Krystal is slyly glancing at her, probably surprised by Cosima's solemn mood, but she's mindful enough to keep her thoughts to herself. The perky blonde enjoys the vampire's company, even if she knows that the brunette is usually a little less joyful when she leads her back to the lobby, but that has never stopped Cosima from making funny remarks, often at the expense of Dr. Santos. So, it does make some sense, after all the man is no longer available to be the punchline of Cosima's jokes. Nonetheless, the dark disposition of the little vampire remains uncharacteristic in Krystal's eyes. Even the atmosphere that surrounded the entire meeting was different; Cosima never gave her one of her charming side snickers when the doctor wasn't looking. Today, the other woman has hardly acknowledged her, her attention solely on the new doctor. Perhaps that was it; Cosima was merely curious about the unexpected change, so it shouldn't be that important that it was the new element to their meetings that distracted her.
"So... See you next month, yes?" Krystal says in her usual cheerful tone.
"Sure," Cosima answers with a small smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes, a clear indication that she's not really paying attention to what's going on, her mind elsewhere. "See ya!" She waves her hand and quickly walks to the main door, which automatically opens and she steps outside.
Krystal observes her for a few heartbeats, sighing deeply before she turns around. On her way back to the office, the blonde tries to return to her usual joyful state of mind; it's something she's very proud of, the way she always manages to put on a smile, even if her mind is wrapped in darker thoughts.
She's probably over thinking things. For someone like Cosima, changes can be difficult, she reasons. The endearing woman has suffered so many changes lately, and a new doctor is yet another. Dr. Santos was all business and made a big effort to cultivate a purely professional environment in his workplace, while Dr. Cormier has been proven to be the exact opposite. Krystal appreciates that the female doctor treats her like an equal and is capable to do so without the patronizing tone that often is given.
However, just because the assistant welcomes the change, it doesn't mean that the patients do as well, and that includes Cosima. In the two weeks since Delphine had joined the facility, she has witnessed all kinds of reactions from the patients: some were pleased with the new, more friendly approach (the new doctor's good looks certainly a major contribution), while others had expressed their annoyance, seeing it as a way to belittle them and treat them in a disrespectful manner. Most of the vampires had enjoyed the apathy with which Dr. Santos had treated them, they liked that some imagined line was not crossed. In the five years that Krystal had been working with them, she noticed that most vampires still thought of themselves not only as a different species, but as a step further in evolution, an improvement. Part of her fear was that the French woman, with her gentler manners, will find herself in trouble; that they would view the new doctor as weak, vulnerable to their attacks. And when these creatures decides to attack, the result can be devastating.
Despite the high rate of success, there have been some incidents registered. A few patients had given up on the treatment, gone off the grid by removing the chip implanted under their skin and decided to attack some of the people who had tried to help them. Once the treatment is suspended it doesn't take long before they return to their previous form. The virus is resilient and the scientists are unsure of how long it takes to be fully restored, since those who stopped the inoculation are unsurprisingly unavailable for testing. Krystal doesn't believe Cosima could become any sort of menace, but she also knows that the creatures can be unpredictable and Cosima is still one of them. Not only that, Cosima is probably the most powerful of their patients, and that makes her the most dangerous, regardless of how harmless she may appear.
The small blonde enters the office and finds her new boss with a thoughtful expression, staring at the screen in front of her, one of her hands curled around her neck while the other absently plays with a pen, rolling it back and forth along the smooth surface of the desk.
"Everything alright?" Krystal asks in a low voice so not to startle the other woman.
Delphine blinks a few times and looks at her assistant. "Yes, of course," she answers, bringing a smile to her lips. "So, who's next?"
Krystal eyes her suspiciously, but reaches for the small device she carries with herself all the time and looks at the day planner. "A Mr. Herrera, 150... so, a child, really."
The doctor laughs quietly and nods. "You can go get him, I'll start setting things up," she stands and goes to the cupboard where they keep the drugs necessary for a day's work.
