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Post by Deleted on Mar 7, 2015 21:57:43 GMT -5
She's been in a very deep sleep for a long while now. Rest is precious to her, providing the perfect environment for her healing to take place. During that time, she's been in a very stable state. There haven't been any hiccups in any of her monitors and with sufficient changing of her fluids, she hasn't experienced any dehydration. Throughout all of it, she's actually been dreaming. Fleeting memories of before her diagnosis, seem through rose colored lenses. The pillow she's laying against becomes Victor's shoulder-- though he was always quite thin. It's when her head moves off to the side slightly and isn't properly positioned that she imagines that.
With the sunlight creeping through the windowpanes, the warmth is felt on the side of her face and her arms, seeping down into her lap through the blanket as well. It's such a nice feeling. Once she hasn't felt in a long time, kept in all that terrible cold. When she does start to wake, she assumes she feels so warm because Victor is there with her, as he usually is. Later, she'll remember having spoken to him the day before. She'll remember the suit, his accident, his health, all that. For now, she doesn't. Her mind is foggy enough to confuse even the voice that is clearly not Victor's.
"Hmm?" She goes to turn over but the tug of the wires coming out of her startles her-- one of the needles is loosened and she can feel it just enough for it to sting. Her eyes shoot open and her hand tenses up, heartbeat racing for a brief second before looking back up and seeing not Victor, but a woman she is completely unfamiliar with. Eyes widening, she sits back and keeps her hand out, tensed, starting to bleed.
"Who are you? ..Where's Victor?" Her heart is still racing, though the beat is a little off. ".. Who are you?"
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Post by Victor Fries - Mr. Freeze on Mar 8, 2015 0:25:13 GMT -5
The way that Nora turns, threatening the various lines that she's hooked up to, is of immediate concern to the woman. So she immediately sets aside her knitting and moves over to Nora's side. "Woah, woah, there, hun, ya're hooked up tah a lotta things, and ya don't wanna hurt yaself," she comments quickly, but other than the speed her voice is still very calm. Sure enough, she can see that one of the needles is loose. But she doesn't even think to complain about that, she simply moves to correct the problem.
"A'm sorry I scared ya, hon - but how about I tell ya everything while I fix this, hm?" she says, taking Nora's arm in her hand with a surprisingly firm grip. But for all that it's firm, it's gentle at the same time - she's careful not to squeeze it hard enough or in the wrong way to make it painful, but definitely strongly enough to make absolutely sure that the woman isn't going to move her arm while she's fixing the needle, even if Nora were to try to resist. She has no small experience in treating confused people, and she has more than enough incentive to make sure that she does her job as perfectly as humanly possible right now.
"Ya're husband asked me tah take cara ya when he can't be here hisself - mah name is Shanice. He wanted tah be here hisself when ya woke up - try tah relax ya're arm, hon - but nobody could guess when that'd be. A'll call 'im and tell 'im you're awake though and he'll be here right quick. And while ya're waitin' I've got soup warmin' on the stove - ya're prolly hungry? Ya've been Sleepin' Beauty all day. Betcha he gets here bafore ya're half done," she says as she fixes the needle - a process that hurts just as much as it did when it was loosened, but she's very quick about it so at least it doesn't hurt very long and she hopes that her chatter is distracting.
When she's finished, she's still holding onto Nora's arm with that firm grip as she pauses to let Nora answer her question - not prepared to release the arm unless she's certain that the woman won't accidentally hurt herself more than she already has. She can't afford to do anything that would give her employer the impression that she didn't do her absolute best in the care of his wife, after all.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2015 10:11:48 GMT -5
It's not as though the woman tried to scare her, and there's no real threat there, she doesn't think. It's much like the last days she remembers, staying home in bed with Victor and the lingering doctors taking care of her while they decided her next step. Her sight is still blurry from having just woke up and she may feel slightly cold to the touch, but she is still in a very long process of healing, after all.
The stinging sensation in her hand goes away as soon as the woman puts the needle back in it's rightful place and she seems to calm down all at once, just looking around the room at her surroundings. She barely remembers the conversation she had the day previous with Victor. She wouldn't remember the suit. Not immediately, anyway. But obviously, he's still around. Not too far off, just.. working. He was always, always working.
