Pametta Pollovic, nee Doyle, jumps from Bethida's coach and runs into the Sime Center. She's ~~ worried ~~ about her husband, but is also ~~ enjoying ~~ herself immensely.
Pametta always loved stories about Adventures, and now she's living one!
Gerrhonot is in the lobby, drinking trin, trying to stay awake. He had a very long day looking after Seruffin at the wedding reception, then all the excitement with Senator Pollovic and the almost-berserker.
Pametta walks through the front doors in a ~~ determined ~~ fashion.
Gerrhonot: Oh, hi Pametta. Uh, Mrs. Pollovic.
Pametta smiles.
Pametta: It's going to take a while for me to get used to being "Mrs. Pollovic"
Gerrhonot smiles back.
Gerrhonot: Yeah, I guess.
Pametta: Is my husband here? Is he all right?
Gerrhonot: Um. He got a little banged up -- he fell off the horse. But Hajene Seruffin worked on him and he'll be okay.
Pametta: Good. Did the boy survive?
Gerrhonot: Yes, but it was really close. Senator Pollovic took an awful chance -- a few more seconds and the boy would have killed him.
Gerrhonot keeps a professional calm, but even he can see that a Sime killing a Senator on the grounds of a Sime Center would be a political disaster.
Pametta frowns.
Pametta: He said there was plenty of time.
Pametta is under the illusion that her new husband knows what he's doing around Simes.
Gerrhonot: Um. Well, I don't think he's an expert on that. It could have been a real disaster. Hajene Seruffin practically pulled the boy off the Senator.
Pametta: But it all worked out all right?
Gerrhonot: Yeah. I guess so. The boy's okay, he's sleeping now. The Senator didn't get killed or even burned.
Pametta: Good.
Pametta is ~~ relieved ~~.
Gerrhonot doesn't think Pametta understands just how far from good it almost was. He'll tell Seruffin, who can explain it better.
Pametta: So can I see him?
Gerrhonot: Sure. He's just down the hall here.
Gerrhonot leads the way down the hall to the treatment rooms.
Pametta follows ~~ anxiously ~~.
Pollovic, who has lived far too many Adventures of late, is napping in a ~~ fog ~~ of painkillers. He opens one eye at the sound of approaching voices.
Gerrhonot stops at a partly open door.
Gerrhonot: Um. Senator, your wife is here.
Pollovic: (weakly) Pam... etta??
Pametta sweeps into the room in a disgustingly healthy manner, her wedding dress somewhat the worse for wear.
Pametta: Brenn! I"m glad you're all right.
Pametta reaches out to hug him -- they are married now, right?
Pollovic gasps. ~~ pain ~~
Pametta: Oh! I'm sorry. Where are you hurt?
Pollovic: Ribs, mostly.
Pametta: I thought berserkers went for the arms?
Pollovic isn't really up to complete sentences.
Pollovic: Horse. Threw.
Pollovic manages to focus both eyes on his bride.
Pametta: The horse threw you?
Pollovic: Yeah. You... O...kay?
Pollovic discovers that talking and trying to sit up don't mix well.
Pametta: I'm fine. I flagged down a passing coach and got a ride. I brought along that man whose horse we appropriated, too. He should be all right, but it might be better if one of the channels took a look at him, just in case.
Pollovic: Yeah. Owe him. ~~ worry ~~
Pollovic lets his head flop back down.
Pametta: I left him in the coach. He was a little reluctant to come inside.
Pollovic: Dunno... what. Happened. To horse.
Pametta: You fell off, Gerrhonot said. It ran off?
Pollovic turns his head slightly to look at Gerrhonot.
Pollovic: D'you... Know?
Pollovic has been called many things: idiot, Sime-kisser, headline-stealer. But never before horse-thief.
Gerrhonot: I don't know. It was scared. Maybe it ran home?
Gerrhonot knows that horses are pretty good at finding their way home .
Pollovic: Gotta... find out. Repay. Got name? Ad... dress?
Pollovic looks back to his bride.
Pametta: His name is Ressell, and he's outside in the coach.
Pollovic: Must... see. Him.
Pollovic struggles to sit up. ~~ pain ~~
Pollovic: Must.
Pametta: Stop that, Brenn.
Pametta helps her husband to sit up.
Pollovic swings his foot down, making the trailing dog-chain clank.
Pametta: Brenn, you should rest. I can handle Ressell. That's what a wife does, right?
Pollovic is sweating, and struggling not to show how much it hurt to sit up.
Pollovic: 'kay. Tell him... sorry.
Pametta: I will. I'm sure he'll understand.
Pollovic looks at his new wife from right way up and smiles.
Pametta: And I'll assure him that we'll replace the horse if it is lost or injured.
Pollovic: My. Wond...'ful... wife.
Pollovic leans forward as if to kiss her, and almost does a headfirst dive off the treatment table.
Pametta grabs him, trying not to hurt the ribs.
Pametta: Careful!
Pollovic: Sorry.
Pollovic is very ~~ dizzy ~~ .
Pametta: Just sit still for a moment.
Pollovic concentrates on just breathing. But not too deeply.
Pametta: Are you all right, Brenn? Should we call somebody?
Pollovic: 'M o...kay.
Pollovic shakes his head, making it spin. He sways.
Pametta: No, you are not.
Pollovic concedes reluctantly.
Pollovic: Down.
Pametta helps him to lie back down.
Pollovic pulls his leg back up onto the bed with another loud clank. He just breathes for a bit. Slowly, his head clears. He tries for a complete sentence.
Pollovic: Some wedding night.
Pametta smiles with all the charm of youth.
Pametta: You know, Brenn, while it might not be what we'd planned, I wouldn't change it for the world. Saving that young boy's life...well, how many girls have a genuine hero for a husband?
Pollovic makes a face.
Pollovic: Genuine idiot. Risked you.
Pollovic raises a hand to trail it across the delicate fabric of Pametta's ruined sleeve.
Pollovic: Should never... have risked you.
Pametta: You didn't risk me. You were the one in danger.
Pollovic: Brought you along.
Pametta: Do you honestly think you could have stopped me?
Pollovic: Should've tried. Didn't... even try.
Pollovic starts to take a deep breath, but quickly changes his mind.
Pametta: That shows you have a realistic approach to life.
Pametta leans down to kiss him.
Pollovic responds enthusiastically, clumsily, but still with some evidence of skill.
Pametta pauses and straightens after a moment.
Pametta: Should you be doing this?
Pollovic: Def...nitely.
Pollovic manages a smile.
Pollovic: Jus'... try'n... stop me.
Pametta grins, and leans back over.
Pollovic loses himself in happy sensation for a few minutes.
Pollovic: Mmmmm.
Pollovic raises a hand to comb his fingers through what's left of Pametta's elaborate hairdo.
Pametta shakes her head ~~ impatiently ~~, scattering pins around the room.
Pollovic: Honeymoon. Trip. Have to... postpone. But...
Pametta: A honeymoon is what you make of it, right?
Pametta has somehow lost interest in spending her honeymoon reading books.
Pollovic manages a smile that ignores the pain and the brainfog.
Pollovic: You. Us. That's the... 'mportant part. Th' rest...
Pollovic lets his eyes drift closed.
Pollovic: 'll still happen. Later.
Pametta: Yes.
Pametta settles down on a chair next to the bed, holding her husband's hand.
Pollovic's smile gradually goes slack, and his breathing slows into sleep.