9385/The Last Archivist: Boiling Point

The Last Archivist: Boiling Point
Date of Scene:	30 December 2021
Location:	Residential: Triskelion
Synopsis:	Jon, Martin, and Cael go back to the Triskelion after the events of The Last Archivist: Acquisitions List, and deal with the fallout of the revelations had in London. Also, Cael can't brew tea.
Cast of Characters:	Jonathan Sims, Cael Becker, Martin Blackwood

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Jonathan Sims has posed:
    The three SHIELD agents leave Shadowcrest together, because they're all going back to the Triskelion. Martin and Jon live there, and Cael left Bear there to head out to London. The trip back is quiet, with Martin still processing what happened and Jon peering down at the citrine-cocooned mirror shard and Cael probably fuming over Elias having a shield against her bullets--or thinking other thoughts.

    It's when they're making their way through the Basement that Jon finally speaks up. "Sorry we didn't manage to get to a chippy," he says. "I, ahh... I know you wanted proper English fish and chips. Perhaps we'll do that, some other time, hmm?"

Cael Becker has posed:
    Cael has indeed been silent for the return trip - though before getting into the car, she'd briefly asked Blackwood if he was alright, as well as putting her hand on Jon's shoulder to offer a quiet, "We'll get her back."
    She hates that they weren't successful this time around, and that's where her thoughts linger while she drives - on the girl, and on plans for retrieving her safely, and soon.
    As they walk through the basement after parking the SHIELD-issued vehicle, she flashes Jon a brief, amused grin. "It's fine. I just- my trips are always work trips. One of these days, it'd be nice to have the time to do things like visit a chippy, yeah? But it's not like it was important."

Martin Blackwood has posed:
    It would be better to say that they weren't *entirely* successful. Half of the objectives have been recovered. But that didn't really matter to Martin... not at the moment. He still has the manifest. He would cross check and start helping Jon find out where they needed to go to recover the objects for relocation in due time... or at least he hoped they would. A discussion is in their future.

    He just couldn't figure out how to start it.

    Cael's questions had been met with a haunted look and a dull nod. It was obviously a lie but he wasn't ready to talk about it then... and he still wasn't ready now. He had gazed out the window on the way and was equally quiet as they made their way through the basement. The words come to his lips without passing through his filerss and he vocalizes them immediaely. "It should be important."

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    "Hmm?" Jon turns to frown at Martin, expression confused. Martin's been keeping his thoughts quiet enough that Jon didn't hear them--or else Jon's been too busy, focused on the shard of the mirror, to pay attention. Now he notices the pain and distress, and turns to Martin there in the hallway.

    "What'd Elias do to you?" A whole realm of possibilities in those five words, a history of pain and loss and grief.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Fish 'n chips should be important?" Cael counters, her tone light. She doesn't know Martin well - but it seems like something is bothering him, and she's just not sure what to do about that.
    Look - she doesn't deal in emotions very well.
    "God, you Brits do take your chippies seriously, don't you?" she teases.
    Then Jon interjects with his question - and she lets drop the almost jovial expression she'd forced into place. She flicks an uncomfortable look between the two men, shoving her hands into her pockets.

Martin Blackwood has posed:
    Martin is quiet for a while before frowning at the ground. "He showed me...a memory..." He looks up, tears standing in his eyes. "He showed me myself... dead, my throat slit." He reaches up to touch as where he had seen his own throat torn open.

    "It was his memory. I was dead. Alya was dead. And you..." he says looking at Jon, "gave a baby to a woman. We disappeared... you and I..." he blinks some of the tears falling down his cheeks. "And she--the woman you gave the baby to--handed the baby over to him..."

    "Jon... when did I die?" he asks softly, looking at his husband with an expression that borders on accusation.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Oh.

    Jon swallows. "When... when the cult came to the house on Hill Top Road and it burned down," he says softly. "I... I'm sorry, Martin. I didn't... you weren't... you were dying. And I prayed to the Great Mother, and She... answered. You remember Annabelle Cane? She came to me, she offered... you'd be whole, and we'd be safe, and I just had to give her the baby." He glowers. "I didn't know she'd turn right around and give her to Elias."

