daniel_marlow: (Getting mad)
daniel_marlow ([personal profile] daniel_marlow) wrote in [community profile] darker_london2014-10-18 06:46 pm

Uncle (Danny, Greg, Rachel, Cai, Zoe, Dylan, Deirdre)

It was Danny's first time out since he'd been at Priory and before then he wasn't exactly hitting the town every night. The trip to Robert MacGavillary Memorial Hospital felt strange and by the time they arrived, Danny was just glad to be inside again.

Having arrived early, Danny sat in the waiting room, willing his friends to show up soon. He couldn't get his mind off what he was about to do. He hadn't told any of his friends his plan because he knew they would stop him. It involved getting closer to Greg than he ever hoped to be again, and just the thought of it was weighing on him. He hoped it would work out and he could get the information he needed. Without it, this was all going to be for nothing.

[identity profile] lightningseed.insanejournal.com 2014-10-17 11:57 pm (UTC)(link)
Zoe got there first, hoping to be the first one there. She didn't want Danny waiting by himself, and it felt like a failure on her part when she entered the waiting room and saw him there. Dammit. "Fuck," she said, sitting down next to him. "Sorry, Danny, I meant to be here earlier."

[identity profile] lightningseed.insanejournal.com 2014-10-18 01:04 am (UTC)(link)
For a brief moment Zoe flinched before hugging him back, and had to actually remind herself that he wasn't Cai, that no one else was Cai, and she wouldn't be plunged into a horrible vision if she hugged him. She hadn't touched Cai for the rest of the night, though she'd hadn't wanted to be very far from him either, and they'd stayed out very late. They found an all-night Chinese place and ate dim sum, drinking green tea and not talking very much, till Cai said if he didn't get to a bed soon he was going to fall asleep behind the wheel and that was the last thing either of them needed.

"I can sort of drive," Zoe said. "Not legally, but Liz has been teaching me."

"Um, Dom would kill me if I let you and something happened, i think," Cai apologised. "Not that I don't trust you - I trust you epically, but, just in case. I am awake enough right now, maybe we grab a coffee on the way to your house."

Zoe nodded, but she wanted to say I don't want to go to my house. She wanted to stay. Not sleep in his bed... or maybe she did? She wasn't sure. No, she probably didn't want that.

She didn't say anything, and he'd driven her home, and they'd sat in front of her house for a long time, just looking at it, till she said "Well..." and he said "Yeah..."

She hadn't slept very well in her own bed. Maybe it would have been better if she'd stayed at his house. On the couch. Just watching TV all night, like they night they'd spend together at Zoe's, up late, making rescue plans.

So she flinched when Danny hugged her, but only for a moment, and after that she hugged him back just as tightly. "No kidding. This isn't going to be awesome."

[identity profile] lightningseed.insanejournal.com 2014-10-18 01:21 am (UTC)(link)
She shook her head as he apologised, letting him know that he didn't need to, her reaction wasn't about him. She swore when he showed her his lines, though. "Yeah, after... after will be good."

No it wouldn't. After would be shit. But if Danny had something to look forward to, then good.

[identity profile] lightningseed.insanejournal.com 2014-10-18 01:30 am (UTC)(link)
"Fuck yes they'll come," Zoe said. "Cai's picking up Rachel, they were on their way before I arrived, they won't be long." They better not be long. She'd throttle them if they didn't.

Her exhaustion and her worry about Danny's arm was steadily turning into anger. It wasn't really Cai and Rachel she wanted to throttle. Greg did that, she reminded herself. Don't yell at your friends if they are late.

Zoe reminded herself to breathe. "The interview room - we're going to be in the same room as him?"

[identity profile] lightningseed.insanejournal.com 2014-10-18 01:36 am (UTC)(link)
"Fuck off!" Zoe said, folding her arms decisively across her chest. "Of course I'm coming in. You're an idiot sometimes, Danny."

[identity profile] lightningseed.insanejournal.com 2014-10-18 02:03 am (UTC)(link)
For the first time today, Zoe smiled. She offered her hand, pinkie extended. Her hands felt vulnerable, but she reminded herself firmly that it was all in her head, and her emotions had no reason to be getting so worked up about bare hands. "Pinkie swear I won't say a word," she said.

Cai and Rachel appeared as the lift doors opened, and Rachel bolted across the floor to hug him as Danny and Zoe finished their pact. "I'm here," she said. "I made it."

[identity profile] lightningseed.insanejournal.com 2014-10-18 02:22 am (UTC)(link)
"Hey Danny," Cai smiled back, his own smile less nervous than Danny's. He had been nervous about seeing Danny again, earlier in the week, nervous that he'd do something wrong and mess something up, nervous that Danny would decide that his recovery would be easier with Cai around.

He still worried about those things, but there were bigger things to worry about now. Greg was the big one. But Zoe, too. He'd seen last night just how deeply she'd been affected by Greg, and he felt guilty that he hadn't realised it before, but she was good at hiding it. She was the toughest girl he knew, but he wanted her to stay that way. He didn't want Greg to anywhere near her.

Anywhere near any of them.

