Anonymous: Thank you, friend.


Jin looked carefully over her bruised, tired reflection in the panel of the life flight elevator as it began its descent to the parking garage. She felt the throbbing worsen, just looking at herself, and sighed under her breath. She rubbed her face with a glove slowly and wearily. Raynes had been right. She was a mess. Worse than that, the pain, she was tired... part of her wished she could have went with him and the strange Sergeant to get something to eat at the cafeteria. To get some rest afterwards. But it was not to be, her duty required her to make sacrifices... it would have to wait. And... she doubted she would have been able to eat or sleep anyways, with him on her mind as he was. She hadn't heard back from them yet directly... all she knew was they were on their way back. She didn't know if any of them had been injured, or killed. She silently worried about him, Holiday and Passalaqua... even as most of her believed they had made it. Any bad possibility could happen, at the worst time. She was coming to expect the worst and the unexpected... in a supernatural infested city, where everything that could go wrong seemed to be.

And if it hadn't... it surely would at some point.

She looked back over her shoulder to the rest of the spacious elevator, half expecting to find the girl in red watching her again. Maybe she was... maybe she could choose when to appear to others and when not to. However it worked... she wasn't sure she wanted to know. It felt like something beyond even a surreal dream... as if her every waking moment was in another world. Whatever world or dimension Fairport had become, whatever had seeped into the city. It was like a dream... a nightmare... none of it felt real... even as she was grimly certain that it was... she wished it wasn't. Jin shook her head and looked back at the control panel, willing herself out of her fears for the moment. The control panel was covered with near every possible button... it even had an option for elevator music.

Jin had to ignore the temptation to press it, and return the normalcy of something that simple. She focused instead on the sounds of the life flight elevator, feeling its descent all the way through her. At last, the elevator reached the parking garage, and with a beep the doors parted, revealing three uniformed figures beyond them. The distant sounds of the storm, the rain came as well, echoing slightly through the underground parking garage. The three figures had been chatting but turned, looking back to her as she stepped out of the elevator, the doors closing behind her. A pair of nurses with a gurney and a familiar doctor with them, who she nodded to. She hadn't seen him long ago... just up on the rain soaked helipad, but after her talk with Raynes... what he had revealed to her, what they had spoken of... it may as well have been, and she greeted him promptly.

"Hello, Doctor Ross."

"Ah, Jin... there you are again. How are Captain Raynes and the other survivors fairing?"

"Getting settled in now, being briefed on the situation here, figuring out tasks to pitch in on. Headed to the cafeteria as well, they clearly need it, and a breather."

"I don't doubt it. I saw them, the armor and weapons... rather not think of what they were up to out there. Bad enough as it is right here. Any word on the ETA of your team, yet?"

"Not yet, but they're on the way. With luck we'll get another advanced warning. Is Doctor York and his team prepared?"

"Standing by at the surgery bay. This one better not be dead on arrival, I'd hate for him to be prepared and waiting for two false calls in a row. I tell you, I've been working here awhile, but even I can't stay up as long as York. He's been going through one surgery after another since he showed up. Going to need some sleep soon, but so many are depending on his talents."

"We all seem to be pushed to our limits, lately.", Jin agreed with a slight nod... the Point Man's masked face coming to mind. His posture and stance. She had seen it since they were all reunited... but it had been evident during their escape at Orange Line Station. He was without a doubt the most capable soldier she had ever met... and it was clear Fairport weighed heavily on him. As it was Raynes. It would only get worse before it got better. "Some of us shouldering more of that weight than others... but all of us doing our parts. The least we can do, now."

"True enough. I just hope we can save this one. I've seen enough dead in this city to last me a lifetime. A dozen lifetimes."

"I couldn't possibly agree more, Doctor Ross."

She offered Doctor Ross and the nurses a faint smile, before looking away from them, ahead out over the underground parking garage. She looked among the rows of ambulances out there, and beyond them, down to the main gate manned by the Delta Force operator named Winters, as well as several of his men. The armored, helmeted and uniformed men were standing guard with their variety of weapons, speaking to one another or pacing around the perimeter. One of them, she couldn't tell if it was Winters or not, looked down their way near the life flight elevator. When he saw her standing there, he nodded to her in acknowledgement, and she returned the gesture. The operator looked away from her and back to the others, speaking to them... while Doctor Ross and the nurses had struck up their conversation beside her as well.

On that note, she uttered a low breath and withdrew her datapad, activating it. Scanning her notes and taking the time to examine the blueprints of Auburn Memorial she had been forwarded. She still had so much to do... and that wasn't even including patients. More of the massive hospital to explore. She flipped through the layout of the place, as well as the chart of patients currently occupying the hospital. When she had the time, after this matter was attended to, she would have to survey everything. Before he had left for the cafeteria, Raynes had told her he intended to check the defenses that were being constructed by Delta Force around the place... that was one more task on her list. Yes her job was the technical and medical aspects of the mission, not the combat, but the defenses were part of the technical aspect. Vents to seal, automated turrets and mines to make sure worked properly... the works. There were still countless hostiles out there... Replica and Armacham alike. They needed to prepare for the worst. Given their fortune lately, the worst was more likely to happen than not.

She needed to know what was what and where everything was, for if... whenever their enemies turned their sights on Auburn Memorial. It was inevitable... surely they knew by now that Delta Force was occupying it, even if the ATC and Replica were primarily tied up fighting one another, for the time being. She thought about the Black Ops team and Riot Security Forces she had seen back at the crash site. They had more than the means to attack the hospital, if it suited them... especially now with their President in the custody of F.E.A.R. and Delta Force. Was that one of their contingency plans already? And that wasn't even factoring in the might of the Replica... now the first battalion was supplemented by a second one, regardless of currently preoccupied downtown. That could change easily. Then there was the third more mysterious faction Raynes and the Sergeant had encountered... whatever they were was an unknown factor, what they wanted. The defenses would help either way with the three groups. Just as they wouldn't if... when they came for them.

Alma. Paxton Fettel. Monstrous, unnatural entities like them. The things some other world had loosed upon Fairport, with the Vault's destruction.

There was no physical defense against the dead and supernatural. Against psionic revenants that would not stay dead. But... she would rather dwell upon the human threats, long before supernatural ones. She felt helpless... what they might do was outside of her control... but there were other areas they still had a chance in. Just because they couldn't counter some of their enemies didn't mean they should give up and make it easy on others. It wasn't over yet, and they had many people to evacuate... lives they could yet save. Her headset blared to life then, drawing her focus away from the datapad and back to one life that needed her in particular, at present. A familiar man's voice filling the channel, addressing and updating on the victim.

"Holiday to Jin, I hope to God you're downstairs waiting on us and not just sittin' around looking pretty! The Lieutenant's not looking too good!"

Her eyes widened a bit, but she recovered from her surprise quickly. Feeling warm, deepening hope forming in its place. Holiday had made it... that probably meant the others had as well, along with the one they had made the detour for. She spoke up into the com channel carefully, and Doctor Ross and the nurses broke off from their conversation, looking over to her. Watching her.

"We're here, Doug, Betters radioed ahead to make sure we were ready for you boys. How did it go? What is the Lieutenant's status? Is the Point Man ok? Operator Passalaqua?"

"That's another long fucking story... all that matters is we got them out. Tell you all about it later. I'm no doc, but the Lieutenant has been blacking out, she's in a fevered state and her pulse is weak. It's bad. And your boyfriends are just fine... the Point Man is better than fine, kicked asses, took names, and then kicked their asses again."

"I didn't doubt that part for a minute. The Second F.E.A.R. Team arrived before you, brought some reinforcements. Things are starting to look up around here."

"Damn good to hear, Jin. Let's hope they continue to. Stand by for your next patient. Here we come."

His voice faded from the comlink as it went silent. Jin deactivated it with a slight smile, breathing with the relief she felt coursing through her, even as she readied herself for the next patient. They had all made it. As mostly sure of that as she had been, hearing it confirmed made all the difference in the world. She would have to find out just how bad the gauntlet they had run through had been, when she had the time. For now, she looked back over to the others, returning to the present, speaking up.

"They're getting close. Her condition is critical, but she's still alive."

"Good.", Doctor Ross spoke with a nod of understanding, glancing back to the nurses. "Let's look alive ourselves here, people. We'll have our work cut out for us."

Sure enough, within moments, they all heard it off in the distance. The low rumble... she almost mistook it for the thunder outside. The revving of an engine, descending steadily down towards the underground parking garage. At the main gate on the other end, she heard the voices of the Delta Force operators down there, but couldn't make out the words. They scrambled to either side of the gate while one of the men activated it. The security gate began to rise all the way to the top... and just in time. Moments after it reached the top, it came into view, roaring around the corner and charging through the open gate. Tearing along the pavement of the underground parking garage. It only just fit through the gate... likely because it had been deliberately designed with possible fire trucks in mind. The Dark Signal APC was towering and huge... rolling thunder of thick, dark armor plating.

Winters and his men were already rolling the security gate back down behind it, but her attention was fixed on the vehicle itself. She couldn't make it all out in the near blinding headlights flashing off its front... but she could see it drawing towards them. Passing various rows of ambulances. In seconds, its headlights turned away from them as it veered off, massive 6x6 tires screeching to a stop in a no parking area, narrowly avoiding an ambulance. Rain water dripping and flowing down over the armor plating and soaking the dry pavement beneath it. She was able to get a better look at it... the telltale American flag symbol on its side... the various components. The armor plating was scratched up and scuffed, dented slightly at various points, but she didn't doubt it ran just fine. A sizable gun turret resided at the top of it, a turret nobody was manning at the moment. Doctor Ross was taken aback, uttering a low, sharp breath beside her.

"Is that an... APC? Jesus Christ! Nobody told me they were coming back in that! They went out with an ambulance!"

Jin had to agree with the sentiment. It was an impressive military vehicle. F.E.A.R. could make good use of them... but their organization required a bit more in the way of subtlety. Usually. Delta Force didn't have to be quite so constrained. Or subtle. When all this was over, maybe they would get more of the funding for expansion that Betters and Raynes often complained to Director McCullough they deserved. The lights remained on all over the APC, and there was an automated sound as the back of the APC opened... a metal ramp unfolding and touching the pavement. She heard the muffled clattering of boots inside the vehicle, racing down the ramp... and in a flash, she saw him, stepping off the platform. Her heart seemed to go still, as a swelling of relief flitted over her. She released a breath she wasn't aware she had been holding in. She knew he had been fine from Holiday... but actually seeing him in front of her again made it significantly better. The Point Man turned towards them where they stood down by the life flight elevator, his red goggles reflecting in the light. He held a lightly armored, uniformed figure in a bridal carry, the figure's head lolling back helpless, limbs dangling... and she knew at once who it was.

Before Jin could say or do anything, the Point Man raced down towards them... and for the first time out in the field... though not for the first time, she saw how fast he could move. Faster than any person she had ever seen in her life. None of his gear, armor, weapons nor the woman in his arms slowed him down. He flew down towards them so fluidly, rapidly, his image blurred in her vision. By the time she blinked her eyes again, he stood like a statue directly in front of them with the young woman, the First Lieutenant named Stokes. Her dirty blonde hair was tied back in a french braid... her armor and uniform were quite different from the Delta Force boys... but then she remembered Stokes wasn't Delta Force, which didn't take women. She was a liaison of sorts attached to the Dark Signal Squad. Jin's eyes settled on one of her shoulder pads... denoting a Signal Corps patch... and it made all the more sense at once. Her body armor comprised of a lightweight dark vest and knee pads, as opposed to the heavier armor worn by the men, while her pants were a green ACU camouflage and her gloves fingerless.

The Point Man's right hand was gloveless... bloody, both broad arms wrapped around and holding her carefully. His D-12 Heavy Armor and undersuit were more scuffed and marked than the last time she'd seen him... and he stood tall and still like a sentinel. Partially blood stained along with soaked in rain water, which stained his red goggles, dripped down his form, white armor gleaming in the light of the underground parking garage. If he was in any pain, she couldn't tell in that moment. Ross and the nurses reacted with shock at his sudden appearance before them... while Jin adjusted to it quite easily. Used to far stranger sights around him. She would take his unnatural, otherworldly speed over ghosts or monsters any day.

"Holy shit! How did you... what the fuck was that?"

"A speedy delivery, Doctor Ross."

