The Waiting Game

Medical City Hospital


Bright, wide lights hang from the ceiling, casting the clean and sterile surroundings with brilliant light. A reception area sits centered before the door where people can check in, or ask for directions to other areas within the hospital. Past the desk is a small hallway with elevators leading to the upper floors, and signs that point to radiology.
Two large metal doors to the left of the entrance lead outside to the ambulance loading dock. The doors are marked 'EMERGENCY ONLY' in large red letters.


There are choices one needs to make in life. Sometimes these choices are selfish, and sometimes they're altruistic. Sometimes, the choice can fall into both categories which is the case at the moment. Hope would /generally/ have waited for Bobby to tell her what was happening, instead of bolting here only a short while after reading the paper, but as circumstance would have it she needed a great exit from the coffee shop and claiming she was going to the hospital was as good as any other.

But she's been here a while, not able to get any information. Mostly because she's not family. She's yet to see Bobby, or find out even what floor they're on. So she's nestled herself into the lobby, a text book open on her lap, notepad to one side as she makes notes for her literature class.

Being the new guy in town is difficult for Sean. It means he has no obligations, no knowledge of how to pass by his time. No job to keep him occupied. And so, instead of spending every afternoon sitting on the couch, watching television, the man decides to switch it up every once in a while. Today is one of those days. He saunters into the hospital lobby with a shy smile on his face and a bag in hand, heading straight for the counter. "Hi. Is Naomi on her break yet? I brought her something to eat - you know. Oh, not yet? That's fine, I can wait fifteen minutes or so. Thanks, Bernice."

Turning around to find himself a seat, it is only then that he catches sight of Hope. He blinks, twice exactly, before heading towards her hesitantly. "Erm…excuse me? Hope? Is that you?"

The notepad is there, and really it looks like Hope is studying. There's only a single line of text on the paper as she looks up though. "Oh! Hey, Sean." She does her best to offer a bright smile, but it falters a little. To mask it, she looks down at the text book, scribbles off another line of text, then closes it. "Is everything alright? I mean, this is the last place I'd expect to see someone from the church and all."

Maybe he's here due to the paper? She doubts it, since he's new and all, he probably doesn't know Bobby yet.

"What? Oh! Oh, no, I'm just here to drop off lunch to someone." Awkwardly, Sean looks to his hand and lifts the brown paper bag. "My cousin is a nurse here. And I'm crashing at her place while I'm settling down here so…" Beat. Wait, there has to be a reason as to why she's here, and it's probably not to hear him babble on about his cousin. Screwing his expression into one of express concern, he moves to take the seat beside Hope, frowning heavily. "Is everything alright?" Well…probably not, if you're in the hospital. Are you alright, at least?"

Hope looks at the brown paper bag, and then up at him. "Oh, that's probably the best news I've had all day!" She nods toward the seat beside her, so that he doesn't have to keep standing there all awkwardly, but he's already seating himself. In any other situation, she may have laughed at that. "I'm fine, I'm just waiting to get some information, but since I'm not family all they can really tell me is to wait." Her brow is furrowed slightly and she sighs. "Bobby's parents were attacked by a rabid wolf last night, and I just want to know how they're doin'."
Robert has arrived.

Sean squints in that thoughtful fashion, looking quite sympathetic of the younger woman. "I'm taking it you're not having the best of days then? I'm sorry, Hope." If he knew her better this is where a pat on her shoulder would come in. As it is, he reaches to start giving her that friendly gesture, only to freeze with his hand in the middle of the air as he realizes that, really, they're not that close. Sheepishly, he darts his eyes to the floor and retracts the arm. "Oh. The waiting game. I remember that - it's the worst." He agrees gently. "Who's Bobby, anyway, and…" Wait. Did she just say rabid wolf? He pales considerably, looking mortified. "Wh-what?"

"Not the best of days no. Started by getting a cryptic message, than reading the paper with that article in it," then getting ill, "/Then/ I ran into my sister's pompous ass of a boyfriend… and now the waiting game." Hope glances up just in time to see the retraction of the arm, but doesn't comment on it. "Bobby Cornett, he's my… boyfriend." Well that is what they decided on. "He's from the church, I thought I mentioned him?" She exhales, and shifts to drop her books into the bag at her side. "Yeah, apparently there was a rabid wolf in their house and it leapt out and attacked them? His dad's in pretty bad shape I guess. I'm just worried about him and his sisters."

