Commander (the_commander) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-01-19 11:30:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, alex summers (havok), commander tyra shepard |
How the heck are you, Ma’am?
Who:Alex and Shepard
Where: the hospital
What: Alex meets Shepard. Hilarity and seriousness ensue
When: During the outbreak.
Warnings/Rating: PG-13
Status
Alex was resting in the cafeteria, unsure of what he was doing next. He was offshift in a few minutes, and he had left his truck here, so he might just give the keys to the unit to Dave and head home. On the other hand, he could drive back to the station, get some more roast beef and brownies and just sleep there. Life had been pretty crazy lately.
And the dogs were both there, anyway, darn it. that was right. he had to go back there. He groaned as he picked up his coffee and started out of the cafeteria, wandering toward the elevator, tired and really pondering sleeping here for an hour. If there was any floor space left. Ugh. Stupid virus.
Shepard still hadn’t been given a room. She was on a gurney in a hallway, fingers twitching from in action, and still on oxygen. Stubbornly, she was sitting up, propped back against the wall and glaring daggers into the opposite one. A marine symbol was tattooed on one shoulder, and a red and black logo with the characters ‘N7’ on the other.
Alex glanced up and halted when he saw her, eyes wide. “Well, I’ll be. I haven’t seen another jarhead in here recently.” He grinned, letting one side of his jacket down to reveal his own tattoo, black ink instead of normal, and ‘SF 071’ in the middle.
He grinned a little. “How the heck are you, Ma’am?” Instantly assume the other person was a higher rank. A practice he always did. He’d been a colonel in the end.
Tyra gave him a tired smile. "Been better. Been worse. Trying to not let this thing kick my ass." Her rank in the Systems Alliance had been similar to the US Marine Lt. Colonel rank, or the Lt. Commander rank in the Navy. She'd been on her way to earning O-6 when she'd taken early retirement instead. She didn't regret that choice.
Alex nodded. “I know that feeling. Not this sickness, but got the whooping cough while stationed in the hot zone. Took forever to get unsick.” he shivered. Some definite bad times. He refocused on her, and nodded. “But you’ll beat this. Can’t let it take out a marine, not here, not anywhere. And I hear they may have a cure coming down the pipe. “
he nodded, admiring her looks, even in the situation, but doing so without scanning her with his eyes. That was a little too disrespectful. even for him.
“Some people think I can beat anything.” Shepard laughed, the sound rough in her chest. “So I don’t plan on disappointing them.”
“Good on you. And anyone who doubts you, let em know that until you get better, you have at least one marine around who will help you kick their asses.” He nodded. He wasn’t chivalrous or chauvinistic, but he’d carried men and women soldiers alike slung across his shoulders from enemy territory. No one was left behind, or alone. period.
“What do you do these days, to keep from going mad?”
“You mean when I’m not in a hospital? I work with an old friend, helping out kids. It’s a place called Urdnot Ranch.” Shepard shifted. Her ass was starting to hurt.
Alex nodded. “You work with Scott?” Then he spotted her movement. “You okay?” His voice and demeanour shifted from chatting to professional in a moment.
“Summers? Yeah.” She nodded her head. “Yeah, I’m fine, just got stuck in one position for too long. You know us jarheads, we’re too stubborn for our own damn good.”
Alex nodded. “Feel up to walking down to the end of the hall and back. There’s some really nasty coffee there?” He grinned. It wasn’t nearly as bad as what he had tasted in boot. He held out a hand to her. “Scott’s my brother.”
“Go figure. Small world.” She shook his hand. “I’ve made harder slogs. Lets do this.” With more effort than it looked, she got out of the bed and braced herself on it.
Alex offered her his shoulder, as he would any other soldier, male or female. “Sounds about right. Where’d you serve?” Not that it mattered, but he was always curious. As they started out, he glanced around and back at her, hoping she would find this walk a good one.
"Wherever I was asked," she replied, smiling. "Most of which I can't really talk about. I've seen my share of desert, and a couple of other places." She remembered the day she'd been recruited, not to the Marines, but from the Marines. Some day, she hoped Anderson dreamed too. The parallels with the Systems Alliance and the Spectres wouldn't be lost on him.
