nishka//loki (nishka) wrote in paxletalelogs, @ 2017-03-22 11:49:00 |
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Entry tags: | coyote, loki |
Something’s Better Than Nothing
Who: Nish and Chris
What: Jessica tattles to Chris on Nish for working against doctor’s orders
Where: Nish’s office.
When: Tuesday, March 21, 2017
Nish hadn’t been back to work since she got out of the hospital. She had been in contact with a very relieved Jessica last week, but there were things that needed doing that only she could do. Lucas had told her to stay off work for at least the next week, but the longer she sat at home, the more thoughts of what needed to be done weighed on her.
And besides, she was fine. She was feeling a little better, and after seeing Lucas Monday morning she was no longer on the heart monitor. He had advised her to reduce her stress and wait at least a week before slowly increasing activity, but that was just guidelines, right? And besides, she was self-employed. If she took a ‘sick day’, nobody got paid. She had Jessica to think about too.
So she got up early, walking into work at about seven in order to get some things done. Paycheques needed to be issued and signed; files needed attention, banking needed to be done. Things Jessica wasn't able to handle on her own.
She was deep into it when Jessica showed up at eight, thoroughly confused when she arrived to find the door unlocked and the lights on. Frowning, hand wrapped around the pepper spray in her purse, she walked in to find Nish sitting at her desk, head bent over a file.
“...Nish?” she asked. The older woman looked up and smiled, though to Jessica who hadn't seen her in over a week, she looked terrible. Alarming. She was thinner, her skin a little pale, her eyes tired, and she didn't look nearly as confident and put-together as she usually was.
“Hey,” she replied, worrying her even more; even her voice was quieter. “Your pay is on your desk,” Nish continued, “and I got through the Martin, Hayes, and McCarthy files, so we can probably bill those out now. Are there any others I should look at?”
Jessica hesitated, coming further into the room and frowning. “You should be home,” she said, not bothering to hide her worry. “You're supposed to be taking it easy, right?” Nish waved her hand dismissively.
“We need to eat, right?” she said, writing something down in the file in front of her. “Also, call Kevin Jacobs to tell him the discoveries will have to be postponed for another week, I have a doctor's appointment that day…” she closed the file in front of her and handed it to Jess, who took it reluctantly.
“Okay,” she agreed, her mind already jumping to plan B. She headed towards her desk, letting the file drop onto the top of the pile and pulling her cellphone from her pocket. Checking that Nish wasn't looking, she started texting Chris.
So guess who beat me to work this morning…
Chris was shirtless in his bathroom, shaving, feeling far more content than he had in weeks after the events of St. Patrick's Day. When his phone buzzed, he did his best to slow his pace toward collecting it, his mind hoping it was Daniel and only feeling a little crestfallen when he saw it was Jessica. Shaving cream still covered half of his face, but a brow quirked itself onto his forehead as he tried to puzzle out her message.
The Easter Bunny? He wrote back, taking his phone with him back into the bathroom to finish his careful grooming.
Jessica grinned and looked up again, making sure Nish was still in her office.
Angelina Jolie. she joked back, but then almost immediately after sent her explanation. Nish...she's in her office, buried in files. Looks like shit .
He was down to a quarter shaving cream still on his face, though the majority of his lines were completed. Glancing at his phone, he muttered 'are you shitting me' as he typed back.
She never seemed like the type to follow directions. I'll call her.
Chris dialed Nish's number, putting the phone to his ear as he wiped his face and inspected his work in the mirror.
Nish picked up on the second ring, not bothering to look at the caller ID since only a handful of people now had this number. “Yeah?” she asked distractedly, tossing another file onto the pile at the edge of her desk and pulling out another.
"Hey buddy," he started out in a singsong, deprecating tone; he picked up his toothbrush and ran water over it. "What'cha up to?"
Nish paused, something in his voice tipping her off. She looked up from what she was doing, glancing at her open door. “She told on me, didn't she?” she said in a voice that was both annoyed and defeated.
"She wouldn't have to if you were at home in bed," Chris replied, his mouth full of toothbrush and toothpaste. He spat into the sink.
“Trust me, my bed isn't nearly as fun as it used to be,” she joked, though it fell flat. He made a tsking sound, shaking his head.
"I'm gonna swing by and pick you up. We'll grab lunch, and then I'm handcuffing you to your headboard. Don't get ideas, though, because it's just for your own good, nothing more."
“This is what I get for signing her paycheque?” she mused. She glanced up and saw Jess loitering just outside her door looking nervous, and she rolled her eyes at her with a slight grin. “I didn't know you were into bondage, Chris,” she said for Jessica's benefit. Her secretary promptly turned an adorable pink.
"Oh you have no idea what I'm into, and the sad part is you'll never find out. Now you're gonna stay there until I get there, or I'll have Jessica tie you to a chair. Got it?" He reached out to put his toothbrush in its cup, pausing for a moment. "No, you'd probably like that too much. I wonder if she's got a taser or pepper spray instead," he mused. Nish chuckled, letting her head rest in one hand. He turned to limp carefully out of the bathroom and back into his bedroom, picking out a light blue button up shirt. "Seriously, though, you need to knock this off. Do you want to end up back in the hospital?"
“I'm fine, Chris, really,” she protested. “things need to get done. I can't be gone another week…” she looked around at the files that still needed attention with a frown.
"What's that Shakespeare saying? The lady doth protest too much? God, Mrs. Gilbertson from my ninth grade English class would be amazed that I remembered that. We need to get you a hobby. Knitting, or or beads, or...how do you feel about finger painting? That seems more your speed."
Nish rubbed her forehead with a sigh. “What I need is to get back to work. I can't just...disappear. I can't sit at home doing nothing for two weeks. I can't exactly get someone else to cover for me.” Annoyance was creeping back into her voice. She'd worked hard to build her practice, she couldn't let it crumble because she was...sick.
"OK, fine," he said, pulling his second arm through its armhole and tucking his phone between a cheek and his shoulder. "Have Jess set you up with some paperwork, but you're going home. What happened isn't something you just shake off, Nishka, and if the doctor said you need to be resting for two more weeks, you're resting for two more weeks if I have to tie you to the bed. I'm sure Rafe would agree with me." He hoped the name dropping of her assumed boyfriend might help the situation. Chris made a mental note of calling Rafe after he got off the phone with Nish.
She sighed again, rubbing her forehead. “That was below the belt,” she muttered, but he was swaying her with his stupid logic. If she could work from home she could still get some things done but keep her friends happy. “Fine, I'll get some things together,” she conceded, sitting back in her chair, defeated. “Happy now?”
"Ecstatic," he replied, standing carefully as he undid the button of his pants in order to tuck his shirt in. "I'll be there in ten, maybe fifteen if traffic sucks. If you abscond, I claim the right to send out the hounds."
“Yes sir,” she said, rolling her eyes as she ended the call. “Jess?” she called out, and the other woman appeared far too quickly in the doorway. “You’re fired, you tattle-tale,” she said, though she was smirking. Jess grinned at her. “I’m taking some files home...get me the ones people are the most mad at me about; I may need you to pick them up from my place when I’m done with them since I’m apparently under house arrest.”
“Yes ma’am,” Jess said with a mock salute, scurrying off to do her bidding.