2019-06-02 - Friends with Bennies

It was a dark and stormy night, which is kind of redundant in that it's always dark at night and it's Gray Harbor so the rain is kind of a given too. The red jeep bumps through the gravel pathways between the trailers, Easton driving slowly, checking for numbers, as the mud splashes about. Bennie's bike is tied with a bit of rope and glimmer-hand-waving to the back of the jeep. Finding the right number, Easton parks the jeep and says, "Hey, thanks for being up for this. I know it's a little bit of a weird detour for night, but it's important."

Baylee's text messages earlier didn't make it sound like Aidan was doing too great and something tells Easton that getting traditional medical attention is not high on either of their lists.

Lucky for them, he's only two drinks in tonight! That's stone sober for him. Unlike poor, poor Alexander who faced the wrath of his drunken medical 'help'. Well, that and he's brought an actual medical professional with abilities far beyond her peers. But he likes to think he gets some points for having at least a fully stocked medkit in Jeep that he grabs right before exiting. He waits outside in the rain to walk to the door with Bennie. Notably he's not dressed in a plain tee-shirt and jeans tonight, oh no, he went all out and added a plaid dress shirt over top. Lookout.

By the time they bounce and rumble into Huckleberry, Bennie has her hands knit so tight in her long maxi dress, it's become a few inches shorter and her smile is a bit tighter at the edges. "Like I said, no problem!" She tries to sound chipper, but the note in her voice is a little sharper.

Once parked, she hops out of the jeep without fussing with things like waiting for Easton to open her door, her purple galoshes splashing in a puddle without the normal glee she'd find in such an occurrence.

"This is the part where I tell you...I live a few doors down." 'I grew up in the trailer just a few slots over and I still live there,' is not really first (second?) date conversation.

Plaid dress shirt? Man, Easton's just asking for this to turn into some kind of funky porn scenario, isn't he? The trailer they reach is old, by style, and turquoise, by any measure, but in fairly good nick; the van parked outside it looks a little rougher, but it's old enough to excuse these things. Inside, Aidan's clearly... okay, probably not intending on going anywhere at the moment, as he's barefoot, in a loose pair of plaid flannel pyjama pants and an ancient T-shirt that recommends visiting the unbelievable Mystery Hole. In West Virginia. Apparently. The television's on (some cheesy '80s comedy film, on broadcast TV), and he's lying on the objectively hideous couch, with his head resting in Baylee's lap and his feet hanging over the armrest on the other side. On the coffee table, there's at least one actual coffee cup ('#1 Grandma', with a rainbow and unicorn), and also a couple mismatched juice glasses and a part-full bottle of whiskey. And an ashtray, which argues with his shirt that one should instead visit the Largest Ball of Twine, in Kansas. Plus a bottle of ibuprofen. His eyes are closed, right now, so he's missing all the sight gags. That's a shame. A really stupid but well-delivered pun does make him giggle, though.

Someone went and got all bougie!

It's been Baylee that has been keeping an eye out for Easton's arrival, so when that arrival is clued in to her she calls easily that the door is open. Which saves her from moving, but more importantly is saves Aidan from moving.

Thankfully she's not smoking at the moment, for anyone that be concerned about their health, but she does have an unlit cigarette that hangs from the fingers of one hand. The other hand seems to be absently rubbing at Aidan's forehead, trying her very unskilled best to make him feel better about things.

Like randomly inviting people over for 70's open reenactment.

The plaid shirt is trying to turn this into a porn scenario, Easton is just being unwittingly used.

He tries to figure out what the anxiety is on Bennie's part on the ride over. He can tell something's up, hence again thanking her and letting her know he wouldn't have asked if he didn't think it might be something. When she 'confesses' that she lives a few doors down, he smiles and says "Nice. My buddy Geoff is a couple rows over." He doesn't give a pointed look, but his tone is perfectly clear. That doesn't mean anything to meeeee..

