( open ) we do what we can

[naloxone]

CHARACTERS: marta cabrera et al.
LOCATION: around the station
DATE: after mission: scorpion's bend, the rest of february
CONTENT: marta deals with the aftermath of her first mission
WARNINGS: alcohol use, description of stabbing injury, brief mentions of malnutrition (will update as needed)



undo your regret, they said.
it'll be fun, they said.

( open starters )

Comments

15th

[winscenario]

[ Spirits are overall low, the very air on the station weighing heavy from it, so that's no different in the infirmary than anywhere else. At least most people seem to have recovered well physically, the one thing Jim chooses to focus on for the moment since everything else about this mission makes him feel like shit.

He's not here out of necessity, having managed to come back with little more than scrapes and bruises and some malnutrition just like everyone else; all of it was taken care of on his first day back. He is here to offer a helping hand, while Bones is on his own self-imposed shift; he's no doctor or nurse, but he's been learning plenty about infirmary work, and being here certainly beats sitting alone in their room, waiting for Bones to get back.

He spots her on the bed, alone this time, and returns her smile while approaching. Out of habit, he checks the screens, but she seems to be mostly recovered by now, so there's really nothing to do or worry about there. ]

Hey. Feeling better, now?

[naloxone]

[ marta isn't surprised to see jim in the infirmary, especially as bones himself had just drifted by to check her vitals and look over her chart. he'd been pretty optimistic that she would be well enough to be cleared later in the day, likely by his second round, so she's in better spirits than if jim were to visit her two days earlier.

still, her smile is muted, if only because this is an infirmary after all, and her good news doesn't often mean the same for anyone else. ]

Much better, [ she assures jim as he hovers by her bedside, nodding. ] It could have been a lot worse, but all the same, I think I'll leave the action to the rest of you.

[winscenario]

[ Jim's own smile isn't exactly as bright as usual, not just due to where he is, but due to the way that mission wrapped up. Knowing that people will recover, to some degree anyway, is a comfort, but the relief dims considerably when he thinks about Welford having been left behind, and not by their own volition either.

He huffs faintly, dipping his head. ]

Glad to hear it, not gonna lie. Things got pretty hectic by the end, I'm afraid— I don't really know what happened to you?

[naloxone]

[ the smile she initially gives him is faint, lacking mirth. it's clearly not a moment of pride for her, but given the results it wasn't ever likely to be. ]

Just... bad choices.

[ still, even now, she can't say she regrets it. part of her wishes she could. ]

I came across one of their own, wounded. I tried to help and... [ long story short. she gestures towards her general abdomen area. ] Like I said, it could have been a lot worse.

[winscenario]

[ Jim offers an understanding look, dipping his head in a slow nod, and pondering for a moment before he answers. ]

That's not a bad choice. You did the right thing, offering to help someone who needed it. If anyone made the wrong choice, it was them.

[ He wouldn't want her to second guess herself each time she ran into someone who might need help, medical or otherwise. ]

[naloxone]

[ her gaze flickers up to meet his, and if she's startled at all by his consoling words, it's only by the adamant sincerity she hears behind them. meeting his gaze just cements it — his words are just a pretty balm to soothe a still-aching wound; he believes 100% in what he says.

she can see quite easily that he isn't just a leader, but a good one. ]

I wound up putting someone else in danger. [ still, she persists. not to argue, but to clarify. she'd hate for him to get the wrong idea about her, that she is somehow without fault here. ] Maybe it wasn't a bad choice, [ she concedes, simultaneously not wanting his good faith to feel like wasted breath, ] but it wasn't the smartest one either.

[winscenario]

[ He does believe what he's saying; that helping others is never the wrong choice, even if it might end up with unfortunate consequences. Maybe not everyone deserves that help, but it's not about deserving. It's about doing the right thing.

But he can also understand her feeling guilty about it, if it means that someone else was put at risk because of it, so he doesn't try to push. Instead he just nods, a simple agreement. ]

To be fair, I think we were all short on smart ideas. It was a tough situation.

[naloxone]

It was.

[ it isn't the first time she's found herself in a difficult situation. she knows, by virtue of being a part of this crew, it certainly won't be her last. marta has to wonder if she'll keep making the right decision. ]

I was told it would be, going in. Somehow I'm still surprised. When I think about that old man... [ her smile wavers, her doubt resurfacing. ] Aren't we all here because we wish to change something?

[winscenario]

[ Jim doesn't answer that. Doesn't know how to. He doesn't really know how he ended up here, when his dream to begin with was vague at best; when he is all too aware that, had he been duly informed of all the details about the orbs and the missions, he would have never agreed to come in the first place.

Then again, knowing there were people here, under these circumstances, and that there would be potential danger by getting these orbs together, he might've wanted to be here regardless. But to help, not to undo any regret in his life. He can live with those. ]

These missions often find ways to surprise us. None of us are ever truly ready going in.