Jin returned to the doctor at last, glancing between The Point Man, Lieutenant Stokes and back over to the doctor, lips forming into a trace of a smile, despite the soreness of her bruised face. As if on cue, the Point Man moved closer to them, up to the gurney and set the Lieutenant down quite carefully. Beyond him, from the corner of her eye, she saw Holiday moving down the pavement towards them away from the APC. She stepped over to the gurney as well, looking over the Lieutenant. Noting all the blood staining her bandaged midsection. York was going to have his work cut out for him with this one, anyways. The pain and confusion was evident in the Lieutenant's blue eyes... shock. She was pale... too pale. All the same, she was a bit of a beauty, in a athletic, tomboyish sort of way, likely around her own age. Her face was stained with perspiration... and lightly dotted with the occasional mole.

"Let's just worry about the patient."

"Of course. Nurse, snap out of it! Doctor York and his team are prepped and ready for us, we need to get her up there now!"

"Yes doctor."

"Took you long enough, Doug.", Jin spoke up again wryly as she considered the patient, glancing over the Point Man's shoulder as Holiday stepped up beside him, between the two of them. The Sergeant Major rested one hand on the strap of his assault rifle, coming to a stop at last. He looked exhausted, and the bruises on his face had worsened, as hers had. Still, he looked glad to be back. "Might need to lay off the Diet Squish. Or switch to Fizzy Kola, like him. That's sound medical advice. Diet drinks aren't so good for one's memory either."

"Laugh it up, Jin. Hey, when you can outrun this bad motherfucker, I'll gladly retire."

"I know my limitations, Doug. Now, let's have a look here..."

The nurses gathered around the other side of the gurney, straightening Lieutenant Stokes out properly on it, checking her over quickly. Examining the bandaged, bleeding gunshot wound. Her blood trickled along her abdomen, her flesh, and ran over her belt. The Point Man started to take a step back from the gurney to give them some room... when she seemed to come to life again in a burst of instant energy, eyes widening. Her left arm flew out and seized him by the right wrist, startling Jin, pulling him back in with surprising strength and taking his hand into hers again. Drawing him down closer as the nurses attempted to calm her... she ignored them... forcing herself to speak, sweat and tears pouring down her pale face.

"Don't leave me... please... come with me. Don't... let her... get me..."

Lieutenant Stokes' voice was contorted, panicked. The fear in it was obvious. How overwhelmed she was. Jin felt a pang of pity for her... especially after her own brushes with death. The near misses. In her position, Jin would have been the exact same way. It didn't matter how tough someone was, or the extent of their training when it came to their own mortality.

"If you're coming up, come on!", Doctor Ross spoke first, impatiently, looking over at the Point Man, who glanced up at the rest of them. Jin nodded at last agreeably, eyes flickering between the F.E.A.R. combat operative and the Lieutenant, and the nurses began to move the gurney towards the life flight elevator. Jin followed them while the Point Man and Doug moved after them at once. The Lieutenant was maintaining her grip on his hand tightly. She got out of his way and the way of the gurney, letting them in first, then Jin stepping into the elevator shaft. "We don't have a moment to lose!"

"Best we keep out of your way, then."

Holiday observed with a nod, looking back up at Jin and the Point Man. He hadn't followed them inside, instead remaining where he was in front of the open doorway of the elevator. Over his shoulder, down by the APC, Jin noticed the rest of the squad... Passalaqua, Carmine and Perez had descended down the ramp, and were moving towards the life flight elevator, moving up behind Holiday. A figure she was certain was Passalaqua hefted his HV Penetrator and raised a hand in greeting to Jin from afar, and she replicated the action with a bit of a smile. Feeling further relief that her protector throughout Fairport continued to beat the odds and survive. None of them had died on the mission... what a welcome change of pace that was. Especially after what had happened to Bremmer and countless others. She hoped their survival would happen more often... even as she knew the odds were stacked against them, in that regard. It was then she became aware that the rumbling engine of the APC had been switched off, along with the blinding headlights. The driver did not walk down the ramp after the rest of the team... remained inside. Doug's voice returned her, and she looked his way as he gestured back over his shoulder to the team, and turned his attention to the injured Lieutenant.

"We'll take the next one up. Good luck, Lieutenant. If you can hear me, we're rooting for you."

One of the nurses moved to the elevator control panel and tapped the button for the tenth floor. It highlighted with light, and responded. Holiday stepped back from the automated closing doors with a final wave Jin returned. Him and the rest of the operators now standing behind him were cut off from view, leaving them alone in the spacious elevator. Jin looked away from the door and control panel, and back towards the Point Man. He stood hovering over Lieutenant Stokes, watching her carefully... with obvious concern. Seeming locked in his own world... one they shared together. Lieutenant Stokes was watching him right back, scarcely blinking, her trembling fingerless gloved hand clamping to his bare, bloody one. She felt a strange, irrational feeling, watching them... like she was intruding upon something. Maybe it was a slight pang of annoyance, but mixed with an understanding. The Lieutenant seemed to be drawing upon something from him... his silent strength. Will. God knew Jin understood how that was, being around the Point Man as she had been. Knowing the effect he had on her. She hadn't even known him long... so why should she feel even a bit of annoyance now? Perhaps because the blonde Lieutenant had known him even less. Whatever it was, she buried it. She wasn't here and now of all places for anything petty or personal... she was here to help treat the Lieutenant. A professional and a patient.

And besides which... she would be damned if she would let Raynes be proven right about her. She also remembered how the Point Man had been over Alice Wade, visibly concerned and aggravated he had been when they rendezvoused on the rooftop of Armacham Headquarters, and on the flight to the Auburn Distric. Confused and worried when she had fled protective custody... fled his protection, after saving the damsel in distress from the Replica and cannibalization from Paxton Fettel. Or perhaps... had only postponed it, thanks to the sick bastard intercepting the poor girl and hauling her down to the Vault. At least the Lieutenant wouldn't likely be so foolish... especially after what she had managed to survive.

"You did good out there. But then again, you always do.", Jin addressed him at last, speaking up calmly. Her voice seemed to reach him, he reacted at once. He rose his gaze to look back at her... and when he did, a light smile touched her lips. In spite of the pain in her face every time she smiled. It was worth it, seeing him again as he was. "I'm glad you're ok. I know I shouldn't worry... but I do. Dark Signal was lucky it was you who came for them. She has a fighting chance, now."

The Point Man looked back at Jin, as the elevator rumbled around them... and he nodded back. It was good enough for her. As long as he knew what she felt. He shifted suddenly, and she looked down to the gurney... Lieutenant Stokes had grasped his hand again tightly, pulling him slightly down towards her again. Jin watched her struggling to remain conscious. The Point Man squeezed her hand back a little, stepping a bit away from Jin again and hovering closely over the Lieutenant. Looking back into her wide blue eyes. Jin felt that strange sensation again, and ignored it like before, looking between the two of them, merely silently taking note. At last they reached the tenth floor and she was wheeled out of the life flight elevator at once, Jin kept pace, on the opposite side of the gurney from the Point Man. All of them moving down the corridor, past the manned nurse's station and waiting room and down one of the corridor's leading to the surgical wing. The operating room.

They passed a some other figures along the way, nurses, doctors and a few Delta Force operators, all of whom paused what they were doing and stepped aside, watching them as they passed. They shot them some strange looks that Jin caught... though she had the feeling they were more aimed at the Point Man than anyone else. Jin had... heard the rumours circulating through their ranks about the F.E.A.R. combat operative. And she remembered the reactions of the operators to his spells, down in the subway stations. To say nothing of the whispering through the Auburn mission, and Passalaqua's questions. The Point Man didn't seem to notice it... and part of her hoped he wasn't aware. Though after what had happened in the Orange Line tunnels... she had the feeling he knew. If it bothered him, he didn't show it. His attention was split between the Lieutenant and the directions ahead, not the people they passed. The Lieutenant's eyes looked around every which way, from him and Jin to the surroundings, breathing deeply. Her condition visibly worsening.

Through sheer will she seemed to be fighting to stay awake, despite how exhausted she looked... and Jin couldn't deny she was impressed. At last they reached the surgical wing, and she looked through the assorted windows around the area. The operating room in question they were rolling the Lieutenant to was fully illuminated in contrast to some of the dimmed corridors, several big lights overhead. The doctor that must have been York stood waiting inside with various others, clad in surgical masks, hats and gloves, scrubs. The operating room was in an observation bay, with several big windows up along the walls overhead inside, and seats for an audience that wasn't there. As they approached the doors, Jin saw the Point Man maintaining his grip on the Lieutenant's now slackened hand. She rose her own, pressing it to his shoulder carefully but firmly, drawing him back as the front of the gurney bumped through the swinging double doors. Regardless of her strange feeling back in the ambulance bay and elevator, she would have let him go into the operating room with the Lieutenant if she could... but it wasn't feasible for several reasons, at present.

The Point Man seemed to feel her touch through the armor, and understand her intent. His bare, bloody hand left the Lieutenant's fingerless gloved one, as Doctor Ross and the nurses took her on into the operating room without him, pushing through the doors, which swung shut behind them. Jin hung back a bit longer, maintaining her hold on his shoulder, looking between the masked, armored figure and the surgery room as Lieutenant Stokes was moved to the operating table. The Point Man watched as well for a moment, before looking back over Jin's way. She found herself looking back at her bruised, tired features again... and she smiled a bit to him instinctively.. Voice quiet and sympathetic to him, explaining what the situation called for calmly. Reassuring him.

"We'll take it from here. There's nothing more you can do for her, you've done more than enough. She's in our hands, now. You need to go get something to eat... and get some rest if you can. I'll come find you after the surgery, let you know how it went. Will need me some coffee by then anyways. Could do with some yourself. Ok?"

The Point Man peered back at her silently for a time... seemingly weighing her words... but he did not overtly react to them. Not for the first time, she wished he didn't wear that mask most of the time. Perhaps she would be able to get a better read on him. Though as she recalled from the times she had seen him without the balaclava, his face was often as impassive as it. A hard, pale mask all on its own. Something occurred to her then... something that came naturally. Perhaps it wasn't appropriate for the time or place, the current events... but she did feel it was the right thing to do. And... she wanted to. Before she could push it away, she decided to go through with it. She wanted to show him how relieved she was that he was here. She rose on the tip toes of her boots, leaned in and pressed a light, tender kiss to his masked cheek. She lingered there for a few moments against the warm leather, her hand stroking gently along his shoulder. Finally, she drew back again, hand leaving him reluctantly. She stepped back a bit, over closer to the doors. But her eyes did not leave his red goggles, speaking up again with another pleased smile.

"You earned that. You're no less of a life saver than any of those doctors and nurses in there. You remember that."

She looked at him for another moment as she backed up to the doors. At last with a tiny nod, more to herself than him, she turned and strode through the doors into the world that was the operating room. Before she changed her mind and joined him and the others for a meal instead. Tucking away her datapad back into its pouch at the same time, for the moment. The doors shut audibly behind her, swinging slightly before settling, and she approached the operating table... moving over closer to the head of surgery. Nurses and doctors moved around her... the beeping of monitors and voices speaking instructions rapidly. It had been awhile since she'd been in an operating room... but it all came back at once. Every tool, every device, every procedure. The head of surgery turned away from one of the nurses, looking back at Jin. He wore a surgical hat and mask along with his scrubs, what little she could see his hair was dark, and his brown eyes were kindly and welcoming. As was his faintly muffled, low voice through the mask, courteous and professional, extending a gloved hand her way. Giving not even a sign of notice to all her bruises and cuts.

"Ah. You must be the F.E.A.R. technical and medical officer I was told to expect. My name is Doctor Samuel York. A pleasure to meet you, we can always use an extra pair of helping hands around here. Especially now, Miss...?"

"Jin Sun-Kwon.", Jin supplied with a polite smile back at York, taking his hand and shaking it in return, glancing from him and down to Lieutenant Stokes as the nurses hooked her up to the monitors. The rapid beating of her heart echoing through the surgical bay. Her eyes were still wide, peering around with little comprehension. Straining to look somewhere beyond them. "From what I hear you've been working non stop for awhile now. You should probably get some rest after this surgery, you're too vital to all the cases here."

"Were it that I could... I simply have too much to do. At the least I've worked longer, more ungodly hours than this. And on more... difficult and unusual cases. Though perhaps not this many at once. Its prepared me for the worst at least. I just didn't know the worst would happen like all of this. Or that I'd be right in the middle of it"

"Neither did I, to say the least. Even working for F.E.A.R.", Jin agreed with a slight tired smile, looking between him and the blood stained Lieutenant again. "So, where do we start with her?"

