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Niko opens his eyes slowly, with a muffled sigh and a faint grimace. He starts
to--no, wait, he's a pillow. Can't do that. Trapped. He very carefully starts
to edge out of pillowhood, trying to move slowly enough that he doesn't wake
you.
Sadly however Elasia's a bit jumpy tonight, the movement's enough to startle
her awake. With something of a scramble she ends up sitting upright and
looking sheepish.
Niko blinks several times, looking mildly startled by that. "Next time," he
decides, "I'll just stay thirsty." He sits up as well, resting a hand lightly
on your arm. "What's the matter, hon?"
Elasia shakes her head, clearing it. "Nothing, sorry, dreaming stuff. Kind of scatterbrained." She runs a hand through her now unbound curls. "Thirsty?" She pauses, "Me too for that matter. Want me to snag you something?"
Niko doesn't get up yet, but says, "I can get it? I know where the fridge is,
by now, and I'd kind of like to stretch a bit."
Elasia blinks a few times, but instead of protesting she just sort of nods.
"Bottle of water please?"
Niko's smile lights his face. One would think you'd just said he won the
lottery, rather than asked him to get some water. "No problem," he says
cheerfully. It takes him a moment to get to his feet, but once he's going, he
manages getting to the kitchen well enough. "Anything else, while I'm up?" he
inquires, rummaging in the fridge for the water.
Elasia shakes her head, well insamuch as she can as she has her hair in one
hand and is pulling the cascade of curls back. "No thanks, just a bit thirsty
is all."
You faintly hear a chime mark the hour.
Niko remains hunkered in the fridge for a few moments longer, then slowly
straightens and turns, a bottle of water in each hand. He pads lightly across
the room, offering one bottle with a, "There y'go, hon. And I'm still in one
piece." He eases himself very carefully to a seated position on the bed, with
a soft, barely aspirated 'whew'.
Elasia takes the bottle, giving you an appraising look as well as a nod of
thanks, "Preciate it, Niko. You going to survive?" She uncaps the top, doing
her dangdest to drain said bottle.
Niko uncaps his own bottle, sipping at his own water. "No problem, hon. And I'll survive, yeah. Just got to get used to the absence of drugs and all." He swigs from the bottle again, then shifts to settle against his pillow again.
Elasia tugs the blanket back over you lightly, "Just relax some then, hmm? Want
the remote or anything?"
Niko's head bobs in a short nod. "Please. Yeah. That'd be great. I don't want
to read." He snags the water once more, closing his eyes for a moment.
"Relaxing. Good idea."
Elasia drains off the rest of her water and stands with a langorous stretch. Moving across the room she rotates the screen so it faces the bed properly and snags the remote. She also stops to aquire a second bottle of water before returning to slide down next to you on the bed and offer the clicker.
Niko's eyes open in time to catch the stretching, and a slow smile crosses his
face. There's relaxation. "Thanks," he says, sounding a bit more chipper.
It's been six minutes. He makes use of the clicker, starting the
obnoxiousness that is channelsurfing. Click. Click.
Elasia sprawls next to you on the bed, watching the channelsurfing with one
delicate brow raised in amusment. Starting on the second bottle of water she
comments, "You have a talent for that."
Niko's channelsurfing pauses--on something singularly boring. "Huh?" he
inquires, peering towards you. The screen has started to drain all conscious
thought from his brain. "For what?"
Elasia manages to stifle a snicker, "Channel flipping. Must be a guy talent."
Niko flickers a faintly amused grin to you. "Well, then, it makes sense that I
can do it." He chuckles quietly, then flips right past something good. "Let
me know if you see anything you like."
Elasia knows better than -that-. She handed over the remote, it's time to just be diplomatic and give up all hope for decent programming. "Oh sure." She knows better. At least it has you sitting still and not fidgeting and generally being stir crazy. Right now she's so tired that that's more than enough for her. "Not that I have many preferences. Bout the only thing I watch regularly is the closed circuit to the Grand Hall."
