"Lexi… I've been in a car accident."

Not the words that Alexis Rhodes particularly wants to hear over her lunch break.

She almost drops her phone. She's not too sure what she'd been expecting when she'd seen her brother's name pop up, but certainly this wasn't it. Still standing in the teacher's lounge, she has the presence of mind to put down her cup of coffee. The woman shifts into the corner of the room. Seeking some shelter there, from the concerned looks of her colleagues. With a few shaky breaths, she manages to pull herself back together.

"What?"
"Yeah." He sounds oddly relaxed, almost irritated.
"Are you okay?" Already, she's thinking about how she's going get to her brother's side.
"Yeah. Fine! Just broke my collar bone-"
"Broke your collar bone?!" It takes some effort to keep her voice down. "That doesn't sound like nothing!"

This isn't the right place for such a discussion. She realizes that much quickly. She offers her colleagues no explanation other than a brief apology, aware that they probably had grasped at least some of what must have happened. The woman finds her way outside, into the courtyard. There, she manages to find a more secluded spot, safe from people overhearing whatever she might have to say. Alexis takes a few deep breaths, doing what she can to settle her nerves. Her brother is fine, she repeats to herself, the proof is that she's talking to him right now.

"What even happened? You don't own a car!"
"Yeah..." Atticus' voice trails off nervously. "I maybe forgot to look, when I crossed..."
"That isn't a car accident! That's being run over! Where are you?!"

It takes her another few minutes to finally extract the information from Atticus. He's at the hospital. It isn't all that far away.

She has to explain things to her colleagues, they're very understanding. Within half-an-hour, she's managed to work something out to ensure that her students won't be left unattended, and that someone can fill in for her. A couple of bus rides later, and she's in the hospital. She's relatively relieved to find that Atticus isn't in ICU. Apparently, the nurses she meets happen to agree with the duelist, his condition isn't serious. That allows her to breathe just a little bit more easily. All the same, she finds that she needs to see him with her own eyes, just to be sure.

Her brother lies in his bed. He's battered, and there are already some quite noticeable bruises forming on him. Although he did neglect to mention the sizable plaster cast on his leg. A fracture, he assures her, nothing worse. Still, he manages a smile. It's not his usual goofy grin. Instead, she recognizes it as something which is more sincere, when things are serious. It also lets her know that he's not quite as okay as he might pretend to be. It's enough to chase away any lingering frustration that she might have had. Instead, she comes to settle next to the bed.

"You idiot."
"Yeah… Well, it'll teach me for not looking."

They chat for a little while. As far as she can tell, he isn't entirely lying. He's definitely in some pain, and a little more shaken than he perhaps wants to pretend to be, but he's more or less alright. She doesn't have it in her to scold him for his carelessness. So instead, they do some catching up, not that it's particularly necessary. They've never been far away from one another. They do some reminiscing as they wait for the doctors to come. Atticus thinks he'll be out of hospital by the end of the day, although he's certainly going to be out of action for a while. He's going to need some help, so Alexis makes a call to their parents. After assuring them that everything is alright, they're only too keen to assist their eldest, until he's back up on his feet.

It's sorted, and she assumes that everything's going to be alright.

Then, after about an hour or so, Atticus gets a phone call. He answers it, and his expression becomes a good deal graver. Alexis doesn't pry, allowing him to finish. He leaves it on a note of "we'll work something out", before hanging up. The man spends a few moments staring out ahead of him, deep in thought.

"What is it?" She asks someone softly.
"Sis…" Atticus seems hesitant. "Could you do me a favor?"
"Anything."
"I've got this friend. He's off his feet as well, could you take him a few things?"
"Of course."

He gives her some simple instructions. She takes the time to note down the details. It isn't much. She needs to pick up some medicine at her brother's place, and take it to somewhere in downtown Domino City. Curiously, Atticus doesn't provide her with much information about it. Yet for some reason, despite the mundane nature of the request, her older brother seems unsettled.

"Look… You just need to knock on the door, and drop them off. That's it."
"I will. Don't worry."

She leaves shortly after. She could probably find her way to Atticus' blindfolded for all the time that she's spent there over the years. It's a modest apartment, in a residential but still pleasant part of town. It also happens to be on the fourth floor, and there's no elevator. With that break of his, her older brother won't be coming back here any time soon. She's always pleasantly surprised by just how clean her brother keeps his place. About the only clutter to be found are photographs. He's terribly sentimental. Every surface seems to be covered with images of his past. Going right back to his former school days, right up to the here and now. She finds herself slowing, smiling nostalgically at a few of them.

There are so many familiar faces. They bring back good memories, and a few bad. They were good times though. She sometimes almost wishes for them back.

She finds the bag easily enough. It's laden up with medicine. It's not just the quantity but also the variety. There must have been enough to kill a horse. There were so many different types. Could this all be for one person? If it was, she dreaded to imagine just what whoever needed all of this could be suffering from. They must have had more drugs than blood in their system at the end of the day.

Alexis doesn't question it. If anything, it only motivates her more. Someone must desperately need this medication, and presumably they were too sick to get it themselves.

So she sets off for the address that her brother had given her. It's in one of the rougher parts of the city. Thankfully, it isn't too late yet. So she doesn't worry all that much about whether or not she's actually safe. On the way, she can't help but wonder just who her sibling could have known to be this ill. She's no doctor, so she has no idea what all of the medicine is for. About the only thing that she recognizes are some painkillers. She doesn't know all of her brother's friends, not even by half. Atticus is a good enough person to be inclined to help even those who he doesn't know terribly well. She guesses that she'll meet them when she delivers the medicine. Her brother's nervousness does concern her a little bit. It seems like a strange thing to tell her just to knock, and drop things off.

She keys in the access code that Atticus had given her, and enters. The inside of the building is decidedly worn. An unpleasant smell of damp, and dirt lingers in the air. Alexis is a little more cautious as she makes her way through the building. She tells herself that there's no way that her brother would ever have sent her somewhere that he thought could have been even remotely dangerous.

After a little bit of searching, she finds the door she's been looking for. Number 64. Curious, she can't help but search for a name, looking for some manner of clue as to just who might live here. There's nothing. Not even a doorbell. She glances around once more, before tentative reaching out and knocking against the wood. Seconds trickle by, and nothing. Alexis presses her ear up against the wood of the door and listens. She might be able to hear someone shifting on the other side, but it's faint. It could easily be a dog. For a moment, she hesitates to call out, and inform whoever's on the other side, and let them know that she's here. Atticus' instructions come back to her. She's supposed to just leave the medicine here. It seems a little bit risky, anyone could come along and pick them up. She can only assume that her brother knows what he's talking about.

She's about to turn around, and leave when there's the sound of a lock being turned. The door opens a little. The woman looks round.

"'Bout time..." Comes a low and gravelly grumble. "I thought that-"

Alexis comes to a dead stop. Her heart skips a beat. A pair of dark eyes meet hers, they fill with recognition. Both are frozen still. She both knows, and doesn't know the face of the man who stares back at her. It's been so many years… But she knows full well who it is. She can't quite process it, and just stands there dumbly. It would have been awkward, had the man opposite not had exactly the same reaction.

Finally, she manages to pull herself together just a little bit:

"Zane..."