Something was seriously wrong.

She sort of suspected it when she couldn't finish her work out the day before. Noel felt like trash. Afraid she was sandbagging, she pushed on anyway and failed a third of the way through, nearly dropping weights on her own foot. She was tired without any extra, outside reason. Maybe coming down with something?

Things only deteriorated from there.

Noel fell asleep halfway through dinner and Dammit cleared her plate while Michael tucked her into bed. She wanted that food and wasn't trying to not eat. But her exhaustion was so complete and all-consuming that she couldn't fight it. And, even after sleeping the entire evening and night, it didn't subside.

She started making mistakes at work. Caught by surprise by an egregiously hideous tasting lie, she threw up into the microphone she'd been holding as she posed as a member of the press. Her job was intelligence. The whole point was to be inconspicuous and unrememberable, but instead she'd ralphed on a politician who likely wouldn't forget her for a long, long while. Her cover was blown with that posting. No one blamed her, exactly, but she got sent home in shame with chunks still in her hair.

Evening light slanted in through the blinds all sultry and cinnamon, and Noel snuffled in an open mouthed snore with Dammit snuggled up all along one side and Reville sandwiching her other side with her chin on Noel's shoulder and a whine in her throat. Somewhere under a pillow, her alarm was going off and had been going off for more than five minutes by the time she dragged herself up into consciousness.

Everything was effort. So, so much effort, and that wasn't just because once she'd stirred both dogs went into full on lick mode. She dragged her phone close to stop it's wailing and fired off a text to work that she must still be sick. Food poisoning or something. She sent another text to Michael asking if they had a thermometer. It could be flu. Flu wrecked people, too.

She dozed off with her phone propped against her chin while she waited for a reply. Dinner time was fast approaching and the only thing that sounded good was sleep.

Ranger was finally getting a handle on how everything worked in his life. Since having been deaged, Ranger’s life was a near constant stream of unique events. It had been a little over a month though that Ranger could settle in and adjust to his life.

Every week that passed Ranger was able to take a little more off of Jude’s plate at work as he was brought up to speed on how to do the task or learned what he needed to know. Having Evelyn around to spot check everything allowed for his accelerated getting up to speed to not sacrifice work quality.

At the same time SUPER was continuing to integrate Ranger and Noel into operations.

Things had been going well for both of them. Work was going well, they were able to spend time together, and no further body swaps occurred. Ranger was almost certain that it had nothing to do with one of their powers now. He suspected that someone else at the wedding had done it.

When things first started happening, Ranger wondered if Noel had started to overwork herself. Which made Ranger wonder if he was overworking himself. When living so close to work and living with someone you worked with… It was easy to just be consumed by it.

After Noel had vomited on a politician while working, Ranger was worried. Falling asleep while at dinner was not something he didn’t understand. There had been times when he was overseas he’d been close to that all encompassing level of exhaustion. That plus vomiting, that meant something was up. Ranger made a point to keep close. So when Noel texted him one day asking if they had a thermometer, he at BlacTac.

Ranger fired off a text saying that they had tons and he would bring her one. After he closed the laptop on his desk, Ranger went to retrieve a thermometer. One of the often overlooked parts of security is the medical aspect. It was not enough to be there to stop a shooter or renegade mutant, the security personnel should be able to assist with lifesaving measures after the fact. As such there were plenty of medical supplies stashed away at BlacTac.

Normally, precision and accuracy were the name of the game. Any tool, weapon, etc. should be one with high levels of precision and accuracy, and if it did not work counter to usability, one should pursue the most accurate and precise.

Thermometers were not always one of those things.

Ranger took hold of an oral thermometer and made his way upstairs to the apartment. An oral thermometer was a good compromise between accuracy and not needing to stick it into someone's butt.

When the door to the bedroom opened, Reveille and Dammit moved. Reveille calmly lifted her head and gave Ranger a happy, doggie grin. Dammit started beating her tail back and forth. ”Calm down, Dammit.” Ranger said as he walked over to the bed. He lay a hand on Noel’s shoulder and gave her a light shake, ”Hey. How y’ feelin’.” He sat on the edge of the bed and held the thermometer where she could easily grab it if she wanted or he could put it in her mouth for her if she didn’t feel like moving that much.

