[BaalsBaby]

Steinman chuckled as he tried to help the other, shaking his head. "Yes. As it should be," he smirked. It was slowly growing on him that he was enjoying the more intimate moments with Jack, and he was not one to deny himself such pleasures. The other seemed willing enough so the doctor was keen on continuing to exploit that. Just... right now, the boy's body seemed barely held together by bandages and stitching.

He hummed, staring at a large gash whose stitches seemed to be coming loose. [color=#BF4000]"What did you do? If Tenenbaum saved you, why were you out on the street?"[/color] he quirked a brow before getting up and head for the spacious attached bathroom, disappearing out of sight for a moment. There was the distinct sound of boots crunching on what sounded like glass or cracked tile, then the opening of something, rustling, more rustling.

Finally, he returned with a kit of sorts he kept around, setting it down and sitting beside Jack again. Some surgical thread and a needle was produced from the kit, the doctor humming as he readjusted the lens on the headband he wore, refocusing it. "Now, hold still, my godling. This will not hurt a bit." At least, it wouldn't have for himself.

[61]

[Middy]

Jack debating on telling him the truth as to why he was out on the streets with his injuries. If he said he ran away from medical care, it would only make him sound like an idiot (not that he wasn't for running), but if he told him it was because he flipped out due to earlier mental trauma then it would just make Steinman prod him for more information. The thing was... he was going to be in Rapture for quite some time trying to hunt down Ryan, and the only two people he could rely on to care for him were Tenenbaum, and... maybe Steinman.

He had time to deliberate over whether to tell him or not, or at least say why he was on the street while the doctor went to the bathroom to get... whatever he needed in there. Jack sighed, deciding it was best to tell him some things, but not all of it. Not yet.

The younger smiled back when Steinman returned with a medical kit, but immediately became nervous when he withdrew a needle and some thread. It was going to hurt... he knew it, but maybe he could just chat to take his mind off things. "The thing of it is... why I was on the streets," he took a deep breath, "I kinda ran away from Tenenbaum, I was upset about failing to kill Ryan and--- and... yeah that was it," he gave him a crooked grin, hoping he would just take his excuse as is and not ask anything more of him.

[BaalsBaby]

It took a moment for Steinman to actually thread the needle. His hands were horribly unsteady, visibly shaking and it was a frustrating endeavor at best. He was grunting at the lack of finesse his hands seemed to have at the moment; oh yes, it was about time for another shot. Just... Jack. Jack first (though, since when had he ever put anyone else before himself, especially his addictions...?).

The thread made it through finally before he sighed, looking to the gash along the left side of his chest. Looked like a Sickle or something had gotten him. Well, he hoped at least that the damned woman had disinfected the wounds well enough.

Jack's answer though, made him pause for a moment, quirking a brow at the boy. "Uh huh..." he said before removing a set of scissors to start removing what Tenenbaum had done since Jack had apparently ruined the work already done. "You are an awful liar, my godling," he grunted and after removing the thread, pushed the needle through and began his own set of stitches. The look on Jack's face was adorable enough though. "What did we say about lying to me, hmm?" he moved the needle, making sure it stung. Just a little. Just enough.

[62]

[Middy]

Jack had to hold back crying in pain when the needle pierced his flesh, but he had to put up with it if he wanted to be patched up. Thank goodness Tenenbaum had disinfected his wounds and started on patching him up before he ran onto the streets. The last thing he needed to worry about was getting a nasty infection on top of everything else.

"Ow hey! I--- shit..." he grit his teeth, now he knew the doctor was making it hurt on purpose. Dammit, he caught onto the lie, and since he lied to him... again, then he knew he was going to receive another clever punishment from the man. "Okay... okay I lied, I admit it now alright?" maybe not the best thing to do when the man was armed with a needle. "If you promise to go easy on me then... I will tell you what happened, what I discovered in Hephaestus and Ryan's office."

Although he wasn't keen on reliving that so soon, perhaps it would be in his best interest to tell someone about it instead of bottling it up. Sure Tenenbaum knew, then again she was in on the whole thing. But Steinman? Just how would he take the whole thing? Would he feel some sense of pride that he was sleeping with Ryan's son?

The one thing he didn't want to tell him, was the command. Would you kindly? If he knew that, then he would be nothing more than a slave to him, right? Yes, he could keep that a secret. No one else needed to know about it.

[BaalsBaby]

There was a considerable smirk to Steinman's eyes at other's expletives, glad that his message was getting across then. Only then did the doctor ease up a little, taking a bit more care in what he was doing. The needle glided through Jack like butter, the thread weaving expertly as he began his task in earnest.

"I do not make promises," the doctor grunted, "But I assure you, if I had wished it, this would hurt much worse, godling." It was the best Jack would get. "Now please, continue. I'm positively itching to know. One does not simply run from care-" unless that care happened to come from a psyopath like... himself. The Nazi woman was a known psychopath too but it usually regarded children, barbarizing the youth. No, despite Jack's bright-eyed look and his naive smiles, he definitely didn't strike the doctor as someone Tenenbaum would delight in working upon.

Good. He didn't need to go off chasing her down and killing her for messing with his godling."What did you find?"

[63]

[Middy]

Great, he couldn't rely on him to keep a promise, but the best he could do was just tell him and pray he would go easy on him anyway. Thankfully the needlework was more gentle, or as gentle as stitching up one's skin could be. Still, it hurt like hell, and he would be more than happy when it would all be over so he could slip into some well needed slumber.

"Hm.. where to start..." he sighed, looking around the room, clearly nervous about saying anything, "Andrew Ryan... he's... I found out that he is my dad and," he swallowed hard, recalling that horrible room-- the audio diaries, his real memories flooding back to him. "I was apparently made in a lab or something using Ryan's DNA, not sure who ma was, but I think I have a guess," he recalled that room in Fort Frolic, that woman named Jasmine talking about selling some... genetic material.

He was feeling uneasy about saying all of this still, but maybe some part of him felt relief to tell someone about it. "Atlas--- er... Fontaine he... he made me just to find Ryan and kill him, that is why I have access to the vita-chambers and bathyspheres, sharing his genetic code and everything," man did it sound crazy talking about it now. Crazy, but all too real. "There's more... but it's hard to discuss right now.."

[BaalsBaby]

The information shocked the doctor, Steinman's eyes moving to Jack for a moment, but his sewing hand never stopped moving. Jack was...

"I see," he said at first, swallowing the information. "It seems you've stumbled into a hive of information, my godling. So you are Ryan's prodigy then and yet you are not. Fontaine. Of course he would sanction something like this," the doctor sighed with a shake of his head, "He was always trouble to begin with...! That is who you have been speaking with on the radio?" The doctor grit his teeth. Atlas? Leading his godling along like some toy? "Had I known, boy, I would have steered you clear of him and his damned war. He will lie to get what he wants, and when he can't do that, he will pay or pressure. " But it did beg the question of why and how he had gotten Jack to follow along in his idiotic crusade, how he had gotten Jack to do anything. Surely he hadn't threatened Jack, the boy could handle his own with the splicers apparently. And money, it didn't seem like, would not interest Jack much in a place like this...

His poor, naive boy.

"I had wondered about the bathyspheres though. I thought perhaps that you simply found a way to reprogram them where no one else could not but I see I was wrong." The doctor hummed, considering all of this. So his godling was of Ryan's blood. "Vitachambers?" Steinman blinked, "Have you... died, my godling?"

[64]

[Middy]

Jack nodded, choking back any tears caused by both the pain from the needle, and the mental stress of finding out that his life had been one big lie. How old was he anyway? Surely the timeframes didn't add up... unless--- no, could they have sped his aging? Was that even possible? "Yes, I was speaking to Atlas on the radio, but he did reveal his true colors once I failed my duty to kill Ryan."

There was still much else to say, but he was open to answering any questions Steinman might have had (if it didn't lead to anything about the trigger word). Ah yes, the vitachambers. While he was lucky to have never been killed, he was curious to how they functioned. No, he got the information from somewhere else. "Thankfully I was never killed, I learned about how they needed Ryan's genetic code to work from an audio diary, from a man named....," he stopped.

The man in question, one of those who was responsible for his creation, and his mental conditioning. He remembered the other audio diaries he found from him, including hearing his own voice as a child who--

"The diary was from a man named Yi Suchong, someone who... who had a hand in my birth," he bit his bottom lip. Was this man even around anymore? It almost felt like he just vanished, or went into hiding. Not that he even wanted to meet him.

