The past and the present (Open)

[Nicky Lee Young]

Nicky looked at her brother's face with a broken smile. She didn't expect him to wake so soon, but, part of her hoped he would. Hoped he would open his eyes, look at her wearily from the hospital bed, and then say something. Something Lance-like. Something like, "Your face is ugly, stop crying." Because more likely than not, Nicky would burst into tears if he woke up, and she'd give him a good smack for what he said.

But Lance didn't wake up, and Nicky's time at his bedside would be cut short as that darn Asian doctor would find her here. Again. And then take her back to her room. Again.

That's exactly what happened too, and next thing she knew, she was back in her hospital bed, in her own little room. Of course, she wasn't alone. Conscienceless-Carl, as she called him, was there too. He didn't speak, though, naturally. That pretty Asian doctor was often in here too, though. Constantly just sitting near the door and babysitting Nicky Lee. Naturally, Nicky's response to this was frustration, and she really started disliking this lady.

The doctor (well, she was still a trainee she supposed), had decided to take a seat on the side of Nicky's bed, which was received with a pout and some glares.

"Oh, I know you want to stay with your brother, miss Young, but you must stay in your room." the doctor would say, smiling softly as she pressed a hand on top of Nicky's, stroking it gently. Nicky's glare you begin to fade, unwillingly, at this. Blast this doctor her her gentle, soothing nature. It was hard to keep hating her.

Nicky's eyes would trail over to the name tag, reading what she assumed was a Chinese name (due to her time playing Dynasty Warriors) and then look back up at the woman.
"Listen, Dr. R-Ron Ling Shao." she'd begin, trying to pronounce the name correctly. Dr. Ran didn't say anything, but she smirked, so Nicky figured she'd gotten it pretty close. "You people don't understand! My brother saved my life back there! Now he's like this....I can't just sit here! I want to make sure he's alright!"

Ran would give Nicky's hand a little squeeze and nod.
"I understand, sweetheart. He's your twin, from what I understand?"

"One of my quintuplets" Nicky corrected. Ran would nod.

"Right, so you must be quite close. But there's nothing that can be done at the moment. It would be more helpful if you stayed in bed, so you can get better. If you do that, I promise to let you visit your brother every day for a period of time. Alright?"

Nicky Lee's eyes brightening was indication enough that the offer interested her. Ran would smile, brushing the strands of Nicky's gold and black fringe back and winking.
"It's a deal then."

Alright then, maybe Doctor Ran wasn't as bad as she previously thought.

"This is around the time your family visits, right?" Ran asked then, turning her head toward the door. Nicky would nod, taking a look at the clock.

She was expecting company soon then.

[Samuel Weston]

It was Samuel Weston's first day in California. As time drew closer to the move, Sam and his dad had heard about the recent terrorist bombings in San Fransisco. Naturally, it made the both of them nervous. However, neither of them were ever ones to cower out of anxiety. That, and his father had already closed on the space that would be Weston's Mechanics.

Amidst the week of living out of boxes, they'd managed to have misplaced Sam's dad's heart medicine. Neither of them had the time to set up for a new doctor out west, so they found themselves without a prescription. Having nothing better to do for the evening, Sam accompanied his dad to the hospital for the quickest way to get a prescription so he wouldn't miss his morning medication.

While his father was in with the doctor, Samuel took a walk. The car ride from Arizona left him sitting long enough for one week, and waiting in the lobby didn't seem overly appealing. Samuel stopped by the vending machine, picking up a bottled water before heading back. Distracted by his own thoughts, and no idea where he was going, Samuel opened the nearby door too soon, missing his father's room by a couple doors. He took one full step in before looking up, seeing two pretty young girls instead of his rough and tumble father.

"Oh...I, uh...I'm sorry. I must have the wrong room..." Samuel said nervously, pulling his right hand to the back of his head to smooth down the hair out of embarassment.

[Nicky Lee Young]

Both heads would turn as the door opened, only to see it was not Nicky's family. Ran would turn to look at Nicky, who, while keeping her eyes on the blond at the door, would simply shrug her shoulders in response. A little smile would cross the Asian's lips, and Ran would stand from the bed, walking toward the boy who seemed a bit embarrassed. Well, if he was this shy about it, maybe Ran could make it even more awkward.

"Hello." she'd begin, stopping a few steps away from him. She'd move to the side and signal with her hand for him to come in.

"I know this is a bit rude of me, but, if you have a bit of time on your hands, could I ask you for a favour?"
Her gentle smile would grow to a grin, and Nicky, from her bed, would watch in horror. She knew exactly what her babysitter was doing. Nicky Lee just didn't know why she was doing it. To hide her embarrassment, Nicky would raise her knees so she was sitting in a ball, and slowly pull her sheets over them and then up to her face.

