Day 36: Waiting Room, Lobby 2

[lady-general.livejournal.com]

Celes had actually relaxed enough, speaking to Naminé during lunch, to allow herself a small smile. It thinned into a line, of course when her nurse materialized from nowhere and swept her off, giggling over her 'surprise.'

"Oh won't it be nice?" she chirped as they walked into the waiting room. "You'll be so happy, I am absolutely sure of it." Celes's small smile thinned itself into a line and she was plunked into a chair to await her visitor. Perhaps I shall be lucky, she thought, looking at some ridiculous motivational poster. It won't be anyone I know, not really. Her nurse wandered away and Celes folded her hands on the table, the picture of impatient waiting.

Comments

[tyki-pon.livejournal.com]

"No, João, you can't go into the game room right now!" The nurse said on a stern tone as if she was talking to a child, tugging on his arm. "You can go there the next shift, after you've had your visitors."

As soon as Tyki had heard there was a game room, he had wanted to check it out. Unfortunately, fate had other plans for him as he found himself dragged to one of the waiting rooms. He was going to have visitors, apparently. He wasn't really sure whether to be happy or not, because he had been looking forward to a good card game. He sat down on one of the chairs lining the wall after he entered and glanced around.

The Noah hadn't been stuck in Landels long enough to know what to expect of this shift, nor had he bothered with collecting any information about it. So with slight amusement, he began wondering what kind of people would visit him. Whoever they were, they were probably just as fake as the name they gave him. Maybe 'João' had a girlfriend or something.

He guessed he'd play along and humor whoever decided to show up.

[damned-visitors.livejournal.com]

"Hey come on, we look good enough," one of the men griped as he looked up to his friend, still messing with the greased down mat he called hair, "He's not gunna care what we look like anyway."

That did not stop the tallest of the trio from fidgeting. This kind of place was unnerving no matter how he looked at it, and the other visitors here looked at least well groomed. Probably were. Even with their style of living, they could at least do their best at being presentable... enough. "It's been so long though. We should at least show that we made an effort!" he snapped back in a harsh whisper.

"It's effort enough that we came!" Another firm whisper was returned, "and he's not gunna care, I said!"

The one not bickering, the smallest, was not paying attention to the squabble of his friends as they entered. That was an every day occurrence, but seeing João was not. Instead his eyes looked around the room as quickly they were able. When he finally did spot his friend, he hesitated a moment before leaving the two to their spat and going over to him.

"Huh, hey...!" the two looked up when the boy decided to leave them behind, but weren't upset when they saw who he'd found.

[son-ofkrypton.livejournal.com]

The phone call.

Lex promised him that phone call. Clark dithered for a moment before sitting down uncomfortably in the waiting room lobby, long legs stretched out as he shifted his weight in the chair, trying to get comfortable. He didn't know what he'd say to his parents, only that somehow he had to talk to them. All this talk about alternate dimensions got him wondering though: what if Lex really did think he was this other Clark, this one called "Kal"? What if it wasn't really an act? What if his parents didn't recognize him?

Clark didn't know. All he knew was he had to try to talk to them. The farmboy waited nervously, glancing around at the other patients waiting inside as well, then flicking an anxious glance at the door, as if expecting his friend to be there suddenly.

[damned-visitors.livejournal.com]

Lex knew very well what Kal was going to ask, assuming he hadn't slipped so far into his fantasy world in a week that he didn't even recognize his friend anymore. He had pushed off the issue of Kal's parents once before, hopefully he'd be able to keep the topic away from the issue.

"Kal!" he said pleasantly as he entered the room. "How are you? Any better?"

[officer-leon.livejournal.com]

Lunch with Eileen had been nice. Her confidence that they'd both find a way to fix whatever this place had done to them was wonderfully reassuring. And by the time he finished eating, the general aching throughout his body had all but gone away. Leon was feeling somewhat better, until a nurse came to collect him for his visitor.

The doctor he'd seen earlier in the week had told him that Ashley wanted to come visit. He'd agreed to it then, but now he wasn't so sure it was a great idea. Other patients had said that the visitors were brainwashed, or clones, or something. It's not really Ashley, he told himself. It's not her, don't let it get to you.

Leon hoped that he'd be able to believe that when he actually saw her.

