#RedrockAgency – May 22, 2019

Halisi has remained in the infirmary, watching over her sleeping patients with Fergus' help. The batarian that was injured during the fight with Leah in the shuttle rests on the gurney rolled in as a makeshift bed, while Mendez occupies the medical bed proper. Both remain hooked up to monitoring equipment and IV. The lighting in the infirmary has been dimmed, and the only sound is the quiet beeping of the monitors and the occasional

Leah doesn't seem to plan on heading home until she's sure Mendez is alright. She met with her father down by the front desk to get a change of clothes for her and Tara and to assure him that they're fine. Fresh bruises, scrapes, and a slight limp to her step caused her efforts to ease his concern to mostly fall on deaf ears. Ever the worried parent, it took much convincing to keep him from remaining here with them, but with a

Halisi pauses her typing, looking over as the door opens. Upon spotting Leah she pushes away a little from the desk and spins the chair around to face her. Furrowed eyebrows meet Leah, although her frustration seems faded, the frown soft, either from exhaustion or because she's already had the chance to berate her. "How are you feeling?" she asks with a glance towards Leah's side.

Leah remains in the doorway, green eyes bouncing off of Halisi the moment they hit her and turning to the large man on the medical bed. She's more than aware that she's probably not Halisi's favorite person right now. Ilyna's either. And it's likely that Jason and the Chief won't be too happy with her when they get back, either. The sight of her friend laying there, hooked up to a bunch of machines, summons a frown of her own.

Halisi follows Leah's gaze over to Mendez, a quiet sigh slipping out as she studies him. "We're not out of the woods yet, but... he's stable. The transfusion is done and there has been no immediate sign of complications from the surgery. He's lucky. The amount of blood he lost... quite frankly the only reason he's alive is that he had more blood to spare than most." she says as she studies the unconcious mercenary, looking over towards

Leah continues to watch Mendez, arms folded across her chest as she leans against the doorframe as if unwilling to actually enter the room uninvited. She lets out a deep breath as Halisi finishes speaking. "What do you want me to say?" she asks. It's not defiance in her tone so much as just sheer exhaustion. "That I'm sorry?" She leans her head against the doorframe, tilting it a bit to finally look towards the doctor. "I had to

Halisi 's frown deepens a little as Leah speaks. Her gaze goes to her near-empty coffee cup as she lets out another sigh. The final statement causes her gaze to return to Leah, sharper. "Not like this. I understand why you wanted to handle this outside of Redrock even if I don't agree, but... you could have at at least told me." she says, emotion bleeding through in her voice, her barriers worn away by stress. "Instead of going away

Leah turns her attention back to Mendez as Halisi speaks, unable to meet her gaze. That word, friend, causes guilt to settle into her chest. She hasn't had too many throughout her life and look at what's become of the ones she has. She put one in a shallow grave herself. Another is laying on a medical bed half dead, having nearly bled out for her cause. Nate is walking around with a hole in his chest because of her. She hardly

Halisi grows quiet, gaze falling. She's well aware of what Leah is referring to, and it seems to give her pause, her urge to mention that it is far worse to drop the aftermath on her with the barest of notice derailed as her thoughts go to Damien. Her eyes close for a moment, hands wringing in her lap. "Leah..." she sighs quietly, deflating as she fails to find the words she's looking for.

Leah just continues to watch Mendez. Anything to avoid looking at Halisi. "He was your friend, too." she says, her voice remaining barely above a whisper. More silence. More beeps. "The sound it made when his neck broke-.." a pained look crosses her face as she gives a small shake of her head, but she does her best to soldier through it. To try and keep her emotions at bay. It results in her voice growing even quieter. "I know

Halisi swallows hard as Leah speaks, eyes remaining closed, head low. She resists the urge to state what to her is obvious, that Damien wasn't her fault. She lets her continue instead. Of course, the words that follow elicit a tired sigh, and she looks up at Leah again. "It certainly would have been preferrable to dropping the aftermath on me like this..." she says with a drained shadow of a laugh.

