2020-04-02 - Bedside Omission

It's dark again when he next opens his eyes and Byron's standing once more besides Lilith's bedside. He's still shaken by the events of this most recent Dream, still feeling that anger inside of him. "Just..." He murmurs to himself, though the next part is not said aloud and merely thought of. Don't ask me to set you free. There are other heroes out there. He has doubts that She'll even listen.

He's disoriented, for the most part, his heart was beating furiously within his chest. For a time, he still thinks he can see that eye staring down at him, but no. Byron was back at the hospital. His coffee was already cold too. "How long was I..." He starts to ask himself. Normally, he could glance down at his watch, but there was little lighting in here.

Now what he's more concerned about was: Did Lilith wake up while he was gone?

She was still there, seemingly asleep in her hospital bed. But Byron had to know for sure. Moving towards her bed, he takes a look at the patient chart to see whether a nurse had marked off having visited her during his absence. There's this urge to sit at the edge of her bed, but if she were still asleep, he didn't want to wake her. So once more, he lowers himself down to get a better look at her face. His mind was still racing alongside his heart, the adrenaline of that revolution fueling him with mixture of both excitement and anxiety. Even dread.

He has to refocus though, so he brings his attention back to Lilith's resting face. Rather than speak her name aloud, he only thinks it.

Lilith.

The nurse's chart indicates she has been in the room to administer a new medication during sleep observance, but it's just an antibiotic. Under the hourly notes, it seems that the nurse had been in precisely twelve minutes before Byron found himself standing at Lilith's bedside again. Which means it's been under or over an hour, roughly, but a significant chunk of that hour all the same. Also, the notes have a tick box for head injury patients that indicates she was responsive when roused with writing under the box.

-- Patient requested earplugs. When asked why, she explained it was so she didn't have to answer any more (explitive) stupid questions. Do not ask her mother's maiden name.

Byron can probably deduce a couple of things from that simple note.

A: Lilith is feeling lucid and well enough to be pissy with nurses annoying her while she's trying to sleep and it came with special explitive and sass, seems.

B: The nurse probably asked her mother's maiden name in lucidity check series questions with her birthday, etc, and... Lilith doesn't know that. He might feel a wee bit sorry for the nurse because they don't write EVERYTHING down, surely that wasn't fun and was colorful too.

Lilith herself is leveled up a little more in the bed and a bit shifted with her legs curling slightly off to one side under the covers, which means she either has or is trying to instinctively turn to sleep more naturally instead of like a sedated doll. Twelve minutes. She might just be dozing, not fully asleep in the darkened room, and eventually, her hand moves up with sleepy lift to rub at her eye, head turning as if to reach for the call button on the bed remote next. But then she sees the figure of Byron, quiet there for she doesn't know how long, "... Dog?"

She's probably not talking about the dogs from FCN, now. Did he pack it? He probably did. It's routine and her voice is soft and hopeful.

The nurse's notation read, Byron is now curious on whether Lilith was still awake now. Twelve minutes isn't a long time and from what he can tell, bringing him some sort of amusement, she had a lot to say about everything. That was a good thing, he thought. It meant that her mind was working well enough. She didn't seem brain damaged nor was she in a state of shock. He has to wonder if he really needs to get into contact with August after all.

However, he remembers her spouting out random alphabets and numbers in various languages. He's not even sure she knows those languages.

Then he notices movement and that shuts down all of his random thoughts, once more refocusing on Lilith. She's talking about Dog again. Maybe he really should call August. One of his hands digs deep into his pocket to fish out his phone again. When he'd come here around an hour ago, he was fresh and clean with a change of clothes. Now, after having been shot out by menacing machinery, dodging debris as well as shock lines, he's covered in dirt and dust among other things. There are no new injuries, though the ones he had earlier still hurt like hell.

"I didn't bring Dog, no. If you want, I can go get him." He's quick to say, before pausing before he even jumps into action, to ask, "Lilith, how are you feeling?"

"Smart enough to lie to nurses about my pain level so I'd be awake when you got back into the room." Lilith tells Byron with a slanting smile at creep on her lips, but not before she's taken a moment to look at him and think about how he's answered. It's wit, but it's not as quick as it usually snaps out. Also, it's irritating, maybe, because she shouldn't be lying about her pain when a Veil thing tried to explode her head!

