Owner	Pose
Cael Becker	Cael retreated from the waiting room for a few reasons. The fact that she was on the edge of a full-blown panic attack was certainly one of the key reasons. The knowledge that Jon was feeling all of that was another.     But also, she'd felt the rising need to puke.     After she's locked herself in, and emptied her stomach into the porcelin bowl, she rinses her mouth out at the sink - and allows herself to slip down to the floor next to it, her head back against the wall and tears streaming quietly down her cheeks.     She fights the get her swirling, self-destructive, and very circular thoughts out of her head - but with very little success, as the minutes slowly pass by, allowing plenty of time for Wade to arrive, get his contraband past security, and talk with Jon. Cael, meanwhile, finally manages to remark to the air, "Alis? Maybe I should take another half dose - yeah?"     She washes the pill down with the bottle of water her sister keeps on her for just that purpose - and continues staring blankly at the wall across from her.     Who is she kidding? How is she going to pull any of this off? She couldn't protect Sara. And how can //anyone// think that //she// is going to be able to bring Jon back?     Fuck.
Wade Wilson	The door to the single unisex bathroom opens--even though it was locked--and a red-suited mercenary slips in. He notes the woman on the ground. "Oh... you're right here. That'll make things easier" he says, a grin in his tone.     He moves to the opposite wall and slides down to her level, looking across the sterile tile of the small room. "How are you?" he asks, he knows the answer in a general sense, but getting a more direct sense from the source is always a good opener for this sort of talk.
Cael Becker	"Fuck, Wade, this is a //bathroom,//" Cael points out in a dry tone, without moving from her position. She looks across at him, her lips quirking upwards just enough to show that, despite the anxiety tearing through her, she hasn't entirely lost her sense of humor.     "How the fuck do you think I am?" she asks. "Sara - is she- is there any word yet?"     This is followed immediately by a groan as she adds, "I didn't call you. Shit. Jon called you?" She hadn't even called Wade. She thumps her head once against the wall behind her - though not hard enough to do any damage.     She should have remembered to call.
Wade Wilson	Wade looks around the room. "Really?" he says, feigning astonishment. "I could've sworn it was the Ritz Hilton?" he says. "Must've taken a wrong turn at Albequrque." He shakes his head, moving past the obvious joke. "Going into surgery now..." he replies with a shrug.     At her self-admonishment he waves a hand dismissively. "I got word, even if not from you it's enough. Besides... with what you've got on your plate, I can't really blame you." He tilts his head at Cael for a moment. "Speaking of--and coming from me it's probably going to sound strange but--you've gotta move past this and deal with that."
Cael Becker	"Move past... what? My roommate dying because I can't- because I-" Cael's breath, catches in her throat, and she blinks away tears, even as she tries to force down the rising panic. She takes a breath in, holding it for several seconds before letting it out, and taking another gasping beath - which she also holds. Her arms hug across her middle, fingers digging into her upper arms, as she slowly and painstaking attempts to reassert her control.     Sara isn't dead. Not yet. She could pull through this. Right? She could...
Wade Wilson	Wade is closer to her than before, his face filling her vision. "That's it" he says in a tone that is more serious than anything else he's ever said to the woman. "Get yourself together. Sara will survive. She's not going to die. Hurt, sure, but she won't die here. Dying in a hospital bed isn't her style. I will be herer to keep her safe and if I'm not... one of the Avenger's surely will. Get Iron Man or Hulk in here. They won't let her fall so easily."     "What you need to get past is this feeling of worthlessness. You can't afford that right now. Especially when it's not true. You have a boyfriend out there" he points to the door, gesturing beyond it really, "Who needs you to show him strength, which -I- know you have in spades; angels be damned." He fixes her with his own stare, the white orbs of his suit's mask obscuring any identifier on him. "You're better than this" he says flatly. "You know it. I know it. And I'm pretty sure that whatever fucked you up in this whole thing knew it too."
