Leah restrains her smile a bit, betrayed by the dimples that decorate her cheeks. "I understand." she says, a sincerity in her tone despite her obvious underlying amusement.
#Hospital – October 11, 2022
Halisi 's smile lingers alongside faint traces of embarrassment as she falls silent. Her attention returns, for the moment, to her neglected burger, another bite following. Her eybrows furrow as her free hand snaps up to intercept a rogue piece of onion as it escapes its greasy prison. It doesn't keep the sauce from staining her chin, however, and a muffled chuckle sounds through closed lips as she shoots Leah a questioning look. Napkins?
Halisi 's smile lingers alongside faint traces of embarrassment as she falls silent. Her attention returns, for the moment, to her neglected burger, another bite following. Her eybrows furrow as her free hand snaps up to intercept a rogue piece of onion as it escapes its greasy prison. It doesn't keep the sauce from staining her chin, however, and a muffled chuckle sounds through closed lips as she grabs one of the napkins to immediately
Leah is all too happy to return her attention to her own burger and afford the doctor a bit of silence as they eat. The sudden sound from across the desk causes her to glance Halisi's way, a snort slipping out. "Are you going to be at the New Years get-together?" she asks, shooting another glance Halisi's way before her attention turns right back to her burger and she takes another big bite.
Halisi swallows and tosses the napkin in the bin before looking back to Leah and answering. "Of course. I understand there's going to be pyrotechnics involved, so if nothing else I should be on hand in case my services are required." It's mostly a joke. Mostly. "I haven't heard whether it's Nathan or Ms. Kaya handling things." A questioning look at Leah. "Perhaps you know?" She makes no attempt to conceal the teasing grin that crosses her
Leah snickers through her bite and casually nudges the bag a bit closer to Halisi in case she needs more napkins. The question that follows causes her to speed up her chewing, hurrying down her bite. Though the expression she's faced with when she looks across the desk garners a flat look from her, head lulling to one side as if to say 'Really?' "Is that what we're doing?" she asks, grin hidden just below the surface, "Nice try,
but it's not going to work. I don't fluster easily." The red that slips into her cheeks- as well as plenty of evidence of past conversations- speak on the contrary, however. She gives a small shrug, green eyes tilting down briefly as she collects a fry, gesturing vaguely with it. "Pretty~ sure the intention is to put on a show, not level the whole building, so I'm guessing Jessica probably~ isn't going to be handling it.
But when I brought it up to Nate earlier today, he didn't seem to know anything about it. Maybe the Chief just hasn't talked to him about it." she hurries through the latter part, hoping to avoid highlighting exactly why she was talking to him about it, although Halisi has probably already assumed as much, and gives a small shrug before popping the fry into her mouth.
Halisi chuckles at Leah's comments, but nods as she continues. "Seems likely. I... will admit I'm more comfortable with the idea of him being in charge of something like that than Ms. Kaya. I suspect Linda feels the same, even with the mess you two made." The smile that she flashes before sipping her drink aims to take the sting out of her words.
Leah nods along with Halisi's initial statement, though the follow-up causes her to scrunch up her nose in an exaggerated wince in an effort at keeping things lighthearted. Andtoday was yet another mess to add to the pile. "He might be an idiot, but Nate is good at what he does." she agrees, attempting to quickly move on from the aforementioned 'mess' and reaching for another fry.
Halisi lets out another quiet laugh, smile widening as she sets the coffee back down on the desk. "I will admit the appeal of... well, blowing things up, as a career, is lost on me. But he's clearly a professional." He certainly did his part during Li's rescue. "Even if he seems as allergic to hospitals as most of Redrock." she comments with a sigh, taking another bite of her burger. How such a hazardous profession manages to attract almost
exclusively people averse to being given the proper care when they inevitably need it she will never understand.
Leah snickers as Halisi speaks. The talk of a nearly supernatural inability to seek out medical care amongst those in Redrock causes her to almost instinctively allow her arm to fold against her side where, just beneath a few layers of clothing, her own wound stings at the mere mention of proper care. She shifts in place in a quick attempt at concealing the involuntary movement, rising from her seat slightly to fold one leg beneath
her in an effort to get a little more comfortable, and shakes her head. "Well, like I said. He is a bit of an idiot." she offers with a snicker. Scrunching up her nose, she qualifies her statement with a shrug, "At least he's a cute idiot, I guess."