"You sure?" Krystal can feel the slight uneasiness on the otherwise calm doctor.
"Bien sûr," she reaches for the two vials and makes sure the cabinet's automatic lock clicks once she closes it. "I'm not above preparing the shots."
"I wasn't talking about that," the other woman comments softly and when Delphine raises her brows in confusion, she explains further. "You seem a bit...preoccupied."
"Cosima... she..." the doctor stops, nibbling her lower lip, but she shakes her head dismissively. "Never mind," she says more firmly.
"What about her?" Krystal pushes, trying to read Delphine's expression, searching for any signs of weakness. It's true that the French woman is her direct boss, but ultimately, the assistant answers to other people, people who've told her that she ought to inform them if she senses any sort of situation she deems worth mention.
Krystal likes Dr. Cormier much more than the man she was working for before, but she also knows the first weeks are crucial in determining if Delphine is cut out for the job. She knows that the doctor has arrived here fresh from her PhD studies. After years spent in labs and writing reports and thesis, this is the first time the tall blonde is in contact with real life. She might've been a brilliant student, but that hardly means she's prepared for the real world. The first month is instrumental to judge the new doctor's resolve since that's the time it takes for her to meet with every patient in her list. If she can't deal with someone like Cosima, who's one of the most cooperative of the bunch, then Krystal doesn't predict good things for the other woman.
"She is very... straightforward," Delphine finally answers after taking some time to select her words carefully.
"Well... yeah," Krystal agrees with a smile. "She's been very helpful to us in understanding her kind. If you have any doubts about it you can just ask her, but don't expect her to sugarcoat it for you." The little blonde's eyes go back to the small device in her hands, certain that while Delphine is not yet fully comfortable with her assigned role, she isn't cracking under the pressure neither. "Brutally honest at times, but she's one of the good ones."
"Oh... I don't doubt that." Delphine nods, setting on the metallic tray the injections she was preparing. "I was just surprised by her... honesty," she admits, allowing a small smile to cross her features when she knows the other woman can't see it.
Krystal chuckles. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it. Besides, you only have to see her once a month," she throws over her shoulder before getting outside and close the door.
Delphine returns to her chair and waits for Krystal to bring the next patient, even if her mind refuses to leave the last one. It wasn't just the blunt honesty that made her slightly uncomfortable, but she knows better than to fully express what's going on in her mind. She trusts her assistant, but she's not naive. She's aware that there are things best kept to herself, especially during her first month. Delphine knows that if she wants to keep her new, well paying job, she needs to keep her emotions in check.
In fact, that's not only necessary to maintain her job, but also because it's essential for her own self-preservation. As passive as this creature might appear, no one knows better than Delphine the danger they represent and this is something she reminds herself of every day. While she knows she exudes the attitude of someone who doesn't really know what she has gotten herself into, nothing could be further from the truth. For years she's worked with a single purpose in mind, and now that she's so close to achieving it, she isn't about to throw it away just because one of her patients threw her a curveball.
Cosima's the most human of the creatures she has met so far, and what really caught her off-guard was the realization that it came from the oldest of the vampires in the program. When she got the patients' files she was excited to notice Cosima's name on the list, but she really didn't know what to expect from her. Older vampires are set in their ways, very seldom craving the life they were denied long ago, a life, that in reality they no longer know how to live. Cosima is the exception to the rule, though, if one considers the way the creature has lived - going out of her way to be sure that no one got hurt - it shouldn't come as a surprise the brunette's interest in the treatment.
In a way, Cosima is both the least and, at the same time time, the most dangerous patient on Delphine's list. Being the oldest also means that she should be the one who's more controlled; several centuries of existence prove that the little brunette is careful about the opponents she chooses and is wise enough to have remained under the radar for so long. However, it also means that Cosima has the kind of information that was never revealed to the younger ones. Information that Delphine needs. Information that's not exactly available in a silly government database.