"I'm sorry.." She mumbles, sounding tired and confused. Blinking a few times, she shakes her head and with her free hand moves a few strands of her hair away from her face. Her time in the containment vessel seems to have taken some of it's vibrance away, but that'll likely come back in time when she's able to be more active. It's messy-- tangled and frizzy in the back where she was only able to move her head so much during her sleep. Sniffling, she offers the woman a smile and nod to the question of if she's hungry. She can't remember her last meal.
"I am hungry, yes. ..Thank you." Voice still groggy, she appears and sounds grateful for the help. "So, Victor is.. he's, working? I'm not.. they don't usually like to let him out early." As if he's still working for the laboratory. "Could.. do you think I could call? He didn't wake me up this morning, he'll usually just.. say goodbye before he leaves?" Over time her memory retention will improve, but having only just woken up, having to heal, and having to remember all this new information is a bit much on her brain for the moment.
It takes another moment for her to register that the woman gave her name and again, she smiles, nodding. "Shanice. Nice to meet you."
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Post by Victor Fries - Mr. Freeze on Mar 8, 2015 15:12:04 GMT -5
Seeing that Nora is calm, Shanice gently releases her arm. She notices that the other woman still looks confused, but perhaps that's a bit to be expected and she looks like she's at least aware enough now to be careful. "Ya're all right, hon - no need tah be apologizin'," she replies with a warm smile. She didn't exactly volunteer for this job, and doesn't think very highly of her employer as a result of that, but she does recognize that Nora isn't to blame for that so she won't be taking it out on her. Especially since she wouldn't be going out on a limb to guess that her employer would object rather harshly if she did. Instead she's trying to put a good face on the situation - she was promised a ridiculously high salary if she does a good job, and if all goes well she'll get out of this in one piece and with more money than she knows what to do with.
And so far it's looking like it's going to actually be a rather easy job. Easier than her regular job, actually - she can already tell that Nora's not going to be anywhere near the worst person she's had to deal with. Though she looks just a little bit confused at Nora's questions at first, though eventually she manages to get some idea about what she means. "Ah - he's... self-employed now, hon," she explains, deciding that will do for an explanation for now. It's not a lie, and hopefully Nora will accept that much. "And I don't hava number for 'im, ya understand - I hava number for the guy who can tell 'im I called. He's a busy man, ya're husband, but I know he be wantin' to see ya. He di'nt come by this mornin' - prolly thought you'd be sleepin' longer and wanted tah let ya rest," she continues.
She'd been told that the two had a short chat yesterday, and knows that it didn't cover what the man, well, does. But she'd also been told that he was going to tell her and she's absolutely forbidden to do so herself. So she figures that Nora's confusing questions are mostly because of that omission. Hopefully her response will be enough for Nora until that can be fixed. "So how about I go make that call, and I'll bring you back some soup?" she says, but though it's phrased as a question she means that rhetorically and doesn't wait for Nora to respond before she turns to leave.
In fact, even if Nora were to object, she'd not listen. The way that the man is about his wife, she suspects that he may actually kill her if she delays for too long in telling him that Nora is awake. But since the soup has been sitting there stewing all morning, ready for when it's needed, and the phone call doesn't even take a minute, it doesn't take Shanice more than a couple minutes before she's coming back into the room carrying the soup on a breakfast tray.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2015 15:30:14 GMT -5
Something is just.. off about everything. If she could remember more about her conversation with Victor yesterday, she'd be much better off. Unfortunately, that is an impossibility on her part for the time being. She simply doesn't have the recall required. That feeling she has in her gut about something not being right, though. It's frustrating. More than frustrating. She doesn't show it-- looking as peaceful and acting as polite as ever, but she's worried.
"You don't have his number?" She blinks, and is about to reach for her phone which is normally on the bedside table next to her, but then she starts to realize she's in a different apartment and Shanice finishes her sentence. It only confuses her more. ".. Self employed? No-- no, Victor's not.. he works in a laboratory. He can't be self-employed." She stares, shaking her head uncertainly. "At GothCorp. He works in the cryogenics department-- I.. I have the number, too. For the building.."
Trailing off, she looks down at her hands, now freed from Shanice's grip. Thoroughly confused at this point. Her brows furrow when the other woman leaves the room, deep in thought and trying to recall what happened. She makes no progress by the time Shanice returns to the room, and still is staring down at her hands.
