II.
After exactly one month of feeling her absence in the dreary white walls of the hospital, he woke to find her sitting quietly next to his bedside.
She smiled, a pained expression colouring the stretch of her rosy lips.
The rebuke on the tip of his tongue was dashed at the sight of the dark bruises that were painted beneath her expressive eyes.
She looked more exhausted than he had felt in his entire life.
"You look awful," he voiced, unable to help himself.
"Thank you," she snapped tartly. "It took me long, painful hours to achieve 'awful', I'll have you know."
His lips twitched, refusing to smile. He couldn't believe that it only took five minutes in her company to reduce him into a grinning loon.
It was all rather depressing, really.
"It's good to see you again too, sir." She caught his eye and glanced at him knowingly.
He didn't know how to respond. Instead, he simply inclined his head and offered a grimacing, unpractised smile.