ic contact; MoM

[coppelganger]

Hey, it's Sarah. Leave a message.

Comments

[coppelganger]

[ Still smiling, she looks down at their hands. ]

Me too. You, uh... took the news better than I thought you would.

[puppydoctor]

I guess I was imagining something worse.

[SHALL WE COUNT THE WAYS.]

Like, I still want to talk about it. I want to understand more. But for now... I just needed to know this first.

[coppelganger]

You're gonna have to be patient sometimes. The whole... not dating arseholes thing, it's still new to me, yeah?

[ And actually, it's fucking terrifying. ]

[puppydoctor]

Hey, I get it. No worries.

[At least, no worries that he's currently aware of and anticipating. He knows she's scared, and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't concerned about how this is going to go. But he knows how he feels.]

We just need to talk about things. And not run away to De Chima to get drunk and feed the homeless.

[coppelganger]

Is that where you went? I was wondering.

[ She had a lot of time to think over Christmas, okay, especially after she called him and learned that he was out of town probably just to avoid running into her. ]

[puppydoctor]

[His eyes dart away from her, and his smile falters just a little.]

Yeah. I, uh, wasn't super excited about being alone. It was nice, though. We saved some puppies.

[coppelganger]

Cute.

[ And not to get super depressing, but she does feel like she ought to let him know this sooner rather than later. ]

Helena got Ported out. I found out a couple days before Christmas.

[puppydoctor]

[Oooooh shit, and now he feels awful.]

Oh my god, Sarah... ["You should have told me", he almost says, but he doesn't want to seem critical. He knows why she didn't.] I wish I'd known. I'm so sorry, that sucks.

[coppelganger]

It's alright. Shit happens, yeah? She didn't even remember most of what we've been through. It's probably better...

[ She takes a sip of her drink, even though the ice has mostly melted, just to have something to do. ]

She really is my twin, you know. That wasn't a lie. She's left-handed, I'm right-handed. Like a mirror.

[puppydoctor]

[He threads his fingers through hers, listening aptly.]

You're allowed to be sad and miss her, okay? You don't have to rationalize it. I only met her a couple of times, but I know you care about her, and I'd be pretty gutted if I was in your position.

[Of course, putting himself in her shoes just makes him think of Ronny and Jerry, and he tries to imagine what Sarah would even think about them. They'd probably drive her crazy in under an hour.]

[coppelganger]

Yeah. I guess I thought if we were both stuck here we'd have a chance to get to know each other better.

[ Since they haven't exactly had much of a chance to do that at home. ]

[puppydoctor]

Well, one day you're gonna get out of here, and you'll see her again. Hope, remember?

[Except, there are a lot of implications there that he either doesn't know about or doesn't want to consider. But they can talk about those later, right? Right?

He pushes back in his chair a little, and gestures into the living room.]

Couch?

[coppelganger]

Yeah.

[ She gets to her feet, still holding his hand. ]

[puppydoctor]

[He lets go of her hand only so he can slide it around her waist, and as soon as they get to the couch he pulls her down close beside him.]

I'm so glad I spilled my beer.

[coppelganger]

[ She sinks down onto the couch, leaning up against him and resting her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. ]

Oh yeah? Even though you ruined those scrubs?

[puppydoctor]

I like you a little more than I liked those scrubs.

[He presses a kiss against the top of her head.]

[coppelganger]

Good.

[ She closes her eyes for a minute, just breathing and listening to George's heart. ]

I missed you.

[puppydoctor]

I missed you too.

[He can feel his heart thudding where her head rests - that heart that should have stopped beating before he ever met Sarah. Somewhere in another universe he's buried six feet under, but here he is living, across the stars. And of course there are nights when he wonders if this is just a dream, just some endless hallucination that comes after death. But he doesn't think he could make her up.]

[coppelganger]

[ She pulls one of his hands into her own, stroking his fingers lightly. This is nice. No worrying about getting called away to deal with something dangerous, no worrying that George's mood is going to shift, no worrying about how to explain this whole thing to Kira, just... relaxing. With her boyfriend. ]

You wanna stay here tonight?

[puppydoctor]

Yeah, of course.

[And feeling like he has permission now, he moves his free hand to gently tilt her head up from his chest. Still smiling, he leans down to finally kiss her.]

[coppelganger]

[ She kisses him back, shifting closer and making a pleased humming sound in her throat. ]

[puppydoctor]

[Sliding his hands down to her waist, he slides and hoists her up onto his lap. There isn't any urgency to his motions, though. He just wants to hold her close, to be gentle and warm with her, to show her how much he cares. This is where his nerves slip away, and all he can think about is making Sarah feel safe and happy. That's all he wants.]

[coppelganger]

[ And she's happy to sit on his lap and kiss him, slowly and deeply... for a while. Then she breaks apart and leans back, catching her breath. ]

Bedroom?

[puppydoctor]

God, yeah.

[He adjusts their positions until he can scoop her up bridal style, still smiling like a kid on Christmas. Yep, he's still a sap.]

[coppelganger]

Very romantic.

[ But she'll allow it this time. ]