[BaalsBaby]

Steinman was still working, his mind simply going into auto-mode when it came to stuff like this. It barely required any thought now, muscle memory, giving him the ability to focus on what Jack was saying. "So Fontaine didn't get what he wanted. Boo hoo. The man's going to gripe for eons," the doctor sighed with exasperation, "Though it does pose a problem now. You have him and Ryan out for your blood." Way to sugar coat it. "Had I known you were speaking with Atlas, I would have warned you, my godling," he purred, gently stroking the other's jawline.

Yes. A jawline that looked very much like the Russian's, now that he knew what to comapre it to. A face he hadn't touched, Ryan hadn't let him come anywhere near his face. A pity.

"It was I who sculpted the man's face, after all. For all that silly Atlas nonsense." He let himself sigh in relief to hear that the other had not died; he didn't know how the Vita Chambers worked entirely, that was out of his field of expertise, and to think that it could have possibly messed up something inside of Jack during a resurrection, well, it was discomforting. But thankfully, his godling was a sufficient enough fighter. The splicers were no match.

"Suchong? Tenenbaum's playmate? Never liked the guy." He saw the worried look on Jack's face and he tipped his head, stroking Jack's face again before he continued the stitching. "Are you fearful of the man who helped birth you? Do not fret, godling, I  have not heard hide nor hair of the man. I'm sure he's stone cold dead, floating face down in seawater. Considering everything Fontaine has done to this place, it's a common fate." Steinman was just one of the lucky (or unlucky) inhabitants still crawling around the debris.

[65]

[Middy]

Their conversation was helping to dull any sense of pain he was feeling from the needle, but even so he wished it would be done and over with as fast as possible. He leaned into the more pleasant touches of the hand caressing his jaw, now forgetting all about the needle. Steinman's words were also a good distraction, now learning some more things about he doctor--- or who he had contact with exactly. So he was the one who gave Fontaine his new face, what a clever man, asking the resident plastic surgeon to change his looks and fake his own death. He had to hand it to Frank, he was a genius in getting his way.

Good thing Steinman had a dislike for Suchong, it was another thing they could agree on. Him saying that the man was most likely dead brought a smile to the young boy's lips, thinking up all sorts of horrible ways that the man could have died.

"Are you almost finished patching me up?" he asked, getting tired of just sitting there waiting for the job to be done. Also, didn't he have a special tonic that helped heal wounds using alcohol? Mm... oh yeah! "You don't happen to have any alcohol around here, see I have this tonic called booze hound, it might help heal some injuries," he smiled sheepishly at him. "Also, I don't think there are any injuries below he waist... unless you really want to check to make sure that is."

[BaalsBaby]

"Almost, my impatient godling," Steinman chuckled, tugging the last loop through, the black rubber of his gloves hiding the small bit of blood that had come from the wound. He tied the knot and reached for the scissors, snipping it. Neat and tidy, like his work used to be. It was times like this he wondered whether or not he lost his talent ever since diving headfirst into ADAM.

At the request for alcohol, the doctor quirked a brow and laughed. "Really now. I haven't heard of that one," he snorted, replacing his things back in his kit. "I might have a bottle of something lying around, though alcohol never really was my vice of choice," he hummed as he smoothed his fingers through the other's hair and got up to start looking around the room, heading for a cabinet that held a lot of his clothes. Half of the shirts hanging on hangers seemed missing. Or perhaps his wardrobe was simply that empty.

He looked over his shoulder and smirked. "Would you prefer I check, my godling?" he purred before rummaging through his things. "Hmm. Perhaps the kitchen," he clucked his tongue and disappeared out of the room for a moment, seemingly preoccupied.

[66]

[Middy]

Thank god he was finished with patching him up, sure he really needed it but it didn't mean he liked being worked on either. Jack was sure those areas would either be numb, or sting a lot later on. If he had that booze however, then it could dull the pain and provide some extra healing in the process. "Well, I suppose we all have our vices," his was drinking and smoking, although he didn't do the latter as often as some people.

Jack watched Steinman move to the kitchen, quite pleased that he was looking for some form of alcohol that might have been lying around. He then debated on if he should check his lower extremities. Ah, why the hell not, it wasn't anything the doctor hasn't seen before.

