2019-11-25 - A Very Beaston Thanksgiving

Despite mutual grumblings, it looks like Beaston is going to be stuck in the hospital for Thanksgiving. While she's tolerating food well enough, Bennie isn't quite up for heading to the cafeteria and so they're going to make due with their plastic trays of food on one of the swivel trays that's bifurcating her bed where she sits up against a stack of pillows. Her hair, now several inches shorter thanks to a good singing and self-done trim, is piled on top of her head in a messy bun and over her chest bandages she wears an open hospital gown like a robe. Someone has found her one with duckies on it, likely a larger size from pediatrics.

"There really should be more Thanksgiving songs other than that Adam Sandler one." The blonde tells the nurse who is changing out her IV bag of saline and antibiotics - her burns a big fat target for infection. "How do I look?" She asks, trying to get a glimpse of her reflection in the back of a spoon.

"I think any happy song can work for Thanksgiving. If you sing it drunkenly enough." Easton quips back from his seat in the visitors chair. He's still a patient but he couldn't spend another minute laying in the bed. Being in the hospital for too long would normally send him running screaming, but Bennie's here so he's in no rush to check himself out. He's dressed in a pair of way over-sized hospital pants cinched tightly at the the waists. His torso is only covered with bandages, covering the burns and other damage on his chest. He smiles as Bennie tries to get a look at herself in the spoon, "You look beautiful. A little crazy with the duck gown, but still hot."

"You say that now." Bennie mumbles. She's never been entirely vain but her ideal bohemian look doesn't include burn scars that will keep her from wearing anything low cut. Resigned, she sets aside the utensil and musters a bright smile, not just for Easton's benefit but her own. She'll find a bright side in all of this even if it kills her.

"Booze. That's what our dinner is missing." That and turkey and dressing that actually has any flavor, but who's counting? "Don't suppose any of our wonderful thoughtful friends have snuck in a flask?" They've already been inundated with donuts and Bennie has a bouquet from Alexander and a long, floppy eared bunny from Ruiz she's dubbed Cuddle Bumkins and has already terrorized Easton with by giving it a voice, though it was funny to scare him in their shared bathroom.

Easton smiles to himself, understanding that there's a lot of processing to do with all that's happened. He knows a little bit about traumatic attacks. He agrees, "It really is." He waits for the nurse to leave the room before moving to get something from his laptop bag. Someone was kind enough to get him that from the apartment, whether they realized they were also bringing him a flask or not is questionable. He pulls it out with a smile and hands it over to her. "They brought my bag, which has a flask, which has some whiskey..." It's not much, but it's enough to add a dash of cheer to a not so wonderful Thanksgiving dinner.

He picks at his own food, far from his usual method of just shoveling in food without tasting it. Not that there's much to taste here.

"So.. I've been thinking. As much fun as this Thanksgiving is" He pauses and looks around, "And don't get me wrong, it's all I ever hoped for." He laughs, "What would you say to getting away for Christmas? I've been promising Jenny that she'd get a chance to meet you and I thought we might go out east?" That particular phrase means nothing to Bennie, but it's a specific destination not just a direction.

"Oooh, gimme gimme gimme." It's not really her drink of choice, but Bennies can't be choosers. She unscrews the little top and with an anticipatory wrinkle of her nose, she takes a sip that halts abruptly at his suggestion. "Oh?" She coughs a little against the burn, the curve of her hand used to shield her mouth. "I mean, yeah that sounds great. But E, I've...I've never been on a plane before?" It's posed as a question, because she's not really expecting Easton to believe it, even if it is the truth. She's told him before that she's never left the tri-county area, and maybe he'll forgive her for being a little nervous about the first time leaving it's to go clear across country, presumably to his home town.

Easton happily hands over the flask and smirks when she wrinkles her nose at it. He didn't think to sneak in some beer or rose, but it will have to do for now. He looks at little unsure when she's not exactly thrilled by the option. He knows they aren't in a great place but that's what vacations are for right? Putting extra pressure on a relationship in a tenuous spot in a forced effort to make it all better at once. Right? He shakes his head and says, "It's just an idea. It would just be me and you and Jenny and Doug." Bennie knows who Tom's widow and son are and has likely at least been introduced on a video chat at this point. Easton further realizes he hasn't clarified where, "We have a house in the Outer Banks. But if that's too much or you want to see how you're doing first, that's fine." He takes the flask back and downs a sip, before putting on a smile.

Bennie pipes up, "Oh, no! I'd love to go! It's just big, giant metal tube hurtling through air uncertainty, I promise! Just know I might crush the bones in your hand harder than if I were in labor. Though the same scream of 'YOU DID THIS TO ME' would still apply." Something strikes her as extra funny though, and she tries not to break into a giggle fit. "We have a house in the Outer Banks." She does her best approximation of Easton voice, which is to say it's not very good at all besides being pitched an octave lower and done with the accompanying puffed out chest of an ex-marine and mimicked shoulder movement as if she's walking. Her hand goes to her bandages with a muted 'ow', regretting the physicality of her impression.

