The elevator ride down to the basement was as tense as it could be as Dr. Edwin Jenner was trapped with twelve strangers, nearly half heavily armed with weapons. But part of him had hope, the same hope his beloved late wife carried when she encouraged him to stay behind with him in the CDC and work on a cure after the first wave of staff left during the first few weeks of the outbreak. Another reason he wasn't alarmed was that if this group did turn on him and Cassidy, there would be no escape from the fail-safe.
"Doctors always go 'round packin' heat like that?" One of the men spoke, his voice heavy with a drawl that reminded Edwin of what Cassidy sounded like when she first came to work at the CDC.
Edwin turned his head, sending the man a knowing smile. "There were plenty left lying around, I familiarised myself." He explained, his eyes beginning to roam over their group. "But you look harmless enough, except you." His gaze stopped on the young boy, looking no older than ten. "I'll have to keep my eye on you." The boy smiled up at him, a cheeky look that showed he enjoyed the tease. Edwin turned his head back to the elevator doors, watching as the numbers counted down towards their destination. As the doors opened, he led them out, heading towards the main operations room, where he assumed Cassidy would be waiting for them.
"Are we underground?" A woman called out, one of her arms securely around a young girl who was her daughter.
"Are you claustrophobic?" Edwin called out to her, now walking sideways as he faced the group. When she responded that she was a little, all Edwin could do was advise her not to think about it. In the past, before The Turn, Edwin could remember the new hires who had issues with being underground, the ones who would get jittery and always need an excuse to go on break to head upstairs. In the end, they always got used to it. As he led them down the ramp into the main operations rooms, he noticed the lights were off, meaning that she'd tried to conserve power wherever Cassidy had gone. "Vi, turn on the lights in the big room." He ordered out, waiting for the AI to obey before walking further down. "Welcome to Zone Five."
"Where is everybody?" The Sheriff, Rick Grimes, inquired as he followed after the scientist, looking around the room. "The doctors? The staff?"
"I'm it…well, there's Dr. Frost too, but not sure where she's run off to," Edwin answered, watching as the rest of the group followed Rick down the ramp.
"What about the person you were speaking with? Vi?" A woman with long brown hair asked, standing at the back of the room, having yet to make her way down the ramp. Before Edwin could answer her, Cassidy had reappeared, her voice gaining everyone's attention.
"Vi is an artificial intelligence that runs the CDC," Cassidy spoke, standing directly behind the brunette woman. The stranger jumped, spinning to face the scientist who seemed unaffected by the jump scare she'd delivered onto the woman. "Vi, welcome our guests." She called out, casually stepping through the crowd down to her colleague as the AI introduced herself, parroting Cassidy's 'welcome guests'.
Edwin nodded to his friend as she came to stand beside him and then turned to face the survivors. "We're all that's left."
"Salutations," Cassidy followed Edwin's lead, facing the group to introduce herself formally. "I'm Dr Cassidy Ellen Frost, Head Biostatistician of Zone Five for the Centre for Disease Control." The group of survivors looked solemn like their dreams had been crushed before their very eyes. While Cassidy hadn't picked up on the emotions of the group, Edwin did.
"I'm sorry," Edwin spoke bitterly. He turned to Cassidy. "Where were you?"
She looked at him, shooting him a raised brow like the answer should be obvious. "I moved the equipment for blood collection into the auditorium." Edwin stared back at her, a faint smirk twitching at the corner of his lips. He nodded once, understanding. Edwin made his way through the group, not even asking them to follow him as he headed towards the auditorium, just expecting them to follow. Cassidy stood at the back, her gaze moving over the group quizzically. "Apologies. He means for you to follow him." The survivors shared a look, each looking to Rick before he took the lead, following after Edwin. His group followed after him while Cassidy took up the rear, ordering Vi to turn off the lights behind them. In her brief moments in the auditorium, Cassidy had set up two tables with two chairs at each so that she and Edwin would work in tandem to get the blood drawn. She sat down at one table while Edwin was at the other, setting up the equipment.
