Leareth is not exactly hungry - something is making him pretty nauseated right now, actually - and the Jello cup is a kind of disconcerting-looking food item, but he'll try a few bites. Eating and drinking is exhausting and kind of frustrating right now; he gets short of breath and his sats drop if he takes the oxygen mask off for even ten seconds. 

10:00 pm rolls around, and finds the unit calm and peaceful, lights dimmed, and with a huddle of exhausted nurses and one exhausted trauma surgeon sitting around talking. They're hanging around near room 110, since Alice can't really leave her patient's room right now. 

"What a craptastic day," Alice says dryly. "I'm starving." 

     Dr Millinger glances around. "Pizza sound good?" 

"I think we're due for sushi?"

     "Oh, god, I could so go for some California rolls. Put them right here in my face-hole." 

Sushi orders are collected and a nearby restaurant is called. They take orders from the unit every week or two and are familiar with the drill. 

     "Can someone watch my machines while I pee?" 

"On it. ...I should probably turn my lady but I'm not gonna. I'd have to stand up, see." 

     "Oooooof I know. My poor feet." 

A few minutes of desultory banter ensues. Alice gets back from the bathroom and arranges herself in front of a bedside table stolen from next door so she can mix bags of drugs while SITTING DOWN. (Her patient's room has somehow collected THREE bedside tables. They're all in use.) 

     "So." Dr Millinger yawns and stretches both arms above his head. "How am I meant to explain to my med students tomorrow that several of our patients are magic?" 

     "- Are you gonna tell 110's wife that we fixed his kidneys with magic? I would love to be a fly on the wall for that convo." 

"...Aren't you supposed to, I don't know, tell people if you find out magic is real?" 

     "Tell who? If we tell the ED staff they'll eat Belrun alive, they'll want her fixing up everyone." 

"We can't make her do more things!" Marian says hastily. "She's pooped. Also Leareth has horrible PTSD or something and if she goes too far away he'll probably freak out and set the unit on fire." 

"And that," Alice says dryly, "is not a sentence I ever thought I would hear– Fuck off!" This is addressed at a beeping IV pump. "I'm coming, I'm coming, you don't need to torture my poor ears like this..." 

     "It wants you to hear the song of its people," Krystal says, rolling her eyes.

The overhead intercom buzzes, and everyone groans, but it's just a code white (violent patient) in the emergency department. The staff sag back. 

     "...Okay, whose vent alarm is that - fucking unit acoustics, you'd think they could've designed it better–"

"I'll go see–" 

    "I mean, this is sort of like 'aliens turned up', right? We could tell...the newspapers?"

"Do you want a television crew in this ICU because I do not!" 

     "The government?" 

"I don't trust the fucking government with this!" 

     "The FBI would try to cart them off and study them, I bet." 

Marian giggles. "Good luck with carting Leareth anywhere he doesn't want to go. He'll set them on fire." 

"Did we ever find out what Nayoki did?" 

     Shrugs all around. "Escape artistry?" 

"- Oh no do you smell that?"

     "Unfortunately." A nurse hauls herself up from her chair. A minute passes in silence, interrupted only by Alice swearing at another IV pump. 

"...Guys guysguysguys who wants to join me for a party in 108?" 

     There are loud groans. "A shit party?" 

"I would say that's understating things. This shit could defeat empires." 

    "I can tell - I can smell it from all the way over here." 

"It's a - get this - it's a poonami–" 

     "You did NOT just say that." 

"I hate this job." 

     "If you hate this job why do you take overtime every week." 

"....Love of money and glory?" 

     "Riiiiight." 

At 10:45 pm, Marian troops over to Leareth's room, carrying a plate of sushi rolls. "Belrun? Leareth?" 

"Mm?"

Marian moves some food wrappers off the bedside table and plops down the sushi. :Brought you some more food. Also they're sending us a float nurse from the ED so I get to go home! And Alice is gonna let me crash on her couch so I don't have to bike home: 

:It's raining and I'm a kind woman: Alice thinks loudly at Belrun, joining them and leaning on the wall by the room. :I'm taking this kid to the bar next door for some tequila shots first, though. I did put her down as a contact in your chart, just in case, but please try to avoid having to call her: 

:I'll do my best insofar as I have control over that. Should you introduce me to the next person so I can get their permission for Mindspeech?:

:Definitely! She's headed over now: Marian peers around the room. :Hmm - I bet if we get some of the unnecessary equipment out of here and move things around, I can fit a gurney against the wall by his bed? And then you can sleep on that and be right next to him, it'll be more comfy than the recliner - how does that sound?: 

:I'd appreciate that, thanks:

Marian, yawning, putters around the room for a few minutes tidying up, shoving the now-obviated ventilator up by the window, and then wheels in a gurney stolen from PACU and collects some blankets and pillows for Belrun. 

Leareth, who's been drifting in and out of a doze, wakes up to the noise and reaches for Belrun. "Need water," he croak-whispers; the oxygen flow is drying out his mouth so badly. "Can - ask her - blanket back...? The warm one." 

Marian, who of course can't understand this at all, glances expectantly at Belrun. 

:Thirsty again and he wants 'the warm blanket' back:

:I'm not surprised, the oxygen mask does that. I'll get you guys a water jug so you can give him refills. And - hmm. He did scorch the electric blanket a bit but it was still working: She frowns at the monitor. :I took it off because he was getting feverish, but he's all right now. Guess he can have it back if you can keep an eye on his temp for me and take it away if he's running too hot: 

:I can't read your instruments but if he seems too feverish I can take it off:

:Okay, that works: 

Marian introduces Noreen, the float nurse from the ED; she's a moderately overweight black woman with her hair in cornrows, who seems more exasperated than curious about the whole 'magic telepathy' thing. 

As long as she's okay with it.

Belrun arranges the warm blanket over Leareth and eats sushi and cuddles up next to him otter-fashion and sleeps.

The ward is quiet, but Leareth is having a bit of a rough night, and defaults to reaching for Belrun through the lifebond rather than trying to communicate with the night nurse. Mindspeech is still very painful and effortful. 

At various points he wakes her because:

- he’s thirsty again and can’t reach the water cup.

- he wants to roll over but can’t manage it by himself.

- he tries to refill his water cup himself to avoid bothering her, and manages instead to upend the jug of ice water all over himself.

- his oxygen tubing got kinked when he moved in bed (this time Belrun is woken first by the monitor screaming at them because his O2 sats are down to 73%.)

- his head hurts too much to sleep.

- he drank too much water too fast and threw up.

Belrun wakes up all six of those times and helps him, or gets the night nurse to help him, and then when he's situated she falls back asleep.

Dim grey light creeps under the blinds on the window, and the unit starts to stir. Someone turns on the lights at the central nursing station. There are curious mutters about the matter of the broken doors, as new day shift staff start to troop in. 

Marian arrives with Alice at 6:47 am exactly, yawning and blinking at the light; both of them are clutching venti Starbucks coffees. :Morning, Belrun: 

She has some regrets about her life choices; namely the midnight tequila shots.