"We're preparing to sedate her now, using anesthetic gas. It's the safer option in this case, from what your coordinator told me, she has already been supplied with morphine. We are uncertain of the size of the dose."

Apparently Betters had been busy. Probably even busier on his digital plane of existence than they were on ground level. Nothing would surprise her at this point. Doctor York went on just as steadily, kindly, gesturing about the surgical bay.

"Feel free to pitch in where you can, Miss Sun-Kwon. Your help and expertise are appreciated. If you need anything, just ask me or one of the other members of the staff."

"I will. Thank you Doctor York."

"Think nothing of it, dear. You're the one who should be thanked."

He nodded slightly and gestured Doctor Ross over to him, beginning to speak with him about the procedure. Taking that as her cue, Jin stepped over towards the nurse preparing the anesthetic gas, and closer to Lieutenant Stokes. As she did so, static began to shrill faintly in the headset, on the line she was using. It wasn't the first time it had happened, but even now she couldn't place her finger on the cause. It was supposed to be top of the line communication equipment. Something wrong with the atmosphere of Fairport... the weather... yet the Hannibal-3 was back online in spite of that. With her luck, the answer was something less pleasant, that she had little desire to look into. With some annoyance, she turned off her headset. She would update Betters a little later, when there was something to tell him. She returned her attention to Lieutenant Stokes, looking over her sweat and tear streaked pale features.

Jin felt another pang of sympathy for the woman... hoped she would make it. And not just because of what she knew. At this point, Jin doubted the Lieutenant even knew where she was, or what was going on... though she did keep trying to strain her eyes to the door, where she had left the Point Man out in the hall. Jin looked over to the nurse, who held the anesthetic gas mask in both hands, making eye contact with her. Stepping a bit closer, leaning over the table, Jin held out her hands to take it from her, and do it for her. The woman nodded appreciatively and handed it over at once. Jin looked back down to Stokes' widened, fearful eyes, carefully leaning down and pressing the mask to her face gently. That caught her attention, those wide blue eyes staring back up at Jin, realizing she was there. She began to fasten the mask and adjust it to her face as she spoke to her, soothingly as could be. One gloved hand falling to the Lieutenant's shoulder and squeezing it slightly when she had finished fastening the mask.

"It's ok, Lieutenant Stokes. He's just outside... and you're in good hands. He will visit you later, when you are well enough again... for now, just breath into the mask. We're going to turn on the anesthetic gas and put you under... and when you wake... everything is going to be fine. I promise. Ok?"

The pale Lieutenant looked around the room at Jin's words as the nurse began to turn on the gas... and unless she was mistaken, some manner of comprehension briefly seeped into her eyes. Finally, she looked back to Jin, eyes remaining wide... and nodded in understanding. Even through the pain and confusion, she seemed to understand Jin was on her side, and that they were all working to save her. Jin smiled a little down at her encouragingly.

"Good. Just like that... just relax, and breath. Don't fight it. Feel the pain slipping away. I'll be here when you wake up. I promise that as well."

The Lieutenant obeyed as Jin hovered over her, drawing low, pained breaths, muffled through the mask. Inhaling the gas. It tended to take a little longer than using chemical sedation... but the effect was quicker than usual. The pain in her wide blue eyes gradually vanished with the comprehension... and her eyes began to gradually close, flickering. At last they went still, and her tensed form, the muscles in her neck, relaxed as she faded off into a deep sleep. For the first time, she looked almost peaceful, in spite of the tears and sweat running down her face. Before Jin could step aside to give the nurses and surgeons some more room, she felt something against the tips of her gloved fingers, glancing down to her neck. Taking note of the metal necklace residing there, tucked away beneath her shirt and light body armor. Jin drew it out, setting it on her vest, the metal glinting in the lights. Dog tags. Narrowing her eyes on them, she turned them over, studying the information that resided there.

Stokes.

Keira, A.

First Lieutenant, United States Army Signal Corps.

Blood Type A Positive.

Common enough type, at least. Though from the way the hospital seemed to be setup, even if she'd had a rarer type the blood banks were probably well stocked. Jin looked back down at her for a moment, before carefully removing her dog tags, holding them down at her side. Jin also took note of the earpiece she was wearing... of the same type as the ones F.E.A.R. utilized. The Point Man must have given it to her... he carried a number of spare comlink earpieces, as part of his role, to give them to any hostages or civilians he might encountered on the mission. He'd given one to the unfortunate Aldus Bishop, one to that repugnant Armacham henchman Norton Mapes and another to the naive Alice Wade. Seeing as the Lieutenant was now in her current state, she wouldn't be needing it. Reaching over, Jin removed the earpiece and drew back again. She would hold on to it and the dog tags until it was time to give them back. Tucking away both into one of her bodysuit's pouches, Jin glanced back over to Doctor York and spoke again clearly.

"Her blood type is A Positive."

"Understood.", Doctor York replied appreciatively with a nod, looking over to a nearby circulating nurse and addressing her at once. "Claudia? Kindly head down to the blood bank and collect her type. We're going to need a few bags, from her condition."

"Of course, Doctor York."

The dark haired nurse in question pushed through the doors and left the room hurriedly, and Jin at last stepped back from Lieutenant Stokes. Freeing up more room around her. At once, the nurses were moving about her, preparing her for surgery. With her unconscious, they began to remove her armor and the various components of her uniform, quickly but carefully. Stripping her down all the way, removing her boots, socks, her stained olive green shirt, camo pants and redressing her in a medical gown. She didn't wear anything beneath her pants and shirt, undoubtedly for convenience in the field. Not that she would be one to speak, in her own insulated undersuit. Her body was well toned and fit, in remarkable condition despite the wounds. As they undressed her, Jin caught a look at a mark on her shoulder beneath the shirt... a tattoo. A fist clenching three forked lightning bolts, like the one on her uniform's shoulder patch. A permanent military shoulder patch.

She had other tattoos on her back as well, but Jin didn't get a good look at them for long to see what they were. She had a few light scars along her pale form, but nothing that seemed to have been serious... though that had changed now, with her gunshot wound, left deliberately exposed under the scrubs. One of the nurses had removed the Lieutenant's holster, where her sidearm still resided. From the make of the handle, Jin could tell it was an ACM46... but regardless, the nurse looked at it with a mix of intrigue and unease. When they had quickly redressed her in the gown, a couple nurses gathered up all her things and carried them over to a corner of the room. A large dark duffel bag already sat there, and the nurses stuffed away all her clothes, armor, uniform and equipment inside, zipping it back up and rejoining the others at the operating table. Doctor York had stepped forward, along with Ross, a couple doctor's she hadn't met yet, and the rest of the nurses.

Jin remained on the sidelines for the moment, at least initially, watching it all with interest. It all seemed to go by in a hurry, but in some unusual way, Jin simultaneously felt every moment of the operation. By the time Lieutenant Stokes was hooked into all the machines, and Doctor York was prepared to operate, the nurse, Claudia, had returned from the blood bank with the required bags on a metal tray. Taking the time to hook one up, looking thoroughly miffed about something, amid the steady beeping of Lieutenant Stokes heart on the monitor. Then the nurse drew back, studying her and Stokes strangely from off to the side, looking between the two of them when not required to assist York.. Jin looked her way... to the smiling photo ID name tag she wore pinned to her scrubs, next to a medical symbol.

Auburn Memorial Hospital. Claudia Chapel. Registered Circulating Nurse.

Jin forced herself to break the eye contact, focusing on the procedure... while Doctor York wasted no time, getting to work at once. Speaking out commands calmly and clearly to each nurse and doctor, calling for his required implements every step of the way. Even tired as he seemed to be, Jin knew Ross hadn't been exaggerating his skills. Now and again, York called Jin over to assist him with something, taking over for one of nurses or doctors. Asking her testing questions... speaking as much like a teacher as the masterful surgeon he was. Quizzing her. He seemed to be impressed with her quick, accurate responses, her knowledge. Jin alternated between assisting with the surgery and looking over the medical charts and files that had been forwarded to her datapad, keeping informed on other cases that would require her assistance afterwards. Through it all she kept an eye on the Lieutenant, as Betters had requested of her, and for the Point Man. Even with York's skills, it was a close call early on, they had nearly been too late bringing her when they had.

She went through one blood bag after another. At one point during the operation, Stokes had suddenly flatlined... and in a hurry Jin had raced over to her side, across from York. Her own heart racing, feeling it sinking. Besides the matter of saving a human life, a great deal was riding on the Lieutenant, what she had seen and what she knew. If they were going to sink the ATC, or at least make it a sure thing, come the trial, her testimony was vital. As Betters had mentioned a few times. She was silent and still on the operating table, amid the steady screeching beep of the heart monitor. And then before the nurse with the defibrillator could even fully charge it, Lieutenant Stokes' heartbeat had restored itself to normal... that wonderful steady beeping filling the operating room again... much to Jin's deep relief, and that of the rest of the staff. The Lieutenant's chest rising and falling once again.

While a few of the others had been shocked by how suddenly it had all happened, within the span of a few moments, York had rallied quickly, continuing to operate. As did Jin, her own pulse balancing out. Stranger things than what had happened to her had happened, as of late... and at least in this case it was as welcome as it was unusual. According to York, it wasn't even the first time such a thing had happened during a surgery he had performed. It was the first time Jin had seen it, though. Studying Stokes' still, pale features as York continued operating, Jin's jaw tightened a little. The Lieutenant looked almost serene. She wondered what... if anything, the Lieutenant had seen on the other side. If she could even remember it. In light of everything happening... ghosts, the supernatural... the thought of what lie on the other side was starting to disturb her. Alma was on the other side... and that still hadn't stopped her from committing the unrivalled horrors that she was.

Maybe she had always been like that... maybe the ATC had caused it... or perhaps death... or the way they died, changed a person. Made them something... monstrous. Rotted the... spirit, as it did the human body. Locked in a purgatory in the world of the living. Between two worlds. And she didn't even want to think about where Heaven and Hell fit into it all, and what form they might take. If there was a Hell, it was surely what was leaking into Fairport through Alma... with the hospital one last small bastion of something resembling a Heaven. At least... for the moment. She didn't want to find out any more... what else there was. The truth. She had already seen a... ghost, twice... two more times than she'd ever wanted to. Yes, F.E.A.R. existed to handle and investigate unknown phenomena... but it had never been like this for her. Science was where her expertise lie... and she could only do so much with that. Maybe science could explain the psionic phenomena... but it sure as hell couldn't the endless layers to the supernatural. The mysteries of the cosmos and beyond. Of death and other worlds.

Now wasn't the time to dread and contemplate her navel about the unknown eldritch horrors seeping into the world... now was the time to play her part fighting them. Restoring sanity, order and healing the damage that had been done. The best she could do was focus on what she knew, and apply it where she was needed. Hopefully, Lieutenant Stokes wouldn't remember what was beyond... for her own sake. Jin didn't even yet know what she had been through, but considering what they had been through, she could probably imagine. Eventually, mercifully, the bullet was located and gradually removed successfully. The squashed bullet belonged to an AT-14... Jin had seen the after effect on enough targets back at the F.E.A.R. compound to know. Fortunately, the damage it had done to the Lieutenant's insides had not been as severe as it easily could have been... another small miracle in itself. It had very narrowly missed a few vitals... not that the injuries she had sustained were not already extensive.

The Lieutenant surely should have bled out or died long before she reached the hospital... and Jin wasn't even sure how long it had been since Stokes had been shot. Hopefully her or the driver of the APC, all that was left of their team, could fill in that blank. Even so... she wasn't one to second guess a miracle in their favor. She just wished she knew who to thank for making it so. When the surgery was over, Jin finally glanced up at the clock... only then remembering they were all out of commission, stuck in the early hours of the morning... the moment the Vault had detonated, she was certain. A strange concept... time standing still en mass... and not. Temporal mechanics and rules thrown into question. It had taken at least a couple hours, surely... but it hadn't felt like that, as engrossed into the operation as Jin had been. As the rest of the staff began to relax a bit, Jin looked to the head of surgery with a tired, impressed smile.

"That was incredible, Doctor York. I've observed a few hospital surgeries, especially during my medical school days... but that was something else altogether."

