broccoli tree. {Kyle}

[Rose Macallis]

Rose had been in a tree.

Not really by choice, exactly, but nonetheless, she had been in a tree. It might have been a bit startling for a grown woman to have clambered all the way up there, especially one afraid of falling, but Rose didn't really look like a grown woman at that moment anyway. She was wearing jeans and a tee shirt and flip flops and her hair was up so, unless someone saw her face, they would think she was one of the students having shenanigans.

But that would be wrong. Rose was not up to anything, unless you counted her general upward position, nor was she involved in any shenanigans of any sort. She was simply in a tree because...well, because she needed a different vantage point, that was all. She couldn't remember having ever climbed a tree in her life, mostly due to her fear of heights, so when the opportunity presented itself, she had to seize it with an iron fist.

One of her favorite movies strived to teach everyone to look at things from different perspectives but she, unlike the students in the movie, had already danced across desks in a classroom. So that method was now passe and, thus, unusable. Which obviously equaled tree. And so obviously, it was the fault of this movie [and Robin Williams] and whichever gardener had decided that it would be prudent to plant shrubbery that she had been in that tree.

Obviously.

Which also meant that it was entirely the fault of Robin Williams, the gardener, and the movie that she had fallen out of the tree, exactly what she'd been terrified of doing. But once the intial fall had occurred, it wasn't that bad. Sure, for the few seconds she was in the air, her heart was pounding like it had never before pounded and she felt like the ground was going to consume her. But then she hit the ground and, yeah, the initial impact sucked. But at least her fall was broken by a bush and at least she didn't land on her head.

There was a bright side to every situation, right?

Her aching muscles might not have agreed with that statement, all things considered. It had taken an agonizing minute for her to pull herself up and then the thought of having to walk inside made her want to weep. But she soldiered on with a bit of a bounce in her step. After all, she had managed to climb that damn tree without hurting herself [climbing up it, that is] or getting too nervous to carry on. She had even, for a few minutes at least, been able to gaze out across the grounds.

Which meant that she was not one bit upset as she reached the infirmary, other than with the fact that it had taken her twice as long as it should have. With a sheepish sort of grin, she poked her head into the door and peered around.

"Helloooo?" she called, looking around for any sign of the nurse.

[Kyle Ehrlich]

1 day, 12 hours, 58 minutes, 05 seconds since Kyle last slept.

Kyle pushed another red pin into the map of the Dream World that hung on his wall. He stepped back and examined it. Kyle had been carefully mapping the topography of the Dream World for the last year and every section, with the exception of the Mist, was detailed and accurate up to the last time he dreamed. His map and the rest of the data he'd collected took up an entire wall and a half of his room.

A series of red pins surrounded the Maelstrom and Mist areas, each indicating a place Kyle had died. The pin’s color varied slightly depending on the type of death: maroon for natural causes like drowning, exhaustion, or injury; bright red for unnatural like when Logan killed him by mistake or he ran into the siren. There were also a series of white pins which held pieces of string in place. The strings were attached to note cards containing additional information on the location or specific places within a Square.

For a moment, Kyle just stood and stared at the Maelstrom he had drawn. For the life of him, he could not explain his obsession. He had done the research, knew what maelstorm’s represented, and understood the irony when applied to his personality. Restlessness, powerful inescapable destructive force, fascination with the unknown; yeah, that summed him up pretty well. “Soon…” Kyle reached a hand up and touched where he believed the center of the Maelstrom to be.

A voice filtered in from the infirmary, but Kyle ignored it. Crystal would help whomever it was and get him if need be. A minute later Kyle realized it was Crystal’s day off. He swore and grabbed his lab coat. He shrugged it on while rushing through his office. “Sorry, I was in the back…” Kyle apologized, pushing the door to the infirmary open. One of the new teachers stood in the doorway. “Please, come in.” Kyle gestured, giving her a quick once over checking for blood. Not seeing any, he relaxed a little. His gaze lingered on her eyes for the slightest moment before he blinked himself back to reality. “How can I help you today?”

[Rose Macallis]

Rose wasn't too terribly worried that the nurse wasn't showing up instantly. After all, there were probably other people that were injured...even if they weren't out in the general viewing area. Or maybe he had been eating. Everyone had to eat, even nurses. But even so, Rose couldn't help but feel a teeeensy tiny bit impatient. To help alleviate some of this general distress, she took a few steps in, wincing as she did. Once she was satisfied with her standing spot, she clasped her hands in front of her and looked around again.