Niko shakes his head. "Well, I don't think I can get -that-. Sorry, hon." He
pauses at a cartoon--more like Animaniacs, so it's something adults can
enjoy, too. "Huh. Though that one looks rather like... whatsisname. The
Zaeltan, not the head of the delegation..." Bushy brows lower in thought, and
then he shrugs and clicks on to something else.
Of course you left it on just long enough for Elasia to get interested before changing it. She's good though, doesn't show any exasperation, it's good to be a diplomat. "It's channel 35 regularly. But considering the hour it'll be off and they'll be showing informercials or something equally scary."
Niko clicks past a few other things that you'd likely find interesting, before zapping off the power. "Nothing good on," he murmurs, exchanging the remote for his water. "I think I'll pass on the scary infomercials."
Elasia manages by force of will not to snicker, although it's a close thing. "Probably best. Hair in a can is only entertaining once after all."
Niko, after a slow swallow of water, sets aside the bottle. "Oh, I don't know,"
he murmurs. "You get creative with it, it can be fun. I've got enough hair,
though."
Elasia looks frankly afraid of you with hair in a can, but amused as well.
"Yeah, like as not they'll go after you with scissors when you go back to
work."
Niko nods at that, replacing his water bottle on the table and sliding down from his half-upright position. "Anya," he says succinctly. "Maybe I'll just save myself the comments and get it done before I go back. Sometime."
"Which way would your parents prefer it do you think?" Elasis finishes off her
second bottle.
Niko mms? "My hair? Dad doesn't care. Mom'd likely prefer it shorter. She used
to complain when it got longer." He tugs lightly on his hair. "Makes for
entertaining comments, though."
"Get it snicked before you go then maybe?" Elasia grins, "I'd offer to help you
out, but I'm afraid you'd look like a sheep that got the clippers drunk and
then pissed them off."
Niko grins broadly at that, cutting off a laugh after a moment. "Maybe Anya
could do it," he muses. "At the very least, she'd know someone who could. I
wouldn't even mind the comments."
Elasia mmhmms quietly, "And it would give you something to do that wouldn't be
too terribly stressfull or hard or anything. But it'd let you get around and
all."
Niko's lips quirk. "No, I don't think a haircut would be terribly stressful or hard or anything," he mumbles. "Getting around is good, though. Very much."
Elasia snickers quietly, "Unless you were a lot more attached to your hair. I
meant in comparison to going jogging or whatever."
You faintly hear a chime mark the hour.
Niko shakes his head slowly back and forth. "Jogging," he intones, "Is a little
beyond me. I'm feeling better, though." He's not dead yet. Lifting his head,
he squints at his monitor for a moment, considering. He mutters to himself,
"Hey,... Riley... IV... can't be worse..."
Elasia peers at you a bit suspiciously, "Do I want to know?"
Niko considers for a moment longer, peering between you and the monitor.
"Probably not," he says candidly. After a moment, he grins and says, rather
roguishly, "Clara said that Riley's a worse patient than I am." Of course,
Clara's also not dealing with him all the time.
Diplomat or not, one of Elasia's brows lifts rather sharply at that before she manages to restrain her disbeliving reaction and compose her face. "Oh my," is her noncomittal reply as she searches for a more appropriate thing to say. She can't think of anything, "That must be festive, then."
Niko's head bobs in a slow nod. Eyes glinting with humor, he adds, "I've
decided not to try and catch up, though. Figured you'd smack me with a nerf
or something, if I did that." Of course, now he's trying desperately not to
laugh.
Elasia's delicate brows furrow in confusion, "A nerf? Would that hurt a lot?"
Niko blinks once at the question, then chokes, literally shaking with repressed
laughter. "Uh, maybe. It would definitely be a decidedly weird experience,
depending on which, uh, variety was used."
Elasia is starting to look worried, "Why do I suddenly think," she wonders aloud, "That I have entered a potentially dangerous conversational zone?"
Niko, with a few deep breaths, manages to regain control of that urge to laugh.