It was almost like coming out of a deep dive into someone's brain. There was a definite sense of surfacing, of finding her way out, and having to actually try to break through to the conscious world.

Or maybe time travelling was a better analogy. One second she texted Michael, the next second he was there with his hand on her shoulder. "Mmmm. Like magic."

Had he asked her something? Noel worked herself out from concerned and happy puppies- Dogs- Bears. And scrubbed the sleep from her eyes.

"What?" He was holding a thermometer and... oh right. She'd asked for that. She accepted the thermometer and wiped it off before putting it in her mouth, yawned, fumbled the thermometer, and put it back. She'd been back in her own body long enough to have some solid self-protection habits. Otherwise she'd likely be revisiting the Ranger's day.

"Vhanks." Hmm. Talking around a thermometer sucked. She stretched and gave Dammit a scritch so she wouldn't talk while the mercury climbed. It felt silly now. Sure, she was tired, but she clearly wasn't throwing up any more... right this second.

"I acshally feewl better so maybe dthat means food poisoning. What time is it?" Her phone was lost to the bed and sheets quagmire. She did give it a little look, but gave up rather quickly.

"Home early?"

Ranger gave Noel a questioning look when she said ‘like magic.’ He wrote that, and her questioning, off as the confusion people often have when awoken. Ranger just smiled softly at her and waggled the thermometer. He held it by the end that didn’t go in the mouth. Spending a week as Noel had given Ranger an appreciation for how her power worked. As such he made an effort to do small things to help her not dive into memories if she didn’t maintain her guard.

When Ranger handed over the thermometer, Noel wiped it off before putting it in her mouth. Ranger slid his hand from Noel’s shoulder to her side. His other hand was where if one of the puppers—most likely Dammit—got too excited, Ranger could keep them from bumping around into Noel’s face. The last thing someone needed when they had what was essentially a glass spike in their mouth, was a bear-dog bumping their roughly Ranger sized body into it.

”Y’r welcome. An’ I got my hands on some Zofran f’r the vomitin’ if y’ want it. ” Ranger indicated a bottle he had set on the nightstand. It was a prescription drug, but not scheduled. Ranger was able to get a contact that his former self had made to sell him some.

"I acshally feewl better so maybe dthat means food poisoning. What time is it?"

Noel did look better. She still looked tired, but not like she was or was going to be sick. ”Maybe.” Ranger said, not completely convinced it was food poisoning. It explained the vomiting and some of the tiredness, but it didn’t explain her exhaustion for as long as she was feeling it. They could still be two unrelated issues though, ”It’s around seventeen hundred. A little after. Maybe fifteen ‘r twenty after.”

”I stayed here most uh the day in case y’ needed anythin’. Only ran out t’ pick up the Zolfran.” Ranger thought about the work he had going on downstairs for BlacTac and what he needed to do for SUPER. ”I can call it a day though. Nothin’ that cain’t wait f’r t’morrow. Y’ up f’r some dinner soon?”

She shook her head at Zofran. Maybe she'd change her mind later, but for now, she really was feeling okay. Taking things she didn't need, especially ones not exactly prescribed to her, felt like an unnecessary step and one that’d be embarrassing if she did actually end up going to a doctor. The Ranger just wouldn’t go. He just seemed to revel in his ability to get things. Or maybe it was more about being prepared and thinking ahead.

Which reminded her that she absolutely had to catch up on her nightly notes, she’d missed two days now and that would be a totally unacceptable gap if it climbed to three.

“Grab my notes computer?” She tried to enunciate around the glass and began to be really impatient about the thermometer. The old style ones always seemed to take forever and she was maybe making it take longer by talking. Moving to shore up her notes would keep her from talking more, and maybe she could trace back the first time she’d felt bad and connect it to eating something stupid like day old raw oysters or something.

Even though it meant leaving her to the mercy of some needy puppers, he was nice enough to grab it from the table where she’d left it. Noel was generous with her scritches as a form of self-defense.

She’d gotten lazy about it since the swap. Being Michael had been easier in several ways. But he’d been good and had at least tried to keep it up for her while in her body. Then, they’d been working to settle into a living rhythm. Bothi picking up the frayed ends of their old lives and splicing them in with where they were now.

