044;

[gottaknockhard]

[Truth be told, Spike had woken up some time ago. He doesn't open his eyes or lift himself from the clinic bed, just listens to the people moving around him until he gets a better sense of why he's here. At least until he has an opening to slip out while they aren't paying attention. It was just a small coma, nothing that unusual really, and definitely nothing to make a scene about.

Besides, it seems weirdly crowded today. He figures that'll make it easier for him to disappear; which is exactly what he's attempting once the footsteps and chatter move away from him. (Whether or not he'll be successful when he hasn't used his legs in a few days is another story. He'll deal with it when he has to.)

Sometime later, there's a voice coming through the journal of someone trying to sort out which parts of his fuzzy memory are a dream and which parts he should feel responsible for.]

Sounds like it blew over anyway. What was --

[--his sentence clips off. All his thoughts and intentions hit a brick wall the second he catches a glimpse at another patient, lying in a neighboring bed, perfectly still except for the subtle rise and fall of her chest. (He keeps watching until he can be sure.) Julia...

That's one way to jolt someone awake.]


ooc: Open over the journal/in the clinic (because of course he was going to wind up there...) Posting just before work, so replies may be a little delayed. :)

Comments

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[samson]

[Brock had come into the clinic to pay his (minor) coma-stricken bro a visit. He brought flowers and everything, too -- which were going to be slightly awkward to give now that Spike was awake. Maybe he could hide ... them...? No, this is stupid. Brock continues to hold this vase of dumb flowers. Maybe it just wouldn't be noticed? No, who was he kidding; of course it would be noticed, because it was the best fucking bouquet ever because Brock made it himself. Damn your exciting floral arrangement skills, Samson!!

Anyway, standing there. Holding flowers. Spike, standing, no flowers.]

Should you be up?

[gottaknockhard]

[Okay, so his great escape plan hadn't actually taken him very far. The bed is still in reaching distance when Brock drops by, which Spike doesn't notice right away due to sudden personal crisis. Not that he should pick up on this.

Eventually the flowers catch his eye, and he turns to see... what is he looking at? It takes him an awkwardly long time to work on his composure and confusion to respond at all.]

Probably not. [Some people deserve to be more than others, you know, but he keeps the comment to himself. Better to focus on Brock and the suspicious thing in his hands.] What's that about?

[samson]

[Oh ... as if this weren't awkward enough, Spike is doing that long pause thing again. Spike, no ... don't make this worse ...

DON'T MAKE THIS WORSE BY POINTING OUT THE FLOWERS okay no, Brock can handle this, he is an adult.]

They're get well flowers. You don't have those in the future?

[And he's just going to ... yes, good idea -- he will go over and place them next to Julia. Totally his original intention. Do not question him.]

[gottaknockhard]

[... Oh. He brought Julia flowers. That makes more sense.]

I think I might have heard of them. [Lucky for Brock, he's still -- we'll just call it coma groggy. No other reason he'd be watching him so carefully as he sets the flowers down.]

How'd you find out?

[samson]

[Yeah, sure he brought Julia flowers! That's ... a perfectly logical thing he did. Yeah.]

I was in here before and I saw her. [not ... technically a lie ...]

[gottaknockhard]

[Does he have a thing for Julia now? KIND OF BALLSY THERE but okay, bro.]

I guess it turned into a popular place. [Which is weird to see. Was that all from the same thing? Does he want to ask?]

[samson]

[No way, Julia's not his type, dude!! She's too ... you know, sane. Brock has problems.]

Well yeah, those ... things ... that were around ... [vague gesture]

I guess that's all over now, though.

[nothingtobelieve]

[He'd weighed his options for awhile. He could simply ignore everything and wait until his old partner was recovered fully, or he could take advantage of the situation.

In the end, he hadn't quite been able to resist the urge to sweep in like a specter and see with his own eyes. Personal visits were so much more satisfying, after all. He wore black. It wasn't a funeral, but why not make it festive?

The sight of Julia catches him off guard, for a moment. He does his best to hide it as he focuses on Spike instead.]

I was worried you might die before we could settle things.