If he agreed, Ran would go on, but if he would say anything that indicated he was objecting, Ran would cut him off.
"Thank you~ You see, I have a bit of work to do and I can't leave Miss Young back there alone." then she'd lean in, hiding one side of her mouth as though she was saying a secret. In a whisper, she'd say "She likes to run off you see."

Turning back to look at Nicky, Ran would wink and mouth something along the lines of "You can thank me later" and quickly ran out the door.

How utterly embarrassing. Another time she thanked God she didn't turn red when she blushed. Her eyes would cautiously move up to look at the boy. Then she'd crack a sheepish grin.
"I'm...really sorry. That woman is insane."

She'd pause for a second, letting the blanket drop from near her face.
"So...um...welcome. I guess. I'm Nicky Lee...and that guy over there is Conscious-less Carl." and she'd point at him.

What was she supposed to say? The guy had walked into the wrong room alright. In more ways than one. Now, he was forced into babysitting duty, and God knows if he had to be somewhere. Like say, at a family member's deathbed or something.

[Samuel Weston]

With the nurse's smile, Sam found a matching one crawling onto his face. It wasn't for the same reasons, no. Unlike Ran, the devious little minx, Samuel's smile was out of sheer awkwardness, not knowing what to do at the moment besides grin like a fool. As she began to speak, Sam found his hand lowering farther down to the back of his neck, where he continued to rub in anxiety.

"I guess so..."

Sam barely uttered a whisper before the girl continued on with her request. As she spoke, Sam gazed over her shoulder, to other girl sitting in her bed. As he looked, she pulled the covers over her head, bringing a hard blink to Sam's face. By the time the blink ended, the nurse had already left.

What are you doing Sammy...

When the two of their gazes met again, Sam began to realize that she was probably just as embarassed, if not more so. He took a single step forward with is left foot, barely moving out of the doorway as he spoke.

"She does seem a little peculiar...." He started, gazing back behind him as if she would pop up at any moment.

"Samuel Weston. I don't mean to impose or anything..."

Samuel began, gesturing back to the door with his thumb as he stuck his other hand back in his pocket. He agreed to do the favor, but if the girl didn't want him here, he wasn't looking to be a hassle. If she wanted him gone, he'd apologize once more and leave. If not, he'd take another step towards her bedside, continuing.

"I'm new to the city, I'm not quite familiar with my way around...anything. Are you ill?"

[Nicky Lee Young]

Nodding at his name, Nicky Lee would wave her hand in an indication to feel free and come in. The fact he was feeling as awkward as she, she'd noted, had made her feel more at ease. Besides, it was boring sitting around all alone with no one to talk to. If anything, maybe she'd be able to mess with him a little before he'd run away.

Finding out he was new to the city made things so much more perfect. She figured she'd play nice for now, but imagine all the lies she could make him believe if she wanted to? He wouldn't know. Like when he asked if she was ill, Nicky had to fight back the urge to say something grim like "I have cancer." because not everyone appreciated that sort of joke. Instead, she'd shake her head.

"Nah. I know you're new, but, I'm sure you've at least heard of the recent explosions? One of them was my school and I was unfortunate enough to be one of the many who were inside."

Her eyes would lower a bit as she spoke, shifting down at her lap.
"I'm just lucky to have survived. My brother got the worst of it. He's in another room, knocked out. It's been a few days."

She'd look up quickly, and gave a wry smile, changing the topic quickly. If he really wanted to inquire about the Big Bang, he'd bring it back up.
"Why're you here? Probably not that urgent if you've got time to waste babysitting a total stranger."

A total stranger who was planning to make his stay more interesting than he probably thought. She was already brainstorming a few little ways she could use him. Nicky didn't have that much use of her legs still, and he looked strong enough to carry her...

[Samuel Weston]

"Yeah...right after we packed up everything on the base and got in the truck. Looks like my timing is pretty bad. Not as bad as yours, though, I'm sorry to hear it."

Samuel started, pulling up the nearby chair and taking a seat next to her bed. He tried to be empathic with Nicky, but he didn't know how sensitive she would be on the subject. So far, though, he was pretty impressed at the girls resiliency. He doubted every teenage girl would take such a dramatic event with as big of a grain of salt as she did. No doubt she was a brave one.

"No, it's not." Samuel paused, itching the top of his head as he placed the rest of the words in his mouth.

"More like beating the urgency. Dad has a heart condition, and we lost his meds somewhere during the move. We're trying to get a re-fill before morning, where it could become urgent if he didn't have it."

