Welcome.

[Qinna Connolly]

Everything in the last 24 hours had managed to pull Qinna's attention from her sorrows; what with being shipped off to Mars, questioned and harassed by by the soldiers, and rushed off to the Labs to get to work, as if she were some virus that they couldn't wait to get rid of. But now that she couldn't do anything more until her shipment of things came tomorrow, it was all beginning to catch up on her.

Qinna slid onto the bar stool, a saddened look crept upon her weathered young features as the image of her baby came into her mind. She was beautiful; 8 pounds, with the shortest flecks of red hair, and the brightest blue eyes. Of course, all babies were born with blue eyes until about 6 months, when they became their permanent color. She wondered if Kaitlyn, if they even honored that name, would have her father's hazel eyes, or green, like her mother. Perhaps it would be some hybrid of hazel and green; laced with bands of one, with the base of the other. Would her hair stay red, or would it go black like her father? Would it also become a hybrid, with some burnt cherry color? She'd never know...

Qinna closed her eyes and fought back tears as she remembered the scene, the song rolling in the air of the bar.

I'm holding on your rope,
Got me ten feet off the ground
I'm hearin what you say but I just can't make a sound
You tell me that you need me
Then you go and cut me down, but wait
You tell me that you're sorry
Didn't think I'd turn around, and say...

Three men had burst into the birthing room at the hopsital; they'd just gotten the sieze order. Just as Qinna was given a moment to hold Kaitlyn...

It's too late to apologize, it's too late
I said it's too late to apologize, it's too late

I'd take another chance, take a fall
Take a shot for you
And I need you like a heart needs a beat
But it's nothin new - yeah yeah
I loved you with a fire red-
Now it's turning blue, and you say...
"Sorry" like the angel heaven let me think was you
But I'm afraid...

And they'd torn her away from her hands; her baby was gone within seconds as the other two soldiers kept her in the room. Qinna remembered the terror and rage that gripped her that evening; it took the two soldiers, and four nurses to restrain her - and even then, she broke through to give chase - just in time to see her baby being taken away on a helicopter.


It's too late to apologize, it's too late
I said it's too late to apologize, it's too late
It's too late to apologize, yeah
I said it's too late to apologize, yeah-
I'm holdin on your rope, got me ten feet off the ground...

"Hey LADY!" interrupted a sharp masculine voice, as Basshunter's Boten Anna came on, striking an arrow through her concentration. Qinna's glassy eyes flicked up from staring at the counter, glancing at the bartender before her. "What're you havin'? You look like you need to drown some pain."

"Uh, yeah..." she replied, using the side of her index finger to wipe off the tears that threatened to stain her cheek. "Vodka, Triple Black...."
"Usually, I don't let the thin frames have that kinda stuff, but you look like you need it..." he replied, pulling the bottle off the shelf, along with a glass. "Anything you want to talk about?" he said, pouring the clear liquid.
"N-no...Not really."
"Ahh, I get it. Makes it worse, right?" All Qinna could manage was a short nod, as the glass was left before her. The bartender turned to help other people, as she took the first lonely sip of her drink.

[Aydin Sage]

((So, here's my reply to both topics, I guess. lol))

Aydin decided to disregard the fact that she was following him, looking somewhat distraught. Obviously she had noticed the letter when he had placed back on a box she had been standing beside, and knew that he had read it. He started back into the lab to pick up another box and move it out into the hallway. When she spoke, not in response to anything he said, but instead she offered more of an explanation about what was written on his letter, he stopped what he was doing and turned towards her slightly to listen. Aydin found that when people were speaking, it was often better to look like you were paying attention, even if you could pay attention perfectly fine when you were doing something else. It was significantly important to not only listen, but appear as if you were listening when someone was telling you something that was especially difficult for them.

"We were trying to find the cures for the cancers deemed 'incurable. Over time, we were all exposed to the chemicals that were supposed to be okay for human contact - things that we never knew had dire long term effects from dormancy, and . . . All of us, we were diagnosed with brain cancer. My husband was the first; and died when I was close to full term . . ."