Since that had taken her infinitely longer than she felt was necessary, the wait time was cut in half and the nurse appeared to be running out now. Feeling a little bad that he had rushed [he might have been doing something important, after all], she flashed him a sort of apologetic grin and shuffled forward an inch or so. She'd have walked over, but if walking didn't hurt, she wouldn't have been in the infirmary in the first place.

"No worries!" she said, dismissing his apology with a small beam. She might have waved her hand, but she somehow had the presence of mind to realize that that would have hurt. At his invitation, she wasn't sure if she should mention that she was having difficulties or if she should just let him see for himself. Deciding that it would be infinitely better to be dramatic [obviously], she shuffled forward, wincing again. She did, however, still manage to look chipper.

"Weeeell, you see," she began conversationally, as if her injuries were no big thang, continuing to shuffle slowly forward. "III fell out of a tree." She gave a giggle, one that someone might expect to hear more from a student from a teacher, and turned to face him looking mildly sheepish. "Just wanted to make sure everything was okay." She grinned to show that she was taking it all in stride before finally sinking into the chair she had reached. She might never get up again.

[Kyle Ehrlich]

Kyle frowned slightly as he watched Rose move. It obviously hurt when she walked. Her body language suggested multiple muscle aches, probably some bruising but nothing life threatening. Kyle suspected she had fallen off something, probably landing on her back. His suspicion was confirmed a moment later when Rose stated that she had, in fact, fallen out of a tree. Try as he might, Kyle could not suppress a quick laugh.

“I’m not laughing at you,” Kyle smiled, trying to show that he wasn’t making fun of Rose. “Its just that falling from trees is a common problem around here. There’s one student in particular who seems hell bent on falling out of every tree on the grounds.” Not to mention every bench, statue, fountain, and bookshelf. Maybe the Dream World made everyone at the school extra clumsy. An introspective look crossed Kyle’s face as he pondered that idea. He was surprised he hadn’t thought of it earlier.

Kyle crossed to a sink, mind still mulling over his new revelation. He turned the faucet on and began to wash his hands. Rose’s reflection in the mirror above the sink caught his eye, once again bringing him back to the situation at hand. She seemed to be taking her injuries in stride, which Kyle gave her points for. “Do you think you can walk over to a bed? Or would you rather I carried you?” Kyle was half serious about carrying Rose; she looked light enough but didn’t seem to be injured to the point of requiring it. Kyle gestured to the nearest infirmary bed. They weren’t very comfortable, but they did have the advantage of a pullout veil should Kyle need to examine Rose.

Kyle crossed the room, grabbing another chair and setting it in front of Rose. He took a seat, pulling a small pad of paper and a pen out of his lab coat. “Before that, though, tell me how you fell. How did you land? On your back, side, head? Did you hit or land on anything in the process?” Kyle paused. He had received a memo about new teachers being hired. He hadn’t gotten around to showing Crystal how to make new patient records, though, and couldn’t for the life of him remember the new teacher’s names. “Ms…”

[Rose Macallis]

Rose did not particularly mind that the nurse was laughing at her. Had someone came to her and said that they'd fallen out of a tree, she, too, would have let out at least a giggle. It made her feel a bit better as well, on some level, to be able to laugh at her misfortunes. So when he apologized for the chuckle, she waved it off and gave an answering giggle of her own.

"I don't usually fall out of things," she assured him, which was completely true. Rose hardly ever decided to actually climb things, mostly due to her slight fear of falling. Unfortunately, however, she did tend to injure herself fairly frequently. It wasn't that she was [that] clumsy, it was more that she just had bad luck. Obviously.

She watched him move toward the sink, wondering if he was quite as forgetful as she was and, thus, if he would forget that she was sitting there. But a moment later, he spoke, and she frowned at the words he was saying. Honestly, did she look helpless?

"I can walk there myself," she said, a note of defiance ringing through her still chipper tone. Still grinning, she hopped up [and was rewarded with a spasm of pain that made her wince] and shuffled towards the bed, sitting gratefully as soon as she reached it. It wasn't too terribly comfortable, but she imagined that it had gotten lots of use, which would have helped it in its lack of pleasance.

