embarkation | i feel my soul waist deep and sinking

Entry tags:

@verse: altered states

i feel my soul waist deep and sinking

Who: Jo Martinez and Henry Morgan
Where: The Residences
When: TBD
Rating: PG
Summary: Jo washes up in the Hudson in an alternate New York City, and finds out Henry is there.

Henry was usually the type to wake up in the Hudson, and once the shock of nearly drowning in the disgusting water had worn off, she was relieved about two things - that she wasn't naked, and she wasn't dead.

On the other hand, her phone was wasted, her gun was flooded, and someone had slipped a strange smart phone in her pocket. Jo quickly found her relief turning into confusion, anger and a little bit of fear.

It didn't take long to find herself at the Residences, staring down at the instructions on her phone and back up at the building for a few moments. Her wet, filthy clothes clung to her body and the cold rush of the New York winter air was starting to get the best of her, so she finally pulled in a shuttering breath before pulling open the door and stepping into the lobby. The blast of warm air from the heater was a relief, but it didn't do much to stave off the chill that had seemed to seep clear down into her very bones.

"What the hell is going on here," she murmured to herself, clutching the smart phone in her hand and glancing around the lobby again. Jo could feel her heart thundering in her chest. There was something not right about any of this.

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Henry wasn't having a good week. In fact he had barely been able to function the whole week. On the outside he looked well put together and calm, but inside he was a mess. He was worried and upset. He wanted to vomit and scream or run away and cry. He wanted to go home. None of this was right. Slowly, he sipped his coffee, putting it down calmly. Yes, on the outside he looked like a perfectly composed man, neat and tidy.

There was right up until the moment that Jo walked into the entrance way. Henry stood up, knocking over the table and his coffee in the process. He raced over to her, not feeling the slight burn on his pants or the stain on his trousers. None of it mattered.

"Jo?" he said using her first name with a desperate air to it, "Jo? Is Abe with you? Are you alright? When did you get here?"

He took off his jacket and put it around her.

"You're freezing. We should get you inside and dry you off before your catch cold."

Of all of the people she hadn't expected but still wasn't quite surprised to see, it was Henry. Jo couldn't help the smile that crawled over her face when he came up to her, wrapping his coat around her trembling body. It didn't help much against the cold, but Jo found herself tugging at it anyway, eager to wrap herself in something familiar.

"Abe isn't with you?" she replied, her brown eyes widening into alarmed circles as she looked up at him. "Henry, please, for the love of God, tell me you know what the hell is going on."

"No, Abe isn't here," he said in hushed tones. He didn't trust anyone here. They all could be in on it. It was a conspiracy theory mindset, but he didn't want to trust and be wrong. It wasn't worth the risk.

He put his arm around her back and started leading her to the elevator.

"The antique shop wasn't there. No one as your precinct knows you or me. The Medical examiners office doesn't know me and no one I know works there. I know, I checked. Our names aren't in the phone books and no one has ever heard of anyone I know and that's a large address book to ignore," he said pushing the button and pushing her into the box they could be alone in.

Jo followed him obediently, still shivering even as she pulled the jacket around her body. The heavy weight of her exhaustion was starting to press her down and she slumped against the wall of the elevator, her round eyes still locked on Henry. He had been here longer than her, obviously, but she couldn't imagine how much longer. She had just seen him. They had been essentially inseparable since they started working together. Jo would have noticed he was missing.

"Henry." Jo's voice was solid and strong, somehow, and she stared at him. "Just tell me what is going on. Please."

The elevator jerked and they were on their way up. He wanted to comfort her, but there was nothing he could say. Nothing would ease her fear since they were likely well founded.

"For once, detective, there is nothing I can tell you that you don't already know about this place," he said as the door opened and he lead her out towards his apartments. He didn't bother worrying about how solicitous anyone would find that. He unlocked his door and rushed her inside to his private section before any of his roommates had a look at her. He closed his bedroom door than went the adjoining bathroom and motioned for her to follow.

"We need to get you cleaned up. I don't trust that water."

Jo barely had time to talk as she was whisked into a strange apartment and, worse, Henry's bedroom. She couldn't help but stop and looked around, her still-wide eyes roving around the room. She and Henry had been partners and friends for months now, but she had never spent time in his personal space. She examined the room, looking for knickknacks, photos, books... The kinds of things one would expect to find scattered around a bedroom. It was eerily bare.

