(no subject)

[starchilde_lost]

Rachel just didn't want to think about Halloween. Ever. Again. Just the image of all those bodies, all her friends, her family, in a pile in the jungle gave her chills. She'd seen massacres before and had never wanted to again and yet there she was, smelling the blood soaking into the ground, hearing the buzz of flies drawn by the blood. The rest of it, too, was something she never wanted to see, but the island had different ideas and now that was an image that was actually keeping her up at night.

She should be sleeping, but her body ached from the fight with Logan and she was still far too wired after having to babysit him and watch Charles get carted off to the clinic. She was actually a little surprised Logan hadn't broken free at some point and gutted her, he'd certainly tried, and while the adrenalin had long ago left her, she was stuck staring at the ceiling after she got home. For hours. Punctuated only by brief sleeping interludes that ended with her jerking awake, trying not to scream. Somewhere around dawn she managed to drift off for good, tossing and turning, but finally getting some shut-eye.

Which had been her mistake. She should have just stayed up.

They'd both been worried about Halloween, but Rachel and Aidan both knew they'd be more useful split up for the day. Rachel could check on her friends, fight if needed, Aidan could pitch in at the Clinic. They'd agreed on a place and a time to meet the next day so that they'd know the other was okay. At least that had been the plan. A plan that was completely screwed now that Rachel had pretty much slept through the meeting. Running out of her door, she knew that even if she ran the whole way flat-out, she was going to be hopelessly late.

She had to hope Aidan would stick around and not panic. Seriously, she was going to hunt Stark down and make him build a damn phone system for the island if it was the last thing she did.

Comments

[likesthestooges]

Aidan was exhausted. He had spent the entire night in the clinic, doing what he could to help the doctor's and all the people that came in with injuries. It could have been a lot worse than it was, knowing what to expect had helped them all prepare but that didn't mean they got off without any injuries. Or any fatalities.

By the time things had calmed down he didn't even bother going home, instead just crashing on a cot in the back of the clinic for about an hour. His sleep was fitful though, full of worrying about his friends on the island.

After deciding that sleep was a waste of time, he headed to the Winchester to meet Rachel. As much as they had hated to admit it, or at least he had, they were more useful apart than they were together. He hadn't heard anything about her being injured or dying, but that didn't mean it hadn't happened.

Ten minutes after she was late, he was sure she would be along any minute. Half an hour late and he was getting a bit nervous. Forty-five minutes and he was getting sick to his stomach, promising that he'd give her an hour and then he would go find her.

[starchilde_lost]

She ran almost the whole way, until it felt like her legs were jello and she was moving out of sheer willpower more than any reserve of strength. When the real crash came, instead of the fitful nightmare-fueled sleep she'd gotten, it was going to be intense. Getting closer to the Winchester, she made herself slow so she wouldn't be such a wreck when she got there, but she still hit the door at an fast clip, bursting in and not even caring how she looked.

Please, God, let him still be there.

"Aidan!"

[likesthestooges]

"Rachel."

The knot in his stomach was instantly released and he no longer felt like he was going to be sick. He didn't care how ridiculous it looked, he jumped up immediately and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tight. She was safe. She wasn't dead or dying somewhere. She was alright.

[starchilde_lost]

Rachel didn't stop Aidan from holding her, but she ran her hands over his chest and up along his neck, checking for wounds and trying to make sure he was still whole. She knew that he'd been at the clinic, and that it wasn't likely that things would attack him there. But that hadn't stopped a hundred scenarios from presenting themselves as she ran to the Winchester.

"You're okay? You're really okay? You'd tell me if you weren't okay, right?" She was babbling, and she knew it, but again, caring wasn't high on her priority list. "No one came after you?"

[likesthestooges]

"I'm fine, I'm perfectly fine. Just exhausted," he said, pulling back a bit to give her a reassuring smile. It was cute, how worried she was about him, and he kind of liked that. It was nice having someone care about him so much. Freaking out because they showed up late and wondering if they were dead was not as nice, but he'd take the exchange.

"What about you? You're late."