At the mention of her accident, she was all too happy to recount the story, despite the fact that all he'd asked for were some specific details.

"Well," she began, scrunching her face in thought, though the incident couldn't have happened more than fifteen minutes before. "I was trying to see over this building. And it was sort of working, but I wanted to see something else. So I stepped forward annndd there was no tree there." She snorted at her own misfortune. "So my foot decided to find the ground and I landed on my face. In a bush." She nodded, grinning still. It took her a few seconds, but finally she remembered that he had wanted her name.

"Oh!" she said, ears turning slightly pink. "Rose....Well, Miss Macallis, I guess. But Rose." She nodded. "Miss Macallis makes me feel old." God knew nothing else made Rose feel or look old.

[Kyle Ehrlich]

Kyle scribbled a couple quick notes while Rose spoke. Normally he would just commit her story to memory and type the report up later. Crystal had been insisting she transcribe his notes, though, so Kyle was making the extra effort for her sake.

He spoke without looking up from his pad of paper. “Rose?” Kyle’s voice took on an odd, thoughtful tone. “That’s a lovely name. Also, my favorite type of flower.” Kyle finished his notes and looked up. His mind was filtering through the different muscles and bones that would have been involved in the fall. “I actually have a rather large collection in the garden. You may have seen them on your fall.”

He smiled, bringing himself back to the present again. “Well, I’d say you’re going to live to climb another tree if you so choose. The fact that you can still move around and aren’t bleeding all over the place is a good signs. I’d still like to give you a quick exam, though. Check for muscle damage and clean up any cuts and what not.”

He stood, pushing his chair back slightly with one foot while pulling the veil around the bed. Space cleared, Kyle knelt before Rose. He glanced up and gestured to her feet. “Do you mind?” After pausing for a moment, and not really waiting for a reply, Kyle reached forward and gently took Rose’s left food in his hands. Her removed the flip flop and placed it under the bed. “Please let me know if slash when you feel any pain or discomfort.” He lowered his gaze, focusing. Being as gentle as possible, Kyle felt the bones in her foot, checking for any breaks. Expecting to find none, and in fact finding none, he began slowly checking the muscles, beginning with her toes. He applied a slight pressure to each of the muscles as he made his way to her ankle. If Rose indicated pain, either verbally or through body language, Kyle would pause.

When he was done checking her left foot, Kyle repeated the process with her right. A couple minutes later Kyle leaned back and looked up at Rose. “Good news is you didn’t break anything. Bad news is your muscles are going to be sore for a while. Since you can still move your legs I’m guessing they’ll be the same.” Kyle stood and stepped to the other side of the veil. “I can give you a quick massage to block the pain and some heat packs for later but I’d like to check out the rest of you first.” He walked over to a supply cabinet and began rummaging through it. “Could you please take off your shirt? If you got any cuts or scratches from the bush, we should probably get some antiseptic on them sooner rather than later.” He withdrew a couple heat packs, a bottle of antiseptics, bandages, and q-tips. Kyle approached the veil again. “Let me know when you’re ready.”

[Rose Macallis]

She watched him take notes, vaguely curious as to whether or not he was making fun of her. Perhaps he was committing her ridiculous tale to memory this way so that he could cheer himself up with schadenfreudish amusement on cold winter nights and not simply writing a report. She wouldn't really have blamed him.

"That's my favorite flower, too!" she said cheerfully, naturally making conversation whether it was normal or not. He had initiated it anyway, so she didn’t really feel all that bad by starting to chatter on. “I didn’t really see anything when I was falling,” she admitted with another of her cheerful chuckles. “But I think I would have noticed if I’d landed in roses. They’re kiinda thorny.” She grinned, shrugging. At the mention of climbing another tree, she rapidly shook her head, eyes widening in alarm.

“Nooo, I don’t think so.” She snorted a bit and glanced down at her arms, which were a little worse for wear. “I don’t really like heights.” It didn’t occur to her that this particular statement might have needed explanation, considering she had clearly willingly climbed this tree and did not seem entirely upset about it. Which, given her fear of heights, was a little bit strange.

As she stuck her feet out to comply with his request, she continued talking. After all, he had asked, hadn’t he? Or at least mentioned. Either way, he had started conversation and it was still fair game.

