Dimensions

Rolling my eyes I beckoned her into the lab and dropped down on one of the stools. Leaning back against the counter I finished my mouthful of cookie. "What's it like to move between dimensions?"

Demi:

I climbed up on a counter and sat crisscrossed. I looked at him for a long moment before I answered. “It feels like…” I frowned slightly and focused on the corner of the room away from him. “It feels kind of like a warm bath after you’ve acclimated to the water temp.” it wasn’t exactly right, but it was the only thing I could think of. “It might be that I’m just feeling the warmth of my own body. And then when I reach the spot that I want it’s a little bit of a shock to adjust to the climate. That’s why I wear the leather jacket. It was my mom’s…”

"It was your moms?" I frowned and rubbed my chin in thought. Putting that aside for the moment I looked at her. "Are you able to pick where you end up or is it a random chance? And going home. What does it take for you to return home?"

Demi:


“Going home has always been easy for me.  Instinctual.  Even when I was a child.  It’s easy for me to find the people I love.”  With a sigh, I brought my knees up, wrapped my arms around them, and rested my chin between them.  “You know what they say, home is where your loved ones are.”

"They say that. But my home has always been with my research. People are...complex, confusing, and ultimately a large disappointment. Emotions get in the way of logic, and as people are too full of emotions, we often make choices that are illogical." Waving a hand broadly to move that topic aside I asked her a few different questions then about her gift. When she first learned she had it, did it become easier over time or was it something that happened naturally, and had she ever had any times where she couldn't slide between worlds.

Demi:

“The only time I have been stuck is when I landed on this world,” I said dully. “I was yanked here without choice, that has happened before but I’ve never been stuck.” I put my cheek on my knee, looking away from him. “I could do this as a toddler. I would go back to before my parents had me to spend time with them. It didn’t get harder to do as I got older, but I did it with less frequency because my mother was worried that something horrible would happen to me. Like getting stuck somewhere. Being kept as a prisoner. Being used in lab experiments. Getting dissected in the name of science.” The more I spoke the more my mood fell. It went from annoyed to bitter.

"The last two wont happen. I've looked at the scans. Nothing could be learned from that. Besides you are an intelligent being, you can talk to us unlike simple creatures that we would dissect." Her bitter tone nearly had me rolling her eyes. Always about being stuck here. Still, perhaps after she was finally released she'd learn to think before using her gift. From the sounds of things she had never once considered...

I paused for a moment in my thoughts and peered at her closer. "You used your dimensional travel to go into the past of your own world?"

Demi:

I was still for a moment. That was one thing I had tried to conceal from him. I didn’t just do dimensional travel, I had the ability to travel backwards in time as well as some control over present time. “I haven’t done it since I was a child,” I said simply. It was true. That at least was more difficult for me. As a small child time was not something I was as aware of, so its effects were lessened. It is easier to get a pebble through space than it is to move a large stone.

I latched onto the idea and was on my feet an instant later. Pacing my eyes moved through invisible formulas. "Not since you were a child. Maybe you still do but its just done subconsciously. There is no way to ordain what time you arrive. And silly to believe that all dimensions and worlds move at the same speed." Freezing in place for a moment I blinked. "I had thought of dimensional traveling as moving from point A to point B. That the space was a blanket that you folded to move to different places. But you don't have to just fold..." I trailed off and resumed pacing.

Demi:

I didn’t say anything else.  Perhaps what I had said didn’t give away other abilities.  Maybe it simply helped him understand what I did better.  “Well if you let me out of here you could find out for yourself,” I muttered.

"Doubtful. Though the idea has its merits." Pausing for a moment I looked at her with amused though slightly reprimanding eyes. "In either case, what you said has changed what I know and believe. I should have expected it."

Demi:

“Congratulations,” I muttered. Movement caught my eye from the window to the hallway. Dr. Lang. I groaned quietly. I didn’t like the woman. She was always watching me, always analyzing everything I did. She was the reason there was a camera in my room now.

Following her gaze I sighed. "Playtime must be over. And remind me to kick Sanji for letting in the riffraff." Turning to face her I reached my hands out. "Might as well take it off, I got all the information I'll likely get."

Demi:

I gave the head gear back almost ruefully despite being annoyed with him. I was more comfortable with him than any of the other doctors.

The rest of my day went on tiringly. As much as I disliked Dr. Lang, it was Anderson who really bothered me. His concerns were with how my body worked, therefore he touched me more than anyone else and it made me uncomfortable. It wasn’t just the way he touched me, it was how he looked at me and occasionally what he said to me.

I didn’t tell Simon that Anderson was making me uncomfortable, but he was still able to tell that I was unhappy. I told him it was the long days of work and always being stuck in the basement. I got moodier and more tired as the days went on.

Simon:

I carried the tray of food carefully as I made my way down the stairs. I could have taken the elevator, but the exercise was nice. Two plates of pancakes, two bowls of berry yogurt, a carafe of orange juice, and to top it all off a thermos of coffee. I had forks, spoons, and empty glasses for it all as well. My only trouble arose when I reached Danny's door. Carefully balancing the tray between one hand and my shoulder I eyed it critically. "Thank god for two years as a server." I muttered.

