InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Jelly baby?"

♔ Brooke McQueen ♔ (mcqueenbee) wrote in portland_logs,
@ 2014-10-05 23:54:00

Entry tags:

brooke mcqueen, sam mcpherson

Who: Brooke McQueen & Sam McPherson
Where: The hospital then Sam's house
When: Late Sunday night, October 5th
What: Sammy comes to pick Brookie up and fill her in
Status: Closed/On-going
Warnings: Feels?

Brooke was doing her best to keep herself from feeling overwhelmed, but given the circumstances, that was becoming more and more impossible by the minute. Not only had she been pulled through a wormhole (which she’d always thought to be just some sort of scientific theory) and plunked down in Portland, Oregon, of all places, but this hospital she’d woken up in was a little bit crazed. Even in the waiting room near the main entrance, where Brooke had been brought after waking up, where she’d thought she might find a little bit of peace while she tried to understand this foreign technology they’d handed her, had very few actual moments of peace. She hadn’t been lying when she told Sam that a fight had broken out between two boys for, from what Brooke could tell, no real apparent reason. It was a little bit scary, which only gave her more incentive to sit in the furthermost seat from the door until Sam arrived.

Then there was that. Sam was here. She claimed to have been here for over a month; she already seemed to know more about the world here than Brooke did – that this extremely flat computer she’d been given, for one, was something called a tablet. And that it was 2014 when last Brooke knew, it was 2001. Brooke didn’t know why she hadn’t thought to find the date on this tablet before Sam had told her that, but it had put her in a little bit of shock. That hologram woman, Holly, who had spoken with her had told her she’d been in a coma for a few months – something about sustaining brain damage and some scrapes and bruises but she was healed now, which was yet another strange thing she was trying to wrap her mind around. She didn’t remember anything that had happened. She wondered how it could possibly have been thirteen years when Holly claimed she had only been comatose for a few months. She wondered if Sam was older now or if she was from the same time Brooke was, if she was still a teenager and looked the same or if she’d aged. Brooke thought Sam would look good with age; she was already beautiful, Brooke couldn’t imagine that fading over the years.

When she noticed her mind wandering, Brooke tried to refocus her thoughts for a moment. She didn’t remember how she’d ended up in a coma, so Sammy would have to fill in the blanks for her there. She had been so preoccupied with this new world that she hadn’t even thought about what the last thing she did remember was, but it came to her easily. Prom night. Dinner with Sam and Harrison. Hearing Harrison tell them that he wanted Brooke… That moment of elation before she turned to Sam and saw just how wounded she looked, and she just… couldn’t. She couldn’t bear to see Sam so hurt, she couldn’t bear to even look at Harrison for doing that to her. And she couldn’t understand why she was feeling that way. Sure, it made sense that she’d hate seeing the girl she’d truly come to see as her sister so upset, but she should feel happy for herself too, right? But she didn’t. She felt angry and like this whole thing was just wrong, and she’d stormed off. Sam had come after her, tried to soothe her, but she’d blown past her and… she remembered seeing a bright light, hearing Sam screech her name and then it all just went black. Whatever it was, it had to have been horrible to put her into a coma. A part of her hated to know what it was, but the rest of her needed to know. She just hoped Sam would be able to tell her.

She set her tablet and mini tablet (a phone was what Holly had told her it was, but it looked nothing like any phone Brooke had ever seen) to the side and looked up just in time to see Sam enter through the main, sliding doors, looking around frantically to spot her. Brooke stood, waved to get attention, and when those eyes focused on her and Brooke saw the relief that just sagged through Sam’s body, the confusion only grew stronger and her heart clenched in her chest in a way it never had before, a smile spreading across her lips at the sight of her… sister.

“Hi Sammy,” she said, when she came closer. Though they had never really been huggy with each other, Brooke felt compelled to and leaned in, wrapping her arms around Sam and holding on tight. She was the one anchor Brooke had in this strange new world and for right now, she just wanted to cling to that.

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mcfierceson
2014-10-06 06:11 pm UTC (link)

Sam was juggling about three hundred different emotions at the moment. The most predominant of them was fear. Fear that something would happen to Brooke again before she could get to her. It was bad enough that there were monsters living in the city and that she had to protect herself. Now Brooke was here, and she knew she had to protect her too.