The call means that he just opens the door, letting Bennie get in out from the rain before him. He looks at Aidan lying on the couch and then at Baylee. Well they're not actively bleeding, so that's a plus! "Well, you look like crap." He removes his shoes (habit!) and tries to find a place to set down the medkit. "This is Bennie. She's far too cheerful for anyone's good, but it's growing on me." Turning he says, "Bennie, this is Baylee and .." Boy #1? "-Aidan." Look that's what he gets for using a slightly mocking nickname in texts he then forgets actual names. Almost.

"The lime green one?" Bennie asks about Geoff's trailer, but she drops that line of conversation as they get called into the home.

The blonde pops her head in the door with a vibrant smile and a sing-song, "Hiii," at the introduction but she stays just outside entering the trailer properly until she can tug off her wet rain boots. This leaves her stepping in barefoot to shuck off her yellow polka dot raincoat and her luggage sized purse, suppressing a laugh at Easton's description of her. "So great to meet you. Oh hey, it's Jughead! Hi Aidan. Ooh, is this the 'something'?" She asks of Baylee before coming over to the couch and offering a hand to Baylee with a jangle of plastic metal colored bangles. "Don't get up! Hi. Nice to meet you, Baylee."

"Sweet talker," Aidan drawls in response to Easton's assessment, before his eyes even open. When they do, it's tentative, as though he's fairly sure he drank his weight the night before and it's going to crash down on his head as soon as he acknowledges gravity. Which is to say, he's probably got a headache.

Still, he brightens slightly, breaking into a quick grin when he sees Bennie. "Oh, hey again," he greets her, though the foray toward his own usual level of cheerful, let along hers, makes him wince. Still, "Awesome raincoat. And, yeah, it's somethin' all right." He glances upward at Baylee, giving her a small, crooked smile, then looks to the others again, and makes as expansive an arm-spreading gesture as the couch position allows, "Welcome to my fabulous abode." It's a joke, but he does seem kind of pleased with the place. Even wounded. "Make yourselves comfy. There's stuff to eat and drink in the fridge, if you want. Sorry if I don't get up right now."

There is a very slight smirk at Easton, but she turns her attention to Bennie, "Wotcher." The greeting makes it out before Bennie's words really hit her ears, but when they do there is a very slight upwards twitch of her brows at the 'something' comment.

Then Aidan confirms, which just causes her to look between them in amusement for a moment before she glances at Easton, "You know what they are on about?"

And look at her not getting up either. Then again that might just be because she's got Aidan on her, or then again maybe she's just lazy.

Realizing that he may have been a little too brief with details, he adds for Bennie, "Yea. I might have said I'd come help patch up some friends who got into a ..." He looks around at the two on the couch and then Bennie before finally just saying. "Thing." He asks Aidan, "Where did you get hurt? And have you had anyone check it out?" He doesn't quite get to the part where he asks him to take off his clothes, but silently the plaid shirt urges him to do so, for some reason.

He looks to Baylee and says, "I might have left out some details." He looks back to Bennie and ammends, "All the details."

He starts setting things out from the kit for disinfecting and dressing wounds as he talks. He even puts on a pair of gloves this time! But he also explains, "Something fucked up happened at the theater. Other people in town I know were hurt or at least there. But not everyone's been seen to yet..."

He does also leave out the part where he might have promised Bennie's help. Maybe even talked her up. Good job communicating.

Bennie immediately sinks down to her knees next to the couch, wedging herself in-between that and the coffee table of kitsch, "I was out of town that night." She explains of the incident at the theater, "Otherwise, I'm sure my rig would have responded." Though no doubt she heard about it. "I didn't think twice about checking the injured list beyond looking for your name." Bennie explains to Easton, confessing that she might have been taking a peek at patient records for personal reasons without so much as batting an eye.

She makes a gimme hand for a pair of gloves and then turns her attention back to the couple on the couch. "So we'll get the details now." The woman chirps pragmatically.