[damned-visitors.livejournal.com]

She'd been pacing the hallway for a few minutes, trying to decide if she really ought to go inside. She owed Daniel a lot; he'd tried so hard to rescue her after she'd been kidnapped, but even so, it'd had this kind of effect on him afterward. Alicia couldn't help but feel a little bit responsible that he'd wound up here.

After a few deep breaths, she straightened her skirt and pulled her jacket a little tighter. Usually she just wore a sweater over her shoulders, but it was getting so cold this time of year that it was hard to avoid.

When she saw him, she really was relieved, and felt much better for coming. "Daniel!" she smiled warmly as she nearly ran the last few steps to greet him.

[remedying.livejournal.com]

Well, brunch ended up better than she thought it would. Yukari felt a lot better now, knowing Ken really was all right, and the conversation that followed was... Yeah, she was going to have to continue using "interesting". It was, although not really in the bad way; it just ended up far from what she ever thought it would be. In the end, she couldn't say she regretted spilling what she did.

What transpired then quickly fell far from any thoughts or worries the girl had though when she was told what was coming up next for her. Blankly, she looked at her nurse in confusion when she heard she was getting a... visitor? Yukari heard about them earlier, all right, but she didn't think she would be getting... No, this couldn't be right at all. There couldn't possibly be anyone who was willing to come see her, whether this was some horrible trick or not.

When she got to the room, Yukari waited in one of the chairs, hands clasped in her lap. She looked like she was concentrating pretty hard on her hands, but in actuality she had no idea what to think. What was going to happen now?

[damned-visitors.livejournal.com]

The dark-haired man paced nervously outside the waiting room. It wasn't that he wasn't sure that putting his beloved daughter into Landel's Institute was the right thing, or even that he didn't want to see her. She had just been in a very bad state of mind the night the decision was made, and he didn't know whether or not she would still be in such a bad state now.

A few minutes later, a nurse came to him. "Kara's here, Mr. Blenn." He nodded, adjusting his tie, then entered the room, quickly walking over to the brunette.

"Hello."

[angels-inflight.livejournal.com]

A visitor?

Needless to say, Naminé was a little shocked that someone was actually visiting her. Last time she had checked, she had no one to visit her in her "fake" family and she was certain that she had no friends who weren't already here. So when her nurse cheerfully told her that someone would be seeing her today, and that "he was not a social worker this time", she was understandably wary.

Although Naminé wanted to opt out of this surprise visit, the nurse all but forced her in the room, promising it would be a welcome one and that she would be much happier. Considering the state she had seen people in during these visits... she wasn't so sure about that.

But Naminé had no choice now, forced to sit and wait in the room with a few other patients. But... who would be coming to see her? DiZ? An organization member? She shuddered at that thought, but until her visitor came, she was left with nothing but possibilities.

[damned-visitors.livejournal.com]

The young man was quick to walk into the room, eager to see his old friend. That meant that he wasn't about to wait for the nurses to tell him when he could or couldn't head inside, and the result was a small altercation near the entrance into the waiting room.

"Now, Casper, you should give Sarah a moment to situate herself. She's still not stable and you don't want to excite her--"

The silver-haired boy scowled at the nurse who was reprimanding him. Even if he was better now, he still didn't like the attitude that they took with him - just because he was a teenager, everyone seemed to think he was going to fly off the handle at any moment.

As he tried to get away from the nurse, he spotted Sarah and waved over at her. He wasn't sure she would notice, but it was worth a shot. He just hoped that she would be glad to see him, though that also depended on if she even realized who he was. He didn't know what kind of state his friend was in, which was part of the reason why he was here: to check up on her.

[tsunagari.livejournal.com]

When his nurse came to get him and told him he had a visitor, Sai denied it and refused to go. Politely, of course. He hadn't had a visitor during all of his stay here, so why would he have one now?

The visitors weren't real - not from what he'd heard, anyway. Certainly they would look like someone you knew, but they would spout the same fake nonsense as the staff and refer to you by the same fake name. It would just be a waste of time.

Though finally, after much prodding (and a nurse sitting down beside him to state calmly why he needed to see them, as though he was a child) the ninja gave in and allowed them to lead him to the waiting room.

[damned-visitors.livejournal.com]

The old man was lagging, staying behind to talk to the nurses and check on Simon's progress, and other things that he could find out through a letter or something. The teen knew better though, because this was the first time that he'd gotten to see Simon in ages. Why waste time talking to the nurses? They could do that any time.

