Chapter Text
The car was silent at first, as Rick began to drive towards the hospital with Claire rummaging through her bag searching for something.
"Here-" she finally spoke, thrusting something at Joe, a small rectangle of plastic that he took, but before he could look it over or even question it, Claire spoke again, "Can you blink?"
He cocked his head, unsure of why she was asking, "I can close my eyes- as I often do during the more passionate moments of my work-"
"Yeah, yeah, I know you can shut your eyes, be weird if you couldn't. What I'm asking is if you can flutter those pretty little things in a way that seems and looks natural- like you're blinking."
He paused, taking a moment to understand her request, not entirely sure why she was asking it of him but trusting that she had a reason.
So he shut his eyes. Then opened them. Shut-open-shut-
"...okay- okay, stop, that's more unsettling than not blinking. We'll work on it, but for now- Rick, do you have sunglasses in here?"
"Yeah, Lola, can you grab 'em from the glove compartment?"
A pair of black sunglasses were passed back, and Claire handed them to Joe and motioned for him to put them on, which he did so, before looking at her carefully. Were it different circumstances, or more importantly, if she had been Alice, he may have smiled and cracked a joke, asking if he looked mysterious and dashing- but Alice was in a hospital, possibly only clinging to life at this point and he didn't really have it in him to joke about anything.
"Can you please explain, Claire? It's not that I do not trust you, I'm just confused about-" he gestures at the glasses before finally looking at the plastic rectangle she had shoved into his hands. It was an ID- his face emblazoned on it, name (Joseph R. Astair) … a DOB- he didn't have a date of birth, only a date of build, and it wasn't the date listed-
"Is this a fake ID?"
Claire glanced over at him, then down at the ID, "Yeah. I had it made a while back for you. Alice doesn't know, she'd probably kill me if she did, if I'm honest. Giving you something even as small as this, just because you could, theoretically get into trouble if you were caught. I kept it though, just in case you ever needed it, like if you and Alice ever decided to run off or something, get married. You'd need it. Didn't think you'd be using it for something like this but-"
"...I'm still confused. Why do I need a fake ID right now? Why did you ask if I could blink, and then give me sunglasses to cover up the fact I can not?"
She let out a sigh, a hand moving to rub her brow, eyes screwed shut from both frustration and exhaustion, "Look, Joe- do you want to see Alice? And be able to stay by her side at the hospital no questions asked?"
"Yes of course. I have no intentions of leaving her once we are there unless the doctors and nurses need to attend to an urgent medical need-"
"Then you need to shut up, and follow my lead. Sorry, I'm not- I'm not trying to be mean, or rude. But this is- I'm sorry, but I'm not Alice, and this is definitely not her wonderland. Maybe us winning the case was a turning point- I don't know. Even if it is, it doesn't change the here and now. And right now, there are still laws, and regulations, that- to put it simply, if the hospital knows you're a mecha, they wouldn't let you step one dancing little foot into her room. They don't care if you two are madly, deeply in love, you're a mecha, she's an orga, and it's legal for them to tell you to get fucked. Even with your fake ID, it may still be a pain in the ass because you're not legally married, you're not her next of kin, so on and so forth."
Claire paused for a moment, staying silent as she watched the crowds of people busying themselves on the street of Rouge- "I have no doubt that if this was her, Alice would be at the hospital with some insane legal loophole that would allow you in without needing to lie. But I'm not her- and quite frankly, I don't care about playing by the rules if it means I get the desired result. And right now, in order to get you to Alice with the least amount of trouble, this is how we do it. You let me do the planning, let me do the talking and the only thing you need to worry about is what you're going to say when Alice opens her pretty little eyes to see you waiting for her."
Joe played with the ID in his hand as she spoke, turning it over and over again in his hand. She was right of course- and had he a clearer mind that wasn't currently buzzing unpleasantly, he would have remembered that unfortunate fact of life sooner. His feelings for Alice did not matter, Alice's desire for him to live a normal life as a normal man, did not matter. He had no rights, legally speaking, that allowed him full freedom to come and go as he pleased. If he simply turned up at the hospital, unblinking and mechanical, asking for Alice's room number, inquiring about her status (dead? alive? barely hanging on?) it was almost a certainty that the hospital staff would immediately call the police to drag him away.