Without actually knowing who is where or what is what, Robert soon comes out of one of the elevators. The man is pale with dark circles under his eyes, most likely due to no sleep and all the stress. His destination is the caf, the goal being a break and yet another attempt to reach his sisters. A cell phone is in his hands and he dials. It takes just a short while to get voicemail causing him to slam the phone shut. It isn't anger he's showing but rather frustration. For the moment he doesn't spot his visitors, but he also isn't moving very quickly.

Sean purses his lips uncomfortably, leaning back in his chair to look over the lobby. "That sounds…terrible." He's distracted, however, in his words. Just something about fighting back your darkest despairs and fears that make you seem unengaged. After a moment or two, he manages to collect himself and stop the cold sweat creeping down his spine to return innocent eyes over to Hope. "Your boyfriend? Oh, I didn't know. I don't think you mentioned him. You might have, and I might have just forgotten. We were…well, tackling some pretty heavy topics that day, I know. Philosophies on God kind of overshadow everything else, huh?" With a weak smile, he lifts a hand to scratch at the back of his neck gingerly from where he's sitting, rather close, to Hope. "Well…I know some of the medical staff over here. They're top notch, you know. If there's a way to help them, they'll find it. You…you said you didn't know any information on them?" Beat. "Maybe…I could sneak you in? Possibly. I'm not sure, but I can try, if you'd like?" He doesn't know Robert. So is it any wonder the tired, damaged young man doesn't register on Sean's radar?

"Kind of. Not disappointed, I hope?" Really, she's teasing him. Trying to lighten the situation since he's got such a serious look on his face. "Sneak me in, that'd be wonderful! Only, I really wouldn't want to get in the way and…" The elevator doors ding, and she swivels in her seat to look at them. Just in case it's a face she recognizes. There is a small wince as the phone is slammed shut, and then she chews on her lip. "Bobby! Hey, over here." She motions for him to come join them so that she doesn't have to scream across the lobby, or just run off and leave poor Sean sitting there by himself.

He could swear that someone called his name. Stopping to look around in the hope that one of his sisters actually is here, Robert only then notices Hope. The slightest of smiles is offered to her as he walks in that direction. It really is all that he can afford. "Hey, Beautiful." Certainly they'll understand if there's not much joy to his tone. Sean is given a look as Bobby sizes him over before he looks back to his girlfriend. "Sorry I didn't say much but there wasn't much to say at first. I didn't think it would have hit the news." Televisions are in the patient rooms, after all, and the police have been in and out.

"Disappointed?" Sean echoes, genuinely confused. They covered so much ground that he's not even sure what he's supposed to be disappointed about. "Disappointed about what? That you're…" And that's the end of that conversation, for she is summoning over the fabled Bobby. With a blink, the man settles back in his seat, just waiting for the individual to cross over him. When Sean is being looked over, he can't help it - he shies away from the inspection quite sheepishly. "Err…I just heard about what happened. I'm sorry, that's a horrific thing to deal with…" Sean would know. "Oh! Uh, sorry, I'm Sean. My name's Sean."

"Don't you worry about that at /all/, Bobby. I just read it in the paper, and thought I'd come see how they were doing, or if you and your sisters need anything…" Hope offers him a smile, and then realizes that neither of the two men know each other. "Bobby, this is…" But Sean introduces himself. "I met him at the church when I was helping them set up for that dance they had on the weekend." Then she motions from Sean to Bobby. "Sean, this is my boyfriend, Bobby."

"Hey, man." Even though this taller, blond man is sitting with his girlfriend, there's no moment of jealousy. If anything, she does need a bodyguard and he's sort of out of action at the moment. A hand is even offered to Sean in greeting. "Thanks." That's all the pleasantries he gets for the moment, however, as his mind is elsewhere. Bobby moves his hand to Hope's, to seek it out in a moment of comfort. "Actually, I'm the only one here right now. I've been trying for hours to reach Mellie but she's probably out cold. Chloe God, I don't know where she is. She's missing or in hiding or something. I have a note saying to call missing persons in a week if I don't hear from her." Perhaps this on top of the attack on his parents is why he's looking as he is.

