It pauses and repeats its question, just as politely and just as incomprehensibly the second time.

This is so. incredibly. awkward!!!!! 

"I don't understand you," Marian says anxiously. And then repeats this in French, just in case for SOME REASON this works. 

Does the robot-person's voice sound like a robot or like a person? 

It sounds pretty persony! Noticeably female, actually, moreso than the robot's body, though you'd guess female for that too if you needed to.

It says something else, polite and short but a statement rather than a question this time, and starts making odd exercise-like movements with an arm.

Marian can't think of anything useful to do about this bizarre situation!! So she's just going to stand there awkwardly for a minute!!! With her best pasted-on reassuring smile, which is...not very convincing right now. 

It goes through the arm exercises with each arm in turn, then a brief set with both together, and then says something in a reassuring, deferential tone before slowly gathering itself up to stand.

Marian still isn't sure if - she - is a person dressed up in an art costume - who for some reason has been completely out of it for the last day, including not having to pee, what - or a literal actual smart humanoid robot that can talk. (If she can talk? Maybe she just repeats the same things like a recording?) 

After a moment of standing frozen, she smiles again and - gestures for the robot-woman to follow her in the direction of the patient's room. Because what else can she do. 

She follows amiably until she spots her companion and rushes ahead to her bedside, checking her over briefly and then pointing to her hip where the mysterious rod was and asking a question.

Marian doesn't understand the actual question, of course, but she thinks she got the gist of it? (A moment of flaring hope, that maybe the rod is - what, a high-tech translator of some kind, like this is Star Trek?) 

She's trying to be helpful here, and it always makes her really happy when her patients have family or friends arrive, and also she doesn't really want to antagonize the new person in case she really is some sort of super-smart super-powerful scifi robot?? 

She looks around for the bag of patient belongings, doesn't see it, briefly feels panicked, and then thinks to start checking drawers and cabinets, and shortly finds it. "In here," she says helpfully, holding up the bag. 

The robot takes the bag, clearly broadcasting her intent and lack of hostility with her body language as she approaches to do so, looks through it, visibly pauses, and then very carefully and reverently takes the rod out of the bag and returns it to its spot at her companion's hip; the gesture and assertion when she turns back to Marian almost certainly mean 'leave it there'.

Uh okay sure she will leave it there! She tries to show via gesture that she intends to do this! 

Probably at any second Dr Millinger is going to walk past and think she's completely insane! 

The robot looks around the room, next; what is there in the way of text, here?

There's not a huge offering! The heart monitor screen has a little bit of text on it; so do all the various machines hooked up to the patient, mostly logos and related product information but the ventilator has a little packet of laminated instructions hanging beside it. There's a 'Welcome to Renown Hospital' little dossier on the side table, untouched. 

She points to a long section of of product information on one of the machines and asks a question, then picks up the dossier and finds a long bit of text in that to point at and repeats it.

Marian is WILDLY GUESSING here but she...can read off the text? While running her finger along it to show where she is? 

She waits to see if the robot-person seems approving. 

She says something short and approving, then something apologetic, then points to the dossier text and gestures expandingly.

Marian starts reading through this as well, again running her finger under each line. 

She shakes her head, though doesn't otherwise interrupt.

....Ohhhh does she want MORE books. 

Marian nods, holds up a finger, makes some gestures that she hopes convey 'stay here in this room', and then darts out and hunts around the nursing station, grabbing every book or random printout she can find that isn't literally confidential patient information. 

(One of these is a pharmacology manual which she yanks out from under a med student's nose; the med student squeaks, but doesn't manage to actually object, and Marian is WAY too distracted and stressed to even notice this.) 

Books!!! Marian runs back into the room with an armful of them! 

The robot says something approving and deferential and takes the stack, setting most of it on the dresser and keeping the topmost piece to read - apparently she's going to do this standing right there by the head of her companion's bed.

Cool! Marian will hover nearby for a couple of minutes, watching the patient's vital signs and waiting to see if robot-lady needs anything else, and then...discreetly and politely start inching her way out of the room to see if she can squeeze in checking on Coma Guy and Leg Lifts Lady... 

The robot has nothing to say about it.

Then Marian is going to tug the curtains mostly-shut so that none of her colleagues slow her down with questions she can't answer about 'why is your patient's visitor a metallic humanoid robot thing', and try to get as much done with her other two patients as she can before something ELSE crazy happens. 

The robot is still reading when she comes back, but has turned her companion, and looks up from her book when the door opens. "Hello."