[Closed] For Claire

[digging]

WHO: Karen Page
WHERE: House 3
WHEN: 2 August
OPEN TO: Claire Temple
WARNINGS: n/a

---

It feels to Karen like the whole village is exhausted in a way that sleep really just can't cure. Not that many of them have the option of simply laying in bed all day long regardless, too much to do just to keep all of them alive. For weeks, Karen's felt like she was plodding along, treading water; the last few days are just the salt in the wound. She doesn't really know what she's doing with herself anymore, going through the motions of cleaning up after — After the earthquake, after the monster attack, after... well.

There's still limbs downed all over the village, and Karen's just finished carrying in the latest bundle of sticks she's broken down to supplement their firewood. She probably needs a shower, but settles for washing her hands in the kitchen sink instead, and puts on the kettle.

"Claire?" she calls out into the house. "Do you want tea?"

Comments

[theluckygirl]

Claire especially has felt that exhaustion in so many ways it seems hard to fathom that one person can go through so much, physically and mentally, in such a short amount of time. Between the mysterious illness that she discovered had something to do with the scrub and device colour she wore and getting hit by lightning before dealing with the earthquake and wendigo attack, it was definitely a lot for one person.

But when she appears at the entrance between the kitchen and dining room, the nurse looks annoyingly refreshed while holding a bottle of whiskey.

"I was thinking we could use something a little stronger," she replies, dangling it enticingly. "Or if you need the caffeine boost, we can do both."

It was definitely a suggestion to have a girls night in.

[digging]

Karen falters, standing over the kitchen table with a couple of tea cups in hand. "Sure," she finally allows, and makes an effort to smile, although the result is wan. "I could take a little." And it'll help her sleep, right? It'll definitely work better than chamomile.

"You're in a good mood," she adds as she steps over to the stove to silence the whistling kettle. She can make the tea anyway, give herself an excuse to cut the booze so she doesn't end up sloshed and weeping on the floor.

[theluckygirl]

It wasn't her plan to get drunk either, but over the course of the last month, she's come to notice something in her friend that is concerning. Claire wants to be there for her because neither have had a lot of time to talk recently.

Claire smiles knowingly at Karen's observation and bounces her head back and forth. Really, it was as good as saying it aloud.

"Uhm, pretty okay, yeah." she said, playing coy.

[digging]

"Okay, then," Karen says with a soft laugh, probably acknowledgment enough. She's glad Claire's got something, somebody, making her happy. She deserves it.

Karen fills the tea pot with water and carries it over to the table to steep. "Does he have a name, this good mood?" she asks, pulling out a chair to sit.

[theluckygirl]

Somehow, Claire is waiting for that question and she can't help the laugh that follows it before she lowers into the chair across from Karen. And after a moment of dramatic pause, she says his name.

"Vasquez." she finally answers, wondering if Karen had met him yet. He was still fairly new, after all.

[digging]

Karen, in fact, has not met him. But she does makes a point to keep up with these things — Who comes, who goes, and nary a clue to why between them.

"Very nice," she replies with an approving nod. "You must have clicked, he hasn't been here that long."

[theluckygirl]

"No, he hasn't and I don't know if it's so much a matter of us clicking as he knew me from the last world he was in that wasn't his own." Claire told her as she reaches for the whiskey bottle. "He's..."

Thinking how best to describe the Mexican, she pours a couple fingers into the bottom of her tea cup before silently offering to do the same for her.

"He's smooth. Definitely not the guy you'd consider marrying but he's fun."

[digging]

"Who needs to be married?" Karen asks with a soft laugh as she holds her cup out. "Especially in a place like this?" Finnick and Annie seem to be doing alright, but to Karen's mind, it's just asking for trouble.

"Fun is good. Fun is enough— More than enough, really," she adds, taking a slow sip. "We don't have enough fun around here."

[theluckygirl]

Claire nods in agreement at that, but it's her last comment that grabs her as she puts the same amount in Karen's cup. Sure, it's a pretty generic statement but there's a certain undertone to it that catches her attention immediately.

"Fun is good and yes, there's a depressing lack of it here." she replies, setting the bottle back down. "So when's the last time you had any?"

And it didn't have to be of the sexual variety either.

[digging]

Karen huffs out a startled little laugh at that; Claire might not have specified, but the implication is clear enough. She's not asking the last time Karen rode the Ferris Wheel at Coney Island, unless that's some kind of metaphor.

"Ah, well..." She falters, trying to remember, which is its own answer. "A really, really, painfully long time, actually. Since before Matt. Well before Matt."

[theluckygirl]

It was definitely an either-or question, but Claire was hoping to hear an answer that leaned more towards 'sooner rather than later' than 'the forecast is bleak'.

And when the latter is confirmed, Claire squints in confusion.

"Not going to lie, that actually surprises me. I mean look at you, you're gorgeous. Is that because life is too busy or.."

It's left open-ended most because she doesn't want to assume.

[digging]

"Well, busy is part of it," Karen replies with a tilt of her head, considering the question as she stares down into her cup. "Busy is honestly probably a lot of it. Or was, back home. My last two jobs also involved me spending most of my time with people who weren't exactly dating material. And before that, the one time I tried to go out for drinks with a friend from work, someone tried to kill me and frame me for murder. That's actually how I met Matt and Foggy."

It makes sense, and the case is laid out so neatly — Logically, she has more than enough reasons to not be actively dating. She's a career woman, she gets swept up in vigilante drama far too often — Claire has to know how that feels. But is that all really why? At this point, she doesn't even honestly know. The last man she met back home that she was even attracted to was in charge of the company who then failed to keep her safe, and how is that not a deal-breaker?

She takes a slow sip. "And I mean," she continues, licking at her lips, "in some ways the bar is really low, but in others it's really high. Matt and Frank are tough acts to follow." A smile flickers across her lips as she glances up. "But thank you for the compliment."

[theluckygirl]

It does make sense and, Claire can't the slight look of exasperation while agreeing She's spent far more time than she cared to admit working in the ER at Metro, often spending more time there than she did at home. But then Matt came into her life and it became all about fixing broken superheroes.

Claire swallows back another mouthful and looks at Karen for a long second.

"If Matt only knew he was a tough act to follow," Claire huffed out, staring at the contents in her cup before looking up. That man...

After another pause, she has to ask. "Does Frank know how you feel about him?"

[digging]

Karen startles, nearly slops the liquid out of her cup. "What— No," she quickly replies, and then huffs out a strained laugh. "That's not— I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that he's very protective, that's all."

And whatever she might have felt, whatever she might still have buried deep down in her heart, she's always known that what they have is all they can have. Even in a place like this, Frank is always going to be chasing his demons, and Matt taught her that lesson the hard way.