ArchivedLogs:Soup's On

Soup's On
Dramatis Personae Doug, Iolaus, Jackson, Jane, Joshua
In Absentia	2013-03-10 '
Location <NYC> 303 {Holland} - Village Lofts - East Village
This apartment is cheerful, in its way -- bright and airy, its floor plan open and a plethora of windows providing it with an abundance of light. The tiny entrance hall opens into a living room, small, though its sparse furniture and lack of clutter give it a more open feel. The decor is subdued and minimalist; black and white is the dominant theme, with occasional splashes of deep crimson to offset the monochrome, though of late bright coloured sealife has made its way into being painted on the wall. The couch and armchair are upholstered in black corduroy, the low wide coffee table central is black wood and glass-topped, and a few large pillowy beanbags provide additional seating by the large windows that dominate the back wall. Towards the back, a couple of doors lead off into bedrooms and bathroom, and to the right, the kitchen's tile is separated from the living room's dark hardwood floors by black countertops. Above the bedroom to one side, there is higher space; a ladder climbs up to a lofted area looking down on the living room. Standing in front of the partition between living and cooking area is a large fish tank: one lone Betta, blood-red, swims regally among several species of black and silver fish. A hallway beyond the kitchen leads further into the apartment. Another bathroom stands just into the hall and the farthest door leads to the apartment's final bedroom, the door usually kept shut to hold in the acrid fumes of turpentine and paints from within. Jackson's normally pristine apartment is a mess of clutter, at the moment. Mattresses have been set up over most of his living room floor; a few hold people, though so does the loft, and the fire escape (smoke break), and the twins' bedroom. Jackson himself is in the kitchen, come lunchtime, diligently chopchopchopping at a large PILE of mushrooms which he is very likely going to soon be dumping into the large pot of stew. His carefully prepared foodrations meant to last his /kids/ in the case of his potential demise have not lasted long in the face of a horde of hungry refugees. Some short while ago he sent a text to Doug: 'Your tip paid off. Got some people. Thank you.' but now it is back to cooking. Because, hungry refugees. Lunchtime. In appearance he looks hale and hearty! Brightcoloured makeup, brightcoloured hair (a bit shorter than before), bright yellow Little Miss Sunshine t-shirt, sunglasses. Though there's no sign of injury, he's rather stiff in his careful chopping, not quite as deft with his knife as he usually is. Stepping carefully from bed to bed, white lab coat shed for a simple dress shirt and slacks, Iolaus chats warmly with the patients as he examines their injuries. As he passes from patient to patient, he spends several minutes in front of each person, introducing himself (even if they've already met him), talking about what he wants to do, and checking to make sure he has permission every step of the way. There is not much room for privacy, but his voice is low enough to give the hope of it, and his examinations, though thorough, don't usually involve much revealing of skin. Not far from the door, in a chair she has pulled from somewhere, Jane sits, watching over the crowd, and guarding the door. It's not long after the text that Doug comes down, dressed for a lazy Sunday in snug-fitting sweatpants and a battered greyish t-shirt that reads 'Fruity Oaty Bars' across the front, along with a stylized logo of three Asian girls. He pauses on the threshhold of 303, chewing his lip for a moment before he lifts his hand and brings it down on the door in three solid knocks. "Jackson, it's Doug." Then another three knocks, before he drops his weight to lean on the doorframe and wait. "I got your text." The instant there is a knock on the door, a red shield ripples around the doorframe on the inside of the door and Jane is on her feet. She peers through the peephole, then looks questioningly at Jax. At his nod, the shield drops, and she opens the door just long enough to admit Doug before locking it again and returning to her post. A post she is shortly /joined/ at by Joshua. << Jax says you ditched the doctors, >> he tells her, /companionably/, << I'm fixing you, now. Boss's orders. >> Jax, meanwhile, glances towards the