But then... she might not even know that. It might explain why she was really asking about Dog, other than habit of having it in bed with her during hospital stays. It's what he brought her the first time, last summer, and became routine given the multiple stays that come with a certain GH lifestyle. Lilith wants to make sure the Byron she's seeing is real. She passed out on one side of the Veil and woke up on the other side, clueless of how all the chaos that took her down resolved. Her memory of the time in the loft prior to hospital transport is hazy at best, even though it wasn't that long ago. She's too tired to deal with dangerous tricks while she's lain out with severe head trauma. Especially since...

"... I thought I saw Hank in here when the nurse left." The bandaged brunette woman knits her brows with subtle bother before she lifts her hand to gently feel the extent of head wrapping for the real first time, motion slow and cautious, "What hit me in the head? And why..." Lilith sniffs audibly while the hand falls back to rest against the blankets on her lap, focused on Byron again instead of the bandaging, "... you smell funny. My head hurts too much to figure out what you smell like."

The light in the room is very low, that line between dim and full dark like hospitals tend to do in patient rooms, therefore Lilith can't quite see too much with her vision possibly impacted still. But he certainly doesn't smell like shower and cologne, she knows that. It's weird to tell someone they smell like smoke and a construction site of blasted dirt and concrete, but... that's kind of what it reminds her of.

Damn right, Lilith shouldn't be lying about her pain level. So whatever was written on the chart, Byron now takes with a grain of salt. She might be able to tell that he's not pleased by this response, the way his gaze hardens or his brow being to crease, but she's talking and she sounds normal. That gives him some relief. "You're not supposed to lie to your nurses. How are they going to help if they don't know how you're truly feeling?"

She mentions Hank and any expression he may have had earlier fades into something more neutral even if his jaw tenses lightly. "How's your head?" He asks right before she inquires about what happened to her head. "The Vivisectionist, I think it was. The woman who ran the whole show. The one who was there at the grocery store during flu season. I... She lashed out at you and I could do nothing to stop her."

Just like before he disappeared into a Dream, his free hand reaches for hers, the other still holding his phone. "It's been a long day. I could go for another shower." Even though it wasn't that long since he'd taken one. "Did you want me to bring Dog down here?"

"... I was reaching for the button to fix the lie when I saw you. I might have overestimated my ability to tough it out." Lilith says to Byron afterwards a bit defensively, "Pain means I'm alive and I wanted to see your state of alive before I slept again. Besides, they're just checking to make sure I'm not mentally retarded now. I'm clearly not." That's probably not the most PC phrase for what they're checking.

However, much like the lying to be obstinate and the writing on the nurse's sheet about her being salty in her hospital bed, it's one of those Lilith trademarks, despite the fact she's generally not like this with the public. Something about being infirm seems to piss her off and turns off the filter on her mouth. It sounds like her special brand of cranky. It's pretty impressive compared to how she was when Byron found her lying on the floor. The swelling must have gradually went down in response to the first round of medications.

The Vivisectionist, though...

Mention of that name makes Lilith bat her eyes two quick times, demeanor shifting a touch with mild surprise, then sober realization of what must have been attempted on her head, "Oh. No. That'd be very hard to stop, especially without warning. I didn't even know she was there." The woman sighs softly after Byron's words and knows firsthand about how hard it'd be, though typically, she is the enactor in a skirmish or chaos situation, she's not really been on the victim side of such abilities.

Other than the eye rub and bandage touching, Lilith isn't really moving that much still. When he takes her hand, though, she looks at them conjoined there, then turns her hand some to lace fingers through his, trying on a tiny smile of reassurance, "It's not necessary. But if you want to escape for a while. I can push the button and whine a lot. Maybe they'll give me extra to make your absence bearable."

... also the pain really does seem to be increasing the longer she's awake, but she can't handle more eyebrow furrow right now, so she'll live with it a little longer.

"I'll be okay, you know. I always am, eventually."

Lilith's non-PC moment brings a hint of smile to Byron's lips even if his brow is still furrowed lightly. "Thank God for that. It said that you were concussive, but they are allowing you to sleep?" Which is a good sign, he supposes.

