Jonathan Reznick-Quinn (rezidentsk8er) wrote in tiberiusswann, @ 2012-04-22 14:03:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | hope, rez, river |
Saturday - May 8th, 2009
Who: Rez, River, Hope, and Ethan
When: Night
Where: A gated nature preserve off campus then the TJS infirmary
What: Shifting and science
Everything was set. Of course Rez's elaborate plan had been tossed out the window once he had spoken with Hope who had come up with an idea that was smarter and safer for all parties involved. Still, that didn't make tonight any less scary, especially since he would be out of it and wouldn't know how things had gone until the morning. River could be dead by the time he changed back, or undead anyway, and there would be nothing he could do to help her through it. But this was how it had to be. The pen was set up with the divider in the center. Ethan would be on one side and Rez on the other. This was a precaution he had wanted to take just in case he didn't react well to the smell of his son, though that was doubtful. Hope and River were both there along with a member of security who had the tranquilizer gun ready. Now they just had to wait until time for the moon to go down.
"You nervous?" He asked River, hands moving to slide up and down her arms. He hated that she had insisted on being here for this part, but she had, and so she was. Of course if all went according to plan, she would be shifting like he was about to come the next full moon too so she should get used to it. He was definitely nervous. He was worried about how things would go with Ethan and him once they shifted, worried about how things would turn out for River, and he hated being tranquilized. He hadn't forgotten the last time which had left him feeling worse than dog shit the next day but... necessary evil. At least this way she was guaranteed safe from being ripped to shreds by him on accident.
~~~
River looked at the pen and it made her feel very uncomfortable, she didn't want her son in there like he was an...animal but he was about to turn into one and he needed to be safe. So she said nothing, her and Rez had fought about her seeing him shift but she needed to see this, this was going to be her life. she glanced at the vampire nearby and then back at Rez when he spoke to her. "Yeah I am really nervous." She said and then threw her arms around him, her body shaking just a little. "I want to do this but I am scared out of my mind about after..." She looked into his eyes and kissed him hard. "Are you going to be okay being tranquilized and stuff?" She asked softly. "Is Ethan going to be okay? I don't want him to be scared."
~~~
Rez was so used to River being the strong one. She was always so unflappable, always so hard to really upset, and that made seeing her like this so much harder. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and held her to him. "Shh, it's all gonna be okay," he assured her, though even he was terrified. The kiss was sweet, tender even, and he smiled as she pulled away. "It's a low dose. I'll wake up in an hour or two and then I'll be with Ethan. It'll be fine. I'll take good care of him, okay?"
~~~
River was always strong, she had to be but tonight she wasn't feeling strong, she was feeling weak and terrified. "I'm sure it is." she said softly as she buried her face in his hair. "Okay okay...a low dose...you will be okay?" She asked softly as her fingers slid through his hair. "You sure you will be okay to take care of him?" River was more scared for their son than herself, Ethan had cried for over an hour today because he didn't want to turn into a dog again and hurt someone. She had tried to get him to understand his father would be there for him this time but the little boy was terrified.
~~~
Physically, at least here lately, he had been the strong one, but emotionally speaking, she had always had that in spades. Tonight it was his turn. "I will be. I promise." He smiled at her, turning his head to catch her wrist with a soft kiss. "He'll stay in the pen until after I'm awake and coherent. The guard will be here the whole time. And after they're sure that we're okay together, they'll let us out and we will scavenge and play and he will be just fine. I promise you." Ethan was terrified. And it pained Rez to see him that way too. If he could take it from him, he would, but all he could do was take care of him, guide him. That's what he needed the most. "I would never let anything happen to our son, River. You know that."
~~~
River nodded and swallowed hard. "Okay if you say so." She said softly and then smiled slightly. "Sorry I'm kind of freaking out." River hated not being calm and collected but there was really no way to keep herself calm about this. She as going to lose her humanity, become something more. She chewed on her lip and looked at Rez, her cheeks flushed. "I know you won't let anything happen to him...I'm just...overly worried plus you know how he's been all day." River didn't want to let Rez go, but she knew he had to because he was going to shift.
