Day 43: Waiting Room/Lobby 2, Third Shift

[kingside]

It would have been impossible not to see this coming, but after the night he'd had and seeing Euphy in the cafeteria-- hadn't the past twenty-four hours been enough? He couldn't do this anymore, not after seeing her walking around as if nothing had happened and knowing that Suzaku was going through a similar ordeal. His knight-- no, former knight now-- had been so transformed by her death, and having to behave now as if none of that had occurred had to be-- but it was out of Lelouch's hands now. Both of them were, and although he would have liked nothing more than to speak to her again or tell Suzaku why he couldn't tell him what had happened, he couldn't do that to either of them. It would be easier for them this way.

For him, however, the torment was just beginning. There was a wide variety of people the institute staff could have chosen from that would have a deep impact on him, but when the most obvious choice would have the worst-- he couldn't do this! He had spent almost all of his time here carefully shutting out thoughts of Nunnally after Suzaku had told him what would happen to her, but if he had to come face to face with her-- the walls were already beginning to crumble, and if it hadn't been for the fact that he knew his nurse would have grabbed and probably sedated him the instant he tried to bolt, he would have done so immediately.

As things were, he allowed himself to be led placidly through the Sun Room and the main hall, eyes downcast and shoulders beginning to quake ever so slightly with barely contained emotion. Nunnally-- he hadn't had a conversation with her-- a real conversation, not something rushed over the phone that hid more from her than he ever wanted and not something filled with lies and false reassurances, but a real conversation where he could ask how her day had been and lightly cradle her hand in his as she excitedly told him about the latest tidbit Sayoko had told her about Japanese culture or expressed worry about something in class she hadn't fully understood or sweetly smiled at him as she--

Lelouch shut his eyes tightly, barely hearing the nurse as she left him in the lobby to find a seat and somehow keep himself preoccupied while he waited and tried his hardest not to remember what the rest of his conversation with Suzaku had held that night. If he did...

Slowly, he began to walk over to one of the chairs, all but collapsing into it once he'd reached it and sagging forwards so that his elbows rested on his knees and only barely kept him seated upright. He didn't know how much more he could take, and if his visitor was Nunnally, then-- then what? He wasn't sure. And Nunnally-- what was he supposed to tell her? What could he even say? How could anyone expect him to talk to her now as if everything was normal when he had to-- when there was no way he could--

He stared down at the floor and waited, face blank. He would just have to get through this somehow, and after that-- he would deal with that later. He had to.

Comments

[damned-visitors.livejournal.com]

The sound of light laughter echoed in the hallway outside the waiting room. One of the staff nurses could be heard next, asking, "You're awfully excited to see your brother, aren't you, Natalie?" The blonde girl in the wheelchair nodded. "I miss him a lot," she said. "Is it time yet?"

The nurse nodded, then wheeled the girl's chair through the doorway. She smiled brightly, and if she'd been able to open her eyes, they would have sparkled with delight. She held a string of paper cranes in her lap - one of her classmates had told her a story about how if you made a thousand, you would have a wish granted. She had then asked everyone to help her make as many as they could.

The string wasn't nearly a thousand cranes, but they would get there. Then her wish for her brother to be well and come home would come true.

The chair came to a stop right next to the young man's seat. "I've really missed you, Brendan," she said, voice trembling just a little with emotion.

[kingside]

Lelouch seemed to shrink in on himself when she entered the room (just this once, why couldn't he have been wrong?), but as he had so many times in the past, he paused, took a deep breath, and straightened, an answering smile appearing on his face for her benefit. Even if she couldn't see it, she could hear the difference; he'd learned that early on. He wasn't sure it would make a difference when Nunnally had always been uncommonly good at picking up his real emotions, but he had enough practice at hiding them from her that he had to at least make the attempt. He couldn't upset her, no matter how much the visit pained him.

As prepared as he thought he was to see her, though, his breath still caught when he finally lifted his gaze. Nunnally-- looked exactly the way he remembered her, if more human and so much more fragile now that he was viewing her up close instead of on a monitor or from behind his mask and across the room. After a whole year of being separated from her, he was finally-- even if it was a short visit, she was there and he could talk to her without watching Rolo, the impostor, lower his fingers one by one as their time ran out. Nunnally--

The smile faltered when she said that name, but compared to seeing her-- he delicately took her hand in his and gave it a small, reassuring squeeze. "I've missed you, too, Natalie," he managed to force past the growing lump in his throat, tone gentle as it always was when he spoke to his sister despite his last-minute correction. He was grateful he'd overheard the nurse earlier now; he didn't think he would have been able to stand it if her cheerful expression had crumpled after hearing him use the "wrong" name. "It's been too long."

