Making Self at Home

[bishop]

After Logan deposited him in - a fairly faceless but comfortable - room, Bishop set down his huge bag and unzipped it. He took out a layer of civilian clothing (mostly black, with some dark blue for the days when he felt more chipper), and a layer of camo gear.

Next came a pair of Viper thigh holsters.

He may as well make himself comfortable since he wasn't going to be going anywhere, at least not until he knew that Forge was going to be alright.

Bishop opened the drawer and put away his clothes, which translated as he crammed them in there until nothing else would fit and left the drawer half open. The thigh holsters were laid neatly on top of the drawers and he returned to the bag.

Several knife sheaths came out, followed by a zip-up bag filled with emergency ration packs. These joined the thigh holsters on top of the drawers.

At the very bottom of the bag was a slightly crumpled photograph. It was of Bishop and Forge, both in combat gear, grinning broadly at an unseen photographer. He looked at it for a moment and felt a surge of worry.

He owed Forge his life. He refused to accept that the other man might yet die before he could repay that debt.

That would just make things uneven.

And if there was one thing Bishop disliked, it was a disturbance to his equilibrium.

Knowing that if he went down to the medical lab he'd just be in the way, Bishop sat down on the end of the bed and waited. He would sit there for as long as it took. He was good at waiting. It was what you did when you were in Bishop's line of work.

You waited.

[conduit]

A few hours later, Rayen knocked on the doorframe.

She looked appropriately tired and worried, as if the whole thing were just starting to dawn on her now that they were back.

"Hey. Bandero's awake." She offered a bit of a smile. "He wants to see you."

Rayen yawned a little, pushing still unshowered hair back from her eyes. "He needs a little more juice, the pain's intense. But it'll likely put him to sleep so I thought I'd wait until you got a chance to talk to him. Do you feel comfortable putting another dose in his IV?"

[bishop]

"Do you feel comfortable putting another dose in his IV?"

"Not a problem at all, Miss," he said, standing up politely as she turned up. Lucas Bishop had been well brought up and was the owner of impeccable manners. His platoon used to joke that when he was throttling the life out of his enemies, he'd apologise whilst he was doing it. "I've done my fair share of field medicine."

Noticing how tired she looked, he reached over and squeezed her shoulder. "You should get some rest. I give you my absolute word that nothing is going to happen to your brother. I have far too much catching up to do with him to let that happen."

He smiled very briefly. "And don't worry, I won't talk him to death, either. If he shows signs of struggling to stay awake during my boring conversation, I'll dose him up."

[conduit]

Rayen smiled a bit, making an effort for the guy. He seemed to really care about Bandero, and to her, that's all that matter.

Nodding tiredly she sighed. "Yeah... well thanks for taking the next shift anyway. I need a cigarette and a long nap." She chuckled.

As she stepped out the door, she tapped the frame. "Thanks again."

[bishop]

"You're welcome," he said, with another flash of a smile.

Then he was gone.

Exit Bishop to the Med Lab