Get back home, things are wrong - Well, not really. It was bad all along.

[hostage]

Date & Time: June 18 - 20
Location: the hospital & catacombs
Characters: Jesse, Saul & OPEN to anyone who wants to run into them
Summary: Jesse drags Saul's ass to safety and then they hang out for a while.
Notes: First thread is for Jesse and Saul, start subsequent threads for visiting.
Warnings: Jesse's high, Saul's sick. It's probably a little gross.

[Jesse's already been at Saul's side for days, ever since he was brought to the hospital. At first, the only thing he's worried about is the illness itself and the possibility that Walter White might stop by to speed the process along, so to speak. Then comes the United Earth's transmission, and then the alert that bombing is imminent. Still, Saul's condition is so bad that Jesse doesn't want to evacuate him until it's absolutely necessary. It's one of those tough decisions: what if the bombs never come but the stress of it all makes Saul even sicker? He opts to keep watch instead - already wearing a ventilator to keep from getting infected, anyway - and to listen for the sounds he's come to know so well by now.

When he hears the first distant rumbles, he gets to his feet immediately and reaches out to shake Saul's shoulders.]

Wake up. Wake up, Saul. We gotta go.

Comments

[hostage]

[Shut up, Saul. Jesse barely catches the cue, glancing up and giving a quick shake of his head.]

[legal_eagle]

[And Sonya looks up - and she catches sight of him, and that smile for just a moment becomes a bared-tooth grimace. She looks a moment, and then looks back at Saul; her smile is now deeply insincere, and her voice is saccharine.]

Yeah, no, he is not getting shit from me. He wants something, he can get it the fuck himself.

[5055034455]

[Looks like Jesse's made another friend. What a shock.

Curious worry turns to full-on confusion as Saul turns his attention back to Sonya.]

I'm guessing you two didn't hit it off so well?

[hostage]

[He's now hiding his face in his hands. Why this.]

[legal_eagle]

Didn't hit it off well? Oh, no, we hit it off great. Just fantastic.

[Which is sort of true, honestly. Two weeks ago, Sonya was just about ready to wrap Jesse up in a little bow and take him home as a present for someone sweet. And when she came over to his apartment - honestly, she was ready to fucking go to bat for him, because she doesn't forget debts, even if it's a debt as simple as "this kid was sweet to me when he didn't have to be."

But she's not going to tell Saul she was so stupid as to have gone into the apartment of someone she didn't know - so stupid as to have put herself out there to help someone.]

Only problem is that he's one of those guys who thinks that if there's a vagina around, his cock has rights to it. So, you know. Real fucking sweet. [She jerks her chin upwards.] You could find a better nurse than that one.

[5055034455]

[Being protective is not the same as being defensive, but in this case...

Saul shoots Jesse a halfheartedly stern look. This is not what they need. Not what he needs, especially. It's bad for business, and the weird thing is, he really doesn't want Sonya to be upset with him.

But then he thinks: fuck it. Sonya likes him because he knows how to do his job, right? So he's going to do his job.]

He's not my nurse. He's my client.

[Said with as steely an edge as he can manage, the message clear. Back off.]

[hostage]

Saul, don't.

[legal_eagle]

[She lifts her eyebrows, settling back into her chair.]

Okay. Sure. Drug charges, rape charges, or both?

[5055034455]

[Yeah, he really shouldn't have. Oh well.]

Did he actually do anything to you?

[hostage]

[Jesse's sinking lower and lower like he's trying to disappear.]

[legal_eagle]

I don't know. Let's ask Jesse to evaluate.

[She turns her gaze towards him. She smiles, but her eyes are hard.]

What do you think, Jesse? Did you actually do anything?

[5055034455]

Leave him alone. [A pause, after which he adds:] And Jesse — don't answer her.

[hostage]

[Please. He knows better than to answer her. And he's still working on teleporting out of here. Somehow.]

[legal_eagle]

Leave him alone.

[A low, humorless laugh, and then she turns to Saul.]

