Summary:Martin and Cain meet up during some downtime at Washington Square Park and the two friends get reacquainted and promise to keep in better touch. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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Eighty-three and mostly cloudy, still, it is earlier in the evening and before dinner time. Cain is here after having to re-certify for work, being an EMT is never 'done', you're always getting more training, updating your skills, and staying current if you want to stay employed. Honestly, that's fine with the man, he's rather fond of staying current and doing as good a job as he possibly can. Truly, this is a nice change of pace from some of the weird days he's had. So, after classes (he is pretty sure he aced the tests!), he is seated on a small hillock overlooking the fountain and amusing himself with people watching, fingers tapping on the grass in front of him as he does so.
"Well now.. lookie here." Martin gives, phone in hand. Looking tired as always, the red-head grins at Cain from where he's coming up one of the walkways. Lifts his free hand in way of hello. "Haven't seen you in a while. You've been lucky." Will move onto the grass and approach, offering a hand in way of greeting. "How is?"
Not nearly as tired looking, Cain returns the grin offered and accepts the hand, rising to shake it. "Doctor Almer, nice to see you again!" Cain's looking pretty good all things considered, but the last time they met he'd come off a double shift and looked pretty well like crap. "Dude, you need more rest. Take a load off, yeah?" He pats the grass by him as he flumphs back down with the negligent boneless grace of the young.
Sadly no where near as young, Martin still grips that hand. He feels of fondness and the pleasure of stumbling over a friend. "I'm good. Really. How have you been?" Still ease himself down because he really does want to sit a bit. The grass looks perfect too. Stretches out his legs and rests back on his hands.
"Welp…just redid my certs, so that's good for a while. Work has been pretty busy, but…you know." A helpless shrug from the younger man. Cain grins. "I actually had to take time off or lose it, apparently you can only rollover so much Paid Time each year and if I /didn't/ take it, it'd simply have gone *poof*, which is so not cool." He doesn't mention any of the weird and/or supernatural things going on, though he does take an energy bar out of his bag, then in a fit of manners offers it to Martin before digging out /another/. "How about yourself? Up to no good I bet?"
"Ah! That's good." Redoing certs. "Honestly, Cain, when is work for idiots like us never busy?" But Martin loves being busy truth be told. As he said, he's an idiot. "I forget how young you are. That must have been torture." Having to take time off. Totally teasing by the way. The red-head does turn down that energy bar. So very tired of energy bars now. Finds them everywhere! Motions a hand to show it's all good. "Did you go anywhere for your vacation, or simply be lazy a bit?" When asked about himself he smiles, "Finally found a place I might just fit in. It's been good. And of course not." Up to no good.
"It never isn't busy, that's for damn sure. Two speeds nuts and worse, amirite?" Yes, Cain says it in that slightly off/sing-song way that the misspelling is actually audible. "Young? I'm not /that/ young, I'll be twenty-three in just eight more months on Lincoln's Birthday." He laughs and nods. "It WAS. I was so /bored/." He doesn't take out a second bar after the first was turned down, instead munching it himself. "Well, yeah. I went up to Niagara Falls, then did some hiking in the mountains…" He doesn't specify which ones. "…hit a few bookstores, and museums, some concerts, bars, ate out a lot. It was HELL."
The news about having found a place draws a broad smile and a questioning brow quirk. "Reeeeaaaaaaaaaallly? Do tell!"
Martin snorts at you, "Cain, I'm old enough to have finished college, and then be your father." So yes, you are young. He totally laughs about being bored. "I've been sent on vacation more than once, and bored is the perfect way to describe it." Maybe if the man had family, or had a partner, it'd be different, but he doesn't. "Totally." Really! "I started work with RESCUE. Their tech is insane, and they really just go around helping people. It's been really good. Doing in house medical support for them. I get to play with toys we only dreamed of in intensive care."
"Yeah, well, you don't -look- that old, Methuselah." Cain answers with a smirk. And truly, Martin doesn't, and Cain is /damn/ observant considering how trivial a task it is to read micro-expressions on people for him. He might not have super-senses in the traditional sense, but his ability to soak up details at the speeds his brain can process is such that he sees more of reality that most, add his magic and that expands things further, if a touch unreliably. More than.
"RESCUE, I've heard of them, they have this big complex over in Turtle Bay by the Disaster Zone, right? Good people?" He grins about the tech. "Like…sci-fi movie stuff, or better?"
