Collapsing in the library had not been her most shining achievement, that was for sure. How embarrassing to have the prison librarian find her sweaty and twitching body in the reference section. Too weak and dizzy to haul herself to her feet again, she was a disappointment to herself. Astankovas aren't brought down by a little infection; it takes bullets, rounds of them, to bring an Astankova to their knees. She knew that for a fact. Oksana was thankful her father would hear of this. She certainly wouldn't be detailing this particular adventure in her letter to Konstantin when she was finally released back to her cell.

For now she was in the hospital bay. And she had been right in what she told the medic; one of the nurses was hot, but not hot enough to make this experience enjoyable. It was as though she was restrained. Often, in her cell, Oksana felt trapped, but that was nothing to being hooked up to an IV, pumping antibiotics into her. She couldn't move if she wanted to. It was like being bound to the bed. And that would not be her preferred position. She had been here for nearly two days and she was barely beginning to feel better. All she could do was sleep. She wasn't sleeping at the moment, but her eyes were closed and she could feel herself slipping back into the comfort of unconsciousness once more. Slumber hadn't felt far away since she had been brought here. If she had been more awake, she might have guessed some of the pills she had been given were sedatives.

"I think she's sleeping, Mr Pargrave."

A hushed tone from the other side of the thin blue curtain that surrounded her bed pulled Oksana back from the precipice of sleep. She kept her eyes closed, listening. What was Pargrave doing here?

"She has a visitor."

Oksana's eyes opened at that. A visitor? Oksana hadn't had a visitor in eight years, as Pargrave well knew. For the smallest flicker of a moment, Oksana imagined her father at her bedside, with a bouquet of flowers and those chocolates she adored from that specific chocolatier in St Petersburg. But that couldn't be. Oksana must be delirious if she actually thought her father was in the room. And even more delirious still to think she would be anything other than ashamed for him to see her right now. Who then? Surely they weren't going to let inmates visit her here? They were stupid, but not that stupid.

"Oh, OK. Well, I guess you can wake her up if you have to."

That was the hot nurse, the one with the full lips and nicely shaped arse. She must be finishing her shift soon.

"Thanks."

The curtain around the bed twitched before the figure of Pargrave pulled a gap in it, scraping its metal rings along the rail.

"You're awake after all." He said as he entered, "And how's the patient feeling?" he asked kindly.

Oksana glowered at him.

"I feel fantastic. Top of the world. Never fucking better." She huffed. "Are you the visitor? If you are then I would rather go back to sleep."

"It's a pleasure to see you too, Astankova." Mr Pargrave replied. "And no, I am not your visitor."

Then he said something more quietly that Oksana couldn't hear. She was about to demand that he speak up, when he said something else.

"Doctor?" He called over his shoulder.

"I have already seen the doctor!" Oksana exclaimed, leaning up slightly.

The muscles in her stomach tightened as she exerted herself and the throbbing heat in her wound spread outwards. She let herself drop back onto the bed with a grunt through clenched teeth.

The curtain opened yet again and Dr Polastri walked into the enclosed space. In her hand was a bunch of bright yellow daffodils. She wore a smart, grey, collared woollen coat with perfectly fitted shoulders. From beneath the coat, Oksana could see sheer tights and heeled black Chelsea boots.

Oksana was taken aback. She watched as Pargrave placed a hand on Dr Polastri's shoulder before shuffling back to the other side of the curtain and leaving the two of them alone. What was she doing here?

"Hello Astankova," Eve said politely. "Mr Pargrave told me you weren't feeling too well."

"I'm fine." Oksana replied immediately.

Eve smiled.

"Yes. When I'm fine, I almost always spend my days in a hospital bed." Eve said conversationally.

Oksana rolled her eyes and didn't reply. She was slumped down in the bed and she felt particularly exposed in her hospital gown beneath the thin sheet.

