Steven spent most of their time just watching his brother tug on the remaining chain, struggling to break it like he had done with the other one. Toward the end, though, his pink twin seemed to give up for a little while, seemingly taking a break - which, Steven couldn't really blame him for, he'd already broken one of the chains anyway, so he certainly deserved a rest - and settling himself back down on the floor, crossing his legs over the tiles and turning his attention to his free hand. Once again, Steven watched him clench and unclench his fist, spreading his fingers out silently before curling them inwards again. He wondered how disorienting it was - to suddenly be free, to have some control. He wondered how much control his brother had now. The way he was looking at his own hand, moving it around the way he was - once again, he found himself nearly consumed in guilt. How long had it been since he'd been able to do so?

His brother looked up at him, but he didn't say anything. Only offered a small, calm smile before extending his hand to Steven wordlessly; the hybrid blinked down at his hand, sparing a glance toward his face every now and again - before, finally, realizing what his brother wanted him to do. He quirked an eyebrow toward the pink gem for a moment, but eventually lifted his hand to his brother's in return, lightly pressing his palm against his gem half's. For a moment, the other just stared; Steven watched his diamond-shaped pupils shrink, and widen once again, looking down at their hands with a briefly startled expression, before curling his fingers with Steven's.

Steven decided right then and there that it didn't matter whether or not his brother let him help, but he certainly wasn't going to let him go through any of this alone any longer. His gem half was there for him, despite all of this - Steven only found it appropriate to return the favor. It seemed like they could both use a little extra support; even through all the pain, and guilt, and bitterness that Steven was feeling, he found himself steadily growing attached, slowly wanting to learn more about his brother, slowly learning to accept his help - or, at least, his advice, anyway - even if only in small amounts. Even if he didn't quite feel like he deserved it. Even if it was, quite possibly, one of the hardest things he had to do - but he could still say with certainty that whether he wanted to or not, he was already growing fond of his pink twin, and that was that.

"I'll always be here." His brother looked up at him and smiled, while Steven only gave his hand a slight squeeze in response, closing his eyes. Well, he didn't need to be reminded of that; as it was, his brother couldn't exactly leave, anyway. Regardless - he knew what his gem half meant, and he was grateful. He really was. He just wished he knew why it wasn't as hard for him to let his pink twin in as it was for him to let anyone else in - and he wondered whether he'd ever be able to open up to anyone else. "You will," the pink gem hummed. "You'll figure it out, Steven."

"Yeah." Steven stared down at their hands for a moment before looking back up at his brother, offering a simple one-shouldered shrug in response. "Just hope it isn't too late."

His pink twin's lips twitched slightly, looking up at him. He didn't say anything for a moment, moving closer as much as the chains would allow him to. And, after a bit of hesitation, Steven shifted to scoot himself forward, wincing slightly as the movement jarred his leg; his brother let go of his hand to grab his arm instead, keeping a careful hold as the hybrid moved forward.

"You need to be more careful," his brother chided, and Steven only let out a low huff in response, offering him a slightly mocking look. He twisted, forcing his leg to move along with him and finally managing to get close enough to sink back beside him, finally within arm's reach. His twin seemed to hesitate, lifting his arm toward him now, then slowly lowered his hand to press it over Steven's shoulder; the hybrid only shut his eyes and leaned his head back, moving one hand behind him to prop himself up slightly. He was oddly content to just sit there with his brother for as long as he could - but, he had a feeling it wasn't going to last too long. He didn't know how time worked in here, but he was sure it must have been close to an hour out there. His brother paused, glancing over at him for a moment, and furrowed his eyebrows slightly.

Steven already knew what was coming - he could feel it, the concern, the longing - and it was somewhat akin to what he imagined his brother went through regularly, being able to feel what he was feeling, to read him like an open book. Steven was slowly learning how to do that, himself, when it came to his pink twin - and now, more than ever, it was as strong as could be. Odd thing was, though, this time, Steven didn't quite have a reason to protest to what his brother was thinking right then, because honestly, at this point, it was better than nothing. His twin wanted to heal him, and even though the hybrid would rather him worry about getting free than worry about fixing his stupid mistake, he had to admit, it would make things a lot easier… "I don't know," he mumbled, closing his eyes and leaning his head back. "God, I don't know. I hate being like this, but- I-" He huffed out a tired laugh, blinking his eyes open again with a frown. "... I think- I think it's the only thing keeping me from…" He trailed off, shaking his head.