He went to work on removing his pants, grimacing at the bruises that marked him from the waist down. Perhaps he was wounded there too, but it didn't look like anything too serious. Jack also made sure to remove his socks and shoes, enjoying the cooler air that his now bare skin. He then flopped back on the bed, reveling in the comfort of the soft sheets against his back. Finally, he could get some good rest and relaxation.

[BaalsBaby]

The good doctor moved through his kitchen and perused the cabinets, unsteady hands scrabbling around and pushing things aside until- "Ahhh, there you are," he procured a bottle of whiskey he had been holding onto for some time. He considered for a moment before grabbing some glasses, passing through the room before he paused. The needles.

The glasses in his hands trembled before he took a detour, heading into the living room towards one of the tables. A small tin box rested there, which he grabbed hastily, snatching it up. Something inside rattled around. Satisfied, he took his findings back towards his room.

"What vices would that be, godling?" he asked as he resumed the conversation as he had left it. "A good whiskey and perhaps the tendency to undress for your caretaker, hmm?" Though he did have to wonder. If Jack was here in Bioshock the entire time with memories only of a fake life then he did wonder how Jack was able to experiment with such vices and remember them prior to this place.

He was delighted by the sight of Jack laying bare on his sheets, looking so comfortable and content and... bruised. Ryan's splicers really had worked on him, but it was thankfully much less than he knew they could do. There were many states one could be kept alive in, but just barely, left wishing for death down here in Rapture...

Steinman set the glasses down on a counter and poured two, the unsteadiness of his hands marked by the way the liquid sloshed. "Here you are," the doctor hurriedly brought the things over before their contents completely shook out, handing it over. "Drink and heal, my godling. Drink and heal."  He moved to smooth his hand over Jack's thighs, tracing over bruises and cuts gently, the other tipping his own drink back. It burned like hellfire but it was sweet, heating his insides. It definitely staved away the last of the ocean's chill.

[67]

[Middy]

Very funny... he only undressed almost all the way just to check any other damages. "Well, no, I would say drinking and sometimes a good smoke here and there," he eyed the whisky, practically salivating at the sight of the dark liquid. Jack got his wish as a couple glasses were poured, which he took with utmost excitement.

Steinman's shaky movements hadn't gone unnoticed by Jack, making him quirk a brow more than once. Usually the man seemed so... steady. Was he having a withdrawal from ADAM? Something else? He ruminated on it for a moment while downing the glass of the whiskey which went down like a knife and left a satisfying burn in its wake.

The combination of the alcohol and booze hound were already taking an effect on him, sealing up more minor wounds and getting to work on the more serious cuts and lacerations. The bruising would fade in time yes, but at least it was taking the pain away. Even with the tonic working his magic, it would still take time to fully heal all his injuries. Suppose that is why he had his own little 'caretaker', as the other had put it earlier.

"You know, I can't help but notice that you have been a bit.. fidgety. Is it some sort of ADAM withdrawal? he moved his hand on top of Steinman's hand that was that was grazing over his skin. Not in a gesture to remove it, but to help guide it along, relishing in any gentle touches. It made him feel... wanted, that is all he really needed right now, after everything.

[BaalsBaby]

Steinman watched his charge down the alcohol like it was nothing, amused by it. Barely fazed him at all. He chuckled poured another for the boy, watching the marvels that the alcohol worked on his body. "My... Fontaine may have planned this, but you truly have mastered utilizing all of Rapture's hidden gifts. This one seems perhaps the most pleasurable though. You're allowed to drink for more than one benefit," he smirked, "I think my godling's habit isn't going to curb any time soon."

His fingers traced along the seam where cloth met skin just over Jack's lower belly before he blinked at the hand over his. It was an oddly intimate gesture but Steinman let the other guide his hand as he wished for now, if only because it stopped the shaking.

"It is... that. Yes. I have eluded the Goddess for a time if just so I could find you. She whispered to me that he would be a bit much. She was not wrong, but it is hard to know where your feet wander when she speaks," the doctor spoke quizzically, looking to the tin and lay his other hand, scratching a nail over the metal repetitively as if he were trying to dig for its contents. "I have you now though. She would wish to see you too, her vessel, her likeness in flesh form," Steinman quivered and flicked the tin open, revealing what looked to be around three or four doses of glowing, red liquid. "She calls me..."

[68]