Alex nodded. Her answer made sense to him. Serving in the special forces meant you really never got to say much. He could talk about some things, but only not important stuff. He smiled a little. He was wondering if she was a dreamer too. His dreams of the X-Men made his life a lot odder and more parrallel with both.
"Wish I could say half the stuff I've done was as interesting as what I've dreamed I've done," Shepard muttered. Then she shook her head. "I take that back. It was far too interesting. Mundane is nice.”
“I was going to say. My dreams are crazy weird, and I’ve only had a few of them, though over and over. I frankly don’t want to know more, not yet, not about that really depressing world.” He nodded. Alex’s dreams were plain and simple fucked.
“If it’s anything like what your brother described,” Shepard said. “Then I don’t blame you. Mine are no picnic either. I don’t think anyone really gets happy dreams. At least not without going through a dark tunnel first.”
Alex nodded. “He probably knows even worse stuff. I’ve had eight dreams spanning several decades, and frankly, if I never had another, i would be fine.” he shuddered. “Our lives suck, over there.”
“It’s like an entire life, an entire career. From what he described, you were practically at war. So were we.” Their destination was just in reach. She’d be glad for it. Just moving took an incredible amount of effort. “Extinction seems to be a common theme.”
Alex nodded. “Yeah, I get that impression. And I was. I even was at war in space. Freaking space war, between two empires and me with my little ship and crew trying to set right what went wrong, until the bastards nuked the one chance at true peace there was.” He sighed, tired of even thinking of the war.
Shepard raised an eyebrow. “Space war? That’s something I can understand. One ship against the universe. I’d give you a fist bump but I’d fall over.” He had automatically become Bro.
He grinned. “It was spectacular, except the part where it wasn’t. And no falling over. then I’d have to carry you, and I’d somehow end up feeling your butt or something and you’d kill me and since I am against me being killed, we can’t do that.” He nodded.
"My wife would kill you for me, if I don't beat her to it." Shepard sounded amused, more than upset at the idea. "Fine, no falling over. Lets have some really terrible coffee."
Alex chuckled. “I’d make a comment about almost being worth it, but I try to be a little more classy than that with fellow marines.” He nodded and led the way into the coffee area, heading to pour them some cups. “Take a load off.”
She sat down heavily, taking the cup of coffee gratefully and sipping at it. It really was terrible. She made a face. “You never knew my crew. Classy didn’t enter into it.” At least her Normandy crew could be classy. Almost. Maybe.
“Mine back oversees were pretty out there. Special forces and we didn’t ever go where the rest were, so things got a little wild.” He chuckled, remembering them. And wishing he was still back there, a little. “I miss it, sometimes.” He sat, and sipped his coffee, making a face.
“I know the feeling. Figured I couldn’t keep serving a country that put down who I was, though. At least not like that. I still serve, just in a more..unofficial capacity.” She took another sip. “Fuck that’s terrible.”
Alex nodded. “I’m sorry. That is one of the more annoying things about this country.” He nodded. “I work as a firefighter these days.” He laughed at her words. “Yeah. it is really bad. Almost as bad as in boot.”
“Nothing beats boot camp,” she acknowledged, chuckling. “Except this one scottish doctor I met. What she made could better be described as sludge. Solid sludge. Powerful stuff.”
Alex laughed and nodded. “There’s always someone. Coffee is like wine. It falls to the level of the badness put into it.” He shuddered. “Some mornings lately I could have used that.”
She nodded her head in understanding. She wanted to talk about happier things, though. “Got any plans, aside from rescuing damsels from burning buildings?”
He laughed. “Taking some down time after this. Half my station was out with the flu and I have been working almost nonstop, sleeping at the station between awake shifts. I’m going to find a friendly person and try to make some fun memories that don’t involve getting burned or watching people die.”
Then he grinned. “Might go swimming. Or parasailing.” He nodded.
“You?”
“Exercise until I drop. I hate feeling inactive.” Shepard laughed, marveling at how much like a frog she sounded. “Take care of marital duties.” Those little blue babies she was probably never going to have.
He chuckled, and nodded. “Always good. I hope it goes very well. I might actually hunt down my brother and play poker with him. Scary as that always is.” Just because.
"Win his pants for me. Those nice jeans he likes to wear."
Alex laughed. “I’ll do my best. That boy almost cheats, sometimes. But I’ll try.:” He smirked. He wouldn’t mind beating the pants off of his brother.