Cael Becker	Cael turns her face away from Wade, frustration, and pain, and doubt a mass of whirling confusion in her chest. Everytime she thinks she's put this fear to rest, for now - it raises it's head again. And - while no one has treated her like an idiot for her fear - she doesn't think any of them believe it to be true.     But it //feels// true.     "I know I need to be out there. I know Jon needs me, but I can't- what if I can't do it? What if I can't bring him back? Everyone I love dies. Everyone I care about. My mom, my sister, Jon... and then I- I couldn't protect Sara, and she needed me- I should have- have been there for her, but I couldn't..." She lifts her hand to wipe tears from her eyes in frustration. "I can't get it out of my head! I couldn't- I didn't want her to- to die in arms. Not like-"     She stares determinedly towards the door without seeing it, not quite able to face Wade.
Wade Wilson	Wade frowns at Cael. "What are you talking about?" he asks. "You think... you think just because people you are connected to die means that... you're cursed?" he asks and then blinks. "Fucking hell, Cael," he says sounding incredulous. "I... I would laugh at you if I thought it would actually make a difference. Instead, do I need to tell you how many people I have been close to that have died? The list would take more time than I have to recount. I'm not cursed. I'm just a person. That's what it means to be human. People die. Often in horrible ways... but you have to drive on... in their memory if nothing else."     He reaches up to try and force the woman to look at him. "What you do is let them live through you... and use that memory of them as strength itself. I fight for those people. For all the people who have died while working with me. All the members of my old crews, those who worked with me in the Weapon X project... three times over. All the members of X-Force who have died..." he lets out a whistle, "more times that I want to count. Except Cable and Domino... but they're special cases. Who sometimes bone... maybe that's the trick..." he shrugs. "But whatever it is... they've died. And I have to go on living for them. Because otherwise what was the point?"     He presses a finger to her shoulder. "You have to do the same. You have to live for them. Your sister. Your mother. And for a little while, Jon, it seems. Long enough to go into hell, or Hades, or wherever he goes when he dies, and remind him what it means to live again. Because he loves you and you love him and that's more -important- than death."
Cael Becker	"The people I //love,//" Cael shoots back - at least with some fire in her voice. "Everyone... everyone who I love." Yes, it's apparently a very short list.     She lets her face be turned towards him for a time - but eventually she jerks her chin away, staring down at the floor as she wipes at her eyes in aggrevation and adds, "I know it's ridiculous. I know it //sounds// ridiculous. But I-" She cuts off, shaking her head, not sure what she was even trying to say.     "I know I need to get back out there," she says more quietly. "Jon needs me, and- and he's important. Not just to me - what he's doing is important. I know that. ...and I'm terrified that I'll fail. Or that maybe I'm- I'm even //meant to fail- I don't know. I just- I don't know."
Wade Wilson	Wade opts to go for overdrama from time to time... okay a lot of the time. He withdraws a knife from his boot. Again, how he manages to get past security with all this is anyone's guess. "Here..." he says, offering the blade to Cael. "Kill me. Or well... try... it won't work, so you'll get your failure out of the way with me."     His tone is light, even jovial. "It'll hurt... but you can't do it so... you'll get the failure out of the way with me and you can use the rising action of success to do what you're going to do anyway out there with Jon and for Jon."     He peels off the mask, revealing the ugly mug underneath and he's smiling. "Look, Cael, you're not going to fail. I don't know you -that- well, but I know you enough to know that you're a stubborn bitch who doesn't let small shit like unproven worry get in the way of you using these..." he taps at her boots, "to kick the ever living shit out of things that get in your way."
Cael Becker	"What the fuck, Wade?" Cael answers, pushing the handle of the blade away from herself. "I'm not painting the fucking bathroom with your blood! I'm not //that// fucked up," she replies, her jaw tightening as she glares at Wade for a moment, then down at the floor, and then finally back to the door.     "I'm... pretty fuckin' terrified," she finally admits quietly. "I try to put on a good face, but... I'm scared."
Wade Wilson	Wade looks around the bathroom. "Oh, right. We're in SHIELD territory, gotta remember government. Janitors don't get paid the good bucks in that field." He slips the knife back into its sheathe in his boot. "I get that..." he says.     He pauses for a moment before admitting. "I'm scared a lot of the time too." He reaches out and places a hand on the woman's arm. "But that's part of being human too. Fear. It's a good motivator and good tool to use."     He adds, "Once you can get past the paralyzing part of it. Which is what you're working on in here, huh?" He looks around in there secluded surroundings. "Or at least... trying to."