[damned-visitors.livejournal.com]

"It has been. It really has been," she said, squeezing his hand in return, then frowning.

She tilted her head to the side for just a moment. Was there something...no. The nurses had warned her that he might seem a little different. She would normally question that further - why was her brother different, why was something off - but she wouldn't, not now. She didn't want her brother to get upset, but more than that, she didn't want their visit to end sooner than it absolutely had to. She could at least let him know that he was missed, and that she cared.

"Everyone said I couldn't call you, or send you letters, or anything, because it might make you feel bad. I think they were wrong, and I really, really wanted to! I've wondered how you were doing every day. I started asking, but...they just said it would be better to let you rest and work on getting well. I've been so worried about you, though..."

Now it was her turn to swallow a lump in her throat. She didn't want to cry in front of him, not when she was here to make him smile! She just needed to turn the conversation to something a little lighter, a little less painful, something that wouldn't lead to the question 'why'. No matter what happened...Brendan was her brother. He had been strong for her before, and now it was her turn. She could - no. She would do that, as much as it was possible. 'Natalie' took a deep breath, then smiled again.

"I've been told to send along a bunch of messages. Everyone at school misses you. Mary and Charlotte and the rest of the student council say that you'd better come back soon, and bring Lance back with you. They said if you don't get back fast, when you do come back..." She couldn't help but giggle a little. "Well, you know what kind of crazy ideas Mary gets. She wouldn't tell me everything, but she told me to tell you that it involved a frilly maid costume and the next school festival."

[pleading-ngri.livejournal.com]

The announcement had barely sunk in before Phoenix found his nurse coaxing him cheerfully toward the front of the building, telling him that his visitor had arrived. His stomach sank. In an intellectual way, he'd been curious about the visitors before now, when they were an abstract uncertainty. The announcement had been cheerfully sure in its proclamations, though, and had told him in those bright, calm, mechanical tones that he would be meeting a "graduate." Someone who'd been here, maybe, or at least somewhere like here. Someone who'd been brainwashed.

Not anyone innocent, he didn't pray, because he wasn't a praying man, even if he didn't know what else you called it when you begged something invisible to spare you. Make it someone I put behind bars. Make it Morgan, or Engarde, or - argh, you can make it Gant, if you want. Just make it someone like that.

The chair creaked under him as he sat, a little numbly, watching other patients trickle into the room to await their guests. Don't believe everything you hear, Phoenix, he told himself gamely, forcing himself to sit straighter. Just because that's the announcement they're giving you doesn't make it true. You didn't believe everything Landel said, did you?

[damned-visitors.livejournal.com]

"Come on! It won't hurt!"

Just outside the door came the sounds of a mild scuffle, and then without any other warning a dark-haired young woman backed into the room, half-dragging a member of the Landel's Institute staff along with her. Struggling to remain dignified, the older woman was clearly attempting to take possession of the bag between them without engaging in the impromptu game of tug-o-war any more than absolutely necessary.

"Miss! You either leave the bag with me or leave the building. Mr. Appleby isn't accepting gifts!"

At that a stubborn pout came across the girl's features, and after a moment she finally conceded with a heavy sigh, dusting off her hands once it was done and glaring at the woman running off with her bulging backpack. "Don't lose it, okay?" she called, turning with a hmph. And then... she saw the man she'd come all this way to see, and the determination on her face changed subtly as she made her way across the room.

"H-hey, Sammy!" she said, stopping a few feet away and clasping her hands in front of her. It was obvious that she was nervous, even if her smile was undoubtedly genuine. "It's been a while!"

[haplesstracker.livejournal.com]

Scourge had really, really needed that quiet moment in the chapel. The noise of people talking was never deafening, but a gentle, mostly-alone mostly-silence was very soothing after the chaos of last night and today's morning.

And besides this, it had given him a breather before he had to face his "visitor". He wondered who they'd be putting up to him. The intercom seemed to indicate that the vistors were regurgitated past prisoners, but he hadn't heard anything about other Decepticons before Lugnut and Starscream got here. If they'd been brainwashed it was probably someone pretty weak-willed anyway. Dead End, maybe. Perhaps an Autobot, a visit from Optimus Prime trapped in a human mind would be priceless.