Samuel paused again, never really knowing what to say when it came to talking about himself. He never had any real spectacular stories. Fights...explosions... with San Fransisco's reputation preceding it, Sam began thinking he was a real minority by avoiding trouble this long.

"Your brother, is he going to be okay?"

[Nicky Lee Young]

Nicky watched him, trying not to grin at how many times he'd scratched/petted his head or the back of his neck since he peeked into the room. If it was a nervous reaction like she figured it was, she knew now who had, for lack of better words, the bigger balls here. By slowly feeding off his awkwardness, Nicky had grown a bit more confident, and, hardly put off a shy exterior. She was much more confident, especially with that crazy woman no longer around.

She'd nod, giving him a sympathetic, but brief, smile just to say she understood. She didn't have anything to say about it though. Maybe an "I see", but, that's about it. Unfortunately, it created a bit of an awkward silence. She would have taken the inititative and said something, but, just as she was about to, Samuel found something worth bringing up, switching the topic back on her. Unlike him though, Nicky could go on about herself and her family for hours on end.

"I don't know." she'd answer a bit bluntly. Grabbing some of the hair that was hung over her shoulder with her right hand, she would bring her left over as well to to tug and mess with the strands. Something to occupy her hands. It'd been a while since she'd been able to sketch anything, and, it was starting to drive her crazy.
"Docs don't tell me anything. I try and go see him to see for myself but, I always get dragged back here."

She'd mutter something under her breath that would sound like cursing, Lady-like as she was.

"He's in a coma though. I don't know when he'll wake up. But he better."
It would be apparent at this point, in her voice, that it was a more sensitive topic than she'd let off. She'd made sure to look away, to avoid showing her watering eyes and, to stop her quivering lower lip, she bit down on it. Nicky Lee didn't want to make him feel guilty for asking though. She just needed a second to compose herself. The thought of how some coma patients get their plug pulled made her worry like crazy. She did not want this to happen to Lance.

Turning back to him after a moment, Nicky would give a crooked smile. Although with her present expression, it made her look like she was worried all the more.
"Sorry about that. Could I ask you a favour though? It's nothing big...."
Then, using her present teary-eyed look to her advantage, she'd give a bit of a puppy-dog look, all the while balancing it out with the whole "oooh, I'm soooo shyyy" approach.
"It's just that....I don't have much mobility at the moment. I was wondering if you could..." she'd pause for effect.
"You know, like, help me somewhere."
Then, she'd rush a bit faster, "It's still in the hospital, and I promise it's not far! Please?"

Nicky had been observing Ran's approach to things too much. But hey, if it worked...

[Samuel Weston]

Sam could notice the nervousness in Nicky from a mile away. If her sudden change in tone didn't tip him off, her body language did. She pulled at her hair, and while not a gifted empath by any standards, Samuel could still tell that she was obviously hurting. Sam made another mental note of Nicky's bravery, and admired her just a bit more.

Nicky turned away, most likely in tears. Samuel found it ironic that people tended to turn away when they cried. Even though the purpose of it was to conceal the tears from people around you, the sudden lack of eye contact seemed like a much bigger give away than a teardrop or two. Regardless, Samuel was very much aware that Nicky was crying, and he felt bad for her. It was no doubt a touchy subject, and probably something Sam shouldn't have reminded her of.

When she turned back to look at him, Samuel's eyes softened considerably as his brow dropped in sympathy. If he didn't feel guilty before, he certainly did now. As she began speaking, Samuel saw where this was going. He sighed a moment, unable to move his eyes away from her pitiful gaze.

Man, she's playing you...and she's good at it. Well, why not? You've already been doing a good job agreeing to favors before knowing what they are. How much more troublesome could it be?

Samuel hoped he wouldn't have to eat those words as he took another step towards her bedside, using his right thumb to wipe away the growing tear at the edge of her right eye.

"I suppose so."

[Nicky Lee Young]

Samuel began to approach her bedside, and Nicky Lee would watch curiously as his hand made its way toward her face. Was there something on there? She didn't move, used to her siblings pulling off an eyelash on her cheek or stray hairs she didn't notice near her mouth or eyes. The thumb would, however, wipe away her tears. Like a perfect mushy gushy scene in some romance thingie.

It was totally corny, but, Nicky being the hopeless romantic type that she was absolutely didn't mind it. She did grow a bit awkward though, being a bit caught off-guard. She'd just shift her eyes to the side, press her lips together as though she was holding back some shoop-da-woop laser blast, and give her head a flick to casually let her long bangs cover her face.

Samuel was in the lead now. Damn it. (Lead of what? Nicky's own personal game. Don't ask.)