Halisi 's gaze scans across Leah almost as if reading her mind, but her words distract her before she can ask, a snicker of her own sounding as her smile returns. "I take it having the Tennhausens over for the holidays went well?" she probes curiously.
Leah sucks in her lips to fight back the smile, offering a sheepish shrug of her shoulders as if to play it off as if it wasn't that big of a deal. But after a few moments she relents, letting out a breath that almost sounds like a sigh, her cheeks taken over by a big, unrestrained grin. "It was-... kind of amazing." she admits, a playful reluctance in her tone. "We had such a good night, Halisi."
Halisi 's smile grows firmer, a warm chuckle sounding as Leah speaks. "Well, do tell..." she encourages, attention remaining on her as she continues to eat. Her lunch time is limited, so forgetting about her food won't do.
Leah draws in another breath, shoulders rising and dropping once more as her hands come to rest against her folded leg. "Nate is-..." her head lulls to one side, then the other, green eyes shifting to the side briefly as she weighs her words. "...He's one of the good ones." she settles on, her expression softening as she looks back to Halisi. She does her best to hide the guilt buried beneath that seems to latch onto the subject. A
guilt that Halisi is no doubt aware of given their previous conversation at her house. A guilt that's certainly only furthered by Halisi's presence. The dead-mutual-friend shaped elephant in the room. "We're-... umm-..." she sucks in her lips for a moment, hand lifting momentarily to clear her bangs from her face, "...together now." she admits with little fanfare, the word sounding almost like it deserves air quotes.
"Officially, I mean." she quickly clarifies, as she's well aware that the lack of a formal title of 'couple' wasn't fooling anyone. "Part of me worries that maybe things are moving too fast." she continues, green eyes settling on the features of her friend, searching for... something. Approval? Disapproval? Anger? But she doesn't give the doctor a chance to respond. "But then~ I think about everything that's happened these
past few months and I-... I don't know, maybe-..." she stammers, gaze dropping to her hands briefly as she offers another small shrug. "Maybe too fast is better than too slow." she says as her gaze seeks out Halisi's once more, leaving the implication behind her words unspoken. It doesn't need to be said. Halisi knows just as well as the rest of them. She's seen everything that's transpired over the past year. Knows as
Halisi 's smile starts to slip away as the heavy realities of the past year inevitably find their way into the conversation. The ghosts of the past bring an odd look to her face, but it fades quickly. She listens silently and then draws in a long breath as she considers her response, burger coming to rest against her lap for the time being. "I've gotten the impression that fast-forming attachments come with the territory that Redrock treads.
You've been through a lot together. It has a way of showing you who someone really is, I think. Does it feel too fast to you? If it does, then-..." she pauses briefly as she ponders how to phrase her thoughts. "I don't think being open about how you feel is ever a bad thing. Especially with lives like ours, where you never know what tomorrow will bring. But that shouldn't equate to rushing into things you're not ready for." she
suggests. "And if it doesn't? If it's about fitting some notion of how things ought to progress in a 'normal' relationship? Well... our lives are hardly 'normal', are they?"
Leah seems to loosen up a little more as Halisi speaks. A tempered, measured, and thoughtful response is exactly what should be expected from the doctor by this point, but it's still welcome nonetheless. She punctuates Halisi's final statement with a snort of her own. "They most certainly are not." she agrees softly, the day's exhaustion briefly showing through in her tone. For her, that wasn't something that began with Redrock. Her
life was far from normal long before then. 'Normal' is an old memory by this point. "I don't." she says after a few moments of consideration before clarifying herself, "Feel like it's too fast, I mean. I just-... I don't know. Relationships aren't exactly my area of expertise under the best of circumstances." she admits. "But... I like him. And I'm pretty~ sure he likes me. At the very least he hasn't run for the hills yet
and he's had more than enough reason to by now." she continues, a soft snicker following, "He's funny. Kind. And it certainly doesn't hurt that he's good looking." she lists, a smile resurfacing briefly as she meets Halisi's gaze once more before. "He got along really well with my dad. And, I know it's going to take time for Tara to warm up to him, but he's good to her. He cares." The emphasis in her words, it's clear how
important that is to her. It's far from a revelation, of course. The man put his life on the line to help protect Tara. "And, on top of all of that? I just-... like being around him. I feel-..." she shrugs, "...comfortable just being myself." That, too, seems to carry a significant weight with her for reasons unspoken.