Or, if they wanted to save time and money, Spike Witwicky.

Scourge sat in his chair and slouched, head tilted off to the side as he idly watched the door for any face or voice that seemed familiar and pondered how best to go about entertaining himself with the pathetic mindless fool who'd let himself be taken in by Landel's tricks.

[damned-visitors.livejournal.com]

It wasn't long before a nurse showed in an average-looking man, dark-haired and blandly-dressed, looking worn and worried and uncertain as he looked around-- as if he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to be there.

After a moment, he spotted Scourge, and stared at him for a few moments before approaching with only the slightest hesitation, pausing a few feet away.

"... Joshua. You're... looking well," he said, awkwardly, in his deep, familiar voice.

[revolutionise]

Utena had been hoping and hoping ever since finding out that today was Visitor's Day that she wouldn't be chosen to participate. There was no way she wanted to see the face of someone she cared about being twisted for the institute's terrible purposes. Unfortunately for her, right after brunch, a nurse came to give her the bad news: that "Yomi" had a very special visitor, and that he was going to meet her in the lobby right away. Utena demanded to know who it was, but the nurse merely chided her for being rude and then told her that it was going to be a surprise.

Just remember: whoever they bring in here, they're not real. They're not real, Utena told herself, clenching her fists tightly on her lap as she was sat down in the waiting room. Still, even as she thought that, she had to wonder if the "visitors" really did look and sound as real as Harley had described them. The other girl had seemed extremely shaken just talking about the friend that had come to see her. Could Landel really make a clone or a creature look and act that close to what really existed? If it wasn't a clone, was his brainwashing really that good?

Utena grit her teeth and kept her eyes focused firmly on the door, waiting.

[damned-visitors.livejournal.com]

She didn't have long to wait.

Although privilege and influence could make many uncaring, not so Antony Westmark. Anyone who'd ever had business with him remarked how unfailingly polite he was to everyone, young or old, rich or poor. He didn't intend to make Yomi, his dear little sister's best friend, wait alone any longer than necessary.

The top of his head nearly bumped into the door frame, but he stooped with grace, and a smile lit his face and green eyes as he approached the pink-haired girl. He pulled out a chair to sit where he could see her, his long legs spread apart for balance. "I could hardly wait for today to come. You're looking better than I feared from what your aunt told me." He leaned back, though not smiling quite as broadly, because he wasn't gleeful to see the young girl here, of all places. "Gray is not your color."

[human-sponge.livejournal.com]

Peter wasn't sure if he'd done much of anything to make Daphne feel better about what had happened to her, but watching someone die in front of you and having to cope with that feeling of uselessness wasn't something that anyone got over easily. He was still dealing with Elle's death, and he didn't think the memories of that night were ever going to stop bothering him.

He had a much bigger problem to worry about right now, though, and that was his nurse telling him that he was scheduled to be visited once again. He'd been hoping that he would be off the hook after last week (Nathan was back here, after all), but apparently that wasn't the case.

Remembering how Nathan had mentioned their mother during his visit last week, Peter already had a pretty good guess about who would be coming to see them. When the nurse mentioned that "Harrison" would be coming for the visit as well, that pretty much cemented it.

Dealing with his mother was difficult enough under normal circumstances, so he really didn't want to imagine how this was going to turn out. He listened to the computerized voice speaking in place of the Head Doctor as he walked with a nurse down the hall toward the waiting room, and frowned when he heard the word "graduates."

His theory had been right, then: these friends and family members had been brainwashed. It still didn't explain how Nathan had come back a week later with a completely different hair length, but Peter had given up on making sense of certain things.

It seemed that he had made it to the room before Nathan, and no one else that he personally knew was around. The nurse led him to a spot where three chairs were facing each other and Peter took a seat, then turned to eye the door for either his brother or his mother.

[aleaderwillrise.livejournal.com]

Nathan came in the room first, which was good -- if he had walked in to see Peter and their mother sitting at the chairs together, it would have been overwhelming. As it was, it was unlikely that Nathan would get a chance to ask Peter just what the hell was going on, but he slipped into his chair anyway, leaning forward, elbows on knees and hands clasped.

He glanced towards the doorway, from where his nurse had just disappeared. She'd taken him from his conversation with Bruce and his meal pretty quickly, talking as she usually did. This time, though, the conversation had interested Nathan very much. She'd claimed he had a visitor coming for him, and all Nathan could think was that it was Heidi or Mom. When he walked in and saw Peter, he came to the same realization Peter had.

