Dr. Valini Morse (valini_morse) wrote in marvel_nextgen,
@ 2013-10-12 21:36:00

Entry tags:

Therapy with guerrilla tactics
Val walked through the hallway with the white "Thank You! Have a Nice Day!" bag swinging by her side, savory and tempting smells trailing behind it. She didn't mind fighting dirty when she needed to get her way, she had to crack a very tough shell before even getting to the hard part. Reaching the door marked "Hoskins, J", she settled herself and knocked on the door. Everyone knew where he was, seeing as he refused to go to anywhere else since the service.

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	battle_shield 2013-10-13 01:27 am UTC (link)
	Josh had become more driven since Nikki's death. Any strides he'd made in socialization declined as he focused more on work and being a better agent. His obsession remained discovering just who had been responsible for bringing the carrier down. He looked up when he head the knock. "Who is it!?" he called. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	valini_morse 2013-10-13 01:46 am UTC (link)
	She squinted at the door incredulously and then carried on. "It's Valini," she called through the door. "I ordered out for lunch today, Wendy's. Sadly they messed up my order, but comped me the mistake as an apology." She rustled the bag lightly, to make it believable. "It's a Baconator, I think. Could you be interested?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	battle_shield 2013-10-13 01:48 am UTC (link)
	His eyes narrow as she relays the message. "Are you attempting to bribe me, Dr. Morse? (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	valini_morse 2013-10-13 01:57 am UTC (link)
	"We have bylaws against that kind of thing," she pointed out, guilelessly. "I can't eat it later, the cheese will be cold and gross." Well, grosser. Gutbomb burgers were not a favorite of hers. "It'll be a waste." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	battle_shield 2013-10-13 02:00 am UTC (link)
	Josh looked at the door thoughtfully. On one hand he highly suspected this was a trap, like being tricked into inviting a vampire into your home. On the other hand, she had food..and he was hungry... "Okay, come in." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	valini_morse 2013-10-13 02:11 am UTC (link)
	She opened the door and stepped in. Stale air was the first clue to the shut in status, as well as low lighting to drown out anything beyond his focus. Smiling, she plopped the bag on his desk and took a chair to sort through it. "Here. Apparently the cashier's notorious for mumbling orders." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	battle_shield 2013-10-13 02:14 am UTC (link)
	He eyes the food, his stomach rumbling a little, but that didn't completely stop him from being practical. "This wouldn't have anything to d with ignoring your formal requests for a therapy session, would it?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	valini_morse 2013-10-13 02:28 am UTC (link)
	"This has to do with it's lunchtime," she insisted and dumped the chili onto the lettuce. "And if it did, are you seriously going to vault over me to reach the door and escape?" Crushing the chips, she lifted a brow and looked at him expectantly. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	battle_shield 2013-10-13 02:33 am UTC (link)
	"I could you know." He looked at the food once, sighed, and picked up the burger, taking a good-sized bite. After he chewed it down and swallowed it to his grateful stomach, he responded. "Thank you." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	valini_morse 2013-10-13 08:44 pm UTC (link)
	"Which would be awkward to explain to the people walking down the hall. 'She, the shrink, attacked me, the highly trained agent with a gun, with a burger.'" She lifted her eyebrows, as if to say 'good luck with that', and then took a bite. "You're welcome." Eat first, interrogate later; people are less cranky when fed. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	battle_shield 2013-10-13 08:49 pm UTC (link)
	"Unless they're raw rookies, they've probably heard sillier stories." Okay, maybe that wasn't true, but not by much. Josh was making quick work of his burger, his heightened metabolism allowing him to practically wolf it down. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

valini_morse
2013-10-13 10:26 pm UTC (link)

She smiled and shrugged lightly. "If you are willing to explain that all with a straight face to the security, I will walk to the brig for the attack without any complaint." Focusing on the salad, she turned a blind eye to the inhalation of the burger. It was a questionable chili on lettuce with chips, but damn it was good. "Maybe I should try one of those. Did you get a breath in there?"