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Post by Victor Fries - Mr. Freeze on Mar 8, 2015 16:07:17 GMT -5
Setting the tray across Nora's lap so that she can reach it easily, she comments, "Ya be careful with this, now - it's hot. Fresh from the pot y'know. Ya want some help sittin' up?" An offer easily made, easily acted upon, and easily shrugged off if Nora wants to do it herself.
And, though she'd been quite abrupt about not answering too many of Nora's questions herself, that doesn't mean that she's not sympathetic to the woman's situation. "A'm sure it must be hella confusin' tah wake up afta ten years," she comments, "So much catchin' up tah do - did'ja know Pluto ain't a planet anymore?" Though she's quick to offer sympathy about that problem, she's also quick to try to divert Nora's thoughts away from questions that she can't answer and perhaps on to things that she can talk about. It might not work, but she'll try that.
Even as she saying that she notices something else. "Hmm, ya mind if I brush ya're hair while ya eat? Ya got some bedhead goin' on," she observes with a smile, once again happy to make the offer. But she can imagine that it might be annoying to have someone messing with your hair while you're trying to eat, so this time instead of insisting she lets Nora make the choice - she could just as easily go back to her knitting while she waits for her employer to arrive and take over looking after Nora.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2015 16:56:58 GMT -5
She could use the help sitting up, and doesn't decline. She doesn't verbally accept either though, still focusing down on her hands for a moment before she's helped up. "..What do you mean, he's self-employed? Does he.. he must do something else, then?" Barely recognizing the comment about Pluto, she glances up and then down at the soup, suddenly not feeling all that hungry.
"Is he coming here? Did you get a hold of him or.. whoever it was you had to call?" She's getting slightly impatient but doesn't sound that way, rather, she just sounds concerned. She looks over at her again, tucking some hair behind her ear and chuckling quietly at the offer.
"If you wouldn't mind. It is.. quite a mess, isn't it." She jokingly holds up a tangled strand of her hair, sighing. "Maybe I should tie it back before laying down again." Her smile fades and she glances down at the soup, taking the spoon but just stirring it idly. "Victor is.. coming, isn't he?" She just asked that, but she sounds more concerned about it this time.
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Post by Victor Fries - Mr. Freeze on Mar 8, 2015 18:18:59 GMT -5
When Nora doesn't raise any objections or make a move to sit up herself, Shanice takes that as a 'yes' even though it isn't said one way or the other. The woman has to sit up to eat, after all. Holding Nora's forearm, she guides her into a more upright position - not enough to be sitting up straight, but enough make it possible for her to reach the soup more easily - and then quickly repositions the pillows behind her to help her stay in that position before gently releasing her arm again.
Sadly, it seems that her efforts at distraction didn't work, but she gives no sign that it bothers her. Instead she answers that question as best she can. "Yeah, but a'm sure that he can explain it ya better than I can," is her answer, once again trying to deflect the question away from herself, "I don't really know the details - he just hired me." Hopefully, that will get Nora thinking that she doesn't really even know, which would be convenient.
And there's nothing in Shanice's manner that would indicate trouble. She's good at putting on a smile, after all. Really, most of what she feels about all of this is simply being sorry for Nora and grateful that she isn't her. Sure, every woman wants a guy who is devoted but, that devoted? Not for her. "And yeah, I passed along the message. From what I understand, he's not that far off - he'll be here quick," she answers with a confident nod.
When granted permission to work on Nora's hair, she steps over to the dresser and pulls a brush and a comb out of the top drawer. "Oh, trust me, hon - I've seen worse. Ya should see what mah baby girl looks like when she wakes up," she replies, walking back over to the bed with those tools. Half-sitting on the side of the bed, next to the pillows where she can reach Nora's hair most easily, she quite possibly verifies her claim about her daughter's hair simply by virtue of her brushing technique - she has a knack for getting out really bad tangles on someone else's head without pulling very much, probably after much practice. "If ya want I can braid it - that'll keep even betteh," she offers. Something else she has a lot of experience with - braids. Not that she'd do the kind of braiding in Nora's hair that she'd do for her daughter - just one should be sufficient.
