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Gaius didn't sense the conflicted emotions Nita was dealing with, only seeing what he assumed to be worry in her manners. Not thinking much, he moved his hand over hers to squeeze it, smiling reassuringly, if only for a moment. "Hey... don't worry. I'm sure she'll be back soon enough, right? I mean, there's not many places she can go on an island... Maybe..." A thought suddenly struck him and he leaned closer, head hovering close to hers as he whispered hurredly, "Maybe... she escaped! Maybe others who are missing escaped, and they don't want us to know... We'd never know, huh?"

He quickly sat back, looking rather proud of his guess, even if it was far-fetched. "Can't hurt to ask, whatever the case, even if it's hard dealing with... the labs... sometimes."

The words struck Gaius like a bucket of icey cold water... probably almost solid ice, and would have left a nasty dent if it'd been physical. "She... does?" He blinked in disbelief, unwittingly drawing his hand back. "But... but how? Anyone who was on their side would have to be as crazy as Zach!"

Ah crud... His conscience instantly jerked painfully as he realized that, once again, he'd opened his big mouth and let all the stupid out. And hadn't he been wanting to comfort the poor girl, not guilt her?

"Nita..." he hesitated, then sighed and rubbed his nose bridge. "Nita, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that... I was just... surprised. You can understand why I'm not fond of them..."

Perking up a half-smile, Gaius reached a hand over to pull away one of the hands covering her face, leaning over to peek up at her as he did so. "...I may not approve of your choice in girlfriends... but I guess I can trust your judgement in this case. Can you forgive this idiot again?"

"I..." Gaius lowered his eyes to the hand holding his, still wearing a small smile. "I appreciate that you did... That you were honest... And thanks. I don't know what I'd do if I did something that you'd hold against me forever!"

Tilting his head, his smile took on a more teasing nature. "So... Still friends?"

His smile broke into a full on grin as the horse-man nodded in turn. "I'm glad!"

Though he was hesitant to leave, enjoying the company, Gaius knew he could only tread on her hospitality so long before he became an annoyance. Besides, quit while he was ahead, right? Picking his stick up from where it was resting against the table, Gaius got his feet under and hauled himself up. However, he didn't head towards the door, instead looking down at Nita. "Are you going to be okay? I mean, if you want I can hang around, though I might start messing up the tidyness of this place..." he chuckled.

It was an odd turn of the tables, Gaius now finding himself on the receiving end of a surprise hug. He blinked in confusion, but broke into a grin, wrapping an arm around her shoulders to return it. "It's okay. No real harm done!"

Once they both let go, Gaius turned towards the door, doing his best to hobble with a little dignity, at least while in her presence. Heading out, he turned his head and called back, "I hope you're able to find her!" And, with one last friendly wave and smile, closed the door and made his much more cheerful way home.

There was a lump in Lauren's throat as she approached Nita's duplex. She had no clue how much time passed until just a week ago, after she had awaken from the coma. But still she had put this off out of sheer embarassment of her weakness.

What if Nita moved on? Would she have found someone else and if not would she even want to be together still?

Lauren had admitted to herself that she sucked at relationships but this was just pitiful. Still, she knew she had to confront her fears sooner or later and hoped she didn't hurt Nita too much. She never wanted to cause her girlfriend any pain.

Lauren took her hands off the wheels of the chair. She had a blanket over most of her body, covering all that she could out of embarassment. She winced as she knocked on Nita's door.

please please please let this go well she thought to herself.

Lauren somehow managed a smile. "Hey." She tried to mask her weakness as much as possible. She didn't want pity, she didn't want forgiveness in fact she had no clue WHAT she wanted.

"Can I come in?" She asked carefully. She hoped Nita would allow her in.