Sean gets to his feet, almost formerly, smiling weakly to Bobby as he reaches for the hand and shakes it simply. "Pleasure to meet you. Wish it was under other circumstances. Any…err…" But then, he's standing there are the pair exchange news. And he's acutely aware of the fact that he simply should not be around right now. And so, he sits down once again, lowering his eyes to his phone that he plucks out. There's no better way to look like he's not listening then to pretend to text someone.

"Give me Mellie's address, and place of business. I can go track her down for you. No point in you stressing over /that/ with everything else you have to deal with." Hope blinks. "What? Why on earth would she leave you a note like /that/? Have you tried her cell phone?" Pause. "Or I can stay here with you, and call… ugh… /Ivan/ to see if he can help track down your sisters?" Not that she wants his help.

There's no thought to what he does or does not say around Sean. The man is here, he might as well be all in. "I really don't want you going to where Mellie works." Robert would say no flat out, but he isn't the type of person to dictate her actions. "She works at that vampire bar." He studies Hope for a reaction, a sign that he isn't being too over protective. Bobby rubs the back of his neck as he tries to figure out what exactly to do. "I need to run home at some point anyway. A shower would be nice. So would some hard core caffeine. It's just too tense up there." For reasons he won't actually say. "I don't want to trouble either of you right now, or him. At this point I just need to find my family."

Sean is busy staring intently at his screen, pretending like he has something to do, and that he's not being pathetic sitting there by himself as they talk. And yet…it doesn't quite work. Glancing upwards, he looks mildly surprised. "Trouble? Err. You know, Bobby? It wouldn't be any trouble at all. I'd be more then willing to help with anything, if I can. So, please, let me know if there's something I can do."

Now even if it weren't for previous conversations? Sean just totally won Hope over with that selfless little act. She watches the two men quietly for a few seconds. "You can always go home, Bobby. I don't mind staying here, so long as you tell the nurse that it's alright to talk to me. I can go sit with your mother or something?" She smiles at Sean and then looks back at her boyfriend. "Maybe the two of you can go to the vampire bar? I er… would really rather not ever set foot in there, for obvious reasons."

A total stranger is offering to help him out. Bobby just looks at Sean before shaking his head. "Thank you, really. It means a lot. But this is just something I have to do alone." It is, mostly because it is his family. "Because what I would really love right now is some alone time with whatever it is that did this." The anger is starting to show through and that is how he knows that he needs sleep. Hope once more gets his attention, causing him to soften. "I knew you wouldn't want to, and I don't like the thought of you going. I just" Robert runs a hand through his hair, looking almost defeated. "I did want you to meet Mom, but I didn't think it would be like this. Don't feel obligated to stay. I know you've had your own experiences with hospitals."

Sean can understand the refusal, and so he merely nods his head in Bobby's direction, still looking hopelessly out of place. "Alright. Just…know that if you need it? I mean, church is supposed to be a community, right? A…a family." Beat. "Anyway - I'm going to go now. I think. Maybe. You guys look like you have things to discuss and…heh. I've got a sandwich to deliver…" With a faint smile, he stands up sheepishly. "It was great seeing you again, Hope. And it was nice meeting you, Bobby."

Hope opens up her notebook, and scribbles her number on it, and then Bobby's as well. "Thank you, Sean. I mean it. If you want an update, call, and if you see anyone from the church, can you please tell them what's going on?" She turns to Bobby with a soft little smile. "You need to take care of your family, but you can't do it when everyone's all in different places. Let me do this for you. I don't mind." Really, it's the least she can do since he's helped her out so much lately.

It doesn't even cross his mind that he is most likely running Sean off. "Yeah, man. Hopefully we can actually again and not in a hospital." The one thing that Bobby won't do is shy away from the church. It seems to be the only stable thing in his life. Bobby just stands there, watching the two of them almost hopelessly. "I just need some air, I think." When he's alone with Hope, truly alone and not in a hospital, he'll explain his interactions with his parents. "If you'd like to stay I would love to know someone is here. Someone I can rely on. I really need to find my sisters."

Sean reaches over to accept the numbers, looking them over. And after pocketing it, he licks his lips in a furtive manner before offering the pair of them a winning smile. "I will do. Don't worry about the church, I'll inform them about it. I'll see you later, I think!" And, with that, the tall man is out.

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