Deskyl wasn't exactly calm, a minute ago, but now you can cut the tension in the room with a knife.

    "Can you explain why you're recommending womens' shelters in particular, ma'am?"

Wow! She can tell that she's said something offensive and has no idea what!

"It's fairly common for women who need short-term housing to prefer that, is my understanding," she says, carefully. "Though of course you would be welcome at the other mixed-gender shelters as well. ...I would have to call them to double check, but if I'm remembering correctly, this one and this one are the places that can reliably offer private rooms that the two of you could share, most of the others are dorm style and it would be shared rooms." 

    "Thank you, ma'am." This seems to satisfy the other woman, though she's still watching carefully. "Will the community social worker also be able to help us find work?"

"Oh, uh - yes, I imagine so. And further down the list, here, this is a vocational centre that has a job-training program and can help you apply for work - I don't know much about how they work, exactly, but if you call the number they'll be able to tell you more about their services. Though, uh, I don't think you should feel you have to worry about that until you're fully recovered from your...accident." (She skimmed Deskyl's chart but is still pretty confused about what happened to her to land in the hospital, since the narrative note on it makes no sense.) "The community social worker can also help you apply for short-term disability programs until you're ready to work again." 

"That won't be necessary, but thank you, ma'am."

"You're welcome." 

The social worker rushes a bit through pointing out the rest of the listed services and phone numbers: this one is the food bank, this one is a different food-assistance city program. 

"Do you have questions for me right now? Uh, I'll give you my card, too, you can call if you think of something later..."

"No ma'am, thank you."

The social worker gives DZ her card and wishes Deskyl a speedy recovery and then escapes before this can get any weirder. 

Marian is still busy away from the pod, watching Alice's patient while Alice has an incredibly surreal phone conversation with the happy-but-baffled family. 

Deskyl directs DZ to wait at the nurse's station and paces, all restrained energy, nearly the length of the ward, turning ten feet before the end on one side and glaring in annoyance at the door on the other, back and forth.

Elaine thinks this is weird and awkward! She's not sure what to do and doesn't really want to interrupt Deskyl because Deskyl is kind of scary! And Marian is busy doing stuff for Alice. 

Eventually she gets up the courage to go ask DZ, who's more confusing due to being a humanoid robot but is still less scary, if anything is wrong? 

"Nothing you need to worry about, ma'am, Master Deskyl just found the social worker frustrating."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." Nervous giggle. "I, um, feel like they can be pretty useless sometimes. If you're waiting for Marian on anything, uh, I think she's nearly done, she's just watching Alice's patient over in 111 while Alice talks to his family on the phone." 

"Thank you ma'am."

(Pace pace pace turn pace pace pace glare turn pace pace jumping-ceiling-touch turn pace pace pace glare turn.)

Eventually Marian extracts herself. 

...She watches Deskyl's angry pacing for fifteen seconds, and then approaches DZ. "Uh, she's welcome to go for a walk out in the hall or outside even, if she wants to?" 

"Thank you, ma'am, but it's not safe for your patients for her to leave before you've finished changing their medications, she's still making sure no-one has any dangerous side effects."

"- Oh. Right. That makes sense. I'm - we're - really glad she's doing that - should I, uh, check with the other nurses how much longer they need for that, or try to get them to do it quicker -" 

"I think she'd appreciate it, ma'am, thank you." She catches Deskyl's eye on the next pass and relays information about who and what still needs to be taken care of.

Going around asking all the relevant nurses what's going on with their patients right now and how much longer they need to get them off the relevant meds, and also asking them if they can maybe do it faster, is AGONIZINGLY socially awkward!

Marian does it anyway, of course, but it takes her a while because she has to stop and steel herself between every set of patients. 

Eventually she makes it back to DZ. "...It sounds like right now it's mostly just people who are still on sedatives because they're intubated? I think everyone on the floor should be off those meds in - two hours? Hopefully less." 

Deskyl is visibly calmer by the time Marian gets back - she's still pacing, but more restlessly than like a caged animal, and she nods acknowledgingly when she sees her and stops at the nurse's station on her next pass.

    "She says 'thank you', ma'am."

Nod. 

Marian checks her watch. "Uh, just to warn you I'm going home in about four hours. I don't know who'll be on shift for the night." 

    "Yes ma'am."

    "Master Deskyl is going to want oxygen overnight, she didn't acclimate to your atmosphere properly; should that be arranged before you go?"

"- Huh. Yeah, I can help you get that set up, want me to show you where the equipment is and how it works?" 

    "Yes ma'am, thank you."