InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Does this unit have a soul?"

Isabel Lane Hemingway (isabellane) wrote in spinningcompass,
@ 2018-05-24 13:50:00

Entry tags:

~ernest hemingway, ~isabel lane

Who: Isabel and Ernest
Where: the food court
What: getting lunch
When: Thursday afternoon
Rating: likely low
Open: no
Status: ongoing
Isabel had decided when she woke up that this was going to be a buffet kind of day. At least for lunch. Her talk with Neville had gotten her back comfortable using magic again so it was pretty easy. Along one wall of the seating area she set up several tables. Food warmers and some ice buckets as needed were spread about. She had gone with a back home barbecue kind of lunch.

There were ribs, brisket, chicken, and pulled pork. The sides were corn on the cob, potato salad, coleslaw, chips, and baked beans. Sje also had several kinds of pie, chocolate cake, and banana pudding. It had taken her a while but everything was out and ready before noon.

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	isabellane 2018-05-26 08:26 pm UTC (link)
	Isabel nodded. "Yeah, he's going to be fine. It'll take some time. His new heart is stronger than his body is used to, but he's going to be okay." She smiled. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	papahemingway 2018-05-26 08:35 pm UTC (link)
	Ernest's expression brightened a little at her answer. "Then you did good, right? Took a risk and it paid off," he assured her, with an eager nod. "Don't beat yourself up for that, you had good intentions." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	isabellane 2018-05-26 08:39 pm UTC (link)
	Isabel allowed a real smile now. She reached over and patted his arm. "Thank you. Sometimes I forget to look at things that way." It was easy to let the bad take over sometimes. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	papahemingway 2018-05-26 08:45 pm UTC (link)
	Ernest smiled fondly back at her, and this time he didn't flinch when she touched his arm. "Yeah. An outside perspective can help," he nodded. "So what was next?" he asked, searching his short term memory and coming up short. "A fire?" he tried. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	isabellane 2018-05-26 08:48 pm UTC (link)
	"It does." She nodded. "Oh! That was part of the ridiculousness after the wish. I've apparently forghoten how to cook without using magic. I burned a few things." She chuckled. "I used to be really good at cooking but the magic helps so much." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	papahemingway 2018-05-26 08:53 pm UTC (link)
	"Ah, but surely it's the results that matter? And this food is incredible. So what if you didn't cook it like a muggle," he said without thinking, and then pulled a bit of a confused face. What was a muggle? Where had that come from? "Um... heh. Um. Okay, and... sharing a kid?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

isabellane
2018-05-26 09:01 pm UTC (link)

Isabel laughed softly. "That's very true." Hearing him say muggle was kind of cute. "And thank you." She nodded before taking a bite of her own food. "The kid, yes. Well..Bryn and I have been...special friends let's say." It was nicer than saying fuckbuddies. "And apparently at some point in the future she makes a wish.." She cleared her throat.

"I found out a while back that the only way I can get pregnant is if a wish is made. Apparently it doesn't matter who makes the wish. Brynhild mis biologically his parent and so am I. His name is Leif and he's a genie vampire hybrid." It still sounded so weird out loud.

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papahemingway
2018-05-26 09:32 pm UTC (link)

Ernest definitely quirked an eyebrow and smirked at her use of the term 'special friends', and he made a mental note to remember to mock her for that one later, when she wasn't in the middle of sharing some deeply personal shit.

As she kept talking he started to piece it together and he gave her a knowing nod. "Ah, okay. One of those complicated new family dynamics," he smiled. He was a biological father to four children, and an adoptive father to Charlie, but he'd been involved in the process right from the get go with all of them. So far. He wasn't sure how one coped when it was something so completely unexpected. He'd found the island version of Jack hard enough to cope with. "A... genie vampire hybrid? That's not something I ever thought I'd hear. How long has he been around?"

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	isabellane 2018-05-26 09:37 pm UTC (link)
	"I never thought it would happen but it did." She chuckled. "He's been on the station for a little over a month but apparently he grew up here." She shrugged. "He's a good kid. And already has a girlfriend." She chuckled. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	papahemingway 2018-05-26 09:39 pm UTC (link)
	"Well, I think we could say that about a lot of things around here," he smiled. "Good. Good, you sound pretty positive about it, I've got to say. How old is he?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	isabellane 2018-05-26 09:50 pm UTC (link)
	"He's 25 and he's wonderful, really. Over six feet tall. He's very much a viking." She chuckled. "And he's so smart. I could probably go on for hours." She blushed a little. "I honestly freaked out at first but when it's your kid, it's easy to get over the initial shick." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	papahemingway 2018-05-26 10:06 pm UTC (link)
	Ernest couldn't help but smile as she spoke about her unexpected son. It was a really heartwarming story once she got started on it. "He sounds great. I'll look forward to meeting him sometime," he said with sincerity. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	isabellane 2018-05-26 10:09 pm UTC (link)
	"He said he likes to help me in the kitchen so it'll probably be one of these days you come to get food." And she did hope that would happen again sooner rather than later. "Alrught, Ernest. Tell me what's going on with you. Besides Charlie being back. You said it's been ten years?" She sipped her tea. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

papahemingway
2018-05-26 10:20 pm UTC (link)

"Swell. That would be great," he told her with a broad smile that slowly disappeared again as she asked her question. He moved leftovers about on his plate for a quiet moment and then let his cutlery rest. He had been quite enjoying talking to Isabel about what was going on in her life, and he suspected that was also partly because it was a distraction from the elephant in the room that was clearly him.