Eve looked around the small space. There was no chair for her to sit in, but she sensed the other woman would not appreciate Eve looming over her. Though Eve rarely had the chance to loom over anyone.

"Do you mind if I sit?" Eve asked politely, gesturing to the edge of Oksana's bed.

Oksana shrugged and looked away.

"Thank-you." Said Eve, "We don't have to talk about why you're here. I just thought you might appreciate some company."

"Our appointments are on Thursdays." Oksana pointed out as though it was relevant to what Eve had just said.

"This isn't an appointment." Eve replied evenly.

"Then what are you doing here?" Oksana demanded suspiciously.

"I just told you why I'm here." Eve explained.

"I don't want a visitor." Oksana grumbled.

"Oh." Eve said simply, "OK then. Well, I will leave these with the nurse and I'll see you next Thursday if you're feeling up to it."

Eve stood from the bed and hoisted her bag over her shoulder before making her way back the way she had come. Oksana turned to look at her and sighed. It wasn't as though she had anything better to do stuck in here.

"Fine." Oksana called. "You can stay. But I don't like daffodils."

"Why not?" Eve asked, still not returning to the bed.

"They are garish." Oksana explained with a sneer.

Eve laughed.

"They're bright and happy. They're meant to make you feel better." She replied.

Oksana narrowed her eyes at the daffodils in Eve's hand for a moment, focusing intensely on them. Then her eyes flicked up to meet Eve's.

"Oh yes. I feel fine now. They worked." She said scathingly.

"I thought you were already fine." Eve countered with a smile.

"Good one." Oksana muttered, and then struggled to shift on the bed. "Help me sit up." She demanded.

Eve looked suddenly unsure of herself.

"I'll get the nurse. I don't want to hurt you." She let out, taking another step towards the curtain.

"You won't hurt me!" Oksana hissed, "I am not a fucking china doll. Just help me up. Unless you're scared that I will hurt you."

Jesus, Bill hadn't been kidding. An unwell Oksana was a particularly prickly customer.

"OK, OK," Eve agreed, shrugging off her bag and coat and piling them on the end of Oksana's bed before stepping to where she was level with Oksana's head.

Oksana watched as Eve dithered a little, reaching a hand out for Oksana's shoulder and then retracting it again and fidgeting on the spot. Oksana rolled her eyes.

"Put your arm behind my shoulders." Oksana instructed, leaning forward with clenched teeth.

Eve did as she was told and Oksana let her weight rest on Eve's arm a little.

"And the other under my arm." Oksana continued.

For this movement, Eve had to lean across Oksana and Oksana couldn't help but inhale the scent of Eve's perfume. It was light, floral, but not sweet. Oksana approved of it. She could feel the softness of Eve's cashmere sweater on her exposed skin where the hospital gown did not cover her back.

"Now what?" Eve asked, her voice startlingly close to Oksana's ear and snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Now help me sit up, obviously." Oksana said, using Eve as leverage to shuffle herself back in the bed. It hurt, but she wouldn't entertain a visitor while lying prone in her bed.

"OK." Oksana gasped when she was in a better position. Her inward breath brought with it another nose full of Eve's scent. It was a soothing aroma and Oksana would commit it to memory.

"You can get off me now." Oksana said scratchily.

"Wait." Eve replied hurriedly.

The arm that had been across the front of Oksana was gone, but Eve's other arm still provided support behind her. Oksana's stomach stung whilst she held herself in position. Eve was fluffing up the single pillow against the metal bedstead.

"OK." Eve agreed and let Oksana's back lower to the pillow. Eve straightened up and looked at Oksana. "Better?" she asked with a smile.

"You smell good." Oksana let out as Eve smoothed out her skirt unnecessarily and perched again on the edge of Oksana's bed.

"Um. Thanks?" Eve asked, though she wasn't sure why it was a question. That would be quite a nice compliment, if it weren't coming from someone capable of bodily mutilation and… Well.

