Lin Ye's thoughts paused abruptly when he heard her.
"... Huh?" He put his hand behind his ear and pushed it towards her, "Can you repeat that? I might have misheard you just now."
"The Y-Reagent," Ptilopsis with a blank stare, repeated what she said.
A low sigh could be heard from where he stood. The doctor pinched his nose as he lowered his head to groan in agony at his situation. After a while of him contemplating what his life was doing to him, Lin Ye raised his head towards his assistant. She could see him still having his iconic small smile, albeit a bit strained now.
"The Y-Reagent, huh?" Lin Ye walked to her and smiled, "So? How did you get your dirty little hands on that classified information, oh assistant of mine?"
Although for any common's eyes, they did not see any changes on her face. However, Lin Ye who knew this little bird could easily see how she knitted her brows to come up with a good answer.
"... I went into some files," Ptilopsis finally admitted, not wanting to hide anything from him, "I noticed that something was going on behind the scenes after you came back. Miss Silence and Miss Saria become busy the moment Dr Ye stepped on the Landship. I became curious and went into this further… I did not get any confirmation to do this." She lowered her head to him, "I am willing to get any punishment If what I did crossed a line that I shouldn't have."
Lin Ye could only stare at her. After a while, Lin Ye let out another sigh from his mouth.
Ptilopsis, with her head lowered, waited for Lin Ye to scold her. What she did not expect was to feel something land on her head. She raised her head to see that Lin Ye still had a smile on his face as he was running his hand through her feathery hair.
"... It's fine, you won't get any punishment," Lin Ye smiled at her. A thought then came to his mind, "And don't worry, if people get to know what you did, just say I was the one that gave you permission in doing so. Do you understand?"
Ptilopsis showed a confused look to him, "But-."
"Do. You. Understand?" Lin Ye sternly said each word to her.
Seeing how serious he was, Ptilopsis finally gave in and nodded at him, "I understand."
Lin Ye hummed and pulled back his hand away from her. He took a step back, "So? Ignoring that you did something very dangerous, why are you here?" Lin Ye smirked at her, making the bird have a slight hue on her cheeks, "Not saying that I am not happy in seeing you, with you knowing the cure, you must be here related to the said cure. Let me guess, it's about the limited amount of the cure that we have?"
"Yes," Ptilopsis nodded and readied herself, "I want-."
"To be removed from the list of candidates?" Lin Ye finished her sentence, "Right?"
Lin Ye smirked at the shaken expression on her face
"... How did you know?" Ptilopsis asked, "I did not even finish."
"Let's just say, I just know you more than you think," Lin Ye chuckled, "I was right?"
Ptilopsis slowly nodded at him.
Lin Ye walked to the nearest sofa and sat on it. He then ushered Ptilopsis to sit on the sofa that was opposite him. That sofa was longer than his, making her have more space than him.
"So? You want me to pull out your name," Lin Ye hummed as he leaned back on his sofa, "Can you shed light on me on why you are asking me this? As a medical staff, you must know how rare the chance that you have now is."
Ptilopsis nodded, "I understand, that is why I am letting others have it.", Then she bowed her head at him, "Please, this is my request to you Dr. Lin."
"... Why?" Lin Ye asked.
"My condition for my Oripathy, compared to the rest, is mild. " Raising her head, her eyes looked serious as Ptilopsis looked at him, "I am still alive and I want to give the cure to others who need it more."
Lin Ye hummed at her. His mind went to his relationship with the person in front of him. Ptilopsis was one of the group of people Lin Ye first knew on the island. From what he knew about her, Ptilopsis had Narcolepsy that was caused by her being infected. Narcolepsy is a chronic sleep disorder characterised by overwhelming daytime drowsiness and sudden attacks of sleep. This meant that she would shut down suddenly like a phone out of battery. However, because of the same infection, she had better control of her brain. She could store memories like files in a computer. With her condition, she even managed to help him in treating Liz.
He was grateful, truly he was. But Lin Ye did not like the idea of him using her sickness for his own benefit.