Thus, the doctor faces a dilemma: how to gain this creature's trust and persuade her to reveal what she knows, but, in the process, not become too close as to put herself in danger and, most importantly, not to fail in her mission.
The knock on the door startles her. After arriving home, Cosima took a shower, dressed herself in a loose t-shirt and shorts and lights up. She's currently drifting in and out of conscience stretched on her bed, the comfortable kind of lightness that these days she can only achieve through burning a herb and pulling it into her lungs. In the past, she was capable of reaching a lighter state of mind after feeding from a volunteer, who usually stuck around for a few more hours, when it was possible to go for seconds. Some were more resistant than others, but her predisposition for the fairer sex meant that it was a fairly rare occasion. Nonetheless, most humans couldn't keep up with her stamina and she never really developed the sort of affection that would give her the patience to allow them to stick around past her needs - both feeding and sexual. Weed, as they called it, was a good replacement, but not nearly as strong.
With a groan, she got out of bed when the person at her door continued to knock non-stop. She immediately knows who it is.
"Alison... do come in," she mumbles after opening the door, but not bothering to play nice with the other woman.
"Really, Cosima?" Alison scolds, following her inside and watching Cosima's body drop unceremoniously onto the bed, face buried in the pillows.
"What?" Cosima asks, voice muffled.
Alison huffs and even if Cosima isn't looking at her she still knows that the other woman is rolling her eyes at her. "How did you like the new doctor?"
"You knew?" Cosima rises her head from the pillows and looks straight at her, swiftly turning around to sit on the bed with her legs crossed.
"Of course I did," Alison answers casually, starting to move around the bedroom and picking up a few books that Cosima has left abandoned on the floor by the bed. "I had my appointment last week, remember?"
"A heads up would've been nice."
The other woman stops her task to look at Cosima and just gives a small shrug. "I thought it would be much more fun this way. I don't get to catch you by surprise very often."
"You have a very sick idea of fun," she comments, getting up, twisting her dreads on top of her head and walking to the kitchen for a glass of water.
She leans on the frame of the door that connects the kitchen to her living room, where Alison has moved onto, picking up a few more books and placing them on the shelf and emptying the ashtrays. To this day, Cosima's not sure why she decided to make friends with the stiff woman; they couldn't be more different. Perhaps it was because when they met the older vampire was going through a difficult period, one year into the treatment and she was feeling too lonely in a world where she didn't fit in and had despised the world she'd lived in for centuries - or, at least, that's how they saw her, as a traitor.
Alison was alone in a bar, knocking down glass after glass of white chardonnay, already too drunk to be careful to hide the mark on her neck which reveals her nature, as one should when around strangers. It goes without saying that she attracted unwanted attention: three men had followed the drunken vampire when she stumbled outside, Cosima had lurked in the shadows, hoping that she didn't had to intervene in Alison's defense, but she was not so lucky. Alison was too young and the treatment had full effect on her, even if she had been sober, she was as helpless as any other woman.
Born in the late 1930's, Alison would've been the perfect 50's wife. The transformation she suffered was a violent stab to her intentions, unable to adjust to the quick changes the last half of century revealed, Cosima was not even sure how the young vampire had survived for so long without help. Unlike Cosima, Alison never really understood or accepted her new nature, refusing to acknowledge the dynamic of the times. Where Cosima had enjoyed and eagerly experienced the newness of every era she lived in, the younger creature fought against it every way she could. It had taken a lot of effort just to have Alison drop her old clothes.
The last two years since she'd met, and reluctantly adopted Alison had been a painful reminder of why the older vampire never had the desire to turn a single soul. Not because she saw it as a gift, like the rest of the elders, but because she obviously lacked the patience necessary to initiate someone into her species. One doesn't simply learn how to adjust to the passing of time; it's something that requires guidance. Although there's something Cosima did admit: Alison was probably turned in the worst decade. After the 50's, everything changed too rapidly. Add that to the fact that Alison's sire was irresponsible enough to left her to fend for herself... She never had a chance.
