trans_9 | Parts: 1. Jamie: 0. [Open]

By all rights, Jamie should be asleep. Ever since his trip to the City earlier, he's been running hot and cold, like he's got a fever. But rather than wanting to rest, he feels strangely jittery - so he's in Engineering, looking down at a box of parts that need to be sorted. However, now that he's actually here, he's not sure he wants to go through with it. If he doesn't, though, he'll just have to do it later. With a sigh, he rather carelessly dumps everything out onto a work table. He starts rummaging through the pile, although there's not much actual sorting going on. It seems more like he's simply picking something up, frowning at it for a moment and then setting it aside.

In the mess of bits and pieces, there's one part made up of two smaller ones that have been shoved together. It's the same thing he had been playing with while waiting for Billy during their failed goop gun experiment, and there's an almost wistful look on his face for a moment as he picks it up. He'll never be able to think of that without thinking of Cassie, now. Still, the parts would be of more use if they were separate, so he sets to trying to pull them back apart.

It seems he's done a fantastic job of wedging them together permanently, for try as he might he cannot get them to budge. As he tries, the expression on his face gets more and more irritated, until finally he gets frustrated enough that he throws it at the table. It bounces and goes sailing through the air towards the open doorway. Normally he'd go chasing after it, but why bother? It's not like it's going to hit anyone coming in this late, anyway. Is it?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

There's a long long moment when it's unclear if things are, indeed, going to turn out as badly as Kaylee might think. But then, Jamie pivots on his foot and stalks back to the worktable. Frustrated, he slams the piece in his hand down on it, hard, and pulls away.

The edges are unfinished, meant to be set into sockets and soldered into place, and when he rips his hand away, he slices the skin open. There's a sudden hiss of pain then, and he reflexively curls his fingers around the wound. Luckily for him, it's not his sword hand, but it still hurts.

It's awful, seeing him like this, but if she doesn't stand her ground then he's just going to keep doing stupid things. "Look, I'm real sorry, Jamie, I really am, but even I'm not allowed to be touchin' things when I'm sick. It's nothin' against you, alright?"

Of course, the words are barely out by the time he's stormed back over to the table. Kaylee winces for him as he chucks the piece at the table, and only worries more as his hand flinches back.

Gorrammit he was hopeless. Cautiously, she moves up next to him, grabbing and cleaning the part off awkwardly with a rag before placing it back into the box with the others. Once that's done, she reaches forward for his wrist. "Let's see it, c'mon."

Some part of him wants keep the hand away so she has to fight him to look at it, which isn't right. Why would he want Kaylee to have do that? Why is he getting so frustrated with her? The fever must be scrambling his brains.

"Aye, I know, Kaylee. It's just...och, here." He thrusts his hand out so she can look. The cut's not deep, but it appears he's managed to nick a capillary somewhere, as there's a decent amount of blood on his hand. He's feeling slightly nauseous again, although he has no idea if it's this germ thing or the cut, and he turns a slightly anxious-looking face towards Kaylee.

"How bad is it?"

Finally, some help in the matter. The mechanic gives him a grateful smile, and brushes the hair out of her face as she pulls his hand up to see it better.

"You nicked it good," she replies finally, before instructing him to keep the hand up while she gets the nearest emergency kit. "We can clean it up and wrap it, but it'd probly be best for you to go have medbay look at it, just in case. It's gushin' pretty good."

Practiced fingers come in handy here. Kaylee cleans and wraps his hand quickly and carefully, doing her best not to cause any more pain than she has to. By the end of it she's somehow managed to get half of the blood on herself, but she's quick to pretend it's just engine grease. Makes it easier to think about.

The kit put away again, and the box repacked, she nods to the door. "Alright, let's get you up there."

It's not much in the way of help. He's still quite restless, and fidgety, and can't quite make himself stand still no matter how hard he tries. Might very well be part of the reason Kaylee winds up all covered in his blood, actually.

Fortunately, Kaylee is quick enough that he doesn't have enough time to wind up getting frustrated again, although he does wince once or twice as he's bandaged. It's not Kaylee's fault, though. He would likely have felt it with whoever did the bandaging.

"Thank you, Kaylee," he says quietly, for once enunciating clearly enough that the translator doesn't turn the word into 'ye'.

He doesn't go to leave just yet. Instead, he turns to face her, somewhat reluctant to say what comes out next. "I...I don't think ye should go with me."

Jamie gets a soft smile in response to his thanks. "What I'm here for, helpin' out. You don't gotta thank me for it, alright? But you're welcome, in any case."

His next words are somewhat startling (alright, maybe not, since it is Jamie and he does like being all manly and anti-fuss about things), and the smile falters once more. "No," she replies slowly. "No, I s'pose I shouldn't. Gotta get all this cleaned up, right? You just go and head up, and I'll take care of everythin' else." There. Easy as that, right?

"Feel better, Jamie."

Jamie's having a lucid moment, although his eyes are still quite bright from the fever. He sees the smile fade, and he starts to reach for her, to hold her and tell her it's all right that way - but given how he's been acting, he realizes it might come across badly. Instead, he drops his hands to his sides, and puts the emotion into his voice.

"Kaylee. It's not that I don't want ye to go with me." In fact, part of him wants that very much. His reasons actually have nothing to do with him being all manly, in this case. "You're right, though. I'm not fine. I've not been fine all night, and..."

He trails off, looking somewhat anxious. After a few seconds, he continues, his voice very soft. "If I hurt ye because of it, I'd never be able to forgive myself."

Even though she hadn't expected to receive an explanation from him, she's somewhat relieved to have one. She simply nods in understanding, and would have left it there if he hadn't continued.

As he finishes, her hand goes up. The smile is back, mostly, and it's full of all the support and reassurance she can muster up for him right now.

"You don't gotta explain, Jamie. It's alright, or will be once you're feelin' better, and even then I won't expect an explanation. You just go get patched up, and don't worry about a thing."

"Aye," Jamie says, still in that gentle tone. He looks at Kaylee for a long moment but can feel that faint irritation coming back, like tiny pinpricks under his skin. He'd best get out of here before he does get angry again. He meant what he said - if he hurt Kaylee, even if he didn't mean to, he'd never forgive himself for it.

He walks out of Engineering, pausing in the doorway for a moment as a wave of dizziness comes over him. Doing his best to ignore it, he heads off down the hallway, not daring to look back at Kaylee for fear he'll change his mind.

Parts: 1. Jamie: 0. [Open]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject