#Miner'sRespite – October 4, 2015

Vasquez is already up. In fact, she's not even in the room, but the sound of the shower running can be heard from the bathroom.

Jason wakes to the sound of the shower. He glances over at the empty spot beside him, a small amount of panic setting in before the running water calms him down. He rubs at his eyes for a few moments as he swings his legs over the side of the bed and stands up. "Good morning, Mrs. Wolfe." he shouts, a bit groggy as he makes his way towards the bathroom, scooping a cup up off the table

Jason frowns as he steps into the bathroom, looking down into the cup to make sure it's clean. Or at least clean-ish. He moves towards the sink and begins to fill it with water, using his thumb to rub away at the brim. "I just sort of as-... Hey! What's wrong with my name!?" he calls back, stopping what he's doing as he looks towards the shower.

Vasquez has resumed her showering, water splashing here and there. "Wha-..." For a while only the water is heard. "...nothing! But I can't be Chief Wolfe! That sounds ridiculous! Like I should have a pack or something!"

Jason smirks and gives a shrug. He looks back over at the sink and begins to fill his cup with water. "Ohhhhhh, I get it... So now you want a pack, eh?" he calls back, "I see where this is going." he teases.

Vasquez drops the shampoo bottle with a clatter, and her response takes a little while even after it's picked up. "Maybe you should take my name." she says, not acknowledging Jason's words at all.

Jason scrunches up his nose and takes a sip from the cup. He turns off the faucet and moves closer to the shower with a shake of his head. "I don't know if you've taken a good look at me-..." he says, looking down at his chest, "...but I don't exactly look like a 'Vasquez'. We'd need a tanning bed. Too pastey, I'd never pass the visual test."

Vasquez pop her head out of the shower, looks Jason up and down. "Don't look much like a wolf either." She says with a slight smirk, and then shrugs before disappearing behind the curtain again. "But hey, I'd rather keep it to myself anyway."

Jason frowns and gives a shake of his head. "I have no idea what that means, but it sounds insulting!" he says, leaning against the wall beside the shower, "So... So what are people going to call us? Mr. and Mrs. Wolfe & Vasquez? That just doesn't have the same ring to it."

Vasquez turns off the water, and after a moment speaks as she pulls the curtain aside to grab a towel. "Chief Vasquez and her husband/second-in-command!" she says with an enthusiastic grin to Jason, before starting to dry herself off.

Jason blinks a couple times as he watches her. "Chief Vasquez and her second-in-command." he repeats, "So.... So we went from a pack of animals to a mariachi band?" he asks, his own grin crossing his lips, "I think we may just have to accept that we're probably going to sound ridiculous regardless of what we decide on."

Vasquez 's face disappears as she dries her hair. "The hell is a mariachi-... ugh, whatever. I knew ridiculousness was the price to pay when I said yes." She lowers the towel and wraps it around her body, looking at him with a grin. "I'll find a way to cope."

Jason 's frown returns and for a moment he looks genuinely hurt before realizing she's joking. "Ouch." he says with a sigh. He nods to the towel, "So you got somewhere to be?" he asks, "People should be by in a couple hours to pick our stuff up." He takes a sip from his cup, "You gonna be around for that?"

Vasquez shakes her head as she exits out of the bathroom. "No, I'm going to the hospital to have a word with Dr. Halisi, and... and to talk to the team. Thank them for the rescue." She wastes no time starting to get dressed, tossing the towel to the chair and pulling out various fresh clothes. She soon has her usual gray cargo pants, white tank top and combat boots.

Jason gives a couple nods. "Alright. Suppose I'll just lounge around here until they show up then." He continues to sip at his water, "You want me to check out of here so you can just meet me back at our place tonight?" He pours the rest of his water out into the sink and sets the cup beside it before returning to the main room.

Vasquez turns to Jason, leaning over and giving him a quick kiss before nodding with a smile. "Actually, yeah... that sounds great. Gonna be nice to be in our own place." She omits the fact that they never managed to fully clean the room as a factor, and turns away to grab Jason's Phalanx to the desk, showing it to him. "Mind if I borrow this again?"

Jason raises an eyebrow and slowly shakes his head. "Sure just... be careful, alright?" he says, his eyes on the pistol, "Send me a message if you need anything." He plops down on the edge of the bed and grabs the remote to the TV. "I'll just be here..." he continues, lifting one leg onto the bed and sitting back against the headboard, his hair a mess and wearing only a pair of plain

Vasquez rolls her eyes. "Uh-huh... it's good that you stay busy." She gives a small wave and then shakes her head as she steps out of the room with a grin.

Jason hits the power button to start the screen back up as he gives a shout. "Love ya, Mrs. Wolfe!" His attention is quickly averted back to the asajura highlights on the screen.

Leah is seated at the Respite with her hood pulled up, back towards the stairs. She's been sitting here for quite some time with a glass of soda and some food in front of her, hoping for an opportunity to catch Jason alone.

Vasquez goes down the stairs, but stops on her way to the door to look at Leah. She furrows her eyebrows, her gaze distant for a moment before walking up to her table. "Mercier."

Leah glances up from her plate, meeting eyes with Vasquez. "Oh! Chief!" she says as cheerfully as possible, attempting to speak through the gut check she's feeling. All the color drains out of her as she puts on her best smile. "I heard the good news. Happy to have you back! Everyone was worried."

