In truth, Sarah did not really need to use the bathroom. She was desperate for privacy, to have personal space that had been denied to her ever since the relative sanctuary of Tasha's rented house and the forest beyond were no longer an option.

Sarah had spent two days in a car with David, then spent time with him and Tasha at a diner that made her uncomfortable due to its crowded and noisy nature… just to end up getting badly hurt and poisoned, and then right back at the same diner.

She no longer had a bedroom that she could slip into and snap the door shut, nor did she have her familiar forest in which to run off and hunt, frolick or just exist however she saw fit. She did have to admit to herself that being with David in these conditions was much better than being locked up inside a lab at the mercy of Hansen's whims, but….

Was she truly free? Would she ever be free?

This was the first time she'd had to really think and to be alone with her thoughts. It seemed like she might as well have signed her soul over to the devil when she agreed to submit to Hansen's experiments.

Even when Tasha helped me 'escape', she reminded herself, it was just a trick. A paranoid edge rose up inside of her when she saw, in her mind's eye, David still standing just outside the restroom for her to come back out.

Waiting just outside…

Like one of the guards back at the lab, or Esben himself ready to tell her where she had to go next or that she had to submit to some injection…

Sarah shuddered, wrapping her arms around herself and sitting on the floor of her stall, ignoring the moderate discomfort in her thigh and hip. At least that discomfort continued to wane, slowly.

Still, she knew she couldn't just stay in the bathroom stall forever. If she lingered too long, David would no doubt come in eventually. Perhaps it was due to her being introverted, combined with the intrusions she'd been subjected to physically, but she really found herself resenting people.

In her own way… deep down, she was angry at her dad for dying and her mom for going into a coma, even if it wasn't their fault. They wouldn't have chosen to go, and the true one to blame was the drunk driver… though he was dead, too.

She was angry at her brother for taking off and seemingly not caring about her or anything that happened to their mother. She was even angry at God for letting it all happen.

Where was God in any of this, anyway?

She was angry at Esben for everything. At Tasha for her trickery and self-centered motives. At David…

She frowned. Was it really right to be mad at David, either? He had saved her life. If it wasn't for him she would still be lying in a pool of her own blood, probably dead from the silver bullet. He had also gotten her enough food to help her finish healing, when he really didn't have to.

Why did she feel angry at the prospect of him in her space or watching over her? Was it still because he didn't tell her originally about his Hulk condition? Was it because she still resented the fact that Esben had used some of his research? Was it because she still feared he had an ulterior motive?

It would be so easy to find a way to give David the slip, especially since she didn't owe anyone anything.

...Or did she?

She had promised David to help find that damned kid, to prove she still had more humanity in her than wolf. And… once again, he had done a lot for her within the last several hours, and if she had any sense of honor or loyalty she needed to do that, at least.

Taking a deep breath, she stood and inched her way toward the door, prepared to return to David and sit down for one final burger before leaving with him.

When she stepped out, however, she was surprised to find he wasn't there. She quickly spotted him, however. He was standing next to their booth, talking to someone; it seemed that, perhaps, another waitress had mistakenly tried to clear off the table and the seats because the young woman innocently thought the patrons seated there had left. That's what Sarah's sensitive ears could make out from five meters away, at least.

David also seemed to be busy picking up some of the papers and documents; apparently the knapsack had spilled when the waitress picked it up. He had dismissed her, saying he would take care of it, and diligently began to put the papers into neat piles and put them back in the bag.

Sarah noticed something shiny out of the corner of her eye, a simple quarter that had apparently been dropped near the diner's pay phone. Suddenly, feeling an impulse grip her, she inched her way toward the phone and stooped down to snatch it up.

Did she really want to do this, though? She picked up the receiver and hesitated, tightening her grip around it as she thought hard about it for a moment. Maybe… she just needed to know. For peace of mind if nothing else.

