Date: December 25th 2011 – 07:24 AM
Location: CHROME Headquarters – Medical Bay
"You can't hide forever Shadow! I know you're here… and no matter where you go… no matter how fast you drive… I will always find you… A mother knows her children very well… And once I find you… I'll kill you"
"Shadow!"
"Shadow!"
The Celica's eyes snapped open with a bolt, her breathing laboured as her heart thumped hard in her undercarriage, the haunting words still fresh in her mind. It took only a moment of distressed panic before she noticed that the Head Medic was about two inches from her face, staring at her eyes with a slight squint.
"Hey! Finally! The bomb disposal expert is awake!" Came the voice of Wren, who seemed to smirk at her own bad joke before she sauntered off to another part of the room, poking around at various instruments.
"How's life as a tow truck?" She seemed to ask innocently, before Shadow gave her a panicked stare.
"A-a what?" The agent nearly squeaked, glancing down to her hood and checking herself over, relieved somewhat to see that she was still in Celica form. The Corsair seemed to snigger, rousing a scowl from the Toyota as she looked toward her doctor with a certain degree of annoyance.
"Aww come on don't look like that. You'd look great as a tow truck. They say if you frown too much your face stays that way, and I, with many professional years experience under my wings can officially assure you…. It's true. Lighten up, you look like you swallowed a bee"
This seemed to pass over the Celica, whom would usually have a form of comeback or smart witted response, though with her yet again disturbed sleep, she could feel the fear of her pre-Academy days creeping back in. More often than not, the Celica suffered with chronic nightmares, so real and vivid she could wake up crying… and it hadn't gone un-noticed. When the Toyota had run away from her home, she was on the move constantly, never staying in the same place. Leland had taken her pretty much straight to the Academy from there, to which she then stayed in the dorms. After she graduated however, the Celica had found herself homeless, no place to physically call her own.
It had been at this point that Finn stepped forward, graciously offering her to stay with him until she found better accommodation. She had gratefully accepted, and being put together for most missions, it seemed a whole lot easier. It wasn't long after Shadow had moved in that the Faultless finally witnessed her night terrors, often waking her up in the dead of night to stop her screaming and assure her she was fine. It was this reason that Finn gave as to why Shadow wasn't ready to leave yet… she wasn't at peace with her past and he was worried. Shadow put up no fight, after all, she had come to see his home as hers now… she didn't feel like she wanted to leave just yet.
The Medic seemed to note that the car wasn't going to respond, before pursing her lips in thought, though came up with no reasonable thing to say without insulting the Toyota further. Though that was often the fun part.
"We fixed most the damage that we could, well, I did. Phil stood there and complained whilst helping. You know what, screw him, he did nothing." The plane spoke again, moving to a tabletop to the side of the room, where it became evident she was making tea. Always helpful in a crisis.
"Couldn't really do much for your stripes. Though they're an… interesting fashion choice. You actually kinda look like a bee. Was that intentional? Aww… you're a little bumbling bee. Finn must be so proud. His little Bumble" Wren seemed to coo, earning a pout from Shadow.
"Does the Head Medic always stay in the room? Got no other patients to belittle?" Shadow seemed to ask at this point, eyeing the tea herself now and shifting her weight a little.
"No. I'm on strict instructions to make sure you don't die and given your track record, you are a beacon for attracting death"
"Wow… reassuring"
"Luckily for you I have perfect stats… apart from those four deaths this morning. Best count that hemorrhage the other day too… Do you think they look to see if I've mis-diagnosed anyone?" Wren now smirked once more, turning her face away from the wide eyed Celica. It seemed the plane was having fun winding the car up, though it was all about to come back to hit the Corsair as Shadow began to play a little game of her own.
"What's it like being a medic?" The Celica asked now, allowing Wren to glance at her from across the room.
"Well if you really want to know-"
"Does it feel horrible sometimes? To know that everyone is counting on you to do miracles that perhaps are beyond your reach? To watch the life drain from someones eyes as you lose them?" Shadow continued, looking up to the ceiling with a perfectly reasonable tone to her voice.
"Tsk, if you're trying to rattle my cage Bumble, it's not going to work-"
"What about being a nurse? Were you a nurse first"
"I studied to be-"
"Ok then do you cut cars open a lot?"
"On a good day-"
"Do you deal with the jets here too? They're pretty big they wouldn't fit in here"
"…Yes…"
"Do you actually LIKE being a medic?"
"Yes"
"Is it tricky being a plane doctor"
"No"
"Are cups hard to pick up?"
"..."
"Oh! What's that?"
"Stethoscope"
"And that?"
"Scales"
"What about that"
"Carlisle, that's a kettle"
"What would happen if your stats dipped? Would you get fired? Demoted? What happens when you can't see what's wrong with someone? Have you ever killed anyone-"
"OkayokayOKAY alright enough!" The Corsair ended up responding, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.