[starchilde_lost]

"I had a... there was a... a thing. And I went home and I couldn't sleep and then I did sleep and then I woke up and went to sleep and then I kind of overslept and I'm so sorry." The words tumbled out, one after the other and she forced herself to stop and take a breath, looking at him. "You're sure you're okay?" Looking at him she tried to banish the images of the day before and pretty much failed. It didn't take much of an imagination to picture his body, twisted and bloody on the pile, and she had a pretty awesome imagination.

But now that she was here, and she could feel the warmth of him, whatever energy she'd had to run all the way here just ran right out of her and she started to shake a little.

[likesthestooges]

"It's over," he said, pulling her back close. He knew that it wouldn't truly be over for everyone for a while, but it was for the time being. All of the physical danger was gone and they could deal with any of the emotional stuff.

"We're both safe. It's fine. You don't have to worry about any of that for the moment."

He knew better than to tell her not to worry, this was Rachel. But for a few minutes she didn't have to while he was here with her.

[starchilde_lost]

"Can we sit down? I need to- I don't think I've eaten since yesterday." Her mind was a mess. She was thrilled to see Aidan, to see he was okay, to have him reassure her, but exhaustion was still hovering over her, threatening to knock her down. "I'm sorry, I should have been here sooner, I'm just..." A wreck maybe? That was pretty plain to see as she leaned against him, trying to pull more than three coherent sentences together in a row.

[likesthestooges]

"You don't need to apologize. Come on, let's get you something to eat," he said, gently guiding her over to a seat.

Aidan was always at his most comfortable when he was able to help others. Focusing on their problems instead of his own as a way for him to escape his life for a little bit so he was more than happy to help Rachel with whatever it was she was going through.

"Get some food in you, then we can go back to your place and just crash."

They both needed sleep and Aidan knew that Rachel always slept better when he was around.

[starchilde_lost]

She sank into the seat next to him, still leaning against him, not quite assured that he wasn't going to disappear and this was going to turn into another nightmare. "Sounds like a plan I can get behind." She didn't even care what they ate, food would be food, just being with him would be the more important thing.

[likesthestooges]

"Food and then I'm going to carry you home so you can sleep," he said with a laugh. She seemed far more than just physically exhausted, and that worried him a bit. He wanted to ask what it was she did last night but he figured there would be enough time for that later.

[starchilde_lost]

"You don't need to carry me." Giving him a poke, Rachel managed a weak chuckle. He really did take any excuse to toss her over his shoulder, didn't he? And it wasn't like she was the lightest thing in the world, she was pretty solidly muscle. "Not an invalid, just sleepy." And getting some food inside her would help so she flagged down whoever was working and asked for whatever was ready right then.

[likesthestooges]

"Good, because I'm so tired I would probably drop you before we got there," he said with a grin, turning to kiss her on the temple.

He'd already eaten, but Aidan didn't mind just sitting there. Most meal times in his life were spent just watching people eat. He was more than happy to just sit here and be with her, reassured that she was safe and that whatever happened last night, the island didn't take her from him.

[starchilde_lost]

"Busy yesterday, huh?" She wasn't really surprised, not after what she'd seen. If even half the people on the island had seen or experienced the things she had? Yeah, the clinic had probably been hopping. "Wish I could've helped you out." Which wasn't a lie. Helping triage vs duking it out with a berserker Wolverine? Triage sounded like a Sunday in the park.

[likesthestooges]

"Henry and I pretty much worked all through the night," he said with a nod, rubbing his eyes to try and push the sleep away for just a few more hours. Sometimes being human was a pain in the ass with it's limitations.

Then all it took was one look at Rachel to remind him what the payoff was and he never doubted that it was all worth it.

[starchilde_lost]

"Were there any..." She swallowed, jaw clenching from the flash of memories from the day before again. "Were there any casualties? Or just injuries." Seriously, how long was it going to be before she could think about yesterday without flinching.

[likesthestooges]

"One, as far as I know."

He may be calloused toward death, but he thought that one death for a night like they had wasn't too bad in terms of sheer numbers. While any loss of life was tragic in its own way, he'd seen far too much death not to be thankful for only one death.

[starchilde_lost]

Rachel stiffened in Aidan's arms. She hadn't wanted to hear that. Of all the things she'd been afraid of, that was pretty high on the list. "Do you know who?" She had to pray that it wasn't someone she knew.