The male tilted his head ever so slightly to the side and his brow frowned, as he listened to her and watched her. Aydin hadn't asked her to disclose any of this to him. He hadn't even mentioned the letter when he had set it back beside her, but here she was, practically bearing her soul to him. It seemed like this sort of thing happened quite often. People always ended up telling him painful things about themselves when he had no intention of prying into their life. He guessed that it had always been like that, at least to a small degree. When he was younger, stupider and didn't hold the values that he held now people still would tell him things that he hadn't asked to hear. Maybe he should have become a psychologist rather than a biologist, he thought briefly, before again focusing his full attention on Qinna as he continued.

As her story went on, Aydin became more and more concerned, but he couldn't say anything. She wasn't finished and he knew nothing that he could possibly say that might lighten the burden then she bore. When she had finished her story, he still remained silent, unsure of what he should do. Then, she was gone. The young scientist blinked. Hadn't this sort of thing happened recently? He scratched the back of his head as his nose wrinkled slightly, before he quickly started out of the lab again, glancing up and down the hall, only to see that she had left the entire lab completely. Not like Riga, who had ended up getting lost and couldn't find her way out. Aydin started up the stairs and entered the mall. She was nowhere to be seen. He began thinking, wondering where she might possibly go. Qinna didn't have a home yet, she didn't know anyone, after all, she had just barely arrived on the planet.

Aydin began walking towards the Mall's exit at a considerably quick pace, his limp only slowing him down a little bit, as his mind raced through different locations that he might find her. Briefly, the thought of just leaving her be passed through his mind. Any smart person would listen to that thought. After all, she had just arrived and he had only just met her. It wasn't as if she was actually his responsibility outside of the lab. Aydin couldn't listen to that thought though. It wasn't in his nature to just abandon someone that he could possibly help--even if his first impression of them had been . . . not the greatest. When he exited the mall and looked up and down the street, it came to him. It was likely that she would try not think about her sorrows, and the easiest--and probably stupidest--way to do that was drink them away.

He stepped into the Rusty Spoon and glanced around, being unfamiliar with the place. Aydin spotted Qinna at the counter with a drink in front of her. His frown deepened slightly, although, he felt relieved at finding her. Aydin made his way towards her quietly, weaving through people that were blocking the way. He walked behind her and then slid onto a stool beside her. "Qinna," he started, his voice calm and as gentle as he could make it. Aydin paused, glancing at the drink she had in front of her. "That's not the way to deal with . . . " his sentence trailed off, and he averted his green eyes from her. "If you ever need anything, I'd be happy to help," he added, not sure what else he could say to her.

[Qinna Connolly]

The hand on her gave her a mild start; but, the minute he started talking, an angry chill ran up her spine. He knew next to nothing about her; how dare he try to tell her what she should and shouldn't do? Didn't the government tell him that was one thing he COULDN'T do? She let the glass clink a little too heavily on the counter as she rose from the stool, shaking his hand off her as she turned to face him. Boss or not, she wouldn't stand for someone telling her what to do - when they had no right.

"Aydin." she started, a cold indifference on her face, masking over the sorrow, which for the moment, was being held back. Formal names was for the office, anyways. "Why don't you order a glass of milk or something if you'd like to talk about shit you don't know anything about, huh? Then at least you won't look like a complete moron."

Qinna stepped past him, taking her glass along with her as she weaved through the tables, looking for somewhere he might not follow her. Seeing nothing that grabbed her, she slipped through the cloud of cigar smoke from the men at the table before her, and took a chair in the corner.

[Aydin Sage]

The frown on Aydin's lips deepened slightly as she set the glass back down, the bottom of the glass hitting the surface of the counter a little harder than he expected. Obviously, his words hadn't done anything to help, but had instead made things worse. He could have laughed at his own pitiful self, had he not been so disheartened by her reaction. Aydin loved helping people and did try to help people whenever he got the chance, but when it came to painful matters like this, it seemed he could only make things worse. His green eyes followed her as she stood up from the stool and faced him. He sighed inwardly, but pressed his lips tight together, almost as if he were bracing himself for what she had to say. He already knew by the look in her eyes that it wasn't going to be anything pleasant. She addressed him by his first name, not something that bothered him, rather, he preferred to be called by his first name, but the way she said it made a soft shudder ripple through him.