During the time Lin Ye spent with Ptilopsis, he got closer to her. He got to know who she was more. Although she did not show emotion, Ptilopsis had a real mouth. Always tried her best to annoy him and sometimes, she did that with amazing talent. Lin ye did really mind. Her being able to annoy him was a sign that she trusted him enough to show this side of her to him.
He was honoured…
But this was one-sided.
Ptilopsis showed a side of her to him that she wouldn't let anyone see.
Him? He never showed anything else than the person that she thought he was.
Rhodes Island's Physiologist.
Then a heavy sigh escaped from his mouth.
"Dr. Ye?" Ptilopsis asked, "Is something wrong?"
After getting his hurricane of thoughts in control, he leaned back into his sofa. Then he sighed and smiled at her.
"I have to decline your offer," Lin Ye showed a troubled smile at her., "I won't be pushing your name away."
Her eyes widened at him, "... Why?"
Lin Ye hummed, "Based on what you said, excluding Eyja, Liz, Ifrit and Lappland are just the same as you," He tapped on the armrest, "If you know about Y-Reagent, you must know about Liz and Ifrit."
Her tensing body confirmed his suspicion.
"Good, you do know," Lin Ye nodded, "Liz is getting better now, Lappland is doing well, and Ifrit had the best recovery. Eyja is the only person who has a worse condition than you. Going to stop you there." He raised his hand when he saw Ptlopsis was about to rebuke, "I know that their healthy state is temporary but my point still stands. You are no different than most of them."
"... So Dr. Lin doesn't want the other to get the cure, "She asked.
"And… You're doing it again. Putting my words against me," Although he said this, he wasn't mad. Lin Ye even had a smile on his face, "Of course I want them to be healed. But…" His face then softened at her, "I just want you to be cured too."
Her body froze at his claim. However, Lin Ye was not finished, "I want every Infected on this ship to be cured," He sighed, "I want every Infected on this world to be cured." Then his hand ran through his hair, "I just don't want to sacrifice anyone to get there."
"... So you consider taking me off the list as a sacrifice?" She asked.
Lin Ye nodded, "Silly, I know but that's what I think."
Ptilopsis placed her hand on her chest, "Then, if I am a sacrifice " Her eyes stared deeply at him, "Let me be it."
Lin Ye's eyes widened at what he just heard. Ptilopsis still had her eyes on him. Slowly his eyes softened. His shoulder shrugged and let out a tired sigh. Then Lin Ye placed his head in his hand, "... Why do you have to complicate the situation?"
Ptilopsis stared at him, "What is so complicated, Dr. Lin? If I am not on the list, the others would have a higher chance of being cured." Although she sounded the same, Lin Ye knew she was frustrated with how her brows were twitching, "Why can't you understand?"
Lin Ye sighed and stood up. He walked toward her and sat next to her.
Without saying anything, Lin Ye placed his hand on her head. Not waiting for a reply, Lin Ye pulled and placed her head on his shoulder. The medic's eyes widened at this act but she said nothing. After a while, she calmed down and let herself melt from his warm body. He slowly ran his hand through her hair. Ptilopsis then glanced up at him and saw a smile.
"... Never ask me to sacrifice you ever again," He sternly said to her, "Do you understand?"
"..."
"I will not be accepting a no," His eyes narrowed.
Finally, Ptilopsis gave up and looked away from him. He felt her nodding on his shoulder, making him sigh in relief.
"... You do not play fair, Dr. Lin," She said.
Lin Ye did not need to see her face to know she was pouting. This made Lin Ye chuckle and rubbed her hair. They stayed like this for a couple of moments.
After a while, he could feel Ptilopsis raising her head away from him. He heard her shuffling further away from him. Lin Ye looked to his side and saw an owl staring at him with a blank expression on her face. Although it was blank, he knew this medic was annoyed at him.
"Are you mad?" Lin Ye smiled as he asked this.
After staring at him for a little longer, she sighed and shook her head, "... Dr. Lin… You are… really stubborn."
Lin Ye could only hum to this, "Maybe."
