#Hospital – January 4, 2017

Ehanis is seated in her hospital bed, waving an asari nurse off. She still has her left arm in a sling, which she can't wait to get rid of. "Nothing you need to worry about," she says, sounding quite frustrated.

Nathan had spent the best part of ten minutes finding Ehanis' room, somehow getting turned around and ending up in the lobby. All the while, he looked extremely uncomfortable. Eventually he ended up outside of her room, just in time to see the nurse walk out with a stoic look upon her features. He smiles at her as he walks in, throwing a hand up in greeting to

Ehanis frowns. "Fantastic," she says, sarcasm dripping from her words. She didn't appear any less displeased upon Nathan entering, both weariness and annoyance with the whole situation affecting her. "I heard there was another meeting with the bitch that attacked us," she says. "What happened? Were you there?"

Nathan maintains the smile regardless of the sarcasm coming from Ehanis. "Yeah, I was. I'm actually the reason she's currently in this hospital rather than on a slab." He walks over and drags a free chair over to Ehanis, dropping into it. He fiddles with his cigarette once more, rolling it over and over his fingers. "Turns out this mess goes a lot deeper than we

Ehanis sighs. "So I have you to blame, then," she says at first, the flatness in her voice making it unclear whether she is joking or not. "Why can't crap like that be simple for once?" she asks. "Does she have any friends on Aite we need to worry about?"

Nathan shrugs lightly. "As far as I know, no. She's a lone agent out here." He smiles to Nalota briefly before focusing back on Ehanis. "Regardless, I'm not here about her... I'm here about the... mission. And our little deviation during it."

Ehanis gives a sigh of relief at the first piece of news. At least that meant Ehanis had time to recover, at least she was hoping for that much. "Oh?" she asks. "Have you talked with Wolfe about it?" Her frown deepens as she admits, "I've been keeping my head low since we came back."

Nathan nods slowly. "Yeah... yeah I did. Good thing is, we're not going to have to start looking for new jobs! So, that's a plus." He smiles tiredly, but it fades quickly as he gazes to the ground, still rolling the cigarette over his fingers. Just put it between your lips. Light it. Take comfort in the nicotine. The little voice continues to nag him, but he

Ehanis raised an eyebrow, genuinely confused about his apology. Was she not remembering things right, or was there something else. "We're alive, we've still got work, so what is there to apologize for?" she asks.

Nathan looks back to her. "Because I nearly got you and Steve killed. Because of my own ignorance. Because of my arrogance...". He shakes his head softly. "It's been bothering me since we got back... I've had trouble sleeping because of it." He pauses, almost contemplative for a moment before he adds, "Well, nearly being eaten by a giant snake and some weird pit

Ehanis gives a grimace at the mention of pit monster. That memory and how wrong it could have gone haunts Ehanis still, but she tries her damndest to avoid it. "Our arrogance," she corrects. "You were the only one to protest when Steve brougt it up, remember?" She frowns as she continues. "I really thought we had a chance to win that," she says, "by striking them before they knew we learned of their plans."

Nathan snorts. "But it was my final decision that led us there. That them led to Steve getting captured, tortured and God knows what else!" He grimaces as he realises his volume was climbing. In a lower voice, he says, "I made the final call... I'm responsible... and that's how I laid it out to Jason. As far as he is concerned, it was mostly my plan."

Ehanis sighs. She still believed Steve should have called it off when Ehanis suggested so, for him being bound up was a major red flag. Now was not the time for arguing. Ehanis was feeling like shit, she was tired, frustrated and overall miserable. "I think you're mad for hogging all of Jason's ire, really fucking mad," she says, "but I'm not blaming you for it. This stupid decision was a team effort."

Nathan watches Ehanis with a tired gaze, finally succumbing to part of his temptation. The cigarette now between his lips, he relaxes a modicum, leaning back in his chair. "...Thank you." He nods gently, a small weight off his mind. "You may not, however, but Steve certainly blames the both of us. He seems thirsty for our blood...". He glances over his shoulder and

Ehanis looks down. They failed Steve, but she was prepared to deal with his reprecussions – defending herself if necessary. "He can blame us as much as he wants to, it doesn't change the fact that we'd be dead if we stuck around for another minute," she says, "but meeting him now.... Are you mad, Ten? He's been stuck in a hospital bed for a week, I doubt that has imrpoved his mood." She may or may not be projecting

Nathan shrugs lightly, running a hand across his chin. It seems they all share a certain disdain of hospitals. "Well, apparently I am according to you," he muses with a small smile. "But you might be right. Then again, I also don't want to do it when he is out of hospital either when he has access to weapons and... do they take amps away in hospitals? I never

Ehanis considers it for a moment, she haven't really thought to ask about it. "I guess they do?" she says. "I haven't looked for mine, yet. No need to, really; words alone gets rid of annoying nurses." She gives a shrug and addresses the serious topic he brought up, her frown returning. "He's pissed off at our cowardice anyway, isn't he?" she asks. "Maybe showing up while he's in a bad shape will just make it

Nathan sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. "That is a very good point," he admits. He turns his gaze back up to Ehanis, rolling the cigarette in his mouth. "No matter what, it'll probably end going wrong. The man seems... unhinged." He tugs on his lower lip. It seems he is in a bit of a bind. Damned if you do, damned if you don't kind of bind. He stands and

Ehanis has no good advice, and all she's done so far is providing doubt. The asari looks up at him as he starts to pace. "I've been fine," she lies, her mood and situation being everything other than 'fine'. "It was good to finally get a few days to relax and take it easy. And when my legs were no longer unbearably sore, I went for a hike in the woods with Sioria and...." She sighs and adds, "And here I am. Just my

Nathan chuckles faintly. "Luck does seem to be lacking with Redrock. But I am glad you are doing fine... truly." He looks back to her, brow creasing in a concerned frown for a moment. "But aren't you in the least bit bothered about Steve?"