Cael Becker	"...trying to," Cael admits quietly. "Yeah." She looks around at the... less than appealing surroundings, and lets out a sigh, wiping at her eyes again. She hates feeling weak like this. She hates that she almost certainly hurt Jon again.     She doubts she's strong enough for any of this.     "I was supposed to have Sara's back. I didn't protect her. ...I'm sorry."
Wade Wilson	"Don't apologize to me" Wade replies. "I upset, but not at you. I more want to get out there and kickthe shit out of some of those winged freaks... Worthington is better than them at what he claims to be." He shrugs. "But rules are rules and I can't get too involved because..." He glances at Cael. "Reasons."     He sighs. He knows trying to explain it to Cael will just get him a glazed over look from the woman. He pushes himself to his feet and holds out his hand to her. "Come on. Let's get out there and you can have some time with Jon while I go see what's what with the surgery."     If Cael knew Wade, he meant going to accost a doctor about the status of his girlfriend... regardless of whether or not the doctor could know anything. Good thing Cael doesn't know Wade -that- well.
Jonathan Sims	Out in the waiting room, Jon has been sitting there staring at the wall, thinking about things. About Cael, and their relationship. About right and wrong, and justice. About plans he's been making. It's left hiw with a furrowed brow and a thoughtful expression, not that that's new.     When the door opens and Wade and Cael step out, he stands, reaches into his pocket, and pulls out a shard of citrine, no longer veiled. He tosses it over to Wade with a bright smile. "Kept secret and safe," he says. And still inside that citrine, it seems.     Then his dark eyes look to Cael, troubled. Worried.
Cael Becker	Cael accepts the hand, nodding at Wade's words - and seeming to accept that he directed no guilt towards her, even if she clearly didn't feel the same way. She makes her way back to the waiting room - and as Jon rises, she breaks away from Wade to move towards him, tucking herself in against Jon's chest, with her face hidden completely from view. In a soft, quietly desperate voice she begins to speak. "Tell me I'm not cursed, Jon," she begs quietly. "Tell me I don't doom the people I love. Tell me Sara's going to be okay. Tell me that I- that I'll be strong enough. That I'll find you and save you. Tell me that everything's going to be alright. Tell me- tell me I'm going to get better." As she talks, tears slowly dampen Jon's fatigues.
Wade Wilson	Wade catches the Citrine and looks at it and then gives Jon a look of pure incredulety. "Asshole..." he says softly, before tucking the rocks (citrine and cocaine) into his pouch and heading off to find a doctor to 'have a word' with about Sara's condition in/during/after surgery.
Jonathan Sims	Jon blinks down at Cael and then wraps his arms around her, sighing. He glances at Wade for a moment and, behind Cael's back, casually flips the man off.     But in a friendly sort of way, you know? A friendly sort of 'fuck you.' Wade's missing part of the inspiration for Jon, after all. There's a steampunk space pirate in the narrative DNA too.     Then he focuses back on Cael. "I can tell you for certain that you're not cursed," he murmurs, "nor do you doom those you love. I believe that Sara's going to be okay, because we got her here in time. I know that you're strong enough to find me, and save me. And I know that you'll get better if you want to, although that takes time."     He sighs. "I want to believe everything is going to be alright. But... I cannot promise that it will. Life is hard, Cael. It hurts, and people suffer, and pretending otherwise just makes it harder. But I know we'll get through whatever life throws at us, because other people have been in worse situations, and persevered. As dire as this is, right now... we have power, and a plan, and a light at the end of the tunnel. So many others have not, and yet they made it through the darkness. We will too, and we'll do it together. And we'll be okay."
