It's a cold and it is a broken Hallelujah - Midori

[Willow Kovacs]

[Retro-thread, takes place after the assumed conclusion of Like a Married Couple in which Willow gets shot, and Jesse & Gabe escape.]

Nose crinkled in distaste, the distinct smell of a hospital, comparable only with the world "sterile" was harsh in the drafty air. Blank walls laid witness to countless patients and stories and unusual happenings. Willow's eyes fluttered, disgruntled. The sounds of monitors, the smells, the bustling about of nurses and patients and visitors. The reptile shifted slightly and cringed, becoming rigid as pain shocked through her left arm, racketing through her torso and bouncing between her ribcage. Growling slightly, she took a deep breath, exhaling slowly as she attempted to reposition herself. The pins and needles crawling up her legs was beginning to become unpleasant, and being refined to the hospital bed was more than dreadful to the usually workaholic raven.

She'd only woken up the previous day, after being unconscious for nearly 16 hours. And to her surprise, she was in a hospital bed, coughing profusely and nearly ripping out her stitches and IV from the swiftness of her movements in response to the new and unfamiliar setting. Evidently, early morning hikers had discovered her unconscious and hypothermic body, and immediately called an ambulance. Shortly after regaining consciousness, she had instructed the nurse to call one of her colleagues, through gritted teeth and a strict refusal of pain medication. She had no family nearby. She had no friends to speak of. The least she could do was alert the school that she would not be coming in for work for the next few days. Of course, someone was nice enough to ask if she needed any personal items from home, and she hate politely declined - though she would have killed for one of her jackets and some decent vegan food.

Huffing stubbornly, the woman laid back against the superbly flat pillows and stared outside at the site of other buildings surrounding the hospital, being further into Vermont and farther from Hammel than she preferred to be. Closing her eyes, she let out an dejected breath, adjusting the strap that held her arm in a sash, restricting her motions, and causing further frustration. The simple idea of being in a weakened state not only bothered Willow to no end, but sort of terrified her. That gunshot was meant to kill her, not to simply maim her. For whatever luck she may possess, she was able to evade it, and be left with only an arm injury. Eyebrows knitting as her mind flashed back to the other night, the cold of the water, the sting of the cuts upon her skin, the shock of a bullet. The feeling of heaviness settling into every artery, lazily drawling through every vein, until she could stand no more to keep her eyes open, and slipped into a dreamless, weighted unconsciousness. Shivering slightly, the raven glanced halfheartedly at the door, half wishing to escape this place within the next few minutes, and half hoping that something would take her mind off of her situation. Perhaps a disgruntled nurse, or a lost family member - something that didn't remind her of her own weakness.

[Midori Hawkins]

Midori didn’t particularly like hospitals. Even doctors offices, she was uncomfortable. Of course, sucked to be her now. She didn’t have much of a choice in the next little while. Already she was feeling awkward and big, and she was barely into her fourth month. Things were going to get worse, and she’d just have to deal.

But this wasn’t about her.

This was about Willow.

She’d heard through the grapevine at work that Willow had been out on... no so much a recruitment, but more of a seek and capture mission. She’d been after that runaway boy. She was the best equipped to do so, after all. But it seemed that it had not gone well. She’d been hurt, enough to put her in the hospital, and Mii had spent all day thinking about it. She felt terrible for the woman. They weren’t exactly friends. They’d attended Hammel together, trained together, but they’d always been at odds. Mii had befriended Eli, and had often tried to mediate between Willow and him, protecting him.

But now, all those petty rivalries were forgotten.

After work, she’d stopped by the mall and picked up some flowers. They weren’t much, but they were bright and cheerful. Two things that Willow really wasn’t ,but that didn’t matter. With flowers in hand, she drove up to the hospital. It hadn’t taken long to find Willow’s room. The nurses at the front desk were helpful, and seemed happy with the idea of Willow having company.

Not really caring that she was still in her work clothes, Mii slowly inhaled, before venturing down the hall and knocking on the door. Poking her head in, she managed a little smile for her coworker. “Hello, Willow. Um. How are you feeling?” She slipped inside the room, clutching the flowers close for a moment before offering them out. “I brought these for you.” It was weird to see her old classmate like this. So strong and stubborn, normally. Mii just hoped she wouldn’t bite her head off for visiting like this.

[Willow Kovacs]

Willow startled slightly, eyes widening and shoulders tensing, when suddenly someone familiar came into view of the door she had so lifelessly been staring at. She sputtered uncharacteristically for a moment, eyebrows creasing as she stared at the woman she had known for years stand within the horrendously plain walls of the hospital room. "Um... Hello... Midori." She said slowly, tilting her head to the side. Mind currently zooming through questions, such as, "How did she find out I was here?" and "Who else is aware of my weakened state?" Her stomach contracted, shooting an unpleasant tingling feeling through her. The lizard looked down, using her good arm to help her shift so she sat up further, cringing momentarily at the spiraling pain in her arm, eyes going out of focus for a moment.

