lifelines: ({ but i won't let us go)
helen magnus, m.d. d.t.c.x.b. ([personal profile] lifelines) wrote in [community profile] themusemanor2012-05-21 12:28 am

PSL - Will Zimmerman | Helen Magnus ---> I can feel your sorrow

After nearly a day of being stranded in the Gulf, Helen and Will were finally rescued and taken back to the Sanctuary. Helen had spent most of the remaining travel time very quiet. Coming up with a believable lie as to what they were doing so far off their flight plan and how they'd gotten down there in the first place, she'd had to deal with the helicopter rental place. Those encounters had taken her remaining strength and stability. She no longer had it in her to converse.

She barely even paid attention to what Will was doing during their plane ride back to New City. Her Old Friend picked them up at the airport and soon enough, they were back in the Sanctuary. Helen didn't even say more than a handful of words to anyone, telling them all that she needed to rest before she turned and strode for her office.

That had been two days ago. Ashley's birthday was two days from now and the closer that day came, the more Helen felt her heart tearing itself out of her chest. So much had happened in such a short period of time. She'd asked Will to stay with her for this and she knew that her seclusion would worry him. If Will knew her at all, and if she knew him, he would soon come to poke at her and that was likely for the best. She needed a friendly, supportive, and unbiased face as her own was none of these things.

And the memories hurt too much to endure alone.
commandingsecond: (Ho Boy....)

[personal profile] commandingsecond 2012-05-21 05:05 am (UTC)(link)
Will had been glad to keep quiet on their trip home from the Gulf. Sure, Magnus had come up with an excuse for the helicopter rental and what had happened to them, so they'd made it home with relative ease. But what she had confided in him, about Ashley's birthday, had weighed heavily on his mind all the while. He'd felt pretty guilty about being so selfish, wanting to get to that conference without even really trying to understand the reason she might want him to stick around.

Wrestling with that feeling was why he was on his way to her office now. Two days had given them plenty of time to recover, but they hadn't spoken during that time and he knew now was about the time to check on her. Actually, he wasn't even sure she had eaten, so just in case he brought along a sandwich on a tray for her. Made it himself too.

Standing outside her office door, he placed the tray down on a nearby table and knocked. Often he'd walk right in, but today was not one of those days.
commandingsecond: (Waiting Around)

[personal profile] commandingsecond 2012-05-22 03:51 am (UTC)(link)
When he heard the okay to come in, Will opened the door to her office and stepped inside. As expected, she looked tired. He took further mental notes as he looked her up and down, taking in her posture and the movements of her facial muscles. He walked forward, "Hey." It was a short greeting, but not in any way intended to be rude.

"I thought you might be hungry," he added, holding up the tray and then setting it down on her desk. "Just in case." She could refuse if she wanted; she had in the past and he took no offense.

He waited to take a seat, "How're you doing?"
commandingsecond: (You're Funny)

[personal profile] commandingsecond 2012-05-23 03:39 am (UTC)(link)
As expected, there were signs of her sadness written on her face, but her knew better than to say anything about it. "No problem," Will answered as he plunked down in a chair, resting his hands on its arms and leaning back.

He nodded at her answer, tilting his head to the side. Of course she wasn't fine, but he'd play along and keep the conversation light as a start. The attempted joke actually caused the corners of his mouth to twitch upward in a smile, thinking of how they had bickered about the conference almost nonstop just a few days ago.

"Everything went fine today. Looks like all the stuff I planned to catch up on after the conference got done ahead of schedule. So I'm not complaining."
commandingsecond: (Uh.... huh....)

[personal profile] commandingsecond 2012-05-23 05:27 am (UTC)(link)
Score. There was a least a teeny hint of a smile, which made Will feel like this was completely worth it. "Oh, you know me, I'm always pleading for extra work to do." He grinned as he said this, waving a hand like it was nothing at all.

"If there's no paperwork, I also do windows."
commandingsecond: (I DO Have a PhD You Know)

[personal profile] commandingsecond 2012-05-23 05:56 am (UTC)(link)
"Lucky for you, I remembered to pack my squeegee. Never leave home without it." He motioned with his thumb over his shoulder, as if the said cleaning tool was sitting somewhere nearby.

Will folded his arms then, pretending to think about it. "Oh sure, floors are my specialty. And since you're the boss, I'll give you a decent discount."
commandingsecond: (Let's Take a Break Magnus...)

[personal profile] commandingsecond 2012-05-28 03:28 am (UTC)(link)
"You wouldn't have nearly as much fun, I can tell you that much." Will leaned forward at that and plucked a potato chip from the plate he'd brought her. Popping it into his mouth, he sat back and regarded his boss with the same thoughtful expression he always had when he was mulling something over.

"But seriously, if there is any other work I can do to make things easier on you, you know I'll get it done. If not, we'll think of something else."
commandingsecond: (You're Funny)

[personal profile] commandingsecond 2012-05-28 05:15 am (UTC)(link)
He'd known that Magnus would never take him up on the offer, but he'd given it anyways. Seemed like the responsible thing to do anyways, as a member of the Sanctuary staff. "How could I forget?" He just smiled at that, watching her pick from the plate. Hey, this was something at least.

It would take a while for Helen to fall back into the right rhythm, he knew that. All he could do was make sure he did what he was best at, keeping her on track and emotionally stable. It was tough to be sure, he found himself getting a little choked up now and then when he passed places that reminded him of Ashley. Though he had not known her that long, she had indeed become family. That much had been clear only a few weeks after he started working here.

But this, right here and now, was the perfect set up. Just talking, nothing heavy. Friends enjoying each others company and making jokes about work. "Oh God no, that would be awful. I'd offend half the globe in a single night." Ah, eye contact. This was even better.