cormac hier ; the chemist (chemist) wrote in emillion, @ 2013-08-02 00:38:00 |
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The moment she heard the crash of the front door, bell ringing on its little hook and announcing his return, Cy shot up from the desk and stormed over to the front room. “Cormac. Cormac!” As always when she desperately needed her employer’s attention, her voice started edging towards the shriller end of the octave – but there was an extra note of confusion and displeasure in it this time. The man being accosted by his assistant, drew back and attempted to walk around her as he made his way into his clinic. Really, he'd just had to deal with a patient who had children. He did not want to come into work and have to deal with another one. "What is it?" Usually she was much better about this. Her tone was weird and different. He didn't like that. He didn't deal well with different. Different patients? Sure. Different tone of voice from Cy? Not so much. He also handed her his bag. But she let it drop, hand jerking back as the leather satchel landed in the middle of the room with a ringing thump. Cy stood her ground stubbornly, arms folded across her chest, meeting his eye as they stared at each other. “Do you have anything you’ve been meaning to tell me?” she asked sweetly. “Not particularly, no,” he said as he picked up his schedule off her desk. He tried to think of what it was he would want to tell her. He didn’t feel he had to tell her that Ems was back just yet. They hadn’t exactly figured out what was going on, after all. But Cy was using another weird tone that made him feel wary. He didn’t like it and it was clearly expressed by the frown deepening on his face. “Is it the bloody rumor mill saying things about me again?” Really, the women flinging themselves at him, while flattering, was also really obnoxious. Cy shook her head. If only. “There was a woman here,” she said bluntly, finally dropping the jokey Suspicious Spouse routine. Instead, his assistant settled herself on the edge of the desk and continued to eye him warily. “She started helping out around the clinic. Had a key. Didn’t explain who she was. Said it was alright by you. You don’t let anyone in the clinic except for me, so who was that?” There was a slight shift in Cormac’s expression from annoyed to off guard. Okay, so he did have to explain that Ems was back. “Oh. Her.” How did she get one of his keys? He’d have to ask her later. "Well. You see. As it turns out, Cyclone,” he said canting his hand and clapping his hands together in front of him. “You just used my full name.” “Yes.” “As it turns out?” “As it turns out, my fiance is not dead.” Silence. Cy straightened, and slid of the desk. “Pardon?” “Emily’s not dead, and decided to help out around the clinic, because that’s what she does,” he said as if it explained everything. Of course, it didn’t explain anything at all. “You’re taking this awfully in stride,” Cy said, face carefully blank. Had he finally lost his marbles? She’d simply been waiting for this day. She had the address for a very highly-recommended sanitorium, in case the stress ever got to be too much for him— “We had a chat. Although, we haven’t discussed everything just yet.” This was far more information than he would have liked to share, but he was mostly thinking out loud at this point. “So is she, like, on the payroll or something now?” “Nah, she does charity shit,” he said easily, waving a hand. It hadn’t immediately occurred to him that Cy might think her job was threatened, but a moment later after the thought came to light he added, “Besides, removing you would be like removing my liver.” That was obviously important. He needed his liver to drink. She tried to repress the smile, but it emerged nonetheless, flickering like a sun glimpsed behind clouds. The Dead Fiancée (and it deserved the capital letters) had been a dark spot in his history, a mystery she’d carefully tiptoed around for all the years she’d worked with him. The root behind everything. “Welllll, that’s convenient.” I hope you’re alright, she didn’t say. Instead, Cy eased up and fetched Cormac’s satchel from the floor, smoothing out some of the dents in its side. They weren’t the talking sort, these two. Physical injuries, a bleeding patient, bone showing through skin: that was all well and good. You knew what to do with that and how to fix it. But Cormac’s injuries had been psychological, a man limping along like a wounded animal, and she’d spent the years treating the symptoms (smelly clothes, alcoholism, lack of motivation, a fondness for twins) rather than the cause. And now – was it all supposedly fixed? Maybe she’d just get him drunk again and ask about it. Cy shrugged, dropping the bag onto the desk and starting to unpack. “I’ll have a proper talk with Emily next time she stops by. Show her where everything is. Besides, I don’t like people in my space unless I get to know them.” Even if they’re the recently-resuscitated love of your life, Cormac. “Hmm.” The sound was completely non committal. Cormac was neither supporting nor denying her feelings. He’d lived with Cy for quite some time. He couldn’t help but realize he actually lived with Cy and had only spent moments with Emily before she returned to her home. Sometimes she’d stay over, but they’d never moved in together. He wasn’t going to say anything, having momentarily forgotten the fact that Ems had a soft outer persona. In his mind, he wondered who would really win out of she’d shown her true colors to his assistant. The thought of it made him smile. “Just be gentle. She’s a good woman,” he said, patting Cy’s shoulder. Be gentle? The thought made her grin, and Cy seemed to soften at his touch, less the bristling irritation of just a few minutes earlier. “Oh, yes. Being the walking undead really perks you up.” Cormac just shuddered, not bothering to hide his complete unease at the mention of them. “She’s not undead,” he corrected her. He thought about adding how he checked, but instead, he let her go about her business of unpacking his things and walked further back into the clinic. He probably had things waiting on his desk inside that needed attending. |