She bit down on her lower lip and plunked the quarter into the slot before she could change her mind. Then she then used her index finger to peck in a number she had memorized only because she used to call it every single day, back when she held some hope for good news before giving up and turning herself over to Esben…

"Hello, this is the Patson Care Center. May I help you?"

Sarah felt her throat constrict. She felt her shoulder muscles tense when she sensed David coming up just behind her, detecting him not by sight but by his scent and her sensitive ears picking up his footfalls. He stopped wordlessly behind her, though she could feel his inquisitive eyes on her, even if he said nothing.

"Yes," Sarah finally answered at the second prompt from the other end of the line. "I-I'm just calling to ask about my mother, Laura Holtan. I wanted to know if there's been any… change in her condition."

David had moved around to the side of her now, leaning against the wall near the pay phone and folding his arms. He never took his eyes off of her.

Sarah permitted her own eyes to dart in his direction briefly while she was asked to hold. Part of her wished he would go away for this, at least. Somehow though, another part of her wished for… something.

What exactly? A hand to hold? A gentle touch on her shoulder? Just… something.

"Miss Holtan?"

"Yes," she answered quickly when the woman on the other end returned.

Sarah was stone-still when she received an update, then the color drained from her face.

David reached out and caught the receiver right before she dropped it. "Sarah?" He touched her arm. "Are you alright?" She didn't answer him. She barely even looked at him, as though shock and perhaps some other emotion had completely shut her down.

"Uh, hello, I'm a friend of Miss Holtan," David said into the receiver. "Could you please tell me what you just told her?"

"I just told her that her mother passed away about three weeks ago. There were apparently some unforeseen complications, but… at least it was quick and she died peacefully in her sleep."

David's eyes locked sharply onto Sarah's, trying to meet her eyes with his own, and failing to do so. His fingers tightened slightly around her arm, not liking what he did see on her face. He quickly thanked the person on the other end and hung up, just to have Sarah tear her arm away from him and begin to stalk off.

"Sarah, wait! " David went after her, knowing he had to keep her calm and get through to her, especially here. Either that or get her out of here, fast.

David hesitated as he passed their booth. He thought quickly and, judging from the way she looked and her body language, he decided the best thing to do might be to just let her go out and hope he could reason with her outside.

He snatched up the duffle bag and knapsack, then did quick math in his head and simply handed several bills to the waitress when he passed her again, telling her to keep the change as a tip. Then he hurried out the door and followed after Sarah, fearing she might transform.

She was visibly upset and deeply affected by the fresh news.

"Sarah," David did his best to stay somewhat close, noting that she walked without any trace of a limp now. He tried to take her hand. "Sarah, please-"

She stopped and whirled around just then, giving him the first good chance to look directly into her face. In spite of himself, David flinched and almost took a step back, but he held his ground. "Sarah." He kept his tone quiet, level, but firm. "You need to remain calm. You cannot change here."

She gritted her teeth placed her hands on either side of her head, grunting as though straining. David could tell she was a hairline away from transforming and he was one of the few people on the planet who could say he knew what that felt like. Trying to hold the beast in when pain or rage overtook you…

He put his hands on her shoulders. "It's alright, I'm here. Keep the wolf inside you, Sarah. I know you can do it."

She tensed for a moment longer, then jolted as though a taut string inside of her had been cut. Her expression softened from feral to something that appeared more like a deep, childlike hurt.

David murmured to her softly and took her into his arms as tears streamed down her cheeks. For a long moment he just held her, allowing her to let it out against his shoulder, knowing she needed this.

His arms tightened slightly around her when he thought of how deeply it had affected him when his own mother died. It was… an ancient wound now, but this made it feel almost fresh all over again, even if just for a moment.

Just as her trembling and quiet sobs began to cease, however, David's head snapped up to see a car headed rapidly in their general direction…

….Closely followed by a very feral-looking, dark-furred beast snapping in the direction of the back fender.

…..Damn.