"Thing," Aidan agrees, nodding slightly and immediately regretting it, if the tight closing of his eyes a moment is any indication. It makes a weird contrast to the sudden grin, a touch wry but genuine. "I got shot in the head," he says, "So y'know, at least they didn't get anything important. Chest, too, but that one's healing pretty okay, so." A slight shrug. "We've, you know, cleaned them and put on neosporin and stuff." The one on his chest, if and when it's checked out, is under gauze, and does seem to be healing well. It wasn't that terrible, though it probably hurt and bled plenty. The one on his head is well-hidden by hair if one doesn't know one's looking for it. Once one is, though, it's easy to see it was... bad. Should-have-gotten-an-ambulance bad. It was even worse initially, but only the woman who healed some of it is likely to know that -- unless it shows to the trained medic. Baylee, by contrast, appears to be unharmed. "It was, uh... who's supposed to be giving details about which, exactly?" It's a little hard to think right now. Probably pain. Could be that plaid shirt doing its magic, though.

"Yea well, I've avoided Shakespeare since eleventh grade English and right now I gotta say, that feels like the right choice." His eyebrows raise slightly at the mention that she checked patient lists for his name. Whether because of the HIPAA violation or the fact that he's really touched, isn't clear. He gets distracted though when Aiden mentions getting shot. In the head.

"What? With a gun? Or arrow?" Right, archers. Alexander showed him some of the chaos and it was definitely archers. He looks at the wounds, but tries to stay out of Bennie's way. He pulls out his phone to use as a flashlight for the headwound though. He frowns and says, "You probably need a staple or two there, so that it heals right." But other than that he tries to stay out of Bennie's way.

Bennie gently folds up Aidan's shirt so she can get a good look at the wound there, moving aside the gauze and giving a slight nod at the state of it. Then she's shuffling closer to Baylee on her skirted knees, making no apologies about fingering through the Aidan's hair where it lays in her lap. With the help of Easton's thoughtful flashlight application, she negotiates the margins of the wound with a feather light touch. "I really would like you to get a head CT, is there a reason we're avoiding proper medical institutes?" The question is lofted lightly to the three, and perhaps surprisingly without judgment.

"Arrows," Aidan says, "...crossbow bolts, I guess, to be really specific." No flinching from having the shirt and gauze moved -- well, okay, a subtle tension when the bit that had stuck against clotted blood gets detached -- and only a little bit more at the moving of his hair as it pulls against the wound. It shows up mostly in a brief scrunching up of his face. "And 'cause when you go to hospitals they tend to ask a lot of questions, like how did this happen, are you sure arrows, have you reported this to the cops, are you sure you're taking your meds, should we maybe keep you for a couple days observation..." It's... tired, not his usual mien. "And they keep records and it all gets collated and it's just-- Plus they tend to want all kinds of money. If you think I really gotta, I guess I can. But." Another tiny shrug. "Prolly not any easier explaining why it's now and not a couple days ago, either."

This might not be the first time some unknown chick was finger....no. Scratch that thought.

Baylee seems to be perfectly fine with everything that is happening. "So what did you say when you drug her out here?" Hmmm, plaid shirt of porn?!?

The cigarette is tucked in her mouth, still unlit, as Baylee pulls her phone out. Rather rudely, and pointedly, texting Easton. If she were more drunk she might even say the words as she types. "I can pay the hospital bill."

"I asked if she minded taking a detour to help some friends. Which was true, if a little on the vague side."

Easton nods at Aidan and says, "Fair enough. But if you tell 'em a bullshit story, and stick to it, they will treat you." It's not like it guarantees not getting stuck in a psych hold and certainly doesn't fix the money issue, but it's something.

He watches Bennie work, and doesn't press the issue about what she was able to do for him. He does wonder if she is not as precise as a CT scan? Or what the limitations of her abilities are.

bzzt bzzt

Considering his phone is out and being used as a flashlight, it's not exactly hard for Bennie to read the screen if she chooses. Aidan, is sadly out of luck. Easton sees it pop up and answers aloud, "Yes." Because really, not shy. He does however give Baylee a curious look.

Bennie is too focused on her task at hand to notice the texting or what it produces, but a slight frown appears in the form of a little 'x' on the bridge of her nose and a down turn of her lips at the explanation. Really. She can't fault Aidan for any of his reasons. Her hand shifts to take his pulse, "Easton, can you use your light? Check his pupillary response. Aidan, hon, what's your pain level. On like a one to Baylee here kicking you in the balls being a ten."

