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CHARACTERS: Bennett, Marty and Topher
LOCATION: Medbay
WARNINGS: ~~Too much Fran Kranz.~~ Topher being a douchenozzle.
SUMMARY: Bennett teaches Marty all sorts of fun neuroscience things and Topher gets all jealous and insecure about it.
NOTES: Starting with prose, you guys can respond with whatever~

As hard as she was trying not to be, Bennett couldn't help but be all sorts of nervous about hanging out with Marty. She was still trying to read too far into his word choice, wondering if this was a...well, something other than just a friends hanging out sort of date. Which is honestly a really ridiculous thing to be all worked up about. You'd think that someone who has so extensively studied the brain and human behavior would have a better grasp on normal human interactions.

In the end, she (mostly) convinces herself that whatever is going on, it doesn't matter. She's getting the (rare) chance to babble on about her passion for possibly hours to someone who's showing an interest. It's pretty exciting.

Despite that, Bennett went along with her day in the medbay like it was a perfectly normal one. Fidgeting with wires, looking over charts, cleaning things.

She just really, really hoped that Topher wouldn't actually bother coming to work today. That'd be awkward.

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That'd be like, super awkward. If Marty had even a clue that her and Topher had any kind of weird couples tiff issue or whatever. As it is, he just thinks she's a cool chick who knows people's brains really well--and he's interested in stuff like that. Anyone who'd look at Marty wouldn't think he was too focused on science or anything beyond food, television, and his beloved bong Nancy. But naaah, this shit is cool. Science is pretty cool.

(when science isn't fucking you over)

He pops in, just a head and hands around the corner, and then walks on in when he sees that she's true to her word--definitely a lab butterfly, this one. In glasses. and a labcoat. To which he immediately imagines a butterfly in a lab coat and glasses. Yes.

Hey, he hasn't smoked in days, and he still hasn't! Just in case it fucks up her neuroscience. So that bit of odd imagination is all his usual, sober brain. "Heeey, Miss Neuroscience; how's it been?"

It's not even a weird couple's tiff. It's more...neither party involved knows what to do about their mutual attraction. So instead of just talking to each other, they argue.

Somehow, she manages to not get completely startled when Marty shows up. She swivels around in her chair and adjusts her glasses so she can see him more clearly.

"You know, you can just call me Bennett. That's a little less formal," she smiles, then standing up and awkwardly adjusting her skirt and labcoat.

"Alrighty, Bennett." He just continues his pleasant little aura as he comes to a stop, looking around with the usual kind of harmless curiosity. Truth be told, the sharp, clean walls sometimes remind him of the place underground, and it makes him feel a little sick. Today is not one of those days. Never met a 'Bennett' beside her, before. It's a nice name. Good to call someone. "I guess I should be less formal, if you're gonna be looking into my head and all."

"Well, if I was looking into your head because you hurt it, that would probably require more formality but this is just pure scientific curiosity. Or ah, a better way of saying that is ah, this is for fun," She laughs awkwardly, biting her lip. She's having one of those moments where she wishes she were more eloquent.

"So, ah. The scanner is over here," she says, waving towards a big, slightly menacing looking machine. "Whenever you're ready, just step on. It takes a few seconds and then we can, we can start. With the neuroscience."

....

Well, that's not intimidating at all. But this is just some typical science shit, nothing outlandish or ready to murder him or anything. Totally just a machine a scientist uses sometimes. He's too stubborn in his quest for interesting things to run away yelling about evil brain machines (and let's be real that's ridiculous even with everything that has happened). So he works his arms in a circle like he's about to do something that requires energy and steps over to the machine.

"Yaaay, Neuroscience."

BUT WHAT IF

IT RIPS THE FILLINGS OUT OF HIS MOUTH WITH SCIENCE.

— No, nope, that's just his wild imagination going.

Carry on.

"Lead the way, Bennett. I am your squinty-eyed guinea pig."

She turns to type the parameters into the machine, also hoping that it'll hide that dopey smile on her face. It isn't like Marty hasn't seen her grinning like a loon before but it's still embarrassing.

After a second, the machine starts up, gets the scan and stops.

"I don't think you're squinty-eyed. You have nice eyes. The compliment still came out a bit wrong but at least it could have been much, much worse. Like she could have compared his complexion to that of a pig's. That would have been a disaster.

"But that's it, the scan is done so once the data finishes loading we can, we can look at it. Digitally dissect your brain," She smiles grabbing an extra chair and rolling it over next to the computer.