Leah draws a deep breath in through her nose, tiredly reaching up to brush her bangs out of her face. There's a part of her that just wishes Halisi would yell at her. Wishes that she'd really lay into her. To admit that she can't forgive Leah for what she did to Damien. That she never will. To just say it out loud: Damien is dead because of her. But it doesn't come. There's bitter relief in that, too. "Well I'll keep that in

Halisi lets out another sigh, shifting a little in her seat. "Truth be told I probably would have told you to tell the others. Because you should have." she says with a pointed look before deflating a little again. "...but honestly I don't have the energy to tell you again how reckless this was. So... have a seat if you want. He should be coming to fairly soon."

Leah remains quiet, not having it in her to get defensive about any of it at this point. Instead, she merely acknowledges the doctor's words with a few small, dismissive nods of her head and shifts away from the doorframe as she steps into the room towards a chair by Mendez' bedside. She makes herself comfortable in silence, the heel of one boot perched up on the edge of her seat as she reaches out to take the large man's

Halisi 's gaze follows Leah at first, before wandering over to the monitors. Her words bring her attention back, although she doesn't say anything, just studying Leah and waiting for her to speak again.

Leah's green eyes remain fixed to Mendez as she speaks. "I went down to the gym early every morning and there he always was. There weren't many other people there at that time. Guessing that's why he went so early." she recalls fondly, a small tug at the corner of her mouth accompanying her words. "So plenty of times it was just us. He didn't say much. Mostly just focused on his routine and tried to ignore me while I talked."

Halisi lets out a quiet snort, shifting her position a little in her seat. A faint smile tugs briefly at the corner of her lips as she listens, gaze traveling between Leah and Mendez.

Leah tilts her head back against the backrest of the chair. "Then my dad got pretty sick." She lifts her free hand as if to wave off any concerns Halisi may have, "It was nothing serious just-... kept him off his feet for a week or so. And I didn't have anyone to talk to about it at the time, so-..." she shrugs her shoulders, gaze turning up towards the ceiling, "...Mendez got the brunt of it. Just some stranger at the gym

Halisi gains a faint echo of Leah's smile, bringing a hand up to her mouth as she studies the sleeping man, knuckles against her lips and elbow resting on her armrest as she frowns slightly. Her gaze wanders briefly to the monitors before going back to Leah.

Leah shifts her gaze back to the large man, studying him for a moment. "He's the best friend I've ever had." she admits with a small shrug, a hint of emotion slipping into her tone at the state he's in. There's a bit of embarassment in that admission, as if it goes unsaid that she hasn't had very many friends throughout her life. She brings the hand up to her mouth, pressing a soft kiss against it as she draws in a strained

Thiago voice is strained, scratchy throat causing his words to sound hoarse. "I still think you're annoying." he grunts as he begins to shift in place, brow creasing as he stirs and begins to peel open his eyes.

Halisi sits up a little straighter as Mendez' speak, her attention immediately shifting to the monitor readouts, making sure that everything is staying in the green as he's coming to. She doesn't interject immediately, giving Mendez a chance to get his bearings, and for Leah to respond.

Leah sits up in her seat as Mendez pulls his hand back from her, gaze briefly shooting to Halisi before she looks back to her friend. His little jab is ignored as her expression once more turns to concern. "Are you alright? How do you feel? Halisi says you lost a lot of blood." she snaps off.

Mendez tries to blink away the cobwebs, looking a bit out of it with all of the drugs coursing through his system. "Feel like-..." he pauses, blinking hard a few times as his unfocused gaze shifts from Leah to Halisi. "...like someone just scraped me off the bottom of their boot." he grunts hoarsely. He tries to sit up but stiffness, a sharp pain, and Leah's urgings cause him to rethink his actions and his head settles back

Halisi gets on her feet as Mendez moves, stepping over to his side. "Give him a minute." she urges quietly with a small gesture of her hand before turning her attention to Mendez. "Take it easy." she cautions softly but clearly. "Disorientation is normal. There is still a lot of drugs in your system." She gives the monitors another look over before taking to studying his face. She leaves it up to Leah to answer the question.

