She hadn't known why she had thought that going off on her own to hunt down all John's former patients was a great idea, since she was missing home terribly. She was missing Henrik terribly, if she was honest, though she wasn't certain she wanted to dwell on those feelings too deeply, not when she had to think about everyone that John was putting in danger by taking risks that were untenable. Sighing a little, she raked her fingers through her hair and made her way to the queue for her flight to Portugal. This was her last stop before home, and she hoped that she would find something that would allay her fears, rather than cause them to spiral even more.
As she followed the others on board, Roxanna felt her phone buzz, and she pulled it out of her pocket to see that Henrik had texted her. I hope that everything is going well. Call me if you need anything. Take care, H.
A smile fluttered across her lips as she ran her thumb along that message, wondering how she would reply to that. There wasn't really any news to tell him at the moment, so she slipped her phone back into her pocket and took a deep breath. Lazlo had finally gotten in contact with her, inviting her to Portugal, so that they could discuss what her concerns were. Finally, she unlocked her phone and opened her texts, still smiling sadly as she tapped out a reply to Henrik. Things are going well, I just have one last person to interview. I should be home again, soon, and I cannot wait to see you. Stay safe until I get there. Rox
Her thumb hovered above the send button for a moment longer than necessary, and she let out a long breath as she finally found the courage to send it off before straightening her shoulders and handing over her passport and boarding card to the attendant. Giving the young woman a nod, Roxanna made her way onto the plane and found her seat in business class, storing her small case beneath her seat before taking her phone out of her pocket to see if he'd replied. There wasn't anything there, and she felt her heart sink a little at that. Even though it had only been five minutes, she had still hoped that there would have been something from him. Shaking her head a little, she turned the phone to airplane mode before calling up her notes app and continuing to work on the case she was putting together to present to Henrik. He would be able to tell her if she was truly making the right connections, or if her grief had manifested in such a way that she was grasping at straws.
It was an easy flight, and Roxanna found herself passing on the drinks and snacks offered to her, since she didn't want to lost any time to the toilet. It was going to be a bit of a tight race to get to the meeting on time as it was, since the only flight she had been able to book landed only an hour beforehand. And since she still had to make it through customs, a tiny part of her brain was screaming at her that she was going to miss this connection, and thus, have everything fall down around her feet.
The pilot landed smoothly, and she glanced at her watch to see that they were in about five minutes early, though that might be eaten up by taxiing to their gate. Since she didn't have any luggage besides her small case, Roxanna was able to be one of the first people off, which allowed her to be one of the first people in line at customs. She fought hard to keep from tapping her foot in impatience, since it wasn't their fault that things were so close.
The moment she received the stamp in her passport, Roxanna palmed it and then took off ground transportation, finding a free taxi handily, telling the driver the address she needed to get to. As he drove, Roxanna turned her phone back on, ignoring all the notifications she had received in order to send off a quick text to Lazlo, letting him know that she was on her way. Once that was done, she settled back against the seat and scrolled through her other messages, seeing one from Serena that she quickly returned before tapping Henrik's name.
I hope you find what you're looking for. And that you feel able to come home and start anew.
There was something melancholy about his words, and she found herself frowning a little, not knowing how to reply to him. And then, the driver was stopping in front of her destination, and she couldn't afford to focus on home when she needed to think about bringing John's lies to light. Paying the man, she climbed out of the car and strode up to the front door, knocking firmly. It took a little while for Lazlo to answer her, but then he was opening the door, a warm smile on his lips. "You made it!"
"I did," she answered, a warm smile on her lips. "Did you manage to arrange us some time at the clinic?"
He welcomed her inside, his large hand spreading out on her back as he nodded. "Yes, but it won't be for another hour or so. I thought that you might be rushed getting here, and wanted you to have a bit of a buffer."
Roxanna felt like she could listen to him speak all day, his accented English enchanting to her ears. "Thank you," she said as they went into the kitchen. He had made them a pot of tea, and she sighed a little as she took the seat he indicated for her, wrapping her hands around the mug he placed in her hands and breathing in the scent of the brew. "It's always good to have a chance to breathe before we carry on to the next thing."
Lazlo nodded as he took a seat across from her. "So, you have worked with Professor Gaskell for a long time, yes?"
"Off and on, yes. We've always striven to push each other to the highest levels of excellence, and that's why I wanted to help him with this trial. It has such promise for so many people, but like I said over email, there are a couple of questions that we need to answer, and to run some follow up tests, to see how you're doing. It's completely routine, but when you're working on something of this magnitude, things like this need to happen."
Lazlo nodded understandingly, and she relaxed a little in her chair as she took a sip of tea, relishing the warmth that spread through her body. And while she knew that this next step in her journey wasn't going to be the easiest, the fact that Lazlo was willing to help her told her that she was truly on the right track. All she needed to do was have a little faith in the process, and that she would be able to prove to Henrik that she had been right along, that she wasn't insane with grief, and then together they could put an end to this nightmare.