Though she can't be seen while she's behind Nora, her smile is very evident in her voice when Nora asks about her husband for a second time in such short order. "Trust me, hon - nothing will stop 'im from comin' to see ya," she replies, mildly amused by her own answer. A part of her doubts that even Superman could stop him right now.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 6, 2015 9:04:28 GMT -5
She just isn't used to being without her husband. She's still stuck in the past where she could wake up and he'd be there with her. She could make a joke about him snoring even though he usually didn't. He always looked so peaceful when he slept, too. She misses that, and can't get her mind off the images that flash through her mind. All she really wants is some sort of normality, and she's lucky to have Shanice there to bring her just that-- even if it wasn't exactly what she was looking for. Close enough.
"Oh.. alright." Sounding disappointed, Nora has no doubts that Victor will come back. It's just that she's not used to having to wait on him. Apart from maybe the old habit of waiting for him to get home from the lab, but that was different. ..Maybe if she made herself think it wasn't so different, she wouldn't worry as much. Likely not, but with a somewhat forced smile and a heavy sigh, she leans back in her spot, moving the spoon around in the soup without really eating much of it, and nods.
"I don't mean to ask so many questions, I'm sorry. I'm still getting used to everything, and .. he used to be with me all the time. Before I-- when I was still sick, but. ..Just in bed, sick. He was always here with me." She's starting to repeat herself again and can feel the muscles in her face starting to strain as if she's about to cry. Taking a deep breath, she bites down on her lips gently to keep herself from doing that and lets out a somewhat relieved burst of laughter at the comment about her daughter, reaching back up to feel the tangle. She's not sure she's ever had one that bad.
"A braid would be nice, actually, thank you." Her voice sounds shaky again and she reaches up to wipe at her eyes, though she hasn't exactly started to cry just yet. She just feels like she's going to. "This is a lot to get used to. ..Is he still in that suit? Yes, right? He.. has to be, now?"
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Post by Victor Fries - Mr. Freeze on Apr 7, 2015 1:04:22 GMT -5
As Nora speaks Shanice simply listens quietly and attentively. Which is why she's slow to say anything in response as Nora again comments on how strange it is that her husband isn't here, and quick to notice the change of emotion. Though she can't help but mentally pat herself on the back when Nora responds so well at her comments about her daughter - she can see how much the woman doesn't want to cry, and would like to help her with that.
The moment that Nora consents to a braid, Shanice starts to work on it. Though she's certainly noticed that the woman doesn't seem to be very enthused about the soup, she doesn't want her efforts to be one of the reasons so she makes a point of not pulling her head around too much while she's braiding. Her fingers make quick work of the project, and it doesn't distract her at all from the conversation. "That's what I hear," she answers quite easily, "Never saw him out of it mahself, but then a've never been anywhere else but here since I started."
She suddenly pauses, listening - in the far distance the sound of a garage door can be heard. "Ah, what'd I tell ya? That'll be him," she announces, and somehow she manages to find a little more speed in her braiding - she's sure that the two won't want her around, but she also doesn't want to leave the braid half done.
But it isn't difficult to hear Victor making his way through the house - his suit is very well designed and the motors are quiet and efficient, but there's a muffled mechanical whir when he moves, not unlike those made by modern appliances. And this is especially true when he's in a hurry, which he certainly is now. He's able to resist the temptation to run - he's capable of some restraint, after all, and he'd be quite likely to trip. So he walks, but quickly, through the house until he reaches the door of the master bedroom where Nora is. He finds himself having to take a deep breath before he turns the knob to go inside.
There she is - his miracle. No, it's not the fact that she's alive thanks to his efforts that makes her his miracle - the miracle is that this angel of a woman chose to love him out of anyone else, and she's merely his because she made that choice and somehow hasn't changed her mind again. That he's managed to preserve her life will always be the lesser miracle to him. "Nora!" he says, stopped in the doorway as if suddenly unable to move, saying her name merely for the sheer pleasure of being able to say it and knowing that she can now hear him.
He hasn't even noticed that Shanice is in the room yet, never mind that the large woman is sitting right behind her.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 24, 2015 18:38:00 GMT -5
As Shanice spoke, Nora listened and swirled the soup around in the bowl with her spoon absently. Her stomach had not quite yet woken up as she had. She tried to choke back the sorrow threatening to make her weep. Shanice’s words didn’t exactly comfort her. As she lifted a spoonful of unappetizing looking soup to her lips, she heard something…mechanical in the distance? It was a familiar sound, but Nora’s powers of recall were greatly diminished at the moment.