    He glances aside, to Cael. "This... this isn't... look, I think we should..."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Dead?" Cael repeats - surprise in her voice. That's not how Jon...
    "Okay, look, none of this is my fucking business. But we need to go to your apartment, start some tea, and get you both sitting down in chairs - yeah?" she says in a firm, no-nonsense tone as she looks between the two men. "And, hell, if you guys want to borrow Bear while you're talking - great. He's amazing at helping people stay calm - it is his literal fucking job. And if you guys want me to fuck the hell right off, I will. Okay? But first - apartment. Tea. Now."
    And if she has to, she'll take them by the elbows and steer them to their front door.

Martin Blackwood has posed:
    Martin shakes his head to Cael, the motion seeming muted even in its emphatic nature. "No. You need to stay... to be a witness..." He looks back at Jon. "But I wasn't whole, Jon..." he says, allowing her to steer him along.

    "Why can't I remember dying? That's... that's something a person should remember, isn't it? Dying and coming back? You'd think that sort of memory would stick with you..." his voice is gaining a sort of hollow property to it. An emptiness. "But I look back... and until recently... it wasn't there. There was the fight and then the house fire. And then we got out. All this in the middle... I didn't know about until Elias... showed me." He hits Jon with another hollow, haunted look. "When was Alya pregnant? She was... one of our best friends... you'd think I'd remember her being pregnant."

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    "A /witness/?" Jon peers at Martin, clearly confused. But he goes along, opening the door to their suite and moving toward the kitchen.

    "You were alive," he says as he goes to start pulling out things to make tea, since Cael said 'tea.' "That's... that's what mattered. I didn't... you were just... she said you wouldn't remember... getting hurt. Almost dying." He doesn't say dead. Martin wasn't /dead/, in Jon's mind. He /wasn't/. "I didn't know she'd take the memories of the baby, too. I didn't..."

    He stops with his hands on the cabinet doors. "Look, this... this is what Elias /does/. Remember? He... he finds the thing that'll hurt /most/ and puts it in your head. There's no context, there's no... it's just whatever's going to hurt you. That's all it is. And that doesn't... mean it didn't happen, it's just that... it's... it's just the /worst/ part of it all."

Cael Becker has posed:
    The moment the apartment door opens - Bear is all over Cael, tail wagging hard enough to wiggle his butt back and forth, causing a quiet laugh from the woman even in the grim circumstances. "Yes, yes. We're back. I missed you too," she greets the dog, giving him a scratch before following Jon to the kitchen.
    "Look, I can boil water. You two - go sit on the couch, and talk. Blackwood - have Bear put his head on your lap. You sound like you need it."
    It's... uncomfortable that she knew more about this than poor Martin did, and she's fairly certain that this conversation will go better if she //doesn't// let that fact show at the moment.
    "I'll find the tea stuff, Jon," Cael promises quietly, as she picks up the kettle and starts to fill it with water.

Martin Blackwood has posed:
    Martin moves to sit, following the instructions given by Cael. "No... that's not what this is. I experienced that before... I know what that feels like, Jon. This was different. This wasn't him implanting me with anything. This was him opening my eyes." His voice is still hollow as the dog moves over and rests it's massive head on the leg of the man who isn't even fifty pounds heavier than the animal. He doesn't pet it or move but a trickle of the haunted look fades from his eyes.

    "Why didn't you tell me? Once we were safe? Once we'd set up protection from him...? Why wouldn't you tell me about Alya. About this child. About Agnes." He's crying openly now the tears running down his cheeks in wet lines before dropping onto the fur of the dog's head. "I... I keep crying while knitting things for--" He chokes up, not sure exactly how much Cael knows about the Chief's situation. "And I didn't know why! I know now! It's because somewhere deep down... I'd done it before but I'd lost the memory of it and doing it again... and not remembering! My subconsiousness *knew!* Why didn't you tell me?"

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon's hands tighten on the cupboard door but he pushes himself away and walks over to stand in the living room. Stand, not sit, and folds his arms across his chest.

    "What was I supposed to say? You don't remember this, but it happened? You didn't even believe in /magic/ properly, Martin. You /cast spells/ and you refused to believe in magic. And I thought... I thought if I told you, maybe... maybe it'd all come undone. Maybe Elias would come for us, and find the baby, wherever she was, and..."