But that was okay considering the lack of huge memory altering jobs and Ranger himself proved a sufficient memory back up as she told him about her days and had ready and willing access to him and his memory.

But that was lazy. Once Ranger dropped the computer in her hands she fired up her most recent, and spotty, document so that she could set to work tracing her days back.

“If you have stuff to do, you don’t have to babysit me. I’m fine. Honestly. I’m sure there’s something I can microwave.” She wasn’t hungry, but she wasn’t not hungry. She also was not the cook in this relationship, so it felt a bit foolish to turn down an offer of food.

Noel gave up on the thermometer—it had to have been long enough by now, right?—and took it out, twisting and turning it so she could see the temperature before passing it over. At worst she was half a degree up, totally explainable by having just woken up from under two tons of dog.

“Looks normal to me. Wish I’d kept a better track on what I was eating the last couple days.” She frowned at the screen. Or better track, in general.

There was no need to ask where the notes computer was. Ranger had seen it on his way in. ”Sure thing.” Ranger said before he went to retrieve it from the table.

Ranger had first hand experience at how important it was to maintain good notes. When he had been in Noel’s body there was no less than one instance where a decent chunk of a day was lost, but Ranger had recorded enough of it to get by. Had Ranger spent more time in Noel’s body he likely would have been more meticulous and detailed with notes. As it was, the notes from the week he spent as her were written like a mission report but only recording highlights. Lots of nothing for large stretches of time and then pages and pages all about a five second window.

Often the places he chose to focus were not where the detail should have been in retrospect.

When Ranger handed Noel the laptop he was happy to see that the puppers had behaved themselves. Although, it looked like Noel had been giving them scritches. The puppers were bribed into good behavior. That made more sense.

Ranger sat back down on the bed and took over scritch duty from Noel.

Noel insisted that she was fine and Ranger could go on with anything he had to do. Ranger looked at her, she did look fine.

”There might be, but if it was food poisonin’ let’s not tempt fate with leftovers.” Ranger gave a last few scritches and then patted the puppers on their sides, indicating that was all they were getting. Miss Rev lay down and looked pitiful. Dammit put her head under Ranger’s hand in a demand for more head scritches. ”Spoiled little turd.” Ranger laughed.

Ranger pushed Dammit’s face away and stood up from the bed. Noel checked the thermometer. She said it looked normal. Ranger took it from her and gave it a glance. Maybe a little warm but still within a normal range. Especially considering her bedfellows.

”While y’ look int’ that, I’ll start on something’ t’ eat.” Something easy to keep down just in case.

Chicken, lightly seasoned. Ranger could always sauce his up for flavor and if Noel was up to it she could too. If she wasn’t, it would be palatable and easy. Steamed broccoli and then maybe some bacon. Ranger needed something that could fuel his body. His body burned an absurd number of calories and that was before his power decided to join the party.

”Let me know if I can help y’ with it.” Ranger said before he walked out the door to head to the kitchen.

Ah. Good point on the leftovers. Noel may have thought about protesting, but if he wanted to stay, he would stay. If he had something pressing, he would have gone. He was a grown man that could make his own decisions. The thought of being sick with dwindling strength and an inability to take care of herself made her bite her tongue. Once upon a time, she was sure she'd choke to death alone in a bathtub or something. Nice that wasn't exactly an option with Michael around.

"Thanks." If she was to lead a spoiled life, she may as well enjoy it. Revvie looked at Noel with expectant eyes and who was she to say no to them? "Don't worry, I'm sure he loves you too." Too. Because this was one of those moments that made her feel cherished and mushy inside.

Noel scrubbed her face as soon as the Ranger was out of sight. She was fine. Sore in weird places, like throwing up sometimes liked to leave it's mark, but she was very stubbornly not going to worry about this. At least not until she had more information, which she very easily could now that her notes were in hand.

The first order of business was to check all the boxes. Date. Time. Events of the day. Noel filled out a brief outline of the day. Much as it would please her to forget public puking, it was an important highlight. She was definitely more practiced at discerning what was practical to include. While Michael's logs had been... enthusiastic, they hadn't been the most substantial. She'd gone and added a TLDR to a few of them, even.

