Sandstorm {Discontinued}{Rewritten}

29. New Friends and Trouble pt 2

Trigger warning: Graphic scene of suicide attempts. Viewer discursion advised.

{~}

Rip and Dez went down to the library to do some research for a bit. Deserey was still pretty cynical when he came to biological families, but she wanted to help Rip find some solace with his if she could. After a half hour of fruitless searching, the duo went to check up on Ray and the two halves of Firestorm in the med bay. Unfortunately, Jax and Stein were arguing again.

Rip and Dez got there at the end of it all, but poor Ray was stuck in the middle of the whole thing. (Ray explained in further context later. Apparently, he had told Jax to just rest since he was still a bit off from his injuries, and that had caused the professor to snap. Jax had jumped into defense mode at once; and the two halves of Firestorm went back and forth, arguing about the exact meaning of their partnership and the importance of their mission. It ended with Jax exclaiming Stein wasn't his father and the professor essentially calling Jax an insulant child.) Jax stormed past Rip and Deserey as they entered the room.

Ray was staring at the professor with big doe eyes. He looked like he was going to say something, but before he even opened his mouth Stein winced, raising his hand to stop the other scientist. "Don't say it. I know. It was cruel, and unjustified, and I said it just for the sake of hurting him."

Rip shared a concerned look with Deserey. Evidently their football therapy session had not worked at all. Honestly, not really surprising. Though, it was very disappointing. Ray glanced over at the other two before turning his attention back to Stein, frowning with confusion. "Why aren't you telling that to Jax?"

"I had to hurt him, Raymond. It's the only way I can get through to him. I've tried everything else!" It was a desperate attempt to rationalize the rude things he'd said to the other half of Firestorm. Deserey could see that even if she didn't know exactly what he'd said at that moment.

"Well, he's just a kid," Ray said. It didn't sound like he was judging Stein, just stating facts. If anything he sounded worried, not only for Jax but for the professor as well.

Stein shrugged helplessly. In that moment, he didn't really look like a sophisticated professional. He didn't give off an air of knowledge or radiate any confidence. Instead, he seemed just as utterly sad and broken as everyone else on the ship. "So was Ronald and look what happened to him."

Ray froze for a moment. Then, a look of understanding passed over his face. He eyed the older scientist with a look of sympathy and empathy, nodding slowly as he realized why Stein was being such a hard ass. "The former half of Firestorm..."

Deserey remembered Jax mentioning someone named Ronnie earlier when they were arguing then, too. Ronald, she guessed, must have been the guy's full name. She also remembered Jax saying that he had been Firestorm for less time than Stein had. Her insides started playing twister again, a morbid thought occurring to her. She was upset, when that thought was confirmed by the professor a moment later. "I - I can't go through that again. I can't lose another. The reason I'm constantly lecturing Jefferson is because I'm the one who brought him along. If something happens, I'm the one who has to go back to 2016 and tell his mother that her little boy is never coming home." His voice cracked slightly with that sentence. "And I would rather die than do that."

Deserey pursed her lips, looking back and forth between Ray and Stein. The professor wasn't meeting anyone's eyes, and Ray was looking at Deserey and Rip like: Uh, help?  She hesitated for a moment, glancing at Rip. The captain wasn't very helpful though, so she focused on Stein instead. "So, uh, not to pry, but...What happened? To this Ronnie or Ronald, whichever it is..?"