"They write down your bullshit story, though, and if they don't believe it, they keep tryin' to catch you out, and my head hurts way too much for that." The smile's smaller, there, and 100% to the wry side of things this time. The scale suggested gets a light laugh. "Uh... 6 or 7, I guess. 6? It was worse before." At least now it's probably not getting quite as much of the chest wound's pain adding on, but it's hard to tell if he might be erring on the complain-less side of things. Certainly it looks like it's a distracting level, and he's staying pretty still overall. His pulse seems perhaps a little quick, but not frighteningly so, and hopefully his pupils are responding okay 'cause he's definitely slept in the last two days. Well. Tried, anyway. He glances questioningly Bayleeward about that texting, but doesn't straight-up ask. Even if that makes him the only person in the room who doesn't know, geez, guys.

There is a look back and forth, then Baylee offers Easton a quick thumbs up. "I would too." There is her not subtle stamp of approval before she turns her attention towards Bennie, "If he really needs one I can pull some strings in Seattle, I think. But I'd rather not have to call my dad for this..."

If she can help it. But she does look like she's fully ready to, if she has to. There is serious look down at Aidan, and she offers to him, "She's hot."

Easton's face goes from concerned to nodding in agreement in an instant, because well, yea. He uses his phone to check for proper even pupil dilation and says, "You seeing anything you shouldn't be?" He waits a beat before cracking into a smile and says, "Is what I'd normally ask, but I'm pretty sure there's no such thing in this damn town." There's no vehemence in the crack, just acknowledging that he's seen more than his fair share of wackiness in a short time.

He glances back at Baylee and says, "Maybe getting treatment outside of town is not a bad idea though. If he needs it.. I mean, you're allowed to go as light on details as you need to. Doesn't have to be Seattle. Even somewhere just not here might be enough."

Just like when you ask a patient how many drinks they normally have in a day you're supposed to multiply it by three, you likewise add two points to a person's pain scale if you are not on a one by one basis. Bennie captures her bottom lip between her teeth, rubbing the edge of them against the tender flesh for a moment.

The thoughts start flooding her brain, the little niggling worries like what if she makes the wrong call here. What if she's responsible for Aidan's condition degrading. This is Easton's friend here, suffering from a head wound and she could do something about it. She could fix it.

She should fix it.

Her decision made, Bennie snaps off her gloves and reaches to put both a hand over the wound on Aidan’s chest and the one on his head. "Please don't freak out."

Wait, who's hot?

What Aidan's seeing and whether he should be gets an expression that probably qualifies as 'wellll...', but no elucidation, especially as things go on. And he may not be at his quickest right now, but he can still keep track of how many 'hers' are in the room and how many are left when it's one of them using the pronoun, so at Baylee's remark, his gaze drops back down to Bennie, then back to Baylee, bringing along with it a low, "I know, right?" Congratulations, Bennie, it's unanimous; the plaid shirt is probably gleefully rubbing its cuffs. "...but anyway, I don't need strings--" 'cause he's a real boy. And one who blinks at the instruction not to freak out, but complies. Like, fully. There isn't even a wince this time, even though she's straight-up touching the injuries. Helps to be prepared!

Freak out?!

No, Baylee doesn't either. Probably because she's been in Aidan's position every time someone has tried to light her on fire. Instead she lifts her hands up, our of Bennie's way as she looks at Easton, "Less questions maybe....but there is a doc in the ER that gets it. He clued me in to this not being a bad trip or laced weed."

Easton looks at Bennie with an intense curious look as she strips off the gloves and gets down to business. He expected her to diagnose the severity of the wounds. He does wait for her to do what she's going to do before chiming in with, "Wait, what the fuck is this? I nearly get my leg sawn off and you just give me some normal ass stitches but he gets magic hands?" He's clearly laughing at this, but that's not exactly how he said he hurt his leg that night.

To Baylee he comments, "That's good to know." He hasn't using, but it's clear that distinguishing between a bad trip and whatever the hell is going on would be tough, so he gets why she needed the distinction drawn.