It wasn't a lie; right then, if he was honest, the fact that he was already in a shitton amount of pain was probably the only thing keeping him from hurting himself further. He already wanted to; he was already having dangerous urges, and thoughts. He was already thinking about it, more and more - and honestly, he felt somewhat obsessed with the idea of causing himself pain purely for the hell of it. Not even just because he deserved it. Or because he wanted to. It felt irrational, it felt reckless, and it felt like the same kind of adrenaline he had felt while he was fighting his mother, or when he'd held the knife in his hand, holding it out to her, preparing himself for the worst - or, or, when he had sat there in his car, driving as fast as he could, just to escape, to get away. And then when he had crashed, and the split-second rush of excitement…

He needed it. He needed it bad. And the fact that he was already in so much pain as it was, that was the only thing keeping him from jumping off the deep end again, and giving himself hell.

His brother didn't say anything, but he didn't need to - Steven could feel the conflicted emotions radiating from him, the painful twisting in his own chest that he knew belonged solely to the pink clone next to him. Because Steven didn't feel afraid, or upset, or uneasy when he thought about hurting himself - but his brother did, and even if Steven couldn't feel it from him, he could still see it written all over his pink twin's face regardless. He could see the uncertainty, the indecisiveness, the split second of panic - it was a (somewhat reassuring) reminder that he didn't have all the answers, either. He was lost, too. Maybe not as much as Steven was, but…

… but, he didn't have to have all the answers. Steven wasn't going to rely on him to be the 'therapist' here, he wasn't going to do the same thing the gems used to do to him and use him to dump all his problems on - no. That wasn't how it was going to work between them. For once, just once, he wanted a stable fucking relationship with somebody; he… he wanted to start over with somebody. Clean slate, fresh start, and his pink twin was the closest thing he'd get to that. He didn't know what having a brother was like, but he did know that he wanted it to be different from the other relationships he had. But how would it be different if he did what the gems did?

"You're not doing what the gems did," his brother told him firmly, and Steven breathed in shakily as he felt a steady arm wrap around him. He tensed slightly at first - not because he didn't want to be touched, but more so because he was afraid of hurting himself even further - but his pink twin went still after that to let him adjust, keeping his arm where it was and being careful not to apply too much pressure. And, after a moment, Steven slowly relaxed, breathing out slowly. "You're allowed to tell me how you feel, Steven. I'm not going to get upset at you." And- god- that alone was enough to make the hybrid's throat close up, restricting violently as he tried to swallow, pushing tears to his eyes; he sank sideways, more of an effort to make himself smaller than anything, but his brother caught him just as easily, letting him lean against him. "It's okay."

"It doesn't feel okay," Steven muttered, and the air felt cold between his teeth, stinging at his throat as he finally managed to breathe in again. He frowned a little, tilting his head upwards for a moment. He could feel a breeze, faint but there, brushing against his skin - he must be close to waking up. And, god, that alone was enough to make him shuffle a little closer to his pink twin, wanting to hold on, and stay for as long as he could possibly manage. He wasn't ready to wake up, to face his father and Priyanka again, and go… there. His brother only sighed, raising his hand to smooth the hybrid's hair down lightly, and Steven leaned his head back with a frown.

"It's going to be okay." His brother looked down at him and smiled, pupils shifting again, taking on the familiar diamond shapes. "I'm here, remember?" He nodded toward the teenager's stomach, and Steven looked down at it for a second, resting one hand over it and rubbing his thumb over his gem, lightly tracing it in silence. "Besides, you can come back anytime, right?"

"Yeah." Steven exhaled slowly, closing his eyes. "Maybe I can spend the entire visit here-"

"Mm, maybe not the entire visit," his brother corrected lightly, but he sounded somewhat amused as he pulled his arm away from the hybrid with a chuckle. "Some of it, though, sure."

