evocation | (no subject)

[Kyna's never really dealt with anything like Wash's memory lapses before, and truth be told, it scares the shit out of her. There really is nothing to be done for it, though, not until one of them finds a kickass cleric to maybe magic all of it away. For now, she knows Wash well enough to understand that babysitting him is absolutely the wrong call. As much as she wants to stick to him like glue, she knows he'd hate feeling fragile and worthless, and it's not really sustainable. If this is permanent, they've just got to find ways to work with it.

So, she goes on jobs as usual and just watches her phone like a hawk, and every time she gets the urge to text Wash to check on him, Harlan and Tucker are there to tell her to chill out. The second she gets home and realizes Wash never made it home, all of that carefully constructed calm goes out the window. When the phone call doesn't work, she defaults instinctively to magic, like she does with everything—except that doesn't work, either. He must be too far away.

If Kyna was freaked before, she's flat out panicking now. The only idea she has is to scour the city, except that that seems utterly impossible, so she calls Nico. He doesn't really manage to calm her down, but he does help her start calling hospitals, at least. It doesn't take long for one of them to call her first.

By the time she makes it to the hospital, she's an obvious mess, and she knows it. At least she's not in tears as the nurse leads her back, but she's close.]

[ Being held against his will is nothing new to Wash, but this time it's more frustrating than anything. He'd wandered for a long time, searching his shredded memory for anything familiar, until the headache had gotten to be too much and he'd gotten sick in a park and settled on a bench to hopefully sleep it off with the other lost souls there. Apparently a patrol had come around, hadn't been able to wake him and called an ambulance thinking maybe he'd overdosed or something. It could be worse than the hospital -- he could have woken up in a holding cell with no idea how he got there rather than a surprisingly comfortable gurney in the ER.

But he hadn't been able to answer a single question posed to him beyond his name. He didn't know where he lived, how he'd wound up on this planet in this time, and answering with the full truth would have led to him being committed. He suspects -- hopes, after they tell him he's in New York -- that it's Kyna's world and he just doesn't have an ID here yet. That when he tells them to charge the phone they found on him and look for her name, they'll find it and she'll come and handle this. Interdimensional visitors aren't unheard of for her world, right? But since he's not sure he plays dumb, doesn't mention he's a space marine from the future who was once kidnapped to a city run by gods. Just in case. The doctor who sees him is as alarmed by the memory loss as he is, at least, and seems to want to help. They can't do an MRI because of his implant, which he also can't explain, but they give him something for the headache and do a CT instead. Wash has no idea what they'll find, what actually happened... last he remembers was being trapped in his locked down armor. Everything after is blank, so all he can do now is cross his fingers that his hopes are right and he is where he thinks.

It doesn't actually take all that long in reality, but to Wash it feels like an eternity of waiting to find out if he's going to wind up institutionalized again. When the nurse pulls his curtain aside and shepherds in a very frantic looking Kyna, he doesn't think he's ever felt more relieved. Both because it means answers, and because he hasn't seen her for over a year to his memory. He sits up and reaches for her, nearly yanking the iv out of his arm. ]

Hey. I'm okay, come here.

[He's the absolute opposite of okay, but Kyna doesn't say so. She's so desperately relieved that he's safe that she just pushes his arm down, sits on the bed beside him, and hugs him tight. It takes her a second to respond—for a moment, all she can bring herself to do is bury her face in his shoulder and try to steady her breathing.]

What happened? Where were you?

[ Wash wraps his un-stuck arm around her and kisses the top of her head, immediately feeling guilty for worrying her so badly. And that he can't really answer her questions. ]

I was hoping you could tell me... I just walked until I couldn't anymore, they found me unresponsive in a park. How did I get here? Back to you?

[Kyna peeks up at him again, and if he was hoping to alleviate her concern, he's only worsening it.]

What? What do you mean, back to me?

[ Wash glances up to make sure the nurse is out of earshot, but lowers his voice just in case. ]

The last thing I remember I was with Carolina, this psycho locked our armor and left us for dead. Then it's just... missing.

Oh.

[Kyna's stomach drops. That isn't just a few minutes or a half hour missing—it's months. Is he getting worse? How does she even begin to explain.]

David, you... I came to get you. You were shot, and you were in a coma, and... It was bad. You don't remember?

[ What? Pale as he already is, more color drains from Wash's face as the gravity of how much time he's lost sinks in. Not just getting here, but.... a battle after the lockdown? There must have been. Kyna getting to him? And they must have traveled back here together, something he really only sees happening if he were.... broken. Out of the game.

He's quiet for a long moment, feeling like he can't quite catch his breath from the sudden terror that threatens to overwhelm him. When he speaks again his voice shakes a little. ]

No. I'm sorry. How long have I been here?

[She realizes too late that she broke that news terribly. Kyna pulls herself into Wash's lap, arms still locked securely around him.]

Um... Three months. You've been having memory issues ever since you woke up.