~~~
"It's okay, baby." Rez smoothed his hands through her dark hair. "This is scary. I know it is. But tomorrow, everything will be better." He glanced over at Ethan when River mentioned how he had been today, and still, he looked like he was going to start crying any minute now, watching the evening sky with terror in his eyes. "Come here, little man." He gestured to him. When he finally came over to them, he leaned down to scoop him up and hold him between River and himself. "Look at mommy. She's all worried about us. But that's silly, ain't it? We're gonna be just fine. We're gonna go out and play and run and have fun together, aren't we?" He stroked his fingers through the kid's mop of hair. "We're big boys, right? We're all good." He smiled and Ethan nodded somewhat uncertainly. "Wanna give mommy a kiss before we go get ready?"
~~~
River smiled at Rez and then nodded. "Tomorrow will be better I know." She took a shaky breath and then watched Ethan as he tried to overcome his fear and then as he ran to Rez, smacking hard into him. He looked at his mother and the nod was uncertain but he didn't want his mother scared. River smiled at the little boy who now attached himself to her. "It's okay baby...give me a kiss so you can play with daddy." She said softly as she kissed his forehead. "You don't need to be upset, daddy's here to help you this time, show you what to do."
~~~
This moment was almost sweet, if it wasn't for knowing all the things that were gonna happen afterward. "It's gonna be fun," he assured Ethan, giving him and River their moment before he leaned in to steal a kiss from the woman. "Everything is gonna be perfect," he added, and then he pulled away and offered to take Ethan from her. "Come on little man. It's about that time." The boy was reluctant to let go of River, but he knew he had to, and he wanted to be strong and be a big boy for his daddy. "See you in the morning," he winked at River, trying to act like this was just like any other night.
River hugged her arms around herself, watching her son being that upset was killing her. She glanced at Hope when the boys started to change, River had never seen anything like this before in her life. The sounds of their bodies, the pain...she wanted to cover her ears and scream to make it stop but if they had to endure it she could watch without flinching; this would be her life in a month after all.
River stepped closer to the pens, no one stopped her. She wasn't trying to touch them she just wanted to see them closer. The little one whined and even pawed at her through the pen but it was the bigger one she was more wary of. She looked at him and bit her lip, this would be her in a month's time...it was all overwhelming and terrifying...but she wasn't going to turn away from it. This was how she was going to survive.
~~~
"We should probably get this over with," Hope suggested. "The longer we wait, the more agitated he's going to become about being locked up." She offered River a smile and then added, "It's going to be fine." She then gestured toward the guard who aimed the gun at the larger hyena who had began scratching at the ground, trying to find an out. He narrowed his eyes as he made sure the creature was in his sights and then squeezed the trigger.
The dart hit with an unexpected bit of force and Rez whimpered, pawing at the dart piercing his skin. He started to stagger, just a little at first, but then it became more pronounced, and finally he fell to the ground, out like a light.
"Okay," Hope said. "Let's make this quick." She moved to enter the pen, syringe in hand, and crouched down next to Rez. Adjusting his head so she could get to his saliva glands, she easily pierced one and filled the attached vile. He didn't stir at all. She pocketed the vile and then stood, exiting the pen, door closed behind her.
~~~
River glanced back at the vampire and then chewed on her lip as she nodded. She made a small sound of surprise when he was shot, it wasn't like she didn't know it was coming but still it was startling. Ethan on the other hand was going crazy, crying and trying to get to the other hyena. River swallowed hard and then watched Hope as she took the saliva and tried not to think about the fact she was going to inject her with it.
"Is this going to hurt me? I mean more than getting a needle does...is this going to cause a reaction in me right away?" River asked as she stepped up next to Hope. She had no idea how any of this worked so she really wanted to know what she was in for tonight.
~~~
"I don't know," Hope admitted. "That's why we're taking precautions by doing this at the infirmary." As they spoke, the guard moved to remove the divider between the two pens so that the smaller hyena could get to the larger one. He ran over and began to sniff at him, to lick him, trying to nudge him awake.
"He won't be out long," Hope remarked. "Do you.. wanna wait until he wakes up?" The plan had been to get the saliva and go and leave the guard to take care of releasing the pair of them but River looked so worried that she thought she should ask if that would be preferable. The saliva could keep for the moment.