Steven didn't respond immediately; he offered a soft sigh and nodded, sitting up straight again and finally releasing his grip on whatever control he had over this place. He could feel himself slipping almost immediately, the breeze on his skin turning into the feeling of full-out wind smacking against his face, and he flinched slightly, curling in on himself and raising a hand against it in a half-hearted attempt to shield both his face and his hair from the assault.

And he found himself awake with both hands raised, arms shielding his face. The wind was worse now; coming directly from Priyanka's window as she drove. She had been speaking, but cut off abruptly by the time Steven had actually managed to tune in to whatever she might have been saying; regardless, the hybrid only blinked rapidly a few times, shifting as much as his back would allow before slowly lowering his hands again and turning his gaze to the two adults up front. Greg was grimacing; a swift glance was enough to tell Steven that the conversation he'd unintentionally interrupted had certainly not been pleasant for his father, so it was safe to say that they had either been talking about him, or Priyanka was lecturing him again. And, speaking of Priyanka, she was now glancing back at him through the mirror as she drove. "Woke up just in time, Steven," the doctor informed him. "We're almost at the facility."

Still half-asleep and too tired to respond coherently, Steven only let out a groan, silently clasping his hand over his face. He did notice, however, unlike the last time he had fallen asleep and woken up, he felt somewhat better than when he had been awake. The numbness in his leg was just that; numb, with hardly any pain accompanying it. Hell, at the moment, the only pain had been directed to his back. Not just his lower back, at the base of his spine, but the cuts. And that kind of pain was refreshing, but still jarring nonetheless - because it made his entire body ache with longing, the sting of the wounds almost seeming to call out for him, asking for more.

His spine tingled at the thought, a pure rush of excitement all the way up, and he swallowed it down, reminding himself that these thoughts weren't supposed to be exciting. They weren't supposed to induce the kind of adrenaline that Steven felt when they came, the thrill and relief. But even then, it didn't make him want it any less - but he did manage to redirect his attention. He rubbed his hand over his face lightly, scrubbing hard at the skin as if trying to relieve an itch - but the only itch was the exhaustion still lingering, clouding up his brain and leaving him somewhat unable to think straight. So, what he did end up thinking about was the fact that he was completely unprepared to go to the mental hospital, only expecting a short visit to the doctor, and hadn't even brought anything with him that would be necessary for the crazy house. What would be necessary for the crazy house, even? "Hey," he mumbled, lowering his hand, and Greg turned to look at him as Priyanka glanced up through the mirror once again, blinking. "I didn't bring any other clothes."

"Your father will be going back and bringing you what you need," Priyanka replied, focusing on the road again. "Until then, the facility will provide you with necessary clothing if needed." Steven didn't say anything, genuinely wondering how thought-through this really was after all, as Priyanka sighed and continued, "it's much safer. Typically family members or others are more preferred to pack essentials for the patients, seeing as some use the opportunity to sneak in harmful material or objects, such as drugs or knives. Oh- you will likely be searched, so they'll probably want you to change while you're there so they can check your clothes, considering…"

"I'm a suicidal maniac," Steven finished dryly, feeling a rush of anxiety almost immediately after the words had left him upon realizing that he had said that to Priyanka, when he had been trying so hard prior not to slip up around her as much; the doctor didn't seem too surprised, though, nor did she look particularly upset at him - despite the sour expression that crossed her face for a moment, but he guessed that had left to do with him in particular and more with his wording.

"Suicidal, yes. Maniac, no. Regardless, they like to take precautions."

Not like I need a knife to hurt myself anyway, his mind hissed, the reminder serving to be more comforting to the hybrid than it probably should have been. What are they gonna do? Clip my nails? Remembering how he could seemingly grow them out at will, it didn't seem like that would work how they wanted it to. But that was only considering he got a moment alone enough to be able to do that, and didn't get caught; but that, again, relied on whether or not he actually wanted to go through with it once he actually had the means and opportunity to do so. Sure, right then, it was a nice thought. But pulling his gem out had also been a nice thought, and he ended up not being able to do it. That and the fact that, again, he was already in enough pain - not necessarily right then, but he had a feeling it wasn't gonna last - was enough to halt him.

