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fifteen

A few hours later Lucky is woken by the surgical prep nurses. The two move him from bed to gurney demonstrating a deft precision obviously honed by much practice. Rika remains sleeping peacefully through out the proceedings.

"How long will the surgery take?" Lucky asks as they begin wheeling him toward the door.

"It should be just under two hours. Then you'll be in recovery for a bit before they bring you back to your room, but that depends on how quickly you come out of the anesthesia." The lead nurse answers.

Jin and Corkle step casually through the wall next to the door, waiting in the corridor outside, preparing to accompany Lucky to the surgical theater. Lucky doesn't seem to notice. His eyes, growing ever wider as he nears the doorway, are on Rika.

"Wait!" He says as they're about to wheel him through the door. The gurney halts. Both nurses stand looking down at him expectantly, as do Jin and Corkle peering in from the hallway through the open door.

"I need to speak to her before we go." He looks from the nurse at the head of the gurney over to Rika.

"You'll be back in a few hours. She'll probably still be asleep."

"No." He shakes his head emphatically. "Please, can you wake her up for me? I don't want to startle her."

The nurse hesitates, exchanging a look with the one already in the hall way, at the foot of the gurney.

"Please," Lucky implores, "it'll just be for a minute, but I need to speak to her before I leave."

The nurse in the hall glances at his watch then shrugs. "We've got a few minutes yet. Besides, they can't very well start the surgery without the patient."

The one in the room nods, looking down at Lucky again before stepping over to the couch where Rika is sleeping. She reaches down putting a hand on her shoulder, shaking it gently. "Miss Birmingham?

Miss Birmingham?" She repeats as Rika begins to stir.

Rika's eyes open slowly with comparative little confusion considering she's in a strange place being woken by a complete stranger.

"Mm." She nods as she sits up.

"Miss Birmingham, we're taking Mr. Yoshikawa to surgery now and he wanted to speak to you before he left." She looks over to Lucky on the gurney that's still half in the room and half in the hall. Rika follows her line of sight.

Lucky's face breaks into a relieved smile as Rika's eyes meet his. "Rika, you'll still be here when I get back right? You're not going to leave are you?"

"Well," she hesitates under the intensity of his eyes, "I do have a few things I needed to take care of this morning but, I guess they can wait until later this afternoon. I'll wait until after you're back from surgery - I'll be here, okay?"

"Thanks Rika." He releases his held breath and letting his head fall back onto the pillow. He turns his head toward her again with his eyes remaining locked on hers as he's wheeled from the room. They eye contact between them finally broken by the physical barrier of the wall as he is completely out of the room.

She sits staring at the empty space for another minute after the door closes behind them.

That look; that expression... so intense. Why does it seem like he knows me? She winds up drifting off into a light sleep. Odd thoughts about the expression on his face, as he was taken from the room, skittering restlessly about at the edges of her consciousness.

It's a little before nine when she wakes again. Deciding to see if she can find out how the surgery's going, she stops just long enough to rinse her face and pull her hair back before heading to the nurses' station.

The nurses' station is completely empty and she hasn't seen anyone about in the corridor.

Must be a busy morning. She decides. Everyone must be off attending to patients.

Failing a person to ask, she gets on the lift. Which is also completely empty. Odd, she thinks as she looks at the directory. Especially for a hospital this size...

"Third floor." Says aloud as she presses the button. "Why do surgeries always seem to be on the third floor?"

She exits the elevator to the right following the directional arrows posted on the wall and turning the corner, finds herself in the waiting corridor outside the surgical wing. She sits down on one of the long white metal benches that line the hallway on either side. Again, there's no one else in the waiting area but her and only the surgery on the far left has the "in use" light on.

That must be the one where they're operating on Jin.

She sits looking at the closed doors for a minute before glancing back down the length of the empty corridor.

What a desolate place. Stark and white and soundless.... How awful it must be to have to sit here and wait if you have someone who's in surgery and the outcome is uncertain... To be all alone here waiting...

Her gaze drifts back to the closed surgery doors and the still lit sign above them.

It suddenly dawns on her that no one else is here for Jin.

No one came to the hospital last night either. "I wonder if there's someone I should call for him?" She says out loud. "Wait, I don't even know if he has any family or anyone."

Again, her thoughts wander back to what it must be like to wait in this desolate hallway when someone's life is in question.

Would Reema and Gran and I have been waiting in a hallway like this all those years ago it they had found our parents sooner?

The suddenly morbid thought comes with a chill that propels up from the bench and has her rubbing her arms briskly. She decides to walk around a bit hoping the movement will refocus her thoughts while she waits.

After a few more minutes, the surgery light goes off. She directs her steps toward the doors underneath arriving in front of them just as the surgeon is coming out and removing his mask.

"Excuse me doctor? Was that Mr. Yoshikawa's surgery?"

"Yes." He stands looking at her for a few seconds before a spark of recognition crosses his face. "Oh, you're the young woman who was brought in with him yesterday."

"Yes." She nods. "Did everything go alright with his surgery?"

"The damage turned out to be a bit more extensive than we originally thought, but yes. He should make a complete recovery." He nods to her before turning to continue down the corridor.

"Thank you very much, Doctor." She says, bowing to him as he leaves.

She bows toward him again as he turns the corner at the end of the hallway. She's still looking after him when the surgery doors open again and the post op team emerges with Jin on a gurney. She watches as he's wheeled past her on the way to the recovery room, still unconscious and looking completely at peace. It makes her wonder again about his family or if maybe there's someone she should call for him. It also occurs to her that regardless of how strange this whole situation is, it's probably not her place to get involved.

But... he did say I was his manager, and it seems completely conceivable that this would fall under the function of a manager...

It won't hurt to ask. She decides finally. Then I can go from there.