~~~
River chewed on her bottom lip and nodded at Hope's words. "Okay.." She stayed quiet as she watched Ethan trying to wake up his father and it hurt her because she knew he was confused. River looked up at Hope and nodded slightly. "I mean I can't help them but just getting up and walking away doesn't seem right...if that's okay I know you are probably a very busy woman." River said softly as she stepped closer to the pen, smiling slightly when Ethan sniffed the air and then ran to her, licking her fingers and then back to the Rez.
~~~
"I understand," Hope said softly, and she moved to give River some space, walking back to take a seat on a nearby tree stump to wait for the lycan to wake up and take care of the little one. She couldn't help but smile watching the woman and the child together. Even like this, it was clear that they loved one another. And she found it quite admirable that she was willing to put herself through this for the sake of her children. But that didn't mean she wasn't envious. She was. She'd wanted more than anything to be a mother but that dream was long gone now. Still, that didn't mean that it didn't hurt to think about still.
Eventually, Rez in his shifted state began to stir. He moved a paw up to bat at the place where the dart had been. Hope had removed it from his neck when she was in the pen. He felt the nose of the little hyena snuffing at him and he made a sound, a soft reassurance that he was going to be okay. Eventually he got his feet back under him and he sniffed the smaller one to make sure that he was safe before licking him.
~~~
River gave Hope a thankful smile and just waited for Rez to wake up. It really didn't take long at all before she saw him start to stir and she smiled at Ethan's excited reaction and Rez's caring one. "Okay boys...mommy is going to go get herself fixed up, i will see you both in the morning...I love you." River turned her head and looked at Hope. "I'm ready now, they have each other, so I guess it's time to go inside and do this...see if it saves my life or not." She said before trying to stand, wincing and needing to use the pen to help her get up.
~~~
River got a cackle in response to what she had to say to him. That was his way of letting her know that he'd heard her. And now he was ready. He was ready to get moving. And he was already on his feet now, yet again trying to sniff a way out when River grabbed hold of the pen to get herself to her feet. Ethan ran her way first, but Rez soon followed, and while her hand was still grasping the pen, he nuzzled his face against it and made a soft noise.
Seeing this, Hope made a decision that she hoped she wouldn't regret. The plan had been to let them out after they were safely away, but she thought that was probably unnecessary at this point. "You can go ahead and open the door if you want, let them run free for a bit. I'm sure they'll take care of each other."
~~~
River laughed softly when he nuzzled her and then bit her lip. "Love you too." She said as she got to her feet and then looked at Hope with surprise, she hadn't expected them to be let out before they were gone but it didn't bother her, just a surprise. River watched as one of the security men opened the door to the pen, letting out a small chuckle when Ethan beelined out and started bouncing around everywhere. Human or hyena the kid was hyper as hell. She kept her eyes on Rez when he started to leave the pen and her heart tightened, she had never helped him with this, she hadn't been there...river felt guilty about it eventhough she knew Rez would have never let her near him before.
~~~
Hyenas could be vicious as hell when provoked, but right now, Rez didn't feel that way. He felt protective of his young, but since no one there made any moves toward the little one, he ignored them and even kind of avoided them as he came out to go reign the little one in, nipping at the back of his neck to show that he was in charge and to get his attention. He then let out a cackle and Ethan answered it, the pair of them taking off into the woods without any further ado.
"He's getting better," Hope remarked. Rez had been a student here for a long time and she knew the issues he had struggled with and she could honestly say that she saw a lot of improvement just then. "Come on. Let's go... make you well." At least she hoped that was what was going to happen. She left the guard there in charge of keeping a look out for any issues with the two hyenas and led the way out through the gate that surrounded the property to where the cars were parked. River would ride with her back to the school, to the infirmary, and from there, they would see how things went.
~~~
River watched the two of them as they ran off, a smile on her lips. "Be safe boys." She said before turning to look at Hope. "Is he? This isn't something he's ever shared with me...until Ethan shifted...and I worry a lot about him." She followed Hope to the car, and got inside, happy to be sitting down again. "Fingers crossed that this works...I'm so tired of feeling like I'm not going to wake up tomorrow. The full moon took a really long time to get here." The woman said softly and then bit her lip. "I'm sorry I have a tendency to babble about things when I'm nervous." River said softly.
