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[mamanurse]

[Melissa appears on camera, wearing her nursing scrubs, looking more than a little frazzled. Her jaw is set and she also looks pissed in addition to frazzled. Look out, mom on a rampage.]

Okay, you know what? It can't hurt, here goes nothing. I get here somehow I don't quite remember, and I'm told that talking to a bunch of strangers on-line will answer all my questions. I really hope that's the case, because I'm not feeling in the mood for any games.

So, tell me where I am please? And how I can get home? I don't have any on-line names, you can just call me Melissa. I don't mean to be rude, but I have a job to do and a son to raise and a mortgage to pay. So...I gotta go.

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[mamanurse]

Wait, you mean...

[That's when he opens the door for her, and she has to put this conversation on hold. She holds up two fingers to the host at the front, and then settles in to the booth with her son. Hopefully the chatter of the restaurant will cover their weird conversation.]

...Okay. Run that by me one more time. Are you saying that if we die in this world, we can never get back home again? Or if we die here, we're never able to come back?

[affectioning]

[ It wouldn't be the weirdest conversation today. ]

If we die here, we can never get back home again. I think. There's a fringe group working on getting everybody out. Maybe, that'll be a part of it. [ He looks off for a second, okay, he's back. ] What else...

[mamanurse]

[She frowns at that, but...in consideration of the fact that she'd be dead the thought of not being home after that is a minor one. Dying is pretty final, after all.]

Honey...honey. Listen, if we're stuck here, then...we're no worse off than when your dad left, right? We'll start all over again. Whatever weirdness is going on, we'll be fine.

sob.

[affectioning]

We will.

[ And he knows this. So, an NPC waiter comes up and before Scott can do or say anything different, Scott looks up and literally says ] Truth or Dare?

omg

[mamanurse]

[The waiter blinks, shakes his head, and looks to Melissa with a 'wtf' look on his face. It echoes Melissa's.]

...What are you doing?

it's his curse today

[affectioning]

[ He blinks. Not the time or the place. But, that's his burden for hopefully only 24 hours, but apparently it can last 48? Not okay! ]

We need a minute.

[ A sheepish closed mouth smile as he guiltily turns to his mom. ]

And I'm sorry! [ He calls after the waiter. ] I'm cursed.

i know dear god scottie

[mamanurse]

Cursed? What? Since when? Is this a werewolf thing?

[Oh god Melissa you have no idea what you're in for.]

[affectioning]

No. It's a City thing. [ A deep breath. ] There used to be people who ran things. They called themselves deities. But, they might not have been. Their job was to curse us. Periodically, I guess. But, a group fought them, ousted their regime and tried taking over. They tried stopping the curses by blocking the energy that causes them but that got everyone sick. Not me, I'm okay. And so is everyone else. I got here too late to be affected.

[ Wait, he should backtrack. He frowns. ]

And a curse is, well, it can be anything. But, it can change your personality - make you do things like this. All day I've asked strangers Truth or Dare. And if they actually played, I felt compelled to play along. Derek figured out I was cursed. But, it's not something you can stop. It just ends.

[ Another breath. ] Anyway, the group, they called themselves anonymous, started up the curses again and this weekend is a weekend of random ones. I saw a memory of Stiles' on the network. So did everyone. And Jim's.

[ Oh, a fun bomb to drop. Eyes wide, now, as he leans in. ]

Oh! Also. Things and people that were fictional - aren't. Here. Captain Kirk is here. And so is a lot of his crew. Stiles and I are friends with them. And I'm not kidding. [ He sits back. ] I can't control it.

[mamanurse]

[As all of this tumbles out of his mouth, she's following along helplessly, bobbing her head along slightly at each point, and blinking a lot.]

There are curses that change your personality, and Captain Kirk is here. The Captain Kirk. Star Trek. Like, the television show.

[Then she turns to the side, and raises one finger to signal their waiter.]

Waiter! One martini. Double gin. Thanks.

[affectioning]

No, movie Kirk. The new movie. Chris Pine Kirk.

[ Hey, what about him? ] And a coke? [ Or a beer? ]

[mamanurse]

[NO BEER. B|]

You know, I was with you right up until that part, Scottie. Fictional characters? Really? I mean...that's just. How?