Sara Pezzini	With only one hour of time having passed, the surgery was still in progress. Being a SHIELD facility, there were a lot of locked doors between the waiting room and medical rooms. However, at the hour and a half mark, as promised, the nurse who asked about the bracelet made her way to the waiting room, a clip board in hand. As Wade went searching, he would cross her path which brought her to a halt. He'd taken his mask off, but that's not what stopped her. Sure he was scarred, but she'd seen worse. What stopped her was that he was wandering in places he shouldn't be. "Um..." she starts. "If you come back to the waiting room, I can give you a report now."
Wade Wilson	Wade was wandering in places he shouldn't be. Infiltration was just another avenue of the merc job and as one of the best in the buisness, he could get into all sorts of places he wasn't meant to go.     After giving the nurse a scrutinizing look and guessing -just- how much trouble he would get in if he tried to book it past her to find Sara himself he deflates and nods, allowing the woman to herd him back towards the waiting area of the medical ward. It wasn't worth it, just to get the same report directly from the doctors.
Cael Becker	"It hurts," Cael breathes in response. "Everything hurts so much - and I'm so scared. I don't want to fail you..." she murmurs in a quiet, pained voice. "And I'm so scared that I won't be well enough. I'm trying, I am, but-" Will it be enough?     She remains where she is as she hears those footsteps approach, and shows no signs that she intends ot disengage anytime soon.
Jonathan Sims	"I believe in you, love," Jon says softly. "I know it's hard. But I believe in you, okay? Sara's going to get through this. Somehow. She'll... Witchblade chose her for a reason. She's going to figure out whatever Barachiel did to her, and come back swinging."     He looks over as the nurse and Wade return, frowning slightly. "News, I take it?"
Sara Pezzini	The woman approaches Jon and Cael, right behind Wade. She may be a nurse, but she is also a SHIELD agent, and she'd take Wade on if she had to... thankfully the man chooses to go backto the waiting room. "Firstly, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Marilyn Tucker, I'll the liaison RN for Agent Pezzini," she begins. "Now to the business at hand. Agent Pezzini is still in surgery and they estimate at the very least, four more hours before completion. I don't know how detailed of a report you want, but with Agent Sims here, I feel I should probably be as detailed as possible." Giving them each a moment to collect their thoughts, she continues, "There was damage consistent with a slashing weapon to the left deltoid muscle, left pectoralis major muscle, and the left tricep was severed. Further, there was extensive slicing damaged received to the acromion bone, left clavical, along with ribs four through six on the left side, five and six on the right side, but no bones were broken. The slices to the skin were all clean, making repairing with sutures easier, though there likely will be scarring. She has received two units of blood, and is on a third, but her vitals are strong and stable, and she is no longer considered critical, and have moved down to severe condition. Prognosis at this time is guarded." Once again she looks at each person, first Wade, then Jon, and finally Cael. "Do you have any questions at this time?"
Wade Wilson	Wade wipes at his face. He uses slashing weapons and is well versed in the musculature of the human body. Hearing what happened to his girlfriend in such a way gives him a very clear picture of what was done. He takes a slow breath and lets it out.     He has a ton of questions but none of them are actually relavent, except one. "If she doesn't have any assistance in healing... how long will she be in here for?" He needs to know how long he'll be on guard duty if worst case scenario occurs.
Cael Becker	Cael listens to the report - but it makes little sense to her. She //wasn't// well versed in medicine - and she wasn't thinking at her clearest, besides. "Make it English, Jon" she requests softly. "She'll... she's going to recover? She'll.... she won't be- none of the damage is permanent?" she hazards uncertainly. "She'll really be alright?" she asks - her tone still showing just how hard a time she had believing that. She wanted it to be true, naturally, but...
Jonathan Sims	Jon tightens his arms around Cael as the nurse makes her report, as much to calm her down as anything else. He sighs, and says, "Damage to her left shoulder, upper chest, and the back of her upper left arm, the muscle was severed. The acromion is part of the shoulder joint, and the clavical is the collarbone. Something like... at least ten slashes? Did he hit her that many times? But... the hits were clean, so they're easy enough to stitch up, but there might be scars." He swallows. "She lost a lot of blood. At least a Class 3 Hemmorage, probably a Class 4. She probably would have died if Caitlin hadn't helped. But she's gone from critical to severe; that's a good thing."     He looks to the nurse. "Is there anything... unique about the damage? Cauterizing, or evidence of odd energy signatures, or was it just... multiple cuts, and blood loss?" SHIELD's seen many, many strange things before, after all. Alien weapons, superpowers, and WAND has seen magic. It's hardly impossible that they've seen /something/ like this damage before.
