3rd Time Stacker Read Aloud

Originally posted here, based on this prompt
May 27th, 2016 
Stacker (taller black Brit) wakes up in Medical to harsh words from the admitting hall. 
Tamsin (tall white Brit)'s still snoring in the next bed, and Mako's pointedly working at the end of his on another Jaeger sketch. 
「What happening?」 he asks. 
"The Marshal is cross," replies Mako (preteen Japanese). 
Stacker scoops Maaau (small grey kitten) off his chest, sits up, scrubs his face. 「What?」 
Mako shakes her head. 
The door opens a crack; Nurse Miyahira (mid-height Ryuukyuujin) slips in and closes it quickly. 
Mako's on her feet, snapping a bow, and climbing back to her spot in an instant. 
Miyahira bows to her, to Stacker— 
He folds something of the sort. 
—knots her hands in her lap. "May I ask something of you that's probably gonna sound really racist?" 
「What?」 
She's pleased. "Your Japanese is coming along well." 
"Other thing?" 
"I need you to be really imposing across the hall." 
「Mako?」 
Pencil sounds stop. "When will you be back?" 
Miyahira replies, "Hopefully very soon." 
"Fine." 
"Sure." 
Pencil resumes scratching. 
"Awesome, thank you!" Peers out the door. "'k, c'mon." 
Stacker drags himself out of bed, follows Miyahira (who's covering the five feet in a quiet sprint)— 
/CLingCLing /CLingCL—
The Marshal replies coldly. 
The person with whom the Marshal is arguing has a deep voice and ....
Stacker pauses. 
The person has an accent. It's faint, but it's there—
"Ranger!" hisses Miyahira. 
"Sorry." Stacker hurries over to a room with one nurse (mid-height East Asian) and one patient (petite East Asian)— 
/Shit. 
The young lady who greeted the Mark I Rangers— 
((Including Sc—))
—every morning with tea while their rooms were being built has one good eye (the other's swollen shut), focuses on him for a moment— 
The other arguer snarls. 
—loses its spark. 
Miyahira says, "If you would stay, like—" Ushers him to a chair at the end of the occupied bed. "—right here, that would be /great."
"Sure."
"Awesome, awesome, awesome, thank you—" Glances hall-ward nervously. "Xia, I'm—"
The other nurse, without looking up from their task, says, "I'm good." 
"Good, great." Backs out. "Thanks again, Ranger."
Stacker sketches a wave but the door's closed. 
The young lady's lost her hair but for a barely-visible buzz cut, has gauze on her cheek, and clenches the blanket in a white knuckled-grip.
On one side, anyway. 
Her right arm hangs limply from her shoulder, only moving as the nurse jostles it. 
The nurse, a pile of bandages [and cotton balls] on the bedside table, gently poking and prodding the young lady's upper arm— 
The nurse gently pokes and prods around a large, black— 
The nurse gently pokes and prods the young lady's upper arm around a large, black bruise in the shape of a hand. 
(They had gender assumption drilled out of them at the Academy, but Stacker'll be damned if the hand which made that bruise didn't belong to a man.) 
Stacker squares his shoulders, crosses his arms, and takes up as much space as he can. 
The argument gets loud again. 
The young lady's grip tightens. 
Stacked plucks up a magazine, flips it open. "Mighty mites—" Frowns. "Well this is disgusting." Picks another page. "'Paradise Found'." Exchanges a looks with the young lady (who doesn't actually look at him but it's the sentiment that counts). "Could be good." Clears his throat. "'On a crisp summer morning in D—a place—a slate-roofed village in northern Italy, Lui—some guy—is sharing the local news. He—'" 
The Marshal raises her voice. 
Stacker raises his voice. "'He and four other gray-haired men are sitting in a tiny café—'" 
In his peripheral, the young lady turns her head juuust a bit. 
"'—sipping cappuccino as espresso machines whir and pastry sugar perfumes the air. But they're not discussing sports or—'" 
A crash. 
The young lady flinches badly. 
Stacker plants his feet. "'—sports or politics. "Three nests!" exclaims Jo—' that guy. 'His friends murmur and—'" 
Distantly, a door slams. 
A tiny whine at the back of the young lady's throat. 
"'—murmur and nod. "Three nests in a single kilometer! Extraordin—"'" 
A knock. 
The Marshal asks, probably to enter. 
"Please," calls the nurse. 
Marshal Xiong enters— 
Stacker snaps to his feet. 
—nods to Stacker. "Ranger." 
He bows. "Marshal."
"Return to your room, please." 
"If I may—" 
"Ranger, go to your room." 
Stacker bows crisply, dumps the /National Geographic, leaves, lets himself into the room Tamsin, Mako, and he share. 
Mako's bowing before he's through the door. 
He replies in kind, asks, "I'm grabbing stuff from our quarters. Would you like anything?" 
Her jaw works. 
"I'll be back in less than half an hour and I have my pager."
"I do not want anything." Returns to her nest. 
Stacker bows. 「Thank you, Miss Mori.」 
She takes up her pencil, returns to work. 
Stacker slips out, walks as softly as he can through Medical, and breaks into a run upon hitting the hall. 
He doesn't stop until he's banging on a door. 
