Nate's Apartment

[Nell]

If nothing else, being a parent gave Nell an edge. She was more perceptive now, better at reading people that she had ever been before Jared had been born. There were a lot of things she could tell about a person from certain cues, but the biggest one was how they treated those around him. Therefore, she knew Nate to be a good person because of that desire to do right by others. It was probably what drew her to him as a friend, too, because it was one more thing they had in common.

Nell pushed a chunk of stewed tomato around her plate and her expression was gentle when she met Nate's eyes. "I think I caught you sleeping with your eyes open the other day," she teased. "Either that, or you were very, very intent on the pattern of that crap wallpaper in the lounge." The tomato was finally skewered on the tines of her fork; Ornella popped it into her mouth and chewed thoughtfully for a moment. She didn't want to smother Nate, but his zombified state the past few days had her worried. She didn't like him being all run down.

"Hon, when was the last time you slept properly? And catnapping doesn't count."

[Nate]

Nate had improved a lot when it came to reading other people and that was thanks to his work with the pack, work that no one else could know about if he was going to do his part to keep the supernatural world a secret from the general population. Working with wolves opened your eyes, and he had been introduced to a whole new language in and of itself; actions really could speak louder than words when it came to werewolves and he had seen it time and time again, those subtle, slight little shifts that would pass a message from one wolf to another, and instinct and a feral kind of understanding triggered almost immediate responses most of the time. It could be applied to humans in the outside world, Nate had learned as well, and it had helped him to learn just which patients to be wary of inside the hospital.

"Oh, that," Nate chuckled wearily, setting down his fork to lift a hand to push his hair from where it shadowed his brow. "I was probably daydreaming or something. Or, like you said, sleeping with my eyes open." A little embarrassing to be sure, but those in the medical field got used to being so tired that they sometimes zoned out without even realising what was happening. He turned his head to meet her gaze with his own at the question, one that demanded as much honesty in his response as he could sensibly give her. After a quiet sigh, he shrugged his shoulders lightly. "I don't really remember."

[Nell]

The smile that she offered Nate was lopsided, but gentle. There wasn't much she could do for him if he didn't have the time to take care of himself. Obviously, Nell was more than glad to make sure he didn't forget to eat, and she would continue to swing by occasionally with food -- she decided that now -- but she couldn't very well make sure the good doctor got to sleep at night. After all, she had enough trouble getting Jared to sleep at a reasonable hour and Nate was a grown man; he didn't necessarily need her hovering over him like a fretting mother hen.

"How much vacation time do you have stacked up?" Nell asked softly. One of her small, brown hands settled itself on top of the Nate's knee and she squeezed gently. "Could be you can find a day or two to take for yourself? Catch up on sleep?"

Then again, it wasn't as if she could separate her maternal instincts, box them away when she wasn't with her son. Nell took care of people, that was simply how she operated -- there was no way she could have left Nate to his exhaustion if she had tried.

[Nate]

It had been a long time since Nate had needed someone to see him to bed and make sure he got some sleep. In all honesty he probably did still need it but it wasn't something Nell should take upon herself, not when she had a child to look after. It wouldn't be long before one or more of the wolves within the pack took in the signs and ordered him to lie down and rest at the hotel and if there was one thing Nate wouldn't do it was argue with an insistent werewolf. It didn't matter who exactly it was within the pack, whether it was one of the younger wolves or one of the elders or Cole himself; if a pack werewolf told him to do something, he was going to do it, and that was all there was to it.

"Uhh..." For a few seconds he thought it over, eyes narrowing in consideration before he said, "About five or six weeks?" His smile was a touch sheepish. "I never use it." He had used some up the previous Thanksgiving to visit his parents but it had only been for a couple of days; they hadn't wanted to keep him from the hospital and honestly he hadn't been too comfortable being away from the pack for long even though Cole had insisted he take some time off and see his family. "I probably should before they... I don't know, tell me it's expired or something." It probably wouldn't be too long before they told him to take a vacation even if he only planned to spend it cooped up in his apartment. Even then Nate would most likely work through it, just at The Hyperion instead of at the hospital itself.

Maybe he really was working too hard.