He felt a twinge of disgust, realizing that it would be easier for Roger, being orga, to find a way to slip past the hospital staff and find her and finish what he had started, than it would be to convince them that Joe had no ill intentions as a mecha.
"I understand… I apologize for all the trouble you're going through."
"Don't," Claire held up a finger to him, shaking her head, "Do not apologize. I'll take a 'thank you', but don't apologize. this is what Alice wants and… while I'm happy you're… you love her, and she makes you happy-"
"You are doing this for her, not for me."
He spoke matter-of-factly and there was no animosity in his voice at all. Their friendship was built and supported by Alice's existence, without her, mecha and orga would not have spared each other a second glance on the street. Claire's loyalties did not lie with Joe, but with Alice- and her needs would always triumph over Joe, and it wouldn't matter even if he was orga. He could accept that, even understand it, perhaps, in a way others could not.
Claire was quiet as they pulled into the parking lot, and unbuckled her seatbelt before speaking.
"Yeah. I am."
They sat there for a moment in silence, as though now that they had arrived, both were too scared to enter the hospital and find out Alice's current status - or if she was even alive at all.
"...right-" Claire finally looked over at Joe, before moving to adjust the lapels of his jacket and then paused for a moment to study him intensely, looking him up and down, "...you still look too- pristine. Too put together. Too…"
"Perfect?"
Claire couldn't help the short laugh that escaped her, "Yeah, too perfect. Can you- I don't know. Mess up your hair or something? That'd go a long way. And try to- relax your body, not so rigid."
"I will do my best-" Joe replied easily, lifting his hand up to his face whereupon the fingers lit up and a mirror appeared in his palm, "Perhaps my movements can simply be explained as nerves?"
Claire watched as he shook his head, his normally slick and coiffed hair falling into a perfectly disheveled mess across his forehead - and while it certainly looked better-
She reached over, using her hands to simply mess it up further, “Sorry, sometimes manual is better, somehow you still looked perfectly not perfect. Anyway- you’ve really gotta sell this, Joe. Now’s not the time to try and be the calm and logical mecha- if you’re really feeling a certain way about Alice, then I need you to actually act like it. You say you love her? Okay, then act like it. All those feelings you may be having? Worry, distress, anger, whatever it is, show it."
Claire paused, and then corrected herself, "And by showing it, I mean, in your expressions and body language as best you can. Don't talk unless, you know, I give you the go ahead. Sorry, don't mean to boss you around, or give you orders. You can tattle on me to Alice later and she can yell at me for ordering you around when she's not dying. But for right now, you follow my lead."
"In this situation, I appreciate the ordering around for once," Joe remarked smoothly, "Let's be frank, this is completely out of my expertise. If I were on my own, I would have no idea how to approach this in a manner that would allow me to be with Alice with no fuss. I'd be caught out as a mecha instantly, and sent to the junk heap. I wouldn't have even begun to think about something as small as blinking, it's not something as a mecha I think about at all. So I'm grateful for the bossiness, Claire."
Lola turned in her seat to look back at him with a smile, "Don't say that Joe, I bet you could. Your speech outside the hotel was beautiful, I'm not sure how anyone could hear the way you talk about Alice and turn you away."
Claire let out a sigh that was a half laugh, "Man, again, I need to remind all of you that we do not live in the perfect little world that Alice just presumably got shot for believing in. Point is- this isn't a fairytale. Beautiful speeches may sway you, Lola, but they ain't gonna sway the hospital staff. So just follow my lead, Joe. You two park and wait for me to contact you. Keep an eye on Alice's phone though Lola, and contact me if anything important comes through."
Both Rick and Lola nodded mutely, and with a final glance over Joe's appearance, Claire got out and motioned for him to follow.
The hospital was eerily empty and quiet and a familiar orga phrase lit up in Joe's head as they walked towards the receptionist's desk.
Ghost town.
The thought unnerved him - the hospital itself unnerved him, if he was being honest. He didn't like this large, empty and sterile building, and the knowledge that it contained both life and death within its walls. New orga being born and brought into the world while others lay dying, all under the same roof- such a notion bothered him.
Especially when they did not know how Alice fared.
Claire took the lead as she said she would, approaching the receptionist at the front desk, with none of the nerves she had in the car and with all the confidence she normally had.
