The small office always feels a little constricting. 

It's not the panic she used to have, a few months ago. The suffocating claustrophobia. Now... there's mostly emptiness. It's not really bad. Not really good, either. It just feels normal to not feel sad or happy or scared or horny anymore. It's been half a year now, after all. 

"It's dead," she reports. "I have no interest in seeing an erogenologist right now. While there is... intellectually a desire, I've tried with my partners and the actual mechanics of sex are beyond me right now. I can't get horny and I'm anorgasmic. I tried giving, but..." She shakes her head. "It wasn't a very pleasant experience for my girlfriend."

"Yeah," Lyn says. "Lithium can do that. It's generally considered better to flatten emotions rather than risk serious mood swings that could endanger people, but it can be really hard on people in the meantime."

She pages through her notes. "How do you feel about being referred to a sexual therapist?"

She doesn't feel anything about it at all, but it does seem logical. 

"Fine, I guess. That seems like a reasonable step to take."

"Alright. Do you have partners in the city who could come with you to the intake appointment? I understand that in these kinds of cases where a sex drive has been seriously disrupted by illness, it's often handy to have a partner on hand to answer questions about what used to excite you."

"I have two, yes. Aria Vellein and Nix Silveria. Should I bring them to the intake appointment?"

"I'll record their names as your partners on my referral. And yes, that's usual. Do you have phone numbers for them?"

"In my phone, yes."

She pulls it out of her pocket and rattles off their numbers in a monotone.

"Thank you. I'll put this referral in the system for you and we'll be on our way." Lyn gives Hannah the brightest, fakest smile she's ever seen in her life.

Therapists are just like that. 

There's a very dull twinge of annoyance, but it vanishes when she tries to grab on to it. 

"That's all for the session today?"

"I think so, yes." 

"Thank you for the session." The words are as empty as her.

Lyn nods. "See you in a month!"

Hannah lets herself out of the office, places a new appointment with the receptionist at the front desk, and steps out of the hospital into the small park with its dead-leafed tree. It's autumn. A man in a wheelchair is taking the sunshine, and people come and go from the crowded loading zone in front of the hospital. 

She pulls out her phone and calls Aria. 

"I'm done."

"Good to hear," comes Aria's tinny voice from the other end of the phone. "I'm just picking up groceries, so I'll be there in ten minutes."

"Okay." 

She hangs up. 

She should feel good about talking to her girlfriend. Instead she just feels the sense of reaching for something that's not quite there. 

She can barely even feel love, anymore.

She sits down on one of the hard-slatted benches in the park and looks up at the sky. 

There is an emotion. Wistfulness, maybe. She doesn't look at it too closely, for fear she'll scare it off. 

Time passes and the clouds roll by.

Eventually Aria's deep blue Prius comes around to the loading zone.

She gets up and gets in the car. 

"Hey," she says to Aria. A little warmth comes into her voice.

"Hey." 

Aira pulls away from the curb, and merges into the city. They're near the university district, and rows of peach trees and small ponds stretch past the shopping malls and fast food places.

Once they're sitting in front of a stoplight Aria risks further conversation.

"So how did it go?"

"About as usual. Scheduling, going over my time tracking, the usual reminders to do mastery tasks." 

Hannah runs a hand through her hair. "She referred me to a sexual therapist to work on my libido. That's next month, same building. Intake appointment. You and Nix are expected to come."

"That's very good news. I guess they think you're stable enough on the fundamentals of life now."

The light changes, and Aria drives the car onward, making a right turn at the next set of lights as she aims back for the main thoroughfare. 

"I'm sure Nix will be happy to hear that as well."

A tinge of sorrow touches her, even through the cold. 

"I miss you," Hannah says. "I want to be yours again."

"I miss you too," Aria says softly. For a moment she glances away, pain written across her face.

She knows she is much reduced. 

It twinges to see Aria hurting about it. It's a little uncomfortable.

She says nothing more.

"So," Aria says brightly. "Ice cream for my good girl." She reaches over for a moment to lay her free hand on Hannah's.

"Yeah," Hannah says. "Ice cream." 

She feels a little fond of this girl. She's nice.

One month later...

