ways_infirmary | (no subject)

X re-enters the infirmary with another woman, one who is shorter, blonde, and stained heavily with blood.

She's halfway through escorting Elle toward a bed when her gaze hits the only doctor present.

"Kim."

Beat.

"Elle is hurt."

She spares a moment to wish Elixir could come here. It would be easier, then.

"So I see--"

Deliberately light, but not flippant; not even close. Kim leaves the table and reaches for fresh gloves and a treatment tray.

"-- can either of you tell me what happened?"

As she asks, she's already looking over the young blonde woman, assessing her condition.

Elle isn't quick to move away from X's shoulder. But after glancing to X, and then Kim, she slips off X, and moves to sit upright on the bed.

When she looks to Kim again, her gaze isn't wary, but she doesn't speak.

Instead, she only holds out her hands.

X holds her position for a few moments, then slips sideways -- not away from Elle, really, but attempting to give Kim room to work.

"I do not know," X says. Carefully.

"I was not there."

If she is bothered by this it is difficult to tell.

"Okay," Kim says, gently now. "Okay."

A cursory look at the gashes across Elle's hands indicates that they're probably not dangerously deep, but they'll need stitching. The same goes for the slice on her forehead.

What worries her more is that Elle's skin is far too pale, her breathing is rapid and shallow, and she's not responding well. Kim sets the gloves aside with the tray and reaches for Elle's hands, taking them in her own.

Her skin's cool to the touch, cooler than it should be, almost clammy. Kim's lips tighten slightly, and a vertical line creases her forehead. She lets go of her hands and reaches for a blanket, moving to drape it around the girl's shoulders.

As she does, she spots the bloodstains on the back of her shirt.

"Elle, can you tell me if you have any other cuts or wounds, maybe bleeding worse than these on your hands?"

Elle's eyes follow Kim's gaze. She doesn't look surprised or startled at Kim's question, but still shakes her head.

And maybe she wants to explain it.

It's not mine.

I know what this is.

But she looks back to X. And whether because of this, or that she doesn't have the energy to say more, it's only one word.

"Sylar's."

X does not stiffen, but her focus on Elle strengthens, sharpens.

"He is dead?"

That, at least, is relevant.

And if he is not --

Well.

Maybe he will show up injured.

That would be useful.

Elle's not the only one who's pale, now.

"Sylar?"

Her voice rises in shock of her own, and clear gray eyes are wide.

Now I know where the cut on her forehead came from-- deal with it later, Kim!

She shakes her head once, and then says,

"Elle, I'm going to need to start an IV for you."

And while she's getting it, she can lock the door. For now. Just in case. For all their sakes.

"I couldn't."

Elle shows no reaction to Kim's shock, or her words. Her eyes are still on X, and her voice is still breathless, but she takes the strength to explain now.

"He'll come back. He - took Claire's."

"That will be problematic," is what X says first, mind flicking through the various options available at this point.

She knows how she can be killed, at least. And Logan.

So that is somewhere to start.

"But not impossible. It is okay."

There's weight on that last word.

And X does not look away from Elle. Not even to blink.

She slides the lock on the infirmary door shut and turns back, picking up the IV apparatus as she crosses the room once more.

"Fill me in here, please. Why is that problematic in particular?" Kim reaches the bedside and hangs the IV from the stand, hesitating for the barest instant before adding, "What was Claire's gift?"

"Is."

Elle still doesn't look away from X. But this could be enough of an answer.

"She didn't die."

Oh.

That is good news. Or at least interesting news.

"She heals," X says. "Like me."

Beat.

"And now he does, too."

She shifts a step or two closer to Elle -- you could call it unconsciously if you did not know X.

"But he did not get yours. It is okay."

Not least because Elle would be dead. X is not fond of that option. At all.