Is there a hand to take hold of the scene?

[philosopher]

Who: Cooper and OPEN to hospital staff and patients
When: May 23 - 25
Where: a private room in SPGH's recovery ward
Summary: Since the doctors won't let him leave yet, Cooper's asked to share his room with flu patients.
Warnings: Buddhism and mild clairvoyance?
Notes: If you want your character to make a sudden recovery, shove them in this room and let Cooper chat them up for a while.


Dale Cooper was eager to leave the hospital. It wasn't that he wanted to be a difficult patient, but he believed the local doctors were being overly cautious when it came to his wounds. No one seemed to believe that he felt fit enough to check out of the hospital, let alone explore the city as he so wanted to do. But, compared to past injuries, an abdominal gunshot wound and a few broken ribs seemed mild. He was convinced he was well on his way to a full recovery and should already have returned to work.

If they weren't going to allow him to check out, though, then he insisted they wheel in a few extra beds to accommodate flu patients who needed the room more desperately than he did. So far, he had displayed complete immunity. Theoretically, this was because he was not consumed with guilt. Cooper wasn't sure how much he believed the assessment that this illness was connected with guilt, but he would operate is if it was correct. And he intended to greet his new roommates with compassion.

Comments

[willprayforyou]

The Magdalena was not an easy patient. From the moment she regained consciousness, Sister Mariella had been badgering the harried nurses with questions—and not liking the terse answers she received.

Something was wrong, very wrong. She shouldn’t be here. This was not one of the Church’s officially sanctioned medical facilities. The Magdalene were always sent to an approved hospital, given a private room and personal guard. Yet, here she was in shared room—mixed sex, no less!—with no sign of the Garduna.

There was also the issue of the stated year: 2012. Impossible! It had been in the year of our Lord 1998 when she passed out on the cross. While the Magdalene were known for aging well, her body would not be in such good form had she been in a coma for so long!

These thoughts and more preoccupied Mariella’s mind as she absently shooed away a nurse who had been trying to give her another round of painkillers. Her suffering brought clarity; she did not want to dilute it. Besides which, her wounds were already healing at an accelerated rate, reducing the pain to a dull roar.

Once Mariella and her roommate were finally left alone in the room, she decided to ask him a few questions, hoping perhaps he would provide more satisfactory answers. The staff here was frantic, the patients panicked. Whereas, he radiated a calm that was almost serene. Though, there was something more to him as well, a lurking something her still hazy mind could not fully gasp. Nevertheless, whoever or whatever else he was, right now this man seemed the only one available to help her make sense of these chaotic surroundings.

When the Magdalena spoke, her English was rather formal, her Italian accent apparent. There was a seriousness in her demeanor that was at odds with her relatively youthful appearance.

“Excuse me, Sir. Would you be willing to speak with me? I believe you to be one of the few reasonable people in this place.”

[philosopher]

Cooper had politely allowed the woman some privacy while she got settled into the room, but now that she addressed him, his eyes left the book he was reading and turned to her. He broke into a smile at that generous assessment of his demeanor and responded humbly, "Oh, I don't know about that, but I'll never say no to a chat with an interesting stranger from a far-off land."

He shut the book - a book on Siren's Port's laws, apparently - and set it aside on his nightstand so that he could give the young lady his full attention. With the broken ribs, he couldn't quite twist his body to face her, but he sat up a bit straighter and looked toward her. "I'm Dale Cooper," he offered. "How can I help you, miss?"

[willprayforyou]

The Magdalena returned his smile, appreciating his politeness, something she’d found woefully lacking in most outside the cloister.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Cooper. I am Sister Mariella.” A solemn bow accompanied her introduction.

“I have many questions. I thought perhaps you could answer some of them.”

Where to begin? There were pamphlets on the small stand beside her bed. She’d read through them already, but the information was suspect, especially when endorsed by a corporation. She wanted to know everything: Who was in charge here? Where was ‘here’? When did she arrive? How long had she been unconscious? And so on.

However, before she could get into any of that, there was the matter of this hospital and the horrible state in which it found itself.

“There is much I need to know. I feel as though I am nearly a captive somewhere I should not be.”

She gestures broadly at her bed, sweeping an arm out to encompass the room.