Aria parks the Prius in the three-floor hospital parkade, undoes her seatbelt, and gets out. Her sunflower-pattern one-piece dress swishes in the sun.

"It'll be interesting to meet one of your therapists in person," she says.

Nix gets out of the back seat of the car as well, her black-dyed hair matching her lipstick and nails. She wears a small purse, a lycra miniskirt, black leggings, and a t-shirt, along with some seriously heavy Doc Martens.

She bounces up on her toes, then lets herself back down again. 

"Kind of cool to see the place," she says. "I know it probably brings back bad memories for you, though, Hannah..."

"I guess it can be cool, yeah." 

It's nice to be with her girlfriends together like this. She feels... safe. 

She makes for the bridge across to the hospital main floor at a sedate pace.

And her girlfriends follow.

It's a different office, this time. On the ground floor rather than the third, and a deeper-in building. There's a little internal garden by the door with some ferns and shrubs.

She gets the clinic door and steps inside.

"Hello, who are you here to see?" says the receptionist as the three of then come in the door. 

"Clematis."

"And your last name is...?"

"Ashford."

"Ah, I have you here for 1 PM. Can I please see your health card and ID?"

Hannah digs in her scarlet purse and forks over the necessary documents.

"Thank you very much." The receptionist barely glances at the pair of cards. "Take a seat, and Clematis will be with you shortly."

Hannah goes and sits on one of the low chairs, bringing her girlfriends with her. The small room is nice enough, if obviously a government building; there's a selection of pamphlets on the right wall, including one on "Asexuality and you!", and a window out onto the outside gardens.

Nix goes and picks up an asexuality pamphlet, then takes a seat as well.

And all three of the women settle in to wait.

A few minutes later, a dark-haired woman in a squashy-looking sweater and a knee-length white skirt comes out of the offices. 

"Hannah Ashford, and her girlfriends Aria and Nix?"

"That would be us."

"Come on in, there's space for all of you in my office." 

Clematis leads the group into a medium-sized room with three large squashy chairs, a double-wide bed with fresh white sheets, and a large desk with a computer. 

She takes the chair by the desk. "Sorry," she says. "One of you three is going to have to take the bed, there's not enough room in here for four chairs."

Aria sits on the bed before anyone else can gainsay her. "No trouble," she says. "I don't mind."

Hannah takes the closer patient chair to Clematis.

Leaving Nix as the last to sit. 

"So," Clematis says. Her voice is warm and a little husky. "I've read your file and I have an idea of the bare bones of your situation, but I want to hear it in your own words. Why are you here today, Hannah?"

"Because lithium's killed my libido, along with most of my other emotions." 

"Do you want it back?"

"Yes. I mean... I want to be able to satisfy my girlfriends, and it's frustrating to not be able to... reach something I used to enjoy. I don't want sex, but I want to want it. I've tried to roleplay, tried to have sex, but because my emotions are so dead I'm just... completely not into it. I can get a little bit out of playing with power still but it has to be taken to such absurd lengths that it isn't fun for my partners."

"Alright. You said power can still get you horny? Anything else?"

"It doesn't get me horny exactly. It's more like I get a very faint sense of satisfaction out of having power. Which is more than I have emotionally a lot of the time."

"Can you still feel emotional closeness?"

Hannah looks from Nix to Aria, then slowly nods. "A little. It's very dulled, but I loved both Nix and Aria a lot before this happened. I'm still... fond." 

"That's good to hear. Are you still able to experience pleasure?"

"Again, it's very dulled. I can experience the physical sensation, but I feel no impetus to experience more of it. And I can't reach orgasm. I've stopped trying."

"You're anorgasmic under what conditions?"

"Using my own toys on myself. I own a standard wand-type vibrator and a few dildoes. I haven't tried partnered sex because the want isn't there and it's emotionally exhausting, and similarly for seeing an erogenologist."

"Hmmm. Let's make sure to talk about that option before the end of the session." 

Clematis picks up a notepad. "What would you say were your most common fantasies before this occurred?"

"Um..." Hannah pauses. "Mostly negative-emotion driven sexuality. Pain, shame, humiliation, sacrifice..." She trails off. "I don't remember it all clearly, it's been so long."