He stared out the window for a moment, slightly surprised when his stomach twisted - not with excitement, but with dread. For a moment, it almost felt like his own; sickeningly nauseating, anxiety and panic and pain welling up before he abruptly managed to push it back down again. It took him a moment to realize that the emotions weren't his own at all; everything around him seemed to blur for a second, feeling far away and surreal like he was dreaming. His head spun, racing with thoughts that didn't feel like his - but they were his? - no, they weren't his. Not Steven… His mind screamed and whispered at the same time, an eerie sense of calmness accompanied by the familiar feeling of anxiety. The conflict was enough to somewhat derail him; he blanked, almost completely, all at once, every thought draining slowly until finally the only thing left were the emotions, clashing together as if they were fighting in his chest, a battle of will to see which gave in first. For a moment, it almost stopped, and he half expected the emotions to settle; something felt oddly familiar about it. The emotions that weren't his own, the way his own thoughts slipped and vanished - replaced with new ones, ones that weren't his, but ones he still felt too strongly on a personal level to possibly be his brother's, too. It was familiar. And not only that; despite the brief panic that it brought, something about it felt right. Complete. Whole.

"Steven?" Greg called back to him, and the emotions were gone again; he sat rigid for a second, trying to recover from what had just happened. It felt like he had been slipping, like he wasn't in control of himself. Like every movement, every thought and action and emotion had steadily been ripped away from him one after the other, leaving him there but not quite… there. Readjusting wasn't easy; he found his hands trembling, his body already reacting to the familiar sensations that he had long gotten used to living without. Now he felt cold and somewhat numb - physically, that is - every part of him (his gem, especially) aching with no real reason for it. Regardless, still most definitely shaken, he finally did manage to react to the sound of his name; his gaze flicked up to his father after a moment, clasping his quivering hands over his stomach.

"You okay?" Greg frowned, twisting slightly in his seat to look back at him. Steven blinked a few times, still struggling to recover, but he managed a quick - somewhat instinctive, admittedly - nod in response to his father. Mostly because he didn't feel like explaining exactly what had just happened to him. Because he wasn't quite sure he knew how to explain it, in any case. Surprisingly, however, his father only frowned, wrapping his arm around the back of his seat and reaching out toward Steven slightly, despite the fact that he couldn't reach him. "Are you sure?"

Steven didn't respond this time; not a nod nor a shake of his head, and certainly not a verbal confirmation of denial. Still, his silence said it all regardless; Greg sighed, studying him for a moment, before quickly turning around and sitting back in his seat the right way when Priyanka took a turn and glared at him until he settled down again. "Here we are," the doctor spoke up after a moment, lifting her hand briefly from the steering wheel in order to point just ahead, and Steven reluctantly flicked his gaze up to look. It took him a moment to adjust to what he was seeing; there were several buildings around them, but they seemed to just be convenient stores and some houses. But, just ahead, in the distance, he noticed a bigger structure. It was about as big as the hospital - if not bigger, honestly - and it only seemed to get bigger as they drove. Big, bold letters were printed across the front of the building; Empire City Health Services.

"We're in Empire City?" Steven rubbed his face and looked around again, genuinely taken aback. He didn't recognize where they were at all. But now it made sense - the drive from Beach City to Empire City was about an hour or so (but if you were Steven and insisted on speeding, it was a half hour). Actually, now that he thought about it, where had he expected them to go? Ocean Town? Jersey? Certainly not Empire City, that was for sure. Now, though, he felt stupid - he should've known. Then again, he didn't recognize this part of the city…

