At the End of a Very Long Day

[aeons_crackshot]

It's been a very long day by the time Annabelle finally makes it back to Room 1938.

She's bone weary and still aching faintly as the Stimpaks finish the work on her ribs. Not to mention that she reeks of gunpowder, Brahmin, blood, and other things. The armor on one side is barely holding itself together as she makes her way toward the table where she usually cleans her weapons.

There are small noises as guns are taken apart and cleaned by Annabelle, still in her armor.

Comments

[leadinghome]

There is a knock on the door. Habit, Connor is not yet used to the 'our room' thing.

[aeons_crackshot]

"Come on in, Connor," Annabelle calls out. Possibly she recognizes his knock, or else there just aren't that many people that would be knocking at this hour.

[leadinghome]

He peeks in. "Annabelle?" And moves in, closing the door behind. "You are hurt."

One of those things he just knows.

[aeons_crackshot]

"I got banged up a bit," Annabelle admits.

If Connor can see what happened to the armor on one side, it suggests that it was more than just 'a bit".

[leadinghome]

He can, and he frowns, moving over to gently help her out of the armor. "What happened?"

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle smiles faintly as he helps her out of the armor. "I went to Ellen's world to help her deal with a bunch of mercenaries that were trying to kill her," she explains.

"Some son of a bitch put a price on her head when she stopped him from blowing up a town, and the mercenaries were getting pissed because she kept killing them off when they tried to take her down," Annabelle says with a frown.

"They wouldn't listen to reason, so...." They had to go in and wreck the place.

[leadinghome]

He nods, kissing her gently. "Some people will not listen to reason... or cut their losses, or stop." He knows some types just can not be reasoned with, unfortunately.

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle nods. He may pick up mental pictures as she continues the story. "Ellen's world is bad enough without any humans making things worse," she says with a sigh.

"I wouldn't have gotten hurt if I hadn't gawked like a bloody amateur when their leader's armor shrugged off my bullet," Annabelle grumbles with self-consternation.

[leadinghome]

"Everybody makes mistakes." He picks mental images if she thinks 'to' him... offering the mental contact.

[aeons_crackshot]

She does think 'to' him, as it's easier than trying to explain the hellish nature of Ellen's world in words.

"Yes, but I shouldn't have made that one," Annabelle admits with a rueful smile.

The chest portion of the armor is being stubborn with regards to coming off, thanks to the damage it received. The armor is partly torn and partly burned. That damage definitely wasn't made by a conventional firearm.

[leadinghome]

A moment when telekinesis is most useful... he can feel the damaged portions and move them, opening the armor to take it off her. "You are alive. And well." And back.

[aeons_crackshot]

"I'll have to be careful of the ribs on that side for a day or so," she says with a small smile, "and I'm going to ache in the morning, but other than that." She leans forward to kiss him.

Annabelle is very thankful for Stimpaks.

[leadinghome]

Connor returns the kiss, setting armor aside and holding his girlfriend close. "Good. You had me worried."

[aeons_crackshot]

"I don't mean to worry you," she says, holding him close. She doesn't. She also couldn't keep herself from going into trouble any more than she could make herself stop breathing.

It is a quandary.

[leadinghome]

One they will live with just fine. "I know you did not." Connor strokes her hair. "Are you hungry? Or you need a bath?"

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle wrinkles her nose. "Definitely a bath," she says with a rueful smile.

"I have no desire to see a two headed cow ever again." There was a large amount of Brahmin wrangling involved in the looting process.

[leadinghome]

"I think I would pass on seeing one for the first time." Connor smiles, helping her up after helping her out of most her clothes.

[aeons_crackshot]

"That's all Ellen's world has, unfortunately," Annabelle says with a chuckle. "Of course, that's not surprising when all water that's not laboriously purified is radioactive and has been for centuries."

Once Annabelle is out of her clothes, the bruising on her ribs and back is clearly visible.

[leadinghome]

He nods, drawing Annabelle close to look over the bruising, then starting to the bathroom with her. "A world made poisonous..."

[aeons_crackshot]

The bruising is quite extensive, and it will be worse tomorrow. Of course, considering that a few hours ago all of the ribs on that side were broken...

Annabelle nods sadly. "I suspect that's why there's not much in the way of civilization, even two hundred years later." Annabelle grins wryly, "I'm no historian, but civilization requires water and lots of it."

[leadinghome]

Connor blinks at her... then suddenly breaks into laughter, doubling over, quite loudly.

Water and lots of it, oh boy, that is the perfect joke about his own bizarre world.

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle blinks for a moment, confused, before the implications sink in.

Then she puts one hand over her face. "Oh, lord. I put my foot in my mouth with that one, didn't I?"

He knows what she meant, darn it. Although it is a bit strange: one world with little drinkable water and one that's, well, drowning in it.

[leadinghome]

She will have to forgive him... albeit intense, the hilarity is brief. "Oh, my... that..."

[aeons_crackshot]

"I do believe that's the first time I've made you laugh, and I wasn't even doing it on purpose," Annabelle says with a chuckle.

[leadinghome]

"Aw, you have to admit, it was very funny in a totally wrong way." He grins, stealing a kiss from Annabelle. "Hm, I bet KK and Caz could build some kind of large water purifier..."