BDP 25
After everything else that had happened, getting back to the lab was very anticlimactic. There had been no odd looks from the sentries, no near misses with staff members in the hall, and none of Ian's unit was lounging around the berths. They had pulled it off with no one the wiser.
Moira did have a bad moment while leaving, as she nearly collided with Mobius coming in. His gaze was clear, and far too observant.
"Thanks for taking care of Nottingham, Doc. He's an odd mix of innocent and deadly, isn't he." Mobius shook his head slightly, as if still amazed that the universe could support such a pairing of diverse elements.
"You have no idea." Moira smiled, and then sighed. "Watch over him Mobius, I might not be there to put him back together again next time."
"Yeah, I got that vibe tonight. He's a baby wolf, to busy trying to learn what the pack considers acceptable behavior to have a thought for himself." Mobius agreed.
"Worse. He has been conditioned not to consider himself." Moira wondered how much to tell Mobius, the memory of Ian's scar tissue burned into her fingers. Two things held her back, firstly that she had only speculation on the nature of Ian's injuries, and secondly that she wasn't sure that she could say anything else without exposing more than she wished
"There's something you're not telling me Doc." Mobius went very still, his focus absolute and more than a little unsettling
Moira stared into dark brown eyes and decided a little truth was needful. "He has extensive scarring on his wrists, consistent with extended shackling. Understand that I can only speculate, but I have seen damage like that on a few patients and they were ex-P.O.W.s. Nottingham is far too young to have been in 'Nam, which leaves me with very few theories. So far there is just one hypothesis that fits all my data, that he was abused at home."
"If it's true, he has no business being on this project. Wait, wouldn't the Psych Eval catch something like that?" Mobius held up a hand before Moira could speak, "Never mind, I can think of several ways around the test myself. I will discourage the rest of the unit from taking advantage of Nottingham's conditioning. But Doc, I will be working to take him beyond it. No man should be held in bondage to another."
"I agree, and I will worry less knowing you are taking him under your wing. I will do what I can from my end, but I think you will be in a better position to help him. You are one of his peers, and he already looks to you for guidance." Moira agreed, feeling a weight lift from her chest.
They parted ways, Moira leaving the building, Mobius heading to the room he shared with Nottingham.
Mobius had half-hoped Nottingham would be awake when he came in, but knew it unlikely. The young man had consumed enough alcohol to send his system into shock. Even with immediate care, the worst of the damage had already been done.
Moby could only hope that Nottingham would be able to perform his duties in the morning. It would be a bad thing to be singled out in a negative light on the first day. That sort of thing stuck with one's superiors, and they'd label Nottingham as a problem in their minds forever.
To his relief, Nottingham appeared to be sleeping naturally when he entered the room. He had to hand it to the doc; she'd gotten him back on base, patched, and cleaned him up without raising any flags. Moby wished she'd had some other soap available for the cleaning though, Nottingham smelled strongly of sandalwood and musk.
Determined to get the smell of stale smoke and alcohol off, Moby picked up a change of clothes and headed for the showers. He was quick, wanting to get a few hours sleep before roll call. His head hit the pillow, and his last thoughts before sleep claimed him were for the doc. She had given up her evening to help out. She had also passed on to him information about Nottingham, instead of using that knowledge to get him yanked from the project, which meant that he and his fellow Dragons had at least one person on the other side they could trust to see them as something other than test subjects.
After everything else that had happened, getting back to the lab was very anticlimactic. There had been no odd looks from the sentries, no near misses with staff members in the hall, and none of Ian's unit was lounging around the berths. They had pulled it off with no one the wiser.
Moira did have a bad moment while leaving, as she nearly collided with Mobius coming in. His gaze was clear, and far too observant.
"Thanks for taking care of Nottingham, Doc. He's an odd mix of innocent and deadly, isn't he." Mobius shook his head slightly, as if still amazed that the universe could support such a pairing of diverse elements.
"You have no idea." Moira smiled, and then sighed. "Watch over him Mobius, I might not be there to put him back together again next time."
"Yeah, I got that vibe tonight. He's a baby wolf, to busy trying to learn what the pack considers acceptable behavior to have a thought for himself." Mobius agreed.
"Worse. He has been conditioned not to consider himself." Moira wondered how much to tell Mobius, the memory of Ian's scar tissue burned into her fingers. Two things held her back, firstly that she had only speculation on the nature of Ian's injuries, and secondly that she wasn't sure that she could say anything else without exposing more than she wished
"There's something you're not telling me Doc." Mobius went very still, his focus absolute and more than a little unsettling
Moira stared into dark brown eyes and decided a little truth was needful. "He has extensive scarring on his wrists, consistent with extended shackling. Understand that I can only speculate, but I have seen damage like that on a few patients and they were ex-P.O.W.s. Nottingham is far too young to have been in 'Nam, which leaves me with very few theories. So far there is just one hypothesis that fits all my data, that he was abused at home."
"If it's true, he has no business being on this project. Wait, wouldn't the Psych Eval catch something like that?" Mobius held up a hand before Moira could speak, "Never mind, I can think of several ways around the test myself. I will discourage the rest of the unit from taking advantage of Nottingham's conditioning. But Doc, I will be working to take him beyond it. No man should be held in bondage to another."
"I agree, and I will worry less knowing you are taking him under your wing. I will do what I can from my end, but I think you will be in a better position to help him. You are one of his peers, and he already looks to you for guidance." Moira agreed, feeling a weight lift from her chest.
They parted ways, Moira leaving the building, Mobius heading to the room he shared with Nottingham.
Mobius had half-hoped Nottingham would be awake when he came in, but knew it unlikely. The young man had consumed enough alcohol to send his system into shock. Even with immediate care, the worst of the damage had already been done.
Moby could only hope that Nottingham would be able to perform his duties in the morning. It would be a bad thing to be singled out in a negative light on the first day. That sort of thing stuck with one's superiors, and they'd label Nottingham as a problem in their minds forever.
To his relief, Nottingham appeared to be sleeping naturally when he entered the room. He had to hand it to the doc; she'd gotten him back on base, patched, and cleaned him up without raising any flags. Moby wished she'd had some other soap available for the cleaning though, Nottingham smelled strongly of sandalwood and musk.
Determined to get the smell of stale smoke and alcohol off, Moby picked up a change of clothes and headed for the showers. He was quick, wanting to get a few hours sleep before roll call. His head hit the pillow, and his last thoughts before sleep claimed him were for the doc. She had given up her evening to help out. She had also passed on to him information about Nottingham, instead of using that knowledge to get him yanked from the project, which meant that he and his fellow Dragons had at least one person on the other side they could trust to see them as something other than test subjects.