Glancing impatiently at her watch, Head Nurse McConnell stood outside the Lounge near the main Nurse's Station. She had convinced the administrative pack of hyenas that further discussion was futile until Simone had finished her initial interview with Annabelle. However, that had been two and a half hours ago, and the reassembled group inside was growing increasingly restless.

"Page her again" she snapped to the nurse behind the desk. They had already paged Simone 7 times, called her office, Surgery, Pharmacy, and the ICU. She had even checked the remote camera in Annabelle's room, but all she saw was the patient alone, sleeping peacefully. For god's sake, she had residents going through linen closets checking for the woman. Every department was under orders to contact her immediately if they saw her. What was beginning to make her worry is that there was no word. Nothing. There also wasn't a record of her leaving the hospital, so she had to be here somewhere. An orderly had seen her storm away from Annabelle's room, and that was it. Frowning, McConnell thought back to the screaming match outside Annabelle's room.

(Simone had just looked so…absent before she had charged into that room…I'm worried…I have this gut feeling…dammit…Annabelle waking undoubtedly sent her a little shocky but…something…something's off…something's wrong.)

Reluctantly, she concluded she had no choice. Turning to the station nurse, she sighed and said, "Contact Security and request bio-signature location immediately. My authorization. Page me when they have her location". Seeing the startled look the nurse shot her, she glared in return until the uppity girl's eyes dropped. McConnell hated to do this. It instigated a huge amount of paperwork and automatically caused a Security inquiry, since the use of bio-signature locating was always a last alternative. Usually pissed the locatee off something fierce as well, and this doctor, well…her temper was damn near legendary already.

(Guess I might as well end this day with a bang. Nothing like poking the top Neurosurgeon in the nation with a stick.)

Sighing, McConnell rubbed her temples trying to stave off the impending headache.

(Great)

"Keep paging Dr. Bradley every 3 minutes. Send the refreshments into the Lounge when they arrive. If they ask, which I doubt they'll take time out of their sniping for, I'm getting coffee. Notify me immediately, and NO ONE else, when Security has her location". Seeing the nurse nod frantically, McConnell decided to check Simone's office on the off chance she had stopped by there after the last page. Squaring her shoulders, McConnell headed down the corridor.

(Buzzing. What the hell?)

Slowly regaining consciousness, Simone groaned and feebly spat out the mouth guard. Opening her eyes, she tried to concentrate above the music still blaring into her office.

(It's getting bad now Bradley the backwash snap crackle pop you know what happens next what always happens next watched it live it can you remember her yet can you forget her yet forget them yet her Belle your Annabelle she forgot you she's never coming back never never never coming back stranger forever)

Awkwardly twisting her shoulders out of their confinement, Simone began to release the rest of her body from the couch. Popping the last catch over her shins, she overbalanced and fell to the floor with a pained grunt. Lacking the strength to move further yet, she stared at the ceiling before calmly noticing she had new fabric burns etched into her wrists from the straps.

(At least this time it isn't my fucking forehead. That was awkward. Bicycling accident indeed.)

Keeping secrets had always been a way of life for Simone Bradley. That she was an addict to Memoral was just another file in her mental drawer. Something to keep track of, contemplate, and wonder professionally how long it would take to kill her. Thinking back, she remembered the first time she had heard of the new, "wonder drug" at a professional conference.

"This next case study aptly demonstrates the dual signature of Memoral. Abuser was approximately 22, male. Addiction to Memoral significant, use of Memoral began approximately 3 years ago. As you all know, Memoral is a Schedule I pharmaceutical. As a dual signature drug, Memoral consists mainly of Dopamine, a chemical naturally produced in the brain that controls behavior and cognition, motor activity, sleep, mood, attention, and learning. It is strictly regulated and approved for use only upon comatose patients with a coma history of 1 year or more that demonstrate a negative response to the Dreysher Test. With those patients, a 70% upswing in recovery has been noted in the last year, including full ambulatory recovery."

"However, the effect upon an already fully conscious mind has proven to be substantially destructive, with 90% of unauthorized users expiring within 4 years of first use. Unfortunately, it has still found use as a recreational drug, known as Memo, Fast-Past, Brain Drain, Memory, Blu Goo, Uncle Al, and Brainwash. Addiction is instantaneous upon first use. Its "high" consists of extremely vivid memory recollection, usually spurred on by some sort of triggering device. One addict said that, "it was like I was really there man, all over again!" Most Memoral addicts can be identified easily as they keep their "trigger" nearby; audio players, pictures, and in some cases video.