door with a quick smile. "Doug! Hey. Um. Kinda hectic in her, you want lunch? I'm making soup. Or stew. Ain't actually, uh, sure yet," he admits sheepishly. Jane lets out what is quite literally a growl. "Get out of my head, /telepath/," she says, darkly, eyes narrowing. "I already saw the medics. They've bandaged me up." Her eyes slide to Jax, frown increasing, switching the glare onto him. /Betrayer/. Iolaus, too, looks up, in the middle of talking to a patient to examine the man walking through the door before turning back to the woman resting on the ground. "We'll know more in a couple of weeks about exactly what we can fit you with. Jax has a patient... sorry. Has a person who fits prosthesis who you and I and the surgeon can work with on it." He frowns, though there is a note of apology in his voice. "I seem to not be able to 'word' quite right. Sorry about that." A warm smile. "Alright?" Doug seems unflummoxed by the Cloak and Dagger act, sliding through the door with a smile for Jane, whether she returns it or not. Joshua gets a wider grin. "Hey, Josh! I wondered where everyone had run off to, this morning. How'd you sleep?" But then there is Jackson, offering food, and the blonde moves in that direction, his mouth pressing tight at the number of beds laid out in the space. "Food sounds good," he says. "You found more than a few people, though. This..." he lifts a hand at the room. "...is heroic. Seriously." Only then does he notice Iolaus, and his brow furrows. "Doctor Saavedro?" << I'm not a telepath, >> Joshua tells Jane, right as Jax says, "He's not a telepath. Uh, not always." Joshua holds out his hand. Kind of /presumptuously/. For Jane's. "Orders are orders. He looks after his team." Jax blushes, deep as he overhears Iolaus with the patient and then again for Doug. Doug gets more than a few stares from around the room, mildly assuaged with Jax's assurance of: "He's a friend." He dumps the mushrooms into the pot, moving on to a pile of bell peppers. "This is only a handful of 'em," he says wryly to Doug. "Hive's got more. Ryan too. We -- thanks," he says, soft but sincere. Iolaus smiles at his patient and takes a step away, turning to look at Doug. He stops and turns around, a grin on his face, snapping his fingers once. "A-ha! Prosthetist. There you go. I knew it would come to me." Chuckling, he turns to smile and give a little wave to Doug. "Hey. How are you doing?" he asks, glancing around the floor to navigate carefully towards the kitchen. "Been a while." Jane frowns and grabs Joshua's hand, glaring at him. << I don't like people in my head. >> Indeed, it is not a very pleasant place to be. Doug does not notice blushing; perhaps he's been around someone who blushes a lot, recently. He /does/ whistle low at the information from Jackson, and turns to scrunch his nose. "I've got three in my place," he says with a lift of his shoulder. "I told Joshua he could move back in, and that little fuzzy guy and some girl wearing...me...like, /all/ of me...what were their names again, Joshua?" he calls towards the door. "Parley and...?" Then he's flapping a hand. "I'm just glad it was good intel," he says. "Although, Peter deserves a good chunk of credit. It was his files that allowed us to triangulate." He smiles at Iolaus, and nods. "I've been good," he says. "Better, now that everyone is home safe." "Not everyone," Jackson and Joshua both chime together, Jackson quiet and Joshua bland-blunt. "I don't know if we're staying," Joshua admits, with a shrug, "I mean, it's kind of a lot to dump on you. I don't know if she has a name." His hand closes around Jane's, expression shifting more intently thoughtful, seeking out the burn on her leg and slowly starting to repair it. "Not reading your head. Just speaking. And I'm not a telepath." Jackson, meanwhile, blushes again deeper. "Prosthetist," he agrees with Iolaus. "But Micah says it won't be a while yet till he's needed. 