She perked up almost immediately at Shanice’s comment about it being Victor. Nora lowers the spoon and sits up a touch more upright, though the effort was considerably taxing. Truly, she had felt the need to climb out of bed and run to him, but, with the tenderness of her muscles…that was obviously impossible. Oh, and of course, all of the medical machinery that she was hooked up to. Nora hastily rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, some still lingering and blurring her vision slightly.
She could hear him coming. Heavy footfalls and the mechanical whirring of his suit told her that much. Excited! Oh so excited to see her Victor. Her heart began to race slightly, causing the heart monitor to beep more swiftly, but she couldn’t be bothered to notice it. The footsteps got closer and closer and halted just behind the door to her room. Her eyes, wide, blue, and alert were locked onto the door, her breath held in anticipation.
The knob turned. The door opened. And there he was. Her Victor. Her beloved Victor. As he called out her name, a radiant smile burst out across Nora’s face. “Victor!” she cried in answer. Despite the suit. Despite his tragic appearance. Despite everything. Nora was overjoyed to see him. Nothing could damper that in this moment. And despite herself, she felt tears welling up in her eyes. But not of sadness. Of joy. She reached out toward him earnestly, almost knocking over the tray of soup in her lap doing so.
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Post by Victor Fries - Mr. Freeze on Jun 25, 2015 4:44:53 GMT -5
At no point in his life has Victor been what anyone would describe as a very emotional person - even as a small child, before anything happened to him that one might blame as the start of who he's become, he was rather reserved in temperament. Since then so many of the events of his life have encouraged him to not merely not display emotion but to not feel it to begin with - feeling is far too painful. The past ten years have especially solidified that, giving him his reputation for having such a remarkable dispassion for everything.
But Nora has always been the exception - she who first brought him out of his shell also renders him unable to return to it. For the past ten years she's brought him mostly sadness and loneliness - not that he faults her for that or didn't endure it gladly for her sake. Yet that does mean that the feelings that flood him now are ones that he's now very unaccustomed to - he's not had reason to feel so much joy in a very, very long time.
"Nora..." he says again as he closes the distance to her bed. It's joy that he feels, but it's not untainted by some sadness still - he's overwhelmed by a desire to kiss her, to hold her, and to do many other things that are quite impossible dreams at the moment. He can hold on to the hope that can be fixed in the future. For now he does the best that he can - after pulling the chair right next to the bed, he sits and offers Nora his hands, leaning close. Even though their thick coverings prevent him from feeling her very well, at least it's something - he'll have to figure out something even better once she's well enough to leave her bed.
Shanice, hardly wanting to interrupt this moment, silently moves the tray from Nora's lap and puts it on the nightstand next to the bed - the last thing anyone here needs is for it to spill. Then she secures the finished braid with a hairband and with equal silence stands and starts to leave. She doesn't exactly rush out the door, as she wants to give her employer a chance to stop her if he wants something from her, but otherwise she wants to give the couple their privacy.
But she's currently the last thing on Victor's mind - instead he's immediately began to apologize to Nora. "I wanted to be here when you woke up - I'm sorry!" he says with obvious sadness in his voice about that, "But there's so many things I needed to do and I thought that you'd be asleep for longer - it's a good sign that you woke up early though. You already look so much stronger than you were yesterday! How do you feel?"
Hopefully she'll be up for a longer talk this time - they have so much to catch up on. Well, perhaps not so much on Nora's side of things, but the past ten years have been much more... eventful for him than they were for her. In fact, though he feels like she deserves to know everything, perhaps he'll have to tell her in stages - the last thing he wants to do is overwhelm her with too much at once. That's something that he'll have to play by ear though - every plan he can make concerning Nora's recovery can only be based upon educated guesses. It's not like anyone else has been through the same process she has.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 25, 2015 10:49:26 GMT -5
As Victor closed in on the bed, Nora was more than happy to watch him. Specifically, his face. His skin was as white as the snow she so loved, but his eyes were ever the same. An icy blue and full of gentle affection. But…Nora could see some sadness in them too. Victor, even now, was very easy for her to puzzle out. As he sat down and offered her his hands, Nora took them in her own and gave them a hard squeeze. As hard as she could manage at the moment anyway.