Oh jesus, 'dissect'. But at least she's being cute about this. Better than being a serious creepy scientist. Getting compliments doesn't hurt much, either; like people really ever compliment his eyes. Sure, he's been told he's kinda cute on occasion, but that's typically followed by some deconstruction and lecture of his person preferences in life. That, or he's the one who melts into the background. Tragical.

He looks around and gets sidetracked from that bit of thought, keeping his gaze fixed on the machinery. Don't think about doing anything fishy, machine; he'll be onto your bullshit. Eventually he plops down next to her and gives her his undivided attention, leaning in on his elbows. "That fast? Like — this isn't something you wait around with a book on, or something?"

Bennett doesn't really approve of his...lifestyle choices but she isn't really the judgmental type. She can't really berate him when it's probably just as lecture worthy that she outright forgets to eat a lot of the time. Besides, when his face is in front of her and turning her insides to goo, it's really hard to do anything but gawk.

"Yeah, that fast. It used to take longer but I've, well. We've been working on upgrading things, streamlining them so there's less lag," she explains while clicking around and selecting things. After a moment, a 3D model of his brain starts rotating on the screen.

"Is there...anything in particular that you're curious about? Because I could just start talking about any brain things and then I wouldn't stop and, and that might be boring. Well, fun for me, perhaps boring for you, so. A starting point would be good?" Word vomit all over is always the best thing ever.

For a moment, he looks entirely lost at what to even ask; he fills that time leaning in with her and the newly acquired image, looking at his own brain with a sort of humored curiosity. His brain, man. He'd make a 'wow it's smaller than I thought' joke or something, but mostly, it's just pretty rad that they can get this from just a quick little scan.

Oh, right. Questions. Hnnn. He looks at her with eyebrows raised.

"It's it a healthy brain? I mean, it looks okay to me, but. I'm not big on deciphering good and bad brain, n' all."

"Well," Bennett starts. She keys in a few more things and two more brain scans appear on the screen. "How about you tell me?" Bennett points to each of the scans, "This is a healthy brain. My brain, actually, if you'd like to get specific. And this other one is...bad. To say the least. So which one does yours look more like?"

She can be exceptionally patient when she's teaching people about brains, Bennett loves spreading the neuro-knowledge. Marty's brain is definitely leaning towards healthy, though.

He feels kinda like he's back in elementary school when she talks like that, but he's a-okay with it; he actually liked elementary school. Even if it makes him feel like a colossal dork, he eagerly motions his finger toward the healthier one, "That one. Good to know it's sorta in one piece."

Because after all the shit he saw, he figures there's something a little whacked out about it now. On the inside. Metaphorically. His smile drops a little when he considers that somewhere out there, his brain — and body — is crushed into a soupy disassembled pancake. Dana's, too. He tries not to think about that, or about the other three. Tries not to.

So instead his smile lifts again and he taps at the brain.

"What'd happen to the bad brain, exactly? To get it all jacked up like that?"

Crack is whack?

It's hard not to...giggle. His enthusiasm is incredibly endearing and sweet. His smiling is also kind of infectious and would it be creepy if she just stared at his face for a while?

Yeah. That would...definitely be a little weird.

"The patient had a stroke," she explains, zooming in on the part of the brain that's had the most damage. "This is the pre-frontal cortex, that's where everything is that makes you...you. Your memories, your personality. All of this was destroyed though, so. This person would be in a permanent vegetative state."

"Yeesh. So that's what happened to nana." Mary barely even knew his grandmother, so. He hardly sounds wistful or anything other than cringing; looks like a pretty ugly way to lose yourself. At least when he died, all of him went away at one single moment. Turning into a vegetable sounds... like a nightmare, really. He turns back from the screen to her.

"It's kinda crazy, isn't it? That the things that make us people are all... stored up in some squishy thing that just—" He motions with his hands, conceptualizing it. "—grew out of nothing."

Bennett tries to make a sad face when he mentions his grandma but it probably...doesn't look anything like what she intended. Oh well. She forgets about the expression misstep in an instant when he starts philosophizing about the brain.

"Isn't it fascinating?" She probably looks like a sparkly Christmas tree or something, "All those atoms coming together in just the, in just the right way to create you. Like a squishy, organic computer. That's capable of holding more information than any piece of technology we've ever been able to create."

And then she gets stuck on how else to verbalize her interests so she ends up just sort of watching Marty expectantly. He seems to be a lot better than her with the whole...using words thing.

He ends up just staring back expectantly himself, unable to stop himself from mirroring the grin; eventually, it falters just a little, just enough to look questioning. He supposes it'd be rude to leave it to the teacher to do all the talkin'. "It sure the hell is. Kinda crazy, how many people pop up, but none of 'em are the same at all. It's like a one in a infinity chance at being you."

