Well they stole enough of his fucking blood while he slept that the idea doesn't seemed farfetched at all.
"I tried sending out a robot a couple times. Always came back with Cs, I think maybe one B. They're far from perfect, and some things need a delicate touch. Let's hope our breakfast comes with a human."
Higgs snorts. "The one I saw did look pretty damn delicate." Whose brilliant idea had it been, anyway? Leave it to Bridges to take the person out of a job that involves contact with other humans.
He falls quiet after that, though, clearly not sure what to do with himself. This is so new to him. He's never talked so much with somebody, as far as he remembers. Maybe when he was quiet young, but even then he's not sure.
"They've got little boots. Little Bridges boots. Not sure why." Sam has always been more of a listener than a talker, but then again he hadn't had a lot of people willing to listen to him. He feels like he's making up for years of being talked at by being the one doing the talking.
There's an alert that one of their deliveries is here, and Sam gestures for Higgs to take over the computer and accept the order.
He'd never gotten close enough to one of them to notice anything so ridiculous. But as the delivery alert sounds, he's back to knowing what to do.
He taps at the computer for a couple of minutes. "Oh, good. Breakfast's here." He accepts the order, giving the porter a specifically eccentric amount of likes, just as Peter Englert always does.
There are advantages to making it a habit of never showing your face; people tend not to think anything of it.
"I always appreciated the likes I got from you. You were always one of my best customers." And the S ratings didn't hurt, either.
When the delivery comes down, there's a several larger boxes strapped together that he assumes has the baby things in it, and then a regular container for their food. Sam sets the food on the desk, and pushes the other containers in the corner to deal with after he gets some food.
"We might have to move your cot for a minute, to see how the crib goes together. Then we can put it back."
Higgs gives a little shrug at that. "Sure," he says, already standing back up to prop the cot up and out of the way.
"You don't seem so bothered at the idea that your sworn enemy was the one givin' you all those orders." It's a little funny, if he thinks about it. It's too absurd not to be funny. The fact that they're actually apparently getting along is, well...
He's not going to think about it, to be honest. "I'm impressed. It's all in good condition, too. Usually with some of the less experienced ones you get your shit damaged." Maybe that's why porters are starting to go out in teams more often. Huh.
Sam starts unpacking crib parts while he thinks. Sworn enemy doesn't... feel right. He never thought of Higgs like that. "I never saw you as a sworn enemy. I think because Amelie never seemed hurt whenever she contacted me. Desperate, yeah. But not hurt. The Homo Demens were keeping her, but treating her well. At she never once asked to be rescued. She never asked me to forget about the network or delivering supplies to people in order to come save her, first. I would have dropped everything, if she had.
You seemed determined to make me your enemy, though," he adds, gesturing to the wall.
Well, there's something he hadn't expected. Especially with how Sam had punched him so at their final meeting.
He doesn't say anything right away, once again looking completely thrown by something Sam has said. "To tell you the truth, I'm not exactly certain where that came from. I wasn't... you weren't even on my radar before She told me about you."
"I'm still not sure why she did that. Pointed us at each other. Maybe for entertainment. Maybe she did really want you to take me out, but not until after I finished all her work for her."
He shakes his head and grabs his breakfast, leaning against the wall as he digs in. "I feel like I never actually knew her at all."
"I'm... I don't know." He looks at a complete loss for a long while. "I saw the future. I never saw myself winning, but I always thought I could change that."
He shakes his head, rubbing at his temple. "It doesn't matter."
He doesn't know what to do with Sam's confession. It's not like Higgs had truly known Her either, though he hadn't cared about that so much at the time. He'd just needed to know Her message.
"I had visions of the two of you. Trapping her in your web, stabbing her. And those damned baby dolls. Now I realize I was only seeing what she wanted me to see."
Sam sighs and sets the rest of his breakfast. "You're right. It doesn't matter. Not now, not anymore."
He's not sure what to do with Sam's visions, because it's just more of the same for him, really. More bullshit fed to them by someone who had never had interest in the people she manipulated, beyond what use they had for her.
He exhales a slow breath and scrubs his hands over his face. "Why don't you grab some breakfast. I'm going to see about setting up Lou's crib."
Sam carefully tucks Lou onto the cot so she doesn't get hurt while he's assembling things. He starts unpacking, stacking supplies and blankets in the corner as he finds them. When it looks like he has all the pieces of the crib in one place, he settles on the floor to start assembling things.
Well, isn't that something. Higgs does what Sam suggests, because it's some sort of structure. He's not used to not having someone else tell him what to do. It made things so much easier, having no control. He'd barely had control of his own actions.
...Honestly, he's not sure he actually had much of any control. "Don't wait too long. The food'll get cold."
The food he pulls out of the crate is actual, real food. Not pizza, even. He can't remember the last time he ate anything else. It is a breakfast sandwich, though, so perhaps it's not completely out of character for him.
"I had some," he calls over his shoulder. He'd finished off about half of his sandwich, maybe a little more. Going for so long with only eating the occasional protein bar hadn't left him with much capacity for food. "I can eat it cold, later."
Once he finishes putting everything together, he makes a little blanket nest for Lou in the crib. He changes her into clean diapers and a onesie, and makes sure she's tucked in all nice and safe and sound. "There you go, Lou. Nice big bed for you, finally."
With Sam busy with the baby, Higgs... doesn't actually have anything to distract himself with. He's not the sort to sit idly, so he moves carefully towards his bookshelf, opening the door slowly so it doesn't squeak and startle the kid.
She's so tiny, and so delicate. Hard to believe she's really ten years old. It infuriates Sam, knowing that she was robbed of so many years of childhood. But he plans on giving her that now.