"Hi, we're here to see Alice J. Capulet. She was brought here via ambulance. I'm her emergency contact, and her lawyer, Claire Carpenter-" she flipped her ID out, sliding it across the desk to show the woman, "This is Ms. Capulet's partner, Joe."
The receptionist eyed them both, taking Claire's ID in hand and looking it over for a moment before turning to her computer and typing something in- looking at the ID again, and then back to the computer.
When Claire had told him to act on how he was feeling, he had agreed, but wasn't particularly sure how he'd address that particular request. She was correct in naming the emotions he was feeling - that of worry, distress… even anger - but he had labeled and filed those emotions and put them to the side when Claire had finally broken through to him outside the hotel.
Allowing emotions to dictate one's actions was a decidedly orga behavior. While he could not explain his apparent breakdown outside the hotel, once Claire had brought him out of whatever depths he had sunk into, logic had kicked in and he summarily put those feelings aside to contend with later.
But now she had requested he act on those feelings, and he wasn't quite sure what she meant by that. But standing in front of the receptionist's desk, the only sound echoing in the empty, dimly lit atrium being the incessant sound of typing on the computer- he felt as though he understood the orga phrase of "I'm going crazy."
Suddenly he found himself fidgeting, crossing his arms and tapping his fingers against his jacket, trying hard not to match his finger tapping with his shoes tapping against the hospital floor. What was taking her so long to do whatever she needed to do? He wasn't sure if he was accurately conveying what Claire had requested, but he knew he was most assuredly not acting as the mecha he was. Under normal circumstances he would have remained as still as a statue, waiting for someone to speak to him and alert his processing to begin a conversation.
"Excuse me- ID?"
He turned to look at the receptionist who was holding out her hand expectantly, and with a hint of annoyance, "Yes, apologies-"
"Sorry, can't blame the guy for not paying attention right now seeing as his girlfriend currently has three more holes than she had this morning when he saw her last," Claire cut in as Joe slid his ID over to the waiting receptionist, offering an apologetic smile, "It's been a clusterfuck of a day for us."
"...right," the woman muttered, turning back to her computer, "Is there a reason you're wearing sunglasses indoors?
Joe glanced at Claire, clearly unsure as to what to say- they hadn't exactly come up with a reason for him wearing sunglasses indoors, or at least, a reason to give to the hospital staff.
"He's been crying," Claire was already speaking, the lies coming out quickly and easily, and she didn't seem at all perturbed by the receptionist's probing, "Again, girlfriend. Shot. Possibly dying, not that you seem to particularly care. And unfortunately, Romeo over here was busy at work and didn't even know she had been shot until he saw it on the news. He was a fucking mess when we picked him, and you can imagine the kinda guilt and grief he's currently going through right now, and you taking your sweet ass time isn't exactly doing us any favors. Now, are you going to give us our goddamn visitor badges or are we going to continue to play twenty questions? Because honestly, neither of us are in the mood. Are you, Joe?"
"...no, I am not. I really just want to see Alice at the moment- is there anything you can tell us? Please- I just, she's alone right now, and I don't want her to be alone-"
The receptionist looked taken aback, almost offended at Claire's words before sliding their IDs back to them, "She's currently in surgery, so you're just gonna have to be-" she smiled at them both, without any hint of sympathy, "Patient for a little while longer. Take the elevators to floor forty-six, there's a waiting room there. I'll let them know you're heading there and someone will be out to update you as soon as they can, when they're not, you know, performing life saving surgery."
She slipped two visitor badges over, but kept her hand on them both, not allowing them to be taken just yet, "His visitor badge is good until you leave, Ms. Carpenter. If he wants to stay, you'll need to fill out form VZ-687 as the patient's emergency contact in order to list him as an accepted visitor. Then he'll be free to come and go."
"Great, how about you get me that form, hand it over, and we'll be on our way. I'll be sure to get that form to someone who doesn't view their job as an inconvenience," Claire returned the unsympathetic smile back, tugging the visitor badges free and handing Joe one and clipping the other onto her bloodied shirt.
Very clearly scowling now, the receptionist moved to snatch a nearby tablet, punching something before handing it over to Claire with the appropriate form displayed before turning back to her computer with no further words given.