He was still amazed and a little bit terrified of Danny decision to see Greg again. But all of the other things he was feeling totally drowned out the I'm-going-to-upset-Danny nerves.

Rachel stepped aside as Danny dove toward Dylan, and she hooked her arm through Zoe's. Zoe looked at her friend (ignoring Deirdre). "Is that my shirt?"

"Yup," Rachel said, but she didn't take her eyes off Danny. "I'm borrowing your strength."

Zoe nodded. She kind of knew what Rachel meant. Zoe herself was wearing the purple boots Rachel had bought her. It was strange the things you could draw power from.

She looked over at Cai, who smiled at her. He looked tired. She smiled very slightly back.

"Hey Dylan," Rachel said. "Stop flirting with my boyfriend."

[identity profile] runrachelrun.insanejournal.com 2014-10-18 02:36 am (UTC)(link)
Rachel squeezed Danny's hand tighter, holding it in both of hers. It was a relief to be totally uninhabited by her cast, though her arms still didn't feel like her own. She was glad she didn't look broken any more. She needed to look whole and strong so she could sort of try to convince herself that's what she was.

Still, she looked into the empty room and she started to doubt herself, and when Danny spoke, sounding terrified, she doubted even more. "I love you," she whispered, staring at the metal ring on the table.

[identity profile] lightningseed.insanejournal.com 2014-10-18 02:51 am (UTC)(link)
Zoe was watching Danny, trying to predict how badly he was going to deal with seeing Greg. "At least he'd chained to the table though," she pointed out, so obvious, but it felt like saying it out loud might give the chains more power. "All he can do is say crap like that."

As if that wasn't bad enough.

He'd be weak, though. All out of energy. He couldn't do his pull, at least, Zoe hoped so. She didn't like how little they knew about incubi, compared with demons. She hoped they locked up Greg and studied him like an animal and put him down like a miserable dog when they were done.

[identity profile] lightningseed.insanejournal.com 2014-10-18 03:00 am (UTC)(link)
Zoe shot a look at Deirdre as Danny asked her to soul suck Greg if he tried anything. Deidre fucking better, the moment he looked like he could escape. Deirdre fucking better the moment Greg tried anything.

She took a couple of steps closer to Danny so she could speak to him quietly, though the room was small enough they couldn't have a private conversation anyway. "Why did you tell me you were going to do this?" she asked him. "What are you going to do?"

This reeked of self-destruction.

[identity profile] lightningseed.insanejournal.com 2014-10-18 03:20 am (UTC)(link)
"No!" Zoe snapped, storming up to Deirdre as she stepped into the way. Rachel grabbed at Zoe's arm but couldn't hold her back. "Get out of the way, Deirdre."

"Zoe," Rachel said, as Cai shoved both handfuls of fingers into his mouth, biting his gloves and staring at Danny in horror. "Zoe, he said trust him."

"He's sick," Zoe hissed at Rachel. "Look at him. Listen to him. He's not right."

[identity profile] lightningseed.insanejournal.com 2014-10-18 03:36 am (UTC)(link)
I hate you, Zoe thought at Deirdre. I hate you I hate you I hate you. "Have you even heard of Stockholm syndrome?" She asked, quietly but no less angrily for that. "Have you ever heard how traumatised people keep going back to their abusers? And you're just letting him, you are fucking enabling his rapist, Deirdre, or do you know something we don't?"

[identity profile] lightningseed.insanejournal.com 2014-10-18 04:10 am (UTC)(link)
Zoe knew plenty about Deirdre's strength, and Deirdre idiotic stubborn streak, and she knew she couldn't get past her. She could attack her - and right now Zoe wanted nothing more than to attack her - but she wouldn't win. "Yeah he said to trust him," she said. "And anorexics says 'trust me I've eaten' and suicidal kids say 'trust me I won't' - you can't trust sick people, Deirdre, you can't. You are letting him ruin himself, you fucking goddamn psychology student don't know fuck about people." She wanted to strike her, then, she wanted to really really badly but used the pent up violent energy in her to spin herself away, instead, and stormed over to the wall opposite the mirror, her forehead pressed against it and her eyes pressed shut.

She couldn't watch Danny destroy himself and she couldn't listen to Deirdre trust and she couldn't deal with how goddamn powerless she felt right now.

"Zoe?" Rachel turned from the mirror to look over her shoulder. Zoe had her back to them all, her head down between her shoulders. She slammed one fist into the wall, and Rachel - gripping Dylan's hand - shot an alarmed look at Cai.

She didn't know how to protect Zoe too. Zoe wasn't supposed to need it. Zoe was unshakeable. But right now Zoe was shaking. She couldn't deal with listening to Deirdre's stupid blindness so she was trying to block everything out - because how could any of it be good? So she wasn't listening to Danny.

Cai leaned against the wall near Zoe - but not too near. He wanted to take her hand and stop her punching the wall again - it sounded painful - but he didn't dare touch her, for both their sakes. "I think he knows what he's doing, Zoe," Cai whispered, trying to keep it private. "Listen, listen, he's trying to find others."

Zoe pressed her forehead hard up against the wall. The pressure hurt. "I hate everything," she whispered.

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