They'd failed.

It was bound to happen eventually, not every dying patient's wish could be fulfilled in time, after all. Every doctor at Sigmund experienced the loss, a list of names on their profiles, forever engraved.

They'd been lucky up until this point, getting easy missions with enough time to work with. The most recent patient, an old Italian man by the name Peppino Mclovin, originally had wanted to be an egg, but they'd managed to talk him down to wanting to be an engineer instead.

It had been a funny concept at first, if unrealistic. Neil had laughed for a solid ten minutes, and she still heard him whisper "Peppino just wants to be an egg" under his breath before bursting back into laughter again multiple times during the mission. But Peppino's time was shorter than they had anticipated. They'd only just made it to his childhood memories, before being forced to back out.

"No-! We can still make it, we can-" her trembling hands gripped the helmet, fully intending to jump right back in to the simulation. Before she had a chance though, she felt Neil grab her arms, forcefully holding her back. His mouth was set in a deep frown, eye brows knit together.

The steady beep indicating their patient's demise rang in her ears, and for a moment Eva swore it was her heart flat lining.

She had failed

Vacantly, she watched him take her helmet from her slack grip, placing it to the side before gently leading her away. She shuffled after him, more because she had to than because she wanted to.

Her surroundings felt foggy, like she wasn't really there, putting one foot before the other took all of her concentration. Neil led her to what looked like a couch and sat her down.

In the back of her mind, she registered that her lungs were burning. Oh, right, breathing is important, she should do that.

"Eva, breathe!" Neil's voice sounded distant, his words foreign, but she immediately kicked into 'follow orders' mode. On instinct, she sucked in a hasty breath.

Out of her over saturated blurry vision, a hand materialized, too quick. She jerked back several inches, before curling forward in on herself. She was shaking, she wasn't supposed to be shaking, any sign of weakness was cause for punishment. She didn't mean to, please, no no no-

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorryI'msorryI'msorry-!

"Eva!" the pure concern in her other's voice managed to snap her out of it, if only enough to look up and focus on his face.

Neil, right, his name is Neil, her partner. Neil's hands were raised slightly, reaching out towards her but hesitant. His mouth hung open, eyes wide behind those reflective lenses, a shocked expression etching his normally lax features. He kept opening his mouth, but seemed at a loss for words.

She blinked slowly at him, and was surprised to find that she was crying. Had she... had she said that all out loud?

Shoulders tense, she realized her mistake too late, too late...

"I'm sor-!"

She tried to begin, before Neil slowly leaned forward, wrapping her in a silent hug.

It was... it was fine? She wasn't in trouble?

Eva felt tears begin to spill anew, before shakily returning the hug.