“I don’t really much like climbing, either,” she went on, trying not to gesture with her feet or move them as he massaged or checked or whatever. Either way, it felt good, especially since her feet hadn’t suffered much damage at all. She was fairly certain they didn’t have too many cuts on them, either. Perhaps just a couple where her flip flops didn’t cover. She was a little disappointed when he switched feet, but didn’t say anything, for obvious reasons. Somehow, she managed to be silent through the rest of the pseudo-massage, only making noise to wince slightly as her arm protested its position shift.

When he finished, she smiled at him again. That smile grew when she heard the good news, since that meant she wouldn’t be impeded in her teaching or showering or anything else that she would have preferred to do without a giant bit of plaster weighing her down.

“Eh,” she said with a good natured shrug. “I’ve been sore before.” At the mention of a massage, though, she perked up [and was rewarded with a twang of pain in her lower back for her efforts]. She was just about to respond quite positively to that sentiment when the next request was made; a request that had her ears pink again and her arms inching painfully around to hug herself.

“Uhmmmm,” she said, smiling a little awkwardly now. “Is that reeeeally necessary?” She gave a giggle out of nerves. Not that she thought Kyle was some sort of skeezy pervert or anything--any doctor would have made her uncomfortable with a request like that.

[Kyle Ehrlich]

Kyle paused, sighing mentally. He had half expected her to balk at his request; most people did no matter whom the doctor or nurse making the request was. This always struck Kyle as odd seeing as pain usually outranked modestly in his mind. Besides, doctors were supposed to be trustable and above the skeezy impulses that may befall someone who hasn’t taken the Hippocratic Oath. Weren’t they?

“I suppose its not reeeally necessary…” nor was Kyle’s mimicry of Rose, but he couldn’t help himself. He did his best to keep his voice light and, hopefully, soothing. She didn’t need sarcasm at the moment. “…but I would ask that you at least lift it up to your neckline. I’m sorry but I just want to be through. If you’ve got a strained muscle or something, I’d rather find it now than later.”

Kyle doubted Rose had a strained muscle or anything worse then soreness and maybe a cut or two for that matter. He was still obligated to check, though, if not by the nature of his profession then from general concern. Kyle was rather enjoying chatting with Rose, which may have explained the concern for a women he just met; she was a nice contrast to most of the other teachers at the school, especially the female teachers. They all seemed to have…quirks that made conversation in general difficult. Flick was always in her own little world, Caterina tended to slip into a ‘holier than thou’ trance frequently, Logan…well Logan was Logan.

“If it would make you feel better, you can turn around so your back is to me. I promise I’m really not just trying to get you undressed for my own pleasure.” A little voice in the back of Kyle’s head told him now would be a good time to shut up; he didn’t quite hear it though. A sarcastic half smile crossed his face, “If I wanted to do that, I would at least take you to dinner first.” Kyle bit his tongue a moment too late and the sarcasm slipped out before he could stop it. He winced, wiping the smile from his face and thankful for the veil between them.

“Oh, that’s definitely going to reassure her. Now she’s going to think you’re hitting on her. Way to go Kyle. Ten pounds says she limps out of here right now.” Kyle mentally kicked himself. He opened his mouth to apologize, but was unable to think for some reason. Clearing his throat awkwardly, he tried again, “Erm, sorry about that. I should finish your exam so you can get some rest or something.”

“Ooo, very apologetic and reassuring Kyle.”

[Rose Macallis]

It took her a few seconds to realize it was happening, but eventually, Rose made a face at his mockery.It was, however, obvious that she was not really offended. "Aren't doctors supposed to be nice?" she pointed out, starting to shift so her back was facing him. The fact that he was letting her turn around did make her feel better, but she didn't waste any time in giving her opinion on his suggestion that she just lift her shirt to his neck.

"That doesn't help anything, you know," she pointed out as she started to slowly tug at the hem. "It's not my neck that I want covered." Her arms protested the movement that it took to pull her shirt off, but the fact that she was going slowly made them a little bit less violent. After today, she was considering switching from tee shirts to button downs. The grief it might save her over things like this would be tremendous. Wincing all the while, she continued to tug at the shirt until she had finally gotten it over her head, leaving only a strip of purple cloth across her back. Still moving slowly, she reached up to flatten the fuzz of hair that had been roughed up in the removal of her shirt.