"Not half bad yourself, Jin. You know your stuff and you're fast while being efficient. Respond well under pressure. Not an easy feat. The Lieutenant will be up again in a recovery bed before you know it. I'll contact your comlink with directions to her room when she gets there. You're free to go and make arrangements." Doctor York informed her with an evident crinkling of his features beyond the mask. He looked from her and to the others with a nod. "All of you... see to the other cases, do whatever you have to do... I'll finish up closing her, won't need any assistance at this stage. Tatiana? I'll call you up when she's ready to be moved."

There were some chattering of voices, his colleagues congratulating him, and one after another the nurses and doctors began to trickle out of the operating theatre. Jin alone lingered behind for a bit, her eyes moving over to the table the duffel bag resided upon... the nurses forgetting about it or leaving it for her. There was an armory on this floor, makeshift, as there were on every floor, mainly the vital ones. Jin could take her gear there for safekeeping in the meantime. She wouldn't be using it anytime soon... but she could ship Stokes out with it whenever the transport choppers came to pick up and evacuate the survivors. No reason she couldn't use it all again on some other mission... when... if she fully recovered from her harrowing experience. The physical damage was bad enough... the psychological trauma would be something else altogether, when she woke. The bullet... and everything else she had survived around Fairport... tough G.I. Jane type or not. Jin picked up the duffel bag, feeling the weight of the Lieutenant's gear within, and lowered it to her side. She started to make for the door, amid the steady beep of the monitors... when his voice called after her.

"And Jin?"

Jin paused where she was, looking back to the operating table. To the chief surgeon in bloodstained scrubs and gloves. He remained hovering over Lieutenant Stokes, closing up the last of the stitching. Glancing back over at Jin between tying them up.

"You did a good job. I'm glad you made it here, you're going to be a hell of an asset to my overload of cases. I might even manage to get some shuteye in my office, at this rate. Anything's possible now, in Fairport. Keep up the excellent work."

Jin smiled back at him, nodding gratefully and looking back down to the Lieutenant once more. There was no hint of the pain or trauma in her pale, still features... yet. She wished it would remain that way... but it couldn't be. She would have to awaken to the reality the rest of them were in, now... but at the very least, she wouldn't be alone in it. On that note she turned and made her way to the door while the doctor got back to work. She paused as her hand settled on the cool handle... looking to one of the two windows on it. A dried, bloody hand print stained the glass... from a large bare hand. She was startled for a moment... and then remembered his blood stained hand. Stained with the Lieutenant's blood. She studied it thoughtfully... having some understanding why it was there, and pushed through the doors, stepping back out into the hallway. The section she stood in was well illuminated, but looking down the hall the lights were dimmer, flickered periodically. Either naturally... or because of the supernatural. Perhaps electricity was how the entities of the other world traveled. It wasn't the first time such a possibility had been theorized by F.E.A.R.

All the seats outside the operating room were empty... though she caught the occasional sight of a passing hospital worker or Delta Force operator. Hearing the echo of their footsteps reaching her. She released a low breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Closing her eyes and trying to relax. It had been close. Too close. She knew the Lieutenant's value in the scheme of things... but she was a patient first. An important witness or not, seeing her frightened face... how close she had been to death... she was a human being first and foremost. In spite of her momentary unease about it... Jin was glad the Point Man had been able to offer her some comfort in that traumatic moment... after whatever it was she had survived out there. Had seen. She understood. All the same, the Lieutenant was an important witness at the end of the day... and Jin had more duties to see through than strictly medical.

Activating her headset again, she opened a comlink with the F.E.A.R. Coordinator, speaking aloud firmly and clearly, her voice carrying through the line and the corridor. Watching the distant flickering of the lights in the shadowy corridors. Attempting to ignore her unease at the ominous image.

"Betters? Are you there? This is Jin. I just got out of the Lieutenant's surgery."

"Jin, there you are. Was starting to wonder. How did it go? Talk to me."

"It was close for awhile there... she flatlined on the table, but stabilized quickly. Doctor York's surgery was successful, the bullet has been removed, he was able to repair the damage, and he's closing her up now. Dark Signal still has its liaison, and you've still got your star witness."

"Thank God...", Betters relieved voice breathed over the comlink. He paused for a moment, no doubt relaxing in his chair on the other side. Speaking up again with satisfaction. "Finally some good news. I was expecting the worst. It's been damn near nothing but that, of late."

"She'll be moved to a recovery room soon... I'll have a couple Delta Force operators posted outside her door as security when I get further information on where the staff will put her. I'm taking her equipment and uniform to the armory on this floor for safe keeping in the meantime. And I'll be there at her side when she wakes up. When she's ready, you can question her then. I need to assess her condition first... she might not be prepared to handle reliving it all. I want to be sure."

"Of course. Take the time she needs. As long as I get her statement as soon as possible. She's a priority witness... between what the Point Man recovered at Armacham Headquarters, Raynes' team, the Lieutenant and Aristide, I'm sure I can put the final nail in the coffin for Armacham. I'll be damned if I let them get away with this mess. Allow Carson Saylers to pretend him and the rest of the board were unaware of what Aristide was doing. I'll see them all put on trial."

"You'll get your answers. I expect we all will, whether we like them or not. Justice as well, ideally. Where are the others?"

"Captain Raynes and the Sergeant were observing the defenses of the building, they're coming along well. They're currently keeping Genevieve Aristide under guard, lock and key on the 6th floor. She'll be fully interrogated later... after the Lieutenant awakens, and when everyone has had some rest. You can find the Point Man, Sergeant Major Holiday and operator Passalaqua in the cafeteria on your floor. They've been on their feet so long I can hardly blame them for taking a long break. The Lieutenant's last surviving squadmate, Sergeant Morales, the driver, is still down below in the parking bay. I believe he's making repairs on the APC. Keeping himself busy. Mostly speaking with Den Mother. I'll update him on the Lieutenant's status when we're done here. He could probably really use some good news too, from what Den Mother told me about him and Dark Signal."

Jin considered the Commissioner's updates, pursing her lips silently. A couple heavily armed Delta Force operators moved up the hallway towards her as she listened to Betters, talking to one another. They looked her way and nodded as they passed, a gesture she returned, watching them pass around the next hall out of sight. Moving back down towards the tenth floor's main desk and waiting area. It was a relief every time she saw a friendly Delta Force operator. Knowing they had allies now, others helping look out for them. Especially after how many of them had already been lost so far. There were probably more survivors still out there, caught up in the fighting with Armacham and the Replica... hopefully making their way to Auburn Memorial. As many of them left as possible. When Betters was done speaking, she spoke up again, concern in her tone.

"Copy that, Betters. How are things up there, really? How are you? You can tell me anything."

"Really? Up to my eyeballs in work... tired and multi tasking. Sorry I've been so quiet on the comlink lately, I have too much on my plate. I tell you, I'd rather be down there with you guys at this point, not helpless up here. Director McCullough is breathing down my neck for updates, and the Third F.E.A.R. Team for a mission in Fairport. I don't have an assignment for them yet that wouldn't be completely suicidal and pointless. Not throwing away more guys into the meat grinder for nothing. Studying recorded footage and intel from the Point Man as well. I'm coordinating with Den Mother, observing from the Hannibal-3, on the phone with the government and military every other minute, watching ATC and the Replica fighting it out, trying to contact Carson Salyers and the Armacham Board of Directors. Getting updates from the Delta Force teams protecting the Satellite Relay Tower... various operators all over the hospital and Fairport... there are still a few scattered teams stranded out there behind enemy lines. And all that's not even everything I'm dealing with. In short, close to the end of my rope. If it weren't for Den Mother backing me up, I'd be well and truly fucked. When this is over, I'm hiring more employees to help me here behind the scenes. Data analysts. Tech wizards. You name it. I'm good, but I'm reaching my limits here."

"You're not alone there, Betters. We're all reaching them. One problem at a time. We can only do our best. Try to relax, boss, before you get an ulcer. Consider that doctors orders. When this is over, you're taking up meditation... just might have to join you too."

The F.E.A.R. Commissioner laughed over the line slightly. A little bitterness, exhaustion, but appreciation. Jin couldn't hold back a tired smile herself. She heard him draw in a low breath, centering himself, pausing for a moment before his calm tone returned.

"True enough. Thanks for the update, Jin. For everything. You're as much my reliable eyes and ears down there as the Point Man is. I hate to cut this short, but I have to get going. Have to do that 'one problem at a time' thing. Keep me posted on any further developments, and I'll do the same. You have your assignments. Betters out."

Betters closed the comlink before she could reply, but she didn't need to. He understood, and so did she. It was enough that she had helped him relax a bit. They were all being crushed under pressure... it was up to them to keep each others spirits up. They wouldn't reach the end of the road otherwise. Her thoughts turned to the Third F.E.A.R. Team he had mentioned... as much as Captain Schofield and his men seemed to be itching for combat, a mission... Betters was right to keep them out of it. There was no sense bringing anymore people than needed into this mess. Part of her wanted their support, of course, but she knew better. Better they live, see their families again... than wade into the warfare and supernatural events occurring all over Fairport. She thought of the F.E.A.R. Director... hopefully by now McCullough was assembling an airtight case against Armacham for him and Betters to present to the world. She also thought of Raynes... and his strange Sergeant, both overseeing Aristide now.

Jin wanted to go down to the 6th floor... check on them and Aristide... see her be interrogated, when the time came... but she had other, far more important duties. And the condition of the former President of Armacham, heavily responsible for the mess in Fairport, was nowhere near the top of her to do list. Instead Jin had to do what she could to help the bitch's numerous victims. Whatever was or would be done to her, to extract information, she had earned and then some. But that was neither here nor there, for now. She knew where she belonged. The weight of the duffel bag returned her to her surroundings. The hallway just outside the operating room. She glanced back to the ominous looking bloody hand print on the glass of the operating room's doors... and then down the hall to the distant flickering lights. She drew her datapad and pulled up the automap of the floor... looking at the directions, markers and symbols on it... getting the lay of the area.

Keeping it in hand and the duffel bag at her side in the other, she moved again at last, down the hall towards the flickering lights... passing around the corridor and leaving the operating theater behind. She passed a nurse along the way... Tatiana, who was probably headed back to Doctor York's operating room. Before long Jin reached a subsequent waiting area where more medical staff, including Doctor Ross, were speaking to one another about their patients. She passed by them with a slight acknowledgement from Ross that she returned, passing the vending machines, chairs and static filled television sets. Following the markings on the walls with occasional directions. Soon enough, she passed down a corridor with a couple bathroom doors on it, and continued beyond them towards the main front doors of the cafeteria. It was on the way to the tenth floor's armory anyways... she could check in on the others on her way through. Update them as well... her motives both personal and duty related.

Before long she reached the cafeteria, pushing through the doors and stepping inside. Taking a moment to scan the area. Most of the cafeteria's occupants didn't even notice her entering, the staff still working in the kitchen. There were a few sparsely occupied tables of Delta Force operators and hospital staff, speaking to one another quietly or keeping to themselves, eating their meals. One table close by did notice her, and she looked to it, to find Passalaqua, Perez and Carmine, each looking up from their conversation her way. Their gear and weapons were set aside, and they seemed to be taking it easy... or as easy as they could under the circumstances. At the very least they looked better than they had earlier. And she got her first look at them without their usual helmets, balaclavas and clear goggles. Jin smiled fondly at Passalaqua, a handsome, dark haired man with hazel eyes and stubble on his face, somewhere in his mid thirties perhaps... and nodded at him, a gesture he returned... she began to approach his table, but her eyes drifted on as she moved.

And there she found them, sitting a few tables away from Passalaqua's. Like Passalaqua their gear and weapons were set aside on the table and on some chairs. Backpacks, equipment... the works. Sergeant Major Holiday sat with his boots propped up on the table, leaning back in his seat, at ease, looking like he was about to drift off. In contrast, sitting close by, the giant Point Man sat stiffly upright in his seat, a thousand miles away from everyone else. Peering off in the distance... his food tray mostly empty by now, save a delicious looking piece of cherry pie, with a drained coffee cup and familiar green can sitting next to it... like the familiar red one on Doug's. Some things never changed. The Point Man sat with his mask rolled up a fair bit, exposing his stubble lined mouth and jaw... red goggles still adorned, but his headlamp and helmet unclipped and set aside. He was looking at something, holding it up in his palm... it glinted in the light, and she recognized, remembered it. A necklace, she was certain, with a pendant... he had been examining it on the subway train... on their way to the hospital.

