Elliot's Apartment, Dallas, 1963 | Early, early morning

[defenderofdesmoines]

Was it a good thing that Annie now had so much experience cauterizing wounds that it hadn't taken her much time at all to get the skin on Diego's abdomen fused back together? For right now, it felt like good thing, at least. To her surprise and concern, he hadn't woken up in the process -- he'd stayed completely out (though breathing), all throughout the removal of his clothes (and when she was less worried, those institution-issued tighty whities were getting some commentary), and cleaning and dressing and briefly burning the wound.

Eventually, Annie had fallen into a restless doze at his side, though the slightest movement had her waking up and reaching to check on Diego every few minutes. And good thing, too, since this most recent time when Annie woke with a start as Diego shifted on the mattress, she noticed immediately that his wound had reopened.

"Shit." She should have gone back over that once she'd established he wasn't badly hurt anywhere else, really. Guess she'd have to do it now.

She moved to press a hand into Diego's chest, prepared to hold him steady in case this time he actually did wake up when she burned him, and moved her other hand low to his abdomen. The lamp in the room gave a soft hum, and Annie's hand illuminated, white-hot enough to re-seal that wound for good this time.

Sorry, Diego. Hopefully he stayed out for a little bit longer.

[for the stabbed guy who is, unfortunately for him, not staying out a little bit longer.]

Comments

[knife_bender]

Diego grinned. "When the kids mentioned the long hair thing I never thought this would be the cause."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Oh my God, Diego, me neither," Annie replied, eyes wide. "Also -- it was just seventy-five days? Your hair grows so fast."

Like, she took hair vitamins and her hair didn't grow that fast.

"But I like it," she added, idly twining her hand up to twirl a lock of his hair around a fingertip.

[knife_bender]

"Thanks," he said, smiling. "Not sure how I feel about it yet."

So far the memories associated with it was not being allowed near sharp objects for three months, so...

[defenderofdesmoines]

"It looks really good," she added, soothingly running her fingers through his hair. "I'd get it if you wanted to cut it all off, but I could also help you tidy it up a little."

A shave, a trim, and he'd really cut down on the wolfman factor.

"Seventy-five days," she added softly, scooting a tiny bit closer and staying mindful of his injury. She didn't really blame Five anymore, but she'd never not be sorry for what Diego had had to go through.

[knife_bender]

The wolfman thing was a bit much, wasn't it? That definitely screamed "I just escaped from a mental institution".

"Yeah. It was--it was pretty confusing." Understatement. "I hated not knowing where you were."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Me too." But she'd only had to worry for a matter of hours, not months. "It must have been so frustrating and scary for you."

It had been frustrating and scary for Annie to see him sedated, and that was a literal, tiny fraction of what he'd probably gone through over the past three months.

Plus, Lila wasn't exactly...like, not annoying, to Annie. If that was the best the asylum had had to offer in the way of friends...yikes.

[knife_bender]

"It was." Frustrating, scary, humiliating. Not an experience he wanted to repeat so he hoped he didn't get arrested again any time soon.

"I'm glad you weren't stuck here for that long," he said, reaching out to run his hand along her arm. "You probably wouldn't have ended up where I did though."

Yeah, Annie was unlikely to have made an assassination attempt her first 24 hours here.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Probably not," Annie agreed, smiling slightly. "I had Five with me the whole way. We found Elliot pretty quick. He had your mugshot."

Which Annie had all but fawned over, like a worried, lovesick idiot.

"Oh, by the way -- we told him we're aliens," she added. Just in case that hadn't come up yet.

[knife_bender]

"...why?" Like, he was okay with rolling with that but where had that come from?

[defenderofdesmoines]

"It was my idea!" And she was super proud of it! "Because, like, he's a total -- like, he's nice, but doesn't he seem to you like he...believes in a lot of stuff? And aliens are an easier sell than explaining what's actually going on, especially because Five refuses to use a door ever."

Elliot would totally believe in chem trails if he lived in the twenty-first century. Annie was very sure of this.

[knife_bender]

"That's a really good point." Aliens were always easier to explain that time travel.

Man, if he found out there were aliens and time travel involved his brain would break a little bit.

"You're so smart." Diego would have probably just knocked the guy unconscious and called it a day.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"So are you," Annie assured him, reaching to gently rest her hand on his chest. "I mean, this all worked because you finally figured this thing out. And it looked like you had your escape totally handled before I ever showed up."

Lila clearly deserved no credit.

[knife_bender]

"Would have been a cleaner escape if Five hadn't told on me." Maybe his shoulder wouldn't have been dislocated and roughly popped back in.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"You will be shocked to hear I yelled at him for that," Annie replied, leaning close to press a very light kiss near his eye. "That wasn't how I'd planned it going, either. I was going to try to sign you out legitimately."

Which would have proven, probably, completely impossible, considering she didn't have any kind of supportive documentation that she even knew Diego (and it wasn't as though women were listened to by the authorities, much, here in 1963, anyway.)

[knife_bender]

"I love you for that." Both the yelling and the plan to sign him out legitimately.

He leaned in to kiss her again. "I think I preferred you breaking me out though. It was hot."

[defenderofdesmoines]

Annie hummed, leaning into the kiss. "Well. I kind of owe you one, there," she murmured, smiling.

At least she hadn't had to cut anyone's hand off.

[knife_bender]

Hadn't had to cut off anybody's hand yet.

"Where's everyone else?" he asked.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I'm not sure," Annie admitted, glancing at the door again. "I told them to give us privacy when I moved you to the bed, so they might just be doing that. Luther didn't come back with me, so it's just Five and Lila still, but it's been quiet for awhile."

Which meant that it was very likely they had the apartment to themselves. Or, well, to themselves and Elliot, who was basically a nonentity in his own place at this point.

[knife_bender]

"Good." The last couple days had been hectic, and Diego had spent almost three months worrying about Annie every day. It was nice to finally be alone and have the time to take in everything. "I missed you."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I'm so sorry it took me so long to find you," Annie said softly, reaching up to touch his face again. "I missed you too, but -- more like when I'm gone at work?"

And not like she'd been gone for a summer.

[knife_bender]

"Wasn't your fault we landed in Texas at two different times." It was Five's fault--and even then not really his fault. "I gotta ask--it was you that got me out of my clothes, right?"

He hoped it wasn't Elliot.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Oh, I stripped you for all to see," Annie teased, keeping her face straight for about a half second before grinning at him. "No, seriously, it was me, with the door shut. Kinda had to in order to get at your stomach. And we're going to need to get you a new shirt, 'cause I cut the other one off of you."

Honestly, he probably would have loved all of that, had he not been passed out for it.

"Nice tighty whities, by the way." Honestly, he kind of did make them look good. As good as someone could make them look, anyway. Plenty of time to work out when in an asylum, apparently.

[knife_bender]

"Thanks," he said, looking down at himself. "We're in the era before boxer briefs. Weirdly, you get used to it."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I didn't go that deep when picking out my clothes," Annie admitted, shifting her weight to trace one of her feet along his leg. "Hopefully my bra doesn't cause a paradox."

But imagine Five's face if it did.

[knife_bender]

Diego grinned, very carefully moving to kiss her jaw. "Could always take it off."

Start the women's lib movement, Annie!