"Why don't you order a glass of milk or something if you'd like to talk about shit you don't know anything about, huh? then at least you won't look like a complete moron."

Nope. Not pleasant at all. Aydin watched as she walked passed him and went to find somewhere else to sit. The young scientist ran his fingers back into his hair with a heavy sigh as he continued to peer after her, not wanting to lose track of where she might be. He thought back briefly to what she had just said. It was true that he didn't know all that she had gone through, and there was no way that he could possibly understand how she felt. He already knew that! He just wanted to help in any way that he could. But what way could he really help? Maybe it was better that he just leave her alone. Perhaps if he pressed her even more things would only turn out worse. Aydin didn't plan on asking her any more questions about her past, he just wanted to . . . What did he want to do? He didn't know. He sat, wondering what he should do as his finger went to lightly rub his temples. He again, considered just leaving her alone, then acting like nothing had happened when he met her in the lab again. No. He couldn't do that. It just wasn't in Aydin's nature to abandon someone like that.

He took one last deep breath, building up his resolve, before he stood up from his still and started in the direction that he had watched Qinna head off in. He stopped and glanced around, trying to locate where she had gone after he lost sight of her. It took him a few seconds but he finally spotted her sitting at a table in the corner. Aydin took note of the other smoking men at the table as he proceeded towards her. At the strong stench of cigar smoke, Ayden wasn't able to stop himself from gagging. Luckily he was able to keep himself from throwing up. He couldn't stand the smell of smoke. Despite this he continued toward Qinna. When he stepped beside her chair, Aydin all of the sudden felt unexpectedly sheepish. He still had no idea what he was going to say. He decided to just start out with the most obvious thing.

"I'm sorry," he said as he crouched down beside her chair, so that he wasn't standing above her, but was closer to her same level, if not a little lower. "Its really none of my business, I'm just concerned." He glanced towards her drink and his brows knitted together. He knew she would probably regret drinking that later. He shook his head inwardly. How was he supposed to know that she would regret it? He didn't, but that didn't change the fact that drinking away her sorrows was not the way to deal with them and it was extremely unhealthy. "I'm not going to press you to talk about anything, but I'm going to ask again that you please not try to feel better by getting drunk. Its the worst way to deal with any problem," he said calmly, as he peered up at her. Aydin didn't much care if he looked like a 'moron', this was more important.

[Qinna Connolly]

Of course he was going to come with her; of course he was going to flog the dead horse. Of course he was going to wake the sleeping dog. How many other phrases could she use on this? With a slight added patience in her now, she set the glass down again, the contents more than almost completely gone. Not even a faint swallow was left. Of course, the alcohol hadn't hit her yet; it'd take a couple more drinks to strike her Irish blood.

Rising from her chair to stare down at him, a grim, less-than-caring expression washed over her cold one. She slowly crossed her arms, gazing down at his hunched over form - which, she observed, must have been quite painful for him.


"Why Aydin dear; who said anything about trying to deal with the problem? I'm trying to live through it."

[Aydin Sage]

Aydin, again, glanced towards the nearly drained glass of vodka as she placed it on the table. He returned his gaze to meet her own. Judging by her cold indifferent expression, his words continued to worsen the problem. Of course, that wasn't what Aydin had intended to do, but unfortunately that's all that his presence seemed to be doing. He wished that he could somehow come up with something to say that might offer comfort. He wished that he could convince her that drinking when she was upset brought nothing but more pain later on. He wished that he knew how to help her. Aydin wished a lot of things, but wishing didn't solve anything. Only smart action would have any chance of coming close to those wishes. He had to try and focus on the solution, not the problem.

She stood up and looked down at him. Her icy detached stare made a slight shiver crawl up his spine. Aydin decided that he would rather have her burning up with anger directed at him, than have her chilling indifferent glare baring down on him. Under that glare he felt a deep pang of hopeless anguish for her. It wasn't because he knew how she felt, but rather because he didn't know how to reach her. His efforts seemed futile. He wanted to just sit down and give up, in order to avoid feeling anymore remorse over not being able to help her. But he couldn't. He just couldn't abandon her, despite this having nothing to do with him, and despite Qinna's apparent distaste for his meddling.