Jin had watched him, as she treated the injured, retreating into his own world. She had never gotten the chance to ask about it. As it turned out... it seemed to be a locket of some sort. He had opened the pendant, and was looking at whatever was inside. It was to their table she began to move towards at once, passing Passalaqua's after their moment's silent exchange. She could talk to him later... she knew he would understand. Holiday remained close to drifting off, unaware of Jin's presence... but she was no more than halfway up to their table when the Point Man's head turned her way. Red goggles glinting in the light as he became aware of her. The locket snapped shut... the necklace vanishing into his palm. Holiday was quick enough on the uptake, glancing in her direction when she reached the table, letting her boots tap on the floor to alert him. Standing over the pair, she looked between them for a moment. Then she drew a low breath and spoke to them first, lowering the duffel bag to her side again.

"It's alright. The Lieutenant survived the surgery, it was successful, and she's being closed up now. She's going to be ok... or at least, she's going to make it. I need to check up on her when she wakes. All in all, so far, so good."

She found another light smile touching her as she spoke the words aloud. Although she addressed both of them, she found it was him she was mostly speaking to. Giving the information he had been waiting all this time for. His lips parted slightly, before closing, and he nodded slowly in silent understanding. Drawing a low, quiet breath that struck Jin as relief. His rigid posture relaxed with it at last, leaning back further in his chair. It was then that she noticed his bare hand on the table, still clasping the necklace out of sight... it had been bandaged up since the last time she saw him. The bandage stained with dried blood. Taking up his fork with that hand, as if to punctuate his relief, he began to dig into the cherry pie slice at last. Her eyes widened a bit at the injury, curiously, when Holiday's voice redirected her attention.

"Damn good news, Jin.", Holiday seemed to speak for him, with a tired smile and a chuckle. It was good to see his smile again... to hear laughter. Especially now, in spite of everything that was happening. "I'll drink to that. Once I get another Diet Squish, anyways. Why don't you go grab a meal and pull up a chair here? And go get some rest soon. You look dead on your feet."

"I'd love to stay here with you boys, but I have to postpone it. There's just too much to do. What I'd give for a Boomer's Coffee shop to be in this hospital. Have to settle for what they got.", Jin smirked wearily, Holiday chuckling at her remark, silently wishing she could keep close to them. To the Point Man. She looked from Holiday to the Point Man, who peered back up at her between bites of his dessert. She smiled lightly at him, shaking the duffel bag in her hand a bit. "I have to get her things to the armory on this floor. Make arrangements for a guard to be posted outside her room in the recovery wing when she gets there... see to some more patients, and be there when she wakes up. Betters is going to want some answers out of her. Dinner and rest will have to wait. Some doctor, huh? Not taking my own medical advice."

"Hey, we need someone holding down the damn fort. At least long enough for the rest of us to have a bit of that ever elusive rest for the weary.", Holiday cracked wryly, releasing a low yawn and stretching his arms absently. Winking Jin's way, and nodding to the Point Man. Holiday stopped leaning in his seat and rose up to his feet, still stretching his limbs slightly as he spoke. "Fair enough. Me and the big guy here need to get up and go survey the defenses on each floor. Check with Speirs and Taylor on how it's all going. Troop layout. Armories. The works. We've put it off long enough, I'd reckon."

The Point Man, nodding Holiday's way, followed suit, rising up to his full height at the table when he had finished off the pie quickly, towering over Jin. He did not stretch his limbs as Holiday was, but stood straight and mostly still. Bandaged up hand down by his side. Looking over his equipment and weaponry. His bandaged hand rose, moving to a pouch on his armor and tucking away the necklace, closing the pouch securely. Then reaching down for his headlamp and clipping it back on to the side of his goggles. His finger tapped a button on the side of the goggles... probably rebooting his heads up display. Grabbing his helmet next he put it on, securing it into place, then he withdrew his gloves from one of his pouches and put them back on, hiding the bloody bandage from sight. She wanted to ask him or Holiday about it... but knew better than to here and now. They all had too much to do. Later, in private, she would check on it, redress it... and apply stitches if necessary. Give him a full medical examination. Instead, for the moment. she moved forward.

"You boys don't go getting into any more trouble now. You've been through enough as it is.", Jin smiled at them weakly. Although trouble seemed to follow them... there was nobody more capable in the hospital of handling it. That much she was certain of. "And Doug? Lieutenant Stokes is going to need a guard outside her recovery room. When I get the location, I'll pass it along to you. Could you put one or two of your men on to the task?"

"Sure thing. Just give me the heads up when you need them, and I'll make it happen."

Jin was about to move again, when she felt the Point Man's hand settle on and grip her wrist gently, and she looked back up at her red reflection in his goggles. His studied her for a moment, and then glanced down to the table, to one of the weapons there. A submachine gun... of a different make from the RPL. An Andra FD-99, from the look of it. His other hand reached down to the table and scooped it up, holding it out to her in offering. She was confused for a moment... until he gestured to the duffel bag, and understood. It wasn't his. It must have been the Lieutenant's primary, before she had gone into surgery. He was holding on to it for her.

She looked back up at him and nodded at last... and he slowly let go of her wrist. She set the duffel bag on the table and unzipped it. When she had, the Point Man leaned forward with the submachine gun and tucked it away inside with her sidearm and the rest of her things already in there. Zipping it back up for her, before leaning back out of the way. She picked the bag up again, lowering it to her side. He looked hesitant... from his body language. As though he wanted to say something, if he could. She understood how he felt.

"It's ok. I will see you soon. Just the two of us." , Jin murmured to him, leaning in closer. She didn't take her eyes off the reflection in his goggles. Watching her bruised visage assuring him, as well as herself. "After we've seen to our duties. You have my word. I'll make sure she's alright."

He was still for a moment... and then nodded. Satisfied. Holiday's voice broke in again from down the table, where he stood putting on all his own equipment and weapons. Watching the two of them with obvious amusement, like the tone of his voice.

"Come on man, let's let the doc get back to what she's best at. And us grunts back to what we do."

The Point Man looked back over at Holiday at last, the Sergeant Major flashing him a thumbs up. He nodded, returning the hand gesture, the resuming what he had been up to before, reaching for his backpack and strapping it on securely. Jin took that as her cue. Turning around she made her way to the closest coffee machine instead of heading up to the lunch line for the pot brewed by the hospital, ordering herself a tall, black cup of the stuff, sipping the hot liquid before making back to the main doors of the cafeteria. It wasn't the coffee she wanted, but it would have to tide her over in the meanwhile. Smiling again to Passalaqua on the way by, the operator watching her, and reaching the doors, she paused for a moment... feeling the other watchful, silent gaze. That unspoken thing that had formed between her and the Point Man. An understanding or connection... she wasn't sure, but it was there. She looked back over her shoulder as she opened the door, and sure enough his eyes behind the red goggles still watched her as he began to sling his weapons.

She smiled faintly, and looked back ahead to the open doors and the hallway beyond. Leaving the cafeteria and letting the doors close behind her. She continued on down the hall, into the divided corridor, moving back towards one of the waiting area. Pulling out her datapad she started it up, pulling up the map layout of the tenth floor... looking for the marker the Delta Force operators had placed for the armory location. As it turned out, it was beyond the maternity ward and just off the recovery room wings. Good... it would be close to wherever the Lieutenant ended up, and was on the way to the other patients on the floor. She could stash the duffel bag and go check in on them. Particularly, the nameless man the Point Man had saved and brought with him. Even so, the Point Man's bloodily bandaged hand returned to her thoughts as she moved down the halls towards the maternity ward. He came to her mind more than usual... how much she wanted to take care of him... it was getting harder to stay focused on all the tasks and patients.

Jin couldn't deny how tired she was... but she needed to keep going... drawing on her reserves, like everyone else was by now. She passed the waiting area... the nurse at that desk, a stranger to Jin, didn't bother looking up from whatever report she was typing up. Jin passed a pair of Delta Force operators, who acknowledged her silently, with her returning their friendly gestures. Moving down the next hall, she took another few turns until she reached the maternity ward... to find it quite abandoned. Silent and still. As no hospital nursery should have been. It was well illuminated, both outside and inside the rooms... but something about the area made her skin crawl... raising goosebumps on her arms. She felt her pulse quicken instinctively. She paused in her tracks and peered through the Plexiglas observation windows to all the rows of empty bassinets. She imagined them all full of babies, each attended to by nurses, as they would have been not long ago, in another world... the world Fairport had been then.

She didn't know if she was glad they were all empty, or disturbed. On one hand, if they were full... she could protect them... Delta Force operators would be patrolling these corridors watching over them. They could fly them to safety, when the time came. On the other, she couldn't... didn't want to imagine any baby being put through a hell like Fairport. She drew a low breath... trying to force herself not to ponder why each bassinet was empty. She didn't do well blocking it out. The hospital had been fully active before the blast, surely... so why had so many people vanished? How many babies had been in there when it happened? And where had they vanished to? Another image came to her, of below the city at Blue Line Station. The civilians who had been there, burnt away... melted into puddles. She remembered... the children's charred skeletons, among the others... alongside the adults. Their parents. A fate she was relieved had not seemingly befallen any of the babies at the hospital... but to just vanish into thin air? She hoped their parents had simply scooped them up and tried to flee the city when they had heard the blast... the rational explanation.

Unfortunately... it was increasingly becoming the less rational, and more horrifying explanations that made more sense of late... and had more power over her. And likelihood. Especially in a world rapidly losing any sense of sanity... of rationality. She shook her head sharply, forcing it back at last, focusing on her tasks... the weight of the duffel bag, her datapad... something else, anything that could take her away from it. Her patients. One task at a time. She could not stand here alone, in this silent corridor and brood over the worst... most disturbing possible things. She needed to stay rational... and collected, at least as much as she could be in a world that had turned itself upside down. She looked away from the observation windows at last, moving down the hall again and turning, passing another section of similar observation windows for two separate, spacious maternity rooms. She looked ahead... there were a few patient rooms and offices, nurses stations along the way in the maternity ward... but each of the doors was closed up. She focused on a pair of double doors at the end of the hall, picking up the pace.

As she left the area behind, she vowed not to come back this way again... shortcut be damned. Superstitious and irrational or not. She left the cold, eerie, silent stillness behind. Reaching the doors she opened them and pushed through, closing them behind her again. In accordance with the map on her datapad, she found herself in the main hall again, on the opposite side of the floor. She looked up and down the corridor... and found even the flickering lights welcome. Her risen heartbeat gradually balancing out, as she saw the familiar scrubs of hospital staff and dark armored uniforms of the Delta Force operators again. The sound of their footsteps echoing about, along with voices... the sounds of hospital equipment. Terminals. Replacing the dead silence, much to her relief. Glancing to her datapad again, she continued on down the right side of the hall... passing assorted rooms... watching her icon on the screen nearing the designated armory. Nearing the pair of other icons standing in front of it. Looking up, she saw them in the distance when she stepped around the next corner... heard them talking to one another, one of them laughing.

They hadn't spotted her yet. Lowering her datapad, she put it on standby and tucked it away again, transferring her bag to her right hand as she neared the two operators guarding the makeshift armory. It was a spacious medical supply closet, complete with a metal door, electronic locks and codes... not a bad place to be stashing weaponry and military equipment in the least. It would probably take a blow torch and a great deal of exertion to break it down... and that was factoring out security. The Delta Force operators really had turned this hospital around in the course of a relatively brief time. One of the guards was holding a shotgun, the other an RPL down at his side. The moment they noticed her coming, they broke off from their conversation and turned her way. They didn't look particularly surprised as she drew close and came to a stop before them. Nor did they focus any attention to her obviously bruised features... or at least didn't comment on it.

"You're Jin Sun-Kwon, right? The medical and technical officer with F.E.A.R.?", The one closest to her with the submachine gun spoke first. His balaclava crinkled a bit as he seemed to smile, eyes behind the clear goggles welcoming, warm. Like his tone. "Your boss Tomcat radioed ahead, told us you'd be coming, and to give you access to the armory. I'm Sergeant O'Neil, this is Sergeant Brock. What's the deal? Here to make a gun run?"

"Something like that. The gear and weapons in this duffel bag belong to a Signal Corps liaison of Delta Force, with the Dark Signal Squad. I'm here to deliver it for safekeeping in the meantime, while she recovers."