Bennie sits back on her heels, both hands flying to her mouth. "I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry." Where her hands rested, Aidan's wounds are just ...gone. While the crusted blood and patch of gauze of his chest remain, beyond that his skin and the underlying damage, it's as if it never existed. Her hands lower, if only to be flicked at the wrist repeatedly as she tries to chase away the rising anxiety that came with using her Glimmer. "I just didn't want you to have to leave town. Risk the drive. And he was in pain and the medical bills and...and..." Her eyes are welling up with tears as Easton laughs about the stitches he received. "I'm so sorry." She apologizes again, scrambling to her feet.

Aidan's eyes are closed as he takes a deep breath, and lets it out, the pain fading away with the injuries that caused it. And something relaxes, the sort of tension that's clearer in its departure than its presence. Almost like melting, for a moment. His eyes open again at Bennie's apologies, brow furrowing first in confusion, then in concern, and he sits up, reaching out to try to catch her wrist, lightly. "Hey, no, hold on," he says, looking up at her, "You don't have to be sorry about anything." A small pause as he glances over to Easton, with his complaint, "...well, okay, I guess you guys could discuss that. But otherwise." The touch of amusement fades back out for, "Thank you. If, you know, you get hurt sometime too? Come find me, I'll pay you back." And it really is clear, the difference between the pain levels, however much he might've been trying to ignore or minimize them before.

"Oy..." Baylee starts to get up when Bennie starts to get upset, but Aidan's head in her lap prevents her from doing so. Although when he sits up that frees her to stand as well, "Thank you..."

She glances at Aidan, then Easton for a moment before she looks back at Bennie, expression serious, "You ever find yourself in a bind, you let me know. Either of you.."

"Oh fuck." Easton's face falls as he sees Bennie's reaction. He tries to reassure her, "No, it's fine. I'm glad you did it. I just didn't realize ya could.. or anyone could." He's newer to this than most and he wrongly assumed that Bennie being a local would mean that this was all old hat to her.

He steps closer to her and is glad when Aidan also reassures her. He puts his hands up, and says as calmly and certainly as possible. "No one is going to say anything about this." He knows a little of what she might be worried about from earlier in the night, "Right?" He looks to Baylee and Aidan and though he's not mentally projecting anything his whole body language and facial expression are hopefully communicating, 'please agree'.

Bennie doesn't pull away from the hand on her wrist, but she's putting on her best brave face and nodding along numbly with everyone's reassurances. Her smile reforms, but it's forced and wobbly at best, as she wipes sheepishly at a point of moisture on her cheek. "You're welcome. I mean, I didn't do it as a favor to be returned, but...thanks. I'm okay, I'm okay." She promises to Easton, then to the others. "He knows I'm worried about my job. If the board found out about this, no doubt there's a dozen ethics violations I just committed. And I really should have asked your permission first."

She takes a step back, sliding her hand out of Aidan's grasp gently. "You know, I'm feeling a bit tired now. Easton can you just...maybe walk me home?"

"Lips entirely zipped," Aidan assures, giving Bennie a still rather concerned look. It's easy to slide out of his grasp; it's barely there to begin with, assurance rather than any kind of restraint. "No boards or whatever are gonna find out. And I know you didn't, I never do either and I'm not even, y'know, a proper medical person." To say the least. "But I still owe you one." A slight pause, and he allows, "I guess generally speaking asking permission's a good plan. But I would've said yeah please if you're up for it, so, you know. No harm, yeah?"

"I'll never tell." Baylee assures Bennie, nodding emphatically about that in fact. But then she checks her phone, "Excuse me..." With out another word she's heading for the back of the trailer, pulling up something on her phone.

"Sure, of course." Easton readily agrees to walk her home. No he doesn't care that it's raining and the jeep's right there. He's walked in far worse. He nods at the other two and says, "Well, that was fun." And then he's heading for the door to collect boots and jackets. He's not sure exactly how he saw this going down, but now he can only think that he should have stuck with the plan. Fewer people. More booze. It was two steps and he still fucked it up.