"Have some tea and shut up alright?" Wren added, deciding that throwing some form of distraction at the Celica was the best idea right now. Shadow, now a little happier, used her tires to nudge her cup toward her, wriggling a little in success. Wren threw a small scowl at the Celica and stood pouting for a few moments, not sure how she was just beaten.
"Oh, and uh… I'll make you a deal" Shadow looked up from her cup, watching the Corsair with amused eyes. Wren looked suspiciously toward the car, squinting one eye slightly.
"….Go on"
"If you split those nice digestives you have hidden in that cupboard up there with me… I won't ruin your perfect stats okay? I'll pull through each time" The Celica smiled a little smugly to the plane, who frowned in confusion.
"How did you know about those?"
"Agents secret, I can never ever tell anyone ever. Plus they are poorly hidden, come on. I can literally see them"
Wren seemed to flick her eyes up to the cupboard, before moving to stand a little more in front of it.
"Can you see them now?" She asked, to which Shadow shook her hood.
"Okay… What biscuits are you on about Carlisle?!" Wren now spoke in a loud voice, no doubt for the benefit of any passers-by, causing Shadow to smile again. Wren took another sigh, pulling them down and rolling toward the Celica.
"Fine, just don't get me fired. And don't tell Phil. He doesn't know I keep food in here and I will have to face surprise inspections whenever he pleases…. They are not fun and DON'T put me there" She warned the small car, though there were the vaguest hints of a smile. This little car was clever. For a car.
15:06PM
"-Though I'll admit, it was many years ago. We were both young and perhaps filled with a little too much adventure… Though he soon repaid the favour and saved my own life. Since then, we were good friends"
"I could tell he thought fondly of you… He used to tell me about some of the missions you two had been on, and all the trouble you two also caused"
Finn took this moment to laugh a little, his hook shaking as he seemed to put on a brave face, looking away a little.
"Ah yes… there was plenty of trouble. Though that was a long time ago now"
After their 'deal', Wren had announced that Shadow was not to be discharged until she said so, and this meant that she wasn't to leave the room. This had caused Shadow to become bitterly disappointed, though Wren swiftly reminded her that she had still blown herself up, and that was no easy recovery. Before Wren had left for a while, Shadow had complained that the place wasn't at all in the spirit of Christmas, which had earned a brief sigh, though it had clearly run in Wrens mind as she popped back 10 minutes later to throw a wreath and tinsel at the car before vanishing again. Shortly after, Finn had appeared to see how Shadow was doing, having settled down to talk to her and not moved since. The conversation was now about Leland, and it was clear that his death was still effecting them both.
"I never really… got a chance to show him what I could do. I never got to show him that… he was right in rescuing me… I owe him so much, without him I would have… well, I would have died" Shadow continued, the gravity of what her situation was like still pressing down on her. She looked to her hood and wallowed for a moment, a concerned gaze appearing on Finn's face.
"You didn't need to show him… he already knew. He saw that within you when he found you…. And I saw it too." Finn spoke gently, watching her carefully. She glanced up gently, before smiling weakly to the other, appreciating his words. It was here the door slammed open, making Shadow jump, as Wren rolled in, mumbling something under her breath regarding sparklers and the regions of a car which you would not want to put said sparklers.
"Wow… what's got your prop in a twist?" Shadow asked with a small smile, both the cars now watching Wren.
"Oh, some morons going on about the New Years Eve party next week. I'd sooner infect myself with mad-Tractor disease" The Corsair scoffed , though Shadow's eyes lit up.
"New Years Eve party? We should go!" Shadow now grinned, looking between Finn and Wren.
"Ummm.. No" Wren replied, turning away as she assessed yet another of the Celica's charts.
"…. Why not? I've not been to a function here yet… and seeing as I'm missing the Christmas gathering…" Shadow trailed off, seeing if the Corsair had any feelings. Turned out, she probably didn't.
"Hey, that's your fault. Learn how to use a bomb properly like a real agent and stop driving into them and you might get to go"
"Hmm….. Hey Finn you see that top cupboard up there?"
"I swear to Chrysler if one more word comes out of your mouth then I'm stitching it shut."
"That's no way to talk to a patient"
"You're not a patient, you are my karma for anything I've done wrong in a past life"
"You're rude"
"Your face is rude"
The two vehicles watched each other intently for a moment, whilst the older agent kept a smile on his face, content with not getting involved.
"We're gonna go to this party"
"No, we're not. There's no 'we', Bumble"
"Don't call me that"
"I'll do what I want. What are you gonna do? Pollinate?"
Shadow seemed to stop here, glancing around her. She was pretty used to dealing with sarcasm, being rather good at it herself, though she knew Wren was a whole new league, so decided that she would have to have a different comeback. She noted that on her little side table, was a rather lovely looking vase… It didn't take too much effort to use her tire to slowly push at it, all the while maintaining eye contact with the doctor.
