Gabriel trekked down the path he knew too well: take the elevator to the bottom floor, use (specifically) the third staircase, make a left, make a right, make another right, then make a left once more. He knew this path forwards and backwards, inside and out, and the only one who likely knew it better was Moira.

"I would have gotten myself so lost down here," Angela said as she walked beside him, "thank you for this. I appreciate it."

"Anytime," he responded. "I didn't have anything better to do."

Yes you did, Asshole, he scolded himself, but pushed that thought from him his mind as quickly as it came. He was simply helping a friend sort a few things out, a quick and simple task that he couldn't deny.

He wasn't making excuses to see her. He wasn't.

Try as he might to have himself believe otherwise, however, the delight that struck him as he heard that low, feminine voice call come in was too unbearable to ignore.

Upon entry, he noticed Moira sitting at one of two incredibly long desks with pen in hand, furiously scribbling away at an innocent piece of paper. "What's the matter, Gabe?" she called.

"Nothing serious, don't worry."

"Have you finally decided on a location and telling me couldn't bare to wait?" His heart lept into his throat for reasons he was unsure of. "No, that's not it. I've got Angela here. I think your guys' paperwork is messed up." The Redhead looked up at the duo, then began rummaging through various drawers located near her long legs. "I hadn't noticed that," Moira commented as she pulled out a tan folder and flipped through its contents. "You're right." The woman made her way over to Angela, and the two doctors exchanged papers. As he watched the trade take place, Gabe couldn't help but notice the lack of speech on Ziegler's part. She was normally so humble and kind, and now she didn't care to offer even a smile. Her demeanor brought everyone's opinions on O'Deorain back to his attention, and an amalgamation of conflicting feelings formed in the pit of his stomach.A mix of annoyance and anger and, to an extent, resentment, clashing with the truth that these were not emotions he wanted to be experiencing towards Angela, left him frowning and unsure of the way he truly should be feeling.

"Thank you," the blonde said flatly, followed by a walk to the exit. She paused once she reached her destination, looked over her shoulder and asked, "You aren't coming, Gabe?" He hesitated.

He fucking hesitated.

Instead of following Ziegler, Gabriel glanced to Moira. "You need me for anything? While I'm here?"

The woman raised a brow. "If you truly wish to stay."

"Yeah, why not, right?"

"I suppose."

He turned his attention to Angela. "Do you remember the way back?" She nodded, and shut the doors without another word, leaving him and his cohort alone.

She's acting weird, Gabriel concluded, and he could think of a plethora of reasons as to why, all involving Moira.

Perhaps the reason being was she knew as well as he did that his act of kindness was to grant him the opportunity to spend a few minutes or longer with redheaded doctor.

No, wait, no, that wasn't true. That wasn't the case.

"Not very busy today, are you, Gabe?"

Fucking hell...

That was exactly the case.

"Yeah, she didn't know where to find you, so I offered to stop in and say hi," he told her with an awkward chuckle, "figured it'd help her out."

But...so what, right? Right?

"It appears as if she's acting very distant today," Moira commented. Gabe nodded while taking a glance at the doors. "I saw that. She's usually not like that."

"No, normally she feels the need to run her mouth to me. Never has she been so quiet."

He internally winced at her passive aggressiveness towards his long-time friend. "What can I tell you? She gets passionate about certain things."

"Evidently so."

With that, she made her way back to her spot at the desk and continued to scribble what he assumed were notes onto her paper, leaving him to stand in awkward silence.

"Anyways, what did you need me here for?" Gabriel asked.

"I didn't need you for anything," Moira explained. "I thought you would like to relax, and if you're with me, it will be easier to pretend as if you're busy, should anyone ask." His heart fluttered at the thought: just the two of them relaxing together, free of all distractions.

"What happened to being professional?" he smirked, heading over to the seat beside her.

"I've decided that since you've been so kind to me, the least I can do is return the favor."

"What do you mean, 'been so kind'?" He found himself to be highly interested in her response, and deep down, he knew why, but fuck, he'd rather die than admit his reasoning to himself.

"I mean exactly what I say," she explained. "Don't assume your camaraderie goes unnoticed. It is truly appreciated."

