21: Them
The coffee tasted like dishwater run through a paper filter. Kay curled her hands around the cup for its warmth, took another sip and grimaced. She'd have to make a trip downstairs to the little barista place on the main level, if it was still open. Maybe get a muffin too.
But first she had to check once more. Glancing down the hall into the little waiting area, she could see Gunter's long legs stretched out. Dina was in profile, reading something. They had taken turns visiting the cafeteria earlier and now they looked to have settled in for the night. She felt it too, the strange fear that if she went home now she would wake up in her bed knowing this had all been a dream her mind had spun to deal with the loss. Awake was better, with the certainty – the exhilaration, relief, joy – of his return. Downing the rest of the coffee, she pitched the cup into a wastebasket and moved to the door of Cameron's room. She eased the door open just enough to see in.
The single light high on the wall cast a soft glow. There were two figures on the bed, Jonathan having apparently decided that a chair wasn't going to be close enough. Cameron must have moved over to let him up. Kay felt a tightness in her throat that could have been euphoria or grief. After everything he had suffered he could be so open and accepting; Jonathan could slip past the trauma, the terror, the violation…and had curled, curved himself up against his twin. They lay, both sleeping – or one sleeping and one watching over – so close she couldn't tell where one ended and the other began, mirrors to each other, and Cameron looked more peaceful than he had since he'd been brought in.
Backing out of their private space, she glanced down at a chair someone had pulled over beside the door. Exhaling slowly, she sat and eyed the nurses' station, the corridor down to the elevators. An orderly wrestled with a finicky cart. A custodian pushed a mop down the already gleaming floors. The hospital was hunkering down for a rest; most of her team sat close by drinking coffee and keeping watch. Behind her, one damaged soul slept safely in the care of another, and as darkness claimed the city again she could feel her own heart finally begin to lighten.
To be continued
Note: Thanks again!
Second note: just had another family member sign the Renew Deception petition! I'd forgotten the number of family members (a) I actually have, and (b) who also started watching the show on my recommendation. While there's little I can do about point (a), point (b) has come in handy when I want to encourage someone to pester ABC with programming feedback or email some unsuspecting network dude about this. If they listen to us and renew, I'm taking much of the credit. My clan is large and has the gift of 'annoying.'