"You're welcome?" Oksana replied, matching Eve's questioning tone mockingly. "Did your husband buy you that perfume?"

Eve failed to hold back the laugh.

"Jesus. No." she shook her head. "He only tried that once, and it was a hideous scent."

Oksana smiled.

"So he never tried again?" she asked.

"No, thank God." Eve replied.

"That is bad." Oksana decided. "I never had someone to buy perfume for. But if I did, then I would get it right. I would know what she would like." She added decisively, but almost as though she was talking to herself rather than Eve.

One of Eve's suspicions was finally confirmed.

"Sounds like you would make someone a very good partner then." Eve said kindly.

"I would." Oksana agreed readily.

Eve nodded. Suddenly she wasn't quite sure how she expected this interaction to go. What was she supposed to say now? She had been on autopilot since Bill's phone call the evening before, but she hadn't actually thought about what would happen when she paid Oksana a visit.

"Do you want to play your guessing game?" Eve asked.

"You said this was not an appointment." Oksana replied.

"Well, it's not. But we could play it if you like." Eve reasoned. That would at least give them something to talk about.

Oksana appeared to mull this over.

"If it is not an appointment, then you are not currently being Dr Polastri." Oksana started and Eve knew where this was going, "So you can tell me your name." She finished, and Eve was correct.

"Hmmm…." Eve hummed, pretending to think about the response that was already on the tip of her tongue. "Nope."

Oksana growled and pressed her shoulders back into the thin pillow, before grimacing.

"It still hurts that badly?" Eve asked automatically.

"Of course it fucking hurts! It's infected." Oksana shot back.

"Well, I did say you should see the doctor last week." Eve murmured.

"Don't mumble at me." Oksana snapped. "I am already angry with you for saying that shit to Pargrave."

Eve had the feeling of being scolded like a child. She hadn't felt like that since… Well, since she was a child.

"For telling him that you were in pain?" Eve checked.

"For fucking meddling. For acting like you give a shit." Oksana said. She was raising her voice and Eve was painfully aware of the young nurse who would doubtlessly hear what Oksana was saying to her.

"I do give a shit." Eve said quietly and then realised she probably shouldn't stoop to using the same language as Oksana. "I mean, I do care. I'm here, aren't I?"

"To fucking gloat probably." Oksana huffed and lifted her hand to her mouth, before chewing on the skin next to her thumb. It looked sore, Eve noticed, the skin around the nail was ragged.

"Don't do that." Eve said gently, lifting a hand to Oksana's and touching the back of it softly before she even realised what she was doing.

Oksana's mouth stopped working at her thumb, but it remained between her teeth as her eyes fixed on Eve. Eve pulled her hand back quickly as though Oksana may decide to bite her instead.

"Sorry." Eve said quickly, "Just, it looks sore." She added.

Oksana dropped her hand back to the bed next to her thigh but kept her eyes on Eve.

"Do you visit all your clients in hospital?" She asked curiously.

"Only the ones who get stabbed with plastic spoons." Eve replied, holding Oksana's gaze resolutely, though every part of her wanted to look away.

Oksana let out a laugh.

"It is because I wouldn't fuck her, you know? That's why she did it." Oksana explained in a tone of complete amusement.

"I heard it was because you told her she was fat." Eve intoned with a knowing smile.

Oksana's smile widened in return.

"Well, she is very big." She said, blowing out her cheeks.

Eve chuckled and shook her head.

"Maybe next time just politely turn her down? That way you could avoid another trip to the hospital bay?" Eve suggested lightly.

"But then I won't get any daffodils." Oksana replied in mock outrage, "Plus, have you seen the nurse here? I would fuck her if she asked for sure." She added.

Eve cleared her throat and shifted a little where she was perched on the side of the bed.

"Uh oh," Oksana smiled dangerously, "Are you uncomfortable talking about sex?" she asked gleefully.

