results of wishes

Who: Dorian and Caleb
Where: MGH
When: evening

Dorian had drifted from the room about the time Caleb woke up, needing a refill on his coffee and when he came back Jen was there, talking to Caleb. As much it pained him to not be there right when his brother woke up, he gave him time with her waiting patiently until she left.

Once she was gone he went into the room, leaning against the doorway for a moment. “How you doing?” he asked coffee cup in hand, waiting to be invited all the way into the room.

Caleb looked up. "Hey." he greeted. "And...I think the jury's still out on that." he said, figuring honesty was the best way to go with his brother. "How are you?" he asked in return, flipping to a new page on his sketch book. "I'm guessing this isn't what you had planned for your day today."

“Not how I meant to meet Jen either,” Dorian said with a shrug. “I think that your talking and breathing means you’re doing a hell of a lot better than I guessed you would be.” Not given the amount of blood that had pooled on the floor and stained his hands. “Wanna talk about it?”

"Sure." Caleb said. "You want to come in and not be half stood in the hall?" he asked, sitting back. He set his sketch pad aside while he was at it, figuring if he was going to be discussing what had gone on, he might want to look less like his concentration was elsewhere, even if he could do both at the same time. He didn't want Dorian thinking he was blowing it off.

Dorian left the doorway, closing the door behind him. “Didn’t want to barge in if you would have rather rested or something,” he explained, pulling a chair up closer to the bed and sitting. “So what happened?”

Shaking his head, Caleb glanced away for a moment, then back. "No, I feel like I've been out for a while. And I still kind of feel exhausted, but I'll rest later." he said. "What happened was..." he paused, trying to remember if he'd mentioned any of the predicament to Dorian and in the end thought he might have skipped the entire thing. Right. "I went to kill Jen's ex boyfriend. Which is...less 'serial killer' than it sounds." he noted with a light frown. "Anyway, the short version is he got vamped and was a psycho who ate girls who looked like him, and Jen has visions so she saw it when he did it. This guy is also Dean's childhood friend, and Dean would have gone after him, but I convinced him I'd take care of it. Dean...wouldn't have done well if he'd had to do it. I won't lose sleep over it. So I just took the job, went, and things got out of hand. I wasn't really sure why I survived, but I think I have a theory." he said. Drawing in a deep breath, he let it out slowly. "I think I have you to thank for continued breathing."

Dorian took it all in, wondering why all of it didn’t surprise him anymore. “Vamp for an ex,” he mumbled when that came up, nodding in understanding about Dean. It was something he was still dealing with, that Caleb was the one that could kill without thought, but this guy was dangerous and better taken out. Caleb was Death for a reason. “The wish,” Dorian concluded, glancing over his shoulder as if someone might be listening in. “Not going to lie, I almost passed out when you woke up when I got to you. I could have sworn you’d bleed out already.”

Nodding, Caleb watched his brother for a long moment. "It's the only thing that makes sense to me." he admitted. "I mean...look at this." he said, tugging his shirt down a little to show the staples over the wound in his chest. "Who the hell walks away from something like that? And okay, I was carried away, but still. I shouldn't have made it at all."

Dorian leaned in to take in the damage even though he’d seen it pre-staples. “No one,” he said as he leaned back. “You still feel normal? Nothing weird going on or odd feelings?” He didn’t want to say it, but what he was getting at was if Caleb was still Caleb. “Remember anything else from when it happened?”

"I don't feel like a zombie, if that's what you're asking." Caleb said with a slight eye roll and an exhale. After all, Dorian's first reaction to his wish was to call and ask him if he was a zombie. "I feel okay. Just...I don't know. Weird headspace, I guess." he admitted. "And painful, but that's okay. I can deal with that." he said. "...did you happen to pick up my knife? The one Math gave me?"

“Or anything else of the undead variety,” Dorian pointed out in defense of the eye roll. “You can get something for the pain you know. I imagine they gave you something for the pain.” Though knowing Caleb he was probably trying to avoid it. “Yeah I grabbed it. It’s with my stuff. If I don’t give it back to you right away will you consider resting properly for a few days?”

"They did, I just hate painkillers." Caleb muttered, though there wasn't any ire in it. "Reminds me of when I was in the hospital before, when they kept giving me fucking morphine." He'd hated that shit. He'd kept ripping the needles out, and had wound up having to charm visitors into turning the drip down. He hadn't wanted it. "I plan on resting for a few days if I can anyway." he said. "Weirdly, getting stabbed in the heart sort of gives one pause." he said sarcastically, but there was a note of genuine humor beneath it instead of just his usual cynicism.

“Right well if it gets bad no one is going to blame your taking them,” Dorian said but let it drop after that. He didn’t want to pressure Caleb into something he didn’t want, especially if he could handle the pain. “Normally gives one more that pause,” Dorian quipped back, offering Caleb a smile. “Anything I can do for you? Stuff you need, whatever?”

