Left alone with Brodi, Elise stood gripping the bed rails for support for a moment. He looked pale, fragile, weak…basically as un-Brodi as he could possibly get. She was stunned momentarily, but then not knowing how long she would be left alone with him, she spurred herself on. She had to make the most of her time with him.

"Get hold of yourself, Riggs," she muttered to herself. Nate's words ran through her head. Talk to him. He would hear her if she talked to him. The knowledge that talking might do some good helped her overcome the feeling of silliness of having one-sided conversation.

She reached down and gripped his hand after she was sure she wouldn't impede an IV line or any stray wires.

"Hey sweetie," she began as she leaned over the rail. "You know, if you didn't like your room, you could've just said something. There must have been an easier way to go about getting moved. This was a little extreme, don't you think?"

She felt a tear coming. So much for trying to keep it light.

"Rahzel and Nate are here; I don't think anyone else knows yet. Well, about your latest mishap. I think everyone knows about the spill you took by now. Most of them waited in one of the lobbies until I told them to go home. Even Psymon, if you can believe that. Mac is turning on the charm to comfort Kaori, so you might have done them a favor there. And Moby and Zoe are being their usual selves. As for Eddie? No one has seen him since you left in the ambulance, but I think Atomika is working on that front. If nothing else maybe Seeiah will drag him out and get him a drink or something. Me? I'm not leaving this hospital until you're out of the woods, so you might as well cut the crap right now, OK? You know how girly I am about my showers and makeup."

Elise pulled over a chair and leaned forward, resting her head on her folded arms, one hand still gently holding onto Brodi's fingers. She was just staring at him, counting his every breath, trying not to think that it might not be happening if not for the machine he was attached to. She had almost counted herself into a sleep when she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Miss Ri...Elise?"

Elise looked up at the nurse who had brought her in, the woman's bright smile unable to hide the grimness of her job. "Hi, Robin. Is it time already?"
Robin nodded sadly. "I'm afraid so. You have two others waiting to see him, right? It really shouldn't be anyone but family at this point."
Elise nodded and rubbed her eyes. "His parents are hundreds of miles away...we're trying to get them here. But for the time being, we are his family. He has no one but us. Besides, I have power of attorney, so I guess that gives me an "in"."
"Oh, I didn't mean to indicate...I was just stating the hospital rules. We limit visitors to limit the possibility of his coming into contact with a virus or something. In his condition, his body really can't fight off anything else right now."
Elise looked over at Brodi, and nodded. "For now, it's just going to be me, Rahzel and Nate. We'll keep the others notified. And hopefully by the time we get his parents up here, things won't look as grim."

"I'm sure they won't. His oxygen levels look good...we'll see what the doctor says during next rounds. I'll wait for the next person, if you'll send them back."
Elise stood and leaned over Brodi's bed once more. "See you later, sweetie. I meant what I said...I'm not going anywhere."
She leaned in and kissed his forehead, squeezed his hand, and walked out with the nurse.