"Because you're perceptive?"
Elasia can't quite help but snicker at that, "Perceptive, yep..." She snickers again, "What in the name if all that's holy are you talking about?"
Niko inquires, with a grin, "Remember when y'all were talking about hitting me
with baseball bats?"
Elasia nods slowly, "Yes, with great relish..."
Niko pauses a beat at that. "No, see, you can't eat baseball bats, so you might
as well leave the relish alone." He grins, then adds, "And how Clara
mentioned something about nerf? I didn't know the word, see, so I remembered
it. Thought it might be Edrilac, so I asked Riley what it meant." And here he
can't help but snicker again.
Elasia leans over and very carefully and deliberately pokes you, careful of
ouchnesses. "Uh-huh...."
Oh, like being poked is going to make Niko stop laughing. "Evil," he sputters. "Well, see, Riley explained with it means. In Edrilac. It's an aroused cucumber. Don't ask me -why- the Edreeni have a word for this, but they do."
Okay, that garners a pause, and Ela asks the obvious question, "How does a
cucumber get aroused?" And there's another pause, "And why would Clara hit
you with one?"
Niko has been handed the perfect straight line, in your first question. He
ignores the second one for a moment, and deadpans, "It saw a squash with good
gourds?"
Elasia groans and flops back onto the bed to continue groaning, "Ni-ko, that
was -awwwful-."
Niko knows it's awful, and finally is able to snicker again now that you've
acknowledged it. "Blame Riley. He said it first." After a pause, he adds,
"And nerf is also kind of foam-like stuff, Riley said. I daresay that's what
Clara meant." He pauses a beat. "I hope that's what she meant, at least. I'd
like to clarify that at some point." And, no, he doesn't even realize the
play on words.
Elasia looks a bit relieved, "Let me just say, I'd really prefer nobody hit on
you with any vegetables in a state of sexual excitement." Now how's that for
something you don't get to say every day?
That's enough to get Niko snickering again. Perhaps he's a bit punchy, perhaps it's distraction. Who can say? "I shall endeavor to avoid sexually excited vegetables," he swears, avows, and avers. "This is my new goal."
Elasia must be punchy too then, because she just -loses- it at that and half buries her head in a pillow laughing. "You'll have to get a shirt with that on it or something. Let everybody know your new quest."
Niko beams at that thought, attempting not to laugh too hard. "Put it on a
shield," he sputters. "Forget the Holy Grail... I'm the -nerf- knight. Or
anti-nerf." Galahad... Peril... Knight.
That gets a further fit of laughter, Elasia's short on sleep too. "In quest for
vegetables that aren't horny!"
Niko finally gives up not laughing as a lost cause and turns on his side,
literally gasping with laughter. "Cucumbers," he manages, "Gourds. Avoid
melons at all cost. Too perilous."
Elasia slides to sit up, rubbing your back gently. She's still snickering
though, "Aww, just a little peril?" She pauses, snickering, "Gourd shaped
lantern? I think there's a strip club in the Java Quarter that -has- one of
those..."
Strip clubs in the Java Quarter? Niko's not sure which bothers him more--that he didn't know about this, or that you did. At any rate, his laughter gutters to a halt. He's obviously been missing some crucial side streets. (Bourbon, perhaps?) "I think I'll pass on that one," he decides.
Elasia snickers softly, "You can't miss it though," she suggests, still
rubbing. "Right across from the All World Bookshop. This -massive- pair of
neon ... erm ... mammary glands. I spilled coffee the first time I saw them.
Just sort of lurking there..."
Niko relaxes slowly, the tension in his body made noticeable only by its absence. Near a bookstore. Much better. "Sounds, uh, enlightening?" He shifts back to face you, looking a bit more tired but still very much alert. "A lurking... gourd-shaped lantern. Definitely something to take a picture of, for the folks back home." Sure, his grandmother will love that.
You faintly hear a chime mark the hour.