'leastways not, um, for -- I mean, there's steps in between. You on break yet, Doug?" "The injury has to heal before you can fit a prosthesis." Iolaus adds, then he shrugs sheepishly. "If I recall. It's been a while since I was in med school, and I kind of daydreamed in ortho a lot. Not my favorite topic." His smile is playful and has a flash of white teeth. "You were involved in this as well?" he asks Doug, curiously. Jane snaps from where she sits, "Don't answer that. Stop asking questions, Iolaus." she says, crossing her arms over her chest. "Thank you, doc." she says, quieter, to Joshua. Doug's expression falls at the response from Jackson and Joshua, and he presses his lips tight. "Shit. I didn't even think to ask...I'm sorry," he says, earnestly, and looks helplessly between Joshua and Jackson. Joshua's statement gets a small frown. "I wouldn't have offered if I didn't mean it," he says. "I know what the risks are." He, too, blushes at the mention of Micah's name and professional input, and he tilts his head curiously at Jackson. "I didn't know you knew Micah," he says, his brow furrowing slightly before he's grinning wide. "Isn't he /awesome/? We went to the movies last night. It was a blast." There might be a little bit of gushing, which helps him to obey Jane's instruction. Or maybe he forgot Iolaus' question. "We're totally going to take the Stark Tower tour on Thursday." Joshua just nods at Jane's thanks, still concentrating, knitting burned flesh, regrowing damaged skin. It's a strange sensation, tingling, though decidedly less unpleasant than /getting/ lasered in the first place. Joshua's head bows at Doug's apology, his lips compressing slightly. "You didn't know," Jackson says, simply, eying his peppers steadily as he chops. His smile is a beat delayed, but warm, at Doug's gushing; his cheeks still red, but at least now he looks back up. "He's pretty sweet, yeah," he agrees, softly. "He was over yesterday, um --" He gestures out to Iolaus in the living room. "We got a lot of people to help and I don't know hardly nothing about this kinda thing. He's --" His smile curls a little wider as he looks back to his cooking. "Real helpful. What's the Start Tower tour?" Iolaus' eyes flick back and forth between Jackson and Doug, curiously, eyebrows furrowing slightly as if trying to read something written in a language he can't quite understand. Then he turns and heads around the counter to get himself a glass of water, taking a sip and heading to check on a sleeping patient several feet away. Jane looks curiously down at her leg, then up at Joshua. "Handy skill to have." she comments, with some surprise. "I bet you're a useful guy to have around." This, by itself, might be tremendous praise. "You a cop?" Doug's grin falters as he watches Jackson, his lips pulling into a tight-seeming line that he eliminates with a puffy exhale. "Yeah," he agrees, lifting a shoulder. "I think so, anyway. Good to know I'm not alone in that..." he shifts his weight, and pokes his tongue into his cheek, briefly. "...sentiment." He folds his arms over his chest, and rocks back on his heels. "Stark Tower," he corrects absently, watching Iolaus move among the patients. "It's their world headquarters? Tony Stark is kind of a big deal in technology, these days." He shrugs half-heartedly, watching Iolaus another moment before looking back towards Jackson. "They've got tours for techheads to take, but now I'm thinking it can probably wait. Micah's going to have his hands full with...stuff." "Pfff, naw, we ain't gonna need no prosthetics for weeks. Plus fun in the middle of chaos is kinda important. I bet he'd love geeking out with a --" Jax quirks a crooked smile at Doug, waving his chopping knife a little stiffly towards the other man. "-- cute nerd." "Paramedic," Joshua corrects. He's still holding on to Jane's hand, at least until the last of the healing is done with. His fingers press to his eyes, then, shoulders sagging slowly. "Oh, I'm a whole barrel of handy. I'm like Jax and Ryan's multitool." "Ah. I figured it was something like that." Jane says, and she stands up. "Now you sit." she says, not letting go of her grip of the other man until he is sitting down in the chair. "You're on my team too." she says, with a very tight lipped smile. Turn about is fair game. Iolaus gently presses two fingers to the person's pulse, checking it as he looks at his watch. His eyes slip to their chest, then back to his watch. He straightens up and heads back towards the kitchen. "Do you know the next time the shuttle is supposed to get here? I might want to bring someone back to get looked at a second time." Doug seems unconvinced. "Still. He'll need that time to build the stuff you'll need." He wrinkles his nose at Jackson. "It's not a big deal -- they have those tours all the time." He smiles, then, and unfolds his arms to rub at his nose. "There's other people I can ask, if it comes down to