"It's... complicated," he started, and then scoffed lightly at himself. Considering what she had just told him, it wasn't complicated at all.

"The short version is... got sent home, remembered this place, everyone thought I was crazy and tried to make me not crazy and I'm worried they might've broken something important in the process," he blurted out even to his own surprise.

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	isabellane 2018-05-26 10:24 pm UTC (link)
	Isabel just nodded and listened. She reached over and touched his arm again, this time leaving her hand there. "Sugar, I'm sorry." She squeezed his arm gently. "Is there any way I can help?" She hated the idea of him getting mistreated, especially since they thought it was for his own good. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

papahemingway
2018-05-26 10:29 pm UTC (link)

For once, the human contact didn't make his skin crawl. Actually, it was comforting, which he supposed was the desired effect.

He sighed a little and shook his head. "I don't think so. 'What is done cannot be undone'. And don't worry, I won't be making any risky or badly worded wishes. Or any wishes at all," he assured her. "I'm just not really sure who I am anymore," he added softly.

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	isabellane 2018-05-27 01:04 am UTC (link)
	"I wouldn't let you anyway. Brain is far too complicated to try fixing with magic. There are all kinds of ways that can go wrong." She nodded. She rubbed his arm a little. She looked at Ernest for a moment. "I'm guessing doctors are out of the question?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

papahemingway
2018-05-27 03:20 am UTC (link)

Ernest nodded, and smiled a little at the irony. "Too complicated to try fixing with electricity, either. If only someone could've told them that," he added. That was the sad thing - it had been completely legal to treat him that way, and they really seemed to believe that it was working.

He frowned and shook his head almost immediately when she mentioned doctors. "Hell no. Doctors got me into this mess in the first place," he reminded her.

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	isabellane 2018-05-27 03:25 am UTC (link)
	"People can be stupid sometimes." She sighed heavily. She then nodded. "Alright, no doctors. I'm sure between the two of us Charlie and I can help you at least start to feel somewhat like yourself." She patted his arm before pulling her hand back. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

papahemingway
2018-05-27 06:48 am UTC (link)

"Yeah, the logic behind it was... crazier than me," he said with a small smile. "I did get to see my kids, which is one positive even if it wasn't under the best circumstances," he added, just so it wasn't all doom and gloom.

He gave a sigh and an unconvinced nod. "I appreciate the gesture, but you really don't have to do that," he said, although he had a feeling she was going to knock that down. "And you've done plenty already. I don't mean just the food, although this was great. Before..." he didn't want to name it, but his tone should have given her a clue. "Thank you for not... holding it against me or sharing it all about town. I don't know that I ever said that."

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isabellane
2018-05-27 02:08 pm UTC (link)

"It's good that you got to see your kids." She nodded.

"I know I don't have to, I want to. It's something friends do." She smiled. She was quiet for a second, this time taking his hand. "We've all had dark days. Anybody that tells you they haven't is lying. People handle it differently." She squeezed his hand. "I'm glad I was able to help. And that..." She shook her head. "It takes a special kind of bitch to tell anyone about something like that."

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papahemingway
2018-05-27 05:45 pm UTC (link)

"Well, okay then. As long as you recognise a lost cause when you see one," he conceded. He wasn't saying that he was a lost cause - not yet - but he did hope she'd be able to see when it was time to give it up.

Ernest looked at the table top again, but he was taking in everything she was saying. This time, he turned his hand in hers and gave it a squeeze in return. "Well, Isa. I've known some real bitches in my time," he explained, with a bit of a smirk. "So I guess thanks for not being one of them, in that case."

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	isabellane 2018-05-27 05:49 pm UTC (link)
	"When I see one, I'll let you know." She smiled softly. Her expression softened a bit. "You're welcome." She wasn't sure what else to say to that. She looked at their hands a moment. "Do you think you could handle a hug?" She wouldn't be offended if he said no, baby steps and all that. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

papahemingway
2018-05-27 08:00 pm UTC (link)

Ernest smiled despite himself, and it came a little easier this time. He gave her a nod of acceptance when she responded to his thanks.

He hadn't expected her to ask that, and just for a second the surprise must've shown on his face. He thought about, though. He knew he could trust her, didn't he? She hadn't told anyone about the gun, she hadn't pushed the point about the doctors, he could trust her.

After a moment, he gave her a nod of consent. "Sure. As long as it isn't a 'pity hug'," he added, although he didn't think it was really. "Then sure, that'd be good actually."

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isabellane
2018-05-27 08:04 pm UTC (link)

She was actually expecting a no when she saw the shock on his face, but was glad when it faded. "I don't do pity hugs." She smiled and got up, coming around to him. Rather than waiting for him to stand, she leaned down and wrapped her arms around him from behind, resting her chin on his shoulder.

"Any time you need me, doesn't matter when, I'm just a phone call away, okay?"

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