"Whose first?" Edwin asked, looking over the group. None of them looked keen to step forward, but Rick did, moving to sit in front of Edwin, his arm extended. "Anyone else?" Edwin asked again as he inspected Rick's arm for a vein. The young boy hesitantly moved forward, heading for Cassidy as he took the seat before her with a nervous look on his face.
"Hello." Cassidy greeted him. "I'm Cassidy, and you are?"
"Carl." He spoke meekly.
Cassidy smiled at him, her eyes quickly dodging away as she gently took the boy's arms, inspecting the skin. "Nice to meet you, Carl. You're being brave, showing all these adults how it's done." The comment made the boy smile boldly, his eyes shining with a look of fearlessness as Cassidy tied the tourniquet around his arm and wiped at the skin with an alcohol swab. "Now, this might sting." She whispered to the boy as she punctured the needle into the skin, Carl making a faint hiss. As the blood was collected, she grabbed another clean swab, ready to press into the skin the moment the needle was pulled away. After bandaging the pinprick wound, she smiled at him. "All done." Carl went to slide off the seat, but she stopped him. Cassidy reached into the left-hand pocket of her lab coat, pulling out a lollipop and offering it to the boy. "Here." Carl's eyes were glued to the sweet, his hands moving to take the offered item hungrily before racing back to his mother's side.
"You got a lollipop?!" A young Asian man called out as he watched Carl, mouth agape at the sight. He raised his hand, looking at the female scientist. "Uhh, can I get one?" His question earned a mixture of odd looks and laughter from his group, but he didn't care. The young man was already standing up, making his way down to Cassidy as Rick was returning to his son, his wife standing up to go next after him. The man was Glenn, and Cassidy was more than willing to give him one.
Edwin ended up drawing the blood from Rick, Lori, Shane, Jacqui and T-Dog, while Cassidy took blood from Carl, Glenn, Carol, Sophia, and Dale. Sophia had also taken one of the offered sweets at her mother's encouragement. The last two members of the group, Andrea and Daryl, had stepped forward. Daryl had planned on heading to the male doctor, but Andrea had cut him off, leaving him to go with the brunette woman begrudgingly. He didn't speak to Cassidy as she took his blood, even as she tried offering him some niceties.
"What's the point? If we're infected, we'd all be running a fever." Andrea sighed over-dramatically, causing Cassidy's brows to furrow as she took Daryl's blood.
"Incorrect," Cassidy spoke up, making the group look at her. "It can take some diseases two to five days before symptoms start to show, including fever." She withdrew the needle, pressing the clean cotton swab into Daryl's arm with her left hand as she placed the needle down on the table beside her with her right hand, not noticing how the man tried to flinch away from her touch as she put an adhesive bandage over the swab. "I thought that was common knowledge"
"I don't think this disease is as common as a cold or flu." Andrea snapped, glaring at the brunette.
Cassidy didn't bother looking at her as she spoke. "True, we have yet to understand it fully. And like any cold or flu, it can evolve." Daryl stood without a word, eyeing off the strange brunette and heading back to his crossbow and bag. Andrea opened her mouth to retort but was cut off by Edwin.
"Excuse Cassidy, she doesn't have much people skills." He explained as he snickered, finishing up collecting the blonde woman's blood. Andrea scoffed, ready to comment, but she faulted as she stood up. Jacqui, who'd been nearby, moved to catch her, helping her friend stand up straight. "You okay?" Edwin asked when he noticed, leaning forward and eyeing her.
"She hasn't eaten in days," Jacqui spoke, looking at the doctor as she guided Andrea to sit down. "None of us have."
Edwin leaned back in his chair, his eyes traversing over the group. He took in how tired and ragged they all looked, their clothes covered in dirt and blood. He glanced over to Cassidy, his fellow scientist busy packing up her equipment and blood samples to care about the survivor's situation. Standing up, he made his way over to her and knelt down beside her. "Cassidy," He spoke her name, getting her attention. "I want you to take them to the cafeteria and see that they get well-fed while I run the samples down to the lab."
Her brows furrowed. "You want me to break rations?" He nodded in response to her question. "Very well." Cassidy stood, moving away from Edwin as he took over packing up the equipment and blood samples from both tables. She moved in from the group of survivors that sat on the rows of chairs, their attention on her, which didn't phase her. "If you would all follow me, I will provide you with food."