But it was better like this anyway. Without the old man watching over his shoulder, he and Simon could talk more openly. Even if he'd lost it a little, Simon was still his brother, no matter what, and he knew how important this visit could be.

Maybe the guy'd be well again, finally. Then they could take him home like it should be.

It wasn't too hard to get away from the business talk, and his grin could've lit up the room when he saw his target. "There you are!" Not caring who he disturbed, the teen shouted at Simon when he saw him, giving a big wave before quickly running over. He beamed at his brother, so happy he even laughed a little when he spoke.

"Hey! What's up?"

[damned-visitors.livejournal.com]

The blond twisted the golden band on his finger in lieu of pacing; patience was not one of his virtues, and he had been dreading this visit for far too long. Even so, he had made himself presentable: dark suit, neatly pressed, black shoes, freshly shined. (Was this even a black-tie occasion?) Since he had last seen her, he had allowed his hair to grow a bit longer, becoming reminiscent of his brother's. Next to his seat was a single, de-thorned rose. Anything larger would have been confiscated, as he had found earlier.

Looking up when a nurse entered the room, bee lining for him, the man held back a grimace. He was not accustomed to walking on eggshells, and - he hated to admit - his heart was racing, anxious. "You can go in now," the nurse told him, desperately trying to be reassuring. It didn't help.

Plucking the rose from the floor, he followed the nurse into the room, giving her a silent nod before heading off to the woman he had come to see.

A quick glance over her form - she still looked the same, somehow - and he sat across from Celes, giving her a curt nod of his head. Noah tried to smile, a half-turned lip curl, before addressing her. It felt cold and detached.

But his voice was warm as he said, "Good morrow, love."

[lady-general.livejournal.com]

Well-played, Landel. The general thought grimly, and gave Noah a quizzical look. "Hello, love..." she replied gently, trying to assess exactly what he thought she was to him. Her voice held a uncertainty as she looked him over. A ring and a rose, clearly a lover of some kind, aside from the greeting. Is that what Landel thought would hurt her most? Celes shifted and dusted her fingers across the velvety petals of the flower on the table.

"It's been quite a while since I've seen you. Tell me, have you been well?" Celes kept her eyes on the flower, firmly unwilling to look at Noah. They would've told him how she loved roses, wouldn't they? It was an effective lure. Strong men and roses. Suddenly, Celes's hatred for the Institute swelled to new heights.

[adorkabledragon.livejournal.com]

Keman's good mood vanished as soon as the nurse came for him. Brunch had been going so well, too, but now it was over and apparently he was going to get a visitor. He'd heard enough about the visitors to know that they were the last thing he wanted. Maybe, just maybe, he'd get lucky. Maybe he'd get visited by someone he knew but wasn't terribly emotionally attached to. Like Denalor or Zed. People he liked well enough but had never interacted that much with. Even Iri, the drunken elf he'd befriended while he'd been staying in the city to look for Shana, would have been better than...

Maybe he'd get visited by Myre! Someone he hated would be great. Not the person it was probably going to be.

Keman's hands were shaking slightly as the nurse lead him into the room where a few patients were already receiving there loved ones. He wanted to escape, wanted to be anywhere but here. He didn't want to see her, if it was her. He didn't want to see what this place could have done to her. She was so much stronger than he could ever even dream of being. If she had been taken, how did that bode for Keman?

[damned-visitors.livejournal.com]

A few minutes passed, and a petite, dark haired (though going to gray) in a flowing gypsy skirt and peasant blouse was led in by a nurse, followed by a teenage girl with the same dark brown hair highlighted with blond. The woman had a slightly dreamy expression, though her eyes were worried. The girl on her heels just looked annoyed, her expression petulant.

"...now behave yourself, please, Myra," the woman was saying as they were led over to Calvin. Her worried expression turned to a smile. "Hello, Calvin," she said, folding her hands at her waist. "How are you feeling?"

[i-dont-paint.livejournal.com]

A visitor. The prospect wasn't one that Tony found completely comforting. In all likelihood it would be just another part of the strange charade being put on as the asylum's daytime face, someone who would claim to know him in "real life", and insist he wasn't who he thought he was. In short, an irritation and a waste of time. Still, he couldn't completely quash the hope that it might be someone he actually knew. Someone who might actually give him some assistance in getting out of the madhouse before it actually did drive him mad. The nurse who ushered him in was unhelpful in that regard; she hadn't given him the name of this visitor before leaving him to cool his heels in the lobby.