Elasia continues to rub methodically although she seems to find that last idea
even more amusing. "Somehow," she splutters in amusment, "I bet they'll be
even more scandalized than I was."
Niko is less amused, clearly, contenting himself with a quick smile. "Which is
why I think I'll hold off on that til another visit. There'll be enough
scandal packed into 45 hours as it is."
Elasia sobers at that, nodding almost to herself. "Yeah, like as not there'll
be more than enough to go on about and all."
Niko inhales deeply, releasing the breath a bit at a time. Yeah. He's done laughing. "Wish it could be longer," he muses, "But, all in all, I'm glad for what I'm getting. Even if I'm going to deal with this strange, mystical being..." He shakes his head. "Riley told her that I'm her brother. I don't quite understand that, but if that's how they want to think of it..."
Elasia looks more than a bit confused, "Strange mystical being?" She pauses, "I take it you'd rather he hadn't told this person that?"
Niko lifts his shoulders in a small shrug. "I don't know," he says slowly. "I
guess I just don't know how I'm supposed to act. Like she -is- my sister?
Like she's a superior officer? Both?" He shakes his head very slowly. "I
guess I can see Riley wanting someone to look after me and all--" And that's
said grudgingly, "--but I'd kind of prefer it if it -weren't- some form of...
'family member'. Especially one I know nothing about." He rubs lightly at his
eyes, then leaves his hand up there, covering them and part of his face with
them. "This trip's going to be weird as it is."
Elasia continues her careful rubbing, "Why doncha' tell him that? Get things sorted out, let him know it makes you uncomfortable."
Niko shakes his head, one hand sliding down to rub lightly--and subtly, or so he hopes--along his abdomen, just past the edge of the bandage. "He's likely gone to a bit of trouble to arrange this. I don't rate a translation ship, not by a long shot, and I don't think this trip was on the schedule at this time. I can deal." He's just complain about it, that's all.
Elasia is good at subtle, she works with diplomats. Your complaints get ignored
for the moment, "Hurting?"
Niko grimaces, lifting his hand--belatedly. "Yeah. The painkiller Clara gave me wore off." He adds, voice quiet, "It's -not- an infection or anything like that. It's just that the drugs are gone. That's all."
"Will you comm Clara," Elasia asks, "Or will I?"
Niko regards you steadily for a moment. "It's not that bad," he says softly. "Please? I don't want to bug her. It's late. She's probably sleeping."
Elasia shakes her head, firm in her resolve. "Nothing doing Niko. She needs to be called. If she's asleep she'll have her comm switched off."
Niko's skeptical expression suggests that he doesn't quite believe that
statement. Again, he regards you for a moment, then apparently decides that
he's not going to get you to back down on this--at least, not without the
kind of argument that he's really not prepared to have, if at all. "All
right," he says finally. "I'll call her." And he's annoyed about it, too,
clearly.
Elasia is seemingly patient. But then she's still not backing down. She's far too sleep deprived and tired of having to ride tail on you endlessly to so much as balk at your annoyance. There's something in her eyes however that indicates she may be very near losing her composure.
Niko peers at you for a moment, and catches some of that something in your eyes. He has the grace to look abashed, and murmurs a vague apology, briefly covering your hand with his before lifting his comm-unit.
You say "Uh, Clara?" Gee, he sounds kind of meek. "Sorry to bug you so late.
Got a minute?" into the communit.
Your communit crackles to life and blares "Hey there. What's up?" in Clara's
voice.
You say "I was, uh, just wondering how long the pain meds you gave me earlier
were supposed to last." into the communit.
Your communit crackles to life and says "It should last twenty-four hours...are you hurting? Do you want me to come give you another?" in Clara's voice.
Elasia is still a solid non-backing down presence. Her patience has been worn
thin and jumped on a few times. She's holding onto the remains of it, but by
threads.
You say "Yes, please. I'd appreciate that." into the communit.
Niko lowers the comm-unit when it looks like a response is not forthcoming. "I guess she's coming up," he says quietly, perhaps a bit subdued. "I... Ela, I'm sorry. I'm being awful, I know. I'll try harder."