"Why Aydin dear, who said anything about trying to deal with the problem? I'm trying to live through it."

Again he ran his fingers back through his dark hair, wondering how he could reach her, as his other hand went to rest on the table to aid him in standing up. He frowned inwardly at his left leg, which had started shaking slightly from the awkward crouch that he had been in. He absentmindedly stretched his leg out slightly, in hopes of relieving some of the pain that had developed in it. Aydin hadn't really been concerned about his leg, since his mind had been focused on Qinna. Now that he felt the ache in it throbbing painfully, more than usual, he knew that it was going to be sore for a couple days at least. Its what he deserved for pushing how much he could do with his leg and he could live with it. Aydin pushed concerns for his leg aside and focused again on the woman in front of him.

" . . . Live through it . . ." he repeated in a soft sigh, under his breath. He averted his green eyes to the floor and shook his head very slightly as he thought about her words. "But . ." he started, looking back up to her. "Don't you understand? You've already lived through it. You're alive." He glanced around to see if anyone was paying any attention to them. He wanted to talk to her somewhere else. Places like this were only trouble, but he supposed that he didn't have much of a choice. "Its still very painful right now, and probably always will be, but . ." he said, making sure his eyes were locked to her own, as if that might somehow help him reach her. Aydin still didn't think that getting drunk would help her any, in fact, he was sure that in the long run, it would only make things worse, but he decided to not ask her again to stop drinking, at least for a little while, seeing as so far, that hadn't helped one bit. "Isn't it easier not to suffer alone. You don't have to tell me, or anyone about what you're feeling. No one would understand anyway, but isn't it still better to have someone beside you, supporting you?" He released a soft sigh as he finally looked away.

Perhaps, it was different for other people. Perhaps there were some people who really didn't need anyone. Even though the young male scientist seemed secluded to most people, he had his brother, Robin, and although he didn't tell his brother all the problems in his life, it was still a comfort at difficult times to have his younger brother there, supporting him. Aydin had always believed that it was simply a human trait to need someone--anyone--beside them. And those that didn't have someone, turned to bars to drink their troubles away for the night, and in doing so, only bring more misery upon themselves. "Its always better to have a shoulder to cry on, or have someone who's willing to help you," he said, basically repeating what he had said before. "But if you push away anyone who wants to help and you don't let them support you, then they can't do anything . . . no matter how much they want to . ."

[Qinna Connolly]

That was it. That was the absolute last straw. He didn't get it; it was only a couple weeks ago, and he expected her to roll over and be miss perfect?! What a real jerk. He didn't want to help her; he wanted her to put down her drink so she can be miserable again! It wasn't like she was drinking one hundred proof. It wasn't like she was having 12 tequila. She'd had her baby torn from her, and he wanted her to just bounce up and be happy? She wanted to DIE, she wanted to KILL all those miserable bastards!

Qinna's hand raised up, and quickly jabbed open palmed at Aydin's cheek. The force probably was a bit much; but then again, she was angry. "Do you think I can just walk into your life and have you fix everything?!" she exclaimed, placing her hands on her hips. "It doesn't work like that! Not now, not ever! Don't try and fix me, I never asked you to FIX me!"

[Aydin Sage]

When she suddenly hit his face with the heal of her palm, Aydin wasn't surprised. She was upset, and despite his best efforts to get through to her, his words only angered her even more. It was only expected that she eventually reach the breaking point or violence. It was human nature, and took a great amount of control for even the most peaceful people once they reached that breaking point, to not resort to violence. Aydin was just glad that hitting him with her palm was all she did . . for now at least. It did more damage than a slap would have, but less then a kick. Aydin cast his eyes towards the floor as his own hand came up and lightly touched his now throbbing cheek. He had no doubt that a bruise would probably form. He sighed and let his hand fall to his side and his eyes return to her as she began yelling.

"Do you think I can just walk into your life and have you fix everything?!"