Considering that, Caleb shrugged. "I don't know. Um...air out my room? Jen says she sort of puked in there." he said. "So open up the basement windows or something. Other than that, i don't think there's much. I have a sketch book and some clothes. Not sure if I'm staying here or not. Maybe I'll go to my old room in the psych ward if I have to stay overnight. I'm kind of guessing they're going to insist. But at least I can talk to Lisa if I'm there."

Dorian nodded. She’d puked in the hallway too which meant he had a house that needed to be cleaned up when he got home. “Can I insist that you stay overnight?” he asked. “I know we’ve sorted out what we think the root cause of you still breathing is, but I’d rather not put all our eggs in one basket for the night.”

Caleb opened his mouth like he was going to protest, but in the end shut it again and nodded. "yeah, you can insist that. I'll just head over to the psych ward. Hated it there, but it's even less comfortable in here." he said, glancing around. He'd been stuck in the psych ward for two full weeks before, so he knew all the ins and outs of it. And there was Lisa.

Pleased that his brother didn’t protest, Dorian nodded. “Last time we were here it didn’t go well,” he said thoughtfully, eying Caleb. “Let’s not do that again okay? Anything you need, just call. I’ll be here in a moment.” Which should have been obvious when he dropped everything to pull Caleb out of Manchester, but Dorian felt it worth stating out loud.

Nodding again, Caleb gave a light suggestion of a smile. "Okay." he agreed. He was pretty sure that it couldn't possibly go as poorly as it had last time. He had to admit that Dorian had come quite the long way since then. And it didn't mean he'd forgotten about it, but he would have been shocked if Dorian reverted. He trusted him not to. "You sticking around for a while, or you heading home? I'm sure you've had a long day." he said.

Dorian reached out and patted Caleb’s arm. “Okay.” He didn’t think he’d revert back either, but it was best to make it known, to put it out there so they could both avoid it or anything close to it. “I’m game for whatever you need. Kay’s been here with me since we got here, but I’ve got no issues with sending her home and staying here in case you need something.” That his brother was his first priority showed in Dorian’s eyes.

Caleb shrugged. "Think I'll be good." he said. "Just...like I said. Weird headspace. But nothing to worry about." he said, since it wasn't like he could be fully trusted not to have a weird headspace that equaled 'suicidal'. That wasn't the case right now, though, and he wanted Dorian to know that. It was just something he was having trouble with himself, just a little...he didn't even know, really. He'd have to figure that out.

There was a pause while Dorian considered that. He trusted Caleb to tell him if things were bad, but ‘weird’ wasn’t really good either. “I’m here, if you want to talk through it,” he said at the end of the pause. “Don’t have to now, but eventually. You don’t have to do everything on your own.” He leaned forward in his chair, not getting up yet, but shifting so that he could. As much as he didn’t want to leave, he did need a little rest and a house that needed cleaning.

Caleb was used to being self sufficient, it was part of how he was raised. His parents didn't really give a damn about him, and if he wanted something, he best get it on his own. So, while he got that he wasn't alone and didn't have to go through things alone now, intellectually understanding that and emotionally going with it were different things. He tried, but it was hard for him to even think that way. But he nodded, either way. "Maybe when I can figure out where to start." he said. Because right now, he didn't know where to start. He wasn't even sure there was a start point. “I’ll try and figure something out. And I’ll call if I need anything.”

“What happened to you, the not dying part,” Dorian said, voice as easing as he could muster. “You have me to thank, but you also have me to blame. If that’s part of it, I’m more than willing to listen. Even if it is to yell at me for fucking you up or something.” Since Mathias’ good intentions with his wish had yielded a pissed off Caleb, Dorian wasn’t entirely sure he was going to be let off with just the gratitude. Dorian stood, reaching out muss Caleb’s hair. “Get some rest alright? You did good.” If their family was more normal he might have told his brother he loved him, but that wasn’t their style and he figured Caleb already knew that. “I’ll come by tomorrow, give you a lift home if you’re allowed to leave or just hang out with you for a bit.” He smiled, just a little, relief in his features. The worry and concern were still there, reflected in the darker shade his eyes had taken on, but he was starting to feel more positive. Mussing up his brother’s hair one last time he headed for the door, exhaustion settling in as the weigh of his worry lifted.

"Well, considering if you didn't do it, I'd be dead, I don't really think there's anything to blame you for. Foresight on the idea that I might not make it as long as you two was just intelligent, Dorian. Not anything to blame you for." he said, not feeling there was any reason at all to be angry with the guy. If it wasn't for him he wouldn't be there at all. He made a face when his hair got mussed, but it wasn't as sour as it could have been. "I'll be here. See you then, Dor."

Dorian nodded. “Intelligent or not, I didn’t want it to happen,” he said about Caleb not making it as long as he would. “See you then, Cay.” He waved once more then left, closing the door behind him.