"Mhm." Priyanka glanced up at the mirror, peering at him. Steven frowned, staring ahead. "It's the best mental health facility in Delmarva. That, and it's the closest one to Beach City. And it's not too far from Dr. Roberts, either." It took Steven a moment to remember who 'Dr. Roberts' was - and, admittedly, he couldn't keep himself from grimacing on time. Priyanka fell silent after that; Steven took the chance to spare a glance toward his father, noting that he was visibly tense now, rubbing his hands together and cracking his knuckles again. Steven only felt more apprehensive - if Greg was anxious about this, something was definitely wrong - oh, but, then again, Dad does get anxious over a lot of things - but this is supposed to be a good thing - but even good things can be difficult - but he doesn't want to do this, why should I - he doesn't-

"Shut up," Steven growled, pressing his face into his hands. Once again, he could feel himself slipping, steadily spiraling into something - something that felt familiar and didn't all at once. Something he hadn't been for a long, long time. The emotions, emotions that weren't his own, weren't even his brother's… he couldn't figure out the source, he couldn't understand why it felt like he was slowly fading away, why it felt like he was vanishing from existence completely - but at that moment, he didn't care to find out. He just wanted to silence the voices in his head, the overwhelmingly forced optimism. He'd much rather have the viciousness of his own thoughts.

"Steven?" Priyanka's voice was a little softer now, cautious; Steven shook his head at her, still struggling against whatever was trying to push him back down. Honestly, for a moment, he almost did consider the fact that it could be his brother - but he knew what his brother's emotions felt like by now, right? It wasn't him. It couldn't have been him. Steven would recognize it. This… while he did recognize it, it wasn't something he had felt firsthand for a long time. It wasn't something he was immediately familiar with, or comfortable with, for that matter. It felt right, but it didn't… it didn't feel like him. And he didn't like that. Not at all. "Steven," Priyanka called again, and Steven silently curled his fingers against his face, rubbing his nails against the skin sharply before finally raising his head to look up at her. "Deep breaths. Calm down, relax."

Despite himself, he found himself following her instructions; breathing in as deep as he could manage, he leaned back in the seat, ignoring the way his back ached as it pressed up against the back of the seat; it was his last concern right then and - if he was being honest - the split second of pain allowed him a brief moment of clarity regardless. Still, for the moment, he forced himself to focus on his breathing; slow, steady breaths, pacing himself as G- ahhh he wasn't going to think about her right then, he'd just get angry, he couldn't think about her, or them, just breathe, Steven, deep breath in through your nose and out through your mouth, you've got this. He didn't believe his own internal encouragement, but it was still something else to focus on.

He continued his slow, controlled breathing until the car stopped moving; the realization that they were there was enough to kick him right back into the endless pit of anxiety he had long gotten used to, and at this point, even telling himself to breathe wasn't going to help him come back from this. The hybrid pressed his hand against his face again, shuddering slightly as he let his nails dig as deep into his skin as he could manage without drawing blood, desperate for something to focus on instead of the fact that they were there, at the crazy house, ready to drop him off with a bunch of other crazy, suicidal maniacs just like him. He felt a little bad, initially, for thinking like that - but even his guilt didn't last long before it steadily dissolved into panic again. Panic he hadn't quite been expecting to feel; he knew he was scared, for sure, but he hadn't quite realized that had been enough to send him into a flat-out panic attack like this, so… great. Great, this was just perfect. This situation, this awful situation he put himself into, was perfect.

The hybrid couldn't bring himself to move even as Greg and Priyanka got out of the car - not that he could do much on his own, right - but he didn't react, either, when Greg opened his door, while Priyanka headed around to get the wheelchair out. "Hey. Hey, Steven- Steven, it's okay." His father's hand clasped around his shoulder, clenching down firmly but gently; still, he didn't move his head, didn't lift his hands from his face just yet. It was getting harder and harder to breathe, and he wasn't too sure even Greg could console him at the moment, short of taking him the hell away from this place and not looking back. But that wasn't happening, was it? No, no, but this was still happening. This was really happening. This was bad. Really, really bad.

"Steven," Greg murmured, rubbing his shoulder now; the touch was enough, briefly, to redirect his attention to his father - if only for a few seconds alone. "Can you look at me, bud? Please?"

Steven shook his head, but Greg spoke again, more insistently, "Steven, look at me."

