dry the mug, he pinched at the bridge of his nose before speaking. "Look, I can leave if you'd rather be on your own for a while. Your room's the one on the left, by the way."

(Reply to this) (Parent)

(Read comments) -