"I age gracefully." Martin gives with a grin, "It's the only grace I have." Sure doesn't have any about his foot in mouth disease. "Like Stark in the Avengers level stuff. I'm serious. I have this tablet that lets me run everything I work with, and there's this drone that flies around and fetches things for me. Imagine a room dedicated to only scanning. To the point I can get a full body everything in moments. X-rays, MRIs, Catscans.. and some I don't even have the names for." Rolls his eyes about it. Of course Martin is pointedly not telling of some things he's seen. Doesn't want to spoil things going on there. Would so love to tell about that wheelchair he's seen and the exosuit, and hell.. Posse. She's a marvel all in herself. "I'm working with full on cyborgs too. Never thought I could learn so much in so short a time."
"Clearly, old timer." Cain teases with a bratty grin, and laughing eyes. "Your one saving grace?" This with a bit of a snicker. His eyes get appropriately wide when he goes on about the tech involved. "Wow. Sounds like magic." Irony: Thy Name Be Cain! And yes, he does sound a little jealous, he's picturing what that tech could do for him in the field, and it would be a HUGE help. A blink about the cyborg, and then he thinks about the one time he was there, yes — Cain had visited there once, but it was brief. "I can see that. The facility is quite large, multiple buildings on the campus, say…you guys affiliated with the new school built near by? They have a full on hospital there, a teaching hospital, I've not been there yet, but was thinking of checking it out sometime."
Martin pfts about that, "There's no saving me." No chance at all. He shifts to rest back on his elbows, enjoying sitting out here in the fading sun. "It feels like magic." Given honestly. "I'm so clueless there. Legit, I'm one of the dumbest people on site." Yet the man clearly loves it. "Don't think so. At least no one has told me about anything like that. There hasn't been time to see the school. I got dragged into helping at a clinic as well, so there's barely time to sleep. These days I eat, sleep, and hit up the campus and the clinic as much as possible. I'm even in team work training because we drop into dangerous zones. Like needing full on military armor type situations. Been a long time since I did that kind of stuff."
Cain digs a couple bottles of water out of his bag, offering one to Martin, and then grins. "A toast! We the willing, working for the unknowing, doing so much for so long with so little we are now qualified to do anything with nothing! Mazeltoff!" He can't help but smile at how /happy/ Martin is with his new situation. "I was wondering why I hadn't seen you around the ER lately, this would explain it. People were wondering, I'll let them know." Because of course HR rules and such would prevent any dissemination otherwise, now the rumour mill can have some grist, woot!
He blinks about the armour. "Are you in danger?" He asks. "I mean…I know you're a badass former army spec ops medic, but that was a while ago, right?"
Martin sits himself up and will accept the water. For all he opens it after the salute, he will salute with it. Then crack it open and drink. "I have no idea if I'm being insulting, so please forgive me, but Mazeltoff!" But yes, he's totally been away from his old haunts for some really good reasons. Not interested in looking back either. "Spread some good rumors about me for once. People could have called too." He didn't hoard his phone number. "No.." about being in danger. "It's not like that, for all that was a long time ago. We aren't getting shot at, but if an earthquake hits, we're one of the first responders. So there's equipment you have to know how to use, and making sure we can work together. That kind of thing."
"Oh, well, I can't ever get the Russian one right - nostrovya? Something like that, so I call on an old stand by from my landlady, misses Fefferman." Okay, that's about as Jewish a name as you'll get. "Myself I'm not super religious." He doesn't DISS religion, he just isn't a part of any particular faith. Clearly, super not offended.
At the mention of calling, Cain rubs the back of his neck. "Honestly…didn't think of it, so sorry. I don't /call/, I don't /write/, oy vey!" Clearly channeling Mrs Fefferman again.
Cain /does/ note that Martin isn't being completely honest, he's holding stuff back — micro-expressions reveal that much, but he doesn't press his friend. Honestly, even an EMT job is dangerous, what he's describing? That is totally plausible. "Not getting shot at, or |SHOT|, is a very good thing." Cain agrees.
Martin admits, "I don't know any of them, so it's all good." For him at least. Will drain part of that bottle on the spot before putting the lid back on. "Nor am I." Religious. You won't get any flack for that from Martin. "Don't worry about it." The not calling. "That's my fault too. I barely remember to charge my phone, much less use it." There's a smile for that. Yep, it's all good, promise!
Well, it's a high tech place and he isn't sure what he shouldn't be telling about, so better not to tell the bulk, eh? "I plan on avoiding that as much as possible." Not getting shot at is a very good thing, indeed. "I assure that I don't normally wear the armor stuff. That's special occasions. It's just that because I'm so new I have to go through the training."