Clipping the visitor badge to his jacket, (were his hands shaking? He thought blearily, and made a note to go see Will after all this was said and done to make sure he wasn’t actually somehow physically broken.) Joe followed Claire towards the elevators, grateful that they had at least made it past the receptionist with little to no trouble. For now anyway.
As the elevator doors shut with a small ding, Claire audibly let out a breath and while her body still remained tense- Joe noticed her relax slightly- a hand moving to lean against the elevator door.
“Thank you…again,” he murmured softly, “For handling all of that. Did I do alright? You don’t think that they may-”
“No, you were fine,” Claire interrupted, looking down at the tablet as she scanned the form, “I think like you said, any weird behavior can be attributed to the fact you’re worried. Everyone - orga anyway - reacts to grief differently. Honestly, if I didn’t know you, I may think you were acting weird for sure, but it’s Rouge City. I’d just ignore it. The receptionist thankfully, while being a nosy bitch, didn’t seem to care too much. Though I am a little… worried that a gunshot victim didn’t have more security. But then, I am listed as Alice’s emergency contact so maybe that's why. Either way, I’ll have Dan figure out some way of coordinating with the hospital to get security outside Alice’s room, wherever she ends up. Oh- our floor, come on-”
The elevator doors slid open, Claire quickly walking out with Joe at her heels, as she moved up to the nurses station- body tense once more.
"Hi, we're here to see Alice Capulet, she was brought via ambulance… a couple of hours ago? I think, sorry. They said downstairs she was in surgery-"
Joe felt a small amount of relief as the nurse offered a sympathetic smile to them both, nodding her head, "Yes, Dr. Evans is currently supervising her surgery right now. I'll alert them now that you're here. Once they have a moment, he or someone else on the surgical team will come out and update you on her status. Please, take a seat. Would you like any coffee, water? If you'd like, we may also have a change of clothes for you…"
"Coffee would be nice," Claire replied, but made no indication she had heard anything about a change of clothes, "And once I fill out this uh, what was it- Form VZ-687 so Ms. Capulet's partner here can come and go freely, I can give it to you?"
"Mhm, you can just bring it to me and we'll have him put into the system as an approved guest. I'll get you two that coffee."
"Thanks-" Claire turned, motioning for Joe to follow, and after a brief pause, he did, sliding into the seat beside her as Claire settled in to begin filling out the form.
A nurse came by only a few moments later, setting down two cups of coffee in to-go cups, along with a small bowl of creamer and sugar packets, though Claire simply took one of the cups and began chugging it black. If it was hot- she gave no indication, and emptied nearly the entire thing before setting it back down and resuming her tapping on the tablet.
Joe of course drank nothing, simply sat beside Claire silently, hands on his knees, rigid and unmoving as he tried to wait patiently - and somehow finding it impossible despite it having come so easily to him in the past.
Silence reigned for only a few more moments before Joe heard himself speaking, "...your clothes. That's, it's Alice's blood, yes?"
"...yes," Claire's voice was quiet, strained even as she stared down at the tablet, but not continuing her tapping to fill out the displayed form.
"Apologies, that's- I did not mean to upset you, Claire…" he was quiet for a second before speaking again, "Her dress- I bought it-"
"Sorry to say it's toast. They likely had to cut it off when she arrived. It was already, well- it had a few extra holes in it needless to say."
"No, that's fine," Joe replied, voice quiet- surprised at himself by the underlying vitriol hidden within his tone, "If they give it back to us- I'd prefer if it were burned, never to be seen again in this lifetime. I just- I had bought it as a gift… for her to wear when victorious but now it seems it was just…"
He trailed off, and both he and Claire sat there in utter silence, and Joe was struck with the sudden idea that it was as though they were parties to a car crash- uninjured but sitting there in muted shock as the day's events ran on repeat in their heads.
Finally Claire let out a sigh, standing up and chugging down the rest of her coffee and waving the tablet, "Gonna go hand this over, I'll be right back-"
Joe watched as she went to the nurses station, speaking with the nurse briefly before she took the tablet in hand, nodding in confirmation before Claire returned, sitting down with a heavy sigh, head reclined against the back of the chair, eyes closed.