"I hope you know it would have to be expensive," she quipped, supressing her chuckle at his comment. "I don't get undressed for anything less than filet." She wasn't sure that she had ever flirted with a doctor before, but she supposed that any new experience was a good one in the long run, and this one was sort of pleasant anyway. Reaching for her shirt, she absently folded it, waiting for him to be ready to examine her back. Everything would be fine with this, so long as he didn't ask her to turn around. She wasn't sure she could do that.

At his apology, she frowned. Though he couldn't see her and it didn't matter whether or not she continued to do so, she smoothed her face out so that he wasn't offended. "You don't need to apologize," she said, chuckling this time so he could tell that she was, in no way, upset by anything he had said. "Exceeept for the part where you were making fun of me. You might want to apologize for that." She turned to grin at him so that he would know she was teasing, then decided that watching him whilst unclothed was too awkward and so quickly looked back. In a completely not awkward way, obviously.

"Resting does sound kind of awesome," she agreed, getting the conversation back onto solid ground as best she could. "At least, not moving does. Orrr showering. I could dig a shower." And there she went, accidentally mentioning naked activities again. Hopefully, he would focus on the process, not its components.

[Kyle Ehrlich]

Rose’s chuckle and return banter eased Kyle’s mind a bit; at least she wasn’t offended. He waited until it sounded like Rose was done moving about then stepped behind the veil. She had removed her shirt, as asked, and Kyle took a moment to get him mind back into “doctor” mode. “I apologize for making fun of you. It won’t happen again…” Kyle smiled to himself. “…for a couple minutes at least.” He gave Rose’s back a quick once over and, not seeing any cuts or scratches, put the bandages and antiseptic into his pockets.

“A shower would probably be an excellent idea. The heat and water pressure would soothe your muscles.” Kyle gently pulled Rose’s hair back with one hand, using the other to lightly press the muscles in her neck. His mind was again focused on her body language and indications of pain or discomfort. He let her hair go and moved on to Rose’s left shoulder. Remembering her winces of pain whenever she moved her arms, Kyle lightened his touch. “Filet, huh?” he took her arm and gently raised it to a 45 degree angle from her body. “Can’t exactly get that here. Although there is a nice restaurant about half an hour from here; make a delicious filet mignon and double chocolate cake that is to die for.”

Kyle slowly worked his way down the muscles in Rose’s left arm. He bent her arm at the elbow, checking to make sure it still had full field of motion. “Rather nice wine selection too, if you like wine.” Finally, he moved her wrist in a circle, also making sure it could still fully move. Satisfied that there was no serious damage Kyle gently returned Rose’s arm to her side. “I can take you some time if you’d like.” He began checking the muscles on her right shoulder.

Not finding anything, Kyle repeated the process of checking the muscles on her right arm. “I’ll also have to show you my rose garden sometime. Although its not hard to find if you want to seek it out yourself.” Kyle began moving Rose’s arm at the elbow, testing its movement. “Just look for the giant spiral of roses. If the breeze is right, you can smell it from halfway across the gardens.” Kyle had moved on to Rose’s right hand while he was talking. Again, not finding anything serious, he returned her arm to her side.

“Congratulations Rose. Although you are going to be sore for a couple days, you managed to not suffer any serious muscle or tissue damage.” Kyle took a step back from the bed and smiled. He pulled one of the hot pads out of his pocket and broke the internal seal, holding the pad tightly between both his hands. After a moment, the warmth began to wash across his palms. “Could you please lie on your stomach? I’d still like to give you a quick massage to block the pain if you’re interested.”

[Rose Macallis]

A grin that Kyle still couldn't see tugged at the corners of her mouth at his banter. "What if this psychological distress you're causing me gives me ulcers? Who will I go to if you're the doctor? Hmm?" It sounded far lazier than she had meant for it to come out since, the moment Kyle's hand had started on her neck, she'd relaxed more onto the bed. Released from the tension that had seized her muscles, she was overcome with a sense of lethargy that had her relaxing all over the place, vocal chords included.