Thus, after centuries since she forgotten her own mother's face, Cosima found herself under the grip of the closest thing she remembers to a mother figure. That Alison is younger by over two centuries is irrelevant; the housewife within her is impossible to resist and Cosima has long given up trying to fight against it as well. She has decided to just embrace it, allowing the way too tense woman to find purpose in Cosima's chaotic home. Alison seems happy with the arrangement and, in truth, it never really hurts to have some order in her place.
"You never answered my question," Alison points out, moving past Cosima and into the kitchen, looking for something else to do. "What's your opinion of Dr. Cormier?"
It's Cosima's turn to shrug. "She seems rather careless," she offers, sitting on a chair by the table, watching the other woman put away the dishes she left out to dry. "One would think she'd be more nervous about dealing with... people like us," Cosima says, avoiding the V word, knowing Alison hates it. "Especially since she's just starting. She's too young to have had any extensive contact with our species in that sort of environment."
"Krystal mentioned Dr. Cormier is fresh out of grad school," Alison comments, leaning back against the counter and looking at Cosima after she finishes her task. "It wouldn't surprise me if she had never even met one of us before."
"I think there's something more to Dr. Cormier than meets the eye," Cosima's thoughtful, pushing the glasses up her nose, her gaze locked on something she's not quite seeing.
Alison twitches her nose, in a gesture that shows mild distaste. "But what does meet the eye is very pleasant."
"Meal on heels," the older vampire murmurs to herself, but when she meets Alison's shocked expression, she starts to laugh lightly and waves her hands. "Relax! You know I'm on a... vegetarian diet. Besides, like I said: I do think the good doctor is hiding something."
"And what might that be?" Alison raises her brow, her face changing from shock to curiosity.
"That, I don't know," Cosima says, getting up and moving to stretch her legs on the couch. "But if I were you, I'd be careful with what I share with her."
"Your years have made you paranoid, Cosima," Alison says, picking up her keys she left on the coffee table.
"Only the paranoid survive, Alison," Cosima mocks, groaning quietly with the satisfying pull of her muscles when she stretches.
The other woman throws her a look over the shoulder, but doesn't stop on her way the door. "I'm going to let you get some rest."
"Thanks mom!" The older woman adds jokingly, removing her glasses and closing her eyes.
After no more than two minutes, Cosima hears the door of the apartment directly above hers open and closing, indicating the other woman's arrival at her own place. Alison being her neighbor is far from ideal, but it's the only way she found to ensure the younger woman is safe most of the time. Soon, her body claims the rest she needs and the house slides into a quiet slumber.
Delphine still feels warm from the shower she took immediately after she got home, the crimson towel around herself is enough to keep her warm for now. The pre-cooked meal which she really doesn't feel like eating is in the microwave while she scrolls through Cosima's file on her tablet. The meeting with the creature has left her unsettled; something in the keenly observing brown stare has raised red flags in her mind. Although she's not sure of the origin of it, Delphine has been through enough to know when to trust her instincts. The doctor didn't get where she is today by being reckless and she knows that there is a lot about Cosima that isn't on the file. Unfortunately the man who previously occupied her position never really cared to know more than what was absolutely necessary about his patients, and that makes her work that much harder. The files reveal no personal information, only the data they've collected during the three years.
At first she was convinced that, once she got the job, she'd have access to more extensive files on the subjects; this couldn't possibly be all they knew. However, now she knows that either the clinic has not bothered to dig further on their patients or they are not sharing all the information they've gathered.
Reaching for the cell phone she always leaves at home, she opens the contact screen and presses the only number on it, her eyes not leaving the smiling picture attached to Cosima's file.
"Ferdinand, I believe we have a problem."