Don't worry, Mr. Goodman. I'm not going to be bringing charges against him. But yeah. He did shit.

[5055034455]

[Okay. Something needs to be done, here. This situation is bad for him, bad for Jesse, and as long as they're all together...

Saul stands, lightly touching Sonya's back.]

Take a walk with me?

[legal_eagle]

[She twitches when he touches her - and she wants to think of it that way, as a twitch rather than a shudder or a jump - and that's bad. That means she's gotten worked up again, that means that she's twisted up in her anger and the memory of that unfamiliar feeling of fear, and that means she's not wholly impartial.

She tries to cover that up by pretending she was just re-adjusting the lines of her clothes. She doesn't stand.]

You're not good to walk.

[5055034455]

[That's not a reaction he expected. He's quick to pull his hand back, but he's still looming.]

I'm fine.

[Then, gently:] Please?

[legal_eagle]

Fine.

[She gets up from her chair and turns away at once, putting a bit of distance between her and Pinkman. Only then does she turn back to Saul.]

[5055034455]

[Hand hovering instead of making contact, he tries to lead her as far away as possible without losing sight of Jesse. And even then, he decides to step a little farther — if they get into an argument, he doesn't want Jesse to see it.

Once there, wherever there is, Saul leans against the nearest wall for support and fixes Sonya with a half-apologetic, half-serious look.]

What happened?

[legal_eagle]

[She shakes her head, and then flips her hands upwards in a defensive, dismissive gesture - and then finally takes enough breaths that she decides fuck it and decides she's not going to keep any of Jesse fucking Pinkman's secrets.

Even if she hates the thought of talking about this. She was so fucking stupid.]

I went to his place, to thank him for being a decent fucking human being when I first got here. Which, first fucking mistake, because no one's a decent fucking human being; I guess the trauma of coming here addled my brains. I find him stoned out of his fucking mind. Try to find out who gives a shit about him, who'll help me get him off it. He interprets it as a come-on. Feels me up, then after I tell him to stop pins me under him.

[In that moment she looks a far cry from her confident, sardonic, chipper self; she looks like a girl, and she looks freaked.]

Anyway, he - backs off when I threaten to take out an eye. He's your client, fine, you have a professional obligation to protect him and take his side. Fine. But you need to fucking control him.

[5055034455]

[Oh, Christ. Saul runs a hand through his hair and sighs. He looks exhausted, feels exhausted, and is so sick of apologizing and making excuses for Jesse — but what else can he do? What else is there?]

He didn't mean it. And I'm not telling you that you need to forget what happened and forgive him, or that you shouldn't kick the shit out of him, but the thing you need to know about Jesse is that's what he wants. Especially when he's strung out like that. So you hate him now, right? Mission accomplished. He got me, too. I tried to choke him.

[legal_eagle]

[Acidly:]

If only you'd succeeded.

[But a moment later, she's reaching up to adjust her ponytail, a self-conscious gesture.]

Look, I don't give a shit why he did it. The fact is he did it. I get that he's troubled and an addict and that addicts need help. But if he'd fucking gone through with it and raped me, and it had just been all for the purpose of making me hate him and driving me away, would you still be making excuses for him?

[5055034455]

Jesse doesn't want help.

[He rubs at one of his eyes with the heel of his hand.]

And if he did that, no. But he wouldn't. He's not — I can't explain it. Him. All you need to know is that he's not the Jesse you met the day you got here. And that Jesse's not coming back anytime soon.

[legal_eagle]

This were court, I'd be telling you to back up that shit with a psychologist's report.

[5055034455]

Well, tough shit, because this isn't court. Don't tell me you didn't see it yourself when you walked into that apartment — he was clean. And then fucking —

[So now's as good a time as any to slump against the wall and have a sit down. He takes a slow, shaky breath, trying not to cough.]

Sonya, I can't. I can't explain this right now, but you have to believe me. Jesse's a mess and it's not his fault. Just — avoid him from now on, okay? That's the only thing you can do.