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twenty

It's only been about ten minutes since Jin was returned to his room. Rika's sitting on the couch opposite the bed, comfortably engrossed in her book, when something begins needling at the edge of her awareness. She looks up to find Jin staring at her. She puts her phone down and moves closer to the bed.

"Hey, you're not supposed to be awake. You've got a couple more hours of down time yet." She says gently. "I told you I'd still be here. Everything's okay, so go back to sleep."

His intense expression remains.

She crouches down next to the bed so her face is right next to his. "Are you okay? Do you need me to call the nurse?"

He tries to shake his head, managing only the barest of movements, but the resulting pain is excruciating. His eyes close again in response.

"Jin, this isn't working! We can barely get your eyes to stay open!"

"I know, I know, I know... Jeez-is, why is this so hard?"

"Set your intention then focus your attention to that out come." Corkle's voice is suddenly surrounding them. "Set your intention then focus your attention to that outcome." He repeats.

"We know, we know! But it's not as easy as that!" Jin snaps back at him.

"It is as easy as that." He repeats. "Focus on it being easy instead of difficult and it will be."

"You're not in here trying to slog through all this stuff and get this body to function somewhat normally."

"It would be easy, if you would listen and apply what I am telling you to do to make it such. Decide that it is easy and it will be. Stop choosing to make it hard."

"Alright, alright...

Are you ready to go at it again Lucky?"

"Ready when you are. But, Jin -"

"Yeah, I know, Lucky. Me too; this stuff is killer. But let's try it again."

"Okay."

They both relax, focusing their concentration on breathing; just breathing. The ease of the slow, rhythmic movement of breath in and out of Jin's body. The ease of the flow of air.

When they try again, his eyes open with little difficulty.

Rika hasn't moved. She's still next to the bed watching him with concern.

It takes him another minute before he tries to speak. His voice is low and the words are measured, but clear and audible. His eyes locked on Rika's throughout.

"Rika... it's, important."

"There's nothing important right now except you resting, okay. Just go back to sleep, everything's fine."

"No, listen, please, I need my phone."

"Your phone? You don't -" She stops, again she struck by the intensity in his eyes.

"It's not here. At home. In my studio. Can you get it?"

She opens her mouth, hesitating.

"My contacts, for the show, the gallery. I need them."

"Oh... okay - then I'll need the address."

He takes a deep breath, eyes faltering and slowly closing.

"Jeez-is! This is still freakin' hard - regardless of what Corkle says."

"How much longer, Jin? I'm really tired."

"I know, Lucky, I know... we're almost there."

His eyes flutter open again. "Wallet." He finally manages. "Drawer." He shifts his eyes toward the bedside table.

She opens the drawer and takes out his wallet. She sits holding it, looking at him questioningly.

He looks at her, closing his eyes deliberately then reopening them, hoping she gets his intended meaning.

She does and opens his wallet to find his identification card. She pulls it out, reaching behind her to grab her phone and take a picture of it before she replaces it. As she re-closes the drawer, he speaks again.

"Can you go now? Please?"

"Sure," she nods, "I'll be back as soon as I can, so you go back to sleep now, Okay?" She smiles at him before she turns to get her bag. She drops her phone in, slinging it over her shoulder as she steps into her shoes.

Jeez-is that was freakin' hard! His eyes are just closing again when he remembers he didn't give her the pass-code; she won't be able to get in.

She's about to head to the door when he reaches over and catches her wrist. She starts at the unexpected movement then turns back to face him, leaning in close.

"Pass-code." He manages.

"Oh, yeah, or I wouldn't be able to get in."

"Twelve twenty-six."

She smiles, "I probably would have realized when I was a few blocks away and just come right back."

He smiles up at her weakly as his eyes begin drifting closed again.

"Alright, I'll be back as soon as I can." She turns again and heads to the door.

"Jeez-is that was hard! Why was it so difficult, even with the two of us working together?"

Corkle's voice cuts in again. "One reason is that you approached it as such; you expected it to be difficult so the reality responded to your expectations. Another is that you are becoming accustomed to functioning without the limitations of a physical form so the effect was akin to suddenly being shackled by heavy weights and trying to move as you had done without them. Also, Lucky is still becoming adjusted to the difference in functionality between the body of a cat and that of a human so the introduction of restrictive drugs into the system was very difficult for him to counter."

"Oh, yeah, well there's that." Jin replies.

It's all basically moot at this point anyway. They got Rika out before his father got there and that was the goal.

Lucky's already asleep again exhausted from the effort and the physical strain of the morning's surgery.

Jin is also feeling the comforting pull of sleep very strongly in response to their exertion. He decides to give in to the desire for physical rest he's experiencing now that he's returned to his body. He also figures it would probably be a good idea to remain in his body at least until after his father's visit - despite the uncomfortable squishiness, as Lucky termed it, of them being inside together. The encounter with his father will likely be better off handle with first person responses instead of via relay system through Lucky.

But, regardless of anything else, at the moment, the thought of sleep feels impossibly good.