Then, after all that, she had to face the inevitable. Her accident. The reason she had been in a coma. Harrison. How convoluted and messed up their lives were long before they had both ended up in Portland somehow.

"Brookie?"

Sam was racing through the hospital in search of Brooke. It had worried her even more when Brooke had told her about the boys fighting, and she was now noticing what Brooke meant about the hospital being busy. It was almost too difficult to walk. What the hell was going on around here?

"BROOKE!" Finally, she caught sight of her and made a beeline in her direction. She had easily slipped into her hug the second she got close to her, and by that time, it was just impossible to hold back her tears. "God, Brooke, it's so good to see you."

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mcqueenbee
2014-10-06 06:31 pm UTC (link)

Okay, the tears meant it had been something bad. She could feel them soaking into the shoulder of her shirt, and she swallowed hard, trying to keep from panicking. What the hell had happened that night? Whatever it was must have been bad, and Brooke couldn't help the irritation that crept back up because she just couldn't remember.

"It's good to see you too, Sammy," she said, loosening her grip just enough so she could pull back and look at Sam. It felt like it had been both ages since she'd last seen and just yesterday, and she took a minute to just drink her in. "Come here, sit. Take a breath, okay?" She tugged Sam gently down to where she'd been sitting, patting the seat to her right. She wanted desperately to know what had happened, but she wanted Sam to be okay first.

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mcfierceson
2014-10-06 06:44 pm UTC (link)

Sam couldn't believe her own eyes. Physically, she knew Brooke was there in front of her, looking normal and healthy and not at all like that distorted image that often clouded her nightmares of the night she was hit by that car. But it was still so unbelievable. If wormholes into other dimensions could exist, then why couldn't Brooke McQueen?

"I-I-I-I just..." Sam sniffled and stuttered over her words. She was just as emotional as the day she had arrived here, except on that day she believed that Brooke was dead. Despite sitting beside her, Sam needed to know that Brooke was still there. Her hand continued to hold hers, a physical reminder of Brooke's presence. She wasn't sure she ever wanted to let it go. "I'm sorry. I just..."

She took a breath and stared up at the ceiling, trying to drive strength from somewhere. The place was still uncomfortably crowded, but all Sam could think about was Brooke. "I thought I was never going to see you again."

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mcqueenbee
2014-10-06 07:01 pm UTC (link)

Brooke pressed her lips together in a tight smile, patiently waiting while Sam got her breath and put her words together. It was strange for Brooke to see Sam so incoherent, struggling to speak. She was usually so confident, concise, in control. Just the fact that she'd reached out and made sure to continue to hold onto Brooke's hand showed Brooke how shaken Sam really was.

"I'm here," she assured her, her words firm. It was the only way she could think of to comfort and soothe Sam right now, when she so clearly needed it. "And I'm not going anywhere. Okay?" Her eyes focused in on Sam's, giving her a small smile meant to reassure her further. She gave Sam another few minutes to recover, watching her silently, her heart pounding in her chest. "Can you tell me what happened? Holly told me I was in a coma, but I don't... really remember anything."

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mcfierceson
2014-10-06 07:29 pm UTC (link)

Sam felt cold tears trickle down her cheek, and she shrugged them off in annoyance. It was true. Sam wasn't usually this wild, but then, she'd never seen anything like what she had seen that night. It took her a moment to calm down with only the thought that Brooke was here to settle her nerves. But the hardest part for her was still to come. How was she supposed to be the one to tell Brooke about what happened? Even though Sam was the one who always knew what to say, she couldn't come up with a single thing in that moment.

But she tried.

"You... ran out. You were so upset." Sam sniffled and looked away. It was hard to look at her now, even though she couldn't let go of her hand still. "You ran out into the middle of the street, and I followed you. And..." A breath. "You were hit by a car." A small sob. "It was Nicole. She looked crazy, and she hit you. And... God, I thought you had died..."

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mcqueenbee
2014-10-06 08:38 pm UTC (link)

Brooke had tried to prepare herself for the worst. She'd made a quick mental list of the sort of thing that could have happened to her when Holly informed her she'd been in a coma. The hologram hadn't seemed to have any details herself, so it had led Brooke to wonder for herself. So when Sam revealed she'd been hit by a car, it was a shock but a shock she was able to accept easily enough. What was harder to accept was the knowledge of who had hit her.

