adaptiveimmunities

It isn't the fear that worries me.

Ms. Garcia - er, Maggie - mentioned that she keeps a bleach shower in her room for you. I wouldn't mind having the same in mine for you, just for contingency's sake. That something you'd want?

Yeah? What are you worried about?

That would be great, honestly. I'm still pissed that the inmate showers don't have a bleach setting, but I guess one of the creeps around here would do something dumb with the bleach and ruin it for everyone.

Good, I'll ask the Admiral for it. Anything else you need before I make the request?

We can talk about my worries in person.

I'm running low on coke, but that's about it.

Did you want to meet up or something?

[Weirdo who doesn't want to talk about things online.]

[Harder to lie to the psychiatrist when he gets to see your face.]

I'd like that. You can choose the place.

[Shaun is up for the challenge.]

Sure. How about the greenhouse? I've been working on not killing some plants in there.

I'll be there in a few minutes.

[And he shows up with two bottles in hand. Coke from his time, complete with actual sugar.]

[Shaun, a man of the 2040s, is not used to seeing Coke in glass bottles. He knows they exist, but it's pretty old-fashioned. He's much more accustomed to cans and plastic.

He waves to Sheehan where he's checking on some basil he got to sprout. He's doing great. It's not dead yet, and it looks happy enough. Good deal.]

So how'd you fare in all that?

[He pops the top of the bottle and holds it out to him. The other one is already open and he takes a drink.]

Nothing exciting, I'm afraid. It did reinforce my choice to not go into the medical field.

[He takes the bottle and has a drink.]

[That doesn't taste right.]

It doesn't. [He eyes the bottle and tilts it to see the label. ...No ingredients listed. No Nutrition Information label. He glances at Sheehan.]

When are you from again?

You know, you never asked before now. Is it not what you like?

[He takes a drink.]

1954.

It's different. [He takes another curious sip.] It doesn't make my teeth hurt. That probably explains it, though. I bet this is made with real sugar and everything. Damn.

[The penny drops.]

Oh my god, that explains--man, you do not need to sign texts. It's not a letter or a telegram, or whatever you had back then.

[He chuckles lightly.]

I like doing it, that's all.

But - Coca-Cola from your time makes your teeth hurt? Why do you drink it?

[He shrugs a shoulder, taking another drink of soda.]

George likes it. She gets pissy.

[I do not.]

You really do.

[From the asshole that refuses to wake up in the morning without coffee?]

Coffee doesn't take the rust off of car parts.

You have a point, you know. Coffee is better. I'm guessing that's the argument here?

Pretty much. [He waves it off a little.] Pretty old argument, though I appreciate you taking the correct side.

So what's up?

[Because he's pretty sure Sheehan didn't come here to talk about soda versus coffee.]

Mm, I was just wanting to see how you were going to play this off. Are we pretending it was alright, or are we making jokes about how easy it was compared to home?

[He reaches out, gently touching the leaf of a nearby tree.]

[Shaun raises an eyebrow.]

Why wouldn't I be all right? [He pointedly doesn't mention Henry.] I think this just cements that I was born about twenty years too late. We have it way easier at home. We have government and internet and a supply chain. That was a lot more like what my parents lived through than what my life is like. [Pause.] Sort of. We didn't do the city state thing. The Federal government got shit back under control, so we're still the US.

Yeah? Do your parents ever talk about what that was like?

I can't goddamn imagine that. Or, I thought I couldn't. [He glances over his shoulder.]

The war was bad enough.

[He tries to imagine what an honest conversation with the Masons about the Rising would have looked like. He can't picture it. He shakes his head.]

That would have involved a display of real emotion, and we've never had that kind of relationship.

[Huh. He hadn't known that about Sheehan. And judging from the timeline--]

World War II?

Was only a baby when the first one ended, so - that's the one.

[He takes another drink, smiling behind it.]

Not exactly a zombie apocalypse, but - I'd say I got a taste of it.

I'm not sure which is the worst deal, honestly. They're both pretty shitty.

[Because despite joking that he would have thrived during the Rising, he knows that he wouldn't have been able to take all of the loss. One sister was enough to push him into auditory hallucinations. Losing his whole family? An actual family? He shakes the thought off and looks at Sheehan again.]

So how'd you fare in all that?

I'm here. [He gets a quick smile.]

It was ten years ago.

And time heals all wounds? [His tone makes it clear that he thinks that's complete bullshit. In his experience, time doesn't fix much.]

No, but I'm not twenty two anymore.

[He grins in Shaun's direction.]

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