"Food?" Glenn asked, pulling the lollipop from his mouth. "Actual food?"
"Yes." She nodded. "The CDC was well stocked in case of emergencies, but with just Edwin and I here, even with rationing, we have plenty of food." Cassidy smiled. She noticed that as the group became obviously less tense, people began sitting up and smiling. They moved to stand, eager to follow the female scientist. Cassidy said her farewells to her colleague as she led the group out of the auditorium and through the corridors of Zone Five towards the cafeteria. Inside, the group put down their belongings as they took in the large room and positioned themselves around one of the long tables. Cassidy left them be as she went into the kitchen, beginning to open up cupboards and grabbing out food.
"Anything I can help with?"
Cassidy dropped one of the boxes of mac and Cheese she was holding, the object hitting the kitchen floor with a thud. She continued to stare down at the box at her feet, an emotionless look on her face as if confused by how the box ended up on the floor.
"Sorry," Lori spoke, moving further into the room, her eyes on the younger woman as she reached down and picked up the box, putting it on the bench with the others. "I didn't mean to scare you, I hope you don't think I'm trying to get back at you for before." She crossed her arms.
"I do not," Cassidy spoke, returning to getting out items.
Lori's brows tensed at the scientist, but she remembered Dr. Jenner's words that the woman didn't have much in the way of people skills. Without saying another word, Lori began to open up the boxes of food and get out some pots and pans to begin cooking. Carol had also come into the kitchen to assist, only conversing with Lori in small talk as they prepared a meal for everyone.
Cassidy was pulling out a couple of cans of Coca-Cola for the kids when she turned around, looking at the two women. "Do you wish the meal to be served in which plates are passed around?"
Lori and Carol both paused, turning to look at the brunette as if shocked that she spoke. Lori gave Carol a glance before looking back at Cassidy. "Yes…if that's alright."
"It is," Cassidy answered. "It's more convenient that way." She left the kitchen, offering the two children the cans as Lori and Carol watched her from the small kitchen window. The kid took them happily as Cassidy apologised for them being warm before returning to the kitchen to collect a pile of plates and cutlery. She took them out to the table, setting them out in front of everyone, repeating the action again with glasses as she brought out more cans of Coca-Cola and some bottles of wine, wanting the CDC's guests to indulge themselves.
"Thank you." Lori smiled at her as she returned to the kitchen for the final time to begin helping the two women. Cassidy looked at her in a confused way, unsure why Lori would need to thank her. Lori found herself smiling at the woman's odd antics, putting the blame on the brunette's low social skills and having been trapped underground with one other person for weeks.
It was as they were bringing out the food Cassidy spotted Edwin off to the side at a small table, sitting alone with a glass of wine. After setting the food down at the table, she approached him. "Not going to behave inadequately again?" She asked, gesturing to the wine in his hand.
Edwin chuckled, shaking his head. "No, not this time. Going to pace myself."
"Good." Cassidy smiled. She glanced behind her, where the group was beginning to pass around plates and dish out servings. "You wait here," she looked back at her colleague. "I'll bring you a plate." Edwin nodded, watching the woman's back as she neared the large table and began to dish out food onto two plates. Watching her move was humorous, weaving in and out amongst the group, no one seemingly noticing her, except for the two young children who found her entertaining and the redneck, who was eyeing her and Edwin with suspicion. Cassidy returned to Edwin with two plates full of food and cutlery, placing them on the small table and sitting in an empty chair opposite the scientist. "Got the blood samples running in the centrifuge?"
Edwin nodded, placing down his glass of wine and starting to pick at his food. "I'll take a look at them after dinner." Cassidy's brows creased, a look that didn't go unnoticed by him. She was concerned with how much he was divulging himself into his work, knowing that it was something he would never have done in the past. Candace wouldn't have let him. "Don't give me that look." He glanced up at her.
"What look do you suggest I give a man working himself to death?" Her expression didn't change.