[likesthestooges]

"A guy named Seifer," Aidan said. It wasn't anyone that he knew and he selfishly hoped that Rachel didn't know him either. She had enough losses on the island to deal with, she didn't need something like that on top of it.

"Did you know him?"

[starchilde_lost]

"Oh, God..." She groaned, closing her eyes. That was... that was bad. "I didn't know him well, he was on ITF with my brother, he's friends with a friend of mine, Zell? They're from the same world."

Shit, shit, shit. Poor Zell, she'd have to go find him, pay her respects.

[likesthestooges]

Aidan was relieved it wasn't a close friend of Rachel. Again, entirely selfish but his girlfriend had gone through her share of losses. Not that the rest of the island hadn't, but he worried that it might be a bit more than she could handle at the moment.

"I'm sure there will be a funeral for him soon. Do you want to go talk to your brother before you get some sleep?"

From everything he knew about her brother, Cable was more than prepared to handle the loss of someone on his team but he wouldn't be surprised if she still went to check on him.

[starchilde_lost]

"I should." She didn't even know if Nathan knew. He'd probably been out with the ITF, or for all she knew he'd gone his own rounds with Logan. But she didn't know if she had the strength.

[likesthestooges]

"I'll go with you, if you want."

He knew it would be intruding on a family thing, but he was more than happy to offer silent, moral support. He was relatively certain that Cable would be an equal wall of support for her as well.

[starchilde_lost]

"'Kay." She didn't have the strength to say no at this point, although she was pretty sure that awkward would be a word applied to any meeting that happened with the two of them today. "You checked on all your people, right? Do we need to look in on them before we head out?"

[likesthestooges]

"I need to check on Josh," he said. Aidan could only imagine what sorts of things Josh might have had to face last night, but he would go look for him later if he wasn't at home. He had to trust that his friend was okay.

"Henry was with me all night. And now I know you're okay."

[starchilde_lost]

"Want to do that after I eat, too?" God, she was never going to get back to her bed. Which sounded terrible, but she'd only gotten a few good hours of sleep after an entire day of running and fighting and being stressed and... she just wanted a full stop for awhile.

Meanwhile, her food arrived and she pulled away from Aidan enough to start eating. Oh, yeah, food was good.

[likesthestooges]

"If we have time."

Aidan did, but he didn't want to push Rachel any further than was necessary. Not only that, but he was exhausted himself, and not just physically. Being on high alert all night had left him mentally exhausted as well.

"And when was the last time you ate?"

[starchilde_lost]

"Breakfast yesterday, maybe some nuts and little things afterwards." She took a few more bites, feeling herself get stronger as she did. Maybe not strong enough to go galavanting around the island on a lark, but she was starting to feel more like her own self.

[likesthestooges]

"I was really freaking out when you didn't show up," he said, leaning over to kiss the top of her head. He didn't want to her to feel guilty, but he wanted to express just how much he cared about her.

"Hazard of losing everyone I guess, part of you is just waiting around for it to happen again. I... don't want to lose you."

[starchilde_lost]

Rachel paused, looking at Aidan for a moment. She knew, exactly what that felt like. Setting her utensils aside, she scooted over and wrapped her arms around him, giving him a good, hard kiss.

"Didn't lose me. I had to beat up a friend of mine, but he was okay with it after."

[likesthestooges]

Aidan returned the kiss just as hard, enjoying the reminder that she was here and not going anywhere for the moment. She seemed to know just what he needed.

"Glad he wasn't too upset," he said, brushing her hair out of her face. "And that you could take him."

[starchilde_lost]

"Well, we did have to shoot him in the head. Or, I did, since I was the one that was armed." She rested her head on his shoulder and tried to repress the shudder. "He'd already clawed his way through someone, was completely berserk, and I shot him." Her voice got a little quieter. It wasn't the first time she'd shot anyone, or had to fight a friend, far from it, but this time it just felt... different. Wrong. Not that shooting people left and right was a thing she would ever get used to doing, or ever think was the right thing to do but still... she'd just shot Logan in head.

Maybe that was payback for the time he stabbed her through the chest.

[likesthestooges]

"Wait, what?"

Aidan wasn't sure if he heard Rachel right. It sounded like she said that she shot her friend. He didn't exactly remember any of her friends coming into the clinic with a gunshot wound, but he could have missed whoever it was. They were busy so it was possible.