Herc (tallest white Australian) answers. 
Stacker drags him out, marches him down the hall. 
"'s going on?" 
Stacker yanks open his door, shoves Herc in, swings it shut. "Where was Scott yesterday?" 
"I dunno–" 
Stacker looks him dead in the eye. "Herc, where was your brother?"
"I didn't see him all day, Stacks. I've got no idea what he was up to." Bows his head. "He didn't come back last night after patrol, either." Rubs his neck. "He, uh, do something?"
"That's what I'm trying to figure out."
Herc slumps.
"He's been erratic—"
"Meadow," croaks Herc.
"What?"
"'s Meadow." Clears his throat. "He hasn't been right since she got sick."
"Not 'right' enough to beat a young woman to a pulp?"
Herc sags. "I don't ...." Swallows.
"Where is he now?"
Herc shakes his head.
Stacker squeezes his shoulder. 
Herc swallows again, rasps, "Who'd—who's hurt?"
"The tea girl. From when we first arrived."
"The one Scott ...."
"Yes."
Herc straightens without raising his eyes. "You ... you go on back. I'll find him. Find out what happened."
Stacker grunts.
.
Herc trudges along a deserted corridor, following the itch [in the back of his head] that is Scott.
Toward Medical.
Toward ....
Herc realizes he's not moving.
He forces one foot in front of the other, follows the itch to ....
He steels himself, knocks on the door.
""C'mon in~!"" calls Meadow.
Herc takes a deep breath, pokes his head inside. "Can I—"
Scott and Meadow on the bed, her tucked up against his side, fresh ... fresh bruises on her arms.
—clears his throat. "Can I borrow my brother a moment?"
"Go 'head. I was getting sick of him, anyway," Meadow says playfully[, bumping Scott's shoulder].
Scott huffs, slides off the mattress, strolls over. He [turns back at] the threshold. "Want me to bring you anything?"
""Whiskey'd be nice.""
"I'll see what I can do." Scott pulls the door closed, smile fading, eyebrow quirked.
Herc says—shuts his mouth with a click.
"That's how this's gonna go, ay?"
Herc grabs Scott's arm, tows him into an empty patient room at the end of the hall, closes up behind.
"What, Herc?" sighs Scott, slouching against the edge of the bed. "I've got whiskey to find."
"Where were you yesterday?" 
"I dunno, with Meadow. What's this about?" 
"A kid got checked into Medical last night—she got beat up pretty bad."
"What happened? She gonna be okay?"
"That's what I wanted to ask you." 
"If she would be okay? How would I know?" 
Deep breath. "Scott, where were you yesterday?"
"With Meadow. I /just said. I don't even know who you're talking about."
"The tea girl." 
"The who?" 
"The kid who brought us tea every morning when we were crashing in the hangar." 
"Back then? That was almost a year ago—you think /I had something to do with this?" 
"You touched her—"
"I touched—I gave her a pat on the back—her /upper back—because she was about to cry."
"—and you're always friendly—"
"—I'm trying to be /polite." Scott shifts. "You think because I'm trying to be nice—because I gave the kid a pat on the back /once nine months ago, that I attacked her?"
Herc's eyes fall to his boots. 
"Did you kill Angela?"
[Herc recoils. "Wh ...."]
"Well, you were there. Weren't you somehow [involved? 
[‒/the hell's Scott doing‒]
"What] about Dad? Weren't you in the vicinity?"
[‒/sky out the helo door anklebiters screaming tumbling‒]
"And Mum, she was never the same [after Dad died]." 
‒[/gotta grab Chuck before Angie‒]
"Now there's your best ['friend'—and mine, too, just to rub it in]."
[‒/throws him into his arms goes back for another kid‒]
"It's more likely [/your fault the kid's hurt] than mine, li'l brother," snarls [Scott. 
[‒/and another and another and another dust and smoke and tears‒]
"You ever notice how [the people around] you die, but you always survive on some freak of luck?"
[‒/squeezing his hand sliding out of his grip saying‒]
"Can't help wondering when /my turn's coming."
[‒/you can pick me up on the next run—]
Or /Chuck's."
[Startles, pries his fingers from his wedding ring.]
"Aren't you gonna say /anything?"
["I ...." Swallows.]
"[/Fine.] I'm done wasting my time with you." Scott shoves past, storms out.
The door slams.
.
(The article is from the February 2015 issue of National Geographic. I wanted to have him read the article about Hawaiian chiefs and surfing but I don't think that article would exist in this universe.)Category:FicletCategory:5 Times Stacker Read Aloud (Plus 1 Time Someone Read to Him)Category:Tang MinCategory:Tang Min (ficlet)Category:Scott (mention)Category:HercCategory:Herc (ficlet)Category:Stoic bby!MakoCategory:Hong Kong Shatterdome MedicalCategory:SetsukoCategory:Setsuko (ficlet)Category:XiongCategory:Xiong (ficlet)Category:National Geographic (reference)Category:Stacker learns JapaneseCategory:TamsinCategory:Tamsin (ficlet)Category:Cats of LinCategory:Xia
Category:Xia (ficlet)
Category:Stacker
Category:Stacker (ficlet)