['Worried' was probably relative. But he's behaving like a human being, at least. Keeping the threat level low, for now.]

[gottaknockhard]

[Whatever Spike was doing before Vicious' voice interrupted, it's forgotten in one telling moment. Blame the coma for his lack of foresight. If he'd been awake a little longer, had time to put it all together, he would have taken Julia out of here. Kept that information from reaching him. (As if he wouldn't have found out on his own over however long he's been out of it.)

Now, he's in a hard spot. And not just because he's still on the mend.]

You don't have to worry about that. [Despite his plainly obvious failures, Spike does no how to keep his cool when his luck runs out.] Some people you just can't get rid of.

[nothingtobelieve]

Good.

[Despite his sometimes less than rational behavior, even Vicious knows not to start something in the middle of a busy clinic. It could be that Julia was actually in the safest place she could be, at the moment. Besides, unconscious, she doesn't hold much draw.

No, he'd much rather focus on Spike, for now.]

I would have been disappointed had it been otherwise. It's hardly a dignified end.

[There's a small trace of what might be a mocking sort of amusement in his voice.]

[gottaknockhard]

[Vicious might know not to, but Spike isn't above it. Although in this moment he's very aware that he doesn't know where his gun went. That's still not going to make a difference if this conversation goes in another direction.

Right now he doesn't have a clue about what his intentions are, but maybe it's as simple as taking a shot at him when he left himself wide open.]

So you came here for a pep talk? [Or do you really have something to say?]

[nothingtobelieve]

[He might be there to gloat, just a little. Not enough to ruin his reputation, of course. Frankly, he's amused by how spectacularly wrong everything had gone. He laughed quietly.]

I'm here visiting a friend. Isn't that what you do in these situations?

[It's certainly what normal people did. Which means his presence there is really just a mockery of human behavior. And maybe he does have something to say, but he'll take his time with it.]

[gottaknockhard]

[The edge of Spike's mouth ticks upward, which is a surefire sign that he's getting pissed off and covering up for it. He only had time to get a glimpse at what happened while he was out. All he could do was guess at the rumors that could have reached him, even without a journal.]

What situation is that?

[luckyvalentine]

[just standing nearby, off to the side, as if it was all a coincidence]

You're awake. ...Took you long enough.

[gottaknockhard]

[Spike's really not in any shape for all these visitors, despite his amazing standing and moving around routine, but at least there's one person he doesn't mind playing that up for. Taking a cue, he finds a nearby chair and collapses into it, still keeping in view of everything he needs to.

He's just getting more comfortable is all.]

How long?

[luckyvalentine]

[as long as he doesn't fall and break his neck, he can do whatever he wants as far as she's concerned]

Four or five days. That's almost a record.

[gottaknockhard]

[... Four or five. That would explain why he still feels so out of it.]

Almost. [At least a personal best. Too much competition here.]

[luckyvalentine]

You've been laying around so long, it's practically a vacation at this point.

[gottaknockhard]

[He's thinking about that deeper that anyone's probably comfortable with. Eventually, he looks back over at her.]

Yeah, I guess.

[jammin_with_ed]

[Hey Spiii-iiike. There's red hair and a pair of eyes peeking up at you from the foot of your bed. WAT DO?!]

[gottaknockhard]

[He flinches the first time he looks down to see her, but he shouldn't have. Apparently everyone knew where to look for him.]

Hey, Ed.

[jammin_with_ed]

[This is Edward. She has like... a Spike detection system or something... She grins, standing up]

Hiiii! You missed eeeeeeverything!

[gottaknockhard]

[Luckily she's the perfect person to explain it all to him, right?]

I was afraid of that.

[jammin_with_ed]

[Of course! Edward knows eeeeeeverything!]

Uh-huh! Edward told Ray about the mysteeeeeerious spaaaace creatuuuuuuuure, he found you and Julia, but then he was bitten! Then BOOM [She starts making explodey sound effects and waving her arms around] rescue mission!

[gottaknockhard]

[Oh... Ray too, huh? That's fairly embarrassing.]

So they got rid of it?