He waited with his customary patience, which was to say almost none at all, bandaged arm tucked against his abdomen and the fingers of his free hand drumming irritably on his thigh. His gaze dragged over the other patients assembled without resting long on any one in particular, before coming to a stop on the periodicals rack. He contemplated flipping through the magazines for a second or two, though he wondered if there was a single issue there younger than he was, but dismissed that notion immediately. They didn't look like they would be engrossing.

Which just left waiting.

[damned-visitors.livejournal.com]

Phoebe wasn't entirely sure how to handle this visit. She was here in part because she was worried about William and wanted to see him, but she was also here as his assisstant. Professional, or more familiar? Would he even want her to be familiar like she usually was, now that he was in here? Would he blame her? Would he want to see her at all? She'd been put in a lot of awkward positions as William Sandia's assisstant, but this situation was still pretty impressively high on the list of unpleasant moments. Taking a deep breath, Phoebe composed herself as much as possible--she tried not to think about the other people in the room, some of them possibly dangerous--and followed the nurse to where William was waiting.

He was injured, but he still looked a lot better than he had last time she'd seen him. Of course, last time Phoebe had seen William he was face-down in a puddle of vomit and not breathing. Giving him CPR had been both the most frightening and most digusting experience of her life. It had also been the incident that the board used to have William committed. "You're looking better, Mr. Sandia." Professional it was, at least as long as the nurse was still present.

[beloved-less.livejournal.com]

Soubi had thought, when the nurse led him away, that he was being taken to have his bandages changed. Again. Not that he felt they needed it this time round. He hadn't spoken much or eaten so his throat hadn't been as strained as before. Of course, the drugs had more of an effect in the first shift and he forgot how much it was going to hurt. Another reason he didn't want any more.

But the nurse had other plans. Something about a visitor. Soubi froze on the spot, insides turning instantly to ice. Who would be visiting him? Ritsuka was here already...

The nurse grabbed a hold of his sleeve and urged him onwards.

He almost protested but something stopped him. A visitor.... Somebody letting this happen. Somebody responsible. He clenched his fists and walked onwards. He'd kill whoever it was.

Unless it was Seimei...

What if it was Seimei?

Soubi stopped again, lingering by the door, trying to gather the courage it took to walk inside.

[damned-visitors.livejournal.com]

He was already in the room waiting when Hiro was brought in. His student lingered by the door, though, wary as always and he sighed. He thought he had trained him better, but he wasn't about to get up and retrieve him. Hiro knew better than to hang back like that.

Instead, he turned in his seat, clearly unamused with this display and opened a folder he brought with him. It was work, as always, and he wasn't about to let Hiro's regression stop him from doing something with his time. Waiting for the nurse to bring the wayward son back, the man Soubi might recognize as Minami Ritsu scratched out notes over the his work.

[strayfag]

When the nurse came to cart him off, Badou idly wondered if she'd finally snapped and decided to try offing him behind the institute. Whining at them about smokes every single sift change seemed to put the usually cheerful nurses in a mood, weirdly enough. He couldn't imagine why.

She didn't bother to tell him what they were doing, but since she didn't stop to pick up a chainsaw on the way he assumed it was visitor shift. That was...really more amusing than anything. If anyone he knew wanted to go through the trouble of coming here, they wouldn't be doing it this way. Badou slouched into one of the chairs and stared up at the ceiling, waiting for shift to change already so he could move on with his life.

[damned-visitors.livejournal.com]

"You look like shit."

The opening line was delivered in a flat monotone, Haine standing a few feet away from the couch his institutionalized friend was slouching in with a bored look on his face. His eyes grazed over the gray shirt and pants, the bright yellow smiley face, the frazzled look of his dear old buddy.

He had to hold back a laugh. It was all so humiliating, wasn't it.

Haine sat down then, across from Badou, wearing all black - leather, naturally - and slumped just as much as his friend.

"Do they not let you smoke or some shit?"

[full-score.livejournal.com]

Claude had been hoping to dodge the bullet this week, but it seemed he wasn't so lucky. As soon as he'd heard he was getting a visitor, he didn't have to think twice to know it wasn't his father. The man had barely been able to make time for him back home, so he didn't see how things would be any different now. He'd probably gone through an awful lot of trouble just to come that one time...