Vasquez looks a bit distracted, and shows no sign of noticing Leah's expression. "Y-... yeah, thanks." She shakes her head in an attempt to clear it and then studies the woman for a moment. "I heard about your injury. I'm... sorry. How are the implants working for you?"

Leah gives an awkward chuckle as she sucks in a breath. Was she being straight, or was this a veiled threat? "Uhh... I'm walking again. So I suppose I can't complain." Her shoulders rise and fall in a shrug, "Wasn't sure I'd ever be on my feet again. It's a lot to take in, you know?" she continues, speaking quickly, eager to change the subject from her implants, "What about you? Is

Vasquez nods slightly. "Yeah, I'm doing fine. I'm glad to hear you're adjusting, Mercier. We'll need you in the field soon. You're one of the few field-ready people we have at the moment." She shows no sign of any knowledge of Leah's situation, or her earlier confusion.

Leah nods a bunch of times, straightening up her posture. "Absolutely, Chief. Just give the word. I'm ready to go." She blinks a couple times as if she has something in her eye. "Just... glad to have you back with us. And safe." she nods.

Vasquez offers a polite smile and nods. "Glad to hear it." She continues on her way to the exit.

Leah lets out a deep breath and her posture slacks. She sits back in her seat and brings a hand up to her head, feeling as though she just dodged a bullet.

Leah slides her food aside once Vasquez has exited the Respite. She gives a 30 count in her head to make sure the woman wasn't going to double back before climbing out of the booth. With one last glance towards the door, just to be safe, she heads straight for the stairs and makes her way back to the room she drugged Jason in during her last visit. She pokes the interface, giving

Jason raises an eyebrow as the door is buzzed. He hits the mute button on the remote and climbs out of bed, hiking his inside-out boxers slightly. "Welllllll..." he sings as he approaches the door and pokes the interface, causing it to begin sliding open "...Missing me already, are ya? I can unders-...." he trails off. He straightens up as he recognizes his guest, turning a bright

Leah 's smile slowly returns to a neutral expression as she sees her bosses current state. "Oh god. No. No, yeah." she winces, giving a nod. "I just ran into-... Put on some pants. Please." she requests, scrunching up her nose as she swings back out of the doorway and puts her back to the hallway wall. She gives a shake of her head and rubs at her forehead.

Jason nods a couple times, glancing around, "I'm just gonna-... Yeah... Put on.... Mmhmm. That's a good idea. Pants." He does a little turnabout until he spots his pants, tossed beside the bed. He quickly makes his way over and begins tugging them on. "Pantsed." he announces as he scoops up his shirt from the previous night and begins the careful process of pulling it on without

Leah swings back into the doorway and looks him over. "Better. Just a tip: always put pants on when answering doors. It's just the decent thing to do. Nobody wants to see all-..." she scrunches her nose up again and points a finger at him, circling it about, "...that. No offense." Her smile returns to her face. "So, Chief seems to be doing well..?"

Jason gives an uncomfortable chuckle as he returns to the door. "Right. Uhh, yeah. She seems to be doing fine." he nods, "Just... Been through a lot, you know? I'm just happy she's home and safe. Hoping she'll take a little time to rest, but-..." he shrugs, giving a lopsided smirk, "...You know how she is. She's already talking about getting back into the field."

Leah nods a couple of times as she looks about the room, remaining in the hall. "Good to hear. I just wanted to swing by and see how she was doing and let you know I'm ready to get back to work whenever you need me. Think I've adapted to the new 'me' pretty well and-..." she looks down at her legs and shrugs, "...I'm ready."

Jason tugs at the bottom of his shirt a bit, freeing a bit that was caught on his cybernetics. "Sounds good to me. We'll get you back onto the schedule, then. As soon as Linda and I are all settled in our new place we'll probably try and get a few more jobs rolling. The sooner we can get things moving, the better. But-..." he raises an eyebrow, "...you could've just sent a message.

Leah gives a chuckle, giving a quick glance down the hall as someone starts towards their room. "Like you said, Chief went through a lot. Stopping by in person seemed like the right thing to do. Got lucky and caught her on her way out." She bites her lower lip and shrugs once more, "....Sooooo yeah. That's.... That's about it. I'm back on my feet and all ready to rr-... roll...?

Jason gives another nod. "Yeah, right. Well that was-... thoughtful of you. Thanks. I'm sure she appreciates it, too." he says, leaning back and craning his neck to get a look at the screen. "Well-..." he continues as he returns his attention to Leah, "...it's good to see that you've adjusted so well. And so quickly." He goes quiet, giving her an opening to say her goodbyes. Once it's

Leah 's smile widens and she gives a couple more nods. "Absolutely. Sounds great. Take care, boss. Enjoy a day without pants." she offers with a chuckle as she takes a step back from the door. She raises her hand and gives a quick wave with her fingers.

Jason smirks and shakes his head. "Take care, Leah." he says as he taps the interface of the door, causing it to slide shut. "Weirder and weirder..." he mutters to himself as he returns to the bedside and plops back down to watch the highlights.

Leah lets out another deep breath, allowing her shoulders to slump slightly as she turns and starts back down the hall. "There." she says in a whisper, "Satisfied? Will you leave me alone now?"

Leah sighs, lowering her gaze to the floor. "Further instructions. Further instructions. Further instructions. When does it end?"