Newton's Laws of Biology

[Dr Walter Newton]

His mind wandered as he stared at the body that he was supposed to be doing an autopsy for but the thought of food was too compelling-- too addicting. Walter was inane, a bit of a manic but he had his right to be. A lot of terrible things happened to him and to be quite honest he was thinking of how the intestines which were all decayed on the man before him looked rather like plum pudding. Oh how he wanted a bowl of it now.

His twelve year old son, Edwin was swinging his legs back and forth like a pendulum in the lab watching his father. When he wasn't watching he was scribbling down notes on a piece of paper. It was his homework, the boy was in secondary school. Edward was more of a father to Walter than Walter was to Edwin which was sad but Walter loved his son, he loved him very much and his mother as well. Poor Phoebe, he left her a long while ago and yet he still loved her. It was just that Walter was too much of a child to really notice the fine details of life. He would just linger in awe and say, 'oh well isn't that simply fascinating?' And then go on back to his work.

"Edwin, do you see my bag over there? I need something in it... its a yes the bag of pretzels! Thank you, could you pass them over here for me? --- or toss them....."

[/b] He caught the bag in mid air,opened it, and nibbled on the pretzels as he stared over the body. To most people it would be disgusting to do such a thing but it was after all Walter they were talking about. His lab assistant Nastasya shivered. She never could take the sight of Walter and his habits when they were working. It simply grossed her out.

"I want a burrito,"[/b] he announced as the body happened to look like one. Then he turned and looked at the door as a private walked in. "Ohh glad to have another hand....Natasha make it a bag of burritos, we have guests."[/b]

Nastasya mumbled to herself correcting her name under her breath she hated it when her boss did that. He was out of his mind yes, but he did remember his son's name thus he should be able to recall her own but Walter never did. [/blockquote]

[phoebe]

He forgot again. He always forgets. Frankly, she should have known better to get him another chance at remembering. How many was it this time? A billion and five? Yet, he insisted that he would remember to bring Edwin home on time, and two hours later, Phoebe arrived at his lab to pick him up. She should have just came here earlier, when he was supposed to leave, but figured she would see if he actually remembered this time. What made this time different than the others she didn’t know. When it came to Edwin, she always managed to give him more chances to make it up. If only she could say the same thing about her love for him. However, he failed at her simple request once again, and she drove up to the laboratory even if she herself had a million things to do.

As she made her away over to the entrance of his lab, Phoebe couldn’t help but calculate what his reasoning for forgetting this time to be. She assumed it was some sort of breakthrough in his work, or perhaps an equation that he is simply stuck on. Always was a science related excuse. Normally, she would understand, but when it came to her son, she put him first and foremost above anything else, including the shared passion of science. Her heels clacked against the floor of the hallway, dressed very professional today, seeing as it was one of the few days that she had work. A pencil skirt, and a button up blouse that was emerald green in color was her attire, her hair messily pulled unto a bun, secured with a single pencil. Her reading glasses were perched upon her head, most likely because she failed to remember that they were there. Just like Walter had failed to remember to bring Edwin back her quaint home.

Apparently, the man must have been busy, because just before she had some sort of general of private of sorts entered before her. She stood by the doorway, contemplating whether or not to go in. If he was in some sort of meeting, she’d rather not cause a scene by going in there. That was however, until she saw her son perched in the corner, while Walter was dissecting a body. A frown played on her lips, and all of her ethical reasons why not to enter at that precise moment were thrown at the window. Really? Did he have to bring out a cadaver in front of him? So had been trying so hard to make sure Edwin didn’t turn out like her father, but it seemed that every moment he spent with him, she utterly failed. It was safe to say that now she wasn’t in a happy mood, something that always seemed to happen when Walter was around.

Opening the door, she made a bee-line for Edwin, whom seemed to be immersed in some sort of homework. All the while, she frowned at Walter, obvious that she was disappointed. “You forgot again.” She mumbled, looking away from him. “You were supposed to bring him back home two hours ago. And, dissecting a body in front of him, really? He’s twelve, Walter. There are limits, and you just seem to enjoy crossing them.” She spoke as if she was scolding him like she would to Edwin. It wasn’t the fact that she was angry, more over the fact that she was upset. Trying to push down her emotions for the man, she had to focus on something else, namely her paranoia that evolved ever since becoming a mother. Would if Edwin had been in some ditch somewhere and she would never know? No, that simply would not do. No more second chances.