"Not that one," Edwin commented drily, continuing to eat his dinner. A smile tugged at the corner of Cassidy's lips, but she ignored it, instead enjoying her meal. The two scientists stayed off to the side, watching the large group enjoying the food and alcohol in a form of merriment, even long after Edwin and Cassidy had finished their meal. It couldn't be blamed, having survived on little supplies for weeks under constant threat of danger. The two colleagues were currently watching Dale attempting to convince Lori to allow Carl to try a sip of wine, something she didn't agree to until Rick joined in on the convincing. While Carl was eager to taste the red vintage, his taste buds didn't agree, a whine of 'eww' escaping his lips and making all the adults at the table laugh.
"Stick to soda pop there, bud," Shane commented, shaking his head at the boy.
"Not you, Glenn!" Daryl yelled out to the young Asian man as he circled the table with a bottle of wine just for himself.
Glenn looked up at him, confused as his eyes passed his friends. "What?"
"Keep drinkin' little man, I wanna see how red ya face can get." Daryl finished speaking, sending another chorus of laughter over the table despite the racist undertones of the comment.
As Cassidy and Edwin watched on, they weren't aware that Rick was looking at them, seeing their faces. While the female of the two remained neutral, it was Edwin who gave them away. His face was solemn as he became lost in his own thoughts. Rick took a moment to tap a knife against his wine glance, gaining his group's attention as he raised to stand. "It seems to me that we haven't thanked our hosts yet properly."
"They are more than just our hosts," T-Dog added, raising his wine glass as everyone followed suit, even Sophia and Carl with their cans of Coke. The survivors erupted in 'cheers' and a loud 'booyah' from Daryl.
Rick continued to eye off Edwin, suspicious of the man's expression. "Thank you." The appreciation was real. If it hadn't been for the last two survivors of the CDC, the group and his family might have died that evening.
Edwin forced a smile as he took a sip from his wine, Cassidy following suit, but the woman was confused. "All we did was give them food." She whispered with creased brows, making her colleague chuckle.
"So when ya gonna tell us what hell happened here," Shane spoke up, interrupting the celebration. "All the…ah…the other doctors. Weren't you supposed to be figuring out what happened? Where are they?" His index finger was tapping nervously against the rim of his wine glass as his gaze was ahead, looking at nothing.
Rick pursed his lips, his hands coming to rest on his hips. "We're celebrating, Shane. No need to do this now."
"No, wait a second. That's why we're here, right? It was your move? Supposed to find all the answers, instead…" Shane scoffed, gesturing in the direction of the two scientists with his thumb. "We find them. Two people. Why?"
Edwin was staring at him hard. While anyone at that large table didn't know the expression or what was going through his head, Cassidy did. Her face was blank as she gazed at her friend. She could see the small tension in his jaw and the faint twitch in one of his eyes. Edwin was annoyed. Offended. As he opened his mouth to speak, Cassidy cut him off, trying to spare Edwin from his own emotions.
"Sixty-three days ago, when it became a global pandemic, the Government flew in some of America's best minds to aid us. Over ten thousand staff. Then about fifty days ago, the less crucial of our staff left. To go with their families as the outbreak got worse." Cassidy explained, her eyes travelling over each of the twelve survivors as they listened to her, their expressions getting more worrisome as she continued. "A few days later, sixteen days into the pandemic, those who remained here fled, and those who were too afraid of what existed outside killed themselves. Zones Three and Four have been shut off for those reasons." Her gaze locked onto Shane, a faint anger boiling beneath the surface of her skin. "That's why only Edwin and I remain. We decided not to give up."
A silence overtook the table, each one understanding the woman's words too well. They had been out there for weeks and seen just how bad it was for themselves, but the realisation that the two scientists had to deal with friends and colleagues taking their own lives rather than leaving was a shock. Glenn was the first to break the silence, groaning as he glared at Shane, holding the older male responsible for the new tension that was in the air. "Dude, you are such a buzz kill, man."
"You get them situated." Edwin rose from his seat, not even sparing Cassidy a look as he moved past her. "I'm going to get those samples done."