it." That sounds much less convincing, but his smile doesn't falter until Iolaus rejoins them, and then he's frowning, looking back at the patient. "Shuttle?" he asks, his expression curious. "You guys are hooked up with an actual hospital or something?" "Naw, not really. Don't know what actual hospital would take us," Jackson says with a wry smile. "People are kinda scattered, though. There's better care but, uh. Most people good to walk," Or hobble one-footed, "don't really care to stay nowhere institutional." Joshua smiles, wry, allowing this as he sinks down into the chair. "Man, that wasn't half so bad as some of the things I've been fixing up. Put some lunch in me, I'll be golden. -- He's right, you know," he adds, to Doug. "Chaos is all the /more/ reason to take a break and have fun. Just fucking work all the time, you'll end up like Jax." "Happy? Sparkly? /Totally/ pretty?" Jax jokes, batting his eyes -- okay, /eye/ -- at Joshua. "Umm. Ain't nobody going nowhere till after lunch," he apologizes to Iolaus, "but after that there'll be a run." Iolaus frowns a little bit deeper, but he nods. "Alright. I'll keep checking in... but I might have to get a ride sooner than that." He gives a small, thin smile before he returns towards his work to meet with another patient. "They used to let us have leave between the rough patches. If you run at 110% all the time, you'll burn out faster, and then what good are you?" Jane adds in, curtly. She does not comment on the acceptability of sparkles, or happiness, though she does give Jax a rather fixed look. "Hey," Doug says, holding up his hand defensively. "I'm on Spring Break. I'm at my /least/ chaotic, right now, present situation excepted." He lifts his eyebrows at Joshua playfully. "And it seems like Josh is planning on removing the chaos from my apartment, so I think I can forgo a tour in the name of a bigger cause." He lifts a shoulder. "And we just went to the movies," he offers, color creeping back up into his ears. "I don't want to come off as /pushy/ or anything." "Was talking 'bout him," Jackson says to Doug with a quick smile. "Cuz Jane's right, all work and no downtime --" This draws a deeper blush from him, his nose wrinkling. "I got plenty rest last night!" he protests. "Though, oh /man/ am I gonna look forward to Spring Break now." He stops his cutting with a wince, as though the reminder about resting has, well reminded him to rest. His hand drops to his side, fingers flexing slowly. Dumping the peppers into his pot, he lids it and leans back against the counter with a relieved sigh. "Sooner than that you should ask Ryan," he advises Iolaus. And to Doug, again, "You're blushin' an awful lot." "One night rest is not enough rest. Don't think Iolaus hasn't told me about you." Jane says, darkly, giving Jax a reproachful look. She points to her eye and then points back at Jax, and there is a slight... something around her lip region. Rigor mortis, perhaps? Surely, not a smile. Iolaus nods from where he stands next to another patient. "We'll see." he says, an uncertain note in his tone. He crouches down to get closer to his patient as he introduces himself in a quiet voice, once more getting into his spiel. "After what you guys did, you probably /all/ could use a good rest for a while," Doug says, nodding around the group. "Hopefully, you'll get it." He ducks his head at Jax's observation, and rubs at his nose. "So are you," he counters, weakly. "When does he /not/," Joshua says, with a smirk. Which makes Jax blush more. His mouth pulls up into a lopsided smile. "Man, we all could, yeah. I gotta go /sit/ on Ryan or he'll never slow down either. Maybe," he decides, "he'll agree to rest if I'm doing it /with/ him. You know," he tells Jane solemnly, "I run on sunlight. One good night holds me over for a while, now that the days're getting longer. But. I'm going to do it /again tonight/." He says this like it is something scandalous! TWO nights of sleep! IN A ROW. Jane gives Jax another /look/. This one with slightly less kindness to it. Her lips purse, and she gives Jax a nod. Fight the war, not the battle. Iolaus chuckles, though whether it is something that his patient has said or the larger conversation, it isn't possible to tell. He finishes with this patient quickly, and heads back over to the counter. "You boys do blush a lot." he says, and his tone is teasingly dark with just a trace of a rumble to it. He