Elasia doesn't -deny- that you're being awful, but she does relax a bit. "It's
okay, you're hurting, I understand that."
A quiet, but hurried, knock sounds at the door.
Niko starts to say something else, then looks over at the knock, calling, "Come
in."
Clara enters from the Elevator Lounge.
Clara has arrived.
Elasia offers Clara a relieved look at her appearance. Just what fraying
patience needs, a sane person. "Evening, Clara. Thanks for coming up like
this."
Niko is perched on the bed, looking tired, but not even remotely argumentative
for a change. Anything you want to do to him, do it now. "Yes, thanks," he
echoes quietly.
Clara hurries in, oversized medkit over one jacketed shoulder, although her hair falls loose and somewhat tangled about her shoulders. She crosses to the bed, already pulling her scanner from its holster and looking fairly worried. "Anytime, Ela. Seriously. What's going on?" she asks, dropping the bag and instantly starting to scan Niko. "Where does it hurt? Your abdomen?"
Niko's head bobs in a quick nod. "There, yes. It's--" No, wait, he doesn't say it's fine, nor does he offer his own diagnosis. Falling silent, and landing with a thump, he instead peers between the two women.
Elasia is looking more than a bit harried, and more than a bit sleepless. Niko only seems like a model patient if you're not living with him, see. ;) She doesn't comment though beyond, "He has a tendency to try and overdo things."
"Overdo?" Clara glances up with a hard look at Niko before peering back at Ela sympathetically. "If he's being obnoxious, I can put him back in Medbay? Giani'd keep watch over him," she offers as she turns back to the scanner. "Niko, did I or did I not tell you not to walk if it started to hurt?"
Niko's response is very quiet, but clear nonetheless. "You did." He wants to add a 'but', it's painfully obvious, but he bites his tongue and keeps quiet.
Now as annoying as he may be, Ela is still very much attached to Niko. "I'd really rather he stayed here. See, cause I'm less likely to wring his neck see... And I kind of like him alive." He tone is one of dry humor.
Clara looks about as annoyed as she's going to get with Niko, which really
isn't very, and more borne out of worry than anything else. Still, her tone
is sharp as she notes, "And here I spent so much time praising Ela's care of
you, and you go and try to undo her good work." As she speaks she starts to
pull IV equipment from her bag, glancing up to offer Ela a comforting smile.
"I understand how you feel. He can stay."
Niko relaxes just a bit at Ela's words, murmuring, "Are you sure? If I'm
bugging you that..." Anything else he has to say is cut off by the appearance
of the IV equipment. He closes his eyes for a moment, one can almost see him
keeping back several annoying reactions. When he does open his eyes, though,
he just offers a tight smile. Silence is golden.
You faintly hear a chime mark the hour.
Elasia reaches over to pat at Niko's leg comfortingly. "I'd much rather have
you up here, yes." She nods her thanks to Clara. "I 'preciate it ma'am."
She's tired, the ma'am'ing is coming back out.
Clara glances at the smile with a raised brow, almost as if daring an argument
as she straightens to hook the plas bottle to the monitor stand, then
injecting a number of vials into it. She straightens out the tubing, then
sits down on the edge of the bed on Niko's other side. "Hand, please. And
just Clara, Ela. I'm not even thirty yet, and don't even outrank this
stubborn goof here all that much."
Niko, as much as he'd like to do just that, is not going to argue. Instead, he
proffers his hand, asking only, with careful politeness, "Do you have any
idea how long I'll need this, Clara?"
Elasia looks rather abashed, "Sorry," she apologizes quietly. "My brain's a bit
fuzzed. Falling into old habits."
"Three days, minimum," Clara replies, hands far gentler than her tone as she
deftly inserts the IV needle and tapes it down cautiously. "You even -try- to
overdo it for the next three days, and I will officially forbid you from
leaving the planet. Got it?" She glances up and grins at Ela. "It's late,
it's okay. You're fine."
