Respite (Open)

[hrothgar]

Hrothgar stirred from his bed slowly, his little alarm clock buzzing out an irritating mechanical shriek, and telling him that it was nearing Noon already. He stretched one foot , then the other sliding out of bed with a dutiful air to the little routine. At the sink by his bed he brushed his teeth and washed his face and hands before slipping back into his old khakis and a comfortable blue t-shirt. His little office was small, all things considered, about the size of a single person dorm room but Hrothgar did not subsist off of much these days.

There was little time to dwell on matters of space and necessity though, if his calculations were correct his new patient would be waking up soon and she'd be no doubt asking for an explanation as to where she was. With a newfound sense of urgency the doctor slid his shoes on and snagged a box off of his desk, stepping out into the old hallway that linked his office with the rest of the Second story of Allegheny General Hospital... or what was left of it at least. These days the building was an empty husk, hardly alive with the medical work it had been used for in the past, nowadays the other levels were more for survivors and refugees to lay low and seek shelter but he had made it clear that the second level was his and his alone to use for the treatment of patients. Every now and then he had to shoo away a squatter but for the most part things were peaceful here.

He turned left down the hallway, two rooms down was the room he'd wheeled Gabriella, Experiment 24601 as she'd been called before, in the night before. The door immediately between these two rooms led to the chamber which now housed most of his equipment. As many expensive and important machines as he could salvage were stashed here, and on the table by the door sat the most recent fruits of his work there and the doctor gingerly scooped up the manilla folder containing the X-Rays that he'd taken of Gabriella the night before. He'd wasted no time after they'd gotten to the hospital at around 1 A.M. She was still asleep and he decided to use this time to his advantage and make as thorough an examination as he could without violating her safety. It was nearly 4 in the morning before he got to bed, but he'd given her a full check up, examination, X-ray and MRI before he'd turned in for the night.

Now there was only to break the news and welcome her to her new home. With his xrays and the box tucked under his arm he opened the door to the little suite where she was staying. It was a single bed affair with a window overlooking what was once the Scenic Ohio river junction but was now a low smoky Miasma lit up by the noon sun. He pulled the curtains open so that she could see and pulled up a chair next to her waiting for the first signs of movement.

[experiment24601]

Experiment 24601, or now known as Gabriella Wood, lay still in her bed. For someone whom had never actually felt a REAL bed before, this was almost like she had died and gone to heaven. Yet, she was out cold to even notice, having fainted at the sight of all those medical tools and that massive dragon. As she was carried nine miles to a hospital, Gabriella experienced dreams. No, nightmares. Memories of her life. It seems that she never escaped them. When she was finally set into her bed and left for the night it was then that she finally fell still with calm. The soft mattress, and warm blankets. Fluffed pillows and quiet room.

She didn't know how long she had been out, but when light hit her eye lids and the sound of a chair scooting next to the bed she stirred a bit. Her eye lids twitched, and her head turned in the direction of the sound. This being pure instinct. Next was the flutter of her eyes, opening, white irises almost angelic looking stared at Luther. For a moment she just felt at ease, but then she realized where she was. Her breath started to come faster through her nose as she turned her eyes to look around the room. Was she in a Laboratory? She...she didn't know. The room was so...inviting. She slowly sat up in the bed and looked around the room. No cell bars, no dirty walls, no hard floor, no torn blanket in the corner...no metal toilet in the other.

Just, white walls, a window with curtains, soft bed, and warm carpet on the floor. Where...was she? Her head slowly looked back at Luther, it was obvious that she had NEVER been in such a place before and she didn't quite understand. Not to mention she had never been drowsy before, she never had the chance to sleep that well. Next to her was a dresser like object, and on top was her journal, and pen set out for her. She looked down at herself and felt confused for a moment. She gently lifted the covers ever so slightly to see herself beneath them. Only to cover herself again in a blink of an eye surprised. Good god, she was completely naked. Where was her Lab dress? Her eyes looked back over at Luther as they darkened a shade, but did not turn black, but a light shade of Grey, surely a sign of distress.

((Hope that isn't god modding or anything...XP ))

[hrothgar]

"Good morning Gabriella" He said with a smile, eyes watching as she began to squirm with the first movement of waking. He sat back and watched her grow accustomed to her new surroundings. It wasn't exactly a luxurious place... it was actually rather simple in its accommodations. Still it must have been a mansion compared to what she was given before. He watched as she looked underneath her covers to realize that yes... she was stark naked underneath.