"I should really knuckle down and learn a language or two beyond English." Cain has a healthy drink himself, sitting Indian style, hands before him sort of plucking at the grass as they speak, that's one thing Martin is sure to have noticed - Cain is almost never totally still, always moving /something/. A nod about the religion thing, they both share that.
A grin. "I am much more used to the phones I think, you know, being a millennial…almost. On the cusp at least."
A smile then as the man goes on to explain how he is in /training/, and not in actual combat situations. "Good to know, I have heard that the DZ can be pretty rough and rowdy at times, heard about some monstrous hounds and a young girl…wait, I think RESCUE was involved with that, weren't they? Or was that before your time there?"
Martin snorts, amused. "Always a good thing to learn a second language." For he did that himself. "Yeah, I'm old. I remember before the internet and rotary phones." There's a grin for that. He's Gen X actually. Just.. not the mutant team version. As for the hounds and girl, there's a nod. "I helped with her. Kelli." Said with a smile. "She's adorable. That's how I came into contact with RESCUE. She'd lost her arm, and was in intensive care. Poor thing lost her whole family too, so I went down to keep her company for a while. She's doing great by the way. Got placed with a good family and is in therapy along with everything else."
Cain goes still a moment at the news about Kelli, and then leans forward, avidly curious, eyes /bright/. "Oh, tell me— PLEASE tell me she's got a new cyberlimb! You said you work with Cyborgs, right?" Yes, he's of the mind that that sounds pretty cool. And then Cain blinks, and looks a little shamefaced. "I'm sorry, I got all excited. It is awful she lost her family, but I'm /so happy/ she is doing well and has been placed with a new family." He smiles. "Her picture in the newspaper was adorable, though…it wasn't current, was it?" That draws a frown. See—Cain is VERY empathetic, which is part of what makes him good at what he does, he's also VERY excitable, because…you know…speedster, so he jumps ahead, it makes him look like a bit of a ditz sometimes.
Martin laughs for that. "She did. Poor thing." He motions a hand to assure that Cain doesn't have to apologize. "I don't think there are any current images of her. On purpose. I didn't get much contact with her about the replacement limb, but I have kept up on her progress where I'm able. Like I don't know the family, but I have seen her in the Wellspring for physical therapy, and the change in her is dramatic." The man pauses a moment before saying. "Sorry, the Wellspring is the name of the medical building. Just know she's doing well and adapting quickly." Now he has made sure she didn't reject anything, but all in all the bulk of her care was with others.
Cain's eyes light right up at that. "That sounds incredibly cool." He looks thoughtful then. "I imagine she'll need a lot of refits as she grows older, and the tech is Stark level? That's AMAZING sounding. Do you guys have a 'bring a friend to work' day?" He says with a laugh.
He nods about the privacy thing, HIPAA is VERY real thing, and the poor girl has absolutely a right to be given her privacy, especially considering the pain and trauma she went through. The hideous loss.
He smiles again to hear how much better she's doing. "That sounds like a righteous thing, no wonder you're so happy there. I bet the wages don't suck either."
Not that he really cares about money.
Martin nods about the refits. "I'm sure she will, but I have absolutely no idea how advanced the limb is. I can't imagine they've give a five year old super advanced stuff. Especially when she couldn't use it well to start with." Not that he went around finding out. "Sadly no." There is a hearty laugh about bring a friend to work day. The red-head feels of apology, but isn't going to look into that either. Not with the weirdness going on lately. Cain doesn't need demon kitty drama on top of explosions for making treats. "I don't care about the money." That can easily be confirmed. "That's not why I joined. This is finally a place that wants to help others without sending them a bill. That's payment enough." That he gets paid with it? That's just a perk.
"Drat." No Bring a Friend to Work, day. Drat and double drat! Oh well. "I'm so happy you found a place that matches you so well, Doc. That's absolutely amazing. Seriously." Cain grins at that. "I guess I'll just /languish/, in the REAL world, and suffer without ultratech tablets and servitor drones to do my bidding as I craft the future with cybernetics that are sufficiently advanced technology themselves." He is so so SO teasing Martin. "I mean, I get it, cushy new job, no time for us pleeb working stiffs out in the trenches. I can see how you might forget about the 'little people'."
Oh man is Cain having fun ribbing Doc Martin.