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	battle_shield 2013-10-13 10:30 pm UTC (link)
	"Yeah, my body processes air more efficiently, which is likely why it didn't look like I did," he explained. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	valini_morse 2013-10-14 07:11 pm UTC (link)
	She lifted her eyebrow, not rising to asking he was serious or just sassing her. "How about processing recent events and stress?" she asked instead, tone mild. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	battle_shield 2013-10-14 07:23 pm UTC (link)
	He looked at her with an almost I-knew-it expression on his face. "I work for SHIELD, there's always stress." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	valini_morse 2013-10-14 07:34 pm UTC (link)
	"There's SHIELD-level stress," she agreed. "And there's complete-shut-in-and-ignores-routine-eating stress. That's the kind we don't like." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	battle_shield 2013-10-14 07:36 pm UTC (link)
	He pointed over by the wall. "I have an in-door refrigerator. I haven't been starving." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	valini_morse 2013-10-16 12:32 am UTC (link)
	She made a very judgey look at the fridge. No one kept healthy proper food in those things. Ramen and MREs. "But you have been avoiding other people. And possibly sunshine." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	battle_shield 2013-10-16 12:36 am UTC (link)
	His eyes narrowed. "There hasn't been anyone I wanted to talk to. I've followed my orders as the director has given them, I'm not doing anything against SHIELD regulations." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	valini_morse 2013-10-16 12:37 am UTC (link)
	"So you are actually avoiding people." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	battle_shield 2013-10-16 12:41 am UTC (link)
	"No, just choosing to be more insular in my work." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	valini_morse 2013-10-16 12:45 am UTC (link)
	Not just a river in Egypt. "Thank you for being so devoted to your work but I am concerned about you and the way that this will spiral to something dangerous." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	battle_shield 2013-10-16 12:49 am UTC (link)
	Josh sat back, though he was clearly not getting comfy. "And just what kind of spiral are you talking about?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	valini_morse 2013-10-16 12:55 am UTC (link)
	"The kind that makes you a unhinged vigilante, sworn to avenge the impossible, or a brittle and paranoid agent who can't trust his skills or himself in fear of loss. Both tend to become withdrawn shells of their former selves." She paused for a moment. "I'd rather you talk it out instead of letting it fester and I'd hope you would too." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	battle_shield 2013-10-16 12:58 am UTC (link)
	Josh took a pen in hand and idly twirled around his fingers. "What's the point of SHIELD?" he asked with deadpanned calm. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	valini_morse 2013-10-16 11:38 pm UTC (link)
	Alright, she'd go along, hope it was useful. "That's a very complicated question but I suppose in the most general sense, SHIELD tries to keep us as a planet from exterminating ourselves in new and terrible ways." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	battle_shield 2013-10-16 11:40 pm UTC (link)
	"Uh huh, would you say we have some of the best tech and best trained people on the planet?" He continued to speak in that cold tone. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	valini_morse 2013-10-17 12:25 am UTC (link)
	"All the best tech in the world and best trained people can't help if they aren't allowed to do so," she replied lightly. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	battle_shield 2013-10-17 12:28 am UTC (link)
	"Right, right. SO since we have all this tech, all this training, all this ability..why can some random assholes knock us out of the fucking sky!?" Josh snapped. "Why is it that in the end we still have to rely on the capes to save our asses!? We can't even look after our damned selves!" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

valini_morse
2013-10-17 12:41 am UTC (link)

She let the words come rushing out, let him start to vent. That was the point. "It wasn't random. It was a group of people who were focused specifically on attacking us. We have enemies, means we stand up for something and piss the bad guys off. And we look after ourselves day in and day out. Sometimes, as with the rest of life, shit hits us harder than we can handle for a moment."

