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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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."

She didn't fight him when he moved her towards the door again, barely even registering his hand on her back, guiding her back out into the cold New York air. Her head was still swimming with horror and confusion as she tried to fight her way out, and she wasn't sure if it was minutes or hours before she could finally speak again.

"How could this happen?" she finally asked, looking at Henry for answers she knew he didn't have.

He walked with her down the familiar streets of New York. It looked so much like home, but it wasn't. A few shops were different here and there and one in particular wasn't there. He was avoiding those streets very much on purpose.

"I could explain multi dimension theory all day and it won't help. Let's just say someone with too much technology has taken us from home and given us to a world that is not ours."

Jo followed him in a haze. Her mind was reeling. Here she was, passing by familiar shops and streets, watching taxis coast by, the sounds of New York that she had memorized lulling her deeper into her hopeless confusion.

"That's not possible, Henry," she argued, but her voice was weak and unsure, so different from how she usually spoke. "Even... Even if that's true, there has to be a way for us to get home."

He kept an arm around her, kept her close and tried his best to comfort her. He didn't know what he could say. He didn't have the answers that she wanted. He didn't know anyone that did.

"There should be less, but I've only been here a week. I don't have all the answers and honestly the longer I'm here the more questions I have. I'm so sorry, Jo. There is no reason for you to be here."

"If you're here, that's reason enough," Jo argued. He was her partner, and the fact that he was in trouble, trapped here all alone, with no help and no one to get him out deeply bothered her. Granted, to her, she hadn't known any different, but it still felt like a betrayal to someone who had become a really important part of her life.

"You're the smartest guy I know, Henry. If you can't find a way out of here, I'm not convinced I can, either."

Her worry touched him, but it was misplaced. He could handle this situation and in an obtuse way he was always safe. He had no worry for his own life, but no he had to worry for Jo's. It did give him a great sense of purpose though, a drive he hadn't had before.

"No pressure than," he teased having already put similar pressure on himself. He had to get her out of here.

"No pressure," Jo teased. She felt tense and afraid, but even she had to admit there was something comforting about Henry being there. She wasn't sure if it was just the relief of not being alone or Henry himself, but either way, it felt like a large weight lifted off of her shoulders.

"So, what's going on? Where are you staying? Is the antique shop still here?"

Henry needed Jo to be here to give him the drive and the hope that things could and would change. She'd already opened up his world back home, surely she could do the same here.

"There are apartments they allow us. You saw mine earlier and we'll have to look for your room assignment on the board. Don't ask me how I know, but it'll be there," he said purposely ignoring the question about the shop. He couldn't bring himself to think of that empty building on that street corner. Upon finding it he'd spent some time making very manly tears.

"That means whoever gives us these apartments is who is taking us," Jo stated. "That's the only way they would know our names."

She was thinking aloud; musing on the information she had and giving Henry the opportunity to elaborate or correct her. She still felt confused, but he was grounding her, and she was thankful for that.

"I want to go to my house and see if it is still there."

She had come to the same conclusion he had. He wasn't surprised by that in the least. She was bright. It was her job to connect things. He wondered what she'd do when the fact she was no longer a detective set in.

At her request he was instantly brought back to the moment when he found Abe's shop completely abandoned and different. It solidified everything in a way that nothing else had. It had been ages since he'd wept, but the thought of not having his son drew long forgotten tears to his eyes.

"No," he said firmly putting an arm around her, "We should get you to your apartments. Settle you and then perhaps go buy you some proper, dry, clothing."

"Why not? Henry, I just want to see if it's still there."

That was her home. It was the house she had shared with her husband, where she had spent the last year and some change spending the nights missing him. Somehow, not being able to go home made this all the more frightening and real, and she shied a little from his embrace.

"Where did you get these clothes anyway?"

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