She could see his face. That smug, satisfied smile on that Captain's face. It felt almost like an eternity had gone by with her watching the same scene over and over again. Reliving a phobia, no, a nightmare she had so desperately avoided for so long for every moment her eyes were closed.

Despite all of the drugs numbing her body to the pain she had endured, her body eventually jerked itself awake, eyes wide open as she let out a huge gasp. After a few breathes, her gold eyes began to dart about the room where she was staying. It definitely wasn't her house, it was too clean and sterile to be such a place. She was in the hospital, that much was for certain.

The tall girl attempted to move her left arm which felt very stiff, but found it was not working. It was odd to say the least. Rolling her head to one side, she saw where the source of problems was at. From her left shoulder there was a stiff cast covering that wrapped over her chest and upper waist that ran down her arm until only her fingers were left uncovered. The way she had fallen had caused a great deal of damage to her left side of her body, but only now that she was awake she could truly see what had happened.

"Oh, you're awake, Ellie..."

Her gold eyes followed the familiar voice only to catch Hank rubbing sleepily at his face. Apparently her first inspection had not been a thorough one if she had missed her Dad's friend sitting in a chair in the corner on the verge of sleep. The man stood himself up with a labored grunt, pulling off his glasses for a moment so he could rub along the bridge of his nose and close to the edges of his eyes in an effort to make himself more alert. With that, he walked over to the blonde as he replaced his glasses in front of his eyes.

"...it looks like ya did a number to yourself... eh?" Hank had never been the most eloquent speaker. He always sounded awkward at best. It was obvious he was trying to not make a big deal out of this situation.

Ellie's lips pressed themselves into a straight line as she began to look about the room another time, as if trying to find other people waiting for her. The room was quiet and empty aside from Hank.

"...where are they?" she asked in a raspy tone. Her throat felt dry, which was probably a good sign that she had been out of it for a while. Such a trivial detail went unnoticed at the moment as the fog of the painkillers seemed to cloud her mind's usual manner of thinking.

Her father's friend lifted a hand and began to scratch at the back of his head, his eyes looking away. "Yeah... your parents were here earlier... but they said they couldn't stay... they had to go to work an' all..." He didn't have to say it, but his voice seemed to hint that he did not agree with Ed and Kat's decision to leave.

Under normal circumstances, the blonde would have understood. Heck, even now, she tried to make it seem like it wasn't a big deal. Her eyes sank down to her own lap as she murmured out "...oh... right... they're gonna need t'pay fer all of this..."

There had been one lesson she had learned early in life. Her parents worked. It had forced Ellie Spectre to be a "big kid" early. Certainly the girl would never be a homemaker, but she knew how to fend for herself. She could microwave things for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. She took care of her own responsibilities without a problem. When she was still in school, she knew that she needed to do her homework, rarely ever skipping out on such a tedious chore. She rarely saw her parents during the week, let alone saw them at the same time. She couldn't count on them to show up for school performances in elementary school, or even bare basic awards ceremonies. She had been lucky to be able to get both of them to show up to her high school graduation (something she could have easily skipped out on, but now she was grateful for). They were gone before she woke up in the morning at 6 am. Her mom had business trips, and her dad sometimes slept over at the car lot so he could get some extra work in under his belt.

Ellie knew all of it was necessary. Every single bit of it was necessary. She understood for years how important the jobs both of her parents held were to them. She never questioned the importance of work in their lives.

Yet all the tomboy in the hospital bed wanted now was for them to be here for her. Signs of weakness began to show upon her features. The bridge of her nose began to grow red, her brow furrowing slightly as she attempted to fight off the emotions welling up in her. Her insides were screaming at her parents, throwing a tantrum that they would never actually hear.

How dare they leave her?! She had nearly died!! Did they care so little for her that they couldn't skip a day's pay to make certain that she, Ellie Spectre, was alive and well?! Were they that greedy?!

She just wanted them there for her now. She wanted them to tell her like a child who had been spooked that everything would be all right. No monsters under the bed would attack her. No mean kids from school would pick on her. Everything would be safe and everything would end with a "Happily Ever After." She just wanted, no, needed that reassurance.

Her right hand had clenched itself into a tight ball, and as these thoughts began to rush through her mind, that fist began to tremble. Even now, she tried to be strong when she felt so hurt, almost betrayed.

"...you know..." Hank interjected as he pulled his glasses off again. "I don't know what it is about this room... but it almost seems like I keep getting something in my eyes." His hand went to rub at his eyes again, though this time it wasn't an effort to keep himself awake. It was to wipe away the tears that began to start rolling down his cheeks. In a lame attempted laugh, he shared with the girl in the bed "It's like the room is full of dust... I can't keep my eyes from waterin' up..."

The girl's mouth formed a trembling half smile. He knew her too well as she knew him too well. It wasn't much of a secret code, but it was a code he had just spoken out. It was his own clumsy way of letting her know it was okay to cry this one time. He was letting her know that he wouldn't tell anybody else.

As tears began to roll down her face, she offered her dad's friend, her boss, her mentor, and her friend two words. "...thank you..."