[starchilde_lost]

"His skeleton is made of metal. An unbreakable metal. Shooting him in the head is more like sticking his head in a bell and hitting it with a mallet. Rattles everything around, doesn't break it." She rubbed her hand over her eyes, she probably should have thought all that through before she said it, but she was too tired to censor herself anymore. And she hated thinking about the day before. About the pallid look on Charles' face as he collapsed. About Laura having to put her claws through his leg. About how it felt to pull the trigger on a friend.

[likesthestooges]

"You have very strange friends," was all Aidan could think to say to that. He was glad that it wasn't anything more serious than that. He could understand having to inflict a normally mortal wound on a friend.

That was enough of that kind of talk though. They'd gotten through it, there were others to check on, but there wasn't any use sitting around talking about how horrible it had been.

"Swimming. I really want to go swimming later."

[starchilde_lost]

He had no idea. She couldn't wait to spring the family tree on him. ALL of it. Alternate time lines, time travel, clones, if that didn't send him screaming, nothing would.

Going back to her lunch, her brow wrinkled. "Swimming? You want to go swimming?" She took a bite or two while she waited for him to give her an answer. The last thing she wanted today was activity.

[likesthestooges]

"More like... I want to just float in the water and not think."

Not thinking would be good. It wasn't something he could manage often, centuries full of worries and thoughts stuck in his head, but he felt physically and mentally exhausted enough that he could maybe give it a try.

[starchilde_lost]

She remembered to swallow so she didn't talk with a mouthful of food. "Mmmmm, that might be nice. I might just find a spot in the sun and soak it up." Yeah, that could be really nice. Lay out, close her eyes and just... drift.

[likesthestooges]

"I think a massage also might be in your future," he said with a grin and leaned close. He knew she was trying to eat but he didn't want to stop being close to her. It felt too much like her being alright was too good to be true.

[starchilde_lost]

"A massage, huh?" She pushed the plate forward. She'd eaten enough, she didn't want to overdo it while she was still this tired. Besides, it was much nicer to snuggle up with Aidan at this point. Not that she'd admit that. Well, she might, but she might not. It was a toss-up that she didn't want to think about when she was addled like this.

"A regular massage, or one of those massages you use as an excuse to get me out of my clothes and onto a bed?"

[likesthestooges]

Aidan sighed happily as she leaned into him, glad for the closeness. Leaning in he took a deep breath, enjoying the smell of her along with the feel. She was here and real and with him.

"Anything you want. Whatever you want you can have it."

[starchilde_lost]

"Aidan McCollin, don't you know those are words you never say to your girlfriend?" She poked him in the side, teasing, but it was nice to hear. It was nice to be cared for in just about any meaning of the term. Comfort wasn't something she found often or even took when it was offered, but with Aidan, yeah, she could let herself crumble a little - or a lot.

[likesthestooges]

"Rachel Grey, don't you know it's acceptable to say when she deserves it?" he asked, giving her a crooked grin as he squirmed away from her for a moment. He was glad to see her mood improving. He didn't expect it to suddenly be sunshine and rainbows, but having her tease him was an improvement.

[starchilde_lost]

Stifling a yawn, Rachel didn't let Aidan squirm too far away. Not when he was warm and soft and cuddly and... "We should probably get moving if we're going to check on everyone before I pass out again." Because she could. She'd eaten, she knew Aidan was okay, not one had come looking for her to report any deaths, and the booth was starting to feel an awful lot like a really hard bed.

[likesthestooges]

"You're right. Let's go check on our friends and then get some rest," he said, reluctantly pulling away from her and out of the booth. He was exhausted too, but it was easier to ignore that exhaustion when he was being strong for someone else.

[starchilde_lost]

With a somewhat exaggerated groan, Rachel followed, sliding her arm around his waist as soon as she was standing. A little clingy? Yeah, but she wasn't going to stop any time soon. Not after the day before and probably not for awhile.

"We'll do a circle, then out to my place, yeah?"

[likesthestooges]

"It's a plan," he said with a nod, putting an arm around her shoulder. He didn't mind the clingy at all and wanted her to know that. It was actually comforting.