    He laughs. "And it didn't even matter! She just... /handed/ Agnes over to him! I should have... I should have just... I could have healed you, I /must/ have healed Alya long enough for Agnes to be born. I should have tried. I should have run. But I was so scared, that he'd track me down anyway. It was just... easier, to... leave it be. To try to heal, and be happy."

Cael Becker has posed:
    Bear lets out a quiet whine - thumping his tail a few times on the floor hopefully as he edges even slower to Martin, pressing his chest into the man's legs. He tries to nudge at Martin's hand with his nose, trying to prompt the man to start petting, while he looks up with cocked, floppy ears.
    Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Cael tries to listen in silence as she digs quietly in the cupboard. She finds the tea but it's... loose leaf. How do you know how much to put?! ... great. In the end, she opts for putting the loose leaf tea on a tray, next to the tea pot. She finds some cups, and some genuine sugar lumps (people still use those?!), before looking into the fridge for cream, or milk, or //something//.
    It'd be nice if the person who offered to make the tea knew more about tea. Honestly, she's just going to end up making Martin appreciate Jon's comparitive wealth of knowledge.

Martin Blackwood has posed:
    Martin relents and pets the dog. He frowns at Jon's words. "I... I might've. I don't know..." He sighs. "Why didn't you tell me about her? How long have you known about her being here in New York?"

     He doesn't wait for an proper answer on that and looks down at the dog. "So she's... Alya and Tim's daughter?" he asks softly. "Poor Alya...losing Tim and then..." He shakes his head, loosing more tears in the process.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon clenches his jaw and then shifts it, staring at Martin for a long moment. Finally, he spits out, "She's not /Tim's/ daughter, Martin. She's /mine/. Mine and Alya's." He swallows. "She's Elias' precious fucking avatar of Sekhmet, /and/ she's the next Archivist. Probably his plan all along."

    He lets that hang there for a moment, and then he shakes his head and turns away. "I need a cigarette. Just... just..." He waves a hand, and starts for the door.

Cael Becker has posed:
    Cael puts the entire carton of cream on the tray just as the kettle is just starting to bubble but- wait. Is Jon seriously heading for the door?
    Cael appears in the kitchen's door, a deep frown creasing her features, as she tries to stay out of Martin's line of sight. She shakes her head at Jon, and points emphatically back towards the living room, trying to get the man to go //sit down// with his husband. Sure Jon's been going through hell - but his shit isn't going to get any better if he lets some sort of rift grow between them!
    She waits until Jon has either left the apartment, or returned to his husband, before she retreats into the kitchen once more - pouring the bubbling water into the teapot and picking up the tray.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon doesn't stop when Cael shakes her head and points. He just shakes his head back, grabbing his coat--that he hadn't worn to London--and heading out the door. He doesn't slam it behind him or anything. Martin will probably recognize Jon needing to go for a walk to clear his head.

Martin Blackwood has posed:
    Martin sits in stunned silence for a while and then says after Jon has left. "He's terrified..." he says. "Elias... someone he fears more than... than maybe anything short of a divine messenger has his... has his daughter."

    He takes a sharp breath. "And he and Alya... neither of them..." He hangs his head. "Oh... Jon... I'm sorry." He looks like he's at war in his head right now. Petrified of the shock of what he's learned and what he's realizing and wanting to be there to comfort his husband in this time of strife for them both. In the end... the former wins out as he sits there and sobs silently.

Cael Becker has posed:
    Cael lets out a frustrated sigh, and remains in the kitchen a moment longer. She barely knows Agent Blackwell. And this sort of shit- this emotional shit? This is //not// one of her strengths.
    But this is what she's stuck with.
     She emerges from the kitchen with the tray, setting on a coffee table, and looking towards Bear and Martin. The pup is whining again - and even jumps up so his forepaws rest on Martin's lap, while he buts at the man with his head, and tries to lick him on the cheek.
    Rather than asking Martin about the tea leaves, Cael decides to scoop a large spoonful into the strainer and just hope that's enough - before she settles down on the floor, leaning back against the couch behind her, next to Martin. She remains silent for the moment, as she simply lets the man cry. He probably needs it.