Secondary effects upon the conscious mind includes memory loss, ranging from slight to severe, sleep deprivation, uncontrollable rage and learning disorders. Fortunately, it's worst side effects prevents it from widespread use, that is, uncontrollable muscle spasms that grow increasingly worse with continued use. These spasms usually occur within 2-3 minutes of coming down from the high. Traditional analgesics, including Morphine and its derivates, as well as tranquilizers, are ineffectual at reducing or controlling these attacks. It's postulated that this side effect is caused by an "overload" of the conscious mind being forced to relive a memory as reality. Of course, that's purely theoretical as the effects of unauthorized Memoral use make long term study impossible. 80% of abusers addicted to Memoral expire from asphyxiation, or head, back and neck fractures within 4 years. The remaining 20% revert to an Alzheimer's like state, or become comatose entirely. To date, there has been no recorded patient, not even a single one, that has recovered from Memoral induced memory loss or vegetative state."

Gingerly sitting up on the floor, Simone let her shaking hands fall free over her knees. Picking up a nearby picture of Annabelle that had been swept from her desk, she slowly traced her fingers over the glass.

(That smile. It always spoke all the way into me)

Wiping the falling tears from her face, she looked at the destruction around her.

(I had started to forget the small things, what kind of syrup you liked for pancakes, what earrings you wore to the last Christmas party. How you laughed when it snowed. That thing you always said when we went over a bridge. I needed you so badly, I thought…I thought this would just keep me going until you came back. Then, of course you had to be one of the 30% that didn't respond to Memoral treatment. Fuck, Belle, couldn't you be mainstream JUST ONCE!)

Her anger springing her to her feet, Simone picked up a desk drawer and began to swipe her files into it. Disposing the used syringe into the incinerator chute, she continued to collect the chaos of her office.

(You didn't respond at all, not even a fucking twitch! Assholes were waking up all around you, but you…nothing.)

Giving forth a humorless smile as she turned off the music.

(and now baby, what was supposed to wake you up will put me to sleep in the end. Ironic. I'll be leaving you. And you won't even miss me, because chances are, you'll never remember me at all.)

Struck by her last thought, Simone contemplated the surrounding dark in silence.

"Nurse McConnell, please contact the Nurses Station".

Idiot orderly. She'd come across him just as his fumbling overturned some trays on the mess cart, splattering their contents across the floor. Directing patients around the mess, she had been forced to stay until the situation was cleaned up. Shaking her head, McConnell crossed to a nearby phone and stabbed the Nurses Station number into the phone.

"McConnell here."

"Brisby from Security just called. He said Dr. Bradley was located in her office".

Fuming, McConnell spat back," She's in her office? I thought I told you to call her direct line!"

"Give the poor girl a break Con, my ringer was off" said a smooth voice at her shoulder. Turning quickly, McConnell saw the erstwhile Dr. Bradley standing beside her, impeccable in a fresh longsleeved shirt none the less. Starting down the hallway, she turned her attention back to the red faced nurse following close behind. "I expect it's time to enter the lions den?"

"Where have you been? We've been paging you for the last hour!"

Face hardening, Dr. Bradley stopped outside the Lounge door. "I wasn't aware that what I choose to do with my time is any of your business at all".

Straightening, McConnell took a deep breath. "It does when you are the primary Imprint of one of the most…visible… patients to ever self recover out of a 2 year coma. And if I have to order a biolocation then",

"YOU WHAT?" Flashing into fury, Simone advanced toward McConnell. "You ordered a fucking bio-loc because I was a little late to a meeting?" Seeing the nurse manning the station staring at her, Simone screamed, at her, "Get the fuck out!" Watching her flee down the hall, Simone spun her attention back to McConnell. "I thought it would be quite clear to someone of your apparent experience", she snarled as McConnell went white, "that anyone confronted with that shit in the hallway earlier might need a rest break before stepping into the mess in there" she said, gesturing towards the Lounge. "And now I have to go through a Security inquiry because of your unbelievable incompetence!"

Shocked at the rage in front of her, Kristen McConnell thought furiously.

(Something is so wrong here. She should be ecstatic that Annabelle is awake again. What the hell is going on?)

"Simone…" she tried to continue.

"Fucking forget it. We don't have time for this right now". Cutting Kristen off with a final glare of disgust, Simone pulled open the door to the Lounge and disappeared inside.