[ Wash's grip tightens when he hears it's been three months. Three. They must have some kind of life here that he's just completely forgotten, for reasons he doesn't understand. Sure, coma, brain damage, that's what Kyna says, and his headache would tend to agree, but for Wash there's just an empty space there. Like nothing happened at all, and he doesn't know what to do about it. Doesn't know what any of the doctors here could do, if the ones back home couldn't help. ]

Did I see Dr Grey?

Yeah.

[Kyna shifts, kissing his temple.]

A bunch of your friends locked me in a cell and treated me like I was nuts, but Dr. Grey was nice.

[She tries to say it lightly, like a little bit of humor will soften this blow.]

[ That's not great to hear either, but Kyna doesn't seem upset about it, so. ]

You would've showed up on a restricted planet out of nowhere, so... I'm not surprised, but I'm sorry. Emily's much more open minded than most people. I bet she wanted you to show her all kinds of magic.

[ But... ]

But if even she didn't have a treatment for this...

She did. Kimball got pretty annoyed with her.

[It's a little easier to make herself seem calm when she's doing it for him, she finds. She nestles closer, careful of the IV in his arm.]

They didn't have a treatment, but you guys don't have magic. We've been trying to figure something out the last couple of months.

Okay.

[ He doesn't sound like he's hopeful, but this is also a lot of bad news at once. Wash sighs, resting his chin on the top of Kyna's head and closing his eyes against the bright hospital lights. His head is still killing him. ]

Odds are they can't do anything for me here, that's all. I'll ask for something to take home for the headache but then I really want to get out of here.

[She sighs, closing her eyes for a moment and just soaking in the fact that he's safe. For a while, her mind was running through a thousand different horrible scenarios.]

Okay. You know we'll figure something out, right? We've figured out harder stuff than this.

You have.

[ Since apparently she did find a way to him, on another plane of existence entirely. He's sure he's told her plenty of times, but it probably bears repeating. ]

You're amazing, you know that? I'm sure you're right. We'll figure something out.

[ For now, though, it's just a waiting game. For when the doctor comes back, for his memory to return, for some kind of magical healer to crop up and heal him. The first happens soonest, obviously, and the doctor offers them a kind smile even though Wash is certain Kyna's not supposed to be in bed with him. Probably the guy's just relieved that someone came, someone his patient obviously knows.

He tells them the CT didn't show anything but that's not surprising -- it only shows physical trauma, not the kind of brain damage Kyna just told Wash he has, though he doesn't disclose that to the doctor. Since they can't do an MRI their options are limited, so it's actually fairly easy to convince him to discharge Wash with a referral and some painkillers. He barely lets go of Kyna through the whole process, except when he gets dressed again. ]

How far is home?

[Kyna certainly doesn't mind the fact that Wash is feeling a little clingy, and she's absolutely unashamed about anyone else seeing it. The second he's dressed she presses herself to his side again, arms around him.]

Not far. I can just teleport us back.

[She kisses his shoulder, mostly because it's the closest part of him she can reach.]

You know you're amazing too, right?

Do it.

[ He might feel sick on the other side, but it's worth it. Wash wraps his arms back around her, huffing softly. ]

...I don't feel so amazing right now. And this can't be easy for you.

[She tightens her grip to steady him, giving him a second to prepare himself.]

We're together. That's all I need.

[ That gets Wash to smile, albeit sadly, and even though Kyna can't see. He doesn't know how they'll ever work if he keeps forgetting things... what if he forgets her completely? He feels broken, angry but pushes that down deep, not even knowing who to be mad at. One thing at a time. ]

How'd I get so lucky, huh? Go on, show me home.

[She smiles a little.]

'Cause you're cute. Don't puke on me, okay?

[And then she casts the spell. It's the same as always—that little jerking feeling—and then they're in her living room. Which, she realizes, he might not recognize. Provolone is so used to people teleporting in and out that he barely twitches over on the couch.]

Uh, home sweet home.

[ Wash still remembers what teleport feels like, and braces himself for it. He doesn't get sick, but there's also no recognition in his eyes when he opens them and glances around the apartment. Their apartment. It's disappointing -- not the place, the fact that seeing it doesn't trigger anything. His shoulders droop a little and he lets his arms fall from around Kyna so he can step back and explore a little.

It feels lived in, but he doesn't see much of himself around. Not that he really lives like that anymore. Decorating, collections, nicknacks, posters on the wall, nothing like that since Freelancer, really. Maybe it'd be nice to start again. And when he gets to the bedroom it seems like he did... there are pictures from home on one of the nightstands.

He sits down on the bed heavily, and can feel Kyna's presence in the doorway without turning back. Instead he's looking at a photo of him and Carolina somewhere he doesn't recognize. ]

...I don't remember taking this. Was it before I left with you?

[Kyna joins him, settling against him again.]

Yeah. We can go back and visit them whenever you want, you know.

Really? Just like that?

[ Having no memory of the explanation of how Kyna got to him, or the sigils she set up to travel back and forth, Wash looks and sounds surprised by that. Hearing that it wouldn't be a huge ordeal for her. He blinks, then tears his eyes away from the photo. ]

I don't want them to see me like this.

Why? You know they care about you no matter what, right?