Bruce found opening his eyes painful. He found everything painful – the agony shot across his body, and he had thrown up several times, embarrassing himself when a nurse had to take away the bedside containers.
But his eyes were worse – his eyelids seemed to stick together.
Bruce's hands and torso were covered in burns, too horrible for him to bear looking at. Having touched a hand to his face at one point, feeling the sensitivity of a deep layer of skin that was never meant to be exposed to the touch, he came to the conclusion that it was a bad idea to do so again.
Even Doctor Sterns, a detached and sarcastic medic who could normally be relied on not to take anything too seriously, had shown an untypical amount of concern.
Much of Bruce's body had been bandaged in the hours since his retrieval, but his face was still exposed. He hadn't yet seen his new reflection – he felt shame and sympathy, thinking about what Betty had to look at.
But she was smiling, just as warmly as ever. The doctors and nurses had let their masks of professionalism slip once or twice, their reactions revealing how repulsive they found it to look at him. There was nothing of that from Betty.
"I'm sorry I couldn't see you sooner. I came as soon as the doctors let me."
Betty took his hand, bandaged tightly, in hers. She held it very softly, touching the outside fingers on both sides of his hand with one of her own hands. Though this increased his pain (slightly but noticeably) Bruce smiled. Having her near made the rest easier to bear.
She was a gentle, kind, slightly shy soul – a far cry from her father.
Elizabeth Ross had arranged for a lengthy visit to Los Diablos Research Base when it was first being established, apparently to re-establish contact with her workaholic father. Tensions were high in those days, as General Ross tried to force everyone to their limits of performance, in order to meet unreasonable deadlines from the Pentagon.
Though there for her own and her father's benefit, Betty provided a kind and sympathetic word to those feeling the strain. She set up what was initially a library, and grew into a relaxation and entertainment centre, gaining responsibility for the morale of Base personnel long before it became her salaried position.
Betty was the most timid, subdued person on the Base (with the possible exception only of Bruce) but the only one with the courage to stand up to General Ross in his foulest tempers.
Just about everyone appreciated Betty's presence, but none more than Bruce, the Nobel winning genius behind the new theory of energy production, the theory that had brought them all to the base.
Looking into her soft, delicate face, Bruce could feel his heart breaking. He knew the future that was ahead of him – months of treatments, probably years, a life half lived in hospital beds, and not looking quite human ever again. Of course Betty wouldn't walk away, but how could inflict all of that on the woman he loved?