A question weighed on Joe's mind, and he debated inwardly when would be an opportune moment to ask it, before deciding there truly was no perfect time.
"Claire, were you in love with Alice?"
She didn't respond at first, and he wondered if, while there would never be a good moment to ask, if this had been a decidedly poor moment to ask.
"...Once upon a time, yeah. I was very much in love with her, I mean-" she laughed, gesturing at him, "I mean, if you, a mecha, could fall in love with her, what hope do the rest of us have, am I right? Yes Joe, I was in love with her."
"What changed?"
An eye opened, and she looked at him carefully before speaking again, "Nothing, Joe. At least nothing Alice did, if you're worried about your little fairytale love ending. No, it was just me- I loved Alice, still do in fact, in a different sort of fashion. But I recognized that… you can love someone but not be the right person for them. Sometimes it's okay to let that dream go."
He was silent, mulling over her words- processing them, trying hard to grok them. He was, perhaps, one of the few who could understand what Claire was trying to convey- he knew deep down that even if Alice were to reject his feelings one day, his love for her would not fade, he would simply find a way to be there for her in whatever capacity she felt comfortable having him.
"Alice is lucky to have you," he finally said, giving Claire a smile as he reached over to gently squeeze her knee, "As am I. I don't think I have ever expressed that, Claire. Thank you… for everything."
Claire said nothing at first, silent and with her eyes still closed before Joe finally heard the smallest of sniffles- and she was sitting up, wiping at her eyes hurriedly.
"Thanks, considering the events of the day… I needed to hear that," she said, voice thick with tears she would cry out later when she was alone, "I'm not so sure it's true, seeing as I'm responsible for that fucker even knowing who Alice is but thank you regardless."
Joe tilted his head, shaking it slightly, "You may have introduced them, Claire. But if I, and my feelings for Alice, are not to be held responsible for Roger's actions - neither should you. His actions are his own, sick and wrong as they are. Alice would not want you to wallow in guilt."
Claire opened her mouth to respond- but just as quickly shut it, standing up and gesturing for Joe to follow suit, just as Joe spotted the reason - a doctor walking towards them alongside a nurse.
"Hello, you two are with Ms. Capulet, correct?" The woman looked down at the datapad held in her arms before smiling up at them both, "I'm Doctor Stephens, Ms. Capulet's surgery was completed a short time ago and she's being transferred to her room in the ICU, if you could walk with us- we can bring you up to speed on her cond-"
"Is she alive? Is she okay?" Joe cut in without thinking - surprised at the sound of his own voice, shocked that he had spoken so out of turn.
But the doctor simply gave him a small smile, "She's currently listed in critical, but stable condition after surgery, and currently she will remain in the ICU for observation Mister-"
"Astair- Joe Astair." Claire cut in, taking a firm grip on Joe's forearm, "Ms. Capulet's significant other, I'm Claire Carpenter, her law firm partner and friend."
"Right, well, if you two will follow us-" she nodded towards the elevator, speaking as they began to walk, "As I said, Ms. Capulet is listed as critical but stable. Multiple blood transfusions, she lost… quite a bit of blood, but considering the severity of her wounds, that was to be expected. If she had been left any longer, well…"
The elevator dinged, and she gestured for them to join her in the elevator, before clicking a button, "But surgery to patch up the wounds went well, and she's avoided as far as we can tell, any long term paralysis. The shots missed her spine, which is good. However…"
Cold dread filled the wires in Joe's body, feeling an odd whiplash from the mixture of news, both good and bad.
"However?" Even he could not deny the edge of nervousness apparent in his voice- how odd for a mecha, he thought briefly.
"She stopped breathing at one point - understandable considering the locations of the shots. We had to remove one bullet from her lung. I want to stress that she is stable - now - but we did intubate her. We’ll keep her sedated for a while longer, and once she is conscious and Doctor Evans is confident in her ability to breathe on her own, we’ll move to take it out. For now, she’ll remain intubated and under watch of our surgical team in the reco-pod to ensure the remaining nanobots finish repairing the damage done to her organs.”
“Will I be able to-” Joe interjected without thinking, before stopping himself, looking to Claire to finish his sentence.