[affectioning]

[ Half a pint. ]

I don't know. I don't know everything. But, I know they're here. Kirk. Dr. McCoy. Uhura. [ He doesn't know she's gone yet. ] Spock's apparently here now. Stiles made them lasagna. And Dr. McCoy is helping me with the animal shelter. [ Something he's proud of so he slows down. ] There isn't a clinic here. I want to convert the animal shelter.

[ Another breath. ]

It's going to take time. And I need to find people who can remodel - carpenters. A staff. It'll take a few weeks but that's what I want to do.

[ God, he really is going a mile a minute. ]

Sorry, I'll slow down. I can answer anything you need. Or, I can try. I don't know everything yet.

[mamanurse]

[...You can have half a beer at home. Later. Not in public.]

Deep breath, hon. Slow down.

...Half the cast of Star Trek is here. I can't even imagine how that's possible. Are there any other fictional characters here? Am I gonna come face to face with...I don't know, somebody from CSI: Las Vegas?

[affectioning]

[ You might need to give Stiles, one, too. He nods, taking a gulp of soda when it's sat down on the table along with his mother's martini. ]

Not yet. And we don't tell them anything. They're just people. [ Which is weird. ] Oh. Actually, we're invited to a day at the beach with them. [ Obviously, you're coming. You'll believe him, then.

He's gotten through most of the otherworldly stuff. Magic is too hard to explain. He's got timelines. Not giving information away. ] It's like back home. Nobody knows I'm a werewolf. [ That never changes. Not yet, anyway. This place would probably take it in stride. But, we will see. ]

Okay. I do have something else to tell you. [ His other hand finds his soda glass as he looks down. ] Stiles and I are living with Derek.

[mamanurse]

[Oh god, drunk Stiles. Not something she ever wants to cope with.]

...You're living with Derek Hale? Um. No you're not. We'll find a hotel room tonight, and then I'll go apartment hunting tomorrow.

[affectioning]

[ He's done it a few times. No he hasn't. Shh. What? ]

There's no hotel. There's the Welcome Center. And all our stuff is there. He's okay. [ A little gruff. Quiet. They made up. Sort of. ] I'll take the couch tonight, you can take my bed, and tomorrow we'll find an apartment. [ He's not trying to be that guy. The son who's not a son but a werewolf. ] Stiles lived with him for a year. Derek looked after him. He invited me to stay. But, it doesn't mean I'm pack. [ He's told you before that's not something he's interesting. So, he's saying it again. ]

It's the easiest thing. We have food there. And it's safe, outside of the city. [ In the forest. He slides the drink away and finally looks at a menu before looking up at her. ] Are you okay?

[mamanurse]

I am. Soooooo. Not okay. I'm about as far from okay as you can be before you fall off the edge.

[Oh god a martini. She has no way to pay for this but she'll figure that out later. She takes a long, slow sip, feeling the burn.]

If I were in a wetpack somewhere, with four burly orderlies holding me down, you'd tell me, right?

[affectioning]

[ He'll pay for this. She doesn't have to think about that right now. He just waits. Half his mouth curves into a smile. ]

I'd be the first to tell you. And I'd visit you every day. And bring you stuff. And tell you stories. [ And maybe in another universe, he'd bring dad. Or, Allison. Allison always liked her, right? ] You're not crazy. As crazy as things have been, I'm not crazy.

[mamanurse]

Okay. I'm gonna trust you on this.

...Although I still feel weird about staying in the same house as Derek Hale. He's not gonna give you any more problems, is he?

[affectioning]

No. Back home, we're all on the same side. We have to be. [ Here and there. ] We only have to stay for one night. Maybe two. However long it takes us to find a place. [ He promises to go apartment hunting with you.

Also, with several bedrooms just in case? ] Also, when I said it was out of the City, I meant about ten/fifteen minutes into the forest. But, it's safe!

[mamanurse]

You're living. In the forest. With Derek Hale.

[She takes another big gulp of her martini.]

I think I got here just in time.

[affectioning]

[ It's not that bad! ]

Only for the last two weeks. [ Stiles, a lot longer. ]