The last step was to check her countdowns from yesterday and update any ongoing reminders. Only, there was no countdown. Because there was no yesterday. Ugh. She had to go back further than was pretty to pick up the thread of numbers. Michael had done his best to carry on, but not having had that phase of her cycle line up for Michael, while a shame, meant he hadn't realized what he'd been counting down toward. Then it was a few patchy days when they'd swapped back and been testing their options... There'd been a lot of new things to learn about each other and living together and working. She'd lost the thread somewhere in there and must have forgotten.

It was easy to tab through and add the numbers in. The smell of cooking bacon tempted her out of bed. Dammit had already abandoned her to beg for scraps, no doubt. Revvile was torn.

"Oh fine. Let's go keep him company. We can both beg. I'm not above begging for bacon." Revvie moved when Noel saved and flipped the laptop shut. The smell seeded her hunger. Noel felt a bit weak getting up. Well, sure. She hadn't kept much of the food she'd eaten in the last two days. That was to be expected. She also felt a bit shaky as she slipped onto one the bar stools that overlooked the kitchen. Just walking across the apartment was effort. Silly. She'd eat and then feel back to normal.

With just the two of them, there wasn't any need for a full table. They'd found that staying high up significantly reduced food stealing from the two pupperonis now begging at the stove.

"What's on the menu?" She detected a scent, subtle but insidious as she flipped open the laptop again. Determined to ignore it, she tried to remember what might be relevant from the last two days that she'd skipped. She made a note that she was filling in empty days she'd skipped. That seemed relevant. She got to typing.

The stove was getting a workout. Bacon was in a pan and chicken was on a griddle. Another pan held more bacon. Ranger knew once the smell from the bacon hit the air there would be begging. The least surprising thing was that Dammit was first in line.

Ranger was flipping the bacon when the pitter patter of doggie nails on the floor announced her arrival. ”Can I help you?” Ranger asked as he looked down at the dog whose face was above his waist while she stood there. It still blew Ranger’s mind how large the pair of dogs were. He was glad that they were both females. The last thing they needed was one or two dogs that had somewhere around twenty pounds on him. Each.

Dammit chuffed and Ranger shook his head before snagging one of the strips of bacon off the pan with his asbestos fingers and held it over Dammit. ”Stay. Sit. Sit….C’mon, sit.” Dammit just stared at the bacon and chuffed again. ”Dammit, Dammit.” Ranger said, fully understanding why the dog had its name. Ranger tossed up the bacon and Dammit jumped onto her back legs and snagged the meat from the air.

The gift of bacon only brought Dammit back for more. She sniffed at Ranger’s feet before shouldering his leg and chuffing. ”Y’ cain’t have all the bacon. No…. No. There’s food in y’r bucket! I can see it from here. Go eat that.”

She didn’t.

Ranger sighed and tossed Dammit another strip of bacon. ”But that’s it f’r now. Gotta have some f’r the rest of us.”

After Ranger had transferred one round of bacon to a couple of plates with paper towels laid on them and reloaded the pans, Noel and Reveille made an appearance. Noel asked what was on the menu. Ranger looked back to see her seated at the bar, laptop open, and Reveille walking over to sit at Ranger’s feet. She got a strip of bacon. It was only fair.

Ranger thanked his past future self for making sure Reveille behaved better than Dammit. The last thing they needed was two Dammits. ”Grilled chicken breast, steamed broccoli, an’ bacon.” Ranger said as he flipped over the breasts. He wanted that nice diamond sear on it. ”Didn’t know what y’d be up f’r s’ I made somethin’ that goes down easy but can easily be spiced up if y’ want.” Ranger grabbed a plate of the bacon and set it next to Noel.

Some avocados, a bowel, and a trip to the fridge and Ranger started on guacamole. Tomato, onion, jalapeno, cilantro, lime, and salt. Ranger diced the ingredients separately and dumped them in small bowls. Normally he’d mix it all into the avocado as he mashed it, but this way Noel could decide what she did or didn’t want… or what her stomach would and wouldn’t handle.

”Any luck?”

