![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
[Who knows how many days it's been. He certainly can't keep track of them. Time is relative anyway. Millions of years in a blink of an eye; you only need a little patience to let the time pass anyway. Not that Newt has had much of that. There's a hysterical giggle on his lips, brief, like a hiccup, as his fingers drum against the metal cuffs holding his arms against the chair. It's...not exactly quiet in his head, per say--his head has never been quiet. Always racing, thinking of what next, what next, sometimes for days on end. Newt licks his lips, tasting copper at the blood spilled from the split in his bottom one, before he tilts his head back, rolling backwards on his shoulders to stare at the ceiling.]
Hey, y'know, uhhhhhh not to be a problem child or anything-- [and he snickers at his own joke]--but could I get, like, a sudoku magazine in here or something? Anything? 'Cause I'm, like...super bored.
Hey, y'know, uhhhhhh not to be a problem child or anything-- [and he snickers at his own joke]--but could I get, like, a sudoku magazine in here or something? Anything? 'Cause I'm, like...super bored.
[It's been two weeks, and the Shatterdome is in a strange state of suspended animation. Mako herself has been seesawing through a range of emotions—elation to uncertainty to grief, back to relief and then confusion in a constant, endless cycle. Though the Shatterdome is still a hive of activity, with debriefings and the last trickles of post world saving celebrations, Mako can't help but consider it empty. Sensei's presence, long a guiding, larger than life force, is missing. There are no more Wei Tang brothers constantly dribbling their basketball back and forth, no more Kaidonovskies blasting their obnoxious house music, no more rush of purposeful activity and preparation. She even misses Chuck's boasting.
Mako doesn't do well with downtime, and with everything left to the higher ups, that's all there is. She's centered her life around the Jaeger program, but now there are no more Jaegers, and the truth is, she has nowhere to go. Somehow, she finds herself on the catwalks of the hanger bay anyway, looking at the huge, empty space where Gipsy once stood. When her mind wouldn't stop racing, she'd come here, sometimes just to listen to the sounds of maintenance being performed, of parts being swapped out and improved. It's silent now, and Mako can't help but think there might be a hole in her where Gipsy was, where Sensei used to be.]
Mako doesn't do well with downtime, and with everything left to the higher ups, that's all there is. She's centered her life around the Jaeger program, but now there are no more Jaegers, and the truth is, she has nowhere to go. Somehow, she finds herself on the catwalks of the hanger bay anyway, looking at the huge, empty space where Gipsy once stood. When her mind wouldn't stop racing, she'd come here, sometimes just to listen to the sounds of maintenance being performed, of parts being swapped out and improved. It's silent now, and Mako can't help but think there might be a hole in her where Gipsy was, where Sensei used to be.]
[He thinks it started as headaches but he honestly isn't sure. It wasn't that unusual after Knifehead to wake up with his left shoulder aching, radiating up the side of his neck down to his fingers. Some mornings he'd spent nearly an hour trying to convince his left hand that it was real and working and intact. He knows for sure that those mornings have been coming more frequently for the past six months. It's been nearly three years since Pitfall. It doesn't make sense to blame the new aches and pains on that. He's probably just getting old.
It's nothing.
He knows that's a lie when the nosebleeds start.
He almost doesn't go to the doctor because he isn't stupid. He did pay attention to what happens to the human body when it's around a nuclear powered robot. Raleigh doesn't need anyone to tell him what's happening. The only reason he goes is because he wants a timeline. How long does he have? How bad is it going to get?
He has probably less than a year and it's not going to be pretty.
He keeps quiet for almost a week after the appointment. It isn't that he's trying to hide it from her. Raleigh doesn't want to upset her. The exact moment that goes to shit is in the middle of dinner when she suddenly stops talking and is staring at him like he's a ghost. He doesn't get it for half a second, and then he realizes there's blood dripping from his nose and well--- shit.
Wiping at the blood with his napkin, he doesn't know what else to do or say except:] Mako...
It's nothing.
He knows that's a lie when the nosebleeds start.
He almost doesn't go to the doctor because he isn't stupid. He did pay attention to what happens to the human body when it's around a nuclear powered robot. Raleigh doesn't need anyone to tell him what's happening. The only reason he goes is because he wants a timeline. How long does he have? How bad is it going to get?
