Violet made her way down the hallways, wincing a little as the sounds became more distinguishable the closer she got to her destination.
There was the rapid beeping of a heart monitor, the long drawn out whine of the "flatline" and call for "clear".
Violet took a deep breath outside the door to prepare herself for what she was going to find inside. Her arms full of needed supplies, she turned and pushed the hinged door open by backing into it.
The sounds of the operating room were almost deafening inside.
Cautiously, Violet glanced at the screen. It took a minute for her brain to register what she was seeing.
"Flatliners? Really?" she burst out, glaring at the two men in the room. "Considering what happened yesterday, isn't that a little… sick?"
"Hey," Tony said, hitting pause on the movie. "In my defense, it was Dad's choice of movie."
Claw narrowed his eyes at his son and made a small gesture.
"I'm still learning," Tony said, pointing to the recliner where Claw, his right leg in a full foot to thigh cast and right arm in a cast and sling. "What did he say?"
"He called you an asshole," Violet sighed, setting the two pizza boxes down on the coffee table. "Probably for ratting him out. You're supposed to be taking it easy, Dad."
'I am', he said, clumsily using the movement of his fingers in the cast.
"Uh, huh," Violet said.
The promised mega storm passed quickly, Violet mused, leaving those who knew better to think that the whole storm had been building because of Apate. Within twenty four hours, the wind and rain has softened to a typical late summer storm.
As the storm had eased, the clans had managed to bring the two injured Labyrinth clan members back to their underground sanctuary.
Maggie, herself, was healing quickly even without the injection but hadn't been able to make it under her own power. She, too, was supposed to be taking it easy but knowing Maggie, Violet was willing to bet she'd be wandering out amongst the homeless and doing patrols on foot.
"Seriously, Vi," Tony said, reaching for one of the boxes and calling her back to the present. "I'm here to help him, and keep him from doing anything."
Violet doubted that, but sighed and gave in.
"Hey," Tony leaned forward, "How's that girl? Mallory?"
"She'll be fine," Violet said with a shake of her head. "She's lost almost a year of her life, and I know only too well what that is like. The only difference between us is that she basically… slept the whole time. She has no memory of the time that Apate took over."
Tony frowned. "How is that one going to be explained?"
"Doctor James has convinced her that she was in a Dissociative Fugue state." Violet said.
"Definition please," Tony said.
"People with dissociative fugue temporarily lose their sense of personal identity and impulsively wander or travel away from their homes or places of work. They often become confused about who they are and might even create new identities. Outwardly, people with this disorder show no signs of illness, such as a strange appearance or odd behavior." Violet shrugged. "Luckily, Doctor James knows a few psychologists in the area who are willing to work with her."
"At least she'll get help," Tony said. "Now then," he rubbed his hands together in anticipation, "Let's dig in while it's still warm. Wait," Tony lifted the lid of his pizza, then lifted the lid of the other one. "Where's your pizza, Vi?"
"I'm not staying," she said, even as her mouth watered at the sight of the ooey, gooey cheesy goodness before her. "I have some work to do at the lab."
Tony paused, a slice almost to his lips. "The lab? You're going into the lab?"
"Well, yeah," Violet said. "We managed to delay our appointment with the FDA certification people, but only by a few days. Otherwise," Violet sighed, "It would be almost another full year before we could get another meeting."
"Well, you're doing good work," Tony said sincerely. "Just got word from the doc that if his healing rate continues like this, the old man here will be out of the casts in a week."
"That's good news!" Violet said, a feeling of relief coursing through her veins.
Tony put the slice down and leaned forward. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
"You know what? Yeah. Actually there is," Violet said, swiping a large slice of his pizza.
"Hey!" Tony exclaimed. "I thought you weren't going to eat anything!"
"Delivery fee," Violet said, her mouth full. Swallowing, she grinned. "Hate to eat and run, but…"
She trailed off as Claw made a few signs.
She blinked a few times and shyly sent him a hesitant sign back and hurried from the room.
Tony knew that Violet had said "thank you", but he was curious about what had brought on that reaction from his normally unflappable sister.
Hours later, after the movie was over and Claw was dozing in the chair courtesy of the pain medication, Tony walked up to the main area and flagged Katie down.
He gave her a brief explanation and attempted to mimic the signs claw had made.
She looked at him a little funny, then realized what the issue was.
"Yeah," Katie said. "It's probably hard for him to sign with his arm in a cast. Did it look like this?"
Katie made a fist, thumb out and pointing at herself. She moved it from bottom to top of her chest then pointed at Tony.
"Yeah," Tony said. "I think that was it. Had Violet get all teary eyes on me. What did he say?"
Katie gave him a bright smile, "He said, 'I am proud of you'."
'Yeah,' he thought as Katie waved and moved back amongst those who had sought the shelter of the Labyrinth. 'That would do it', he thought as he turned, his heart just a little lighter, and made his way back to where their father rested.