"What are you doing?"
"Nothing"
"I can clearly see you're pushing that vase"
"Then, duh, why did you ask me?"
Wren's rudder twitched in annoyance, before she sucked in a breath.
"Ok, well… stop"
"…What are you gonna do? Jab me with more needles? You've already done that, think of something new already"
It was only seconds later there was a smash heard as the vase tipped over the edge and hit the floor, the sound echoing through the room. There was a silence that followed as both car and plane stared at the mess on the floor.
"Mature"
"Well I didn't like your interior design"
"That doesn't mean you break all my stuff"
"It's not your stuff, it's in my room"
"Oh for the love of-what are you doing now?"
"Well I don't like the look of these drawers with all the expensive equipment on it"
"… Fine I'll go to your stupid party"
"You mean it?"
"…Sure"
"Swear on your oath as a doctor"
It was at this point that Wren flicked her gaze to Finn, as if to confirm she was really being forced into doing it. Finn gave a casual smile and shrugged his tires out a little in response, looking back to Shadow with an amused expression.
"…..Ok fine. I swear on my oath as a doctor. Happy? Ok and you can stop jumping up and down too, you're going to upset the machinery"
The Celica gave a satisfied grin to her mentor now, who could only shake his hood in response as she settled back down again. No doubt Wren would want her back on the road as soon as possible… patients weren't usually this tricky to deal with on a social level.
21:42 PM
Occasional merry shouts could be heard throughout CHROME's main building, some of these filtering through to the Medical Bay at which Shadow was still contained in, her hood perking up a little as she heard them. Finn and Wren were still in the room with the Celica, though Finn had now positioned himself next to her and Wren was fiddling with some of the dials on Shadow's monitors. The Celica had been silent for some time, glancing to Finn for a moment.
"Why don't you go home... you look tired" Shadow said to him gently, which caused a smile to appear.
"I'm here to keep you company… and to ensure you two stay out of trouble" He replied, which earned a snort from Wren.
"But it's Christmas Finn! Surely you have… others to be around?" She pressed gently, not wanting to upset anyone, though he only shook his hood.
"Being an agent is a dangerous line of work Carlisle, I can't afford to keep anyone close"
This made her gaze drop, feeling a sense of sadness wash over her. She glanced to the Corsair now, wondering if it was the same story for her.
"I can't imagine being a Medic is a particularly life threatening job" She commented, causing Wren to glance over.
"It's not. But it's how I met my husband" She answered, perhaps giving more away than she wanted to. Shadow blinked a couple of times, staring at Wren.
"You have a husband?"
"Why is that surprising?"
"Well… you're here. You should be with him, It's Christmas day!" The Celica pointed out. Wren didn't seem to answer straight away, instead, turning to once again turn on the kettle that she had brought into the room.
"He's not here" She answered simply, causing the Celica to look away. She was unsure about pressing any further, until Wren spoke again.
"He's overseas. America actually. We don't see each other a huge amount, but that's to be expected. We met in the Navy after all." Wren continued, causing Shadow to glance up in interest.
"I was just a trainee when I met him. He was all busted up after being shot at and crashing into the sea… I'm willing to bet he was given to me cause he was such a pain in the ass to deal with. Still, no matter how grumpy or miserable he was… I was there to look after him. I suppose after a while he just kinda grew on me." Wren now explained, avoiding the gaze of the car. She finally heard the kettle click and went back to saying nothing, fussing about with tea bags as Shadow lowered herself on her tires, so she was more touching the floor. She watched in surprise as a cup slid in front of her, Wren nodding a little as she backed away after. The Celica couldn't help but notice the biscuits on the side again, knowing they were the same ones from earlier, causing her to smile a little. With the warmth of the room setting in, she wriggled a little to get comfortable.
"Well… this has been the best Christmas so far" Shadow sighed, a smile on her face. Both Finn and Wren looked to her with a slight frown, before Wren snorted.
"You have rather low standards don't you? You're in Medical strapped up to about 4 machines"
"Maybe so… but I have biscuits and I have company… I spent most of my childhood being gutted for parts and spending Christmas huddled in a corner fearing for my life… I'd much rather have this" She spoke gently, blowing in her tea a little. Wren tensed on these words, having not thought about what kind of background that Shadow was from, looking to the Celica in slight question.
"You uh… really went through a lot… didn't you" Wren said softly after a few minutes of silence, her ailerons twitching a little. Shadow glanced up to Wren and smiled gently.
"It made me who I am… And I've now met some really decent friends… For once I'm not alone"
"Hm… you're a strange one Bumble"
"Tsk… at least try to call me Shadow. Shads if you must, Dr Goodyear."
"Hm… I'll think about it"
"And what should I call you? Doc? Doctor? Goodyear?"
"Wren… Just call me Wren"