All Brooke could do was blink in response as she tried to process this new information. It had been a while since she and Nicole had gotten along well, and yes, Brooke hadn't taken too kindly to Nicole going out of her way to upset Sam by taking George to the prom. But for Nicole to retaliate like this? In a way that not only hurt her but hurt Sam and their friends and her family? It made her angry and her jaw clenched automatically. She hadn't realized Nicole hated her so much now, but maybe she shouldn't have been surprised. She had known Nicole for years, known that there was something wrong, maybe a screw or two loose. Maybe this was inevitable, but that didn't mean that underneath all that anger, it didn't still hurt. Just knowing that Nicole, someone she once believed to be her best friend, had done this to her? It really hurt.

"Well," she started, swallowing and giving Sam's hand a squeeze. She needed to power through this, for Sam's sake; there would be plenty of time to process and mope later, by the look of things. "I'm not dead. I'm here, with you. You don't have to cry." She gave Sam another smile, leaning in to touch her forehead to Sam's affectionately. "I'm okay."

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mcfierceson
2014-10-06 08:52 pm UTC (link)

Sam could hardly breathe. Her chest felt heavy as it tried to expand to let in some air. She realized she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, and that was something she just couldn't afford at the moment. Not only were they in a strange place with strange people, but violent things were starting to happen all around them. It was like the atmosphere was supercharged with hate, and it only served to suffocate Sam all the more.

She closed her eyes and held Brooke's hand tightly, trying to chant calming mantras quietly to herself in her mind. She needed to relax. She needed to push past this and find the strength to protect her and Brooke from the clutches of this evil place. "I know," she said after a moment. "I know you're not dead. I was just so scared, I..." She shook her head and gave Brooke another tight hug.

"Brookie," she murmured into her hair, "we need to get out of here."

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mcqueenbee
2014-10-06 09:05 pm UTC (link)

Somehow, she didn't know quite how, Brooke had managed to block out the awful suffocating feeling of this hospital. She had gotten caught in what had happened, in seeing Sam and trying to comfort her all at once that she'd lost sight of everything that was happening around her. But when she heard Sam in her ear, telling her they needed to get out of here, she tentatively lifted her head and was overwhelmed by the negative energy surrounding them. There were so many people here, so many angry people, and Sam was right. They needed to leave, now, and it was going to be a challenge to get through all these people.

She nodded slightly, standing and gathering the tablet and phone Holly had given her. "Did you...drive here?" she asked, hopefully. If the hospital was buzzing with this kind of energy, she could only imagine what public transportation would be like. "Where are you staying?"

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mcfierceson
2014-10-06 09:20 pm UTC (link)

There was no way that Sam could forget about this place, especially now that Brooke was here. She may have been lax in her own protection when she arrived here, but she made a vow right then and there in that hospital that she was going to learn as much as she could about this alternate universe Portland in order to keep Brooke safe. Not that she didn't trust Brooke to protect herself on her own, but there was no way she was going to leave that up to chance, especially not after she had gotten her back now.

Sam nodded and stood up when Brooke did. She dabbed at her swollen eyes with the pads of her fingers and didn't even want to think of the state of her makeup at the moment. Whatever. She would deal with it later. "Yeah, I have this, like, super tiny car. It's called a Fiat?" She shrugged and slipped her arm around Brooke's elbow. "Holly gave me an address when I got here. Didn't she give you one? I'm living in this house with this girl named Sookie. She's pretty nice, really southern, I think."

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mcqueenbee
2014-10-06 09:33 pm UTC (link)

Brooke held on tight when Sam slid her arm around her elbow. She didn't know her way around, and she trusted Sam's ability to get them through the crowd in one piece more than she trusted her own. With her luck lately, she'd bump into someone and be crucified for it. Right now, it certainly seemed like a possibility; everyone was so loud and angry and it was truly frightening.

"Actually, I think she did," she answered, reaching into her pocket for a key with a tag attached to it just as the stepped outside into the cool, night air. "2902 NW Raleigh St?" she questioned, hoping that sounded right. She wanted to be with Sam right now. She needed that familiarity and closeness. She hoped Holly hadn't just paired her with someone random.