"But I suppose a few minutes is all I can really ask for," she continued as she roused herself from her slight stupor. It seemed, however, that as Kyle checked her muscles, he was content to talk. And for once, Rose was content to just listen, since it meant that she didn't have to come up with things to say while she was feeling so relaxed. It was a problem, considering she would probably have to put her shirt on and leave soon, but that didn't mean she couldn't enjoy the moment while it lasted.

As the talk turned to food, a dreamy sort of smile flitted across her face. There was something about the thought of food that soothed a mind racing from the lingering aftershock of falling out of a tree and Kyle's voice itself was also soothing, so she soon found her eyelids drooping. The only thing keeping her awake, really, was the fact that her arms were being moved and that she was sitting up. Climbing up a tree only to fall out of it took a lot out of a girl.

She finally managed to rouse herself into a response when she realized that he might require one. The chocolate cake didn't thrill her, but the wine was something that sounded like she should talk about, so she forced her eyelids open and her mind to think of a coherent sentence.

"Wine is alright," she finally said, her voice still that slow, mellow cadencel. "It depends on the wine. And I don't like it that dry. And I prefer white." It took her a few seconds to register that he had ended that statement with an invitation, but when she did, she smiled again, eyelids drooping sleepily once more. "That would be fun," she declared as he moved to check her other arm. It didn't occur to her and, had she been thinking about it, she'd have been sure it didn't occur to him, but it definitely seemed as if she'd just responded positively to a date request.

At his congratulations, she gave a halfhearted twirl of her finger, grinning. "Excellent. Annddd I would love a massage." Not needing much persuasion, she shifted her legs about so that she could lie on her stomach, laying her arms at her side. "Hit me with your best shot," she murmured into the pillow, facing the opposite direction from where Kyle sat. Blocking the pain and getting her muscles tended to sounded like the perfect evening right then.

[Kyle Ehrlich]

“My best shot, huh?” Well now, that sounded like a challenge. Kyle chuckled to himself and placed the heat pack against the back of Rose’s neck. He began to roll the pack in circles around her neck. “As you wish.”

When the pack began to cool off, Kyle dropped it into one of his pockets. “Hrm, wish I had some oil,” he murmured to himself. Ah well, he could make due. He started at her neck, kneading the muscles on each side simultaneously. He gently tilted Rose’s head to the side so he could knead and stretch the muscles at the same time. “Please let me know if you feel any discomfort or would like me to focus on any place in particular. Feel free to talk if you’d like.”

After spending ten minutes or so on her neck, Kyle pulled Rose’s hair back and placed it on the pillow. His other hand slid down her back, tracing her spine. When he reached her bra strap, his hand paused. Kyle’s mind was focused completely on Rose’s massage, so without thinking, he unhooked her bra and continued working down her spine. His other hand reached into a pocket, withdrawing another hot pack. Tab activated, Kyle rolled it down her spine, following his other hand.

Kyle spent a good twenty minutes working the various muscles on Rose’s back and shoulders. Occasionally he would find a knot and press it out. His hands kept moving, only pausing if Rose made a noise or drew her breath in. Kyle was careful to avoid tickling when he reached the muscles around Rose’s side and armpits. When he was finally ready to move on, he slid his hands down her sides to her legs then down to her feet.

Due to the earlier half massage, Kyle didn’t spend very long massaging her feet. After about five minutes on each, he moved his hands back up to her legs. Kyle started by moving the muscles from side to side, then pushing them up towards her torso. This kept the blood moving towards the heart and relaxed the muscle at the same time. He made a second pass on each leg, applying more pressure then he had previously. Kyle also raised each leg, bending it at the knee and stretching the muscles. He finished by moving from the ankle to the torso while twisting the muscles.

Kyle slid his arms up Rose’s body again, coming to a stop at her arms. He chose to work on the right arm first, gently sweeping the muscles from the wrist to the shoulder. He applied more pressure with each sweep, occasionally twisting the muscles in circles. When he felt the muscles were loose enough, he began bending the arm, massaging the muscles as they stretched. Last, but not least, he spent five minutes working on the muscles in her hand; rolling each of her fingers between his and applying circular pressure to the palm and back of her hand. He repeated the routine on her left arm.

When he was done, he returned his hands to Rose’s back. He made three large sweeping gestures that moved down to her legs then back to her neck. Finally, his hands came to rest just below her shoulders. “How was that?” he asked.