His answer, although it made him seem like he wasn't too sure about agreeing, caused her to give her head another flick, pushing her bangs right back out of her face and her eyes and smile to brighten. SCORE! It had worked! And to emphasize her already apparent glee, she'd bring her hands up to about her shoulders, fist her hands and wiggle them from side to side like she was shaking something. A total display of girliness.

"Yeah!?" she'd exclaim, loud enough to show her delight, but not enough to consider it a scream. Again, she had to hold herself back from hugging a stranger, as again, she had to remind herself that people probably weren't comfortable with such actions. She was so used to it with her friends back in Canada, and still with her many siblings, it was hard to break that habit.

"Fantabulous~! Turn 'round so I can climb on your back then!"
That's what Nicky had in mind when Sam agreed to be her temporary horsey. Wheelchair definitely could have worked, but, Nicky wasn't thinking about that. If that did come to his mind, he was welcome to say it, all Nicky would have as a response is "Oh, you're no fun at all." Then again, wheelchairs opened so many more doors to her love of mischief.

How ever he'd decide to help her around, Nicky would begin her instructions.
"You'll have to go down the hall then turn left for the elevators." she'd begin, looking up for a moment as she thought. "Hmm, I can't remember after. I'll know where we are when we hit the third floor. Go go go!"

And thus...it had started.

[Samuel Weston]

This girl sure has some heavy mood swings.

Sammy's eyes widened slightly, still not used to Nicky's sudden changes in emotion. One second she was happy and the next on the verge of tears, only to spasm with excitement a moment later. Though certainly strange, Samuel couldn't say he minded too much. At least there would never be a dull moment with this girl. Wait...is that necessarily a good thing...?

"O-okay..." Samuel replied, used to following orders, but not exactly ones like this.

The thought of a wheel chair wouldn't even cross Sam's mind. If Nicky's strangeness kept her from thinking of a wheel chair, the same would be said of keeping it from Samuel's. Nicky's strangeness. It was hard to keep focus when you had a girl like this around you. Sam began to throw all expectations aside, Nicky sure to blow them away at a moment's notice.

Samuel looped his arms underneath Nicky's thighs, keeping her from sliding off his back and/or choking him. As they reached the door, Sam slid his right arm from under her leg, opening the door before returning it back to its place. He began to walk at a simple pace, moving along with her directions. He seemed to be moving too slow however, turning his walk into a bound for the elevators as she egged him on, widening his eyes once again in the process. Once arriving at the elevator, he'd press the button and walking into it with her still on his back. He'd let her down if she wanted, but it wasn't necessary. She was a light girl, and Sam could carry her weight for a while...hopefully that wasn't a jinx.

[Nicky Lee Young]

While he was walking, Nicky had seen the form of her sister Leona turning the corner. She was glad that Samuel had picked up the pace. She'd keep peering back at her sister, who was walking absent-mindedly toward her room, before shooting her a grin as Leona noticed her. She gave a shocked look, Nicky responded with a wink, and then the elevator door shut, cuttin off Leona's voice as she began to call out "Hein!? Lee qu'est-que tu---!".

She assumed Samuel hadn't heard, or at least, hadn't realised that Lee meant her. Afterall, the second part of her first name was only usually said by her family. But no matter, they'd dodged the blond for now. All Nicky had to worry about is if she came with anyone else, or if she was sent to visit alone while everyone else was busy.
'She could ruin everything.'

Nicky would stay clung onto Samuel's back, like a human Koala, not really wanting to stand on her own. It was hell enough when she'd walk by herself when she'd sneak off, now that she had someone willing to carry her around, she wasn't about to let that go to waste. Plus. She was lazy.
"I'll say it now, there's actually a few stops I want to make." Nicky would admit then, pressing her chin on her arm, making her perhaps a bit too close to Sam's right ear. He'd have to deal with it though, Nicky was feeling a bit tired.

When the elevator doors would open, and Sam would more than likely walk out, she'd pull her head back up and look right to left. Twisting her body towards the left, she'd motion with her arm,
"That way, deffinately!" and she'd let him go on at whatever pace he wanted. Whenever she'd find the door she was looking for, she'd tell him to open it. Inside they would find a nurse bent over, picking up a hat. Behind her, watching from his bed with much interest, was an old man who was obviously lacking some action.

Nicky would shiver in supressed giggles.
"Oops, I could have sworn in was this door!" she'd say. Was she serious though?

"It must be down the hall to the right then."

[Samuel Weston]

Samuel hadn't heard some muffled talking outside the elevator, but hadn't been able to make it out, even if he knew french. He didn't see the girl looking their way either, his head currently tilted towards the controls where he pushed the button for the third floor. Unbeknowest to him, Nicky was having too much, giving her sister a mischievious wink literally from behind his back.