Her words probably hurt more than the strike, Aydin decided. "That's not what I--" he was cut off as she continued. Aydin's eyebrows knitted together and he bit down on the inside of his cheek as he listened to her. She didn't understand. She didn't understand at all. He wasn't trying to fix her. You fix toys, you fix robots, you fix errors in documents, but you don't fix people. Aydin had already told her that if she didn't want to, she didn't even have to talk about her loss or her pain, he just was trying to offer help, he wanted to stop her from making a mistake. . . But then, what right did he have to stop someone from doing something, even if that something would only be worse for the person in the end? What right did he have to tell someone what to do and what not to do? In doing that, wasn't he taking away their agency? . . . but, he wasn't forcing her not to drink, he was only pleading, was that still robbing her of her agency?

Aydin wasn't sure on that question. He felt like he was doing the right thing when he asked her to not drink, told her that it would only make things worse in the end, but maybe it wasn't. Either way, it seemed that his concern had come across as something else entirely, and he needed to fix that . . . or at least try. Aydin glanced around and noticed that her yelling had caught some people's attention, though, thanks to the loud roar of noise that normally rolled through the bar, it didn't seem too out of the ordinary. "Qinna," he said firmly. Aydin almost reached out and grabbed her shoulders, hoping that might make her listen a little bit more, but he stopped himself, knowing that she probably wouldn't appreciate the person that she was so displeased with right now touch her. He took a deep breath before continuing. "I'm not trying to fix you," he started, trying to keep his voice steady and calm, not that that seemed to really help much. "Even if I tried, I couldn't fix you, because you're not broken. There's nothing wrong that is to be fixed." Aydin wondered if he would ever be able to get it through to her that he was only trying to help. The way people mistook thing and how defensive they were was always so frustrating.

"I'm just--" he sighed, unsure of how to place his words. He had thought maybe he was about to say something like: "I just want to help you", but stopped himself, knowing that wouldn't come across well either. It made it sound like something really was wrong with her that she needed help with, when there wasn't. Qinna was just suffering from anguish, and because she had no one, she turned to alcohol. Aydin had to stop himself from trying to read what was going on inside Qinna, knowing that he could very well be wrong. His fingers tangled back into his hair as he tried to come up with something to say. This was all just so frustrating, almost hopeless. Finally, he just decided to offer help in something practical that he knew she needed help with. "Qinna, didn't you say that you needed some place to live until you got your own home?"

[Qinna Connolly]

(Errrrrrr....She DID slap him...)

"Not trying to fix me? NOT TRYING TO FIX ME? WELL, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING BY TRYING TO TAKE A SIMPLE DRINK AWAY, TELLING ME THAT'S NOT THE WAY TO SOLVE IT?!" she yelled, a notable crowd beginning to form around them. That in and of itself bugged her, never mind everything else that was happening. "Men are BORN to be fixers. It's science! They see problems and they fix. Women listen, men FIX. You're FIXING me and I don't want you to." she forcibly lowered her voice, as if to issue away the people around them. When that failed to work, she heaved a sigh, and snatched Aydin's hand, stalking away towards a bathroom with him in tow. The argument was far from over; she'd rather finish it in private.

Into the women's bathroom she dragged him, ignoring the poor woman whom was frightened out of her mind from the intrusion. Seeing the look on Qinna's face, she dashed out, just in time for Qinna to slam the door shut and lock it, perching herself on the sink. "What? NO I DON'T have anywhere to go! I'll sleep in the lab for - HEY don't you change the subject on me!"

Qinna leaped off the sink, heaving a large sigh. He WAS only trying to help, even if the Vodka wasn't an emotional patch like he thought it was. "Look." she continued, her voice calming. She couldn't really help flying off the handle sometimes; it was in her blood. "You're just trying to help. I get that. But, you're not helping at all. You can't apply your own principals and your own ideals to my problem and expect it to go down well, nevermind expecting it to work."

