closed || In between the daylight hours

[hypoxic]

Who: Doctor Fitz and Doctor Fraser, with Doctor Moore sprinkled in later.
Where: first-floor clinic
When: September 01
Rating: Probably a light R for violence
Summary: Fitz has been faking an injury to cover up for his lack of knowledge as he settles into his other persona's life. He hadn't counted on being forced into a checkup.
The Story:

[Thus far, it's been easy to hide in plain sight among his enemies. He shares a face with someone else that they trust and respect, after all. It was a seamless integration, with just the slightest methodological hiccup. Eventually, concerned friends and hangers-on would challenge his stories and follow up on them.

He's arrived at the clinic under protest. He can no longer put off Simmons' incessant braying about his health and the possibilities that his medications might need to be changed. He'd decided to flat-out lie to her about his treatment schedule until she'd checked with Claire herself. Appointments were made largely without his consent.

He settles into a seat most likely designed for concerned hangers-on rather than any of the patient accommodations. Claire will find him sitting stiff and upright, fastidiously adjusting the buttons on his sleeve. This selection of unflattering cardigans and buttonup shirts would barely pass for a casual friday at a third-rate office. He aches for the day when he'll be able to dress himself properly.]

Good day, Doctor. I do apologize for the waste of your time. My partner is unnecessarily committed to chasing windmills and seeking impossible answers. I'm certain that further testing won't change my usual diagnosis.

Comments

[hypoxic]

[Blood can be switched out and faked. He knows how to synthesize a blood test. But an MRI is more difficult. A test like that will confirm in realtime that there's nothing wrong with his brain. He'll be fully exposed. His left hand trembles again, the only outward expression of the panic rushing through him.

This could ruin everything.]

I don't see why not. It seems like a waste of time, but standard procedure nonetheless.

[beautifullies]

I promise, you're in good hands.

[ Claire smiles softly and stands from behind her desk toward him. ]

If you'll follow me, please, I promise to be quick about it so you can go on about your day.

[ She has her suspicions about what could be wrong with him, but nothing concrete yet. The MRI should help confirm her theory. ]

[hypoxic]

Of course. Please, after you.

[He stands when she does, lingering behind and gesturing for her, a consummate gentleman.]

[beautifullies]

[ Gathering his file from her desk, Claire begins leading the way down the hallway. ]

I'll draw blood first and get that out of the way.

[ She explains that as she walks ahead of him. ]

Only two vials, I promise not to get too heavy-handed.

[hypoxic]

I'm sure you'll be perfectly professional.

[He'll follow her into the hall, taking in the setting with an analytical stare. It's too soon to be exposed. There'll be nothing but noise if he doesn't handle this carefully. Whatever comes next has to look like an accident. Just something more important than continuing on with this.]

Have you done much work at this level back at home?

[beautifullies]

Not so much general practice, no. I'm a cardiothoracic surgeon. One of the best in my field. The only woman.

[ She's proud and that's all there is to it. ]

But I've been practicing medicine for a long time. Over twenty years.

[ Letting him into an exam room to draw his blood, she turns to him with a friendly smile. Her clothing seems to suggest a time when doctors were nothing but healers with herbs, but she says nothing about it. ]

[hypoxic]

[The time period she's describing places her differently than the garments she presents. There's a disconnect -- a deliberate one? To keep people intrigued? To hide a secret? She is working with SHIELD, after all. Her words could never be trusted.]

In that case, I apologize for throwing you so far afield. Neurological matters are a tricky sort, even for specialists.

[beautifullies]

It seems we all have to adapt in Wonderland, by quite a few measures. In any case, I started as a battlefield nurse. Not quite the pristine halls of a hospital.

[ She may be more forthcoming with her answers than he thinks. ]

No need to apologize at all.

[hypoxic]

[Forthcoming with her preplanned stories, most likely. He's sure this is staged. She's with them. They wouldn't have enlisted her if she wasn't already indoctrinated.

He settles down in a seat appropriate for patients, eyeing the tools for blood drawing.]

But if I might have one request...? I'm not very good around needles. Is it possible for you to use the pediatric equipment? I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't bring it up to anyone, of course.

[beautifullies]

[ That surprises her, of course. She's seen men younger than him beg her to chop off limbs. But of course, she's a professional and merely nods at his request. ]

Of course. Everything here is done with discretion.

[ She turns, lost in a cabinet as she gets the appropriate tools needed to accommodate him. ]

Plenty of people have an aversion to needles, no need to worry about it.

[hypoxic]

[He moves swiftly then, silently rising from his seat. There's a small jostle of metal behind her as he snatches the medical tray from its perch and handles it sideways, swinging fast and hard at the base of her skull.

If he's lucky, it'll be enough to drop her, as painlessly as possible. If she's alert enough to fight back, that might raise some more uncomfortable issues.]

[beautifullies]

[ It takes her so completely by surprise and she drops quickly as pain bursts from the back of her head and she immediately has flashes of Black Jack Randall. Torture and agony, but she's done too much, she's gone through too much and even with the blinding pain she tries to get up, turning on her side and trying to understand what fuck is happening. ]

[hypoxic]

[She shouldn't still be conscious after that. He must've misjudged the angle of the blow. A gunshot would leave too much evidence and draw too much attention before he's ready for it. If she would just stay down until he has a chance to --

There's a mirror on the wall, covered up as residents here are wont to do. He can use that.]

