#enoughwastedtime

It was their fifth day in the bed and breakfast, and this was only the first time Jake had stumbled back bloodied and bruised – a remarkable achievement. They usually found trouble more quickly than that. He and Mickey still hadn’t managed to track down the Cybus Industries factory, but they had run into trouble with some rather shady folks who had been rather insistent on not letting them find the factory. All par for the course, he supposed; they’d had similar incidents in other cities, and he was almost used to it by now.

As he heard the door open, however, he realized that the B&B’s other guests probably weren’t used to seeing a young man with ripped clothing and a quite remarkable variety of cuts and bruises standing in the kitchen and making a cup of tea. (He’d get the first aid kit out in a few minutes, but he reckoned that he needed a cuppa first – he was knackered.)

So, in his best attempt to be friendly, he turned around and gave a smile to the woman who walked through the door.

♞: Caring for each other while ill

"BEEEEEEEEETH."

The miserable groan from outside was followed by a thunk as Raphael hit his head against the door to her room. He had a blanket around his shoulders that trailed to the floor, and he cradled a box of tissues and a packet of crackers in his hands.

"Beth," he whined again, sliding to the floor and closing his eyes. His legs weren't exactly working properly anymore, and he was fairly certain that he had a fever. If only his phone's battery hadn't died. Then he could have just texted her.

"Beth?"

He knelt down beside her, giving a gentle, comforting smile.

"It's me - Raphael? I'm your friend, we study together all the time. Give it a minute, I'm sure it'll come back. That was a pretty nasty blow to the head you got there, no wonder you're feeling confused."

Raphael looked up from the table he'd been working and glared at her, instinctively pulling his notebook closer to himself.

"Beth, I've been working on this Abnormal Psych paper for almost a week now. It's due in two days. To shred it would be a crime against humanity."

However, he did sigh, rubbing his eyes.

A grin spread across Raphael’s face, and he leaned back against the wall, raising an eyebrow.