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battle_shield
2013-10-17 12:50 am UTC (link)

"When I say 'random assholes' I mean whatever group at there that has the means can just plan something like this! Hell, we're not hard to find. It's not like our headquarters is secret. We're up in the damn sky!" Josh's hands grip his desk. "And people, good people, die all the time because because SHIELD keeps doing the same old shit! I..I don't remember how long I was down there..lifting debris, checking pulses..praying the next person I find isn't dead..." His grip loosened on the table, where he had inadvertently dug his fingers in enough to leave marks.

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valini_morse
2013-10-17 01:12 am UTC (link)

She tilted her head to the side, sympathetic and sad. "It's painful when compassion is used against you, it cuts worse than some blades and heals so much slower." With a breath, she paused. "You've brought up a lot of frustrations. We do a lot of 'the same old shit' because we are held responsible and accountable to the public. We hang out in the sky so the bad guys shoot at us because we are better targets than say, the crowds of civilians. Shields are meant to be battered but never fail."

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	battle_shield 2013-10-17 01:18 am UTC (link)
	Josh sighs, hand on his head, nodding in agreement, though he doesn't say anything. "I couldn't find her..no matter how long I looked. ..I should have been able to find her." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	valini_morse 2013-10-17 01:31 am UTC (link)
	She nodded as he collapsed in his seat. "You tried, through. You put everything you had into looking for her. But, trying to find one in that mess?" She shook her head at trying to find one alive in a wreckage that size and how reasonable it really was. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	battle_shield 2013-10-17 01:35 am UTC (link)
	"I couldn't even look Phil Coulson in the eye." He laughs bitterly. "You know it was Nikki he told me to confess to Lena?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	valini_morse 2013-10-17 06:00 pm UTC (link)
	"No one could. I think Thor would have stuttered speaking to him." Ah, right the Lena kerfluffle. "She must have gotten tired of watching the water treading, and wanted the best for you." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	battle_shield 2013-10-17 06:27 pm UTC (link)
	Josh didn't bring up how inconclusive that went. "She tried to be there for me..I couldn't do the same." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	valini_morse 2013-10-18 12:08 am UTC (link)
	"She was there for you. And she knew how dangerous this job was, just as you do." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	battle_shield 2013-10-18 12:24 am UTC (link)
	"I know that..realistically..but it doesn't stop me from thinking I could have done more. Looked harder, searched longer..I don't know." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	valini_morse 2013-10-18 01:25 am UTC (link)
	She smiled at him softly. "If it were up to willpower alone, you would have sorted through that wreck and freed everyone in minutes. You did everything you could reasonably do and that's hard to accept." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	battle_shield 2013-10-18 08:40 am UTC (link)
	"..Yes it is," he conceded after a moment. "but I'll try." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

valini_morse
2013-10-18 02:52 pm UTC (link)

"It will never go away. I'm sorry to say, though maybe not. " She shrugged her shoulder to dismiss her words. "If you feel like a leave would give you time to sort through yourself, it can be arranged." He seemed the kind who'd rather have his eyelashes waxed than take a leave. "I would recommend coming to terms with your emotions instead of burying them in work. How is up to you and it won't be overnight."

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	battle_shield 2013-10-18 08:06 pm UTC (link)
	Josh listened to all this though he honestly didn't know how. "..Do you have a recommendation?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	valini_morse 2013-10-18 11:33 pm UTC (link)
	"You don't look like the bonsai-growing type." She tilted her head and considered for a moment. "Sometimes, a new hobby, a new outlet for focus works? A hike, out in the Nevadas or the Rockies, for a week to be cut off from distractions. Or do-" She paused and nodded. "Do something that reminds you of Nikki, in a positive light." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	battle_shield 2013-10-19 12:14 am UTC (link)
	"I'll think on what you've said." He pauses. "Thanks, Val." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	valini_morse 2013-10-19 08:52 pm UTC (link)
	"Like I said, this isn't easy or over quick. But you know where I am and can always talk to me." She smiled sympathetically. "And thanks for taking that burger off my hands." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	battle_shield 2013-10-19 09:34 pm UTC (link)
	That actually got a laugh out of him. "Happy to be of service." (Reply to this)(Parent)

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