Shanice finished her braid and took the tray from Nora’s lap away, but Nora scarcely noticed. She was gazing lovingly into her husband’s beautiful eyes. However, when he hastily began to apologize to her, Nora blinked in surprise. Before she could say anything about it though, Victor continued to state why he had not been here when she had awoken, finishing with asking her how she felt.
“Oh, tut, Victor,” Nora chided with a gentle smile, “You don’t need to apologize. I understand if you’re busy, dear.” Before answering Victor’s question, Nora tore her gaze away from him for a moment to look down at herself. Her muscles still felt sore…and…some deeper things also had a dull ache to them. But the edge was taken off of them by having just woken up. Nora blinked as she began to yawn and stretch, her muscles tingling with both parts pain and pleasure.
“Mmm…” Nora murmured as she looked back into Victor’s eyes. “A bit sore and achy, but otherwise quite alright. My mind feels a bit sluggish…” Nora trailed off as she thought about how she slept, recalling something from her sleep. “Oh! Victor! I had a dream! A dream that I was dancing in the snow.” Nora smiled warmly at him. “Oh, but listen to me go on. Please Victor, tell me about you. I hear you are…self-employed now? But don’t you still work in a laboratory? How can that be?”
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Post by Victor Fries - Mr. Freeze on Jun 27, 2015 16:02:55 GMT -5
The fact that Nora isn't upset at him for being here is only partially comforting to Victor. She may have been fine with his absence, but he really had wanted to be here when she woke up - he should have been here. But at least he's here now. The hard squeeze that she gives him is returned by one of extreme gentleness - he hadn't had gentleness in mind when he'd designed this suit so he doesn't dare touch Nora except with extreme care for fear of harming her, but he can indicate that he felt her squeeze at least.
The explanation of how she feels gets a slight frown - Nora shouldn't have to feel sore and sluggish. But then he realizes that those two things are related. Unfortunately, any form of painkiller tends to have that effect on the mind when the dose is high enough, but that means it sounds like Nora has both not enough and too much at the same time. How does he fix that?
Though his ponderings on that are interrupted when she starts talking about her dream and he sets that problem aside in order to give her his full attention again. The mere thought of her dancing in the snow brings a slight smile to his face. "You should be able to dance again before the snow falls again," he comments, though he's more uncertain about how well she'll be able to dance - will she recover so quickly that she's back to her old self by then, or merely be swaying to the music? There's so many unknowns! But he intends to see it happen if that's what she wants.
What she says next causes his forehead to wrinkle a little for a moment in confusion. Self-employed? Well, technically... but where would she have heard? Ah, Shanice! Being reminded of her, he turns and glances at her, now almost to the door. The woman pauses when she sees her employer looking at her, but he merely gives her a nod, and she takes that to mean that she's officially free to leave the room. Finding the right woman to take on the task of caring for Nora when he couldn't be here was a complicated problem. He's gotten quite good at finding capable men to help him - those with the right skills and personalities to do what he wants - but none of them remotely match the criteria of someone he could trust to care for Nora. And there's much about Shanice that's... not ideal when it comes to someone he wants to interact with, even though he's confident that she'll do an excellent job with what he needs her to do.
Turning his attention back to Nora, he seems to not know what to say for a moment. Before Nora woke up he'd been extremely concerned about two things. The first was whether or not she can accept the physical change to him, but so far she seems to be handling that well - he really shouldn't have worried so much about that. But the second is whether or not she can accept all that he's done while she was asleep - and she's such a gentle soul that he feels like that's still a valid thing to be concerned about. And he's prepared - at least as much as he can be - for her to ultimately reject him for it. He honestly doesn't know what she sees in him to begin with. Not that he thinks that he's a horrible person, but she's so perfect and he's so... flawed. He's never deserved her to begin with, but if she wants him anyway then what can he do with that besides make sure that her life is as happy and perfect as possible?
"It's complicated," he says first, "So much has happened in the past ten years that I hardly know where to begin. And much of it may be very difficult for you to hear." He pauses, collecting his thoughts, before he says, "I suppose at the beginning. I already told you about the fight with Boyle." He pauses again, attempting to figure out how to phrase the rest of that story in a way that Nora will understand - though a part of him worries that's impossible. How can someone like Nora understand what it was like at that time? "If it was just this," he glances down at himself, indicating his current condition, "Perhaps I could have let it go. Gone somewhere else... But what he tried to do to you..."