Still, this was the first time Nathan had seen Peter since the night before, and he was relieved to see him.

"You okay?" he asked, quietly.

[giftofstars.livejournal.com]

It had been nice to talk with Yukito during brunch, even if the topics they covered were relatively serious. He had the ability to make everyone like him, and when you were upset around him, you couldn't stay upset for long. Indubitably, those was one of the many qualities which drew her brother to Yukito... and herself for a time.

However, her thoughts quickly returned to what had happened before she had been brought to the institute. She had sealed the card which was impossible to seal. She had confessed her love to Syaoran, who had been faithfully waiting for her response for so long. Overall, it seemed like her life had been set straight before coming here, and more than anything, she wanted to return to that life which she had worked so hard to set with everyone else.

The usual message came for the shift change, and Sakura headed toward the door of the cafeteria before her arm was grabbed by a nurse. "Eri! You've got a visitor! He's waiting for you in the second lobby!" the nurse said enthusiastically.

"W-What?" Sakura stuttered out, but instead of an answer, she was merely dragged all the way to the lounge shouting, "HOEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Once she got there, the nurse sat her down in a chair to wait. "I know he's someone really special to you!" the nurse whispered in her ear, causing Sakura to quiet down.

[damned-visitors.livejournal.com]

There were any number of things that Ling would have preferred to be doing on a nice Sunday afternoon, and going to the crazy house certainly didn't rank up there at the top of the list. Still, though, he kind of felt a little responsible for Eri, after he'd befriended the girl and all. It was hard not to feel sorry for her; she was so nice when she wasn't being weird.

Momo probably would've come, if she'd been able to, but she was always so busy. The other kids in the class acted like...well, as anyone would expect a bunch of preteens to act, when confronted with the idea of visiting a classmate in a mental institution. He'd probably get made fun of for coming in school tomorrow, but he didn't want to leave Eri without anyone to visit her. He could only imagine how sad that would be - not only locked up, but without anyone who cared enough to come say hello.

Ling fidgeted uncomfortably until the nurse finally told him he could go in, whereupon he glanced around the room, spotted the girl he was looking for, and wandered over to awkwardly stand beside the chair in which he was supposed to be sitting. "Here," he said, pulling out the stuffed bear he'd brought along with him and holding it toward her stiffly. Momo said girls liked presents, right? Maybe it'd cheer her up. "Hopeyoufeelbettersoon."

[mind-the-sukima.livejournal.com]

Strange.

There was no other word to describe exactly how Yukari felt, sitting in the chair, quietly waiting. Not exactly excited, nervous or scared. Neither up nor down. Just, not quite right. A little odd, a little off. Strange.

"Come now, Violet," the nurse had said, "You have a visitor today! Won't that be nice?"

Yukari had, as Violet, agreed, yes, that would be nice. And part of her actually thought it might be. It would be interesting to see what they would come up with. After reading what people had said on the bulletin about these visitors, whether they were fake or real, she was honestly curious about them. But as she walked down the clean white halls to the waiting rooms, she felt something, a bit of unease, the slightest of doubts in the back of her mind. And as she sat there, now, in the chair in the room by herself studiously ignoring the other patients and visitors, it began to grow.

Strange. That was how she felt.

[damned-visitors.livejournal.com]

It wasn't too long after Violet had been brought to the waiting room, other patients finding their own loved ones escorted in to see them, that the door was opened by a nurse. A moment later, a small dark-haired girl in a green and red dress pushed her way past the nurse to burst into the room to the reprimanding call of "Saffron!"

Without a glance back at the familiar voice, Saffron's eyes landed on Violet and her whole face lit up. Disregarding the other people in the room, the girl ran to Violet and threw her arms around the woman's neck.

"Mom! I missed you so much!"

From a few feet away came a heavy sigh as a woman in a dark blue skirt and blazer stood, her blonde hair short. There was subtle tension at the corner of her eyes, but she allowed Violet's daughter to have her exuberant moment with her mother, hands folded serenely before her.

The moment didn't last very long. "Saffron, do remember your manners," she chided the girl before turning her attention to Violet. "Ms. Cloud," she greeted her employer.

[falseblack]

Being the careful and observant variant, Nigredo had regarded the announcement with veiled trepidation. Visitors was a term beyond his comprehension. Oh, he understood the literal meaning well enough. U.R.T.V. units were just unfit for the experience. Coupled with other words spoken by this I.R.I.S. program, he could only see suspicion in the matter.