“Will she be able to have visitors, namely-” Claire gestured briefly at Joe, “Her partner here? He’ll want to stay with her, don’t think you’ll be able to get rid of him, if I’m honest. I’ll also be working with her security detail and the local police to ensure twenty-four seven supervision outside of her room. I think you can understand, given the circumstances. After we’re done here, if you could point me in the direction of hospital security to hammer out the details.”
Doctor Stephens smiled, giving a small nod, “Of course - anyone listed on the approved visitors list is free to come and go as they please. Our patients safety is paramount - we are a hospital after all. Hospital staff will be briefed on safety measures, and our security will be more than happy to work with you on an around the clock detail.”
The elevator doors opened, and Joe was once again struck at just how silent the hospital was - had they always been like this, he wondered? These days so much of medical care was automated by artificial intelligence – by mecha and overseen under an orga’s watchful eyes. Even in a critical emergency - automated systems would take over and begin the resuscitation process before an orga doctor even knew something was wrong.
“Her room is right this way. While the reco-pod is hermetically sealed to maintain a sterile environment, the newest models are all equipped with two way speaking units,” she glanced at Joe with a small smile, tilting her head, “While she’s not conscious at the moment, the paramedics did mention she kept repeating a name - Joe, that’s what your name was? I recommend taking advantage and speaking to her as much as you’re able, I’m sure you’re tired, but she’ll still be able to hear you.”
Joe nodded, offering up a weak smile - the motors that ran his facial movements felt sluggish, and he wondered if he was actually… tired in the same way an orga man would be.
“Room 2204 - if you want to let your security detail know,” Doctor Stephens stopped in front of the door, pushing it open to allow both Joe and Claire to enter before following them inside, “We’re expecting to take her off the anesthetic in the next twelve hours or so, and then from there we’ll be monitoring her O2 levels to see when the intubation can come ou-”
But as she spoke, Joe simply stopped listening - struggling to stay upright and a hand went to grasp at Claire’s shoulder, unaware of just how hard his grip was, “She’s- why is she restrained? Why-”
Through the glass of the reco-pod he could see where Alice was laid out- bare except for bandages draped across her body - IVs draped across her arms and black restraints around her wrists keeping her bound to the bed. Every few seconds her chest would methodically rise with a mechanically induced breath from the tube extending from her mouth. Her skin looked like death - pale and waxy, except for the purplish circles beneath her sunken in eyes. A thought occurred to him - how she had once mentioned her name was given due to her parent’s literary obsessions, and as he looked upon her through the glass, he blithely wondered if Snow White was perhaps a more befitting name at this time. Trapped in a glass coffin - looking as though death had claimed her and waiting in vain for the kiss of life. The irony of it being machines keeping her alive instead of a kiss from an orga prince was not entirely lost on him.
“..-oe, Joe- relax-” Claire’s voice finally came through to him, and he shook his head, tearing away from the sight of Alice beneath the glass and looking at Claire instead apologetically, removing his hand from his shoulder and taking the offered chair the doctor had pulled up.
“The restraints are for patient’s safety,” Doctor Stephens said, moving to check on the various monitors beside Alice’s pod, “When they come off the anesthetic, patients are often groggy - confused. Waking up with a tube down your throat only adds to confusion, often causing a panicked response, and they may attempt to take it out themselves. Even disregarding the fact they may still not be able to breathe on their own, simply ripping it out would cause internal damage. Once we remove it, the restraints will come off, I promise, Mr. Astair.”
“My apologies…” he murmured, looking back at Alice - watching the methodical (mechanical) way her chest rose with each breath that was keeping her alive, “It was simply- another shock to the system seeing her this way…”
“It’s quite alright, understandable considering the circumstances. Now, if there are no further questions for me at the moment, I’ll go and alert security that you’d like to speak with them Ms. Carpenter. The night shift nurses will be coming in soon to do their rounds, and they’ll be sure to introduce themselves to you, Mr. Astair and if you need anything, just ask.”
“Thank you- for everything,” Claire replied with a smile, moving to shake her hand, “I’ll be coming and going, but Joe will likely be staying here for the foreseeable future. But if there are any urgent updates, please let me know immediately.”
Doctor Stephens nodded, giving them both one last smile before leaving the room, and when the door shut softly, Claire immediately moved in front of Joe, crouching down in front of his chair, voice lowered.