All Martin can do is grin. "If you think it's like that.. I've been explaining it wrong. I'm the dumbest one there, remember?" Sorry, all that super tech goes over his head. He does also know that you are kidding. "You are suggesting I thought about you in the first place!" Can give back too! That said he shifts the topic some. "I so hope some of this stuff gets out main stream. Takes so much guess work out of medicine." There's a big sigh over that. Not that Martin did all that much guessing, but the others sure do. "We don't have them either, but imagine hand held MRIs. Wouldn't that be a blessing?" He can sure dream!
Cain mimes getting shot through the heart when he gets zingered. He even flops over with a dramatic looking flail, and twitches a couple times. Actually, rather realistically - but, yeah, EMT. He knows perfectly well what seizures actually look like, and probably (unfortunately) death throes as well. Sometimes you just can't save someone.
"See, now I'm envisioning transporters and tricorders like in Star Trek, wow. That would…that would revolutionize medicine, just the tricorder would, you know? Having essentially a PORTABLE medical lab, medical database, and broad spectrum scanner /in my hand/ would be…epic."
No, he's not /quite/ drooling.
Barely.
Martin fake gasps, "Quick! You dial 911 and I'll start CPR!" Yes, he's demanding that the one having the seizure dial for help. That's how it works, right? As for tricorders, there's a firm nod, "I so dream about that. It would save so much time and trouble. So many lives." For in many cases the victim can't tell you where they are hurt. You have to find it. Doing that in seconds instead of long, long minutes? Epic is totally the word. "I should mention that to one of the geniuses there. He might be able to make it too. Not that the street level folks would get it soon.." Sad reality that.
"On it!" Cain says crisply, then his face works in a game attempt at looking confused and torn, before he busts out laughing and sits up, rubbing at his eyes. "Oh man, that would be something. I mean…I'm pretty good at what I do, but…there's limits, y'know?" He has SO run into vics who couldn't ID their trauma due to the pain or being unconscious, or faint with blood loss or shock. "If you do this, if you get one of them to make such a thing, I would like to at least see it. Can you do that? Because…knowing such a thing is out there, even if it won't be available right away, that…that would be a fine thing."
Wrapping his arms around his drawn up knees, water bottle laying in the grass near by, Martin grimaces, "I can't make promises, Cain." Given in apology. "Mostly because I don't even know if such a thing were possible. Never mind if someone could build it in a reasonable manner. That could take years." While the red-head doesn't get tech, he does at least know it's not a fast thing to develop. There's a lot of testing involved. Apparently a lot of explosions too. If Toni is a proper example. "Shit, I don't even know if it'd be legal to use in public."
Cain's smile fades as he sees the honest anguish about the tech. "Oh, man, I got carried away. Sorry, Doc." He nods his understanding, and isn't tech savvy enough to know how long R&D would take other than 'a long time', at least in the mundane world. Who knows what supers might come up with! Not him, that's for sure.
Not aware of the Splody Factor(patent pending) in SuperTech Research, he just blinks at the last thought and now it is Cain's turn to grimace. "Oh man. Talk about HIPAA concerns…yeah, that's…a very real worry, right there."
Martin reaches over to touch, sharing assurances that it's okay. "You don't need to apologize, Cain." Given with a smile. "Really. Getting enthusiastic about wanting to help people is a good thing." A really good thing! "It's just that I know tech takes time, and some times it's never a matter of if we can, but if we should. And I'm not qualified to know that." The man shrugs, not going to let himself agonize over it. "I'll still suggest it. Maybe something can happen. Even if it means getting smaller, better scanners at hospitals, that'd be worthwhile."
"Thanks Doc." Cain doesn't mind the touch, gripping the other man's hand at his shoulder a moment, and the releasing it. "I admit I might be a tad gung-ho, but you've surely never seen that in the couple of years we've known each other." This with a smirk. "Tech does take time, and DOES need careful adjudication and skills we both lack. Ethics are not something one should just sideline, I concur."
He nods then, totally in agreement. "I would love to see better testing and examination gear in the hospitals. What I'd really like is national medical care as a right, not the privatized /thing/ we have right now."
"You're young." Martin grins about being gung-ho. "That'll wear off you in time." Eventually. Maybe. Before he can say anything more, his phone beeps. As he digs it out, he nods, "I'm so with you there. It's why I moved to RESCUE. I couldn't handle having to not help someone because they couldn't pay."
After glancing at the phone he sighs, "I'm being summoned. Thanks for the water, and it was good seeing you again. How about we both promise to talk more? Let me know if you want to and I'll buy you a round of drinks sometime." That's a promise.