"Lieutenant Stokes?", Sergeant Brock did a double take, glancing at his partner, voice lined with obvious disbelief. He looked back over to Jin, raising a brow. "Dark Signal made it out of all this? No shit?"

"No shit. Well... a couple of them did, at least. Her and Sergeant Morales. I don't know about the others.", Jin answered their surprise with a slight grim smile. Glad the good news, what little of it there was, was appreciated by them. Every one of them had been through too much... even with their training, she had no doubt how heavily it was weighing on the Delta Force operators. "She just got out of surgery, and will be sent to a recovery room soon. Sergeant Morales is down in the parking garage I believe, with the APC."

"Manny and Betsy made it too? Goddamn. Thank God for military training and small miracles. After Major Silva vanished, I wasn't holding out any hope for Dark Signal faring any better. When the Replica or ATC come snooping around, we're sure as hell gonna need the extra firepower that bad bitch APC is packing. Seen the size of that gun on her? I'm sure that crazy S.O.B. Manny will be glad to dish out some payback for the rest of his team."

"If they come snooping around, man.", Sergeant O'Neil contradicted his partner at once, interjecting. He looked away from Jin and back to the operator with the shotgun. "No goddamn way they make it here. They're too busy with each other. You didn't see them fighting downtown from the roof? McNeil told me all about it. He even saw a big orbital drop from a Replica or ATC EPA Launcher. Transport pods, dropping mechs and troops. Swarms of UAV Drones. Couldn't tell which side from the distance, but they've got no shortage of tech, troops and armor out there doing battle. Half tempted to head up there and watch it myself."

"One of them is gonna win, and whichever side it is will come for us when that happens. You know that."

"We'll be out of here by then, surely. And even if we weren't, they'd be greatly reduced, nothing we couldn't handle from a fortified defensive position like this place. Besides, the rest of the surviving squads should make it back here soon, plus the reinforcements we'll be getting. You wait until the military rolls in. Matter of time before the cavalry gets here. Stomps the Replica and ATC into the mud."

"Wish I had your fucking blind optimism, man. Even if we can handle the Replica and ATC, what about the ghosts? Last I checked bullets, explosives and military training don't count for shit against supernatural dead things and monsters. They can just keep coming."

"Ghosts? Monsters? Come on, Brock, I don't believe in that paranormal horse shit."

"Believe in them or not, weird shit is happening all over this city and you know it. And I'm not talking the nuke, an army of clone soldiers and corporate goons. You were just lucky enough not to see much of it. What do you think happened to the Foxtrot Recon team dispatched to Armacham Headquarters? The liquifications? Why do you think every clock has stopped working? Why the fuck do you think the F.E.A.R. Ghostbusters are here to back us up? Uh, no offence, Ma'am."

"None taken, Sergeant.", Jin cut in at last, holding up a gloved hand. Hoping to defuse the bickering between the two operators. She moved on quickly, getting their attention again. "I'm about as much in the dark as Delta Force is about the nature of the threats in this city. If not the source. We are speaking of phenomena that defies the laws of nature... or at least, laws that have not even been nearly deciphered as of yet. We're just going to have to hope our luck holds out."

"Ghosts and demons or not, I'll give an amen to that.", O'Neil agreed swiftly with a nod. He released his submachine gun, letting it hang from its sling across his chest. Reaching into one of his pockets he retrieved his own datapad, activating it and looking down at it, speaking as he did so. "I just want to get the hell out of here, cut our losses. This isn't the mission we all came to Fairport for. All we can do now is survive. Salvage what we can. But in the meantime, you're here for a reason."

Tapping in the code on the button panel next to the door, there was an audible beep, as the electronic locks on the door of the supply closet automatically released. The red light on the panel switching to green. The operator turned back to the door and opened it for her, flicking on a light inside and standing back out of the way with Brock, who looked back her way with a nod and spoke again.

"Go ahead, Ma'am. Armory's all yours."

"Thank you, Sergeants."

"One other thing, doc, got a question.", Sergeant O'Neil spoke up again, some amusement flitting into his tone. "What does F.E.A.R. stand for, again? Fuck Everything And Run? Because I could get on board with that motto, about now."

The Sergeant chuckled at the remark, and a smirk touched Jin's lips for a moment or two, amusement reaching her as well... even now, it was a welcome feeling. Especially now, in light of everything. Even if the joke had been done to death... she'd heard it on her first day with F.E.A.R. and often enough since.

"I've heard that one more times than you'll ever know, Sergeant. But in all honesty... I'm starting to wish it stood for that."

"Only starting? Damn. Must build you Ghostbusters tougher than Delta Force, with that attitude. I better let you go, before you fire a proton stream our way."

O'Neil laughed again as he moved out of her path, Brock shaking his head and releasing an exasperated sigh. Jin stepped up between them with a grateful smile, and made for the open door. Stepping inside, she took a quick look around the spacious interior, to all the racks and sections... cabinets, that had before held medical supplies and devices. All medical supplies and equipment had been taken out of the room, and undoubtedly distributed around the floors with hospital staff and patients on them. In their place were spare sidearms and primary weapons including shotguns, submachine guns, assault rifles... along with sealed supply crates of assorted ammunition, grenades and other explosive weaponry. Among some of the racks were spare body armor vests, helmets and gas masks, among other various military apparel and supplies.

Everything was divided into different sections of the room... nice and organized, in keeping with Delta Force's professionalism. Jin made her way over towards the section with the apparel, eyes sweeping over the racks and cabinets containing it all. She found a spot on a rack close by, on a middle shelf in the corner. Raising the bag, she slid it carefully on to the shelf, securing it into place, before stepping back. Satisfied. One detail down... only about a thousand more to take care of, before she could call it a night. Or day. Whatever it really was. Breathing quietly, she turned and looked back to the open door, where the two Sergeants had resumed their previous conversation. She stepped through the door, and O'Neil closed it back up after her, locking it up as well, the green light on the electronic lock turning red. The men bid her farewell, and she to them, before they continued talking, and she began making her way back down the hall. drawing out her datapad along the way... pulling up both the floor, and the locations of the patients, their names, and their status.

It would be good to get back to what she was really good at, instead of making equipment deliveries. She began to make her rounds, checking on the patients... starting with the nameless man the Point Man had saved. He seemed to be recovering well... but he had not spoken since his strange, knowing words down in the metro office. At the very least he seemed more coherent... aware of his surroundings. In the time since she had last seen him, he had changed out of his blood soaked suit and into some spare casual clothes, and had washed up and eaten. He was sleeping by the time she silently entered to check up on him. She was tempted to wake him... to ask him questions. About a family... about where he had been when the Point Man had found him... and what had happened to them along the way to the pawn shop. She refrained despite her curiosity... knew his journey had likely exhausted or traumatized him... as all of theirs had.

Whatever he had been through, it had been enough. It was difficult enough for them, trained special forces... he had been a civilian, going about his day when it had happened. According to the nurses charts, a through examination from the doctors had, fortunately, ruled no internal injuries... as she had been certain of after her own examination. He just needed time, and rest... to come back to himself. It was out of their hands now... what was in their hands would be getting him and the others out of Fairport when the time came... so he could have that time to recover. All the same... she wondered about him. What he had said before. She moved on to a number of other patients... civilians and Delta Force operators alike. She took her time with them, asking a few questions to those who were awake and able to communicate. Learning names, getting to know them and their conditions a bit better. She couldn't get to know them as well as she would have liked... there were many of them, and time was limited. Maybe it was why she hadn't wanted to be a doctor at a hospital... it was too impersonal. One patient after another, in and out before you really got to know them better.

As soon as one was treated, or died, it was right on to the next one. With F.E.A.R., she was there in a smaller, relatively less stressful environment... with patients she knew, or could get to know over time, being her co workers. She had also felt she could make more of a difference there than in a hospital... though she had no shortage of respect for the nurses and doctors, what they put up with on a regular basis. What they could handle. Especially now... here, in the middle of this. The staff was accommodating, and grateful of her help... she appreciated them... even if they stared at her strangely at times. Whispered among themselves. She could understand, being an outsider, and part of F.E.A.R... they had all known each other for years, worked together. Still, she didn't get in their way, or try to step on any toes, butt her way in where she wasn't wanted or needed. She was there to assist, not do all their work for them. She went and checked on operators Cole and Jenkins, both of whom were still recovering from their own surgeries. The HV Penetrator flechette rounds that had impaled each having been removed, the wounds closed up.

While the surgeries hadn't been as long or extensive as the Lieutenant's had been, they were both still resting. She had been there when each had woken from their sedation... long enough for Cole to ask her to pass along his regards to the Point Man... and a humbled Jenkins to ask her to send him up sometime... that he wanted to apologize personally for talking the way he had behind his back. They had both fallen back to sleep not long after, needing all the rest they could get. At her coaxing, of course. She double checked their charts and vitals, their monitors... satisfied with their conditions. They were expected to make full recoveries, in due time, even if they were out of the combat aspect of the Fairport operation, now, much to each of their chagrin. Delta Force was tough all around... that didn't really surprise her at this point, the fact they wanted to get up and keep fighting, even after what they had narrowly survived. While she was observing Jenkins and his chart, her comlink blared to life, and a man's familiar steady voice spoke carefully over the line.

"Miss Sun-Kwon? This is Doctor York. Lieutenant Stokes has been settled into the eastern recovery wing on this floor. Room 237. Updating your Datanet now. You can send your Delta Force security detail there anytime."

Jin stopped what she was doing... setting the chart back down, and withdrew her datapad. Pulling it out, she scanned over the information he had sent her. The location. Not too far off from Jenkins' room. She nodded to herself with satisfaction, before speaking over the line to the doctor. Eyes shifting to Jenkins in his bed again, trying to get some shut eye, but likely listening in.

"Copy that, doctor. How is she doing?"

"So far so good. No complications closing her up or on the way to her room. Shes still under, the gas we used was potent, but it should pass soon. We gave her a light sedative as well to take the edge off when she wakes. We can administer another later on when she needs it."

"Thank you, Doctor York. I'll make the security arrangements."

"How are the patients you've seen so far?"

"No fatalities that I know of, thankfully... there are so many, and for such a limited staff. I have to hand it to you, your people are very capable. Especially now, under these circumstances."

"We do what we have to, and we do our best, as I'm sure you know well for yourself. I have to get back into the surgery bay now, yet another injured Delta Force operator. Not nearly as pressing as Lieutenant Stokes' case, but there could be some serious long term issues if I don't operate now. Thanks again for the assistance, Miss Sun-Kwon. We'll be in touch."

The comlink broke before she could say anything more, but it was enough to make her smile. It had been a blessing Doctor York had been able to make it in to the hospital early on. God knew how many lives he had already saved and would save before the end. Although those lives remained in the balance, even if they were safer here than anywhere else. At least until they were evacuated. She continued on with her duty, activating the comlink again, she contacted Holiday, speaking calmly into the line.

"Doug? It's Jin. About that security arrangement. Floor 10, Eastern Recovery Wing, Room Number 237. Got all that?"

"Crystal. I'll get some guys there ASAP. The big guy says 'hey good looking' and that he misses you already. At least I'm sure he would if he could. Hey man, don't be looking at me like that."

"I'm sure he does.", Jin smirked at that a little wryly, in spite of herself. She could almost see his red goggles staring at the Sergeant Major on the other side of the line. "What are the status of the defenses?"

"Going well. Speirs and Taylor got a lot done while we were out... we're just filling in some of the remaining gaps now, vital entry points. This is surgery in itself, no place better for it. The adjoining medical center might have been useful for the hospital, but its skybridges are a pain in the ass for us now... or will be, if we don't do this right. If I wanted to assault this hospital's weak point without taking the place head on, that's where I'd strike from. Destroying the skybridges isn't an option... the destruction of all three would just smash a giant hole in the side of the building for them to pour in through... could take out the life flight elevator as well. We're sticking to locking down those doors, barricading them up, keeping operators and turrets posted on each. Still, we're making progress. Anything that attacks us we'll be able to hold back for awhile, if not drive the fuckers off entirely. Well... almost anything."

A chill ran through the line... in his voice and down her spine. She hadn't spoken much with Doug about it yet... the... supernatural. About Alma. The phenomena going on in the city. And certainly not about what they had seen down in the Orange Line tunnels. Maybe it was just as well... they had too many tasks to see through, and were too tired to focus there... the lingering surreal threat that went beyond the Replica and ATC. She had no doubt Doug, the Point Man, David and the others could and would keep them safe from those threats. It was those threats she focused on... what was tangible and surmountable, unlike the supernatural. She spoke up again as though there hadn't been a pause on the line, moving on.