"Of course not," Eve replied, "a great deal of my job is doing exactly that."

That was true. With the amount of flashers and rapists and paedophiles that Eve worked with, it wasn't as though this was a topic that she rarely had to raise.

"What is it then? You are jealous?" Oksana asked as though taking pity on Eve, "I would fuck you too, you know." she added.

"I'm beginning to get the impression that there's not a great deal that you wouldn't fuck." Eve replied sardonically, "So I'm not sure being on the list is that much of a compliment."

Inwardly Eve was congratulating herself for that entirely unfazed response. In reality her stomach had performed some badly choreographed backflip at Oksana's words. Jesus. She knew it had been a while since her and Niko had found time to have sex, but surely she wasn't that desperate. Now Oksana was watching her with that self-assured smile that made Eve feel as though she could read her thoughts. This was all going wrong again. Eve was supposed to be the one putting Oksana's thoughts under a microscope, not the other way around.

"I have a guess." Oksana declared needlessly loudly.

Oh God. This was unlikely to be helpful in putting Eve back in control.

"Go on then," Eve sighed.

"You have never been with another woman." Oksana announced assuredly.

Eve hummed.

"What did you say the rules were?" She asked.

"I get three guesses. For each one I get right, I win another guess." Oksana explained monotonously, as though Eve should have remembered that. But Eve had remembered that. And now it was time to turn the tables back on Oksana.

"So you have two guesses left." Eve replied nonchalantly.

"What?" Oksana burst out, her eyes widened dramatically. "I don't believe you! You have not."

If there was a heart monitor attached to Oksana, Eve was sure she would be able to see a spike in the rate of the other woman's pulse right now.

"You better guess more carefully with your next two." Eve suggested, borrowing Oksana's smug smile.

"I bet you were just experimenting in college. That doesn't count." Oksana said sulkily.

Eve didn't reply. Oksana's bet was as good as her guess in that it was stone cold incorrect, but Eve didn't need to offer up that detail as well. She was already being reckless with her personal information here, not to mention unprofessional. But like she said, this was not an appointment.

"You can save your guesses for next week if you can't think of any," said Eve generously.

Oksana's eyes darkened.

"I haven't had time to think properly." Oksana complained. "I don't know if you have noticed but I have had a bit of a shit week."

Eve was tempted to say that Oksana may have had a considerably less shit week if she had visited a doctor after their last appointment, but she suspected that might enrage her and Eve was now reluctant to see Oksana pop a stitch.

"Sorry," Eve relented, "We can save the game for next time. You can keep your two guesses."

"I still don't believe you have been with a woman." Oksana huffed.

"Whether or not you believe something doesn't affect whether it is true." Eve replied.

"Oh, you got that from a book." Oksana said dismissively.

"Probably." Eve admitted, "Sometimes I can't tell anymore." She added with a smile.

"Did you run today?" Oksana asked quietly.

"Yes." Eve said, taken aback by the question, "I run most mornings if I can."

"Where did you go?" Oksana asked.

"Uh… There's a towpath not far from my house. I ran along the river this morning." Eve replied. She wasn't sure where this was going, Oksana's questions almost unfailingly turned inappropriate, but this thread seemed puzzlingly genuine.

"Will you tell me about it?" Oksana asked, almost embarrassedly, "Is it windy today?"

Embarrassed wasn't a look Eve thought she would see on Oksana, well, ever. The meds must be messing with her head. Eve was confused, but she decided to go with it.

"The wind has dropped today actually," Eve said, "it's just a little breezy. The paths are a bit slippery from the rain yesterday, and the grass was wet still this morning. It's cool, but not so cold that it hurts to breathe when you run."

Eve paused and looked at Oksana. Her eyes had closed, but it seemed she was still listening because she nodded slightly as though she knew Eve was looking at her.