“Worse yet, it seems there is something wrong here. This hospital is ruled by chaos, fear, and death. It feels far from a place of healing. Can you explain to me why that is?”

[philosopher]

There was a shift in Cooper's mood, still serene but also somber. He had the information she needed, but he was going to be the bearer of bad news. "There's a deadly illness spreading through the city right now," he explained. "Doctors aren't quite sure how to treat it, and in the meantime, people just keep getting sicker and sicker.

"A few of us have come to the conclusion that the illness is spiritual in nature - the result of guilt. People with heavy feelings of guilt are suffering the most, and often those who weren't very sick begin to get sicker when they feel guilty about something. Many people I've spoken to have had difficulty confronting their guilty feelings even when their lives are at risk, so it's really a sticky situation."

He paused for a moment of consideration. "Has... anyone had the chance to explain where you are and what brought you here?"

[willprayforyou]

A spiritual sickness?! Was this the Devil's work or one of God's tests? It seemed more the latter than the former. But what was His will in all of this? She would have to pray on that.

"I have only been given the most briefest of details. I was told I am on a island off the coast of Canada and that it is a place from which I cannot leave. If I understand correctly, I am not the first nor the last to be drawn to this place."

The pamphlets she had read were highly censored by AGI, most noteable for the omission of any reference to the Core, and naturally full of company propaganda. In addition, a few pages had been hastily torn out of Mariella's newcomer package, ostensibly for her own good. One of the older nurses, a god-fearing woman, had worried there was some information that might upset the dear Sister and hinder her recovery. Had she known of Mariella's role as the Magdalena, perhaps she would have felt different.

[philosopher]

"That's correct." Cooper had received a few pamphlets himself, but luckily he'd had the opportunity to speak with both natives and Newcomers as well. "Allegedly, what brought us here is a technologically advanced and perhaps magical device known colloquially as the 'Core'. It's said that the device has been malfunctioning for decades, drawing in visitors from other universes - Newcomers, the group to which you and I belong. Some remain only a short while, others for many years. The phenomenon is known as the 'Pull', and it is also the reason no one is able to leave the island. Although I haven't been able to test it, I was told that traveling too far from the Core will cause the Pull to weaken and then kill you."

[willprayforyou]

Mariella's first instinct is to scoff at Dale's words. A malfunctioning techno-magic machine had trapped her here? Preposterous!

And yet, in his eyes, there is no hint of a lie. He clearly speaks the truth--or believes he does. The Prince of Lies is a powerful beast. Could he have deceived an entire island with his falsehoods?

"What of the rest of the world? Surely, they would not so easily abandon us here! My superiors would never stand for--"

Something Dale said finally registers; it is a term she has never heard before.

"What do you mean by 'other universes'?"

[inthejunk]

Yosuke knew the guy in this room. It didn't occur to him until he was sliding down the wall, face in hands, trying to be invisible. He'd been here before. That guy was a policeman or something. Special Agent, he'd said. And Yosuke had sneezed in his gelatine.

Second impressions apparently weren't going to be much better. Yosuke tugged at his hair and tried to keep his breathing as regular as possible, shallow though it was, and definitely trying to quicken. He nodded, a slightly shaky but sincere greeting, and gave a shuddering shrug. He just needed a moment to get his shit together. This guy didn't seem like the type to mind anyway, right?

[philosopher]

Cooper directed a concerned look to Yosuke when the boy entered his room and proceeded to collapse against the wall in some sort of attempt to recuperate. Cooper leaned forward, poised to get off the bed, but it occurred to him that he wouldn't be all that much help in supporting Yosuke; he couldn't hold that much weight.

So instead he reached for the call button. Reached, but did not yet push. "I'm going to call a nurse now," he said with a tone that was both gentle and firm, leaving no room for argument. "You need to be receiving treatment, not giving it. I can tell just from looking at you that you've got a high fever and you're suffering from dehydration."

[inthejunk]

"Wait!" Yosuke's tone, on the other hand, was pleading. "Wait, you can't."

His words were a little breathy, that edge of near panic still there, but thankfully redirected to something urgent and at hand. It was an improvement over the gargantuan looming monstrosity of death and disease that had been on a repetitive loop these past few days. It gave Yosuke that last bit of adrenaline he needed to get shakily back to his feet.

