(no subject)

[no_more_hiding]

 The fallout from Hank's outburst in the cafeteria was much more long reaching and subtler than Hank had ever expected. It had started with looks, whispers, and halted conversations but what he didn't expect were the ones who reacted most strongly. He expected the physically stronger agents' reactions, nothing different from college or high school there, but when the woman of the secretary pool and the slighter male clerks started doing the same, Hank just felt the shame of his past all over again. That is until one of the woman gathered enough of her courage to speak with him one day.

He had been walking by her and her friends as they gathered around the water cooler, keeping his eyes down and trying not to be noticed when he heard her high heels clacking behind him and her voice call out for him to wait. He almost pretended that he hadn't heard her but that would have been rude. Turning, he offered a shy smile and mumbled something like, "May I help you?"

"Yes," she answered with a smile nearly a bright as Raven's. He met her eyes briefly, looking for any hint of mockery but found none. "I was wondering, how were you able to kick that table down?"

He blushed, of course. Any hint that he was different was enough to put him out of sorts, let alone having a strange woman speaking to him. "I just knew which bar to kick. It was nothing special."

"No, it was," she replied not letting him pass this off. "Even if it was just knowing where to hit, the fact you stood up to those guys. They've been a terror with us ladies and I'd like to say thank you."

"You could do it too, especially with your high heels. You just want to make sure your whole body is behind the kick and not just your leg. Try and have your hips over or aimed at the site you plan on hitting and well...." Hank stammered as he realized that he not only was rambling but had just talked about a woman's hips. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything by it!" He added nervously.

"That's alright," she replied, giving him a coy smile. "Aim with the hip, huh? I'll keep that in mind."

The next day, Hank noticed agent Tom, the fellow who most often threw the apples at him, was walking with a severe limp.

The day after Hank sat for his lunch and didn't realize until he was back in his lab that no one threw any fruit at him.

Three days later, Hank noticed that anytime one of the brutish agents was getting ready to throw fruit at him, one of the ladies or male clerks would stand or walk by; placing themselves in the line of fire.

Four days later and the thrower, agent Tom in fact, hadn't been fast enough in his reactions and had actually hit one of the women. As the medical team examined her, the entire cafeteria stood and stared at Tom, refusing to let him pass off his accident.

Tom was suspended from duty by the end of the week.

Hank didn't know what to make of all this. Had he caused it? If so, was it right for him to have done this? He cost the CIA a good field agent and that put America at risk but he also made work safer for many other agents and that meant something as well, didn't it?

Hank wished he could spend an afternoon to really think about this but with work he never had the time. Plus, Erik seemed to always show up to scowl at him, Charles would come in asking pointed questions (forcing him to try and find answers before he was ready), and Raven always seemed to never be around.