“Alright, listen. Dan’s on his way here with security, and I’ve got to sort all this out with the hospital, the police- etcetera. But before I do that, we need to go over some… rules.”
He had been half listening - looking over her shoulder at Alice, unable to look away, but at her words he turned his attention back to her, brow furrowed in confusion, “Rules?”
“Yes, rules. To make sure they don’t sniff you out as a mecha. That’s just- maybe it’ll still happen, but let’s try and ensure it doesn’t okay?” she held up a finger as she continued to speak, “One, they’re going to ask if you’re hungry, if you want anything to eat. It’s fine if you refuse the first few times. You’re exhausted, you’re in shock, grief- all that. But you’ll need to accept a meal or two eventually. Just pick at the food - move it around the plate. It’ll look like you ate some, but not much which is fine. If you absolutely need to, just stuff some food in a napkin and throw it out,” Claire stood up, letting out a deep breath as she ran a hand through her hair, before holding up two fingers, “Two, sleep. Right now, any orga would be running on adrenaline. I know I sure as hell am. But that’ll run out, and you’d be passed out from exhaustion. I know you don’t sleep, but you’ll need to pretend at least every now and then. You can pretend and then ‘wake up’ when they come in to check on her, but you need to fake it.”
Joe nodded slowly, taking in all her words and filing them away, “Eating, sleeping- I need to just. Be an orga man, you can just say that, Claire.”
She turned to look at him, giving him an exasperated stare, “Joe, you didn’t even think about blinking, until I mentioned it. I’m just trying to cover all the bases, okay? Speaking of, you can take the sunglasses off when it’s just you alone in here with her. I’m sure when she wakes up, she’ll want to see those pretty green eyes of yours first thing.”
Said sunglasses came off as he stood up, moving to place a hand on Claire’s shoulder, briefly before he moved to hug her tightly, “Claire. Thank you, truly. But I can handle it from here, alright? Go and finish up the security business, and whatever else it is you need done and then go and get some rest, alright? I’ll keep watch over Alice, you needn’t worry. She’s safe now, and I will not be leaving her side.”
He half expected her to reject the hug - but instead he felt the tenseness in her body lessen (if only slightly) as she returned it - and he could hear a faint and muffled sniffle against his chest.
“...Sorry-” she said softly as she pulled away, hands moving to wipe at her eyes, “Seeing her like this… I’m just trying to focus on everything except-” she sucked in a deep breath, clearing her throat and nodding, “But yeah, you’re right. I know you’ve got this from here. When she wakes up - if I’m not here for it, you tell her that she’s an absolute fucking- idiot, you understand?”
He could hear the tears in Claire’s voice, despite the anger in the words - and understood exactly what she meant, nodding and giving her a mock salute, followed by a graceful bow, “I assure you, she has quite a few choice words awaiting her when she wakes up.”
A tired smile was his response as Claire shouldered her purse, “If anything happens, you call me immediately. Don't care what time of day or night it is. Dan and the other security will know to delay until I can get here. If the police come to question you - do not talk to them unless I’m here. Got it? On my end, I’ll do my best to keep you updated about Roger, if they can even find the bastard.”
She glanced over briefly at Alice, sucking in a deep breath before opening the door and leaving - shutting it with a dull thud, leaving Joe alone with Alice and the steady sound of machinery keeping her alive.
He stood there for a moment, taking in the sterile environment, noting every detail and filing it away, before finally grabbing his chair and pushing it towards the reco-pod, so he could sit comfortably beside Alice while also keeping an eye on the doorway.
The moment he sat, eyes immediately falling upon the body within the pod - it was as if all the tension of the day hit him at once. He could not feel ‘tired’ like an orga, but for a brief moment he actually contemplated sagging against the chair from exhaustion.
Instead he leaned over, pressing a hand against the reco-pod, staring within to study Alice’s current state better now that the initial shock had waned. Of course - nothing had changed, and being closer only showed off the deathly pale sheen to her skin, how sunken in her face looked- how… utterly tiny, she looked. Dwarfed by the machinery surrounding her, the IVs that bruised her flesh even further. There was a desire to crawl into the pod next to her, cradling her body against his to feel her breath against his synth skin as a reminder of the life she still held - keeping her safe from the inevitable threats from this world they lived in that was not ready to accept the love that they shared.