Therefore, when the nurse came with nothing but talk of a nonexistent person wanting to meet him, Nigredo was tempted to decline. In a way, he tried. "What am I supposed to do?" the boy asked, sounding a little too disinterested.

The woman probably did not hear his question. "Don't you worry, dear." She smiled and patted his head. Nigredo could not say if he appreciated the gesture.

Sighing, he watch the nurse walked away before taking a seat near an empty corner. Just for information's sake. He could find a corner to sleep in afterward.

[damned-visitors.livejournal.com]

She almost hadn't wanted to come. She had her studies to think of, and his actions were somehow beyond reproach. So why, when offered the chance to see him, had she said yes without thinking? It wasn't like her. It wasn't like her at all.

After making sure she wouldn't have to deal with the other two, she had finally agreed in full. She had made up her mind. So this hesitation was unnecessary. There was nothing more to hesitant at. The girl walked into the room like she owned it, no part of her insecurities showing. How would he be, after everything? Would he even--?

Her little brother was sitting, bruised and battered, by himself. What in the...? How could they let something like that happen? She would have to talk with the people in charge. How completely irresponsible! Her stagnant anger with her brother and the questions connected slid to the backburner as she stormed over to him, pulling a chair close to sit across from him. Her hand moved delicately to his temple to assess the situation, brushing the skin. It looked merely like bruising, but.... "Nii..." she started, forgetting herself for a moment, and using her brother's pet name. Something shifted in her face. "How did this happen? Did they do this to you?"

[tsunagari.livejournal.com]

Until the previous week, Sai had not received visitors. Though the last few days had gone by with a slowness only possible within these walls, the visit from Shin seemed as though it had occurred only the day before. When he was told he and Danzo... Sean and Daniel... would be visiting again, he was not terribly surprised. Had they not come during the first session he'd been present for because it had been "too soon?"

He didn't like thinking about this situation in rational terms, as if he believed their lies. If didn't matter when they showed up. They were brought here to weaken his resolve, and he wouldn't allow that to happen. This time he would be prepared, and not make a poor display of himself as he had before.

The ninja sat in the waiting room calmly, hands in his lap and trying to ignore the fact that he could hear his heart thumping heavily in his chest.

[damned-visitors.livejournal.com]

Last time, Sean had just rushed into the room, thinking the old man insane for wanting to spend more time with the nurses. This time, he still wanted to run in, but--

He hadn't been able to stop thinking about last time. How upset Simon had gotten, how hard he had pushed. How long it'd taken to finally get home, up in his room where he could let out his frustrations without showing such weakness in front of the old man. He'd screamed into his pillow and cried until his voice had gone hoarse, because before, he'd thought it'd all be better. That Simon would be Simon, and he'd be coming home.

But that hadn't been what happened.

Now Sean swallowed hard as he came into the room, seeing the familiar face of his brother. He looked calm, which was good, right? That'd always been something Simon was better at: staying cool under pressure. Sean was a bit closer to an open book, but damn it. This was the first time he'd seen Simon again in a week, so what if last week had gotten screwed up? He wasn't going to let some crappy problems mess up his precious quality time!

By the time Sean made it over to Simon's chair, his chest was puffed out, and his face was set in determination.

"Simon! This time, we're going to have a good visit, and you're not going to shove me or I'm going to punch you in the face! Don't think just because you're in a hospital that I won't beat you up if I have to. It's my role as your older brother, and I'll definitely do it."

Okay, so technically they were the same age. But that wasn't the point! The point was, that even if Simon couldn't remember, Sean did. He loved Simon, and nothing was going to change that.

Not even the hard times like these, damn it. And if it took a black eye to convince Simon that he wasn't just going to abandon him, then Sean would give it to him.

[longlivetheking]

After avoiding it for two weeks, the moment Scar dreaded had finally come. The nurse arrived, as usual, but instead of asking where he would like to spend the free shift she took the king to one of the waiting rooms.

"You'll finally have a visitor, Mr. Irons!" the nurse exclaimed cheerfully. "Isn't that great?" Her attitude was a large contrast to that of her charge.

In the roughly two weeks the former lion had been here, he had heard of these visitors. He roughly knew what to expect, and he also realized that he should have expected this. That they would have him be visited sooner or later. But even realizing that, every part of him dreaded having to experience this. Of course, he had tried to refuse. He had even told the nurse he wasn't feeling very well, but she wouldn't have any of it. He had no choice but to let her take him to the waiting room.

