Leah glances towards the indicated chair, smile growing briefly. She hadn't intended to stay- to be more accurate, she hadn't held out hope that she would be welcome to stay after the trouble she brought to Halisi's doorstep this morning- but the silent offer helps to melt away a bit of the remaining tension in her shoulders and she gives a small nod, almost to herself. She uses the toe of her boot to push the wheeled chair up to
#Hospital – September 27, 2022
the desk and plops down on it as she recollects her drink from the cup holder and takes a quick sip. "It's from that place just down the road." she says as she sets her drink down, dipping her head in an arbitrary direction to indicate the place in question before she begins to rummage through the bag once more to grab a burger for herself.
Halisi takes a packet of cream from the cup holder, popping the lid off her cup and adding it as she nods in response to Leah. "You're very fond of these burgers, aren't you?" The observation is accompanied my an amused look her way before she lifts her own burger to study it briefly. "As your doctor I feel obligated to remind you that there are healthier ways to fulfill your caloric requirements." she admonishes with a teasing smile.
Leah begins the process of unwrapping her burger, offering a brief nod to the doctor's initial question. It seems there's a nice stack of burgers in the bag. She passes a pointed glance Halisi's way, giving a playful roll of her eyes. "I'm plenty healthy, thankyouverymuch." she scoffs, though her smile lingers. "Besides, I've been running all over town today and dad and Tara are probably still cleaning up back home, so it didn't
really feel like a 'home-cooked meal' kinda day. More of a-... 'forget about cooking and drown your problems in delicious grease' sort of day, ya know?" she snickers.
Halisi chuckles quietly, but the mention of Tara and Francois makes her smile fade. "How are they? How are you?" she asks, concern filling her silver eyes as they scan across Leah's face. It hadn't been a pretty scene outside the Mercier house. The idyllic image of the remote, wooden home shattered by the carnage in the snow outside.
Leah's smile pulls back slightly and she gives a small shrug, buying herself a few moments to really consider the question as she takes a bite of her burger. She has the decency to lean over the wrapper as she does, but thankfully nothing falls loose. But the burger is unwieldy enough to cause her to pluck a few napkins from the bag as she chews, quietly passing one Halisi's way. "Shaken up?" she says on, green eyes turning towards
the doctor. "My dad is-..." she draws in a breath, giving a shake of her head to sweep away whatever she may have been thinking as she turns her focus back towards the bag and pulls the fries free. She sets them at the edge of her burger's wrapping paper, angling them so that Halisi can take some, should she be so inclined. "...He's keeping it together." she settles on. "And Tara is-... well, Tara." she snickers fondly, though
there's a sadness behind the meaning of her words. She's resilient. Because she's had to be. A quiet strength that few recognize. "She'll be fine. I just-..." a sigh slips out as she meets Halisi's gaze, "...I want her to feel safe. Which isn't easy when shit like this is happening every week."
Halisi accepts the napkin with a brief, grateful tug at the corner of her mouth. She takes a tentative bite as she listens to Leah talk, her final comment eliciting a faint nod, gaze falling away briefly. "Violence and danger seems to be an inescapable reality of life out here." she comments quietly, not exactly reassuring. "But having it reach your home is... well, Ilyna has told me that Li has slept in her bed every night since the
kidnapping." Alright, technically she didn't need to be 'told' because she was there, but that's neither here nor there. A silence starts to take hold as she searches for some sort of encouragement to offer, but she comes up short, a troubled sigh slipping out before she takes another bite, using the napkin to dab at her mouth afterwards.
Leah gives a small nod as Halisi speaks, a frown taking hold as the doctor mentions Li's kidnapping. Just another example of all of the shit this year has dropped on them. "Yeah..." she agrees quietly. As the silence grows louder she eventually lets out a sigh of her own. "But-... at least they're in a better place now than they were." she says, that small voice deep inside of her denying her from wallowing in her own pity party for
too long. "Li and Tara? I guess we have to take victories where we can, right? So-... Maybe it's not perfect, but-..." she shrugs, "...they've both got an opportunity to living somewhat normal lives." She relents with a roll her eyes as her smile resurfaces, "Okay, maybe normal is a stretch. But-... still. You know what I mean."
Halisi nods in agreement, her own smile returning alongside Leah's. "Yes. They both have people that care about them. That are looking out for them. That's more than can be said for many people. And more valuable when it comes down to it, I think." Her smile widens a bit and she takes on an encouraging tone as she adds: "They both celebrated their first Christmas mere days ago. That's no small victory." She takes a sip of her coffee before
eyeing Leah curiosly, sensing the opportunity to leave the gloomy subject of the attack behind for a bit. "How did she like it?"
Leah gives a nod of her own. The doctor's words help to fortify her smile. It's true. Maybe Tara's life won't ever be 'normal'. Maybe that's just not something that Leah can provide. Hell, how long has it been since her own life was normal? By this point, 'normal' is just a distant memory, warped and faded by time. But what she can provide Tara is a family that loves her. A weird, hectic little family, but a family. Hopefully
that's enough. The question causes her smile to widen into something far more sincere, colored by fond memories of the day. "She loved it. I think she may already be counting down the days until next Christmas." she snickers.