winks, then grins wider, a chuckle on his lips. "Hey, I'm a blonde with fair skin. Blushing is a phenomenon I've lived with my whole life." Doug grins, although he's blushing /again/ at Iolaus' input, color deepening at the wink. "Although, you have a point," he says to Joshua, ears still flaming. He turns back to Jax, nodding. "Good," he says of a second night of sleep, offering a lopsided grin. "It's nice to know you stop for a while at /some/ point." Jax is blushing, too, with a duck of his head at Iolaus's teasing. He rubs at the back of his neck, nose crinkling up sheepishly. "I stop," he allows, "I couldn't do what I do if I didn't. Sometimes, though," his nose is still wrinkled, glance sliding to Jane, "kinda need a reminder." Iolaus glances at Jane. "I don't think you'll have a problem with that if Jane is around." Jane's look is predatory. "She... is quite forceful with making sure people are taking care of themselves properly. Trust me, I know." the doctor says, sounding slightly pained. "All too well." He picks up his glass and takes a sip of it, leaning against the counter and closing his eyes for a moment. "Sounds like my mother," Doug says, grinning over at Jane. "She can strongarm the best of them, and can hear a cold-related sniffle two minutes after you've been exposed." He swings his gaze upward, playfully. "At least it seems that way. Parent radar or something." Then he's looking back at Jax, his gaze speculative. "You don't stop long, though, from what I've heard. So, good on Jane," he says turning back to give the woman a thumbs up. Joshua is drifting away from this conversation, not in locale but in attention, kind of nodding off where he sits. "Oy," Jax calls, "soup's on. No sleeping. Lunch first." He opens his pot to sniff at it, then turns to the counter to get out a large stack of bowls, teeth gritting as he reaches for them. "I stop -- um, sometimes! Mostly with good company," he admits with a blush, "s'pleasanter if y'got someone to stop /with/. And, hey. For /now/, Jane's on /my/ team." He hasn't taken that job offer yet! "Somehow, I think your mom and I aren't quite the same." Jane says, voice edging towards a growl. Still, she stands up to head towards the kitchen to fetch a bowl of soup. "Perhaps. But an NCO can point out when an officer needs help. That's part of our job." She glances to Joshua. "After you get some rest, Joshua, Jackson is next on your list of patients." It is, most certainly, an order, and books no discussion. She levels Jax with the look as well, eyes narrowing slightly, as if in challenge. Iolaus chuckles and raises his hands. "So glad I'm not in the middle of this," he mutters, as he, too, grabs a bowl to get some more soup. "And, indeed, it is. Does that mean we should find a rotating shift of men to make sure you sleep, hm?" he says, voice teasing once more. Doug laughs, nodding at Jane. "No," he admits. "You and my mom are not very similar. Different types of toughness, to be sure." He grins, and makes room at the counter, offering plates and things to those coming up. "I should try that," he says to Jax, wrinkling his nose. "I did sleep pretty well..." is mostly to himself, although there's a dark look towards' the twins' door and another blush. "Where's Shane?" he asks, suddenly, looking around. "I figured both twins would be here lending a hand." Jackson blushes furiously at Iolaus's suggestion, bowing his head over his pot as he ladles out bowls of soup. So many bowls of soup. He does not challenge Jane's order, just -- ladling soup! Even as his blushing spreads out to tint the air around him pink. "Don't need a rotating shift," he says, shyly, "just the right one." The question draws his gaze back up with a startled blink. "Shane went on a Goodwill run to get everyone more clothes. Bastian's up at Hive's helpin' with food up there." Iolaus grins at Jackson as he steps away from the counter to let others approach, giving a nod of his head. "True. But don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good." he says, with a laugh in his voice, as he steps away to sit down in a free spot on the floor and begin to eat. Doug doesn't join in the blushing, this time around. He's still pretty red from the last bout. Instead, he hands out bowls, and crackers, and napkins...until everyone has soup, and the conversation is eventually replaced by the sounds of spoons scraping bowls, and murmured compliments on the food.