January 14th. It's around noon by the time Ilyna arrives at the hospital. She had taken a taxi to get there rather than involving Redrock.
#Hospital – April 2, 2025
Ilyna makes her way to Halisi's office immediately upon entering, and rings the doorbell. She's wearing a long winter coat over her casual knee-length dress and gray pants.
Ilyna waits around for a moment before she walks away to either find someone to ask or a break room. She looks distant more than anything, as she has had some time to gather herself after the confrontation.
Holly comes down the corridor, a holder with two paper cups of coffee in one hand and a paper bag in the other. Even decked out in scrubs she's easier to recognize than most humans thanks to her rare hair color. She must recognize Ilyna as well, given that she shoots her a smile as she approaches, coming to a stop soon after. "Oh! You're looking for Dr. Halisi, aren't you?" The question has the tone of someone that's pretty confident
they already have the answer, a knowing gleam in her eye. "She was called into surgery. Ought to be done soon. I can take you, if you'd like?"
Ilyna recognizes Holly after a moment, and with certainty once she speaks to her. She returns the smile, but it fades quickly as the distant look comes back. "I just need to speak with her," she says, avoiding specificity. "It's... not very urgent, I can wait."
Holly nods down the corridor. "Of course. I can let you into-" She cuts herself off and steps to the side when a patient is wheeled past them towards the recovery room. "Oh! I think she just finished. Let's see!" She leads the way a few doors down from Halisi's office, and opens one up with a quick swipe of her omni-tool.
Inside, Halisi stands by a window watching over a now-empty operating room, the table within and the instruments that have yet to be covered out still covered in blood. The doctor herself looks clean - she must have already gone through the decontamination room. The kind of high-end utility afford by having Matriarch Syranis as the hospital's patron, the tech for the decontamination room was a hefty investment, but well worth the time and money
Halisi looks over as the door opens. "Holly, perfect, do you-" Her silver eyes crinkle with what must be a smile when they land on Ilyna, although most of her face is obscured by her surgical cap and mask. "Ilyna! Goodness, I didn't know you were here already! Have you been waiting long?"
Ilyna was about to decline the offer, not wanting to disturb her in the middle of important work, but she didn't have to when the patient was wheeled out. She follows her into the observation room. She takes one glance at the unpleasant scene in the neighboring room before her eyes find Halisi's, and she returns the smile. "Not at all," she says. "I was going to come here later in the day, but... something came up." She
then hastens to add, "Don't let me hold you up, though. If you're needed elsewhere, I can wait my turn."
Halisi shakes her head, reaching up to pull her mask down as she steps closer. "We just finished up. We can talk in my office while I handle the paperwork," she suggests, angling her head in the direction Ilyna and Holly just came from.
Holly clears her throat and holds out a coffee and a sandwich to Halisi. Seems she'd been bringing lunch for both herself and the doctor.
Halisi chuckles quietly. "...and have my lunch, of course," she adds a little sheepishly. Despite her repeated admonishments of Vasquez' eating habits during workdays, it seems the doctor on occasion subscribes to the venerable philosophy of 'do as I say, not as I do'. "If you'd like to get something from the cafeteria..." she adds in a suggestion to Ilyna, unsure if the asari is hungry.
Ilyna laughs softly at Halisi needing a reminder to eat, but she doesn't comment on it. It is past Ilyna's lunch time as well, and she does feel a little hungry, but she would rather not delay any further. "I'm fine," she says. "I'll just get something on the way back." She then begins making her way out, but waits for Halisi to lead the way. She is starting to look a bit anxious as she tries to find out how to best say
Halisi offers Holly a brief look of acknowledgement before the nurse slips away to enjoy her lunch, and then begins to lead the way towards her office. "Very well." By the time they reach the door she seems to have picked up on Ilyna's mood, eyebrows slightly furrowed, but she hasn't said anything yet, instead opening the door and taking a seat, offering up the spare chair to the asari with a gesture. "You said something had come up. Is
Ilyna takes the offered chair, but waits for the door to close before letting her guard down, and she looks sad and angry more than anything, but she looks at Halisi. "It's... I'm... fine," she says, "but... you see, well, Linda..." She takes breath, frustrated with herself. "Linda found out about us." She averts her eyes after saying it.
Halisi sets her coffee and sandwich down on the desk as she listens to Ilyna, her gaze sharp and attentive despite her otherwise slightly disheveled appearance coming straight from surgery. The words that finally come make her eyes widen slightly, and she scoots closer, reaching out to clasp Ilyna's hands gently in her own. "What happened...?"