(A pointless alternate version of the last chapter, this time from Meryl's
viewpoint. I'm thinking of ways to wrap this story up as quickly as
possible, fear not.)
Giddiness and Such (Part Two)
Dr. Hal Emmerich fumbled around his bedside drawer in the darkness, having been blasted awake by the not-quite-pleasant ringing of the telephone that happened to be directly next to his left ear. He finally struck home and picked up the telephone, grumbling a disoriented "Huh-" into the phone.
"Hal Emmerich?" Inquired a feminine voice, one that sounded oddly familiar.
"Uh, yes, that's me . . ." Began Otacon, gathering his bearings.
"I'm Meryl, you know, from the 'incident' that three certain people were involved in directly." The voice was almost smug for a second there.
"Oh! Yes, I recall now- wait, what is it that you want exactly? Has something happened?" Hal, a quick thinker, managed to hastily get the idea that there was a reason for being rung up at- he glanced at the clock, a little past four AM.
"Not exactly, no, but I need to ask a favor of you . . . being Dave's good friend as you are, I figured you would be the man for the job I need." Downright pleasant-sounding now.
"Huh?" Now Hal had periodic phone calls with Snake, they kept in touch, they had about three conversations since Shadow Moses- none of which were in person. All over the phone, which made little sense as they lived relatively close to one another. Hal had heard things here and there about Meryl, but not entirely too much. This too, was eerily illogical.
"Well, I'll be blunt. Long story short, I'm pregnant, and I think it's had some troubling effects on Dave. I can't get through to him, so I figured . . ."
Her sentence was finished by Hal. "That maybe I could?"
"Yep."
A pause ensued. Hal wanted to check in on his unusual friend, see how he was doing and such, and made no attempt to hide this. "Sure! I'd love to get down there!" Another slight pause. "Just don't tell him I said that, okay?"
Meryl laughed, very slightly, and agreed to this. "Not a problem, Dr. Emmerich."
"Please, just call me Otacon."
Inquiry present in her tone, Meryl began to question this. "Otacon? I never found out why he mentioned calling you that-"
Cut off by the energetic doctor. "I'll explain that another time. Anyways, I'm going to need an address from you or something, maybe a time or date would be nice. . ."
Such information was quickly divulged, it was agreed that he was to make his 'random' appearance sometime in the following few days. As soon as the woman hung up, Hal somewhat realized that he had been roused at four in the morning for an invitation to what could be described more or less as a depressing baby shower. Cursing to himself slightly, he shut out the world and returned to hazy dreaming.
Giddiness and Such (Part Two)
Dr. Hal Emmerich fumbled around his bedside drawer in the darkness, having been blasted awake by the not-quite-pleasant ringing of the telephone that happened to be directly next to his left ear. He finally struck home and picked up the telephone, grumbling a disoriented "Huh-" into the phone.
"Hal Emmerich?" Inquired a feminine voice, one that sounded oddly familiar.
"Uh, yes, that's me . . ." Began Otacon, gathering his bearings.
"I'm Meryl, you know, from the 'incident' that three certain people were involved in directly." The voice was almost smug for a second there.
"Oh! Yes, I recall now- wait, what is it that you want exactly? Has something happened?" Hal, a quick thinker, managed to hastily get the idea that there was a reason for being rung up at- he glanced at the clock, a little past four AM.
"Not exactly, no, but I need to ask a favor of you . . . being Dave's good friend as you are, I figured you would be the man for the job I need." Downright pleasant-sounding now.
"Huh?" Now Hal had periodic phone calls with Snake, they kept in touch, they had about three conversations since Shadow Moses- none of which were in person. All over the phone, which made little sense as they lived relatively close to one another. Hal had heard things here and there about Meryl, but not entirely too much. This too, was eerily illogical.
"Well, I'll be blunt. Long story short, I'm pregnant, and I think it's had some troubling effects on Dave. I can't get through to him, so I figured . . ."
Her sentence was finished by Hal. "That maybe I could?"
"Yep."
A pause ensued. Hal wanted to check in on his unusual friend, see how he was doing and such, and made no attempt to hide this. "Sure! I'd love to get down there!" Another slight pause. "Just don't tell him I said that, okay?"
Meryl laughed, very slightly, and agreed to this. "Not a problem, Dr. Emmerich."
"Please, just call me Otacon."
Inquiry present in her tone, Meryl began to question this. "Otacon? I never found out why he mentioned calling you that-"
Cut off by the energetic doctor. "I'll explain that another time. Anyways, I'm going to need an address from you or something, maybe a time or date would be nice. . ."
Such information was quickly divulged, it was agreed that he was to make his 'random' appearance sometime in the following few days. As soon as the woman hung up, Hal somewhat realized that he had been roused at four in the morning for an invitation to what could be described more or less as a depressing baby shower. Cursing to himself slightly, he shut out the world and returned to hazy dreaming.