Sara Pezzini	Tucker flips the pages on the clipboard, the information would all go into the computer later, but she headed out here first to ensure she kept her promise to the 'family' of the patient. She was attempting to appear like she needed to look it up, but based on the injuries she'd listed, she already knew what the doctor would say. That didn't change that the information simply wasn't there, not yet, not while Sara was still in surgery. "At this time there are no specifics from the doctor's on recovery time," she begins slowly. "However, given the extent and number of lacerations, coupled with the damage to muscles and bone, in my opinion, it is entirely likely that without magical healing, she will require a two to three week stay. The damage to her left arm will likely take anywhere from three to six months and physical therapy to fully recover, but there is no way for me to know, at this time, if a full recovery is even possible. I'm afraid I can't be any more specific than that. How well the surgery goes determines how long it will take without magical healing." With that question answered as best she could, she looks to Jon now. "We brought in a WAND spectral analysis device that was used while doing the CAT scans, killing to birds with one stone so to speak," she turns another page on the clipboard. "The WAND expert stated that there is some sort of binding spell, or blocking spell, on her that is blocking magical healing. There was speculation on possible cause and effect, but nothing concrete he was willing to state. His report is simply, "Binding spell blocking medical healing, further examination requested upon completion of surgery and recovery." and that's it."
Wade Wilson	Wade lets out a long sigh. "Alright. Fair enough..." he moves and flops into a seat, pinching the bridge of his nose. He's going to need a -lot- to drink after today but for now he'll wait on Sara. He would be there for her when she gets out and, like last time, would ensure that he was near her for as long as he could.     He looks to Cael and Jon. "I'll keep her on watch, I know you two have... things to take care of so don't worry about her or me. I'll make sure I sleep. The recovery ward has cots to sleep on in the rooms." He'd managed to check in on one of those at least, during his walkabout to find a doctor. "That's... all I needed to know."
Cael Becker	"She might not regain full mobility in her arm," Cael repeats - letting out a heavy sigh. That was bad but- honestly, it wasn't as bad as she'd expected. "Okay. Alright - we can deal with this." Somehow.     She finally start to pull herself out from being entirely hidden against Jon's chest, wiping her eyes as she turns in Jon's arms, to rest her shoulder and back into his chest instead. "I should be there when she wakes up," she says firmly, before adding in quiet puzzlement, "There wasn't time for that many cuts. I wonder why...?"
Jonathan Sims	"That /bastard/," Jon growls. "It was Barachiel. It /had/ to be. He hit her with some kind of... angelic magic, hit her multiple times in one blow, and laid a spell on her so she can't heal. It's probably something to do with why the armor failed, too." He frowns, and looks down at Cael. "Did he say anything? Do you know why? Or do we wait for Sara to wake up, to find out?"     He sighs, and considers, as he lets Cael settle into place against him. "Angelic healing can help--Caitlin Fairchild does not have healing powers that I'm aware of, so she must have gotten them from Michael. But that means that we'd have to ask an angel to help..." He frowns, and then says, "Raphael. Saint Raphael, among other things, is patron of healing, physicians, and the sick. His name quite literally means 'God heals.' Maybe he can intercede. Maybe he can at least shorten the time. Or promise full mobility. Something."
Cael Becker	Cael lets out a heavy sigh, still leaning into Jon's reassuring presence as she responds to his question. "Something about her... not deserving Witchblade? That she didn't understand it, and it would turn on her?" Cael replies - her tone a little uncertain. It was all a blur, and part of her would rather not remember at all."     She's going to wake up. She's going to be fine. ...isn't she? Fuck. "You think Raphael would come?" she asks quietly. She doesn't exactly have a lot of faith in angels at the moment.     Eventually, she lets Jon guide her to a seat, so they can wait together to hear more of Sara's condition - once the surgery was over. It was sure to be a long night.