"I will get your visitor now," the nurse said as she guided him to a chair before adding more strictly: "Now behave yourself and don't sit on the floor." And then she left, and Scar could do little but to reluctantly sit down and wait. And as he waited, his uneasiness grow. Questions rose into his head, wondering who would come. Stories on the board implied it could be anyone. His nephew would be a logical choice. Or one of those hyenas. Or possibly even Zira.

'Whoever they send, they are not real. They are merely tricks of this place,' he reassured himself, but it did nothing to relief his uneasiness. His muscles were tense, nails digging into the palms of his hands as he swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. Though he tried to summon as much dignity he could in his position, trying not to let it get to him, he kept his gaze focused upon the floor.

Almost as if he was afraid of what, or in this case who, to see.

[damned-visitors.livejournal.com]

His visitor certainly had taken his time, but then again James Earl was a busy man. Running a company as big as his was took a lot of time and effort and despite his best intentions, he still seemed to have managed to be late. He strode into the waiting room purposefully, carrying himself with grace and elegance. He seemed relaxed, despite the type of visit this was going to be. His attire, clean and to the nines as usual included a cream coloured vest and pinstriped trousers. James Earl was a sight to draw attention.

Jeremy was seated some way off, but in only a few steps, the older brother was in front, extending his hand for the other to shake. "Brother! How have you been?" Even his voice demanded attention, drew crowds to him. He certainly did not lack presence.

Seating himself in front of Jeremy, he allowed his gaze to sweep across the room. Patients engaged in discussion. He hoped his brother would say he was improving. "Sarah and I were wondering when you would come home, Jeremy. You are certainly missed back home and poor Simon is growing up without an uncle. Tell me, when will they let you out." He crossed his legs at the knee and smiled pleasantly, though his eyes were sharp and calculated. He didn't know what to expect from Jeremy now.

[stringless-doll.livejournal.com]

Nataku had actually been looking forward to the shift. If he couldn't get ahold of Kenren to find out what was going on, at least he could get outside for some fresh air and maybe play a game with someone. Or find Jason again. The man had promised to teach him some of his acrobatics the next time they got outside, and a promise was a promise, right?

The nurse was hearing none of this. She was usually nice enough about suggesting places to go if he was feeling restless, but today she marched him away from the other rooms chatting cheerfully about a visitor. Nataku was too baffled to argue. He didn't know anyone here, so what was she talking about?

He let her lead him to a chair and sat with his hands in his lap, feeling a little silly. Maybe when nobody came they'd let him go spend some time outside.

[damned-visitors.livejournal.com]

Any feelings of 'silliness' would soon be put far from his son's mind. The nurse wasn't gone long--a few minutes at most. After all, what father wouldn't be so eager to see his son?

The man walked into the room with confidence, despite what the nurse had told him only moments before. He doesn't seem to be making much progress... But that was fine. The man didn't need young Takehiko to completely regain his sanity: just enough to fool the women around them would be fine. After all, he had such ambitions, ones he needed his son for. But there were bits of the truth that Takehiko couldn't forget, ones that he wouldn't let the boy forget.

How else would he serve his father as a dutiful son?

"Takehiko." The man smiled to his child, letting something private flash in his eyes. Takehiko would see it, and he would know. He would never disobey his father.

[buteo-sapiens.livejournal.com]

"Come on, Astor dear, Becca's waiting for you," the nurse murmured, leading an unresisting if confused) Tobias out of the sun room by his shoulder. Becca? Who was that supposed to be? He'd heard the announcement about being visited, by people already broken by this place, but he hadn't paid much attention beyond that-- he'd only been here a few days, after all. Who knew him here?

Of course, there was always the possibility of time travel, but that seemed like an awful lot of trouble just for him.

He sat placidly in the room the nurse took him to, watching the doors he hadn't come in by intently.

[damned-visitors.livejournal.com]

It was only a few minutes before those doors all but blew open under the force of someone's very determined shoving. But that someone would never have been "Becca" to Tobias.

She was tall, very blonde, gorgeous, and dressed as stylishly as possible for the winter chill: blue suede coat that set off her eyes and a white shirt with exactly the sort of fallen collar that was in style. Underneath that collar, there was no sign of the leotard that should have been necessary, but, well, of course she wouldn't have let her morphing clothes show through her outer garments. That would have been gauche.

And Rachel would never have let something that happen.

She folded her arms and glared at the room around her, then at Tobias. "You shouldn't be here, and you know it," she said.