"No." She stopped, holding his jacket tight around her shoulders as she stared at him. Jo's eyes were narrow, her body tense and trembling with cold and fear. "You tell me what's going on here first, Henry. Why was I in the river? What happened to me and... What is this place?"

Edited 2015-01-02 07:48 (UTC)

This wasn't really his room. He didn't live here, didn't belong and only had had the last week to sleep here.

"I don't know, Jo," he said again exasperated and on the verge of yelling, "I don't know what's going on, but I know we're not safe. Now, please undress and get in the shower. I don't trust the water not to have unfortunate properties."

He didn't know how he ended up with his second affliction, but if it had anything to do with the water, he ended her to dry off. It might even hurt her, but it was impossible to tell. He didn't trust any other reports of what had happened. Who knew who was working against them.

Jo stalled for a moment, giving him a guarded look when he demanded she take her clothes off. It took her a moment to remember that he was a doctor, and probably worried about the swim she just took and any injuries she might have acquired. She knew Henry; there wasn't any ulterior motive.

"I'm okay." She waved him off, but pulled off her jacket and dropping the sopping wet mess on the floor, showing him her bare arms. "See, fine. It's just some dirt and sewage, it's not going to kill me, Henry."

He hadn't meant in front of him. His head snapped quickly away when she started taking off her coat. He had feared she'd go further than that. His reaction was too sharp for his liking.

"You've gone through a dimensional rift, detective. I'm not worried about organic problems, but radiation and cosmic pollutants are more my issue."

"Seriously?"

The look on her face showed how less than amused she was. She stood up then, looking ridiculous with her hair sticking in every direction, make-up running down her face and sopping wet clothes, but she didn't care. "Seriously, Henry? I ask you a simple question about what is going on here and you have to play your games again. What is this, a joke? Are you making fun of me? I'm sick of it!" Jo had finally snapped, and she wagged her finger at him, her voice growing louder. "I'm sick of you hiding things from me. If you're not going to be straight with me, I'm outta here."

He groaned and stared her down as she started accusing him of things. He barely kept anything from her, besides his immortality and all that went with it. Alright so he might keep a few things form her.

"What do you want of me?" he asked exasperated and running his hand through his hair than spreading his arms wide, "I don't know what's going on. Clean up and I'll take you somewhere that will explain all of this. Unless you'd rather go the precinct looking like that."

That made Jo shut her mouth and she stared at him, finally taking a long, breath and nodding.

"You're right. I'm sorry. I just... had a moment." She knew Henry guarded a lot about his life - more than Jo thought was fair, most days, considering what he knew about her and how close their working relationship had become. But he had never lied to her, not really, anyway, and she trusted him. He was her partner. Through thick or thin, and this definitely counted as the thick.

"I'll clean up and you can take me to the precinct. Though..." She glanced down at her sopping wet body, huffing another small breath. "I think I need to borrow some clothes."

For the first time since she arrived he looked a little flustered. He gave her body a once over without trying to make it obvious. He guessed her measurements and then nodded his head awkwardly.

"Take a shower and I'll get you...something," he said motioning wildly towards her clothing, "I'll ask a neighbor."

He nodded his head and went to the door. He gave her a quick look to make sure she was still real than left without further explanation.

Jo had a frown plastered to her face as Henry slipped out the door, her arms wrapped around her body and she wondered briefly if he was going to come back. She shook her head quickly, banishing those thoughts from her head before she started to strip off her sopping clothes and moved to the bathroom.

The shower helped. The warm water invigorated her, and she scrubbed her skin until it was raw and pink, the suds building up around her bare feet and swirling down the drain along with the filthy water from the river she had found herself in. Once she stepped out, dried off and stole Henry's bathrobe, her head felt clearer and calmer. She came back out into the room, glancing around and waiting for Henry to return.

Henry found and pestered a woman downstairs until she was willing to give up some clothing. She had looked at him like he was an absolutely madman when he asked for woman's clothing in her size. After a simple explanation, that should have honestly come first, he was able to acquire what he needed. They might not fit perfectly, but they would work. He hadn't had the courage to ask her for underthings, but they could dry what she did have.

He opened the door with his back, the clothing folded neatly on his hands and held on his outstretched arms like a butler. He suddenly had the distinct and uncomfortable knowledge that Jo might very well be naked or in naught but a towel when he opened the door. He paused and took a deep breath before speaking.

"Detective," he said risking a look over his shoulder.

"I'm wearing a bathrobe, Henry. Don't have a cow."