Actually, his first thought, as horrible as it was, had been that maybe Ashton had come to visit him, and then he'd have to tell Dias that he'd been brainwashed by Landel.

He inwardly kicked himself as soon as it came to him, though. No. It couldn't have been Ashton.

So maybe it was Celine. Claude already knew Celine was around, since she'd visited Ashton last week. It hurt to think she'd been caught up in this mess, too. How long had she been in captivity before giving in? How long had his father held out?

The blond took in a deep breath as he sat down in an attempt to reel his thoughts in. There was no way to know who was coming to visit until he saw this mystery person himself. But there were so many people he knew he didn't want to see. Chisato, Bowman, his mother, Rena...

He forced himself to pick up an outdated magazine, if only to give himself something to focus on until his visitor arrived.

[damned-visitors.livejournal.com]

So here he was, visitin' good old Tommy.

It had been pretty much a straight shot to the Institute after Archer managed to find the right exit. So he was a little late; that was his style. Laid back. Tom'd forgive him, right? He forgave all manner of hell and high water that those girls gave him. He'd forgive a bit of lateness from his old pal, right?

Psssh, like it mattered. Any excuse to take the day off was a great one in his book.

So many of his old buddies and pals were in here still... it was almost a shame that he didn't get to see 'em all. But he'd always had a special place in his heart for old Tom. Good kid. Good kid.

"Yo," the pharmacist greeted the blond, raising a hand easily as soon as he spotted his buddy (though certainly not neglecting to check the room out thoroughly for the ladies. A man had his priorities.) "Miss me?"

[strange-unlife.livejournal.com]

Shito knew who his visitor was going to be. They could talk about brainwashed friends all they wanted on the message board, but for Shito there was really only one person it could be, and he wouldn't need to be brainwashed to play along with this shit. He'd do it just to see Shito squirm. The only up side was that Shito knew he couldn't use his magic too obviously here, so hopefully the encounter would be limited mostly to head games and taunting.

Keeping his crutches well within reach, Shito took a seat gingerly and waited for Touhou to arrive.

[damned-visitors.livejournal.com]

It didn't take long. Touhou, ever smiling, ever the picture of polite propriety, was chatting with a nurse when he came in, lamenting the fate of his poor dear boy and asking her how he was doing, when he would be released, what their treatments were for him ... being, as he was, an attached caregiver.

Concerned for his boy's well-being.

"Bao!" he said, immediately upon sitting down and reaching out to take Shito's hand. "How have you been? It's only been a few days, but we're already missing you back at home. Tell me - this place has been treating you well, hasn't it?"

Touhou continued to smile unceasingly, his expression impossible to gauge.

[justice-to-a-t.livejournal.com]

For Mikami, acting on Kira's behalf as if nothing was wrong was a snap... so long as he was prepared beforehand - having the surprise of sitting next to the man he worshiped sprung on him was something else entirely.

Even so, he'd eaten brunch alone and relatively calm to outside appearances, save for the level of interest he showed to his waffles and vegetable soup. He ate more at that meal than at any two of the others he'd received there combined... a fact that seemed to please his nurse an unusually high amount. She hurried him along once he'd finished, and had he not been so distracted, he might have noticed earlier when she failed to offer him a choice in his next activity as she should have.

"Ah, where are we going?" he asked, stopping right outside the entry to the Sun Room.

"Come along, dear," the nurse said simply in return, "You have a visitor today!"

And so he complied with continuing to follow the woman, and for the sake of his mood, wasn't even bothered by her persistent smile. Upon reaching the waiting room, he snatched an old magazine up and sat down, flipping through it with mild interest. It seemed unlikely to him that they would be able to find anyone of interest to bring here, so said visitor was likely, at best, a work acquaintance... his secretary, perhaps. He couldn't help but feel slightly amused at the thought.

[damned-visitors.livejournal.com]

Takanaga Eriko hadn't seen her son in months.

When she first heard what had happened, she was sick with guilt and the sudden, irrefutable proof that such a huge gulf had grown between herself and her son. She'd done everything a single mother could, but maybe if she'd just listened to him more, paid better attention to the early warning signs, this could have been averted. Temote had been such a sensitive child. She'd thought that age would teach him to compromise, but he was like a tall tree caught in a typhoon. Why couldn't he just bend, like the hardy grass in that story?