[Aydin Sage]

At Qinna's outburst of yelling, Aydin flinched slightly, grimacing. Even though the usual roar of a bar was quite over powering, her exclamations were drawing the attention of others in the bar. He was beginning to worry about what it might look like to all the rubberneckers. A woman so enraged with a man, obviously, it would look like he had done something terrible to her . . . maybe he was, by perusing her and persisting to help her. Maybe in her view of things, what he was doing was terrible. That wasn't the point, though. Aydin didn't want to be "escorted out" before he had a chance to make Qinna understand. After all, he was going to be working with her, or at least beside her, if she was going to do her own projects, for a while it seemed, and the atmosphere might prove quite awkward if all this wasn't solved now. When she started on about the "science" of men versus women, Aydin was nearly speechless. She really thought that? Of course, it always felt good to"fix" something, but she wasn't something. He had tried to tell her, but everything he said she interpreted a completely different way. He just didn't know what to do. Human nature and understanding people had always been somewhat difficult for Aydin, despite his love for helping them, women escaped his understanding even more than other men, and Qinna completely baffled him!

He stood silently, with his eyes to the floor thinking. Aydin was suddenly wrenched out of his thoughts at Qinna snatching his hand and hauling him off into the Lady's Restroom. His gaze darted around wide eyed and he quickly gave an apologetic look to the frightened woman before she scurried out. Aydin again flinched as she slammed the door shut, not at all liking how this was going. He had made such a mess of things. When she began about somewhere to stay and then caught herself, Aydin couldn't help but smile slightly. Of course the smile was out of amusement, but it wasn't a mocking smile and somehow still managed to retain a kind quality. He wanted to remind her that it got extremely cold in the lab at night, and he would have preferred it if she didn't sleep in there until she got somewhere to stay, but she was bound and determined to stay on topic.

Aydin's emerald eyes followed her as she hopped off the sink and then sighed. He then blinked at her sudden change in tone. It was much calmer, holding more of a forced toleration. Aydin wondered how long that toleration would last? When she continued it was his turn to let out a soft sigh. He really didn't think she understood what he had been trying to tell her, but he wasn't sure if she would ever understand. Most people never did. He wondered if maybe he was the person who didn't understand. If he was the only one who was mad in an insane world. But . . . what was so insane with trying to help as many people as you could? What was so mad about believing that its easier to get through problems with someone else's support? Could anyone really call that madness? He shook his head inwardly and ran his fingers back through his hair again, as he often did when frustrated, thinking, bewildered or hopeless.

He offered a small, sad smile, not sure what else he could possibly do. "I'm sorry," he said softly. "I just hate seeing people suffer alone. I-I'm sorry, I'm sorry for bothering you so much," Aydin heard his voice crack with his words slightly, though there was nothing he could do to help it. He really didn't want to leave her in this place, but saw no other choice. She had said it loud and clear. He wasn't helping at all. He was just making things worse. "Um," He started as he began to turn slightly towards the door. "It gets really cold in the lab at night. I think it would be better if you didn't sleep there. If you wanted, you could stay at my place--" he stopped himself and then shook his head slightly. "Sorry, you probably wouldn't want that. Here," he said as he dug into his pocket and fished out his wallet and pulled out one of two credit cards that he carried. He figured that only few people really used credit cards anymore, but he had decided to keep his. It was hard to offer financial help to someone if all the money was under your name and they had nothing tangible to pay with. Aydin picked up her hand and placed the card in it. "You can go to the inn for tonight if you want and return the card to me tomorrow," he finished, offering one last smile, before turning and exiting the bathroom, and slowly making his way towards the exit of the bar--slowly, being because of the limp in his leg, which had been aching more painfully since he had crouched down.

[Qinna Connolly]

Heaving another heavy sigh, which she seemed to be doing lately, she let her arm flop down at her side. She didn't want his money, his credits, or anything of the sort. All she wanted was to wither away alone, and finish what was left of her life without damaging anyone else. But that was impossible, wasn't it? Why did she have Love the Wonder Puppy for a lab boss? His insatiable need to fix her pain was as constant a buzz in her ear like the earth TV's used to have before they went 3-D.

Shaking her head softly, she stepped after him. The bar had probably closed in the last little while, because no one was left but the bartender. "Aydin..." she spoke, almost grateful that she didn't have to scream out to be heard. Qinna reached out, took his hand, and slipped the card back in his hand. "Look. If I can't get anywhere to stay on my own money, which is nothing right now, I'm not about to spend yours. I'll just stay in the ice box lab, or...or fine, I'll stay with you, whichever makes you feel better. But I'm not spending your money for you." Qinna's voice had taken on a mild note of tenderness; perhaps he'd broken a little piece off the great-wall-of-china that was Qinna's heart.