Ehanis nods. She offers the faintest smile at the word before the question, but the mention of Steve covers it up soon enough. "Of course I am," she says, "but we'll talk things out if... when I run into him." She looks away towards the door. "And if it escalates?" Ehanis begins, flaring a shimmer of biotics around her right hand. "Well, I'll fight back."

Nathan looks to her, frown deepening further. But then it relents. She isn't that dissimilar to him. In a weird way. Or is he just trying to make things manageable for himself right now? Oh, who cares? "Yeah... yeah you're right. We can only do what we can in the end. Just... when you run into him, try and make sure I am there? I think it will work better if we

Ehanis snorts, finding the request to be outright ridiculous. "It's not like I'm planning when and where to run into him, or to run into him at all," she says, "so I'll have to spend every second in town with you." She follows that statement with a wink. "Or I can shoot you a message if I meet him, that's probably the easiest option."

Nathan stares evenly at her. "...You know what I meant, shuddup." He waves a hand at her with a grumble, though the smirk does creep onto his face. "But sure... message works. And I think Jason wants to talk to you once you are out of here. About the wholr shitshow back there."

Ehanis smirks in turn at first, but it fades quickly when Jason is mentioned, however, as she's not at all eager to do that. "Did he actually say that?" she groans.

Nathan grins and taps the side of his nose. He pulls out the cigarette pack and knocks out another cigarette. He holds the pack and protuding cigarette to her, offering it. "For when you get out. Or in here... or whenever really."

Ehanis pulls out the stick from the package and looks it over. "I've never had one of those," she says, sounding curious more than anything else. "What does it do?" All Ehanis knew about cigarettes is how they smelled, which alone wasn't too awful, but when it mixed with the other smells in an overcrowded Omega club....

Nathan motions for her to follow him over to the window. He pops it open and leans outside. "Gives you a bit of a rush at first, but helps calm you down. These are Manda flavoured cigarettes. Smell and taste much more pleasent than your baseline cheap crap." He whips out his lighter and, making sure it is outside and not inside to trigger an over-zealous fire

Ehanis shifts her leg to the side and gets up from the bed, walking over to the window. The cold air makes her shiver, and it causes the hospital gown to flap around a little, enough to expose more than inteded at one point. "I already have booze for that, though," she says, but she posted up next to him at the window anyway. How bad could it be? She then puts hers between the lips, the wrong way around.

Nathan stares at Ehanis for a moment before laughing. The cold air bothers him little and he simply reches over to take it and turn it around. "Booze is a little bit different to this. And, at least with these, tastes a bit nicer. Now, you have to breath it in, roll it into your lungs, then exhale. Don't just suck it into your mouth and fill your cheeks." He flips

Ehanis gives a slight nod before he lights the stick, and she does as told. She breathes it in along with the cold winter air around it, but the unfamiliar sensation causes her to spit it out and grimace. The cigarette lands on the snow, the glow swiftly extinguished. "That tasted... different," she says, "but I can feel it, I think." Maybe it was the very cold air, or just her expecting the feeling after he told her

Nathan is sure as shit not letting one of these go to waste. As she spits it, he holds onto the window frame for dear life and leans out as far as he can in an attempt to catch it.

Nathan watches with wide and sad eyes as it plummets, being carried a fair distance away with the wind. "Nooooo...". He scrambles back in, completely blanking the announcement as he continues to lean outside and puff on his cigarette. "...You could have just taken it out...".

Ehanis raises an eyebrow at the announcement, which she barely hears over Nathan's scrambling. She steps back and starts making her way back to the bed. "Shut up," she says quickly, a smirk showing up.

Nathan flips her the bird as she walks back to her bed. The cigarette is rapidly smoked and he stubs out the remains in a small tin he carries. He closes it back up, stuffs it into his pocket and walks back over to her bed. "Well... that's all I had to say. Thanks for listening. And when you're out of here, I'll buy you a drink." He smirks.

Ehanis sits back on the bad, missing the bird flipped at her. Either that, or she simply ignores the gesture. "I'll remind you," she says, "See you around." She moves back under the blanket and lays her head back on the pillow, turned towards Nathan. "Oh, tell me how it went if you meet Steve before I'm out and able to save your ass."

Nathan snorts and starts to walk out. "Sure thing, sweetheart. I'll let you know." And with that, he departs, really eager to be out of the hospital by this point.

Ehanis gives a long sigh and closes her eyes, not offering any response to Nathan. Maybe now she could finally get some rest without another interruption.