[Nell]

Nell quirked an eyebrow and it disappeared behind her loose hair. "Mmmm-hm," was her reply. Nate was a grown man, obviously -- he didn't need her mothering and fussing, but now he'd done it. Nell was two steps away from full-on mother hen mode and, once she got going, she would not be stopped. Besides, the man needed to take care of himself, dammit. He was a damned good doctor, and Nell didn't want to watch him run himself into the ground.

"You probably should," she agreed with a smile. Her fork cut into a small square of lasagna and she continued, "Even if it's just a weekend, huh? Three days might not seem like much, but I bet it'd do you a world of good."

Three days off would at least be better than what Nate seemed to be running on now. Nell was fully-prepared to offer up her services as part time cook, in the event that the good doctor did decide to take time for himself. It would be more work for her, but having a child and a job meant she was something of a master multitasker -- Nell could definitely handle it.

[Nate]

Nate really should have known better; it was ridiculous for a doctor to run himself ragged, especially to the point he was approaching. If Cole got a good look at him he would never hear the end of it, Dia and Nerys would quickly join in, even Mara. The pack cared about him just as much as his friends at work did, perhaps even more so, he had learned that some time ago. They watched out for him and he knew that if anything ever endangered him they would be there in a heartbeat. They would also badger him to take better care of himself and make sure he got some decent sleep; only recently they had insisted he spend the night at the Hyperion in the room set aside for his personal use and he had to admit it was the best night's sleep he'd had in weeks.

"You're right." It was said with a sigh, self-deprecating rather than frustrated or annoyed with the woman at his side. She was right. He needed some rest, needed to take some time off. "How about this?" he began, food forgotten for the moment as he turned his gaze her way. "Tomorrow I'll talk to Collins, line up some time off, even if it's just a weekend." His smile was tired but genuine and grateful too. It was good of Nell to watch out for him; she had a kid to take care of, she didn't need to bring him food and check up on him and yet here she was.

[Nell]

Oh, Jared was a handful in his own right. He was her first priority, without fail, but Nell had learned how to balance his needs and those of other people in her life a long time ago. She was glad to help Nate, or any of her friends, really. Better than the good doctor falling ill, or keeling over entirely because he was so exhausted.

Fortunately, the fact that Nate seemed to be in full realization of his need for rest put Nell at ease. She offered him a smile in return and gave Nate's knee a light bump with her own. "It'll do you a world of good, no doubt about it," Nell told him. "Take your time to rest and then why don't you give me a call? I'd be more than happy to make you dinner again -- Jared's such a picky eater now, I don't want to lose my culinary touch."

[Nate]

The way things were shaping up Nate honestly doubted he would ever need to use his kitchen again. If it wasn't Nell offering to make him dinner it would be any one of the pack or Marion, even if in some instances it might be more a matter of take out than anything home-made. Lucky didn't really begin to cover it. Having good friends and protection and support on all sides; not every man could say he was so blessed and as Brock reminded him of his presence with a small sigh from where he had flopped down on the carpet, Nate couldn't help but smile. Definitely blessed.

"I might just do that," Nate said to her before eating some more of the lasagne. "Especially if it's going to be anything like this. Jared should consider himself lucky, not every mother can make food like this." Nate's mother had been able to cook, and cook well, likely still did -- and if his occasional trips back to his parents' place was any indication her skills had slipped in the slightest -- and he missed her food sometimes. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't work the kinds of miracles she had always been able to in the kitchen.

[Nell]

Nell gave a soft laugh and ducked her head. "I do what I can," she murmured. "Really, the only challenge is getting that little beast to eat more than chicken nuggets and Coco Puffs. Jared so much smells vegetables cooking and he'll try and hide in the linen closet."

Which caused no end of headaches and the occasional temper tantrum/time out, but Jared was still pretty much a baby. He would be driving Nell to distraction for many more years to come, so it was a good thing she had made peace with that a long while ago.

The last bit of her lasagna consumed, Nell carefully set the plate and fork on the coffee table in favor of the glass of wine she had poured. With a sigh, she leaned forward to rest her elbows on her knees. "He made a discovery this week," she said wearily. "If you take wooden spoons and bang them on upturned pots, they make noise. New favorite pastime."

