A complete novice, you'll be happy to know. [He's not sure he's ever heard of it, actually. Or, if he has, it's so lost in his vast knowledge of amputations and treatments for polio that he's forgotten.]
[Mikhail leans back, working his thumb in firm, steady circles against his temple. Are his hands shaking? He thinks they might be but he doesn't dare glance at them for fear of drawing too much of her unwanted attention. No, better to stick to the matter at hand.] Perhaps you'd care to explain it to me?
Oh! Are you familiar with any physics at all? I don't mind explaining,
but I need an idea of where you're coming fron.
[If she notices, she's not saying anything. Janie is too busy
talking and looking through her bag for the perfect book ] It's
one of my favorite subjects. What are yours?
Barely a jot. I haven't studied it since my schools days. [Perhaps that's a slight exaggeration - he's hardly an idiot, after all - but whatever it takes to keep her talking, to hold her interest. He's not sure what he'll do if she stops.] And you know how these things are. If you don't use the information, it eventually becomes stale. Atrophies.
[His eyes, pupils blown unnaturally wide, fall to the bag she's rifling through.] Oh, I - I'm not sure. I don't think I have any anymore. It's been so long since... [Since he last found it within himself to feel... anything, really, much less enthusiasm.] It's just been so long.
Something like that. [Unless, of course, by 'out of' he means 'restricted from going anywhere near', then he'd be right on the money. Ugh. If only he could slip out of his office to the pharmacy for just five minutes, perhaps feign a stomach ache or something. It would hardly make a liar out of him, in all honesty.]
[God, he feels nauseous.] But that's neither here nor there. [Straightening with a long-suffering sigh, Mikhail attempts a smile - it's feeble and watery and drawn down at the corners, hardly convincing - and resists pressing a hand to his roiling insides. He stuffs them into his pockets instead.] You're here to provide some light entertainment. So start... entertaining.
Tell me about your hernia operation. [Because that one was certainly something, if Mikhail remembers correctly - there've been so many since then - but no one forgets their first.]
So, just like the sound I made when I found this to begin with... ;)
[He paled considerably, which was saying something given the shade he started with. The ice cold panic that had gripped him as he face his first hernia operation came upon him anew, as if he was right back there.] The patient... well, of course he waited too long. And the exertion of travel... And... well, he died. I might have... nevermind.
[He takes out a cigarette with shaking fingers, dropping two more on the ground at the same time, then fumbling to retrieve them.]
Now, now. [He claps the younger doctor firmly on the shoulders with both hands, giving him a reassuring squeeze as he straightens back up.] There's no need for any of that. You'll have plenty of chances to get the hang of it.
[And, since they're there, he'll just be helping himself to those cigarettes, pinching them both of the younger doctor's trembling hands and tucking one of them safely behind his ear. Maybe the nicotine will help to settle his stomach.] Don't mind if I do.
no subject
no subject
[Mikhail leans back, working his thumb in firm, steady circles against his temple. Are his hands shaking? He thinks they might be but he doesn't dare glance at them for fear of drawing too much of her unwanted attention. No, better to stick to the matter at hand.] Perhaps you'd care to explain it to me?
no subject
Oh! Are you familiar with any physics at all? I don't mind explaining, but I need an idea of where you're coming fron.
[If she notices, she's not saying anything. Janie is too busy talking and looking through her bag for the perfect book ] It's one of my favorite subjects. What are yours?
no subject
[His eyes, pupils blown unnaturally wide, fall to the bag she's rifling through.] Oh, I - I'm not sure. I don't think I have any anymore. It's been so long since... [Since he last found it within himself to feel... anything, really, much less enthusiasm.] It's just been so long.
late tag is late
:O! The sound I just made was indecent. Seriously. <333
[God, he feels nauseous.] But that's neither here nor there. [Straightening with a long-suffering sigh, Mikhail attempts a smile - it's feeble and watery and drawn down at the corners, hardly convincing - and resists pressing a hand to his roiling insides. He stuffs them into his pockets instead.] You're here to provide some light entertainment. So start... entertaining.
Tell me about your hernia operation. [Because that one was certainly something, if Mikhail remembers correctly - there've been so many since then - but no one forgets their first.]
So, just like the sound I made when I found this to begin with... ;)
[He takes out a cigarette with shaking fingers, dropping two more on the ground at the same time, then fumbling to retrieve them.]
Pretty much :D Yay for obscure fandoms!
[And, since they're there, he'll just be helping himself to those cigarettes, pinching them both of the younger doctor's trembling hands and tucking one of them safely behind his ear. Maybe the nicotine will help to settle his stomach.] Don't mind if I do.