It took a moment for the hybrid to comply; not because he didn't want to, now, but because he felt physically incapable of moving. It took a great amount of effort to lower his hands from his face, gasping in as much air as he could as he finally looked up at his father. His chest was tightening with every passing second, crushing in on itself and allowing no room to breathe; he was suffocating, slowly but surely, he was sure of it. Maybe it would kill him; maybe he'd end up passing out and dying from lack of oxygen or something and then he wouldn't have to go to the mental hospital after all. Honestly, it didn't seem like such a bad idea - sure, it hurt like all hell, his lungs burning and screaming for even the smallest drop of air they could get, but he was certain that the air itself was slowly turning solid, because god damn he could not breathe.

"Look at me," his father repeated, and Steven's straying eyes quickly snapped back up to Greg's face, heeding the order with little hesitation, still too out of it to realize what was happening. "I need you to breathe, son. Listen to me and focus. Deep breath in, deep breath out. Come on." His hand clenched over Steven's shoulder again, the pressure once again succeeding in somewhat redirecting his attention, but he found it hard to do as his father requested, because when he tried to breathe in, the air stuttered and stalled between his teeth, failing to get through to his lungs; he swallowed and tried again, every limb shaking with the effort that it was taking.

"Listen." Greg crouched beside the car and reached his other hand inside, lifting the one from Steven's shoulder in order to cup the teenager's face with both; the hybrid looked up at him, far too shaken to protest to the contact and - beyond that - somewhat relying on the touch, since it was practically the only thing grounding him at this point, keeping him from spiraling completely. "I'm here, little man. I'm right here." He brushed his thumbs over the sides of Steven's face, pushing his hair back carefully, and Steven finally managed to breathe in somewhat shakily. "That's it, there you go," his father encouraged, searching his gaze; the hybrid stared back, trembling slightly under his grip as he struggled to take in another breath. "Deep breaths."

It took a little while, but he did finally manage to get to a point where he didn't feel like he was going to pass out from lack of oxygen. It took even longer for him to be able to focus again, and to get his breathing steady enough to a point where Greg felt comfortable enough to help him out of the car; this time, he accepted the assistance gladly, wrapping his arms around his father as tight as he could manage and letting himself sink into the man's arms until he was finally lowered back into the wheelchair; even then, he held on for as long as he could before releasing. Whatever he may think of his father, whatever fucked up relationship they may have now, it didn't matter at that moment. The realization that he wanted to be held was more jarring than any jolt of anxiety his brain could muster - because it was enough to bring tears to his eyes, tears that were entirely his own, entirely connected to his own stupid emotions, and not an instinctual product of pain or his body's way of reacting to the lump forming in his throat.

He wanted to be held. He wanted his father. He wanted somebody.

Still, he said nothing; he bit his lip and shifted uncomfortably, he tugged at his sleeves and the bottom of his shirt and basically anything he could get his hands on at the moment was fair game. At one point, he ended up grabbing a fistful of his own hair, twisting on it until Priyanka gently laid a hand on his shoulder to stop him. And then they were moving; his father pushed the wheelchair while Priyanka led them toward the facility. It took just about everything Steven had - every breathing technique, every reminder to calm down that he could think of - not to spiral back into the panic that had gripped him just moments before; and even then, everything he had almost wasn't enough. His breathing hitched more than once, threatening to stutter to a complete stop every now and again - and even Greg and Priyanka couldn't reach him this time, because the rest of the world seemed to have slowed to a near halt. Not literally, no - numbly, he noted that everything was moving just normally, just as fast as always. But he couldn't hear a thing, like the world was a television and someone had pressed the mute button on it.

He wrapped his arms around himself and breathed, lower lip quivering as he looked up at the facility, getting closer and closer - until they were there, and Priyanka was opening the door, and Greg was pushing the wheelchair in, and there was a rush of cold air and… there they were. And then he could hear again; he could hear people talking up ahead, pens clicking and doors opening and closing. He heard laughter - which was, honestly, the last thing he expected to hear in this place at all - he heard… music? Was that music? He swore he was hearing music.