"They do something to make them think they're still in the womb. So they never grow. Fucking barbaric," he says in a low murmur, letting Lou play with his fingers. "But she feels heavier now than when I first got her back. Means she's growing. Little by little, but she is."
"She's a preemie, too. Perpetually seven months old." It's barbaric, thinking about. And the fact that Bridget Strand went and accused him of being the one to continue the BB experiments will... do something to him, when he can even begin to process how to feel about it.
He grabs a book at random— some hardcover book so old the title has completely faded from it. "She ain't gonna be cold in here, is she?"
"She's got her onesie on, that covers her feet. Which is good. And I've got her wrapped and nestled in a bunch of blankets." With a stuffed rabbit that he'd added to the list at the last minute. Impulse buy. "I think she'll be okay. She's a tough little kid. A real fighter. She's been thriving, since I got her out. Taking to her formula real well.
She likes to touch all the things she's seen. On the way here, I'd give her a leaf, or a stick. She'd be happy as a clam feeling it all over."
She certainly looks warm, and Higgs knows that Sam would do anything for the kid. At least one of them knows what the hell he's doing, because Higgs would be completely lost.
"Guess that's something to get in our next order, huh? Some baby toys."
Does a baby so young even need toys? He doesn't have a clue.
"I got her one, for now." He shakes the soft little rabbit at her and smiles when she coos and reaches for it, booping the rabbit's nose against her nose. "I think she just needs a few soft things for now. Maybe something to chew on when her teeth start coming in."
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"I tried sending out a robot a couple times. Always came back with Cs, I think maybe one B. They're far from perfect, and some things need a delicate touch. Let's hope our breakfast comes with a human."
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He falls quiet after that, though, clearly not sure what to do with himself. This is so new to him. He's never talked so much with somebody, as far as he remembers. Maybe when he was quiet young, but even then he's not sure.
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There's an alert that one of their deliveries is here, and Sam gestures for Higgs to take over the computer and accept the order.
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He'd never gotten close enough to one of them to notice anything so ridiculous. But as the delivery alert sounds, he's back to knowing what to do.
He taps at the computer for a couple of minutes. "Oh, good. Breakfast's here." He accepts the order, giving the porter a specifically eccentric amount of likes, just as Peter Englert always does.
There are advantages to making it a habit of never showing your face; people tend not to think anything of it.
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When the delivery comes down, there's a several larger boxes strapped together that he assumes has the baby things in it, and then a regular container for their food. Sam sets the food on the desk, and pushes the other containers in the corner to deal with after he gets some food.
"We might have to move your cot for a minute, to see how the crib goes together. Then we can put it back."
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"You don't seem so bothered at the idea that your sworn enemy was the one givin' you all those orders." It's a little funny, if he thinks about it. It's too absurd not to be funny. The fact that they're actually apparently getting along is, well...
He's not going to think about it, to be honest. "I'm impressed. It's all in good condition, too. Usually with some of the less experienced ones you get your shit damaged." Maybe that's why porters are starting to go out in teams more often. Huh.
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You seemed determined to make me your enemy, though," he adds, gesturing to the wall.
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Well, there's something he hadn't expected. Especially with how Sam had punched him so at their final meeting.
He doesn't say anything right away, once again looking completely thrown by something Sam has said. "To tell you the truth, I'm not exactly certain where that came from. I wasn't... you weren't even on my radar before She told me about you."
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He shakes his head and grabs his breakfast, leaning against the wall as he digs in. "I feel like I never actually knew her at all."
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"I'm... I don't know." He looks at a complete loss for a long while. "I saw the future. I never saw myself winning, but I always thought I could change that."
He shakes his head, rubbing at his temple. "It doesn't matter."
He doesn't know what to do with Sam's confession. It's not like Higgs had truly known Her either, though he hadn't cared about that so much at the time. He'd just needed to know Her message.
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Sam sighs and sets the rest of his breakfast. "You're right. It doesn't matter. Not now, not anymore."
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He's not sure what to do with Sam's visions, because it's just more of the same for him, really. More bullshit fed to them by someone who had never had interest in the people she manipulated, beyond what use they had for her.
"Nothing we can do about it, really."
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Sam carefully tucks Lou onto the cot so she doesn't get hurt while he's assembling things. He starts unpacking, stacking supplies and blankets in the corner as he finds them. When it looks like he has all the pieces of the crib in one place, he settles on the floor to start assembling things.
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...Honestly, he's not sure he actually had much of any control. "Don't wait too long. The food'll get cold."
The food he pulls out of the crate is actual, real food. Not pizza, even. He can't remember the last time he ate anything else. It is a breakfast sandwich, though, so perhaps it's not completely out of character for him.
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Once he finishes putting everything together, he makes a little blanket nest for Lou in the crib. He changes her into clean diapers and a onesie, and makes sure she's tucked in all nice and safe and sound. "There you go, Lou. Nice big bed for you, finally."
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With Sam busy with the baby, Higgs... doesn't actually have anything to distract himself with. He's not the sort to sit idly, so he moves carefully towards his bookshelf, opening the door slowly so it doesn't squeak and startle the kid.
"She's so small."
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"They do something to make them think they're still in the womb. So they never grow. Fucking barbaric," he says in a low murmur, letting Lou play with his fingers. "But she feels heavier now than when I first got her back. Means she's growing. Little by little, but she is."
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He grabs a book at random— some hardcover book so old the title has completely faded from it. "She ain't gonna be cold in here, is she?"
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She likes to touch all the things she's seen. On the way here, I'd give her a leaf, or a stick. She'd be happy as a clam feeling it all over."
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"Guess that's something to get in our next order, huh? Some baby toys."
Does a baby so young even need toys? He doesn't have a clue.
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