[Dr Walter Newton]

His heart sunk into his stomach when he saw who walked into the door. He still had feelings for the woman yet he didn't feel worth anything. She seemed to always be lingering on his life and yet--- he failed at relationships. If there was some sort of formula or equation to explain--- he shook his head and thought of the chemistry of the brain and how the victim before him had died. "It's like he was liquefied from the inside out,"

[/b] he mused and dipped his hand in his pretzel bag before him. Walter nibbled on a pretzel in mid thought completely forgetting (yet again) about his -- well whatever he and Phoebe were it was complicated. Sighing he looked down at the body and finnished his pretzel.

It tasted salty in his mouth. Walter swallowed and mused to himself thinking and visualizing the shape of salt. NaCl. A basic salt compound, table salt just like the sort of salt that was on his pretzels. "Natasha, are you gonna get that order of burritos? I'm hungry."[/b]

The woman shook her head annoyed he was saying her name wrong yet again and nodded leaving. She already taken that cue when Edwin's mother entered the lab. Nastasya left clicking her high heels behind her, glad to leave the lab for a breath of fresh air.

Walter stood rocking in his place for a moment or two before he walked around the body, that was lying on the gurney. The words broke his heart. It really did. He looked at their son who was still swinging his legs on the table and working on his homework. "Of course I remembered I was in the middle of this...."[/b] It was a bluff as he had forgotten about bringing Edwin home.

"I reminded Walter, mum. Shall I go wait in the car?"[/b]

He looked away as his son spoke. He never really called him 'dad' or 'father' or even 'daddy.' He was always just a foreign person to him it seemed. Completely unforgiven for his state. Walter sighted and half nodded listening more to his stomach than the woman who stood across from him. Swallowing he looked innocently at Phoebe. "I dissected a frog when I was twelve.I wonder what a frog would taste like. I heard they eat them in France,"[/b]

Again he was much too wrapped up in his work and not being a good potential husband or a father. His own son babysat him for crying out loud. [/blockquote]

[phoebe]

Phoebe honestly had no idea how Walter felt about her anymore. Thing was, she understood him. She understood his complete passion for science (upon which she loved since she happened to have a passion for it to…amongst other things). She understood his need for experiments, for that was the main joy of science. Even after being stuck in the Asylum for seven years, leaving Phoebe to be alone in bringing up Edwin, she understood his little quirks, his need to do things in a specific order. Phoebe knew that he wasn’t insane. Because she knew him. However, what she didn’t understand was his feelings toward her. Since frankly, if he did love her, why would she still be alone time and time again?

Part of it was her fault, true. She wanted him to settle down, to grow up. Phoebe knew that this wasn’t apart of his nature, his personality, but was selfish and wanted it. It is also her fault that she hadn’t found someone else, because really no one could make her happy. She assumed that a dark part of her hoped that if she simply waited long enough, that Walter would come around and love her again. Phoebe knew science, but the aspects of love would completely confound her everytime; and she cursed the thought. She was tired of being alone.

However, she wasn’t really, in fact alone. She had Edwin, which was her pride and joy. Phoebe loved being a mother, so much she only worked part time so she could spend time with him. She knew that it would all eventually end, especially when he got into the teenage years, so she reveled in the time she did have with him. Thus why she felt like a mother, thus prone to worry when he didn’t come home on time. Phoebe knew Walter would never experiment on him, but just the thought of him being in the lab… only a mother could worry.

She knew that he had to been ignoring her at that moment, by his sudden realization that his assistant, whom he always forgot her name, has not gone out to get food for him. It was obvious this wasn’t her job, but by the expression on her face, anything to get away from him. She felt the urge to chuckle, but refrained, trying to keep her emotion of seriousness, with her arms still crossed. “Thank you Nastasya..” Phoebe threw in before she left, knowing that it still didn’t matter. Walter would still forget how to pronounce it once more.