A bacon appetizer arrived and Noel noticed he was taking care on all the cooking, even the guac (which had always felt safe and neutral before) was taking extra bowls. A girl could get used to that kind of attention.

"Smort."

Noel snagged a bacon piece and frowned at the numbers at the bottom of the page again. Surely she was forgetting or getting things mixed up. The numbers were negative. By a lot. She nibbled thoughtfully at a crispy end of bacon, her mouth flooded with saliva, but the underlying smell that she couldn't quite place kept her from taking an actual bite. She flipped back to zero and added a second set of numbers. What things should have been, assuming she was just forgetting.

> "Any luck?"

"Well there's no mention of eating old seafood. As usual, math is hard and-" -and opening her mouth this much had somehow made the smell worse and more present. Her nostrils flared and she shut her mouth. She didn't see how Ranger asking about luck even could be a lie. She hadn't lied, had she?

Trash. The trash was nearby. She was all too ready to blame that and spoke in clipped measures. "-and the trash reeks. I'll bag it. She who smelt it."

Noel slipped out from her seat and opened the lid to the trash.

It hit her hard and so suddenly that she had to grab the sides of the trashcan to brace herself. That brought her face to face with raw chicken. It had come in some packaging, the packaging was in there because he'd been good and cleaning up after himself as he cooked. What had been subtle before was now a rollercoaster ride in her stomach. She locked up with beads of sweat popping up across her temples with stubborn defiance.

Zofran? That's what he'd called it, right? She inhaled, a subconscious precursor to her intene to ask, and that was it. Her iron will was erased in a breath and she vomited into the trash can. At least she was already there.

Ranger sliced the avocados open and removed the pit with the practiced hand of a Texan who got tired of saying he knew it cost extra when he knew how to make it better anyway. Slice it open, pull the pic, scoop out the glorious greenness, repeat until avocados are gone, mash until creamy consistency is achieved. Add salt.

Noel answered Ranger while he was working away. His hands moving through the practiced motions. She nixed the easy culprit before saying math was hard and stopping. Ranger cocked his head to the side. Noel, after a brief moment with her face reading like she had tasted a lie, spoke again.

The trash. The trash?

While Noel had offered to bag it, Ranger found it odd she could smell it. ”Huh. I don’t smell it... Must be the cookin’.” All Ranger could smell was the bacon and chicken and the guacamole ingredients.

Ranger had turned to pull another bowl out the cabinet. He could divide the guacamole between that one and where it was. That way he could go ahead and make his guacamole… And dip bacon in it. As Ranger was shutting the cabinet he heard it.

The unmistakable sound of vomiting.

There are few noises that generate such immediate and visceral reactions like the sound of someone vomiting does. For some it is a sound that makes them want to vomit. Others run for the hills. Ranger, set the bowl on the counter before he was behind Noel, placing a hand on the small of her back to let her know he was there, and saying, ”Hey, let’s lay y’ back down.” Whatever Noel had that was causing her problems was not past. ”An’ I’ll get y’ some water an’ some Zofran.”

Ranger hung close to help Noel to the couch or the bed, her choice. Vomiting was never a fun experience and there were certainly times where he didn’t want to have to walk anywhere after he threw up.

She'd barely eaten today. Actually, considering she was already negative one meal and slept through the next, she'd mostly thrown up the blue gatorade she'd snagged to drink earlier. Ranger was there before she'd even finished heaving, bless him. And she couldn't apologise enough, letting out a near constant stream of "I'm so sorry"s and "it came out of nowhere"s. She kept her eyes on his chin or lower, unable to trust herself and her reactions. Feeling weird often set off a chain reaction of suck. But this time, weirdly, when she straightened up and the lid to the trash was closed off the scent back to the barest trickle... she felt fine. Better than fine, she as if she might be able to down the entire plate of bacon now, assuming they got the trash out and far enough away.

There was something wrong with her, and it wasn't something she could take outside and shoot. Her body seemed to be freaking out in a big way about something, trying to alert her to the danger.

On the way to the couch, her mind started to suggest a few what ifs that she quickly shut down before they'd fully formed. She didn't know. She didn't want to imagine.