Easton relaxes as she professes her excitement about going. He laughs at the mental picture of her screaming at him on the plane and says, "You can take something for the anxiety? And probably just sleep? It's not too bad a flight." Okay, it kind of is a miserable flight, but he'd rather not broach that topic with her right now. He frowns slightly as she mocks the fact that they have a house there. He narrows his eyes and says, "This? This is why you don't have a fully catered dinner in front of you by the way." Because Easton might be willing to use the house, he still resists some of the other perks that his family would normally have. He then laughs as she hurts herself doing the impression of him, which of course hurts his chest and he makes a pitiful, "Ow."

Bennie jabs her fork in his general direction in a silent, 'that's what you get' gesture. "No, we don't have a fully catered dinner in front of us because money won't define us. Either my lack of it, or your abundance. Speaking of, you're going to have to buy the plane tickets." Her eyes sparkle with laughter, safer to keep it there than expressing it and causing them both more pain. But she eventually sobers, "So I'm going to say something now, and I need you to just suck it up and accept it."

Easton happily accepts that he brought that pain on himself by laughing at her, smiling as she points silverware in his direction, judgmentally. He concedes the point and says, "Agreed. I'm glad neither of cares. But you mock the house out east and you won't get to see the one in Veil or St. Barts." He says it with a wry smile, and it's possible he might be joking. Possible, but not very likely. He agrees, "Yea, I figured. And sadly I'm paying so we won't be going first class."

At the serious talk, he quiets down and lets his mouth hang open slightly. He just nods dumbly and says, "Okay" with a slight bit of fear in his eyes.

Bennie gives a little soft bit of laughter at being told they won't fly first class. Honestly, she wouldn't know what to do with herself if they did. But it's not addressed, not now when she has something more important on her mind. "When we were there...in that...well, between getting deep fried and the morphine when we came back, some of it's a blur now. But you...I remember you...you stepped in front of that fireball. For me. To protect me." It's clear that that's just the start of what she has to say, but she's trying to form it all in her head.

"Of course I did." He agrees quickly and almost dismissively. It's not that he's trying to take credit for it, more like trying to down play the fact that he would have done that for anyone in the group, even the girl he didn't know. But the reality is also a little deeper in that, "I didn't.. I could have done more." He should have taken out that lantern right away. He should have been able to drop those attackers in no time flat. He pushes those thoughts aside though and lets her say what she needs to say.

"You took charge. You made decisions that were quick, from the gut." Bennie's quick to defend him. "But it made me realize something. Something I used to believe but it got muddled along the way. Easton, you would never hurt me. You were willing to lay down your life, if that's what it meant to take that hit. That's who you are. Not that...not that part of Gohl inside of you that attacked me. And I've been very unfair to you. At this point, the problem is me."

Shaking his head a little Easton protests, "There were plenty of people doing their best to stop that and keep each other safe." But then she's saying something that makes his eyes wince in pain.

You would never hurt me.

Ugh. He thinks back to his actions over the last few weeks. Actions that he knows will hurt her. He closes his eyes and re-orders that thought back into line so he can focus on what she's saying now. He nods and agrees that is who he is. He shakes his head and says, "Benz. I love you and I get that you need time to work through it. I just.. " He swallows hard and says, "If I could ask, one thing. Could you at least let me know if you think you can ever get past it? Because I need you."

Bennie gives a bit of laughter, mirthless this time as she dabs at the corner of her eye with her knuckle when he says he loves her. "I want to try? I so desperately want to try." She takes a steadying breath through her nose, "So I made an appointment with Doctor Glass. I'm going to get help. Because I feel like this huge part of me, part of us has been missing. And I owe it to you to see if I can get that back. Because it's not fair, Easton." She clears her throat. "Anyways. That's what I wanted to say."

Easton smiles as she professes that as she wants to try. He pulls out the flask and offers it to her. He nods and says, "Well that's a good start? I can pay for it." He assumes that she has no medical coverage, grumble grumble America cakes. He nods and says, "I know." He sounds very sad about the bit about part of them having been missing. He says, "You owe it to yourself." smiling he admits quietly, "And maybe a little to me." with a mischievous smile on his lips.

He looks at her and his smile slowly fades. He considers telling her some things. Things that will be painful to say out loud but need saying. But looking at her in the bed, frail and wrapped in bandages and offering to try and reconcile and he decides now is not the time to talk about that.

"Happy Thanksgiving Bennie."

Bennie actually waves off another drink, the combination of that and her painkillers already has her feeling a little woozy and regretting that first swig. Is this what her mother felt like and just kept going? She blinks hard, forcing her eyes to open wider and focus with a renewed smile as she nabs up the bunny and with a movement of her hand, manipulates the stuffed animal into nodding along with the creepily spoken words, "Mister Cuddle Bumkins says Happy Thanksgiving to you, too!"