Halisi frowns a little at Leah's self-deprecation, but continues to listen, smiling a little as she talks about how Nathan got along with her family. From what she's seen of the Merciers that's a good indicator if there ever was one. Her final addition makes the doctor's smile widen, but it remains subdued. "There's nothing more important." she says softly. "Sounds to me like you know what you're doing."
Leah gives a deep nod to Halisi's initial response, but her final comment garners an exaggerated widening of her eyes. "Then you might want to get your ears checked because, in the time I've known you? That might be the most incorrect statement that has ever left your mouth." she says, her words devolving into laughter by the time she reaches the end of her sentence.
Halisi has just taken a bite of her burger when Leah's words make her let out a surprised snort of laughter, her free hand hastily rising to cover her mouth. "Oh, everyone frets now and then. Goodness knows I do. It sounds to me like you have a better grasp on the situation than you give yourself credit for."
Leah's laughter only increases, shoulders bouncing, as Halisi nearly spits out her burger, She furrows her brow for a moment, making a show of considering the doctor's read on the situation before quickly shaking her head and snapping off a sharp, "Nope." through her smile. She straightens up a bit and reaches for her food. "I have no idea where this confidence you seem to have in me comes from but, I assure you, whatever it is
that you're interpreting as a 'grasp on the situation' is actually just absolute, sheer panic." She meets Halisi's gaze and gives a raise of her brows and a big, bright, exaggerated, cheerful smile before chomping into her burger.
Halisi breaks into fresh laughter, luckily after she's had time to swallow or she may well have started choking. "You're not supposed to admit that." she admonishes in a stage whisper, complete with hand shielding her mouth from the side. "You pretend you're in control until everyone believes it, including yourself." she jokes, although even through her smile it's obvious the words are more than a throwaway comment.
Leah gives a look of mock surprise, burger still in-hand, as if she's been given some sort of insider tip. "Mmm-..!" she hums through her bite, quickly swallowing it down and set her burger aside so she can speak. "...So that's the big secret!" she plays along through a big grin, laughter already returning. The truth of the statement isn't lost on Leah, though it just makes the woman before her all the more inspiring. She's always
so put together. Contemplative. And it seems to come easy to her, like she has all of the answers. But the truth of it i..., it probably just puts more weight on her shoulders. "I'm gonna have to write that down." she continues, "See, the strategy I've been employing has been to-..." she rolls her eyes upwards, as if trying to recall the intricate nature of her complex strategy. Eventually she lifts her left hand, extending
her index finger and giving it a tap with her right index finger, as if to strike step one off of the list. "Run around like a headless chicken without the slightest idea of what to do." She strikes step two off of her middle finger next as she explains what it consists of, reciting it flatly. "Say: Oh fuck. Oh shit. Oh fuck. Oh shit." And her ring finger. "Oh fuck." She looks back to Halisi with a smile, "And this concludes my
three step plan to dealing with life. I've just been trying it out. Giving it a shot for the last-... oh-..." she shrugs, scrunching up her nose briefly, "...I don't know, thirty years or so." The final sentence causes her facade to break, laughter once more spilling out.
Halisi manages to get a couple of bites in before chuckling fondly at Leah's theatrics. "Well, it's hard to argue with the results." she says with an amused grin. "Clearly you make it work."
Leah's laughter continues and she offers a few nods. "Clearly." she agrees, the sarcasm clear in her voice, As her laughter dies down she relents with a shrug. "But, hey, I'm still here. We both are." she says, offering the woman across from her a small smile. It might not be much but, given the direction their lives have gone, survival is something to be celebrated. "I suppose that means we must be doing something right."