~~~
"He is," Hope replied. "He seems to have more.. awareness now than he did before." That was the biggest issue that Rez had dealt with. And it wasn't uncommon, or so she had been told. Most lycanthropes had similar issues. She started up the car and then put it into gear, smiling over at the other woman. "It's fine. I understand. I've been there." She exhaled a soft laugh. "I didn't become a vampire by accident. It was a choice. Like yours." She shrugged.
~~~
River glanced at Hope and then bit her lip. "I'm glad he's doing better...he's a lot stronger than he gives himself credit for." She said softly as she glanced around at the campus. River had never been here before, only staying in the apartment basically. "Your school is actually really beautiful." She said softly and then looked over at Hope. "You became one by choice...really?" River asked curiously. "Was it because you were sick too?" She asked as she picked at the knee of her jeans, pulling out a loose thread.
~~~
Hope hadn't realized that this was her first trip to the campus until she said something about it. "Oh.. yeah, it is. I mean.. the architecture along is.. really nice though some people find it somewhat creepy." She exhaled a soft laugh. But this was an old asylum, after all, so that wasn't all that shocking. "I was, yes. Cancer." She smiled a little. "I didn'
~~~
t think of the whole.. lycanthropy thing though. I wish I had." If she had it to do over, she would have tried this route first. She pulled up in front of the infirmary and then killed the ignition, climbing out and waiting for River to join her to lead the way.
~~~
"It is creepy but that's part of what makes it so beautiful...I have a weird definition of attractive I guess...I mean look at who I've been in love with my whole life." River laughed softly and then sighed. "I'm only kidding, I realize you don't know me so I wanted to make sure you got that." Once the car was stopped River took a deep breath and pulled herself from the vehicle, tonight was becoming harder and harder. She had taken morphine before all of this, so her pain was okay but her body was giving out she could feel it. "We don't have to go to far do we?" She asked as she walked towards the doors.
~~~
Hope quirked a brow slightly and then she laughed. "Ah, okay." She paused and then added, "Wesley's mine. You've not met him, I'm sure, but you're bound to at some point in time so.. I get it." She smirked. Hope hadn't even though about the walk to the room until River mentioned it and then she looked at her and frowned a little. "Tired?" She asked. "It's not much further. I can go get a wheelchair for you if you need, if you don't think you'll be able to make it."
~~~
River smiled at her and then slid her hands through her hair to pull it back from her face. "Wesley huh? Sounds lovely." She smiled and then sighed at the idea of a wheelchair. "I...I'd rather try to walk myself." She said with a frown and then followed Hope down the hall. "I will probably lie down the second I see a bed but I will make it down the hall." River smiled at Hope and then sighed. 'Rez likes to tell me I'm stubborn, you know I think he might be right about that." She chuckled.
~~~
"He is lovely," Hope replied, a sort of dreamy smile upon her lips. "And a bit of a disaster as well." She laughed. "But I love him." She gave a small shrug of her shoulders. "I understand,. I've been considered stubborn myself by many." She grinned. "The room is just there." She pointed at the door they were headed to. "And then you can rest for the night." Hopefully. She wasn't sure how this was going to go but... she had to have faith that it would go okay, and that regardless of how it went, she could handle it.
~~~
River smiled at the look on Hope’s face when she mentioned Wesley. “There is something about that bit of a disaster…Rez has always been one too and I don’t know I love everything about him, even the messy parts.” She walked into the room when Hope pointed it out and sat on the edge of the table and just looked at her. “So now I guess you inject me with that and see how it goes?”
~~~
"It makes him real, keeps things interesting." Hope wasn't really sure how else to describe it. But River got it. She was sure she did. Once they were in the room, Hope busied herself getting things ready for what was about to take place. "Well first, you should put those on," she nodded toward a pair of comfy scrubs that she had set aside to fit the woman. "And make yourself comfortable in the bed. I am going to hook a few monitors up to you, just so I have a visual of how you're responding to it, and then we'll inject it."