Leah shifts her seat to directly face Mendez, one hand coming to rest on the edge of the bed. Her gaze shifts from Halisi back to Mendez, nodding sharply to the former as she settles her attention on him. "Nobody else came after you left." she says, unsure of just how 'aware' he is. "Emma is a little banged up and-..." she begins but manages to get her ramble under control before it really fires off, merely nodding a few more

Mendez continues to try and blink away the fuzziness without any real success. Halisi's words combined with Leah's assurance that everyone is okay seem to help him to calm down, if only somewhat. "How long have I been out...?" he grunts.

Halisi sighs softly. "Almost a day, thanks to the blood loss. We had to empty Redrock's reserves to fill you back up." she says, a soft smile accompanying the attempt at humor. She doesn't say anything else right away, trying to give him some time to process first.

Thiago gaze levels on Halisi as she speaks, merely blinking in response as he continues to try and process everything. "Tara...?" he asks, eyes searching for Leah's once more through the haze as he grasps at her forearm.

Leah is unable to keep a smile from spreading across her features over Mendez' concern for Tara. "She's fine. In no small part thanks to you." she says, shifting her arm to grasp at his hand and give it a gentle squeeze. "She's upstairs. I'm sure she'll probably be by to visit once she hears that you're awake."

Halisi goes silent, just monitoring for a moment as she lets Leah bring Mendez up to speed.

Mendez seems to relax a bit more upon hearing that Tara is unharmed and nods against his pillow. His mohawk is just a poof of hair flat against his head. It leaves him looking a little comically disheveled and far less intimidating than usual. He draws in a breath as he relaxes somewhat and studies Leah. "Were you able to get some alone time with 'hot stuff'?" he asks, the drugs coursing through his system leaving him far more

Leah's green eyes widen slightly and her cheeks redden as she looks from Mendez to Halisi in embarassment and gives a flustered chuckle. "He-..." she stammers, "...We don't call him that!" she assures.

Mendez nods a few times matter-of-factly. "Yes we do." he says, first to Leah and then turning to Halisi. "We do." he assures, drug induced honesty leading the charge. "He's a good-looking guy." he admits with a small, half-shrug as if to say 'Whaddya gonna do?'

Leah gives another awkward laugh, mostly trying to drown Mendez' muttering out. "He is hiiiiigh as a kite, huh?" she continues overtop of him.

Halisi is used to awkward comments from recovering surgery patients, of course, and she's normally a professional about it, but between her exhaustion and the fact that she knows Leah and Mendez, she cracks up, hastily bringing a hand up to her mouth to cover her grin, making a half-hearted attempt to mask her snort of laughter with a throat clear. She looks Leah's way with a questioningly raised eyebrow.

Leah gives a flustered scoff, green eyes darting from Mendez to Halisi. "We don't! We really don't!" she insists.

Mendez just calmly nods his head. "We do." he says, his tone almost as if he's reminding Leah moreso than selling her out. Just aimlessly wandering through a drug-induced haze. "We do." he repeats once again to Halisi.

Leah bites down, eyes snapping shut as her cheeks turn as bright as a tomato. "You are so lucky you almost died or I would kill you right now." she threatens in a mutter.

Mendez gains a confused look. "...I'm talking about Ten." he clarifies for Leah's sake, as if maybe she's just confused as to what he's talking about.

Leah very quickly speaks overtop him once again, eyes opening and fixed to Halisi. "Yes I know who you're talking about!" she spits out in one quick breath to try and get him to just stop speaking.

Halisi 's eyebrows rise a little and she wordlessly turns her attention to the monitor by Mendez' bed, studying it far more closely than she has any reason to. Her lips take on an odd shape as she fights very hard not to laugh. "It's common for people to say all sorts of things when waking up from anasthesia." she points out, as if to offer Leah a scrap of plausible deniability.