Finishing out my keycard I swiped it through the lock and then pressed my hand on the scanner to unlock the door. Tugging it open while keeping the card pinched between my fingers I called to Danny, "I'm coming in, hope you are decent. I brought pancakes!" Wedging my foot in the crack I tucked the keycard away and finished by adjusting my suit vest before waltzing in.

Tobias:

Today was a mixture of good and bad. Good, that I had pancakes. They were delicious. Bad, that I had just now learned that Simon could make such fluffy creations. Good, that as Simon was down with Danny, none of the other doctors could come in. Bad, that Veronica had decided today was a good time for a progress report. Good, that I could distract her from yelling at me by giving her pancakes. Bad, that I'd been forced to share them.

And like all good things, they had to come to an end eventually. As I sat in the break room across from Veronica I glanced up, eyeing her wardrobe choice. I'd always been more of a slob than her, but the woman should at least have the decency to drip some syrup on her lapel or something. Granted I hadn't yet, but that was besides the point. One couldn't have impeccable clothing all the time.

Demi:

I sat on my bed reading a book laid out on the bedspread. I was fully dressed, with wet hair fresh from the shower. When my hair was wet it almost had a greenish tinge. It was the closest thing to colored hair.

I looked up when Simon came in. The smell hit me fist and immediately boosted my mood. “That smells amazing,” I said, closing the book and standing up from my bed to greet him. Simon was the only good thing in my life. He was also rather nice to look at, especially now in an outfit that fit him rather well. My cheeks heated up a little bit.


Veronica:

The pancakes had been a nice touch. A peace offering. I at mine in silence, holding off the criticism that I had brought with me and accepting his bribe for a few minutes of peace.

I thanked him again for the breakfast before I went into my lecture, trying to keep it as civil as I could since he had made an effort. There were complaints that Tobi was being a nuisance in the lab. He didn’t directly interfere with the others, But he made sure that they were uncomfortable and inconvenienced when possible. I told him all this along with instructions that it had to stop.

Simon:

I was used to smiling. Working in the service industry and then as a secretary I knew the right smiles to do. Cocky ones, charming ones, eager to please ones. But the crooked little grin that curved my lips as she stood to greet me was more genuine than all the 'right' smiles I knew how to do. "It might be a lot of food... didn't think about it at the time. Whoops." Placing the tray down at her table I dusted off my hands and turned that grin towards her.

Tobi

I made an attempt to not look bored like I usually did when she was voicing the complaints and giving me instructions. In the end we both knew that really she was going through the motions more than anything else. "Fine, fine. I'll behave better." I waved a hand then leaned forward. "Do I at least get to know who complained about me?"

Demi:

I came right up to him and looked down at the tray of food. “It looks wonderful,” I said with a smile up at him. “I bet I can eat my share,” I said, taking a seat at the table. I moved my plate from the tray and poured syrup over the top. “Mmmm.” I melted into my chair after the first bite.

Veronica:

“Who hasn’t?” I said with raised eyebrows. It wasn’t exactly true that they had all complained. Dr. Lang had said nothing, whether it was that she was more tolerant or that Tobi was not messing with her, I did not know. I chose to allude otherwise. I didn’t like the idea of Tobi treating her differently.

I waited for her to take her first bite before I even sat down. Pleased with my handiwork I settled in the seat beside hers and set about my own plate. As I dug into my food I let out a happy sigh. "So what was that you were reading?" I gestured with my fork towards her bed.

Tobi:

I couldn't help the pleased smirk that came to my lips at her words. I was getting to them. Good. It was time to press the attack even further. If it was going to be a battle of their stubbornness against mine, then they had quite a problem before them.

Demi:

“The mystery novel about the girl who got kidnapped,” I said.  I identified with the victim but also I enjoyed reading about this world and the minor differences between it and mine.  “What is today?” I asked.  The girl in the book had kept track of the days by scratching a mark into the wall.  I hadn’t thought to do that.

"Oh, I loved that one.  She had to solve it all herself right?"  I was about to get more into the story but I smartly shoved a bite of pancake into my mouth.  The last thing anyone wanted was to have a story ruined for them. "Today is Sunday though."

Demi:

I thought back over the days that I had been here. “Three weeks, right?” I asked. He would know what I meant. “Maybe next time you could bring me a calendar?” I asked. It would be better for me to track time on my own and not rely on others.

"Oh! That's a good idea. Do you want a folding one where you can see the whole month? Or one where you rip off each day?" At home I had a daily calendar. While at work I used the folding one for the whole month. It wasn't hanging but resting on the desk where I could mark notes on it. Wiping my lips clean on a napkin I reached for the tray and poured myself a glass of juice to sip at.

Demi:

I gave a small laugh and smiled at him. “I don’t think I would have need for a daily calendar. I do the same thing everyday,” I said. With a regular calendar I would be able to better track who would be working with me and when, assuming they didn’t change it up.

"Then I'll get you a new monthly one. Any preference on the pictures? Cute animals, artwork, pictues of places, shirtless hunks." The last one was followed by a teasing grin. Leaning back in my seat a moment I sipped through half my glass before resuming my attack on the pancakes.