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Standing with a stiff dignity, Emily remained silent as the door slammed shut behind her, and a rather angry nurse moved to block her view of the room's occupant.

"Now see here, young lady! We have enough people suffering in this place without little children barging in wherever you so please and adding to our stress!" The woman took a firm grip of her upper arm and tried to pull the girl down the hallway.

Calmly refusing to budge, Emily explained, "Mickey's my trainer. I've been away, and I wanted to check on his condition."

The older woman stared for a moment in disbelief before exclaiming, "His name isn't Mickey!" Tired of trying to physically pull the girl away, she settled for stating, "Now get out of here, and don't let me see you in this hospital wing again, you hear?!"

Emily just looked at the woman for a moment, before finally giving a small curtsy and turning away. She'd just break in later that night. The old man had been so happy to see her that she couldn't just settle for such a brief reunion. All of his shouting and crying and clutching at his chest, well, it had been a very touching moment until the nurse had so cruelly interrupted.

With a small sigh, the maid continued her way through the hospital hallways, deciding who she should speak with next. She had learned a number of things on her recent training trip, and felt that certain pieces of wisdom were best shared. Like about the squirrels. Especially about the squirrels. Just thinking of them gave the normally stoic girl the shivers. She's already warned Miss Mindy and Mister Monty about them. But, she suddenly decided, it would be a good idea to warn Miss Valentine as well. Flipping open her cell phone, Emily hit 5 on speed dial, and waited for the other girl to pick up.

And waited.

And waited.

"We're sorry, the number you have dialed is unavailable. Please hang up and try again."

Eyes narrowing, Emily dialed again only to get the same result. After about the twelfth try, Emily decided this could only mean one thing: Varete Valentine was dead. Or kidnapped. Or possibly abducted. By aliens. Trying to ignore the growing tension in her chest, Emily decided to take advantage of her current location and check out the morgue. If Miss Valentine wasn't there, then she would call the police. And possibly NASA.

Making her way down corridor after corridor, Emily kept up a brisk pace. But she wasn't running. And maybe she got a little lost, as her eyes felt strangely warm. But she wasn't crying. So all-in-all she had failed in finding the morgue, but was relatively successful when it came to self-control. Sadly, that self-control failed to provide her decent directions, so in her growing state of worry and frustration, it simply snapped.

Throwing open the door nearest her, Emily loudly demanded, "WHERE IS THE BODY OF VARETE VALENTINE?"

Proving, once in for all, that self-control is overrated. Since Miss Valentine was right there.

Having found out Miss Valentine's current condition (alive) Emily couldn't help but feel slightly gratified at the drama that had followed her entrance into the room. This was how a visit to the hospital should be. Only a cry of: "Live damn you! LIVE!" - would have improved upon the moment.

Turning to the woman who had made it all happen, Emily reassured her, "You were magnificent. If she had died, I'm sure you could have brought her back with your passionate show of force." She needn't have worried, Miss Valentine was obviously in good hands with this woman. "I'm Emily Moffat and I am a maid," the girl stated calmly before blushing a little, "...and Miss Valentine's friend." Simple friendship was a bit of new thing in Emily's world, and she was still unsure as to what exactly it meant to be friends with someone. She had tried to research it by watching the entirety of the show Friends but found it to be sadly unhelpful so far.

Returning her attention to girl on the bed, Emily couldn't hold back a sigh. She looked too pale. Too small. Not at all like the surprising and enthusiastic person she had come to like. The feeling of tension returned. Now that she had this friend, Emily intended to keep her. Looking up at the older woman, she asked quietly, "What can I do to help her?"

Picking up a fallen flower, Emily carefully righted the vase and placed it back in, taking a few moments to create a more pleasing arrangement. With a frown she glanced around, they were the nicest thing in Miss Valentine's room. The only nice thing, really.

The frown deepened at these "they" who had apparently done all that they could, and she couldn't hold back a small scoff. If putting a girl in a bed was all they were capable of, then it was a good thing Emily had come here. She would do far, far more for her friend. She would eliminate all obstacles. She would go the distance. She would...

'...be there for her.'

Emily deflated a bit at the answer. Simply being there for the people she cared for was important, more so than she had ever truly realized until now, but...

It's hard not being able to swoop in and save the day through sheer will and determination.

Straightening her back, Emily looked the woman firmly in the eyes, and stated firmly, "Miss Viede, please depend on me to do so." There was no need to mope over the lack of heroics involved. Not when her friend's mother had just made such a sincere request.

Sometimes the least you can do...ends up being the most you can do.

Emily couldn't help but flush a bit at Miss Viede's warm words and even more so at the woman's touch. Really, that, if anything fully confirmed that this was indeed her friend's mother. These Valentine women, she couldn't help but think to herself, are really quite nice.

But the mention of gambling, police, and kidnapping quickly snapped the maid out of her sparkle-sparkle thoughts. It was no wonder Miss Varete had considered buying a chainsaw! Well, she was a surprising and exciting person, so it only stood to reason that her hobbies would be the same. But Emily couldn't help but hope that next time the other girl kidnapped a police officer to pay off gambling debts, that she would bring the maid along as back-up.

She gave the question a moment of thought before replying plainly, "Kidnappers can be caught and fixed. Comas seem to involve angry nurses and poor decorating." She critically eyed the room once more. At least this was something she could actually fix.

Personally, Emily would go for kidnappers any day. "The world would be much simpler if we could just maim our problems into submission."

Though the situation was serious to a somewhat dire extent, Emily simply nodded at the woman's laughter. While she didn't consider the nurses to be a laughing matter, the sound of it suited Miss Varete's room much better than a more somber silence.

Taking the envelope carefully in her hands, Emily looked up at the woman who was so very similar to her friend, honored to be trusted to this extent. "I will see it that it reaches her safely," she replied with an 'or I will die trying' attitude. "I'll see that no harm will come to it or her while I am here."

Of course she couldn't stay here 24/7, but that didn't mean the maid couldn't take some security measures on her friend's behalf. Emily smiled a little at that. It really was a relief, to be able to actually do something, and so she gave the woman before her a small bow, "Thank you."

With a soft confirmation, Emily agreed with the older woman before wishing her a good evening. For several long moments after she left, the maid wondered if she should follow Miss Varete's mother as Sailor Hestia, to ensure the woman's safety. But that would mean leaving her friend here, alone. The warmth and happy sounds that Miss Viede has brought into the room were already fading, leaving the room quiet and chill. Remembering her earlier search for the morgue, Emily planted herself firmly on a seat beside the bed.

Five minutes passed by before she deciding that just sitting there wasn't enough. Hesitantly, she began to talk, "I...I like your mother. You both are very similar. She was glad that we're friends." She paused for a moment before continuing, slightly more confident, "I'm sorry I've been away for awhile, I was in a forest most of the time. I think I might have been abducted by aliens at one point as well..."

Emily continued on in this manner for over an hour, describing her time in the wilderness in a soft, but steady voice until the nurse from Mickey's room happened to pass by and catch sight of her. Allowing herself to be kicked out once again, she decided that next time she came during visiting hours, she would need to come in disguise. The idea brought a smile to her lips. Miss Valentine would no doubt be pleased.





Later that night, a small shadow crept carefully along the hospital corridors, and visited two rooms. In the first room, she left an old man trembling in terror (which was mistaken for a more positive form of excitement.) And in the second room, the sneaking figure left a gift and a note.