Regardless of her teasing tone, she gave him a comforting smile before she reached out and took the clothes from him. She turned and slipped back into the bathroom, getting dressed quickly. The clothes didn't fit quite right, and Jo couldn't help but wonder briefly where the hell Henry had gotten them from, but she decided pretty quickly that she probably didn't want to know.

When she reemerged, she looked better. Her usually well groomed hair was wet and sticking to her forehead, but her eyes were brighter and her shoulders a little straighter. She came towards Henry, straightening the slightly tight shirt and staring him in the eye. "Okay. Now can you tell me what you know?"

Henry was absolutely caught trying not to look. He was glad his back was still turned so she couldn't see his childish blush. He chided himself for being two hundred years old and still panicking at seeing a little skin. Honestly he hadn't had that reaction in ages. He was a doctor for god's sake.

He was turned and standing by the door still when she opened the door. He grinned at her and nodded as calmly as he could.

"I woke up in the river a week ago. I was greeted by a few residents who have been here for quite some time. They told me some unbelievable facts I could only understand by seeing it for myself. So, if you'll please," he said opening the door and motioning for her to leave, "Let me do the same for you."

Jo moved her gaze to the door warily, sweeping back over to Henry and narrowing her eyes a bit. The truth was, she trusted his word, and he could have simply explained it to her. The fact that he felt the need to show her made her gut heavy with trepidation and she moved forward slowly, suddenly not particularly eager for the answers that she sought.

"Okay," she agreed, finally moving past him out the door and glancing down the hall. This was finally her chance to get a good look at her surroundings, although they didn't really answer any of the questions swirling around in her head. She found herself glancing back to make sure Henry was following, unable to shake the worry of not having him nearby to help her shed some light on this terrifying situation. "You've been here for a week?"

"Yes, but you may not have noticed that. You may have thought I was with you the last week. That is not uncommon," he said leading her down the walkway and towards the elevator again. He got in one once she did as well he hit the button.

"Tell me, detective, where you ever a fan of science fiction?" he asked hoping that was true since it'd make explaining all this easier.

"Henry, I haven't seen you in two weeks. After..." She paused, not sure if she wanted to broach the subject of him having killed someone so quickly, but it couldn't exactly be avoided. "After what happened at the store I haven't even been able to get a hold of you."

Her tone wasn't injured - she understood exactly what he was going through. But he had taken an undetermined amount of time off from work to cope with it, whereas she had launched herself back into her work to avoid having to address her own issues. Her life had changed dramatically over the last year, but she had to admit having Henry around made it all that much easier to deal with.

"And, uh, I guess? As much as the next guy." She didn't exactly consider herself a fan, but she wasn't oblivious to the genre, either. "Why?"

He resisted the urge to turn and look at her shocked. He had seen her since, for a job and that had been particularly eventful, but he couldn't let her see the surprise on his face. He couldn't worry her further.

"Do you understand the concept of multiple dimensions? If you've heard Michael Crichton's Timeline? It'd be the easiest way to explain this," Henry said as they walked onto the New York streets and towards the precinct.

Jo continued to follow him, keeping her pace abreast with his as they moved down the street. The bustling roads of New York City looked familiar enough, and Jo knew they were in the Battery. There were some things that were strange, though; a street name here that seemed off, a shop there that didn't look familiar. But New York was a thriving, living city, and what Henry was implying didn't fully sink in even as they made their way down the sidewalks.

"Marginally. I'm not sure I feel great about were this is going," she admitted.

Henry could have taken her to the city block where the antique shop should have been, but he didn't have it in him. He couldn't imagine a world where Abe had never been. It didn't cross his mind as something he could accept.

"I don't either and I've been living this nightmare for a week on my own," he said as they approached the precinct in which Jo worked and opened the door. He let her go in to find what she may.

Something was amiss the moment Jo walked in. The air felt different. Usually when she swept into the precinct, she felt comfortable and collected, as if she was walking into her own apartment. But there was something not right about this experience. The looks she received from uniforms were abnormal - confused, if not bordering on hostile. She didn't recognize the receptionist at the desk, or the three detectives gathered in a corner, their voices lowering as she passed. Her heart seized in her chest and Jo looked around, her teeth clenching.

"No one knows who I am," she whispered, as the realization sank in.

He knew what she would feel. It was the same he'd felt when he'd walked into the medical examiners office. It was an emptiness where a home should be. He hated to see her go through it, but it was important for her to fully understand.

"I know," he said putting his hand on her lower back and pushing her back towards the door, "I know."

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