H-how did you get in here?

[He pivots on a heel and stammers meekly just before launching himself backwards onto her, leading with an elbow. If he's calculated the trajectory right, he'll land with the point of his bone against her neck and finish the job. But even a millimeter off will be too far. But at least then, the rest of his mass will collapse on top of her and keep her from turning herself upright.

She's just a surgeon. She can't be that strong.]

[beautifullies]

[ Claire has always fought with her life; she's gone through impossible things and she has never given up, never laid down and just let it happen. But this time, this time she hears a reverberating sound and it's the last thing she hears before nothing.

Neck broken, she goes still, eyes open in horror, one hand reaching out toward the door as if for help. This time, though, none comes. ]

[hypoxic]

[She falls still, but he doesn't trust it. He rolls off of her, panting as he returns to his feet. She could be playing dead. She might be Inhuman, with a different location for her cardiovascular system. He stomps on her neck then, grinding vertebrae under the heel of his shoe. He doesn't relax until he's sure the body won't react or twitch in pain.

But now there's the matter of the cleanup. A body would leave too many questions, and too many people know he's with her today. She can't be the only victim in this attack.

He'll bring his attention to the cabinet she'd been perusing, gripping it from the outer edge and heaving himself toward it headfirst. He brains himself until he opens up a gash in his forehead, blood trailing down his face over an eye. It already feels swollen and sensitive to the touch. It ought to be a proper black eye once anyone sees it.

Pulling his sleeve over a hand, he rummages through drawers until he's found a scalpel, then draws it in a line over his cheek and leans down to stab it into Claire's hand. The violence ought to match. Following that, he'll snatch the sheet from the mirror and set a finger to his lips in case there's a sudden audience. Then, he tips over the stand that initially housed the tray of vials and needles and drops back down over the body with a noisy thump.

He groans plaintively then, calling for help in a thin, weak tone. Someone ought to be told the right version of events.]

[livemoore]

[ It's Liv who's unlucky enough to be the next one in, coming in as she usually does with coffee for Claire. It's the thump she hears, frowning in concern and putting the coffee down at the front along with her bag. ]

Claire?

[ Walking further into the clinic, she pushes the door open to the hallway, pausing, listening. It's too quiet. Claire should be here. Seeing a door open mid-hallway, Liv walks forward slowly. Pushing the door open, she lets out a shout of surprise, her hands going to her mouth as she takes the sight in. Claire, someone on top of her. A fight, a struggle, and she goes to him, running in. ]

Oh, my God. Oh, my God.

[ She repeats it, getting him off of Claire carefully but one look at her, at the odd angle of her neck, and Liv knows she's dead. She didn't know she could feel sick anymore, but she wants to throw up. Fumbling for her device once she checks the other person's pulse, she blindly makes a network post before dropping her device and going to the person she knows is alive. ]

Can you hear me? Sir, can you hear me?

[hypoxic]

[His pulse is fine, all things considered. It's elevated, adrenaline-spiked, but he doesn't seem to be nearly as roughly handled as Claire has been. His breaths come heavy, a hand raising to test the wetness at his forehead.]

You... shouldn't be here. He's -- I don't know where he ran off to -- it's not safe...

[livemoore]

Don't move, don't move. Just lay here, stay still.

[ She looks back at Claire's body, stomach turning again before she looks at the person in front of her. ]

Who? Who attacked you?

[hypoxic]

I... don't know. Never seen him before. I...

[He sinks back at her behest.]

I think he came from behind us. Must've been in here before we arrived.

[livemoore]

Okay, okay, that's good, that's enough, just lay back. Are you hurt anywhere else?

[ She starts doing a physical exam the best she can, needing to do anything she can to try and help because she can't help Claire, not now. ]

[hypoxic]

Don't think so. I... think I hit my head a little. [By now, the tissue around his eye is a dark angry bruise, his eye swelling shut.]

[livemoore]

Can you walk? I need to...you need a different room.

[ He needs to be out of this room with Claire's body and she starts trying to help him up. She's strong, zombie strength coming in handy as she helps lift him. ]

[hypoxic]

[He leans heavily on her, but he reaches down.]

The doctor... she passed out, I think. You have to help her.

[livemoore]

[ Being dead herself, it's a sense, something she can smell, something she can hear. She can't explain it, not really, it's a zombie thing. ]

I will. I will, just come on. You need a bed.

[ And so, she guides him out, to the next room and lays him down. She exams his eye then gets him an ice pack once she's sure he isn't concussed. ]

Stay here, okay? Don't move.

[alsoagirl]

[ It's then that Jessica blurs into the clinic, going straight for Claire, fangs out and ready to attack anyone who might still be around. But the scene is still, despite the obvious violence it tells of, and the only sounds she can hear are voices in the nearby room.

One thing she definitely can't hear? A pulse. ]

No. No.

[ She shakes her head in disbelief, and the tears of blood begin flowing down her face in full force. It couldn't be true. It couldn't. She'd hoped she could get here, give Claire some of her blood, anything.

It's stupid, she knows, but she needs confirmation. Jessica reaches out to touch Claire, searching for any sign of life. There's nothing.

She breaks down into sobs. Suddenly? Wonderland wasn't so rosy anymore. ]