Martin Blackwood has posed:
    After a moment, Martin's cries change to... laughter. "You don't know the faintest thing about tea... do you?" he asks the woman his tone carrying the barest edge of humor in it. He gives the dog a hug and gently nudges it off his chest. After managing to disengage with the creature he scoots forward. "Watch..." he says, taking the strainer and adding a second spooning of loose leaf into it, bringing it to 2/3 of the way full. that he lowers into the pot and pours the near boiling water over it.

    After he lets that set he leans back. "The child was conceived through... coercion. By Elias. Jon and Alya... they didn't feel that way about each other at all. They were close friends but it was *never* like that with them." He looks toward the kitchen. "I think he's guilty and I sort of just threw it in his face over and over. That combined with the fear he's experiencing between this and Michael and..." He sighs. "We both need time to process it. We'll get through it... we always do. But this... this is going to take some time."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Not a god damned thing," Cael confirms - an amused smile ghosting across her lips, while Bear drops his forepaws to the floor once more. She does watch Martin with the tea, though, and remains silent as he leans back into his seat again.
    She doesn't speak until after he's said his piece - and she offers a nod of understanding, while Bear reinserts his head into Martin's lap again. "I went along to bring Agnes back," she explains in a quiet voice. "From what I was told..." She lets out a sigh, and then gives Martin and apologetic look, "I was told this by the Archangel Raphael, you understand. It didn't come from Jon. But I was told Agnes was Jon's child. I told she's in the hands of 'villains' who mean to kill her. I- we'll figure things out. We'll get another op put together, and we'll bring her home," she says with determination.

Martin Blackwood has posed:
    There's a buzzing sound in Martin's jacket and he reaches inside for his phone. He checks it and nods. "Jon apologizes for leaving... and he's going to spend New Years in Queens to get his head on straight. Proabably at the Midnight Mission. I think... I think that's best for us both right now. I need to do some of the same."

    He slips the phone back in his pocket and moves to the tray again, pouring a measure of the cream in the two cups. There's a slow, methodical, almost ritual nature to his movements as he pours the tea, adds the sugar--he doesn't ask how much Cael wants he just adds 2--it's a good start for someone who knows very little about it and then stirs both for a bit. He takes his cup and nods to Cael, letting her know silently that she can take it when she's ready, as he settles back.

    He takes a sip and nods, giving the large dog a soft pet as it rests his head on his leg. "We will. After the start of the new year. We'll get her back and get her safe." He eyes the list on the table nearby. The Manifest for the Archive. "I think I can work on some of that... while we both figure out where we need to be in our heads. It's fairly detailed from the brief look of it I got." He pauses and looks to Cael. "I could use some help... if you're not busy with... well, other things."

Cael Becker has posed:
    Cael takes the tea when it's indicated, giving it a dubious look, before taking a sip.
    She vastly prefers the bitterness of a black coffee - but she doesn't complain as she sips at the drink slowly and periodically. She does frown at the news that Jon won't be returning home, though.
    "Sure, I can help with the list. That sounds like it's more my sort of expertise than this angel nonsense. I was just- well. I was told to help Jon. I mean to have his back through all this shit, Martin - any way I can." No matter what it costs.
    "...are you alright, though? I mean, that's some... heavy shit."

Martin Blackwood has posed:
    Martin sips more of his tea and nods. "I will be. And... I'm glad you are there for him when I cannot be." He continues to stroke the dog's head. "I really like dogs" he says with a genuine smile.

    "Jon's more of a cat person, though... maybe... when this is all over we can get one of each raise them together and have..." He pauses. "And maybe we can have Agnes here with us too, if she wants to be." The smile remains even after.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Bear's the best boy," Cael agrees with a small smile. "Sara and Alis got him for me. He's helped a lot. And I never thought that I'd- well. I wasn't sure I was really fit to be responsible for another living thing, the sort of life I live sometimes. But... Now that I've got him, I wouldn't ever have it any other way."
    She takes another sip of her tea before adding, "I think that'd be good - for all of you. I feel bad for the girl. I hate leaving her there for longer."

Martin Blackwood has posed:
    "If she's anything like her mother and father..." Martin replies a bit wistfully. More memories of Alya were coming back. Things about the woman he had all but forgotten in the 13 years since he last saw her. "She'll survive. She's a fighter. They all are."