~~~
“Yeah it does.” She said with a smile and then glanced over at the scrubs with distaste. River had practically her own line of them at her regular hospital but she wasn’t going to refuse, it was better if she put them on. Not being a shy girl she just just started to strip and put on the scrubs, rolling up the cuffs because River wasn’t that all. Then she made herself very comfortable in the bed. “Oh yay monitors, sorry I’m not trying to be rude…I’m sure you understand how much I hate hospital stuff by now.”
~~~
Hope was busy getting things ready so she didn't really pay any regard to the fact that the other woman changed in front of her. She glanced over at her when she spoke and smiled. "I actually prefer hospitals, or laboratories at least, but I understand." It was different being on the other side of things. And she had been there. She had been poked and proded and she could understand why she wouldn't like that. "But it will all be worth it before too long," she said, making sure she was settled before she started to hook up the monitors to her. Once she had all the data she needed streaming from the other woman, she prepped the syringe for injection. "Are you ready?"
~~~
River chewed on her bottom lip as Hope puttered around the room, her bravado was just about gone, she was downright scared and she didn’t have Rez’s hand to hold on to. Of course she lived five years without his hand but it didn’t mean she still didn’t want him there everytime something scared the hell out of her. “As ready as I will ever be I guess.” She said softly and then bit her lip again to keep herself focused.
~~~
"I'm sorry he can't be here with you." It was almost as if Hope could read her mind. Though that was the case sometimes when it came to her empathy. She could feel what others were feeling and she was usually a good judge of the cause of the emotions. "But he'll be here in the morning, I'm sure. As soon as he's shifted back. So we'll just take care of this and then, hopefully, you can get some sleep." Hope checked the monitors again to see where things where and then she loaded the syringe, taking the woman's arm and turning it so that she could find a vein and inject the saliva. She of course noticed a slight increase in heartrate, but that was to be expected, due in large part to fear. But aside from that, everything seemed normal for the moment and that part was finished. Now all they had to do was wait.
~~~
River felt her cheeks go pink and she let out a breath. “I can survive without him…but I do feel better when he’s here.” She said with a slight smile. “He will be here as soon as he shifts I know he will.” She cleared her throat and then watched as Hope picked up the needle. River watched it slid into her arm and then felt a rush going through her body and a slight ache starting deep inside. “Well that feels…weird.”
~~~
"Weird how?" Hope asked, watching her closely. Her cheeks were flushed and her respiratory rate was picking up slightly, but so far, no red flags. She seemed physically fine for the moment, no sudden and violent bad reaction, but it would be a long night keeping an eye on her. She had promised she would do it though, and she would. So she pulled a chair up near the bed and had a seat.
~~~
River frowned slightly. “I just felt like a rush, kinda like a drug rush almost and now I have an ache…probably around where my kidneys are actually.” She swallowed and just closed her eyes. “I might fall asleep on you Hope, I’m sorry that this might be kind of boring for you tonight.” At least River hoped it would be kind of boring and not something overly dramatic.
~~~
Hope listened to what she said, nodding her head, and considered it. "That's... good, probably." Pain usually accompanied healing and if the virus was working its way through her like they hoped it would there was a good chance it would settle in that area and go to work at making repairs. "If you want to sleep, sleep. I have plenty to do to keep myself busy." She didn't have to stay right here by her bedside to keep an eye on her, after all. The monitors were all capable of giving a remote feed to a mobile unit that she could keep on her while she headed into the infirmary lab to do some work.
~~~
River nodded and then rolled onto her side, hugging the pillow slightly. “Okay that…okay.” She felt kind of hazy as she started to drift off to sleep, hoping that in the morning things would be different…that she would be different and feel a million times better; otherwise she was going to have to get chomped on by a vamp and she really didn’t want to do that just quite yet.
~~~
"Just rest, okay?" Hope encouraged her, a smile upon her lips. She waited for a long moment, watching the monitors and River to make sure that she seemed stable before she moved to her feet and grabbed the remote unit so that she could head to the lab. She was going to take a second look at River's creatinine results from earlier as well as delve further into her medical history. She had a feeling that this was going to be a slow process toward healing but she was willing to do what she could to help. That's why she was here, after all.