"I'll let the receptionist know you're here," Priyanka began, glancing down at Steven. A sympathetic look crossed her face briefly by the time he had managed to meet her gaze again. He wasn't sure what was written across his face right then, but it couldn't have been good. "Don't worry. The staff here is actually quite friendly - I already know they'll be fond of you." She offered him a rare smile, one that he wished he could return, but his mouth remained half-open in order to breathe as much as possible. His nose felt too stuffy for some reason - likely due to the tears that had made their way to his eyes earlier. Priyanka exhaled, and turned, walking away without another word - and Steven felt a shiver rush down his spine, making him tremble.

"Hey." Greg pushed him over to a group of empty chairs, turning the wheelchair around to face one of them and moving over to take a seat; he reached out to grab Steven's hands, and the hybrid met him halfway almost immediately, genuinely desperate for any physical contact he could get in order to ground himself at this point. Greg looked a little taken aback, but he certainly didn't seem like he was about to complain - though he did look a little worried at the sudden flip, the abrupt shift Steven's mood had taken since they'd arrived. "You okay?"

Steven shook his head furiously, and didn't bother to hide the tears this time as they pushed their way back to his eyes, looking up at his father desperately. "I don't wanna be here."

Greg squeezed his hands gently, rubbing his thumb over the scarred knuckles; they didn't hurt, not right then - they usually did, but, Steven guessed his father was keeping the touch light enough so not to irritate the cuts. "I know. I know." His father swallowed, shaking his head.

Steven fell silent, still trembling; his father simply continued to rub his knuckles carefully, turning his gaze to the teenager's hand to inspect them instead. It was a while before either of them spoke again - what felt like hours, honestly, but what must have been only a few short minutes in reality - as Greg lifted his head and took a deep breath, offering his hands another squeeze. "But you're not gonna be in here forever, kiddo. It's just a few days, at most. You can do that." Steven shook his head again. "Yeah, you can. Come on, I'll be here as much as I can."

More tears rushed to the hybrid's eyes; this time, he did blink, but only to clear his vision. He started to pull his hand away from Greg when a few of the tears escaped, rolling down his cheeks faster than he could rub them - but he still rubbed the side of his face against his shoulder to rub away the little bit of liquid that continued to linger on his face, breathing shakily. You'd think this wouldn't be so bad - you'd think, after everything, going to stay on Homeworld for two years would've been worse than having to be here for a few days at most. But, at least he knew what to expect on Homeworld. This was new. New people. New experiences. New situation. He didn't know what to do or how to react - he wasn't here to help anybody. He was here to get help. Hell, maybe that was what was so terrifying about it; getting help.

He breathed in sharply, snapping back to attention when he felt his father's hand run over his head, fingers carefully untangling the curls; despite himself, he found himself leaning into the touch, closing his eyes for a moment and letting his shoulders sag forward with a shuddery sigh. "It's gonna be okay," his father said quietly. "You're gonna be okay."

Steven couldn't help but wonder if he was trying to comfort him or himself.

He looked up at his father tiredly, eyebrows furrowing together, mouth opening to respond, but he didn't get the chance to say anything. His father's gaze flicked up, focusing on something past him, and he inhaled sharply and straightened up, leaning back slightly - and Steven knew, of course, Priyanka was back. And, judging by his father's reaction, she was probably with someone else. He turned his head slightly, but he couldn't get a good look until Greg finally forced himself to stand up and turn the chair around, offering an apologetic look over Steven's head before he finally managed to move it enough to twist it so that the hybrid could see.

Well, he was right; Priyanka was with another woman - a woman with long black hair and dark skin the color of milk chocolate - who was shuffling some papers in one hand. Priyanka was holding a white bundle of something that looked like it might have been clothes, but he didn't have much time to inspect them before the other woman suddenly lifted her head, offering Steven a kind smile; her eyes sparkled warmly as her gaze met his - and, honestly, he felt a little bit of the tension drain from him, just a little - and she extended a hand, dropping her arm to her side and clutching the papers. "Hi, I'm Vexy. It's a pleasure to meet you. Steven, right?"