Eriko smoothed the folds of her pleated skirt as she took a seat across from her son, appraising him with a worried expression. "Temote," she said, her voice a gentle sigh. "I'm sorry I couldn't come sooner. This was the first day they said you could accept visitors."

[k4t4str0ph4l.livejournal.com]

Schuldig had been at the institute for quite some time now, but this marked the first time he'd ever been bothered for this visitor nonsense. To say that his enthusiasm was at a low ebb required passing up the more apt description of his being fucking livid.

From what he'd gathered from the general emotional turmoil after visiting day, nothing good ever came out of this crap, and in fact it was probably a thinly veiled excuse for the institute to wreak havoc on the minds of its captives. In theory, Schuldig applauded it; it was the sort of thing he'd have set up if he'd been on the board of directors, right along with a viewing room and some popcorn. He was fine with it in practice, too, right up until they tried doing it to him. Hypocrisy aside, they'd already cut into his goddamn brain; there was no excuse for their trying to fuck with it any further.

Still, what could they really do to him? Crawford had been and gone; the only person of any note they could bring in besides him was Nagi, whom Schuldig didn't exactly have much of an emotional connection with. His parents, he supposed, were another possibility, but it had been so long since he'd given them any thought that they might as well have been someone else's family. It'd be interesting to see them again, but not terribly traumatic.

Whatever the institute decided to throw at him, he'd resolved as he sulked with bad grace in a chair, wasn't going to work. Mindfucks were his bread and butter(more accurately, his ambrosia); trying these techniques on him was like trying to poison a cobra with its own venom.

[damned-visitors.livejournal.com]

Some snakes, of course, didn't need venom to kill its victims.

Just before the door opened, Schuldig's visitor paused outside to talk with the nurse.

"Remember," she said, clearly wary and concerned, a few of the burlier security lingering just nearby, "he's going to get upset. He's very attached to you."

"I know," he said to her, his eyes cold and calculating. "I remember."

She sighed a bit and opened the door, waiting for the first sign of trouble as Crawford passed by her and into the room.

He remembered his time here, of course. The days and weeks spent with Schuldig, believing and recalling what should never have been. He remembered what he used to believe, remembered how much faith Schuldig had in him. He knew that this was not going to end well - there would be hate, unceasing and damning.

And ...

He sat down across from Schuldig, silent for the moment.

[jokers-wildcard.livejournal.com]

Harley was completely boggled as she followed her nurse from the cafeteria. Her? Have a visitor? There must have been some kind of mistake. For one, she couldn't think of a single person who would come visit her in an asylum. The only people she could imagine making a special trip to see her certainly wouldn't do so by walking through the front door as a 'visitor.' They'd be thrown right back into the pen themselves, after all.

More than that, who actually knew she'd been transferred here? Even she didn't know until she'd gotten here already.

A part of her was hopeful that maybe, just maybe, her puddin' was coming in disguised as some regular Joe Schmo, ready to risk life and limb to break her out. Because he missed her. Because he couldn't stand being without her. Because he needed her. Sigh.

Another part of her, as unsavory as it was, wondered if it was the Bat. He had come to visit her int he past, though it was usually because he wanted to grill her for information or get her to turn her back on her sweetheart. If anyone he'd probably figure she was moved here, the jerk.

Needless to say, she was both curious and nervous as she finally took her seat in the waiting room, hands planted together on the seat between her legs, leaning forward and back. She peered around the room apprehensively like some kid waiting to be picked up by an irritable parent. ...This is really weird.

[damned-visitors.livejournal.com]

The person who came through the door wasn't either of the people that she might have expected. The redhead had only been informed that Amy had been institutionalized after the fact, and had to wait a while before the nurses would let her come visit. She was planning on raising hell if they'd made her wait any longer, but thankfully that wasn't the case.

Pamela had always been the person to tell it to her like it was, but even she had been worried about the girl's last spree right before she'd gotten sent here. Maybe where she hadn't been able to help Amy, this place would have done her some good. So Pamela was happy when they finally let her in, and had shown up wearing a strong floral perfume, in hopes that it would help to jog a few memories. The nurses had said that it was a tough call, but hadn't said anything against it. She just had to be careful how she worded things, and be gentle. Easier said than done, since it was in her nature to be blunt.

She went over and took up a seat beside her friend, crossing her legs. "How's it going, kid?" she asked.