Leah draws a breath in through her nose, nodding a bunch of times to Halisi's suggestion. "Plus he's probably in a ton of pain and has no idea what he's saying!" she agrees.

Mendez only seems to grow more confused. "No, I-..." he begins but his words are cut in half when Leah chimes in overtop of him.

Leah attempts to get out ahead of any more embarassing slips by drowning Mendez out with her own words. "And I bet he's hungry!" she continues, gaze shifting back to Mendez. "Are you hungry?" she asks, but doesn't wait for a response. "How about you?" she looks towards Halisi but, once again, doesn't wait for an answer, "Yeah! Me too! Starving! They had pizza upstairs earlier, how about I go and see if there's any left?" She

Mendez simply watches as Leah rambles, blinking a few times before she takes off and he looks up to Halisi. "I think I need more drugs." he says flatly.

Halisi 's gaze briefly follows Leah as she makes a hasty retreat, letting out a soft laugh and shaking her head after she's gone, looking down at Mendez. Her expression quickly turns more serious as her smile starts to fade. "How are you feeling?" she asks, studying him.

Mendez tilts his head back against his pillow as he looks up at Halisi through cloudy eyes. He draws in a long breath through his nose. "Like shit." he admits.

Halisi offers a soft smile and a faint nod. "That is, unfortunately, expected, I'm afraid. You were in a bad state when you were brought in. I'm happy to say the surgery went well, however. I have done my best to repair the damage to your shoulder, and we have replaced the blood you lost, but you will need time to recover. Time and rest."

Mendez shifts in bed a bit, causing a slightly pained grunt to slip out when pressure is put on his damaged shoulder. "Appreciate it, doc." he says simply, "But how long before I'm able to rest in my own bed?"

Halisi glances briefly to the readouts before looking down at Mendez again. "Soon, hopefully. I would like to keep you overnight just to be safe. As long as everything is looking good tomorrow you can be out of here." Her eyebrows furrow a little as she thinks. "I'm... not quite familiar with your living situation. Do you live alone? It would be preferrable if there was someone around to assist you, at least for the first few days, as

Mendez gives a couple of small nods to the doctors first statements. Unlike most of Redrock, he respects the medical process. Her question gets a nod as well. "It's just me out here..." he says, far more talkative than usual given the circumstances. "But I'll manage. I can just guilt Leah into staying at my place for a few days if I have to. Least she can do after getting me run over by a krogan." he says matter-of-factly.

Halisi offers a faint nod of acknowledgement, the final words eliciting a quiet sigh and a slight furrowing of her eyebrows. "Your shoulder took quite a beating. You should be aware that it's possible there may be some long term nerve damage, but hopefully any issues that may arise can be corrected with a follow-up surgery."

Mendez rolls his head against the pillow as if to give his shoulder a look. He stares at the bandages distantly like he may possibly be able to gleam some information from it. Eventually his gaze turns back to Halisi and he shrugs dismissively. "We'll do what we need to do if we need to do it, doc." he says flatly. He's no stranger to surgery, a fact Halisi is probably aware of after having examined him. He's had plenty of work

Halisi nods again, flashing a small smile. "That we will." she assures, eyebrows furrowing a little once more. "Now that you're awake I can see about getting you some pants if you would like. Do you have any spares here at the base?"

Mendez furrows his brow when Halisi speaks. Her question prompts him to lift his blanket slightly so he can peer down into it. "I'm not wearing pants." he observes plainly, as if only just now realizing. After a moment he lets go of the blanket and shifts his head back against the pillow with a groan. "I have some spare clothes up in my locker. Leah can open it." He trusts her enough to give her access to his locker. Probably not

Halisi offers yet another soft nod. "Normally you would be in a recovery room by now, but due to the circumstances you will be remaining here until you're ready to be discharged. I'm afraid that means you will also have to deal with my presence for the time being." she adds with a small, tired smirk as she heads back towards her work station.