She was almost afraid to say that she felt fine, instead accepting the water and Zofran when offered to her. "This okay for an empty stomach?" If they'd thought their medicine through, it would be. She stole a longing look at the food which smelled incredible from here.

This really was no fair. Noel zoned out with her chin on the couch's arm rest, watching Ranger's torso as he moved around handling things.

She was starting to be a bit concerned. "It's weird, I feel totally fine right now. Then, all of a sudden I feel incredibly not fine. I'm back to okay now." She left the water bottle on the coffee table and pulled her legs up until she could curl up as small as she could go. Not even Dammit could nose her way in. The real cherry on top was that, despite not even finishing her workout, the bench press had managed to leave her chest tender.

So she was sore, exhausted, nauseated, and had a hair trigger stomach. That sounded like... "Oh God, I hope it's not a brain tumor." On that happy note, she decided that she felt okay enough to go brush her teeth.

Noel apologized unceasingly. Ranger softly smiled back at her and said, "it's alright. It's alright." Tob Ranger there was nothing Noel needed to apologize for. She didn't intend to paint everything in front of her blue, and she had excellent aim. "y' got nothin' t' apologize f'r."

Ranger grabbed a tea towel, and after brushing some hair out of Noel's face, wiped the stray bit of sick off her lips. After he set the towel back down, Ranger helped Noel to the couch. Ranger was ready to carry her if necessary, but Noel suddenly seemed better. Like removing her from the trash can returned her strength.

After Noel was on the couch, Ranger ran back to the kitchen to turn off the stove. If smells were setting Noel off, she likely didn't need smoke from burning chicken and bacon. That done Ranger grabbed a bottle of water and retrieved the Zofran.

When Ranger handed the water and one of the pills to Noel, she asked if it was okay on an empty stomach. Ranger nodded, "Yeah. It's supposed t' be taken about a half hour before eatin'." Zofran was an oddball drug. You were supposed to take it on an empty stomach and it was safe for pregnant women to take for morning sickness.

The food needed more tending. The heat was off, but the pans and griddle were still hot. Ranger went back to the kitchen and transferred the bacon and chicken to plates.

"It's weird, I feel totally fine right now. Then, all of a sudden I feel incredibly not fine. I'm back to okay now."

Ranger’s medical knowledge was mostly limited to combat lifesaver medicine. He had no idea what could be wrong with Noel. Being fine, then not, and then fine again all so quickly didn’t sound like food poisoning or anything else Ranger had experienced. It was concerning.

A strip of bacon was thrown to Reveille. She was being sweet and not trying to nose in on Noel while she was curled up on the couch. That or she wanted bacon more than she was worried about Noel. Ranger scratched behind her ear after she ate the bacon. ”Glad y’r fine now… It’s concernin’ though.”

"Oh God, I hope it's not a brain tumor.”

Ranger stopped. Plates of food in hand, he stopped dead and looked at Noel who was getting up. He had not even considered that something so serious could be the cause. ”I hope so too.” He set down the plates on the bar as Noel went into the bathroom.

”Maybe we should go t’ the hospital, ‘r at least some clinic.” Ranger asked as he leaned against the doorframe to the bathroom while Noel was brushing her teeth. ”Jus’ t’ rule out anythin’ serious. Like brain tumors.” The thought that what was wrong with Noel could be serious combined with the fact whatever was wrong didn’t line up with any of his own experiences or combat lifesaver training had shaken Ranger.

Had it been himself he might have waited it out a little longer, but Ranger still thought of himself as ten foot tall and bulletproof. The second was true enough. Noel though… Ranger couldn’t not look for any avenue to help and protect her. Protecting people was what he did. Protecting the one he loved even more so. And it was better safe than sorry.

Phantom smells and tastes that no one else was picking up on? Before she'd been a mutant, Noel'd always supposed that she went through a period of time where she was assumed to have been suffering from a tumor or insanity of some sort. That old concern, mostly forgotten, bubbled up in her thoughts now while she scrubbed the backs of her teeth.

Or maybe she was just allergic to blue food dye.

An allergy? She could deal with that. Cancer and the serious questioning of her reality was rather more alarming.

Michael suggesting that she go to a doctor was objectively funny. The situation and the stress made her laugh sound a bit strangled, though. She spit into the sink and rinsed her mouth out well. Good thing she wasn't trying to impress him. She felt so incredibly unimpressive today.

