Charlie knew that watching the Arena wasn’t a good idea but, since he’d been back at home, he’d found it hard to drag himself away from it. At first he’d just wanted to know that Hope was alright, that she hadn’t been too messed up by what she’d witnessed when he’d opened that fucking box, but it had become a bit of an obsession for him. He found himself checking his tablet whenever he got the opportunity and, when he returned home for the day, he had taken to installing himself on the couch in front of the tv, often falling asleep there in the early hours of the morning.
He was pretty sure he knew what it was about it that had sucked him in. When he’d woken up in Medical, he’d felt a horrible sense of guilt, that he’d gotten out while the others were still stuck there, watching their friends and family being picked off one by one with no idea that they were all, in fact, safe and well again in Atlantis. He felt that, by watching the live feed, he was somehow doing penance - sharing the burden. No doubt the therapists would have a field day with him when he finally disclosed that little nugget.
He’d been watching the feed for about two hours already when he heard a key in the lock at the front door of his house.
“Shit,” he muttered, hastily sitting up on the couch and putting out his cigarette in his discarded pizza box before trying to straighten up the disarray around him. God, he was a terrible housemate.
Wendy had stopped to grab some food for her and Charlie on the way home. She figured her roommate hadn’t eaten properly and well, what kind of roommate would she be if she didn’t take care of hers? A terrible one, that’s what she would be.
“Charlie?” she called out as she walked in, hearing the TV on. She sighed and shook her head lightly. She hated watching the arena. She was forever grateful for the team who managed to be able to switch it off so not even the children would have to watch it. She had been working nonstop at the daycare, working extra hours so the children would be away from such horrible thing. Children -- or anyone, really -- did not have to watch that.
“I brought some food,” she said with a smile when she saw him on the couch.
“Oh, thanks,” he replied, kicking the pizza box under the couch so she wouldn’t see that he’d already eaten. Not that it really mattered. He could eat again. It never failed to amaze him how large his appetite was when he wasn’t using.
“How was Daycare?” he asked, lifting his hands to run through his already messy hair.
“You’re welcome,” she said softly, smiling at him. “I was in the mood for some Thai,” she said. It amazed her how much food variety they had here compared to her world.
“It was good. A little less crowded since children can be safely at home without having to watch that,” she said, nodding her head to the tv. “How was your day?”
Charlie glanced back at the picture when Wendy nodded at the tv. He knew she didn’t like watching the arena feed and had been working tirelessly to keep the kids in their community away from it. He picked up the remote control and, although he couldn’t bring himself to turn it off, muted the sound.
“Yeah, fine,” he shrugged, standing up so he could help her grab plates and cutlery from the kitchen. “The shop’s dead at the moment,” he added, although he immediately winced at his choice of words.
Wendy was a little touched by the gesture of muting the sound. She watched the arena feed every now and then -- curiosity and all --, but it was certainly not her favorite thing to watch. And she appreciated Charlie’s gesture.
She thanked him when he went to help her with the food. “I imagine. Everyone’s busy trying to get everyone out of the arena,” she said. “I’m glad you got out,” she said softly. Even if he had to die to do it, she was happy to have him back in Atlantis.
Charlie felt the familiar pang of guilt when Wendy pointed out that he’d managed to get out. He didn’t feel like he deserved to be back in Atlantis while everyone else was still stuck in the arena. He hadn’t done anything except wander around in circles and get lost. If it hadn’t been for whatever magic had pulled him back to Atlantis, he would have just been dead and no one would have been at all surprised.
“Thanks,” he said, making sure not to show what he was really feeling. “I hope the rest get out soon. Alive.”
“They will,” she said with calm assurance. She hadn’t been in Atlantis for that long, but she knew people here care for one another and they wouldn’t let anything bad happened to anyone. They would do whatever it took to get everyone out of the arena unharmed.
“What would you like to drink?” she asked as she walked over to the fridge.
Charlie wished he shared Wendy’s certainty. However, he’d got the distinct impression, when he’d turned up in Medical, that no one had been expecting any of the people who’d “died” to make it back alive before they’d suddenly popped up. If that was the case and their side wasn’t really in control at all, wasn’t it just a case of crossing all their fingers and hoping for the best? That didn’t seem a very reliable method for recovering the missing people in his opinion.
“Oh, anything,” Charlie replied, trying to assuage the hopeless feeling that was gnawing away at his insides. “Coke or something.”
Wendy tried to always be positive, even if the situation might look bad. Some people might find it a little annoying, perhaps, but she didn’t care. She had to try and find the good things in every situation, no matter how bad it was.
She nodded and grabbed two cokes for them. She had to admit drinks and food had really improved over the years. Everything was so tasty now, compared to the food from where she was from. “Let’s go eat,” she said with a soft smile, taking both plates and the drinks to the living room.