He chuckled, obviously a little uncomfortable with this. "Yes... that ... Your little lab gown was falling apart and I'm all out of surgical gowns. I did leave some clothes for you in the dresser though, you can change into those whenever you're comfortable... in the meantime..."

He opened the little cardboard box in his lap now, digging out a small dry erase board and a marker. He sat these things in her lap and smiled. "Here... You can use this, might be a little more convenient than drawing lines in the sand. I'd just like to know how you're feeling and if there's anything I can get you before we start the... err... debriefing as it were. Your X-rays were... very unusual" He said scratching his chin and looking a little concerned.

[experiment24601]

Gabriella looked at him as he said that her lab dress had fallen apart, but there were cloths on over on the side. She turned her head, and saw a black turtle neck, slacks, and boots. She turned back to him as he set a white board on her lap, and a dry erase marker. She only saw them as writing implements, which indeed is what they were. He wanted to know if she needed anything before, he reviewed her X rays. He told her something peculiar had come up.

She put the pen to the board and began to write. "what is wrong with me?" She turned the board over to him and let him read keeping her eyes on his. Hiding beneath the covers, she was not hiding the fact of her bare self, it was the fact that her horrific scars left her deformed and in her mind, hideous. She did not want him seeing such imperfections. It would make her feel like a beast. Yet the irony of whom she was acquainted with would make one laugh. Only she did not see him as a beast. At least not anymore. His dragon form had the most beautiful of colors on his scales, and the sound of his melodic voice in her mind was like music. He was not a beast at all, but a creature of pure beauty.

Experiment 24601 however, her new name or not...she still physically looks like a deformed creature. She sank deeper into the blankets as if wanting to hide even more of herself. keeping her eyes on him.

[hrothgar]

He smiled as she held up her dry erase board. She seemed to think there was something wrong with her, of course there were things that were inherently wrong with her from head to toe, but nothing that was her fault or in any something that made her less of a person. He shook his head. "No not wrong, unusual" He clarified specifically. "You exist and you think thoughts and have ideas and dreams, so long as this is true nobody can say that there is anything wrong with you. But there are things that make your life difficult, and these are the things I want to fix."

With that he slid her X-rays out and held them up to the sunlight so that she could see them clearly. The first one looked like any ordinary X-ray off of a human. "Now... this one I'm showing you here, this is a picture of a normal humanoid skull.. you can see where the jaw hinges and opens and there are teeth and molars and lips, like I have." He explained, pulling out a second slide and showing a much different picture, the x-rays of her skull, taken in profile. "This here is your skull, as you can see your bone structure has fused to form a completely plain flat surface between your chin and nasal passages. In short, where most people have mouths and jaws, you have... well.. nothing." He said this without any sort of derision or disgust, it was merely an intriguing find. He had seen hundreds of cases of deformity and mutation in his time... Severe cases of elephantiasis made this little mutation look like a pimple.

"I understand this must be strange and intimidating news, but its merely something that makes you different, not wrong. I will admit it provides a difficulty and I've seen the scars Gabriella. Whats really wrong is whoever left you this way and had allowed you to live a life where self mutilation was the only way to take in sustenance. It was wrong, and you are an amazing woman to have survived for as long as you have, if anything you are miraculous. Still... I don't want you to have to cut your own throat open ever again, so, with your permission, I've devised a solution."

[experiment24601]

Gabriella looked Luther as he pulled out the X rays. What he had told her she had already known. From listening to the scientists talk. She was indeed missing a mouth. When she saw the jaw line molars and lips that were on a regular human's skeleton. She put a hand to her own nonexistent mouth. As he showed her her own X ray, she merely listened. Yes, she only had solid bone where a jaw should be. And yes, she had to cut her throat in order to eat and drink. She knew all of this...

"I understand this must be strange and intimidating news, but its merely something that makes you different, not wrong. I will admit it provides a difficulty and I've seen the scars Gabriella. Whats really wrong is whoever left you this way and had allowed you to live a life where self mutilation was the only way to take in sustenance. It was wrong, and you are an amazing woman to have survived for as long as you have, if anything you are miraculous. Still... I don't want you to have to cut your own throat open ever again, so, with your permission, I've devised a solution."

He had seen her scars. This made her feel even more exposed. But he continued on as if none of it was her fault, he blamed it all on the Scientists...he called her amazing, miraculous...and he never wanted her to cut her throat again. He had a solution...she wasn't sure about that last part. She took the board back and erased her previous message and wrote a new one. "Would this solution require more cutting of my skin?" She asked showing him the message. yes, her obvious fear of sharp objects were clear. Even if she had to use them on herself, she didn't want any more needles, shots, scalpels, or chemicals touching her.