"I'm okay now. Sort of. I mean, not so...not not okay. So that makes me okay. Unless that was too many nots. But I still am. Not not. Uh. I mean..."

He buried his face in his hands for a second and rubbed at it. "I just wish-" He had to stop and swallow sickly, there. "I wish there was more we could do for the little kids. You know?"

[philosopher]

"Please, sit," Cooper insisted. Despite Yosuke's pleading, he pushed the call button, but he expected it would take several minutes at least before someone showed up. The hospital was devastatingly understaffed.

With that done, his full attention turned to Yosuke. "Improving your own health is the very first step in being able to care for others. Your condition is highly contagious and you'll only spread it further unless you take the time to let your body recover.

"As for the children, I expect we'll find their survival rate to be higher. The youngest are developmentally incapable of feeling empathy to the same degree as an adult, which means they experience little to no feelings of guilt. Which isn't to say that they should go untreated, but don't let your concern for them cloud your judgment. You are, in fact, the one who's in more danger."

[inthejunk]

Yosuke was kind of feverish, and this guy was using a lot of big words. So for the most part, his response was a confused blink. Then, he gave the mask on his face a gentle tug, to make sure it was still in place. Okay, yeah. It hadn't moved.

"I'm not infecting anyone. Besides, I'm through the worst of it." He objected, breathing starting to even out now that he was engaged in a rational, distracting conversation. It was true as far as he was concerned. He'd felt terrible the first night, but he hadn't come anywhere near to collapsing the way so many of his friends had. A little lingering nausea, mucus, and a bit of a fever were nothing compared to what most people who rolled through the doors had.

Still, before he got on this guy's bad side, he had to ask something he'd wanted to since the first day. "Hey...next time they change the bandages, can I see?"

[philosopher]

Cooper appeared entirely skeptical of all of that but he didn't argue. Yosuke hadn't attempted to flee so there was really no point in exhausting him with further talk about the illness. The nurses would see to him eventually and Cooper would see that they didn't force the boy back to work.

To the request, however: "You want to see the bullet hole?" His head gave a slight tilt. He remembered what it was like to be Yosuke's age, and he'd always been curious about things like that, too. But the request still surprised him. Maybe he had mistaken Yosuke for the squeamish type.

"I'm due for a change, I think. I can do it myself. Would you like to see it now?"

[surgicalshot]

In a place like SP General, there wasn't a room that Tenma hadn't gone in, yet. And when it came to Newcomer patients, he was always in and out of their rooms. Or checking on them in the hallways. Or in the break room, which was now being taken over by cots and more patients.

He'd heard talk about them using the stadium to house patients, but so far, no clear word on that. So, checking the clipboard, he came into the room after giving the door a knock. He might be wearing a mask and gloves, but his voice was cheerful. Anyone could tell he was smiling behind it.

"Hello, Mr. Cooper! How are you doing today?"

[philosopher]

Cooper beamed a smile up at the doctor as the door opened. "Fantastic," he replied, with enough energy to imply that he felt ready to leap out of bed. But he probably couldn't have managed it if he tried. A hole in the abdomen - even if the bullet had managed to miss vital organs - took a while longer to recover from. Two weeks' hospital stay was standard, and everything was complicated by the ribs that two more bullets had broken underneath his Kevlar.

...But he wouldn't stop trying to convince them to let him go early. "You know, Dr. Tenma, I feel like I could go out there and run a marathon. You run a damn good ship around here. My treatment has been perfect, beyond satisfactory. Even amidst all this chaos, I've been given the best care."

[surgicalshot]

"Glad to hear it!" Tenma laughed, flipping through the chart. "I know it's been kind of a mad house around here, lately, but we always want to provide the best care possible. I'm just doing my part."

He grabbed one of the stools and brought it over to the bed so he could take a seat next to him. "I don't think we'll let you get to that just yet, but after some more time, here, and some physical therapy, I have no doubt you'll be beating everyone in a race."

He paused. "Otherwise, how have you been faring?"

[philosopher]

He'd been hoping for a release, but Cooper's disappointment didn't make it to his face. He sat up a little taller and folded his hands, focusing on his gratitude that the staff seemed to care so much about his recovery.