"Aydin." she spoke again, pulling a chair off the table - they'd obviously been put up for the janitor. "I know you mean well. I know you just want to stop what I'm feeling - but I lost my child. Just back up and think about that, Aydin. I lost my newborn baby girl. Go over that in your head.." Maybe now he would get it.

[Aydin Sage]

"Aydin...

The young scientist stopped turned slightly to face Qinna at hearing his name. He watched her approach and then return his card. The corners of his lips turned down slightly, forming a frown. He looked at the card in his hand for a moment, and then looked back up to Qinna. The frown remained on his lips as she explained that she was not about to spend his money. However unhappy he was that he had only made things worse and how Qinna wouldn't even let him financially help her, he did notice that the edges of her voice had softened quite a bit since just a short while before, and this did lift his spirits slightly. Maybe he had made a little progress with her . . . Maybe . . . But then again, maybe not. He wished that she would just accept some help, especially when it came to some place to stay. He wasn't against having her at his home, but he wasn't sure how comfortable she would be. Aydin lived with his brother in a one bedroom apartment. Two single beds were in the bedroom, then there was the living space combined with the kitchen, which had a couch and a computer desk. Aydin just hoped she would be fine in such a place with two men for the time being. However Robin, Aydins youngest brother, worked at night and went to the university in the day, so he was rarely home.

He was shaken out of his thoughts as she started speaking again. As she spoke he absentmindedly let his fingertips lightly draw circles on the table beside him as he watched her. As he suspected by what she said, she still didn't understand what he had been trying to do. Of course, he didn't expect her to forget her pain, to not miss her baby anymore. That was too much to expect from anyone. He didn't want to distract her from it, and he didn't want her to tell him about it unless she really wanted to, which was apparent that she didn't. All he had offered was to be there. There wasn't much more that he could possibly do, and Aydin knew that. He loved helping people, but usually he was a fairly good judge of the limits of what he could do, despite how much he wished to do more. He wondered if now that she was calmed down, she could understand what he had meant.

Aydin let a short pause of silence hang in the air before breathing out a sigh as he tried to decide how to say what he wanted to. "Qinna, I'm not trying to make you forget about your pain or stop what your feeling, as you believe. I'm really not, because I already know that I couldn't possibly do that," he said softly as he thoughtlessly reached out and grasped both of her hands in his own. "I already know that," he repeated quietly, half to himself. "My guess, is that you'll probably never be able to forget something so terrible and maybe its better that you don't. I only want to be there for you, not to help you get rid of what your feeling, but just . . . " Just . . what? He didn't know how to say it. There just weren't the right words to express what he wanted to be there for. He released another sigh, at a loss. " . . but just, to be there," he finished, still unsure if he had been able to convey what he meant. It was true that, in a way, he wanted to "save" her. Aydin was the type of person to want to "save" everyone, but he knew that he couldn't. He could only do little things, in hopes of maybe making a little difference, making things a little bit better.

He bit down on the inside of his cheek, unsure of how she would react. He glanced down, realizing he still held her hands and quickly released them. "Sorry," he murmured, somewhat self consciously. His mind then went back to a place for her to stay. "I would rather you stay at my apartment, then the lab." A slight small smile with only the very corners of his lips quirked up spread across his lips. "If I get to the lab in the morning and you're a frozen ice cube, you probably won't do a very good job, right?"

[Qinna Connolly]

Qinna sighed both at the corny joke and at his response; it seemed he wasn't getting it, either. They were both misunderstanding each other, it seemed. As aggravating as it was, they were both right - and both wrong, too. She knew he was only trying to help; she saw that now. But, he couldn't help her this quickly - it wasn't even a month ago.

"Aydin."she said again, lifting a hand to shush his lips with a singe finger. Knowing he wouldn't interrupt, she glances quickly over to check if the bartender was still not paying them any attention, she began to shuffle off her lab coat - she'd not had time to take it off yet. Letting it flop onto her chair behind her, she then pulled off her shirt. Her skin, clad only in her lace bra, was covered in browning bruises that looked suspiciously like police batons. They lined her side and back, tracing monuments to her pain. Her stomach, which looked flat from the front, was stretched from child birth, and held a few bruises as well. Upon the section of her hip around the 'love handle' area, one bruise looked different - it was dark, blackened, and looked like she'd been hit a few times with a tazer.