"The river is a bit swollen from rain and the water is flowing fast." Eve continued, talking just loud enough to be heard, her eyes remaining glued to Oksana's face, "It has that foam on the surface in some places. I think I saw a kingfisher. Or at least, I saw a flash of blue out of the corner of my eye when I rounded a bend in the path."

Eve cast her mind back to that morning. Leo had been kicking off about the fact they had run out of his favourite breakfast cereal. The quiet of her run had been a welcomed respite.

"It's nice that early in the morning, there is hardly anybody else about." Eve mused.

Oksana's eyes remained closed and Eve realised how pale she looked. There were definite bags beneath her eyes, and her collarbones appeared more pronounced than Eve had noticed before. Were they always like that? Normally Oksana was in her prison sweater so her clavicle was concealed from view. Normally any prolonged assessment of her form was stopped in its tracks by a fiery glare. In the hospital gown she was less fierce, less ready to pounce. And with her eyes closed, she was calm and quiet. Eve's eyes travelled down. That thumb really did look sore. Oksana evidently chewed it quite frequently. Or at least had done recently. It must be a distress signal, or something she did for distraction? Or comfort even?

"Getting a good look?" Oksana asked lowly.

"Jesus." Eve said, she couldn't help herself. Oksana had made her jump.

Eve's eyes made their way back to Oksana's face and found themselves looking into Oksana's curious green-brown gaze.

"You can look. I don't mind." Oksana shrugged, her signature grin now in place.

"I thought you had fallen asleep." Eve confessed.

"So you waited until I was asleep to check me out?" Oksana asked jokingly, "That is a bit creepy, doctor."

"Oh shut up," Eve said lightly and shook her head.

Oksana laughed.

"Do you at least like what you see?" Oksana asked, and Eve couldn't quite decipher her tone. Was it yet more teasing? Probably.

"Oh yeah, exhaustion really does it for me." Eve replied sarcastically.

Oksana frowned where Eve had expected a laugh.

"That's not fair. I am not looking my best." She said, sounding genuinely perturbed by Eve's joke.

"I—" Eve started.

The curtain was pulled back briskly, scraping along the metal curtain pole.

"Time to change the drip." Announced a nurse quickly as she strode in. At a guess, she was in her mid-fifties, with thin, greying hair and a bony, angular face. She had an efficient and austere demeanour.

Oksana sighed.

"Just when I hoped you had changed your mind about the bed bath." Oksana lamented.

The nurse glanced at Eve with a stern look.

"We don't do bed baths." She said tightly. "I've told her five times already."

Eve nodded sympathetically at the nurse and then began to stand.

"I should go." She said decisively.

"You can stay." The nurse said brusquely, "She needs to be awake another half an hour to take her next pills anyway." she explained, continuing to speak as though Oksana wasn't in the room. Eve was about to reply when she felt a touch on her wrist.

"Yes, you can stay." Oksana said softly, gripping Eve's wrist more gently than Eve would have thought she was capable of. She looked up at Eve imploringly.

Eve squinted at her watch and then sat back down.

"I can stay half an hour." She agreed.

And she could stay, but she definitely shouldn't. She had promised Niko she would be home to help Leo with his family tree project. How was it that her son was doing the same projects that she herself had done when she was his age? Was the school system really that unimaginative? And Eve had been educated in the States. Did every country do the bloody family tree project?

"Thank-you." Oksana said to Eve quietly, her hand still loosely holding onto Eve's wrist.

The other side of the bed, the nurse had switched the bags of intravenous antibiotic hooked onto the stand and was now unscrewing the tube into the cannula on the back of Oksana's hand. Oksana winced slightly at what even Eve would describe as the somewhat rough insertion of the new tube. Eve waited for some biting remark from Oksana to the nurse, but it didn't come.

"She is not the hot one," Oksana whispered exaggeratedly to Eve, jerking her head in the direction of the nurse.

Judging by the disgruntled side-eye that was cast Oksana's way, the nurse definitely heard her comment. Eve forced herself not to laugh.