So now her weird version of a messed up family was practically the only ones in the room. Phoebe almost instantly regretted the way she had talked to him, by the faltered expression while he was working. She could tell it hurt him, but perhaps he needed to hear it. She couldn’t baby him all the time, then he would never get better. But still, the fact that she might have hurt him caused her to regret it instantly.

”Of course, I remembered I was in the middle of this…” A complete lie. It didn’t take a genius to know that, or some fancy detector. He was hoping that she would simply believe him, and perhaps she would give him another chance. Yet, Phoebe was done giving second chances. She couldn’t treat him like her son, because he should have been different, he should have been grown up about it. Yet, he wasn’t, and thus why they were stuck in this perpetual predicament of where their relationship lies. Constantly, she wished that she could have old Walter back.. the one that she had met in biochemistry, the one that loved him through her college years. But that old Walter was gone, and she didn’t know how to love this one.

Phoebe moved away slightly from Edwin, handing him the car keys. “Yes, why don’t you go wait in the car. I’ll be there in a few minutes. Alright?” She said with a smile, before it disappeared while looking at her ex-lover. He stood there, looking at her innocently, babbling away about eating frogs. She frowned, growing frustrated. Drawing a sigh, she took a seat in the chair next to him, however, still far enough from the cadaver.

“Walter.. How many chances am I going to give you?” She questioned, looking up at him, the sadness and hurt in her eyes. “He is our son. He doesn’t need to be around in the lab when you are dissecting dead bodies. That isn’t something a twelve year old needs to see. He isn’t you, Walter. As much as he seems okay with it, he’s not. And frankly, I like it that way. You and I… “ She mumbled, trailing off. She knew what she wanted to say, but the words you and I drew something else in her mind, about their relationship, and it got her even more flustered.

“We can handle these things, because we are adults. Science is our thing. But I don’t want to bring Edwin up into a world where all he knows is Science. I want him to be able to choose what he wants to do…” Phoebe knew that this conversation wasn’t going to go anywhere. He would get distracted, find something wrong with the body and be off in his own little world again only coming out to yell if he got his burritos or not. She felt the pang of tears attempting to form in her eyes. No, she wasn’t going to show that emotion in front of him.

“Just.. no more dead bodies around him okay? Can I trust you to do that?” She questioned, standing up. She was hoping that taking this route would not lead into an argument, even though it was always predictable. Even Edwin knew it, retreating to the car. Phoebe was tired of fighting. Tired of everything. So on the verge of just giving up, and that’s what hurt most of all.

[Dr Walter Newton]

"I'm not five you know. I'm twelve in most cultures I would be considered an adult. And I really don't mind, he needs someone to babysit him... I guess your not doing your job."

[/b] Edwin exclaimed before storming off to the car which he ended up starting and driving off with leaving his parents alone in the premises of UNIT. Edwin acted up because of Walter.

"This is fascinating, the calcium is literally drained out of the body.... and the brains look like jello. Can we get some jello? I like the blue kind."[/b] It was way off topic. It was beyond what his lover was asking him. What they really needed to do was get married and live together with Edwin. He needed a father around yet it seemed the roles were swapped and Walter was the child and Edwin the father. His eyes light up and he looked at Phoebe.

Nor did he really understand the meaning of what a relationship really was. Walter went along with things as they happened half of the time his mind was making food metaphors and now he was craving blue colored jello. Her words didn't really register in his head. He began humming something that came to mind and he continued exploring the dead body before him. That was what St. Adel's did to him. It made him even more childish than what he was before yet it wasn't his fault he was insane, perhaps as mad as a hatter expect he wasn't taking mercury. He preferred psychedelics and sedatives.

He wasn't listening to Phoebe. He didn't catch the bit about Edwin not going into science. Honestly Walter didn't care what his son did as long as he stayed in school went to college and university and meet a lady friend. His heart lied in the simple things.

"Its what I do here. I need to pay for pancake batter somehow. Is it Sunday?"[/b] Then he added without thinking much about it. "Let's get married on a Sunday so we can have pancakes!"[/b] [/blockquote]