Niko winces a bit at Clara's words, but nods. "Got it, Clara." He casts a
brief, vaguely worried glance towards Ela, reaching with the tube-free hand
to snag one of hers. (Hands, that is. Not tubes. That would be kind of
difficult.)
Since the only tubes Ela has are internal, yes. She squeezes with her snagged
hand.
Clara attaches the tubing to the syringe, then watches it carefully as the drip
starts up. Checking the medicine levels again, she reseats herself, sighing.
"Okay," she begins, addressing you both. "I've got that set strong, with a
timer to back off at 0800. You should be asleep shortly Niko. Ela, you look
frazzled. Can I do anyting for you?"
Elasia shakes her head, "No but thanks. If he's out and behaving, I'll manage
sleeping through until work calls."
Niko mumbles something about giving Ela a nerf, a quicksilver grin crossing his
face.
Elasia all but chokes at that, snickering, "Back back oh sexually aroused
vegetables!" Ummm, no, you don't want to know.
Clara starts to answer Ela, but chokes slightly on a laugh and pokes Niko's
good shoulder. "Edrilac indeed," she mutters, grinning. "Okay, I'd say sleep
yourself out if you can. Medical advice."
Niko seems unrepentant about -this-, at least. "Oh," he says, already starting to look a bit zonked from the drugs, "Clara. Does getting a haircut count as overdoing it? Mom'll fuss, and Losi will make sheepdog comments again..."
Clara starts to repack her stuff into the medkit bag, thinking it over. "If you
go in a wheelchair, no. I don't want you walking tomorrow. Better yet, bribe
the barber to come up here."
Elasia makes notes of all this mentally, so as to hold Niko to it. She's evil,
yes.
Niko's head bobs in a brief nod. "Kay. Bribery. Maybe -he- likes tziziki, too." Of course, he's still not quite sure where a barber can be located, but he's enough out-of-it that he's forgotten that. "Thanks, Clara."
Clara nods vaguely, climbing slowly to her feet and reshouldering the pack and ruffling said hair. "Shaggy indeed, sailor," she notes, voice far more gentle now. "Still hurting?" A hint of weariness creeps in as well.
Elasia murmurs quiet thanks as well, far too tired to remember all the polite
things to say. In her extremely rumpled flannel and denim she leans against
the headboard on the bed's far side.
Niko shakes his head very slowly back and forth. "Not at all. Feels good. Ver' happy drugs." They must be, for him to admit that. "Jus' sleepy."
Clara offers Ela a warm but tired smile and nod, fairly rumpled herself. All
but the jacket, at least. "Get some sleep, Ela. You've done a wonderful job."
She reaches down and squeezes Niko's shoulder. "Then sleep, both of you. Call
me if you need anything, okay?"
Elasia nods simply to that, looking like she intends to do just that soon
enough.
Niko's head bobs in a slow nod, and he slides under the covers. "Kay. Sleep.
There's'n idea. Good one, even."
Clara grins slightly and shakes her head, casts a wave briefly, and turns to
head for the door.
Clara leave the room.
Clara has left.
Elasia slides into the bed as soon as Clara clears the door, with a quiet sound
of relief.
Niko yawns massively. "Bedtime, huh?" he mumbles. "Time to sleep. Night, love.
Sorry'm so obnoxious." Only we really can't abuse enough apostrophes to
express how he mangles that last word.
Elasia reaches over to brush back your hair before clambering beneath the blankets, "Night love, sleep well. See you in the morning."
Niko mumbles something that may or may not be an involved commentary on
Florence Nightengale, and how much better he likes you than Giani. It's
incoherent enough--and you're sleepy enough--that it's likely tough to tell.
Mercifully, the rambling ends fairly quickly, and Niko drops off to a very
solid, drug-induced slumber. So he's not going to wake up at -all- tonight.
And there was much rejoicing.
Elasia is out pretty fast herself, relaxing now that she figures you're not
dangerous until 0800.