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

[unrecovered]

I think I'll manage.

[He shrugs again and picks up a book, watching Bones out of the corner of his eye. He can recognize exhaustion when he sees it.]

You okay?

[oldfashionedfutureboy]

Do'n alright. Keep'n a mind on y'all is stressful when I got limited resources. Haven't found a good lab t'make replacements and I'm not used t'the constant 'the hell you do'n here' I get in the clinic or the hospital.

[unrecovered]

[He smirks, just a little bit.]

We don't make it easy, do we.

What do you need for your lab?

[oldfashionedfutureboy]

Not as hard as tak'n care of an 800 person crew, but. It's pretty close.

[ That is not a compliment. ]

Precision tools, high powered lazer for solder'n, silicone filaments for build'n new circut boards- the problem is I don't got the tools to build the tools to build the tools. I'm gonna haveta dumb down the tech if I want t'make it work or try and rig some kinda alternative battery for what I do have.

[unrecovered]

[The smirk gets a little wider at that.]

Well yeah, Casey and I are worth a couple hundred people apiece.

[He knows he's difficult. That doesn't usually stop him.]

[He does apply a bit of thought to that problem, though. He needs to find a place to charge his armor as well; it's holding up pretty well, and he's started wearing it less after it turned out to be utterly useless against the Nox, but it'll need a charge eventually, and Luna can't do it any longer now that she's lost her lightning magic.]

I went past a shop a little while ago that was advertising a pad that could charge devices without plugging them in - you just put them on top of the pad and it works. If you need to jury-rig a charge, that could be a place to start.

[oldfashionedfutureboy]

That is not somth'n to be proud of. I'm gonna go grey before forty and that is not somth'n I should havta worry about with LESS people I need t'keep breath'n.

[ The smirk gets a glare. A glower. A glimmer of genuine frustration. ]

...That could work. Hell at this point I'm will'n t'try anything.

[unrecovered]

[Wash just raises an eyebrow and gestures to his (prematurely grey) hair. You are complaining to the wrong person, Bones.]

If you ever let me out of here, I'll show you where the shop is.

[oldfashionedfutureboy]

You got a few more days, Wash. [ He is not falling for that. ] Just lemme know what you'd need to keep your mind engaged while you'r rest'n up. It ain't a prison sentence.

[unrecovered]

Really? Because it feels like one.

[That's a lie; his stint in prison hadn't had a light at the end of the tunnel.]

[oldfashionedfutureboy]

After tomorrow you can go to the livingroom and kitchen, awright? I want you to take it easy and I've known enough patients like you t'know if I give an inch in the first few days you'll take a mile.