Cabin Fever [Open to Wash's friends]

[unrecovered]

[Wash sat on his bed, legs crossed at the ankle, arms folded, staring at the wall. There was exactly one book in the room, and he'd finished it yesterday. No point in rereading it - not when he could remember the whole thing down to the goddamn word if he wanted to. The network was fairly quiet. There was no TV or radio in here. He was bored out of his goddamn mind and had been for - he checked the clock - the past two hours, at least.]

[Bed rest was bullshit.]

[Bones had insisted, and when Wash had insisted he was well enough to at least walk around the damn apartment, Bones had lifted him straight off the floor with his magic and hauled him back down the hall. There was no arguing with that.]

[Well, no, there was plenty of arguing with that. There was just no winning.]

[So he was stuck in his room, rapidly running out of distractions and reduced to staring at the wall. Great. Just great.]

Comments

[jonesiseverywhere]

[Not often enough for him to be used to it.

He takes a seat next to Wash's bed to listen, and when Wash is finished, it's his turn to be quiet for a moment or two, unsure what to say. He kind of wishes he were better with words.]

Hey...I'm not goin' anywhere, OK?

[Of course, Wash could stand to take his own advice.]

Course you can't be prepped for everything. Else you woulda had your magic before you almost let the Nox use you as a chew toy.

[unrecovered]

[He doesn't get it. He throws himself into danger every day and he's still too inexperienced to get it. Wash closes his eyes for a moment. When he speaks again, his voice is quiet and heavy with memory.]

I don't think you understand how many people have promised me that.

Just- [He tries to shake himself out of it, and it almost works.] We tell you to have backup for a reason. Even if you don't think you need it, can you at least do that?

[jonesiseverywhere]

[Whatever's in Wash's head, it's heavy. It worries Casey, scares him actually. What else can he say to that but...]

Yeah...Yeah, of course.

[He feels like he should do something more for Wash, but...he probably wouldn't respond well to a fist bump or a light shoulder punch. Instead he just...pulls a chair over and sits beside him. It's still a show of solidarity, even if it feels a little...weak.]

[unrecovered]

[After a few moments of silence, Wash lifts a hand and rests it on Casey's shoulder. It's not much, but he appreciates the support.]

[He gives it a few more moments, and...well, there's something to be said for lightening the mood. He deals with memory enough; no reason to subject Casey to it.]

So is Bones trying to teach you to knit too, or is that just me?

[jonesiseverywhere]

[Casey breaks into a crooked smile. They may be only managing the "getting along" part of being friends about half the time, but the "having each other's back" part is more important anyway.]

Heh, nah, just trying to nose into my business with his little scanner.

[But he doesn't really want to get into that. Besides, he's not sure what Wash's big deal with knitting is.]

Knittin's not so bad, though. My best friend's basically a shorter, angrier version of me, and he knits all the time.

[unrecovered]

[That scanner. The look on Wash's face should say everything.]

I know he needs it, and it's helpful, but I am getting really tired of that thing.

[He takes his hand off Casey's shoulder and pulls up a knee, draping his arm over it instead.]

The last knitter I knew could hit a moving target with an axe at thirty feet and liked bear hugs.

[...Florida was weird.]

I didn't think it was possible to have an angrier version of you.

[jonesiseverywhere]

You and me both, bro.

[It was cool that he had a device that he could just point at you and go 'here's what's wrong' just...as long as he wasn't using it on Casey.]

Ahhh, I get mad about a lot of stuff but Raph is just kinda pissed off at everything all the time.

...Guy you're talkin' about sounds more like his brother.

[Admittedly, he doesn't know how good Mikey is with throwing axes.]

[unrecovered]

That sounds healthy.

[That is some serious pot and kettle on his part. Oh well. He raises an eyebrow.]

Which brother?

[jonesiseverywhere]

[No comment. No verbal comment. Just a raised eyebrow. Sure, Wash, whatever you say.]

Mikey. I told you about him, right, the one with the nunchucks? Once saw him take out a mutant rat by throwin' his pet cat at it.