But there was something else that the good Doctor did not know. And neither did Gabriella. That the real reason for her stay at the Laboratory was not to figure out the means of her mutation, (though they were curious about that as well) They were trying to find out what was in a sense...killing her. Yes, something inside of her, was causing her body to react differently than most Half breeds. Do to her mutation, something was horribly wrong with her power, and they were trying to see if it was capable of being spread to others. They wanted to turn her...into a weapon. Though their lie was to find a cure...it was really to make a virus.

[hrothgar]

Hrothgar sighed. The look in her eyes was enough to make him hesitate about the answer he was about to give her. So many run ins with objects of healing turned upon her with intent to harm. He knew from before that her trust in him was already shaky and he didn't want to push it anymore... but to help her he'd have to test that trust.

"Yes..." He said, looking as though he were unhappy about the news himself. "Once more and only once more, but I'm going to administer anesthetics... you wont feel a thing. If you'll allow me to explain."

His hand reached into the box and he pulled out a small plastic object. It looked like a ring of some kind,a plastic fitting about two inches in diameter. "Was up late last night, I took a few moments at my workstation and managed to mold this out of a plastic tubing pipe used on an old respirator nozzle. Essentially what I plan to do is make a small incision in your throat and place this tube cuff in there. as you can see this little shutter door slides back and locks into place so that this way you wont have to slit your throat to eat, all you have to do is take your food, slide the door back, push it through and swallow. Its flesh colored to so that it'll be hard to see, even though I take it that turtle neck of yours will cover this most of the time."

He seemed so proud of his idea. Here in his hands lay a few small ounces of plastic that, properly administered, would make her life ten times easier and would even become a stepping stone to other improvements. Already he was considering attatching a direct line in for a Camel Back canteen of some sort. So that she could drink just by squeezing on a water pouch and easily refil without having to pull her turtle neck down. He held the little plastic cuff up and his heart swelled with hope... little did he know that beneath her mutation his plans for helping her were already being undermined by an unseen foe. For now though, Hrothgar remained optimistic.

"This is all with your consent of course... if I could find an easier solution I would implement that but at the moment.. this is the simplest thing I could come up with and the least intrusive."

[experiment24601]

"Yes." Is what he said to her. Gabriella instantly shut down. More pain, more suffering...but as he explained he basically wanted to a tubing to her throat to limit her having to cut her skin to feed. She observed the object held in his hand. what I plan to do is make a small incision in your throat and place this tube cuff in there. as you can see this little shutter door slides back and locks into place so that this way you wont have to slit your throat to eat, all you have to do is take your food, slide the door back, push it through and swallow. Its flesh colored to so that it'll be hard to see, even though I take it that turtle neck of yours will cover this most of the time."

She started to shake, tears sprang her eyes. She put a hand to her stitches, and ran a finger down the long line. It went all the way to her sternum...the countless days of pain, the blood, the scratching of the chair, her nails, her scars...the tears fell past her cheeks, as she stared at the tube. She flattened her palm on her neck as if covering the stitches. Suddenly it was a little difficult for her to breathe. But then again, sobbing with just air moving through your nose is hard to do. She tried to write on the white board. "I don't know what to say.." The words were smudged and a little had to read but they were there. She was shaking, but she was not afraid, he was offering her a chance of no pain. One last session of her enemy...and then gone forever....She really didn't know what to say. She put her hand over her eyes, and just sat there in her bed.

[hrothgar]

At the first signs of shaking he thought for a moment that she might be having some sort of panic or anxiety attack. He'd known these things to be debilitating episodes and often sprung up in people with abused pasts. He reached out to pat her hand when he realized that she was crying, not tears of fear but of joy. He watched her take the board up and read the words she presented in front of him. Immediately his lips curled into a happy smile.

"Please, you don't need to say a thing, If it means your happiness then I'd gladly do it." He said. "If you like, we can start immediately and you should be well enough to eat by Lunchtime... Oh, which Reminds me, I'll have to write up a list of the things you can and cant eat. You don't have any teeth right now... so your diet will be rather limited I'm afraid, but at least you'll have a decent diet now... I'll make sure of it." His hand gave her shoulder a soft pat.

"So what do you say?... Ready to get started? Or if not, that's fine too... I can bring in an IV and keep you on a steady drip until you're ready. Its your choice."

[experiment24601]

He suggested performing the procedure right then. She wasn't really sure about that. But his warm hand on her shoulder gave her a sense of courage. She was thinking about it when he spoke on. Saying that if she did she would be ready to eat at lunch time. TO which it lead him to the thought of telling her what she can and can't eat. She was used to that. Having had nothing but bread and water her entire life, she knew of nothing else. Telling her what she could eat would mean nothing to her. Just normal. She wrote on the board. "I have eaten only bread and water my entire life. I can handle the list..no need to worry." Her scrawl was surprisingly well in her penmanship, from someone who practiced letters with charcoal on the walls of her prison. She did pretty well.

Her eyes looked over at the clothing she was given. Then back to Luther. Could she really do this surgery now? Would her body be strong enough? She erased the board and stared down at it for a long..long while. Her brows furrowed, eyes focused on the white substance as she was deep in thought. Just one more torturous day. She had dealt with them for seventeen years...one more day isn't going to harm her....she was used to pain. Even if she did not like it. She took a slow deep breath and let it out even slower. She turned her pen over and wrote. "I am ready." And turned it over for him to see.

[hrothgar]

He sat back in his chair, the box still on his lap and a proud look in his eyes. "You're a brave girl Gabriella." He said before standing up slowly. He reached into the little cardboard box now and pulled out the last of its contents. "And a brave girl deserves a present."

He held his hand out now... in his palm was a small little stuffed mouse. The little thing was about half the size of one of her bed pillows with sewn on eyes. It looked like it had seen better decades with soft ratty (pardon the pun) cloth fur and button eyes that didn't match. It was sewn up countless times in countless places, the stitching varying each time but the one thing remained the same... it had the look of a well loved plush animal about it. It smelled like the inside of a dryer and had a few stains on it, the kind which were probably older than her and no doubt had become part of the fabric now. As he sat it down it peered up at her with uneven eyes almost as if giving it a somewhat inquisitive look through those shiny plastic buttons that dotted its face. Its little nose seemed to just be a stiff spot of black stitching that had been wound up enough to make a little nub of a nose tipping it's pointy little snout. From the back of it ran a long threadbare tail that seemed to be on the verge of fraying apart .


"Now..." he explained. "I know you might be a little old for stuffed animals, but I figured that everyone could use someone to listen to them. I know I must talk a damn storm sometimes." He chuckled. "For which I'm sorry. But if you can give that little mouse a name, then you can have someone to watch after you when things get scary. I know it always helped me when I was sick, but dont tell anyone that." As the last few words left his lips she could see his cheeks blush just a bit.

"Well.. what do you think a good name for it would be?"

[experiment24601]

Gabriella looked down at the stuffed mouse. A gift...he had given her a gift. Just as Marc had presented her with the journal, which would allow her to express her imagination...Luther had presented her with a friend, a guardian...something to care for. Her eyes seemed to sparkle as she let a shaking hand go to his hand. She looked up at him as he spoke of the little gift. That if she ever wanted someone to listen to her, (which in her case would be difficult considering her situation) that this little thing would always be there. Or someone to watch over her when she is afraid. She gently took the mouse in her hand. It was like her...Rat, deformed, stitched....she could relate to what ever pain or suffering it must have gone through. Yet in those plastic eyes reflected love...and that was something she wasn't used to..but craved to see.

She cradled the thing in her hands as if it were a real animal. It was hers now. Her animal, her friend. her guardian. When she was asked what to call it. She looked down at right away saw it as a 'he'. She observed him one more time and if she could smile she would be. But all emotion reflected perfectly in her eyes. The small creature, was light, and fragile in her arms. Just as she was. She was broken on the inside, and it seemed so was this little guy. It went through hard times, but survived, just as she had. She felt it would always be there when she needed him. She pulled the board out and wrote slowly. "Ian" She wrote out. Looking down at the mouse like an old friend. Then back up to Luther. "It is the name of a piece I had read, about a man whom was an angel, went through hard times...yet still maintained the strength of god."

She showed him her writing and then looked down at the mouse again, picking it up she cradled it in her hands once more, and lightly pet the stuffed animal with her index finger. Her eyes sparkling at her new friend. This was indeed a grand gift to have given Gabriella Wood. Indeed a generous and well thought out gift. Luther had no idea how much it meant to her, how honored she was.

[hrothgar]

He took the writing from her to get a better look at it, peering at the letters that she shoved at him. He gave a soft chuckle, "Ian, of course, that sounds like a wonderful name for him." He said handing her back the dry erase board. "Well you two just stick tight and get comfortable, I'll be right back."