He has probably less than a year and it's not going to be pretty.
He keeps quiet for almost a week after the appointment. It isn't that he's trying to hide it from her. Raleigh doesn't want to upset her. The exact moment that goes to shit is in the middle of dinner when she suddenly stops talking and is staring at him like he's a ghost. He doesn't get it for half a second, and then he realizes there's blood dripping from his nose and well--- shit.
Wiping at the blood with his napkin, he doesn't know what else to do or say except:] Mako...
[Mako has noticed something was wrong. It would be impossible not to. She's always been observant, but even more so with Raleigh. She spends some mornings massaging his shoulder until the tension eases, but for a while she's suspected that he's been hurting more than he lets on. It makes sense though, certainly. Only two rangers had ever piloted solo, and Mako grew up with a constant awareness of Sensei's scars, of the aches and pains that came from the massive neural overload he'd suffered through. Raleigh was no different. Some days were just better than others, and it isn't as if closing the Breach had been easy on either of them.
But when she sees the nosebleed, she knows, deep in her heart, what it means, and her hand covers her mouth automatically. Gipsy had been shielded—Mako had done it herself. They'd all taken Metharocin, yes, but it was supposed to be an extra preventative measure after the first Jaegers were recalled and shielded properly. It doesn't make any sense, she tells herself, but it doesn't matter. All she can think of is Tamsin, wasting away slowly, and Sensei, getting worse and worse until his sacrifice finished the job. For a long moment, she can't speak. Her name barely registers, and then she forces something out, voice nearly breaking.]
How long have you known?
[Because he had to have known.]
But when she sees the nosebleed, she knows, deep in her heart, what it means, and her hand covers her mouth automatically. Gipsy had been shielded—Mako had done it herself. They'd all taken Metharocin, yes, but it was supposed to be an extra preventative measure after the first Jaegers were recalled and shielded properly. It doesn't make any sense, she tells herself, but it doesn't matter. All she can think of is Tamsin, wasting away slowly, and Sensei, getting worse and worse until his sacrifice finished the job. For a long moment, she can't speak. Her name barely registers, and then she forces something out, voice nearly breaking.]
How long have you known?
[Because he had to have known.]
[He should have told her right away. He realizes that now. Hindsight is 20/20 like that. He should have realized when he woke up in pain more often then not, that something was wrong. Maybe it wouldn't have made one iota of difference because the damage is done, but you know what they say.
Ignorance is bliss.
Raleigh can't look at her, so he takes the time to make sure he got all of the blood before he speaks.]
Five days, at most. [Tossing the bloody napkin to the table, he lets out a long sigh.] I couldn't think of how to tell you.
Ignorance is bliss.
Raleigh can't look at her, so he takes the time to make sure he got all of the blood before he speaks.]
Five days, at most. [Tossing the bloody napkin to the table, he lets out a long sigh.] I couldn't think of how to tell you.
[It's not as long as she'd feared, but still. If he's having nosebleeds, that means it's advanced, which means there might be nothing they can do. If he didn't tell her, she suspects that's exactly what it means. He's not even looking at her, and she's still struggling to process it. She lets out a shuddering breath, head dropping as her hands cover her face.]
[He knows how shitty cancer is to watch, and eventually lose someone to. His mom died of lung cancer. It's part of why he and Yancy signed up to be pilots. He doesn't want to put Mako through this but the doctor was pretty firm there was nothing to be done.
It's not like there's a lot of research into the cure for Jaegar induced cancer.
Raleigh slides out of his chair, coming around the table to kneel by her. Right there on the floor.]
I'm sorry.
It's not like there's a lot of research into the cure for Jaegar induced cancer.
Raleigh slides out of his chair, coming around the table to kneel by her. Right there on the floor.]
I'm sorry.
[Mako isn't expecting him to kneel next to her like that, and she looks up. She needs to get it together—she's not the one who's sick, and she knows exactly what he's going to do. If she gets emotional about this, he's going to worry about her more than he does about himself. It takes her a moment of wrestling with herself, but she swallows against the ache of tears in her throat and reaches for his hands. It's a measure of control, even if her voice is shakier than she'd like it to be.]
What did they doctors say?
What did they doctors say?
Page 1 of 4