"It wasn't even a month ago, Aydin." she spoke. Her point wasn't that he was trying to change her; but that he was doing it too soon. "Your leg; if I'd've found you an hour after it happened, and told you to just get up, smile, and get over it - you'd've been very angry. My cuts are still fresh, Aydin. I appreciate what you're trying to do, but - I'm not ready to heal yet...."

Qinna bent over towards her chair, tugging herl ab coat back over her chest. "Just take me home...." came her defeated voice, "I've had enough escapism for one night."

[Aydin Sage]

(Sorry for the crappy post.))

His brow frowned as her finger came up to silence him. His frown deepened as she began to shrug off her coat. He wasn't sure what exactly she was doing, but he thought of stopping her. She didn't have to show him anything. He already understood. Even if she didn't think so, he already understood. He wasn't able to stop her, though, as she had already pulled off her shirt to show him. Aydin grimaced slightly at the disturbingly violent evidence of what had happened to her, but that was his only response. He didn't have anything to say that he hadn't already said. Aydin averted his eyes from her battered body, no longer wanting to look at what had been done to her. She was trying to prove a point by showing him her bruises, a point that she had already proven, and didn't need to prove again. He only wished that she would understand that he already knew what she was saying, and would then understand what he had been trying to say . . . but so far, even if she understood a little better than before, he hadn't been able to communicate what he was trying to do yet, despite all his effort. He sighed inwardly, deciding, that for that night, he wouldn't try any more, knowing that it would be pointless.

"It wasn't even a month ago, Aydin."

"I know," he answered solemnly. He wasn't trying to change how she felt or even help her forget her pain. He had tried to explain that, and yet she still thought he was doing . . something too soon, when all he was doing was offering to be there, not to change anything, or expect her to be happier. Aydin blinked, surprised, when she spoke again, this time about his leg, though. He quickly looked back to her, his green eyes focusing on her face, rather than her bruise littered torso. How did she know anything about his leg? Aydin had never mentioned it. The only thing that would have given it away was his slight limp, which most people didn't notice, or if they did, had no clue what had happened. For all anyone knew, he might have stubbed his toe or hurt his knee that day, that gave him the limp. He wondered if maybe she had gotten some sort of prior information about it before she came to work at the lab. He suspected that could be the case, although she hadn't even known how old he would be when she first arrived.

He shook his head slightly, banishing the thoughts as he returned his attention to what Qinna was saying. "Like I already said, Qinna," he started again. "I'm not trying to do any such thing. I don't expect you to smile so quickly, I don't even expect you to start healing so quickly. That's not what I'm trying to do. I already said that I know I could never be able to help heal you. That is not within my power. I only offered what I can give. I can be there, so that you aren't alone. Not to heal you, not to make you smile, but just to be there." He glanced away, sure that she probably still wouldn't understand, at least not that night after everything that had happened. He had repeated himself over and over again, and he didn't think that saying the same thing again would have any better effect.

As she spoke again, sounding rather defeated, Aydin released a soft sigh and then gave a small nod. "Alright." He started towards the exit to the bar, trying his best to hide the limp, as he decided that when he got home he would have to put some ice on his leg. "My younger brother lives with me, but he works at night, so things should be pretty calm. You can have my bed."

[Qinna Connolly]

"Alright..." she mumbled, tightening her arms around herself. She half felt exposed, and half felt cold. "Just...don't try and fix...I don't want that yet." Of course, she wasn't aware of it yet, but her meeting Aydin was no set of cards dealt by a bad dealer; he would be the one who healed her...But, she didn't know what yet - and neither did he.

"Shall we go home, or are we going back to the lab?..." Who knew what might develop, she thought. She knew they'd drive each other nuts, and she knew it might even come to blows; but maybe one of them would break and back down. Maybe that was best; maybe she should try and irritate him; that way she'd never get hurt again....