Glancing up at the woman, her eyes were drawn to the flowers in her hand - pretty, brightly coloured plants in a decorative bouquet. Her eyebrows knitted again - this was weird. Had she actually died and woken up in some sort of parallel universe? People don't bring her flowers; mainly because she's never in the hospital, but also because she's sort of an unpleasant person to be around. Shaking her head, she gave the woman an incredulous look, without words asking her about the flowers.

"Midori. How did you.." The question fell flat in her mouth suddenly as the raven actually took note to her coworker. The small, pleasant looking woman with bright eyes and a soft expression. Something was different. Willow was observant, she took note to even minimal changes. The other shapeshifter had gained weight. Her jacket didn't hide the fat that had begun to pudge around her midsection. ".. Have you.. gained weight?" She questioned, obviously not taking into account how offensive that could sound. That wasn't like the woman, she was relatively healthy, and kept busy with her job enough to not gain a significant amount of weight.

Oh.

[Midori Hawkins]

Willow’s reaction, while completely out of character for her, was also not surprising. Not to the meek recruiter. She didn’t think any less of her, of course. Mii knew the other woman put on a tough front, but under it all, it was impossible for her to be that bad. Some people, she had no hope for. But Willow? She was determined to stay pleasant, even if the other shapeshifter didn’t want her to. She offered a smile to her co-worker as she came closer, setting the flowers on the stand beside the bed.

Despite everything between them, both during their school days, and working together, Mii still cared about Willow. They certainly weren’t the best of friends, but she really didn’t dislike the other woman, either. She might have, back during their school days, where she’d spent just as much time trying to keep Willow off of Eli’s back as she had actually working with her. But none of that mattered right now.

The question was easy enough to figure out the end of. She smiled gently. “James,” she admitted. “He let the department know, so the others know their workload might increase a bit, while you recover.” Of course, knowing Willow, she would want to be back at work sooner than was recommended. She didn’t take notice of Willow’s visual assessment until it was too late. She blushed and self consciously pulled her jacket closer to her body. “I... guess?” ... Oh, screw it. Most of the other people on staff knew. She sighed and dropped her hands from her jacket. “I’m pregnant. But that doesn’t matter. I’m more worried about you. What happened?” Was she trying to shift the attention off of herself? Why yes. Yes she was.

[Willow Kovacs]

The idea of someone actually going out of their way to come visit her in the hospital - a person she wasn't exactly pleasant to, nonetheless - was lost to the woman currently sitting up on the slightly uncomfortable hospital bed. Willow tilted her head slightly, a delicate eyebrow arching as the woman offered not only flowers, but a kind smile. It had been a spell since she and Midori had actually spoken, seeing as they both remained fairly busy with the workload they were given. At any given time, they could be on completely opposite sides of the planet.

The raven let out a groan when the name of her boss tumbled from the brunette's lips. She had secretly hoped James would keep her condition (and location) on a need-to-know basis, but instead, it seems he had told the majority of her coworkers. A clenching in her stomach at that realisation, caused by the sudden knowledge that people not only knew she was in the hospital, but no one other than Mii had made an effort to visit her and inquire on her wellbeing. Her lips formed a line as she pursed them together, shifting to sit up higher in the bed and resume a semi-normal posture of indifference, but was stopped by an unpleasant ripple of pain through her arm. She tensed, eyebrows knitting momentarily, before her shoulders relaxed and she leaned back once more, defeated by her own injuries.

Glancing back at the woman as she sputtered over her observation, Willow yet again pursed her lips, but this time over the other woman's hesitance. "Pregnant..." Willow felt her eyebrows shoot up on their own accord. Her coworker, and probably one of the only people who didn't outright despise the reptile, just revealed a piece of information that was baffling and slightly absurd seeing as she was completely unaware that Midori even engaged in sexual relationships - she didn't seem like the type. "Well, then..." She said choppily, a slightly confused expression still set on her face. "Congratulations, Midori." Willow finally settled what to say, nodding curtly toward the rounding woman.

The sudden subject change did not go unnoticed by the raven, and she opted to glance out the window at the dreary looking city rather than at the woman studying her face, her wounds and bandages. Letting out a short sigh, she decided to proceed with her usual setting of unamusement in her telling of events. "I was sent on a mission two nights ago, to track down Jesse Adams, the student that ran away a few weeks ago. He had been located close to the lake, the one closer to Pilot Ridge, and I was to retrieve him and bring him back to Hammel. He.." She paused momentarily, brow creasing, mouth suddenly frowning. "He..." she continued, "was not alone. He was with a man, a very.. skilled metahuman. By the name of Gabriel. In the end, I was unable to completely my assignment." She cut off suddenly, obviously uncomfortable in retelling the unpleasant circumstance.