Well, so far so good - she wasn't really treating him like he was crazy, so maybe this wouldn't be too bad. Still, he hesitated before he reached out to take her hand, somewhat cautious. "Yeah."

"I'm going to be helping you get settled in," the woman - Vexy - informed him cheerfully, and Steven studied her silently as she turned her gaze to his father, offering her hand to him next. "And you must be Steven's father- Greg, right?" She questioned, and his father let out a low mumble of confirmation as he accepted the handshake, seeming more concerned about the papers that she was holding; Steven followed his gaze after a moment, studying them silently. She seemed to notice, because after she had pulled her hand back, she held them up again. "Don't look so nervous, they're not divorce papers-" She chuckled a little at her own joke, and Steven would have laughed a little, himself, if he wasn't so anxious. "The forms for your medicine prescriptions, your psychological evaluation, and something here for your father to fill out-" Vexy held one of the papers out to Greg, who took it wordlessly, "-and that's about it."

Well, she seemed nice enough. Not pushy like Dr. Powell, that was for sure. Then again, he guessed she wasn't technically a doctor. He studied her again as she smiled back at him, before turning away to grab the bundle from Priyanka - which, upon further inspection, was definitely clothes, god dammit. "Now, I understand your injury makes bathing and changing a little harder. Luckily, we have easily accessible showers for patients who are in wheelchairs, and these clothes aren't too hard to change into. If you want, one of the nurses can help you, or your father could. And once you do that, I'll go ahead and show you to the room you'll be staying in." She flashed another smile - seriously, for fuck's sake, how was she doing that? "Sound good?"

"I guess," Steven responded slowly, glancing up at his father. He wasn't sure how he felt about Greg helping him - his father hadn't seen the scars on his back. Steven had told him about them, but he hadn't seen them himself, and considering his reaction to learning Steven had tried to kill himself and was self-harming, he wasn't sure how well it would go over.

"Well, I need to be going," Priyanka piped up, turning and offering a handshake to Vexy. "It's getting late, and my daughter's asking about dinner. It was wonderful seeing you again, Ms. Prime…" Steven tuned the rest out, unable to keep his mind from straying to Connie now. God, what was she going to say when she found out about this? Would Priyanka tell her? Was she even allowed to tell her? Doctor-patient confidentiality, right? Connie didn't necessarily need to know, but - god, no, Steven couldn't just keep something like this from her anyway. It was bound to come out sooner or later. With that in mind, though, he really needed to figure out how to get his hands on a phone so that he could talk to her… the hybrid shook his head, frowning slightly, and looked back up when Priyanka turned back to him. "I'll be checking in on you, Steven." The doctor softened slightly, reaching out to rest her hand on his head; the teenager exhaled, leaning slightly into the touch with a small nod in response. "And I'll be seeing you, Greg."

"Yeah, see you," Greg responded faintly, still scanning the paper he was given.

"You don't need to fill that out right away," Vexy piped up, waving goodbye to Priyanka as she left, and Steven leaned slightly to the side - wincing in the process - to offer a wave, as well. "If you want, you can go ahead and help Steven get cleaned up and changed before you do."

"Sounds good to me," Greg huffed out a laugh, handing the paper back over happily when Vexy offered her hand to take it. He exchanged it for the bundle of clothes she had taken from Priyanka, while Vexy shuffled the papers back in order and gestured for them to follow her down the hall. Steven rubbed his hands together - absentmindedly mimicking his father's nervous tick - and tried to ignore the nausea brewing in his gut, the dread and anxiety slowly building up. This had to be one of the easier things, right? His father knew most of it. Him seeing the scars wasn't going to be such a big deal. It shouldn't be a big deal. He wouldn't make it a big deal. Greg already knew Steven was self-harming, already knew he was suicidal, so… everything was pretty much out in the open anyway. The scars were proof, confirmation of what Greg already knew, sure, but in the end, in the long run, it wasn't going to change that much at all.

The hybrid shut his eyes and sighed, pressing his hand against his face. It was just getting harder and harder to keep himself steady here. He wasn't sure how long he'd be able to hold it together; he could already feel himself ripping apart at the seams anyway.