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mcfierceson
2014-10-06 09:50 pm UTC (link)

Sam let out a sigh of relief. She had no idea she'd been holding her breath, waiting for Brooke to reveal her new house number. And really, even if she hadn't just said that address, she was still going to take Brooke home with her. There was no way she was leaving Brooke alone, not even for a second.

"Yeah, that's mine too." For the first time since Brooke arrived, Sam felt like she could actually smile. She was definitely overreacting the entire time. Sure the world was probably going to hell all around them, but the universe had somehow seen it fit to let Brooke McQueen live despite her accident. Sam had to be thankful for that at least.

It wasn't long before Sam led them both into the parking lot and toward her tomato red Fiat. It was flashy and way too small, but Sam sort of liked it. It actually fit with her personality quite well. "So what did Holly say? Just that you were in a coma? I mean... are you hurt or anything?"

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mcqueenbee
2014-10-06 10:05 pm UTC (link)

Brooke smiled, relieved to hear she was staying with Sam. Honestly, she probably wouldn't have gone where Holly had placed her if it wasn't with Sam anyway. It would be too strange; she was already hoping this girl, Sookie, that Sam had mentioned would be accepting of someone else just moving in with her. Sam claimed she was nice, and she was a good judge of character -- most of the time.

Her smile broadened when they came to Sam's car, which was strangely small and an extremely bright red. When Sam unlocked the door, even the interior seats were red, and Brooke couldn't help but think it suited Sam perfectly. She was quiet for a moment before she answered Sam's questions, trying to remember exactly what Holly had said. "There was some brain damage," she admitted, settling into the passenger side seat of Sam's car. "Nothing severe. She said it might cause some memory problems, but it's healed now. The coma helped it heal." She reached over to rest her hand over Sam's again, wanting that contact for another moment. "Other than that, she said I was scraped up pretty bad, but everything seems to have healed on its own. At least Nic didn't do too much damage, right?"

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mcfierceson
2014-10-08 04:44 pm UTC (link)

Sam's Fiat hummed to life as soon as she and Brooke had settled into their seats. The air turned on automatically and so did the radio, but Sam lowered it in order to continue the conversation she was having with Brooke. In fact, she hadn't even noticed that her radio had been on so loud on her way over. She must have been really concentrating on getting to the hospital that not even her ears were fazed by the pounding music.

"Nicole was drunk, Brooke," Sam blurted out. "She was in some sort of rage, and she hit you." Suddenly, her somber mood was turning into an angry one. Now that she knew -- that she was sure -- Brooke was alive and okay, she could allow herself to be eternally angry at Nicole. "She could have killed you, Brooke. She's a psychopath. And I swear to God if she even shows her skank ass bitch face around here, I will end her."

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mcqueenbee
2014-10-15 11:14 pm UTC (link)

The corner of Brooke's lips curved upward but she kept her head down while Sam raged on about Nicole. She appreciated Sam being so protective of her, and she was silently just as angry with Nicole herself. But it was a waste of energy right now. She was okay -- alive, anyway -- and Nicole wasn't here. Sam was here and Brooke just wanted to take comfort in that.

"I appreciate that, Sammy," she said softly, turning her head to look at Sam as she drove. "But don't work yourself up, okay? If Nicole turns up here, we'll deal with it then." It seemed the most reasonable and stress-free option. Given all the anger in the air, the last thing either of them needed was to succumb to it themselves.

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mcfierceson
2014-10-17 12:55 pm UTC (link)

It was too late for that. Sam had already worked herself up about it. Brooke didn't understand. She had been in a coma and hadn't been on the other end of things. She hadn't worried about whether someone she cared about was alive or dead. She hadn't worried what being sucked through a wormhole on her own would mean for the people back home. She didn't understand everything that Sam had gone through all because of that stupid Nicole.

"She better not show up here, unless she wants the wrath of Sam McPherson to come down on her. I mean, what the hell was she thinking? How does someone conceivably do something like that? They have to be crazy." It was hard for Sam to just let something like that go, even as they drove away from the hospital and en route to Sam and Brooke's new home. She sighed and just tried to relax despite herself. Brooke was right. She was here and alive and safe. Or safe as two regular humans could be in a city of supernaturals.

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