"Seeing that I could not change your mind, I will give you a warning," Ptilopsis said sternly, "If you choose me, are you ready on how people will react to your choice."
This intrigued him, "... How so?" He folded his arms around himself and asked.
"If I will be the one that receives the cure, people will say you are being biased," Ptilopsis explained, "From the moment you arrived on the island. The people you helped the most were people from Rhine Lab. Do not deny this," She cut him off when Lin ye was about to deny this, earning a light glare from her, "You gave Miss Silence and Miss Saria permission in researching the cure before anyone on the island. The first person that got to use the cure was Ifrit. If I will be one of many to get the cure after, people will think you are a horrible person… and," She lowered her head, "And… I do not want that."
Lin Ye could see her clutching her hands hard into balls. The hair on her head was shaking and her voice was just a whisper now. This must be something important to her to make her act like this.
He sighed.
With her head still lowered, Ptilopsis felt arms wrapping around her. She raised her head and she was pulled in an embrace. Her head was buried into Lin Ye's chest. His hand ran through her feathery hair.
"Is this good?"
She was dumbfounded. This was the first time she did not know how to react. So Ptilopsis let her body move for her. Her arms warped around his back, making her lean closer to him. She nodded but that was it. She didn't say anything. As she was enjoying this, she heard Lin Ye talking.
"About people seeing me as a horrible person, I really do not mind that." Lin Ye whispered, "As long as the people I care about are fine, everything else is irrelevant to me."
She could feel him tighten his hold on her. Not too hard to hurt her just enough to let her know he was there, "If that is a sin, I am okay with going to hell for that."
"Is that really a bad thing?"
Lin Ye could feel her grips tighten behind his back but Ptilopsis said nothing to him. She kept on hugging him. So Lin Ye did the only right thing in this situation,he hugged her.
After some moments passed, Lin Ye could feel Ptilopsis loosen her grip and move in his arms. He let go. Lin Ye thought that she would move away from him but she stayed and even placed her hand on his chest.
"Dr. Ye… Do you really mean it?" Head still down, she asked, "What you said, did you mean it?"
Lin Ye hummed, "With every fibre of my being."
"Is that so…"
Lin Ye then felt something grasping his hand. He looked to the side to see Ptilopsis holding his hand. He looked up and saw Ptilopsis staring at him.
Her eyes blazed with something behind them.
"I will not accept that."
"..." Lin Ye hummed, "So? What are we going to do?"
"I will assist in the development of the cure too," Ptilopsis said, "I know that I have little to contribute but.-"
"Sure," Lin Ye smiled and grabbed her hand that was on his chest, "I would be happy to get your help. Just go to Olivia and say I allow you to join in the research."
Her eyes widened at his quick answer.
"How can you let me help so easily?"
Ptilopsis, no matter how much data she had in her head, could not understand why Lin Ye was ready to let her help.
"It's simple," Lin Ye chuckled and stood up from the sofa. He smiled at her, "I just trust you."
He remembered something and looked at the window behind him. It was dark outside. With the time he spent with Ptilopsis, he did not notice how late it was. Looks like he will need to stay up a bit later to get through those documents. Lin Ye moved his gaze from her just at the right time to miss her expression. Her face was now bright red and her eyes were glued to him.
Her heart rate was beyond anything she was expressing now.
Strange but… not bad.
Just when Ptilopsis was about to call out his name, the door of the office busted open with a bang. Both Lin Ye and Ptilopsis spun their heads to it.
At the now-open door was Olivia. With how she was out of breath, she must be running just now. Her clothes were a mess. The glasses on her face were crooked.
"Olivia?" Lin Ye was worried, "Is something the-."
"Ye!" Olivia shouted, "Eyjafjalla! Something happened to her."
Suffice it to say, the moment he registered what the medic said to him, the blood on his face was gone in an instant.
Lin Ye stood up from the sofa and stared at her.
"Take me to her," He sternly said, "Now."
{Rhodes Island's Psychologist}
Draft: Jaq
Proofread: Jaq
Edit: Jaq