Halisi 's smile is warm as she lets out an amused laugh. "I'm glad to hear it. The poor girl deserves something to look forward to." There's a brief pause, and she shifts a little and tilts her head. "What about you?" she asks, the question followed by another careful bite from her burger. A messy eater the good doctor is not.
Leah sucks in her lips briefly, gaze turning towards her burger briefly as she sets it down and takes a moment to wipe her hands. "It was-... nice." she settles on, green eyes flicking back to the woman across the desk from her. "Food. Family. Friends." she shrugs, "What more could I ask for? Buuuuut~" she continues as she leans forward, elbow coming to a rest against the desk as she props her chin up on her fist and gives a few
obnoxious wiggles of her eyebrows. "More importantly, how was your Christmas? Hmmm?" she asks in a sing-songy tone, laying it on thick.
Halisi raises an eyebrow at Leah's rush to turn the question on her. "It was... lovely." she replies in kind, but she's betrayed by the smile that starts to pull at the corners of her mouth, and for a brief moment, as her gaze shifts away to the screen of her computer terminal, she looks uncharacteristically flustered. She's quick to cover this with a sip from her coffee, face back under control by the time the cup leaves her lips. "It was
Leah gives a sharp, "Uh huhhh." at Halisi's initial statement, "I~ bet~ it~ was~" She's all smiles. When the doctor finishes speaking she furrows her brow, nodding far too many times. "Of course, of course." she agrees, "Among friends." More nods, her smile spilling over as if she's expectantly waiting for the doctor to say more.
Halisi 's brow lifts, exasperated amusement in her face as she meets Leah's gleeful expression. "Friends, yes." she affirms, as if hoping to dissuade any notions otherwise, but the persistent smile that she can't quite keep away undercuts her efforts somewhat.
Leah keeps Halisi in her headlights for a few moments longer before settling back into her seat with a cackle. "You're a shit liar, you know that?" she teases through her grin.
Halisi lets out a surprised snort of laughter, lifting her free hand to her mouth as her smile manifests fully. "Ah, but what if that's merely part of my sinister plan? Perhaps I am lulling you into a false sense of security by making you underestimate me." she suggests in an attempt to redirect the conversation away from what's not solely hers to share. She takes another bite of her burger, shooting Leah a meaningful look as if attempting
Leah sucks in her lips again, offering a few enthusiastic nods. "Mmhmm. Right. Of course. Ya know what?" she asks, words escaping through an ear-to-ear smile so big it puts her dimples on full display. She allows the question to linger for a moment. "You're also shit at trying to steer a conversation away from what is painfully obvious. And that is that yooooou~ have the hots for a certain asari!" Another round of laughter
slips out of her and she settles back further, momentarily forgetting that her chair doesn't have a back and nearly falling backwards. One hand shoots to the desk to catch her balance, a surprised sound infiltrating her snorts of laughter as her eyes go wide.
Halisi lets out a slightly consternated sigh as Leah presses her. She doesn't seem quite sure how to reply, but the biotic's near-fall makes her chuckle. "You deserve that." she states with exaggerated dryness.
Leah makes a disapproving sound as she straightens back up in her seat, flipping Halisi the bird which is accompanied with a big, bright, exaggerated smile. "Fine, fine, fine! Keep your secrets to yourself!" she sighs. "And I won't bother you about it anymore." she assures, attention shifting back to her burger as she gives a dismissive shrug of her shoulders. "I'll keep my thoughts to myself. I won't even mention how cute of a
couple I think you two would make." she adds, or rather-... doesn't add? "Or how I saw this coming a mile away. I know when to keep my mouth shut!" she continues as she grips her burger with one hand, lifting the other to her mouth and pantomiming as if locking it up with a key. She gives an exaggerated, tight-lipped look Halisi's way. But when she brings the burger to her mouth she briefly frowns and quickly pantomimes
Halisi just lets out another sigh in response at first, but a smile graces her lips, softer than before, a hint of embarrassment shining through again. She considers her words as she watches Leah eat. She settles for a grateful nod. "Clearly." she comments, taking a sip from her cup. The words she speak next have a more serious tone to them. "I... would appreciate it if you would. Keep your... observations... to yourself, for the time
being." It's a sincere and gentle request that carries no disapproval of Leah's teasing, born from Ilyna's wishes to keep things quiet for the time being.
Leah's smile shines through even as she chews, though her brows briefly pinch together as Halisi voices her request. "Oh-..." she begins, but pauses to wipe her mouth with a napkin just to be safe before speaking. "...of course! Halisi, I wouldn't-..." she stammers before shaking her head, "...you don't have to worry about that." she assures, the teasing tone all but gone in the face of her friend's obvious concern.