Samuel twisted back towards the elevator doors as they began to shut. He felt a tickle on his ear as Nicky leaned in, feeling as much as hearing her words as she breathed them. Samuel gave a short nod, keeping his head faced forward in an effort to conceal on how much he was NOT looking forward to playing patsy. He'd already agreed though, meaning he was screwed. Too late to back out now...

Look at the plus-side, you now have a friend here... or at least a jockey.

Taking two large steps to exit the elevator, Sam came to a stop at the fork in the hallway, letting Nicky direct him from there. When the koala gps girl on his back told him to go left, he began walking at an even pace again. He was a strong guy with good balance from judo, but he didn't trust himself to run for extended periods of time with her on his back. If he fell, who cares. If he fell on a girl already in the hospital, well, that couldn't be good for karma.

Upon further direction, Samuel opened the door told to. Samuel's eye started upon an old man in the bed, trailing the man's own line of sight. Where it ended was on the behind of a bent over nurse. Which of course, the second Sam even glanced that way she turned her head to the sound of the opening door, catching Sam accidently looking at her ass like a deer caught in the headlights. Before either of them could say anything, Nicky spoke up, causing Samuel to close the door at twice the speed he'd opened it.

He paused a moment after shutting the door, Nicky re-calculating her directions. Turning his head over his right shoulder, he got as close to face-to-face as he could in their current positioning.

"Nicky, are you sure this time?"

[Nicky Lee Young]

"Hey! This is my first screw up! Don't lose faith in me just yet!"

And she'd hammer the side of her fist on the top of his head in a light bonk. So she made one error (whether it was on purpose or not wasn't the point). No need to doubt her. At least, not yet. Actually, after the next stop, Samuel would probably have reason to doubt her. But he didn't know that.

Again, she'd allow Samuel to walk at his own pace, and to occupy herself, she'd begin to braid small sections of his hair. For a minute, she wondered what Sam would look like with corn rows, but after a slight smirk at the image, she dismissed the thought. Forcing him to walk around with pretty braids in his hair was bad enough, and the poor young man could do nothing about it since his arms were occupied. 'Oh Nicky Lee, you devil, you.'

She'd stop him at the correct door this time, instructing him to open the door, with a polite "please" and peer inside the dim room. There was another old man, albeit this one was asleep.
"Get to his bedside." Nicky whispered. "Gotta pay Gramps a visit."
This wasn't her grandfather, if you were wondering. However, in order for Samuel not to doubt her, it was best to claim the old fart was a relative. Or make it sound as if he was. To be honest, all she wanted was the old dude's Jello. She was still hungry and the hospital never gave her anything good. One jello wasn't enough! Plus...he had strawberry. That was way better than her lemon.

Assuming Samuel did as he was told, Nicky would twist herself to the side, gripping his shoulder with one hand as she reached down for the jello with her other. However, just as she'd grab the the cup, a wrinkly, but strangely firm hand would grip at her wrist.

"Ah! C'est pas vrais!" she'd hiss, her gaze shifting slowly toward the grey but piercing eyes of the prune. His lips would press into a hard zigzag, and then he'd grin a gummy grin.

"I got you this time you little weasel!" he'd say, paying no mind to Samuel for the moment.

Nicky would grin nervously and try to tug at her captured arm.
"Aw, but gramps, aren't you happy to see me?"

"Don't start that with me! I'm not your grandpa! Stop commin' in here and stealin' my jello!"

Nicky Lee would give a bit of a laugh at direct her words to Samuel. "Heheh, don't pay any mind to him Sammers, he's got a failing memory..." and she'd tug at her arm again. "...and a freakish grip. Man, do you work out? Never mind. Let go gramps!"

"You let go of the jello!"

Nicky would grin that little grin she'd...grin when she was about to win. With a quick tug toward the old man's thumb, she managed to free her arm and pull herself away, back to the safety of behind Samuel, her meat-shield. She pop the jello into her mouth quickly and toss him back his cup, her eyes bright with the knowledge that she'd won. Again.

"Ruhrr.." she'd tell Sam then, her words muffled by the vast quantity of fruity gelatin in her mouth. Pretty sure he didn't understand, she'd gulp down as much as she could, while the old man pressed a button that alerted the nurses he required assistance.

"I said run!" she'd repeat almost happily, shifting her gaze toward the door. "And if you know where the gift-shop is, that's the next stop! Giddy-up, my steed! Wahoo!"

Oh she was trouble alright. But you can't say she was dull.