"Glad to hear it. There are enough problems already without security concerns on top of it. We're all in your hands."

"And better hands couldn't be found. All the same, the sooner that evacuation gets underway the better... but there's too much to do yet. I better get going, I'll get those men on over to the Lieutenant's room asap. Talk to you later."

"Thanks again, Doug. You boys stay safe."

Switching off the comlink, she took a moment to puzzle over their exchange. Glancing at the resting Jenkins again, she nodded to herself and turned, making for the door and stepping silently out into the hall. Closing the door behind her, the sounds of his monitors vanished. She glanced up and down the quiet, mostly barren hall... looking to the flickering of some of the lights. Then back down to her datapad's map of the hospital. She continued on down the hall, following the directions she had been forwarded, followed the marker. She stopped a few times along the way to check on some more patients she hadn't gotten the chance to. A couple of them were more severe cases... and the nurses didn't seem sure they would survive. She was realistic about their conditions... the burns, the wounds... she doubted they would make it to the evacuation. All the same, they deserved the chance, such as it was. Finally, she reached the eastern recovery wing, starting down the quiet corridors, scanning about. In the distance, she saw it... the marked room, with a pair of Delta Force operators already standing watch outside the door, on either side of it. Doug certainly worked fast.

The two men were in conversation as she drew closer, voices echoing in the hall... instantly familiar, along with their respective weapons. When they heard her footsteps they broke off from their conversation and looked over her way. Sergeant O'Neil's amused voice carrying down her way.

"Well well well, look who's back already. Couldn't get enough of our charm the first time, Ma'am?"

"I take it Sergeant Major Holiday just pulled you guys off armory duty?"

"Hey, we jumped at the chance. Least we can do for the Lieutenant, all she's been through out there.", Sergeant Brock added as Jin came to a stop in front of the two. The operator glanced back to the recovery room's window near the door, gesturing absently to it. Jin looked beyond the partially open blinds, to the illuminated room... and the vague shape of the room's occupant in bed. She couldn't get a clear look where she was. "We had rotating shifts with another couple operators, they've taken over guarding the armory in the meantime."

"Besides, more fine nurses down here than there were up there."

"Just try your best to focus on the guard duty aspect of the job, not just the perks.", Jin replied with mock seriousness, a hint of a smile betraying it, drawing chuckles from the operators. She nodded towards one of the windows, looking between O'Neil and Brock. "Has the Lieutenant awoken? Has anyone else come through here?"

"She's still out. The nurses come in now and again to check on her, but she's all hooked up to the machines and seems to be ok, breathing just fine. They said she should come out of it soon."

"I appreciate it, gentlemen. And I know she will when she wakes up.", Jin spoke gratefully, switching off and tucking away her datapad again. She stepped between them and over to the door, glancing back at them as she grasped the handle. "Keep up the good work."

"Yes ma'am. Good luck in there."

She opened the door and passed through it, letting it close behind her. They fell back into conversation out in the hall, but it was drowned out by the door, the beeping of the monitor, and the muffled rain storm outside the hospital. Stepping further inside the room, she looked about it briefly... it was dimly lit, and there were several scattered chairs about. A back room with a washroom... like the number of floors, and how big each one, the size of the rooms were also impressive. Her gaze settled on the bed ahead of her... and its occupant. Slowly she stepped over to the front of it, looking down over the patient. The Lieutenant lie still, save the rise and falling of her gown covered chest. She was still pale... too pale, sweat trickling down her face... but she was improving marginally from the woman Jin had first seen down in the ambulance bay. The tube of the IV was attached to her, along with that of the heart rate monitor, steadily beeping away. She was a strong one, alright.

Jin glanced down to the nearby nurses chart, picking it up and looking over the notes. She was doing as well as could be expected from her surgery... she certainly wasn't comatose, and was expected to wake soon, when the gas wore off. Jin lowered the chart again and set it aside. Glancing over to one of the closest chairs, pulled up at a small table, she moved over to it, picked it up and moved it over beside Lieutenant Stokes' bed. Settling herself down in it, she drew a low, relaxing breath. It felt good to finally be off her feet for a moment... and to have some time to herself. In the reassuring peace of the heartbeat monitor. She had been running around the city and hospital alike for longer than she cared to think about.

From where she sat, she observed the Lieutenant for a moment... before retrieving her datapad again and activating it. As it switched back on, so did the background picture she had chosen for it. Taken a mere few days before. She stood with her hand on her hip between Betters and the Point Man in front of the team's Black Hawk helicopter, on the landing pad of the F.E.A.R. Compound. Spen sat behind the controls of the helicopter, looking at the camera through the cockpit window. All of them were dressed in their respective armor and uniforms... the Point Man masked and standing stiffly upright like a statue, with his arms at his sides, his red goggles looking back at her. It had been after an exhausting all day training exercise, comprised of hostage rescues, marksman testing and obstacle courses... it had been Betters idea to have his secretary take the picture. Betters had wanted to test the Point Man's reflexes under pressure that day... and it had been the first time she saw him move the way he did. Even now, it was hard to believe. She smiled thoughtfully at the image, the memory, how long ago it seemed. Spen was looking right at her, healthy and whole, with a bit of a smile. As he always would be, at least in this image. In her memory.

At last, she turned her attention back to her work, reluctantly. Since she had some time on her hands, she might as well put it to use while she relaxed a bit. She checked on the progress of the hospital, its floors and patients, checked her updates. Part of her wished Betters would send some updates on the F.E.A.R. line, but that was to be expected. He had enough to do as it were... and she was well aware she was pretty far down as far as the need to know basis went. Still, she wondered what he was up to right now outside Fairport, everything he was putting up with, working himself ragged. She didn't doubt everyone and everything was trying to get his attention now... right up to the President. He was, in his own way, as in the middle of the catastrophe as they were. If on the outside looking in.

She fell down into that digital world, immersing herself in it, alternating between it and sipping her coffee absently. It was as much a part of the job as the medical aspect, the technical. It felt good to lose herself in it, to be distant from what was happening around her in the world. But it couldn't last forever. Before she knew it, the figure on the bed was stirring... coming back from the anesthetic gas. Perhaps an hour had passed in no time. The Lieutenant looked slowly about her surroundings, eyes wide yet distant, towards Jin... and Jin turned off her datapad as the young woman looked back at her. Silent, save her breaths, and the beeping of the monitor. Leaning forward, Jin tucked away the datapad and smiled. She felt relief to see her waking again... even knowing that she would. Jin spoke to the young woman calmly and soothingly, attempting to reassure her, as she filled her in a bit.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Lieutenant Stokes. My name is Jin Sun-Kwon... I'm a combat medic and technical officer with First Encounter Assault Recon. You are in Auburn Memorial Hospital, along with the rest of the survivors gathered so far. It was a close one, but you made it. You've been through hell and back, from what I've heard. And a little of what I saw in the operating room."

Lieutenant Stokes continued to stare back at her blankly... as though the words weren't quite registering. Her blue eyes were still distant, in another world... whatever world she had just woken from, perhaps. Dreams, nightmares... or some other world... all were possible, now. Jin gave her a moment to process the words, and continued as slowly.

"It was touch and go there for awhile. You actually flatlined on the table, briefly... but you came back before we could take any life saving measures to bring you back. You must have a very strong will, or a guardian angel up there, somewhere. How do you feel?"

At last, Stokes slowly looked away from Jin... and she lay back against the pillows again with a pained groan under her breath. She closed her eyes tightly for a moment, and then stared up at the ceiling. Again, Jin gave her the time that she needed... to think it over. To realize where she was, what had happened. Minutes passed before Stokes stared back at her again, finally, glancing in her direction. Jin could feel her eyes exploring her face for a moment, eyes narrowing a bit... and some of the woman from before the gunshot seemed to return. Not the deathly pale, frightened woman who had been clinging to life on the gurney, grasping the Point Man's hand. A painful, bitter laugh... and a faint cold smile to match it.

"Lady... you look just like I feel."

Grunts. She was more of a soldier at heart alright, even if she was a communications officer. Jin shook her head slowly, faintly amused by the attempt on her part. Well aware of how she must have looked with all the bruises... she'd been avoiding a mirror for awhile... they had probably worsened by now. The attempt to rile her up and start a pissing match, as soldiers were fond of calling it, nearly drew a laugh out of her as well, knowing the language well. She sat back in her chair a little instead, considering the pale, blonde woman.

"Well... your wit seems sharp enough, a display of cognitive ability, coherence. The nurse's chart as well states you're in good condition, despite your circumstances. Though perhaps your insults could use some creative practice."

"Wasn't my best, doc... but if it wasn't obvious... I'm not at my best. Give it awhile... and I'll think of something clever."

"I can hardly wait, Lieutenant. Is there anything I can do for you in the meanwhile?"

"If you've got something... harder than coffee... lying around... I could use some of it... about now."

She merely smiled apologetically and shook her head in return at that. Lieutenant Stokes' voice was a bit dulled from her sedatives... but in spite of it, she was present. In the moment, and aware of her situation. Her plight. She leaned back in the bed a bit, looking away from Jin again. She appeared distant in an instant... considering something silently. Jin waited for her patiently... well aware this was going to take some time. She spoke again carefully after a long pause... but did not look at Jin right away.

"In that case... you can tell me... where Manny is. Did he make it?"

"Sergeant Morales? Health wise, he's fine. Down in the parking garage, working away on his APC. Repairs. Has been since you were in the operating room, I believe."

A bit of a relieved smile touched the Lieutenant's lips at the news. Not the cold, bitter one from before, but something more genuine. Chuckling a bit under her breath in spite of herself. Drawing a low, steadying breath and finally looking at Jin again as she spoke.

"Figures. Probably buffing out... all the bullet scratches... from the armor plating. He may as well marry... the damn thing. Already named her Betsy."

"He'll be relieved to hear you're ok, or at least, that you made it. I can have my superior, F.E.A.R. Commissioner Betters, contact and send him up to visit you when you're ready."

"Can't get a minute away from Manny, can I?", Lieutenant Stokes inquired wryly, twisting her mouth a bit. Though nodding slightly with it. "Yeah. I'd... appreciate that."

"Of course. There's something else, something pressing. I am hesitant to ask it of you... and so soon, but I wouldn't ask if it weren't-..."

"You want my testimony. Recorded. Betters wants everything. I know. I remember him asking... back at the apartment. I remember...", Lieutenant Stokes trailed off quietly... mulling it over. She closed her eyes tightly, tightening her jaw as well. When she opened her blue eyes they settled on Jin again reluctantly, wearily. "I remember enough. More than I want to. Wish I were still on the morphine about now instead... of these light sedatives. But... anything else will come back soon enough. Just... give me a few minutes... will you?"

"Of course. You'll need this, when you're ready.", Jin replied, rising from her chair and stepping over beside the bed. Reaching into the right pouch, she produced the comlink she had been wearing before the surgery. She held it down to her in offering... and the Lieutenant took it after a moment's hesitation. When she did, Jin closed up the pouch and took her seat again. "Take the time that you need, Lieutenant."

She did, laying back in her bed, studying the comlink carefully for a bit... perhaps recalling where she had gotten it before. Then she slipped it back into her ear, securing it in place, and began to relax again. Lieutenant Stokes alternated between closing her eyes, staring at the ceiling, and looking ahead, to the closed shutters of the windows out to the hall and the closed door. Jin waited, silently and patiently. Considering the circumstances, giving her the time she needed to clear her head a bit was the least they could do for her. That she was awake and aware as she was seemed a miracle in and of itself. Eventually, the Lieutenant spoke again... although her voice remained a bit distant, it was also clearer than before. More steady.

"Could you send Manny up now? I want to see him... before we get on with this. I owe him... a thank you. More than that. May as well get some of what I owe out of the way. One thing at a time."

Jin nodded in understanding with another faint smile. Raising a gloved hand to her headset, she activated the comlink channel to the F.E.A.R. Commissioner. Speaking the information into the line smoothly.

"Betters? It's Jin. Lieutenant Stokes is awake. Her condition is fit enough for that testimony. I have a security team guarding her in the recovery room. Eastern section of the tenth floor, room 237. She'll be ready to talk soon... but she wants Sergeant Morales to know she's alright, to come up and see her before she does."

