Doe said as she passed the nurse's station, still yanking at the various stickers and cords stuck to her. In the room she'd just left, machines wailed as if lamenting her departure - it was a somewhat familiar sound, typically the last thing she heard as her consciousness faded into the still dark of death.
"D-Danny," called one of the nurses, half-blocking Doe's path but hesitating to touch her. Finding her reluctance handy, Doe chose not to educate her; the parasite curse caused her more than its fair share of trouble, after all, so why not use it to her advantage just this once?
A nearby examination room opened and Danny and a young woman slipped out; the girl took her prescription, blinked at the chaos around her, and wisely took off for the pharmacy. Danny wished he could be so lucky.
"Ma'am," Danny said, resting a hand on Doe's elbow. The taller woman spun, glowering down at him a little.
Danny shrunk back from the woman a bit despite himself, there was something about the sharp gold eyes and flickering shadows that just screamed don't mess with me.
"Sorry, force of habit," Danny said, upping his Serenity Vibes subtly. The woman leaned forward, voice lowered. Her expression was mild, her tone low and calm, but Danny felt a shiver run down his spine.
It was too familiar, too painful. That placated feeling forced into her body, into her mind... Doe hated it more than she could say. She straightened, brushed her hands down the front of her hospital gown, and sighed.
Danny swallowed hard, wisely choosing not to correct her - she'd been awake, aside from her nightly death, for a week, but total time spent at the clinic was closer to three weeks, the majority of it spent in and out of half-consciousness and repeated deaths.
"But, if you die out there we won't be able to-"
"Okay, okay. You'll be back before dark?"
Doe rolled her eyes and huffed. Danny quickly finished disconnecting her. He opened his mouth, no doubt to give her further lectures on what she ought to be doing or not doing with her freedom, but Doe - with a whoop and grace she'd not been able to manage just a week ago - was already dashing through the doors.
"You..." Danny began as the doors closed. He sighed and finished, a little forlornly. "Forgot the pants."
Doe became aware of this problem not much later; clasping the back of her gown to keep it closed as best she could, she squinted at a few signs. The words were... wobbly, uncooperative. How long had it been since she'd seen writing, since she'd read? Biting her lip, Doe grabbed hold of the first person to pass by - only belatedly realizing it was a handsome man.
she asked, golden eyes glimmering with her temper.
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