"Are you kidding me? One of the first crash courses I got from Michael Tomahawking Ninja Hunter was not to go to the hospital." She brandished ehr blean toothbrush toward where the ninja scar on his abdomen might be. A precious memory, one of her own that she'd gotten to see from the other side. She could talk about that one with a higher degree of certainty than she could speak to some others.

Noel'd been relatively calm before by mentally dodging any and all hypothetical diagnosis. One had landed anyway, and now anything was on the table which ratcheted her usual calm handle-anything attitude closer to anxiety. If she was well and truly helpless here…

"I mean, you don't just walk in and get a brain scan and it’s after 5.This isn’t an emergency." She set the toothbrush down and held onto the sink for a moment while she tried to be sure that last statement was true.

No. She decided she wasn’t on death’s door, nor was she going to drop dead in the next few minutes, if she could help it.

"Let’s just- You cooked dinner. Let’s have dinner tonight. Tomorrow I can make an appointment somewhere. Or- or maybe SUPER has someone on call.” She touched his arm, still not confident enough to look higher than his chin. That put her at a serious bargaining disadvantage considering that it signaled how much she didn’t trust her own self-control at the moment.

Ranger couldn’t help but laugh. It was short and lacked the usual mirth of his laugh. On the day they had met, Ranger had insisted that he not go to a hospital after having been sliced by a ninja’s sword. Now that spot bore a scar, one Noel was pointing her toothbrush at. ”Y’ have me there.” Ranger said. Noel was right, Ranger had been insistent on not going to the hospital. A lot had happened since that day though. Ranger had started working for the government, he had fallen in love with a woman, and that woman now had something going on that he didn’t know what it was and couldn’t fix. ”I’m just worried is all.”

”I didn’t expect t’ walk in an’ get a brain scan. Maybe some blood work. Find out that it’s somethin’ less serious than a tumor.” Rager said as Noel held onto the sink.

Noel wanted to hold off. Eat dinner. Make an appointment somewhere later… Or have someone from SUPER make a house call. Wouldn’t meet his eyes. Not even close. She was looking at his chin. That meant that she didn’t trust herself in that moment to not accidentally wipe some memories.

Ranger kissed Noel on the forehead and said, ”We’ll eat first.” Ranger nodded as he considered everything for a moment before adding, ”I’ll call an’ see if someone from SUPER does house calls. If not, I’ll find us a small clinic. Somewhere that can just see y’ and take care uh things. Do a couple blood tests an’ just make sure everythin’s fine. I know some people that Demore trained with. They’d have no problem seein’ us after five... Sound fair?” Ranger took one of Noel’s hands in his. ”I jus’ wanna make sure y’r alright.”

"I'd like to be alright, too."

Sort of a compromise, then. Noel let out a shaky breath. Just calling someone made it feel a lot more real, but some part of her absolutely feared that she was just being melodramatic. They'd get there and the doctors would tell her to stop wasting their time. She supposed that would also be preferable to a brain tumor. So she decided that she could live with that. Not knowing in this time of all-knowing was particularly difficult.

"Okay. Fair enough, though you always 'know somebody'." She was torn between accusation, annoyance, awe, and teasing.

Noel took the seat furthest from the trashcan this time, leaving the computer open between them so that she could alternate between picking at her food and picking at the numbers that weren't adding up. Her timeline wasn't jumbled exactly, but there were scrapes and bruises on its face. It was a little rough with all the social situations that'd resulted from their swap and starting a new job and all of her focus so clearly split. A doctor or trusted medic would want answers. She wouldn't stray into "oh I swapped bodies" but she figured that she should at least pluck out the strands of medically relevant information as she studied up.

The bacon cooked in bacon grease turned out to be as delicious as it had smelled earlier. The broccoli, also cooked in bacon grease, was divine. The chicken made her mouth water in that unnerving pre-vomit way so after shredding it a bit, she shoved that to the side of her plate and covered a half yawn that managed to get past her defenses.

There. She definaty jutted her chin at her plate which was at least a third eaten. She'd eaten plenty enough to cough back up later.