[ Ben's stomach drops when Klaus gives his number, looks up at him and is silent for a few moments. He might not know the details, still - how Klaus got caught up in a robot war, why the fighting was happening, who was there with him - but he knows how bad it was. Some part of Ben's mind wonders if maybe a little of that was how little time had passed since Klaus returned from Vietnam. He knows how these things can bleed into one another...
Quietly, simply, Ben acknowledges: ]
Okay.
[ The corner of his mouth curls up at Klaus's delivery of that (perhaps backhanded?) compliment; Klaus is a lot smarter than most people give him credit for, and Ben knows it. They assume he's an idiot because he clowns around, because he refuses to play people's unimportant little games. But Ben knows better.
He notices as Klaus starts to lag behind, taking the steps carefully, shuffling along the halls like he's just barely keeping it together. With sudden clarity, Ben remembers when Klaus had decided to get sober, and the two of them had gone off looking for Luther. He'd been weak and sweaty and miserable then, and Ben had been terrified about his family falling apart, and in his fear and anger and helplessness, all he could do was goad Klaus on, berate him.
But that had turned out... not how Ben had wanted, and he realizes there is more he can do, now. So he comes up to Klaus's left side and, still holding the device out in front of them for directions, slips an arm around his back to support him as he walks. He wonders if he'd be able to carry Klaus, if it came to that. ]
Oh, yeah, it'll probably do that. A real macho one. Diego will be green with envy.
[ The medical bay ends up being a few more floors down, and Ben can see how pale Klaus's face is by the time they get there. When Ben opens the door and sees it empty, his heart sinks. But maybe the doctors were just in the back? He lets go of Klaus, making sure he's close enough to a wall to lean against it if he needs to, and walks in to assess the situation. ]
no subject
Quietly, simply, Ben acknowledges: ]
Okay.
[ The corner of his mouth curls up at Klaus's delivery of that (perhaps backhanded?) compliment; Klaus is a lot smarter than most people give him credit for, and Ben knows it. They assume he's an idiot because he clowns around, because he refuses to play people's unimportant little games. But Ben knows better.
He notices as Klaus starts to lag behind, taking the steps carefully, shuffling along the halls like he's just barely keeping it together. With sudden clarity, Ben remembers when Klaus had decided to get sober, and the two of them had gone off looking for Luther. He'd been weak and sweaty and miserable then, and Ben had been terrified about his family falling apart, and in his fear and anger and helplessness, all he could do was goad Klaus on, berate him.
But that had turned out... not how Ben had wanted, and he realizes there is more he can do, now. So he comes up to Klaus's left side and, still holding the device out in front of them for directions, slips an arm around his back to support him as he walks. He wonders if he'd be able to carry Klaus, if it came to that. ]
Oh, yeah, it'll probably do that. A real macho one. Diego will be green with envy.
[ The medical bay ends up being a few more floors down, and Ben can see how pale Klaus's face is by the time they get there. When Ben opens the door and sees it empty, his heart sinks. But maybe the doctors were just in the back? He lets go of Klaus, making sure he's close enough to a wall to lean against it if he needs to, and walks in to assess the situation. ]