With a pat on the knee he made his way now to the door and out into the hallway. He was gone for a good ten minutes before coming back in wheeling in a stainless steel cart, sliding it to a halt beside her bed and locking the wheels in place. On the cart were gathered a few things... surgical tools, a few syringes, rubber gloves, etc. But next to it all he had a small set of speakers hooked up to a digital music player. Humming to himself he plugged the little speakers into the electrical outlet beside her bed and flipped on the player. In moments there was light upbeat music coming through the little mini speakers, something that almost had a danceable quality to it. It was an instrumental piece with a laid back swing and she could see as the music started up that Hrothgar couldn't help but get into the mood of the song as well.

His steps took on a rhythm as he closed the curtains and washed his hands. sliding the latex gloves on and slipping into his surgical gown, humming along with the song. He seemed to be in good spirits moving easily and giving her a friendly smile before sliding his surgeon's mask on and taking out the syringe.
"Now just lay back and relax, if you don't like the music just give me two blinks." He said as he swabbed her neck region clean with an alcohol wipe before getting the hypodermic needle ready.

((Here's the song.))

[experiment24601]

Gabriella nodded as Luther said it was a good name for the little mouse. She cradled Ian in her hands and rocked back and fourth slightly. When he told her he would be right back she nodded again as he patted her head. For ten minutes she sat there in silence, cradling little Ian in her hands. Petting his soft fur, and looking into the shiny button eyes. When he returned she looked up as a metal cart was set beside her bed. The clinking of metal objects made her tremble slightly. As he prepared for the surgery she didn't notice him putting something on her bedside table, but when the noise entered the room she jumped slightly and looked around to see what the noise was. But it was not noise at all...it was...music.

She stared at the speakers for a while and then looked back at Luther whom was tapping his feet, and humming along to the melody. Washing his hands, pulling on rubber gloves. The snap of the last glove made her wince. No matter how loud the music was, the snap of the rubber glove was so loud in her head. Having heard that familiar slap for seventeen years...When he turned around and put the surgical mask over his face she started to shake again. Suddenly Luther didn't look like himself anymore. But the Scientists back at the Lab. She cradled Ian closer to her as he walked towards her with a needle. When he told her to lay back and relax he swabbed her neck with a wet substance. Over the infected holes over her neck where they had also poked and prodded her. She felt her body scoot back away from, almost threatening to jump out of the bed and run.

She stopped herself. She looked at Luther, in his rubber gloves and mask, the soft jazz music playing in the back ground. Ian in her hands, the soft fur comforting her. Her breathing was shallow and fast, but slowly it started to grow normal. She picked up her board and wrote: I need a minute..please" She showed him the writing and her eyes were dark, she was scared again. But trying to calm herself. This was not the scientists, this was Luther. This was not torture, this was medicine. Her hands shook violently and she pressed them against the mattress to still them. When she got her bearings, she did as she asked. She lay back slowly on the bed, resting her head on the pillow. Her hand still held Ian.

She nodded to Luther, giving him permission to continue. She felt her eyes water, but would not let the tears fall. Her thumb caressed her mouse. Seeking any kind of comfort it could give her.

[hrothgar]

He paused as she began to shake. He watched her movements and waited for her to regain her nerves. After a moment he saw her reach for her board and write out:


"I need a minute.. please"

He gave a soft "Ahh." Of recognition.. of course, she was shy around needled. Probably even more so when seeing them wielded in a surgical setting. He watched her lay her head back and smirked. "Don't worry, I'll wait till you're ready." He said in that calm reassuring voice of his. "No rush... you just take it easy listen to the music and when you're ready just let me know."

He waited patiently, smiling softly behind that surgical mask. Eventually he saw her nod. "You're ready now?" he asked. "Well that's a bit of a shame... I already went ahead and did it."

He had been working out of sight since he moment her head hit the pillow. While she waited he slid the needle in with practiced ease. Hrothgar had over 300 years of experience in the field of medicine, while others of his race learned how to master swords, rifles and unarmed combat, Hrothgar learned how to master the Syringe, the Scalpel and the surgical stitching. He'd had skittish patients before and he'd learned sometimes the best route was to get it over quickly. So, while she waited for her nerves to collect, he injected the anesthetics... by the time she gave her nod to continue the hypodermic needle was already empty and sitting on the cart. Hands trained by thousands of surgeries and cases had become masters of painless injections, if she had been concentrating she would have felt a bit of a tickle and nothing more.

He began humming now, counting backwards in his head from fifteen as the Anesthetics set in. The song was still going and with dilligent hands he set to work. In all it didn't take him more than a few minutes, and the prosthetic implant was in and stitched up in time for him to sing out with the final chorus in the song.

"Pennsylvania Six five Oh-oh-oh!" He sang, sliding his mask off and setting his tools aside on the cart.