[Nate]

"The kid's got good taste, you can't go wrong with chicken nuggets and Coco Puffs." Nate pause with a furrow in his brow. "Unless they're mixed together." The thought alone was more than a little nauseating. Nate pushed his mind right along to something much less distracting, which coincided nicely with Nell's explanation of Jared's discovery of pans making noise. He laughed.

"And everyone thinks I have my hands full." Without realising he had managed to eat the serving of lasagne she had planted on the plate and so it joined Nell's on the coffee table. "At least my patients don't bang on pots and pans." They did, however, hurl abuse and sometimes bedpans, and that was the milder cases. Nate wasn't even going to tell Nell about the near-misses he and numerous other doctors had had with patients who had decided to get violent.

[Nell]

"Mmm, no," Nell teased. "They just curse you up one end of creation and down the other. It's impressive how creative some people cal be when they're in that much pain. Or under the influence of that much morphine."

Doctors and nurses alike and heard it all. Nell and the rest of the people on nursing normally got the brunt of the abuse because they were 'just nurses', to put it delicately. Never mind that the nurses were an integral part of the ER, never mind that, without the nurses, it would be more than just Nate ready to keel over from exhaustion.

And then, naturally, when a patient actually saw a doctor, well, that was a whole 'nother can of worms. The doctor wasn't doing enough, they weren't doing something right; honestly, Nell didn't understand how Nate kept his head on straight, the way she heard so many people snap and snarl at him. He was the definition of level-headed -- just another reason why Nell admired him so.

[Nate]

"You're not wrong there," Nate said, reaching out and scratching his fingers over the top of Brock's head between the dog's large ears. "Humans can be unpredictable to say the least." It didn't even occur to him that his words might come across as strange sounding to others, how he called those they treated at the hospital humans rather than people. It wasn't an altogether absurd thing to say, after all, and Nate saw no harm in it when the notion did drift through his mind.

"Thanks again for the food," he told her, shifting them away from discussing work and everything that came with it. "I'm not even sure what I have in the refrigerator. Old cheese and some leftover takeout maybe." His laugh was somewhat self-deprecating and his shoulders shrugged even as Brock reached out and nudged at him with a paw and then his nose. "Not the healthiest diet, especially not for a doctor, right?"

[Nell]

Nell gave a shake of her head. "You should know better," she scolded Nate as she stood and picked up their empty plates. The smile on her face made it clear that she was just teasing him. "Honestly, eating like that -- Nate Wilder, what are we going to do with you?"

Nell made her way to the kitchen and turned right to the sink. Any lasagna residue was rinsed down the drain before she went about properly cleaning their dishes. She soaped and rinsed the plates and forks, set them in the rack to dry, and then moved on, taking the opportunity to wipe down the counter while she was at it.

"Not sleeping is bad enough," she chuckled. "But I'm sure Mongolian stir-fry isn't doing you any favors, either."

[Nate]

Picking up on the joking weight of her words Nate allowed himself a chuckle and nodded his head. "I should know better," he concurred with the same kind of tone of voice but he meant it. He really should know better but even those with the best intentions could slip up and often did. To err was human, wasn't that what they said? Nate was human despite the company he kept a great deal of the time and he had made a deal with himself to never forget that fact.

Pulling himself up from the couch Nate followed Nell towards the kitchen after a short delay though by the time he got there she was already well on her way to making short work of the dishes. As he stepped over the threshold she was taking the cloth to the counter. His brows rose at the impressive speed with which she cleared up and he was left standing there no doubt looking somewhat awkward and out of place even in his own apartment. "I'll make sure to get some fresh fruits and vegetables next time I pick up groceries," he told her as a kind of promise, looking around as though trying to find something to do with himself.

[Nell]

It was her mindset as a mother and homemaker, of sorts, that had prompted her to clean up with such speed. Nonetheless, when Nate entered, the quirk of his brows and the way he just lingered there, unsure of himself, made her stop. She had the good grace to look mildly embarrassed; Nate didn't need a housekeeper.

"Sorry," she told him. The cloth went back to its place by the sink as Nell laughed with a hint of self-deprecation. "Habit. Not trying to take over your kitchen, I promise."

It was simply that she took care of people. Her son, her friends and coworkers. Nate had been all kinds of run down the past few days she had seen him, and that had pulled at the maternal part of her. She was sure he didn't really need her help, but that was all part of being a friend. Sometimes you offered a hand just because you could.