The talk about the Vivisectionist and the whole confusion of battle makes him sigh, forcing air out of his nostrils in annoyance. He won't come out and tell her that yes, while it would have been hard to defend against the Vivisectionist, especially since her appearance had taken them all by surprise, the look on his face clearly is angered that he was still unable to protect her. His features are hardened as is the cast of his gaze. "Isabella took her out." He finally reveals. Then it dawns on him, "Damn, I should call her. I should check in on a lot of people, but you. You were hurt the most."

Reaching for her chart again, this time, placing his phone next to her blanket covered legs upon the bed, he tries to determine just how close to being released she is. "I think they'll want you to stay so that then can monitor your recovery." Those dark eyes of his lift to regard her again from their studying of her chart. "I was right about to call Roen, see if he'd stop by."

"Mhm." Lilith hums with quiet agreement after her lips slant up some at the very idea of Isabella taking the Vivisectionist out, clearly getting a beat of satisfaction knowing it was done after the bitch went straight for her head. "I think it's only mandatory for twenty-four hours so they can monitor my sleep and make sure the swelling stays down. It's not like when my body bones were crushed and immobilizing me. Unless they want to be assholes..." The woman knits her brows a little bit and absently strokes two of her fingers inward to tickle and brush at the inside of Byron's joined palm affectionately as he goes for the chart with his discarded phone hand.

The chart pretty well says as much. Because she's responding well to the medications that are managing the swelling, it just notates she's on a mandatory observance until cleared, and apparently being cranky verbally passes the measure of 'normal response' so that's nice.

After a soft breath of sigh, Lilith considers the call that Byron was about to place and murmurs just a touch reluctantly, "I want to feel completely better, this isn't pleasant. But honestly, if I just use this place for what it's worth, take the drugs, then sleep and bitch until they realize I'm perfectly normal when the mandatory period is up..." Her eyes focus on the man with consideration before she smiles a touch despite where she is and what she feels like, "Let them release me first. Don't make him come here, he hates hospitals. Call him when you take me home. Okay?"

"We're still a long way from twenty-four hours." Byron has to remind, but he's o longer using any sort of scolding tone, even if his brows are still knit as they lift. "With as fiesty as these notations say that you are, I think it's easy to see that you're of sound mind. Highly agitated, which they should be used to by now. But sound enough mind." That's when he pauses, head cocked and turned, looking back at Lilith, "Unless you were talking about Dogs to them and counting in various foreign tongues. Then they might keep you here for longer."

His eyes remain settles on Lilith, taking in her expression when she speaks, trying to catch sight of her eye movement and other tell-tale signs that she's not disoriented or anything like that. "We'll make sure that you're all healed up. You know, I didn't want to bring you here, but I didn't feel like I had much of a choice." That only shows just how worried he was of the bloodied stated that Lilith was in. "Fine. I brought some of your things." Even if that doesn't include Dog. "Some fresh clothes. Your phone. My robe that you like to wear for whatever reason, in case it gets too cold here."

Lifting their joined hand to press the back of hers against his cheek, which he leans into, he murmurs, "I'll talk to them. Might even say that I've got a caregiver to held tend to your needs. Either way, we'll get you out of here. Soon."

"Oh. Was I doing that outloud?" Lilith looks a little self-amused for a beat with animation flashing her features in brief, "I bet that sounded crazy. But that's what I do in my head while we're running and I'm trying to keep up with your speedy Kenyan form. I start counting in other languages or doing my steps to the alphabets. It's a power through distraction."

The woman might actually have been less loopy than she sounded. Probably also a good sign, right? But then she's nodding small on reflex when Byron starts detailing what he's brought for her already, and just that small motion reminds her how much she lied about her pain. Instead of reacting to it, though, she focuses on her hand being drawn to touch against the side of the man's face, "... okay. Sounds like a plan. You should take some time for yourself, though, and breathe. Slow down. Things are happening back to back for you."

(She has no idea how extra true that statement is given he literally disappeared from her bedside!)

Lilith's eyes are still batting with slow, woozy and drowsy blinks intermittently. That said, she more or less seems focused on Byron's face, the sight and pressure of affection serving as steadying comfort. Then she makes her own promise like a repayment plan, lightening her tone some, "When I'm spry again, I'll help you get all the tension out."

Then because she's a good patient (for now) and wants to show Byron that she's going to let them help her while she's here... she uses her other hand to lift the remote and push the call button.