"Edwin," Cassidy called out to him, making the man halt. "If you're not out of that lab in an hour, I will get the assistance of a few of these men to drag you out of there." The group gave a light chuckle, thinking the woman was messing around with her friend, but Edwin turned to face them.
"She's not joking." He spoke, his face serious. "She will get you to drag me out of the lab." Edwin turned his back to them, finally leaving the room as they all looked at Cassidy, reading that she was indeed serious. Cassidy stood, unaffected by their looks, as she collected up her and Edwin's dishes and took them into the kitchen, starting to clean them off. While most of the group sat in relative silence, the joyous sucked from them after listening to Cassidy's explanation after Shane's insistence poking, only Carol and Lori stood, assisting Cassidy with the clean up.
"So…" Lori started slowly, not wanting to spook the woman as she did before. "Does Dr. Jenner often get distracted by his work?"
Cassidy's brows furrowed. "No." She answered, handing the woman a wet and cleaned dish to dry off. She could hear Candace in her mind, lecturing her to explain so as to give a more detailed answer, something her friend always did before. "I apologise," Cassidy sighed as her lips pursed, but Lori looked at her, not knowing what she was even saying sorry for. "I was always told I needed to give more detailed answers, not just yes or no. Edwin never used to. He always told me off for getting lost in my work, but this virus has consumed him." Lori's gaze softened as she listened to the fellow brunette talk. Carol was listening on Cassidy's right, disposing of the leftover food before handing the plates over to be washed. "Lately, Edwin has gone days without eating or sleeping."
"You're concerned for him," Lori stated, smiling at her.
Cassidy's brows furrowed again. "He is my friend, I am meant to be concerned for him." She stated it like it was obvious that there was nothing more to it than what was expected of the friendship between the two scientists, making Lori shake her head, beginning to understand how the younger woman's mind worked. Lori saw the difference in how Cassidy acted with her friend compared to the survivors. With Edwin, her tone was friendly, and her face showed those emotions, but with strangers, the woman was closed off, reserved with an emotionless face with nothing more than a forced smile as she would avoid eye contact even when looking at people.
After cleaning the dishes and cooking equipment, Cassidy led the group out of the cafeteria towards a long hallway full of offices, including Cassidy's. "You can use the offices here to rest. There are couches inside, but we also have cots in storage. Many of us have had to do all-nighters in the past." Cassidy explained to them as she walked ahead of them as they carried their bags. She stopped outside her office at the end of the hall as she turned to face the group. "Each office has its own full bathroom, and as we are trying to conserve power, be mindful of how long you shower. We also have a recreation room behind me. Do not use any electronic devices." Without another word to the group, Cassidy entered her office, leaving the survivors alone in the hallway.
"That woman is beyond odd," T-Dog muttered, his mouth agape as he stared at the woman's office door. Jacqui tutted him, smacking him on the shoulder for his comment as she glared at him. "What?" He asked, staring back at her as Jacqui shook her head.
"She said showers…" Glenn mumbled, a smile twitching at the corner of his lips as her words registered in his brain. "Does that mean hot water…?" He looked around at his group, smiles spreading across everyone's faces as they rushed to claim an office and take a hot shower, a luxury denied to them for the last two months.
Cassidy had been in her office, sitting down on her cot with her family photo in hand, when there had been a knock at the door, one she hadn't registered. After several more knocks, the person on the other side opened the door and peered their head in. Lori looked down at the woman, noticing the frame in her hands, making Lori hold back a grimace.
"Dr. Frost?" Lori spoke, moving more into the room, the woman's hair still damp from her shower and skin clear from dirt and grime. Cassidy finally looked up at her, eyes wide as she noticed the older woman in her office.
"Oh, apologies. Did I not hear you knocking?" Cassidy glanced away, placing the frame face down on her desk.
"It's fine." Lori smiled weakly. "Your family?" She asked, looking towards the frame. When Cassidy nodded, Lori reached for the object, picking it up and turning it over. Lori admired the smiling faces. She could see the relationship between Cassidy and the three men Lori assumed were her brothers, each with a similar facial shape, green eyes and dark brown hair. There was an older couple, the children taking more after their father in the face, yet the hair and eyes from the mother. And lastly, a blonde woman, holding a toddler with the same blonde hair. Without a word, Lori put the frame back onto the desk, face down as Cassidy had left it. "Carol and I were hoping to get some of those cots out. For the kids to sleep on."