Oh.

She noticed all that.

Of course she did.

"I've never experienced anything like it."

She's never-What?

"No?" He was unsure of how to word his sentence. How was one supposed to react when faced with a statement like that?

The Doctor shook her head. "In case you haven't noticed, no one particularly is a fan of my existence. Save for you, I suppose."

"Oh, come on, don't say that."

"It doesn't upset me, I don't need your condolences. As a matter of fact, I could understand why the world feels the way it does. If I were of the likes of McCree or Doctor Ziegler, I would feel the same way." Gabe sighed quietly and shook his head in disbelief. "That, in all seriousness, doesn't bother you?"

"Not in the slightest."

His raised his eyebrows, still slightly taken aback by her declaration. "As long as you're alright with it, I guess."

Her eyes returned to her paper, but her focus seemed to be elsewhere. The laboratory was dead silent, the only sound being the small clack of her pen as she set it down near her notes.

"I'm not ignorant to the state of my health."

She wouldn't look at him.

"There's something seriously wrong with me, Gabe."

Gabriel licked his lips, and the sound of someone knocking on the metal doors resonated within the room.

Moira glanced over his head and called, "What is it?" Angela's voice could be heard, and although she was extremely muffled, he was able to pick out the words sorry and thought and ended up. "I think I need to help her out again," the man told the redhead. She nodded in response.

"I'll be right back." He stood and jogged his way over to the exit, Angela appearing in his vision as the doors slid open once more. "I'm sorry, I thought I remembered," the blonde said sheepishly.

"Not a problem," was his reply, irritation and eagerness to continue that conversation threatening to spill into his tone. It wasn't her fault she became lost; this section of the facility wasn't a place Angela frequented.

But he couldn't help the way he felt.

"I'll get you to the elevators, alright?"

"Thank you so much!"

Deciding to leave the doors open,-he wasn't going to be gone for very long-Gabe backtracked to that specific stairway with Doctor Ziegler at his side.

The trip was silent, allowing the last words Moira had said to play in his mind.

Her statement sounded so genuine, like there was emotion tied to it, something that was unheard of when it came to her.

Perhaps she, in fact, was upset, but not because she cared.

Perhaps it was because she didn't care.

Maybe the horrifying fact that the whole planet could turn their back on her and she wouldn't bat an eye frightened her. She knew it wasn't healthy to think that way.

Perhaps there were other aspects of herself that concerned her as well, or traits she didn't particularly like. It was impossible that she was as heartless and void of emotion as she appeared to be.

At the end of the day, Moira was human, too, and she had layers just like everyone else.

And she was willing to open up to him, he realized with delight. It was only a small bit of information, but based on the way she acted as she confessed to him that part of her, it wasn't something she broadcasted to everyone. Moira trusted him enough to express that thought, and God damnit was that a wonderful reality.

Gabriel eventually reached the top of the staircase and said his goodbyes to Angela, then near-sprinted his way back to the Irishwoman's lab.

He wouldn't miss the opportunity to spend time with this woman for anyone.

Upon his return, he noticed Moira had moved from her chair and was now fiddling with the coffee machine she had placed on a separate table near the entrance to her lab, right beside him.

"I've become obsessed with this watermelon tea I've found," she said, "and why were you running?" He gave a breathy chuckle, and once his panting ceased, replied, "Exercise."

She offered him a look that said really? "Clearly you need more of that."

"You could never be too healthy."

"That isn't true, but alright."

He couldn't help but laugh at her stubbornness. That was Moira for you.

"Hey, uh, did you want to tell me something earlier?"

The woman shook her head and picked her now-filled mug up from its place on the machine. "Don't listen to me when I get like that."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure."

That's alright, he thought. If she wasn't comfortable, then she wasn't comfortable. He wasn't going to pry anything out of her.

"Would you like some tea?" Moira offered. Gabe shrugged. "Eh, why not?" She walked over to a small cabinet in the corner of the room and pulled out a mug and a box of tea bags. "You're going to love this watermelon tea." The redhead glanced over her shoulder. "You've forgot to shut the door."

"Shit, right, right." He turned around and did what he was asked of.

Now they can relax.