When he looks up again there is so much anger in his eyes - still, all these years later, there's so much anger in the memory. Probably more than Nora has ever seen in her husband. But he tries to explain himself - he wants Nora to understand it, if she can. "Perhaps it was wrong of me to use company resources to try to save you, but you were innocent, and you were helpless. You've never done anything in your life to deserve it. And I couldn't let that go. So I tried to kill him," he pauses after that admission for a moment before he adds, "But I was stopped. He is dead now, but that happened later and it wasn't my doing." Of course... he probably would have done it himself at some point if that wasn't the case.
Having said all that, he watches Nora somewhat anxiously, gauging her reaction. Can she accept that? And if so, to what degree? Even if she can accept that much, he fears that the rest may be too much for her. What he's just explained is only the beginning, after all.
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Deleted Member
Deleted
Registered On: May 2, 2024 9:16:32 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Jun 29, 2015 1:41:02 GMT -5
Nora’s warm smile widened as Victor reciprocated her gesture of affection. It was quite gentle, which, for how, well, enormous the suit appeared, was a surprise. Nora blinked and her smile faded slightly when a slight frown appeared on Victor’s face at her explanation on how she was feeling. But that frown soon cleared up when she spoke of her dream, which managed to reassure her.
Immediately brightening as Victor commented about her regaining her ability to dance before the snow fell, Nora’s face eased into a smile once more as her eyes drifted away from her husband’s face for a moment to glance about the room. She caught sight of Shanice, whom she had completely forgotten for the moment. She chided herself. That was a tad rude, wasn’t it? Glancing over to Victor, Nora saw him give Shanice a nod, which in turn made Nora look back over to Shanice as she moved toward the door.
“Thank you, Shanice!” she called before turning her attention back to Victor. He had never been the sociable one. Quite the shy recluse actually. But not toward her. Heh. Not since she had managed to break through those icy barriers he had kept around himself those years ago. Yet, they had gone right back up as soon as she had managed to carve a path for herself. Nora remembered trying to get Victor to socialize a touch more…but then her illness had struck, and Victor had thrown himself into his work. No time for anything else. No time at all.
He didn’t seem know what to say for a moment regarding her earlier question about his employment. Nora tilted her head to the side slightly, concern plain on her face as she lightly tightened her grip on his hand. When Victor finally managed to speak…he admitted that some of what transpired in the last ten – oh God, she really couldn’t fathom how long that had felt to Victor – years would be difficult for her to hear. She gave him her best reassuring smile, though…she was uncertain and worried beneath it all. Worried for Victor.
Nodding as he mentioned the fight with that rather despicable Ferris Boyle, Nora listened intently with increasing agitation as he went on about his condition and what that man had attempted to do to her. But…what she saw next could not have possibly startled her more. There was such anger in Victor’s gentle eyes, making them hard and unforgiving. She felt the urge to reach out to him, to stroke his cheek, but…Victor continued.
The shock of his next words rendered Nora incapable of expression. She stared down into her lap. Tears welled up in her eyes. She couldn’t stop them. After a long moment passed, she tugged at Victor’s mechanical hand and pulled it up to her cheek, tilting her face up to look into the anxious expression of her husband. “Oh Victor…”
“I’m…” She paused as she reached out with a hand to stroke the side of the dome protecting Victor’s head, “I’m so sorry…I’m so sorry you had to…You went through that all alone…” Nora felt the hot tears dripping down her cheeks as she looked up into Victor’s blue eyes. She felt a pang of sorrow, thinking of what kind of pain her husband must have been in to do such a thing. Had he…How long…Pressing her cheek against her husband’s suited hand, Nora’s gaze drifted off thoughtfully and rather sorrowfully. After a moment, she realized that her distress would only cause Victor more pain. It couldn’t have been easy for him to admit this to her. Hastily, she tried to dab at her eyes, trying to stem the flow of tears.
“I’m sorry, Victor…” she muttered, her voice wavering slightly, “I’m…I’m alright.” She dabbed away the last of the tears. “You did warn me that it might be difficult to hear,” Nora said softly, her voice mostly stable now. She looked back up at him and gave him a sad, uncertain smile, trying her very best to reassure him. “I’m alright.”
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