Topher strolls into medbay with a clipboard of his latest data readings on the nanites in the brain scans he already has, only to come to a screeching halt when he looks up for two seconds.

Marty.

And Bennett.

And all he heard is the last part of that, so his brain immediately goes through at least five hundred scenarios, growing exponentially more illogical until he stops thinking about it at all, accepts what is happening, and gets huffy and defensive about it.

He clears his throat. Loudly. "Am I... interrupting something?"

When Bennett hears his voice behind her, she immediately tenses up and starts working herself up into a panic. She really hadn't actually thought that Topher would show up. He's almost always off doing...other things.

She tries to put on her best calm, cool and collected face and slowly swivels around in her chair to face Topher. Which is really surreal, having both him and Marty in the same room.

"Marty wanted to learn about neuroscience things. I offered to teach him," And that's really all it is. She doesn't need to explain any more than that.

Marty is 100% oblivious.

"Yeah — she's pretty awesome with this whole brain thing. I had no idea it was this easy to look into some schmoe's skull." And he seems genuine about that curiosity, peering at the two brains side-by-side on the screen. He glances back up, wondering if maybe the sudden rush of awkwardness had to do with him interrupting work time, or something. "I mean, looking at my brain isn't something I thought I'd get to go here. Which is weird, because duh — in space, and all..."

"Uh-huh..." Topher processes this slowly. Yes, indeed. There are brains there. On the screen. They sure look... brain-y. Except the issue here is now less Marty and Bennett and more some whacked out Single White Female BS. Soon, Marty would be getting a Very Important Haircut and throwing his dog out the airlock.

...If he had a dog.

"I just got some data on the you-know-whats that you might wanna look over later, if... that's okay, I guess?" Topher went on, making sure to be pointedly vague. Important business, Marty. You wouldn't understand. You Jennifer Jason Leigh expy, you. "I mean, if you're not too busy with- is that his brain?" He points at one of the screens.

It's not a work time interruption, Bennett didn't even know Topher was even doing anything today other than...whatever it is he does with Wheatley.

"Sure. That's fine. I'm sure I'll have time later look it over," Bennett says, trying to play it cool. Even though right under the surface, she's getting ready to flee.

"Ah, yes. It's his brain. Which is a pretty standard, healthy brain. Some neural-connectivity impairment but nothing that's really a problem," Bennett isn't very good at being nonchalant, though. She's feeling defensive and perturbed. Which is just a step away from unabashed fury.

O...kay. Marty's kinda oblivious sometimes but he's not an idiot; he picks up well enough that this is suddenly a little less pleasant. He shifts in his seat, squinting. "I'm not breaking any rules, am I? Not being in medical and all. I don't wanna get anyone into trouble."

Looking at Bennett, he's not even sure what to think. She looks like maybe she and the other doc don't get along.

"... I won't touch anything important. Promise."

"No, no. It's fine. We get weirder people wandering through medical every jump, poking at things, tripping over things." As Topher speaks, he's wandering over to them, coming to a stop right in front of the monitor.

"Huh. It's funny 'cause you'd think that Marty and I being physically identical, we'd have a similar brain, but I don't see it."

Because he totally has his own brain make-up memorized. The worst part is he does and he's actually a little put out by how similar they really are. "It's kinda cool, right?" He looks from Marty to Bennett and if he's aware of how much Bennett would like to bolt and how uncomfortable Marty is, he doesn't show it. He's seemingly oblivious to his status as the proverbial bull in the China shop.

When Bennett gets trapped, she gets mean and slightly manipulative in her attempts to clear a path for her escape.

So without a word, she goes back to typing and in an instant, she brings up another brain scan. That happens to be Topher's. Look at that, it's practically identical to Marty's.

"You're fine, Marty. Dr. Brink is just being ridiculous," Bennett says, smiling at her friend, trying to reassure him that there's nothing really amiss. Then she glances at Topher, giving him a pointed sort of death glare.

Ooooh whoa whoa, this isn't getting less tense. It's getting more tense. Is it just him or is this getting more intense. He glances from brain to brain, looking like he's sandwiched between two people having a Mexican standoff. "Super cool. Muy Bueno. What — uh. Does yours look like, Bennett? Bet it's super... smart looking..."

am i going to die in a crossfire

"Am I?" Topher laughs, completely ignoring Marty and holding his ground. He's not being ridiculous. They're being ridiculous with their... fraternizing behind his back. Which is totally what this is.

Maybe.

"Look at that- I'm... wrong. Kinda. That's been known to happen." He waves a hand. "I'm just saying, it's a- a good thing to look into. We've got so many identical people on the ship, we could be proving we're all alternate universe selves or clones or something. For science."

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