The doctor nodded, moving to stand and leading the woman out of her office. Lori followed silently down the long hallway, stopping at the door simply labelled 'storage'. Cassidy pulled out a key card from her lab coat and swiped it along a device next to the door, a light on the box changing from red to green, signalling the door was now unlocked. Cassidy escorted Lori. The older woman observed the room, a collection of stationery, bedding goods, and folded cots. Lori picked out two and some bedding and rolled them out into the hallway.
"Thank you," Lori spoke, even though part of her knew it was redundant. And it was. Cassidy merely nodded, shutting the storage door behind her and ensuring it was locked. Lori chuckled, rolling the cots down the hallway to the two offices that had been taken for her family and Carol's. Cassidy watched on curiously as Carol stepped out of the room she was in to take the cot. The two mothers spoke briefly before taking their children towards the recreation room. Seeing the mothers being so protective of their children made Cassidy wonder about her sister-in-law, Gwen. Had the woman been just as protective of her son, Cassidy's nephew, right until the end? Looking down at her hands, Cassidy hadn't even noticed that she'd been picking at her cuticles as she'd been in deep thought.
She went to return to her office but stopped outside the office of Dr. Nari Kwon. Cassidy's brows furrowed as she heard the shuffling of furniture as if the office was being ransacked. She blinked down at the doorknob, staring at the worn silver metal. Without a second thought, she opened the door, finding the office in disarray as drawers of the desk and filing cabinets were open with its contents strewn about. And at the centre of it all was Daryl, the man's back to her as he was in the process of digging through a small closet at the back of the room.
"Why are you destroying Dr. Kwon's office?" Cassidy gasped, stepping further into the room to observe the destruction.
Daryl turned around to face her, his jaw tense and rolling. He scoffed. "Looking for some smokes," Cassidy observed him, noting that the man hadn't yet showered by the state of his muck-caked skin.
Her brow twitched as the man gave his reason. "Apologies, but you won't find any in here. Dr. Kim's father died of lung cancer several years ago. She had a deep hatred for cigarettes." Cassidy began fixing the space with haste, closing drawers and putting things back into place. Daryl watched her, his arms folding with his hand under his armpits in a way that was uniquely him. "You can always try Dr. Benjamin Caldwell's office. The man was a chain smoker, much to his wife's disappointment." She closed the last drawer and gazed towards Daryl, but her eyes did not meet his. "She worked in administration on the top levels."
Daryl continued to stand there, his arms crossed as he stared at the woman. He could have done without most of that information. "Where's this Caldwell prick's office?" he grumbled out. The corners of Cassidy's mouth twitched as if briefly holding back a smile or a laugh, finding something enjoyable about Daryl's insult to her former colleague. She stood, gesturing for the redneck to follow her. Cassidy guided him back down the hall towards her office but stopped at the door on the opposite side of the hallway to hers. She opened the door, allowing Daryl to move in past her.
"Bottom right desk drawer. He was often caught hiding whisky in there." She advised, leaning on the open door as Daryl approached the desk. He sent her a look before opening the said drawer and smirked when he pulled out an unopened bottle of Jack Daniels whisky.
"Like this?" He asked, shaking the bottle gently. Cassidy frowned at the sight of it. "Why'd one of you go through his drawer?"
"He set a lab on fire last year. There was concern he was intoxicated while working." She answered, watching Daryl put the bottle on the desk and went back to looking through the drawer. Cassidy spared a look out into the hallway, nodding to Carol and the two children, Sophia and Carl, as they went past her to turn in for the night.
Daryl snorted, not holding back a laugh at some prick scientist being careless enough to get drunk at work and start a fire. "Didn't like him?" He glanced at her from the corner of his eyes.
"Dr. Caldwell has an issue with making unwanted advancement on female interns."
