Issue 1 Downtime

While Nailah was still recooperating at home, per doctor's orders, and Sam was at work, Will went across the hallway and knocked on her door, carrying a tray.

"Come in! The door's open!" Nailah voice comes faintly from inside the flat.

Will opened the door with one hand, using his other two hands to carry a tray filled with sausage, scrambled eggs, and orange juice. "Hello hello hello?"

"I'm in the living room, Will." she lets him know form where she is sitting on the couch with a book. Just a regular, mundane paperback.

"I was wondering if you'd be out of bed. Should you be out of bed?"

"Yes, I'm fine. The only reason why I'm not back to work is because Sam worries even more than everyone else."

"She does, does she? I guess I'll have to step up my game," Will said, bringing in the breakfast.

"Please don't. This is bad enough already." she smiles faintly. Despite her words she's clearly enjoying being waited on to some degree at least. "By next week word will probably have spread that I was attacked by vampire-assassins from outer space."

"Current rumors are you had a violent argument with a blood-demon of some sort.

Nasty stuff, blood. I can see why you wanted to get rid of as much as possible. I don't touch the stuff, myself."

"If that's the case then I don't know why the infirmary decided to pump two liters of the stuff into me, blood-demon or not." she chuckles.

"I find I'm much better off without," he laughed, and then paused.

"You are alright, yes?"

"I'm fine. They said to take it easy for a couple of days to make sure my blood pressure doesn't crash and Sam has been not very subtly keeping a finger on my pulse because the doctor was stupid enough to point out that there's a tiny chance the sudden back and forth might make my heart freak out. It hasn't and it won't but you try telling her that. They wouldn't have let me out if I wasn't okay."

"Yeah, I can imagine She is very concerned about your well being..."

"Well yes and I don't really blame her. And it's a good excuse to catch up on my reading. I'm sure my students aren't exactly heartbroken that classes were cancelled either."

"You're not going to...be making any return trips to the infirmary, are you?"

"I certainly don't intend to."

"I'm glad to hear it, because...people....were worried."

"If there's something you want to ask, you can just go ahead, Will."

"You realize what might happen if Sam lost you, yes?"

"Yes, I've seen that future. What do you think I did this for."

"I don't dare guess at your motives, Professor."

"When you're not actively in my class you can call me Nailah, Will. And I did this so she wouldn't ever have to lose me. Look at her, she's been in her early twenties for years now. She barely ages, even if she does her best not to talk about that. She'll humor me eventually, let herself grow older in increments, but it'll just be for show. Until I eventually die and leave her to either forget about me or tear herself apart. I had to find a way around that."

"When I'm trying to treat you with the respect due someone She has chosen to spend her life with, I think I'll call you Professor.

I know a little bit about....letting things show for show. I'm just afraid of what might happen if she gets hurt."

"And I'm saying I won't let that happen. It took some work but I'll be with her as long as she'll have me. No matter how much or how little she'll age, I'll be at her side."

Will stared at her for a moment, and Nailah would almost get the feeling she was being...evaluated.

Then, he nodded. "Just...be careful. I nearly had a heart attack when I heard what happened, and the rumor mill's been going crazy."

"I'm less concerned about the rumors than I am about Miranda storming out when I told her about this."

"Oh geez," Will sighed. "What happened this time?"

"She was angry I didn't plan on telling her right away. And then I think she got angry because she felt that I was planning for a life without her, which is precisely why I didn't want to tell her in the first place."

"You didn't let her know what was going on before hand?"

"No. Why worry her with something that won't change anything for a long time?"

"OK, tip from one parent to another. Kids don't like it when you keep things from them. They have, like, this sixth sense, even when they're not precognitive. As far as I know."

"No offense, but your daughter is what, three years old now? You don't tell your children everything because it's not something they need to be burdened with. I wouldn't discuss finances with her either. Some things can wait until they're older, especially when they are still catching up on sixteen years of experience."

"If Robin asked about finances, I'd explain it to her," Will countered. "Using little words and pictures and finger puppets.

And your daughter is, what, 18 months old?"

"Give or take, but you know that's hardly representative. My point is that I knew she would take it the wrong way and get upset. I just tried to protect her from that."

"You can't protect your kids from every skinned knee."

"No but she's had quite enough skinned knees already."

"She turns out alright."

"She shouldn't have to deal with things that won't concern her for a long time. Trust me, I know what that's like and it's not fun."

"Some of that is just called planning. I know I'm not the posterboy for that, but..."

"Will, I know what it feels like to be marginalized by your own future. What does it matter what I do today or tomorrow when I know I will end up in a certain place 5 years from now. What's the point of romance or relationships when I know who I will be with in a decade? I know what it feels like and I know that it takes time to come to terms with those things. I wanted to give her that time so she won't have to feel like there's no point in this family now because her mother can't stop looking ahead."