"Oh I've been just swell," Cooper answered brightly. "I've already met such interesting people. That network, it's really something. Incredible, the kind of technology they've come up with in twenty years."

[surgicalshot]

Nope. No release just yet. Maybe in a few days, or a few weeks. For now, Tenma wasn't even going to discuss it, which seemed like a good thing. Agent Cooper was a pretty good patient, in his eyes!

"The network is pretty amazing, isn't it? We don't really have anything like that back home. I was still getting used to the internet, and those smaller cell phones. I guess that makes us old men together, huh?" Tenma joked.

[philosopher]

"Relics of a bygone era," Cooper sighed, although he sounded more content with the idea than regretful. "I expected to have a lot more wrinkles when this day came, but I'll be glad to enjoy it with my youth still intact."

He tilts his head curiously and directs to Tenma, "What year is it you're from?"

[reassures]

It really kind of sucks being a mostly-table patient in a hospital when there's a huge outbreak going around. Nill's condition, while unpleasant and closer to the severe side of things, hadn't actually fluctuated very badly since she showed up. Because of that, she was one of the safer patients to move, and this was the third time she'd changed rooms in almost as many days.

Despite being fairly miserable in the hospital, though, Nill has been a good patient; she does what she's told by the nurses, calls for help only when needed, and as the current one wheels her into the room and helps her into the new bed Nill offers him a small but thankful smile. She does well to keep herself propped mostly up until the nurse rushes off to no doubt help with another patient, but the moment he's gone she sinks down onto the bed and curls up there. Now, if she just stayed still enough, maybe everything would stop hurting so much.

[philosopher]

They've brought in an angel.

Cooper only gives a glance at first but he catches sight of her wings and then he's fixated, slowly lowering his book without taking his eyes off her. He has seen some strange things, especially since arriving here, but not yet an angel. Not to his knowledge.

He can tell she's in pain and she looks like she wants to be left alone. So even when the nurse leaves, he doesn't say anything. He watches her, though, caught up in his wonderment. It doesn't even occur to him that he's being rude. He's forgotten the social rules temporarily, too distracted by her wings and... something else about her. What, though?

[reassures]

Normally Nill does well to be aware of her surroundings - when you hear the kind of things she does, it's almost impossible not to be. But the sickness is deep enough in her bones right now that she barely even notices that there's another patient in the room with her until she catches him out of the corner of her eye. She'd be more startled if she weren't so tired, so all she manages is a slightly surprised look.

But she's been rude herself, hasn't she? It was his room, and it probably wasn't very fun to have a sick girl wheeled in and left there without even being acknowledged. It takes her longer than it should to tell that he's marveling at her wings, but when she takes notice she offers a fleeting smile of greeting. She'd introduce herself, or something more, but she really doesn't want to risk getting up at the moment.

[philosopher]

"I'm sorry," Cooper says automatically when she catches him staring, now remembering how to be civil. "Please, don't let me trouble you."

Which might be easier for her to do if he didn't persist in his staring. He tries to look down at the words on his page, but his eyes wander back to her after only a moment or two. He's trying to figure out exactly how that biology works. She can't actually fly with those, can she?

[reassures]

Now that she's paying attention, it's a lot easier to be more aware of the thoughts running through this man's head. Not that she's doing so on purpose, exactly, but you could say that before he wasn't within earshot because she'd been too distracted; now that she was more aware of his presence, they came more easily.

She shakes her head just slightly, because there was no need for him to apologize. She didn't really mind. She relaxes a little more easily when he looks away, but the small smile returns to her face when he looks up again. He got quite a few points for effort, she'd give him that; and he was thinking about things much differently than people usually did. It was rarely a matter of biology.

She doesn't look at him again, but she still extends one of her wings so that he can see it at it's full length. Not nearly big enough for flight, see?

[philosopher]

Cooper gives a little jump of surprise when she stretches her wings out. Yes, that was exactly what he'd been hoping to see, but he hadn't expected her to just do that. He looks toward her face but she isn't looking at him. He looks back to her wings and leans over just as much as his broken ribs allow - which, frankly, isn't very much.

"Those are very beautiful," he says. There isn't much point in pretending he isn't looking when she seems to be so aware that he is.