Daryl froze just as he'd found an unopened packet of cigarettes at the bottom of the drawer, underneath an old sweatshirt. His jaw tense as his fingers tightened around the package. Looking up at the woman, she seemed unaffected by her own words, like it was a normal thing to say. Daryl stood, kicking the drawer shut as he continued staring the woman down, trying to get a read on if she was one of the women on the receiving end of the prick's flirting. Against his better judgement, he went to question her about it. Her attention was pulled away from him, the slamming of the recreation room door next to the office making her leave the room, taking it as a sign to drop the matter and shove the packet of cigarettes into the back pocket of his jeans.
In the hallway, Cassidy found Shane, the dark-haired man breathing heavily as he leaned against the recreation room door. "Is there something of concern?" She asked him, head tilted slightly as she checked him over for any medical issues that would have caused his elevated heart rate.
Shane's eyes snapped to her, narrowing. His hand slipped from the wooden door as he moved towards her, his size more than shadowing over hers. "How about you keep your mouth shut and stay out of my business, Doc." He spat at her, mouth set in a frown as he attempted to scare her. But it was of no use. Cassidy didn't mind his macho act threatening in the slightest.
"Hey!" Daryl barked, coming to stand at the office doorway behind the brunette woman. "How 'bout you show some respect!" The redneck glared at the former cop, making Shane only respond in kind.
Shane scoffed, a smirk playing on his thin lips. "Looky here, the redneck playing the knight in shining armour. I'm surprised your simple mind even knows anything about respect." Daryl gripped the neck of the whisky bottle hard. He took a step towards the man, ready to swear, yell and even throw a punch if needed, but Cassidy stopped him, the woman simply pressing a palm into Daryl's chest.
"Mr Walsh," Cassidy spoke, her tone even, showing no sign of emotion as she stared at Shane. "I think you are too intoxicated and need to return to the office you've claimed for the night." Shane opened his mouth to retort, but she cut him off, raising her free hand to his face as she continued to speak. "If this is not acceptable, I can always see to it that you're thrown out of this facility." He scoffed at her, moving past her with the intent to shove into her shoulder, but she sidestepped him, letting him go.
"Should have let me stomp his ass," Daryl growled, glaring in the direction the cop had slanted off to. "Prick."
Cassidy's hands dropped to her side. "Not appropriate. Fighting would only aggravate my colleague and get you both removed from the facility." She looked to Daryl. "Take no offence to him implying that as a redneck, you are of simple mind. I am one, yet I was one of the smartest minds at the CDC." Looking away from him, she moved to her office.
"Hold on!" Daryl yelled, shutting Dr. Caldwell's office door behind him as he followed her into her office. "What ya mean you are one? One what?"
Cassidy removed her lab coat, tossing it onto her desk, unbothered that he'd approached into her space. "A redneck." Sitting down on her cot, she bent down to unlace her shoes before sliding them off and placing them neatly beside the bed. "I changed my speech pattern to better suit my field of employment. Don't encounter our kind working virology."
Daryl didn't know whether to be impressed or offended. Impressed by the fact that a redneck could be where she was in life or offended by the fact she rejected a part of herself just to fit into another world. No, he was offended. The woman was just like the rest of those uppity shits who had looked down on him all his life. With a scoff and sneer at the brunette, Daryl stormed out of her office, slamming the door shut behind him without a care about how she might react.
Cassidy blinked once. Then twice. And lastly, thrice. "I appear to have caused some offence." She looked away from the door, not wanting to dwell on the matter. "Vi, what are Dr. Edwin Jenner's whereabouts?" She asked the AI, its feminine voice coming out of the speaker in her office so that only she could hear it, alerting her that the man was in the operations room. It made her smile faintly. She was glad the man wasn't still locked away in his lab. "Vi, please remind him to stop working within the hour. He needs sleep." Without waiting for a response, she lay down, staring up at the white ceiling, before finally asking Vi to turn off the lights. Cassidy wasn't sure how long she'd stayed awake until sleep claimed her, listening to the faint sounds of talking and footsteps from the survivors. It was odd to have life back in the facility after being alone for such a long time, not realising just how accustomed she'd become to the silence. But with a final sigh, she rolled onto her side, forcing her eyes to shut and blocking out everything.