"Just what I wanted to hear. We can get this wrapped up soon enough. Copy that, I'll pass it along."

Betters' relieved voice spoke on the other line, after a slight pause. He sighed under his breath on the line, before the line went dead for a long moment, switching over undoubtedly to Den Mother or Morales comlink. Jin absently tapped her gloved fingers against her leg as she waited, glancing back to the likewise waiting Lieutenant. Smiling a bit sympathetically, a gesture the pale woman did not return, pallid features distant, groggy. Before too long the connection resumed, along with his voice.

"Alright, he's been informed, he's on his way up. Let me know when she's ready, Jin. Betters out."

When the line went dead abruptly, Jin turned off the comlink. Looking back over to the bed. Nodding to the Lieutenant assuredly.

"He's on his way up now. Should be here in a few minutes, if he doesn't get lost. Easy to do, in a place this size."

"Good... that's good..."

The blonde Lieutenant was quiet for another long moment, visibly thinking something over. Eyes growing distant again. When she spoke again, her voice was more guarded and careful as she addressed Jin. Even a shade tentative. Uncertain. Jin was reminded of the way she had spoken, as she had been wheeled into the hospital. Not the harder edged soldier, but a woman.

"Manny... isn't the only one I need to thank. The big guy... the man in the mask... with the red goggles..."

"Yes. ", Jin replied at once, interest piqued as much by the Lieutenant's words and tone as her carefully neutral expression. "Our resident Point Man... and tip of the spear."

"Knight in shining armor... more like it. Point Man... what, he doesn't have a name?"

"If he does... none of us know what it is. And he's not exactly telling anyone. It seems he can't speak, and we were told by higher ups not to ask about his past, or where he transferred from."

"Man of mystery. I see. Where is he?"

"Surveying the hospital's defenses with Sergeant Major Holiday. He and Delta Force are securing each floor's perimeter security, in case they come for us. Barricades, turrets, mines, armories... the works. Locking everything possible down tightly."

"When they come for us.", Lieutenant Stokes corrected her dryly at once. Shaking her head slowly. Wearily. She drew a low, steadying breath. "Not if. When. Those defenses... should do well against the Replica or ATC. Buy time for reinforcements, at least. I only wonder... how well they'll hold up against her..."

The communications officer's tone was bitter again and defeated at the mention of her. They both knew who... what... she was talking about. Only too well. It hung there uncomfortably in the air between them as they studied one another. Along with the silence as Stokes looked to be visibly considering something. Finally, she broke it again, returning to the previous topic and looking back over at Jin carefully.

"When it's time for me to testify... can you... send your Point Man up here?", The Lieutenant requested at last calmly, something in her eyes becoming a bit more hopeful. "To thank him. I... owe him that as well. Manny and him both saved my life. I can never repay that. I want him to be here... to hear it all. What I have to say. If anyone should hear what I have to say... he should."

"I will.", Jin assured her with a nod... and she was going to leave it at that... but couldn't stop herself from speaking more than she probably should. Something compelled her to do it. "He was concerned about you... I saw it the whole way up. He didn't want to leave your side. He doesn't seem to do that for just anyone... well... besides Alice Wade, perhaps."

"Alice... Wade?", The Lieutenant rose a brow, lips thinning slightly. "Any relation to...?"

"Yeah. Long, depressing story."

"All of them seem to be, in this city. All I know is that as soon as he showed up at the apartment... picked me up... I remember I felt..."

"Safe, even while surrounded by hell on Earth... right?", Jin supplied for her knowingly when she trailed off. Nodding at the same time Lieutenant Stokes did as well. "Yes. I know the feeling. I haven't known him long, he only transferred in a little over a week ago. He's a quiet one... but he says more than most with his actions."

"Yeah... he does.", Lieutenant Stokes agreed a little more quietly, a strange look flitting over her features as she stared back at Jin. Looking and sounding faintly curious, quiet tone addressing her again carefully. "Are the two of you...?"

"No.", Jin answered quickly... perhaps a bit too quickly. She amended her voice, speaking calmly, smiling a bit faintly. "I don't work that fast. Barely know him. We're teammates, first and foremost. All the same..."

"You wouldn't object to the idea? Thought about it?", The blonde woman asked more boldly, wryly. Jin didn't answer... nor did she seem to have to. The Lieutenant seemed to understand well enough, a hint of a knowing smirk twisting at the corner of her mouth. "So... haven't staked out that prime territory, yet. You're saying I still got a shot."

"By all means, Lieutenant. Take it. Assuming your aim isn't spotty. If you'd like I can wheel you on down to serenade him. Of course, staircase accidents with runaway wheelchairs are known to happen occasionally... slippery floors and all."

"Ha! Ugh... don't make me laugh...", Lieutenant Stokes muttered with a pained look, coughing and stifling her amusement at the joke for the most part. Even so, it lingered there visibly in her otherwise tired features. Made her eyes seem a little more alive and playful. She spoke up again once she had recovered herself, slowly and dryly amused. "Got some bedside manner on you. Maybe our tastes at least see eye to eye, doc. Maybe you're not half bad after all."

"Maybe." Jin's own amused voice reluctantly echoed and returned her smirk, the most she was willing to confess, shaking her head. At least they had one thing to agree upon mutually. Perhaps the grunt girl had more going on to her than she'd initially thought. "Best to give it awhile though, just to be sure. Might disappoint each other yet."

"Well... either way... I'm in no condition or mood for a cat fight. Let's take... a rain check. Someone beat me to it anyways... from the look of you."

"Lucky me I suppose, G.I Jane.", Her bruised features returned with a short, slight laugh. "This city has seen enough battles anyways. No sense in us adding to them."

"Don't I know it. So... where are you from? China? Korea... right? Got any family?"

"My parents are from Seoul, was born and raised here in the States though. Anchorage. Fair few siblings, and a big extended family. They'll be worrying by now, with all this going on. Glued to the T.V. Wouldn't surprise me if they were jamming up Director McCullough and Betters' phone lines right now, back at the F.E.A.R. Compound. How about you?"

"Miami, by way of L.A. My folks are still around, and got a younger brother and an older sister. Nathan and Rachel. Nathan just got into college... taking some special courses, Rachel is married... with a bunch of kids already. So I get to play the badass aunt... whenever I get some home leave."

"Lucky them. It's important for kids to have positive role models. I get a bit of that from my younger cousins, nieces and nephews too... though I can't talk much about my work to them or my parents. Covert, classified operations and all. Paranormal matters."

"Yeah. They got a Ghostbuster and doctor in one, in the family. Not so sure I'm as good a role model, though. Look where my career had gotten me. Not going to recommend they follow in my footsteps, if I get out of here in one piece. Not that Rachel would ever let them anyways. Can hardly blame her for that, now. At least it was from protecting this country... and not out in some endless desert sand trap of a meat grinder for others..."

With a grimace, on that unpleasant note the Lieutenant looked down at her abdomen, Jin following her gaze, and remaining silent, but nodding sympathetically, unsure what more to say just then. As the silence lingered, Jin took up her datapad again and got back to work, while Lieutenant Stokes lay back in her bed, closing her eyes and relaxing as best as she could. Under the circumstances. The steady beep of the heart monitor, and the occasional muffled sounds outside were all that punctuated it. The two of them fell back into an understanding silence as they waited for the Sergeant to arrive. Jin hadn't gotten the chance to meet him yet... he had remained inside the APC down in the parking bay, and they had hurried Lieutenant Stokes to the elevator. Only two survivors of their entire team... it was better than nothing, but all the same... they had been through hell, no doubt. And she would find out what kind of hell, soon enough.

Eventually, she heard muffled voices outside in the hall, and the two of them glanced up at the door. The two Delta operators speaking with the third who had just arrived, getting the go ahead to go inside. Opening the door, Sergeant Morales uniformed figure appeared in the doorway, clad in the same body armor and uniform as the other operators, but lacking the helmet and balaclava of most of them. A tall dark haired Hispanic man with a goatee. Stepping inside, he looked back at his fellow operators and nodded, before closing the door behind him and looking back to them, glancing between Jin and the pale figure in the bed watching him. A tired but genuine smile forming on his stubble lined face, dark eyes twinkling a bit.

"Came as fast as I could. I got a message that the Six Billion Dollar Woman was being upgraded in here?", Sergeant Morales accented, amused voice spoke up, looking directly at Lieutenant Stokes. Looking between her and all the machinery she was connected to. "What? No mechanical limbs to show for all this shit? Damn. Hey, look on the bright side, LT... you still somehow look better than me. Not by much."

"Manny.", The Lieutenant's tired voice began, with a low sigh. Raising a pale hand and beckoning to the Delta Force operator. "Get your ass over here, Sergeant, before I demote you. That's an order."

"Finally got one out of you that I won't disobey, for a change. Ma'am."

Sergeant Morales crossed the room swiftly, moving over to the bed. Stepping around it to the side, he leaned down, careful to avoid all the tubes, and gently hugged Lieutenant Stokes... who in turn wrapped her own arms around his body armor. When the brief embrace broke, Morales remaining hovering over her bed, the two of them began to speak to one another, in hushed, quiet tones. Although Jin could hear some of it, the name "Becket", among other things... she decided to tune it out as best she could. It wasn't her moment, nor had she been with them during whatever they had gone through... she was not part of their team. She would find out what it was about soon enough as it were, and didn't want to get in their way. A few minutes later, someone's familiar voice speaking over both Sergeant Morales, Lieutenant Stokes and Jin's respective comlinks.

"Sergeant Morales, I hate to interrupt, but before we get started, I'm going to need you guys to transmit what data you've gathered out there. I want to start stockpiling everything I can get my hands on."

"Aw shit... I have some of it here on my datapad, but most of it back in Betsy's systems.", Sergeant Morales sighed wearily, rubbing his forehead with a fingerless gloved hand. He drew back from the Lieutenant and the bed, speaking into his comlink again. Jin heard both his voice in person, and over her headset. "Wasn't thinking straight. Haven't been for awhile. There's enough there to sink those Armacham bastards for good. I'll head down there and send it all to you in a few, Betters. Sound good?"

"As long as I get it, Sergeant, I can wait. That's about half of what I've been doing since all this started, sitting, waiting and hoping. Let me know when you have it, Morales. And Jin, contact me when everything's set up and ready. Betters out."

"Hey, at least he's a bit more patient than my drill instructor was in boot camp. He really should try to relax... if we can down here, what's stopping him up there?"

"Manny, you're the best driver I've ever known... can kick some serious ass... but you've never coordinated a military force in your life, have you? Micromanaging deaths, injuries, scattered troops, transmissions, data collection... among other things.", Lieutenant Stokes spoke up in turn with a grim sort of smile. "Cut the head Ghostbuster some slack. He must have a lot of shit to deal with... supernatural stuff included. Not the least of his problems is the White House probably breathing down his neck. I understand his urgency."

"Fair enough, LT. I wouldn't trade driving Betsy around and killing bad guys for that gig, that's for damn sure."

Sergeant Morales laughed to himself a bit at that observation, while Lieutenant Stokes smirked faintly, before it vanished, and she looked back over at Jin again. Pausing for a moment and contemplating something once more. When she spoke again, it wasn't to the Sergeant at her side, resolving herself for her remaining task.

"Doc? I'm about as ready as I'll ever be... to give my testimony. Could you...-"

She broke off... but she had said enough. They both understood one another well enough. Jin smiled slightly with a nod... lowering her datapad.

"Of course. I'll let him know."

The Lieutenant nodded almost imperceptibly, pale features smiling gratefully, before returning her attention to Sergeant Morales. Resuming their exchange and leaving Jin on the sidelines. She watched them for a moment, before turning away partially, giving them the privacy that she could. For a moment, she considered calling Holiday... to have him pass on the word. Having a voice, the Sergeant Major could reply on the line... and had been a good middle man so far in regards to the mute super soldier. The way they got along had been evident since they met. On the other hand, she couldn't recall having ever contacted the Point Man directly during the course of the operation, always through someone else. Glancing a the injured woman in the hospital bed... remembering their exchange in the elevator... she decided against it this time. He didn't need to reply... all he needed to do was hear it and understand. And his heads up display had an acknowledgement signal for the comlink, she remembered, to give affirmatives and negatives. Something told her he would press the former and come flying up to their level, in the near future.

Taking another sip of her coffee, then activating her comlink again, she reached out to him directly for the first time, and made the call.