"Also positive emotions. Confidence, worship, power, status. She has a tendency to absorb kinks from people she plays with, she's very experimentalist. But if I have to pick her core set... she seems to enjoy multiple partner play a lot, as well as chastity and hypnosis. She pleats as a goddess, maid, demoness, hypnodomme, and pet."

Aria confirms with a nod. "Mostly she's been trying to reach goddess again, because I really miss that role of hers and I want to be at her feet, but... I feel it might be healthier for her to try something a little less ambitious while she's recovering."

Clematis flips through Hannah's file. 

"And when did you and Hannah meet, Aria?"

"About a month before she went to the hospital. I believed in her spiritual guidance, but her spiritual beliefs turned out to be delusions brought on by psychosis..."

A twinge of discomfort goes through Hannah. She wishes she had been a better goddess...

Clematis raises an eyebrow. "It sounds like attempting to recover the goddess pleat may be contributing to the difficulty in re-finding Hannah's libido."

"I want to, though. I miss being powerful. I'm so small these days. And I want to be who my girlfriends want."

"Nix, do you want Hannah to be your goddess?"

"She already is, and no amount of psychosis will ever change that. I don't want her to struggle to reclaim that, though; she's fragile enough already that I feel she might shatter again if she tries to reach that high."

"So, Hannah. It's clear both your girlfriends see you as a goddess, that much is true... But I think it's also clear that both of them want you to pace yourself and take your time in recovering rather than leap to the hardest goal right out of the starting gate. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah. It feels like giving up, a little, but it does."

"Have you attempted to reclaim other pleats? Pet, perhaps?"

Hannah looks down at herself. "I..." She bites her lip. "I haven't really tried, no."

"That's okay, Hannah. I want to emphasize that you don't have to try anything you're not comfortable with. But in general, after this kind of event it's usually easier to reclaim submissive pleats than dominant ones, since the state of being in recovery is naturally a vulnerable one where organizing and directing scenes is hard."

"I guess that makes sense."

"Hannah, I'd like you to try an experiment for me. Why don't you lay down on that bed and have one of your girlfriends pet your hair?"

"Okay." 

Hannah gets up and flops onto the bed, not bothering to be dignified. She curls up on her side and presses back against where Aria is sitting.

"Good girl," Aria says softly. "Very good girl." 

And she reaches down and strokes her hand slowly through Hannah's hair.

It feels... good.

"I'd like you to notice your emotions while she's doing that," Clematis says. "How do you feel? Try and be as specific about the emotions as you can be."

"I feel..."

Hannah curls into herself a little more. 

"Small. Comfortable. A little fond. Vulnerable. Kind of distantly sad. Empty."

Aria grins.

"That is more emotions in one go than I have heard from her in months."

"Repeat the process, but pet her back this time?"

"Alright."

Aria moves her petting hand downward to trace across Hannah's shoulders and spine.

"... less warm. Put your hand back where it was, please."

Aria moves her hand back up and returns to petting Hannah's hair.

"Would you look at that. A preference for a certain kind of touch."

"... Yeah..."

A small smile comes to Hannah's lips. "Yeah."

"She still has preferences and emotions, they're just very muted. I expect that fears around performance and filling the role her partners want have been adversely affecting her, and made her hesitate to go to a proper erogenologist when someone with proper training might be able to coax an orgasm from her. Just imagine what could happen if that was possible."

"Yeah..." 

Hannah's voice is slightly slurred, and very warm.

"Now, I don't want to get your hopes up. It's possible that her body still won't be able to reach orgasm. Regardless of whether that's the case or not, I'd like to see all three of you back in my office in a month."

She looks at Hannah. 

"Additionally... Have either of you tried to give her an orgasm as a service?"

"Once, earlier on. It didn't go well. I've stopped pushing."

"What exactly went wrong?"

"I exhausted myself trying to get her to reach orgasm, and both of us regretted trying."

"How were you attempting to get her off?"

"With my mouth. Cunnilingus."

"Given that she's not getting orgasms out of application of a standard vibrator, I don't think it's worth trying to wring an orgasm from her right at this moment as amateurs. But I see in her chart that her dose is scheduled to be titrated down by a quarter in another two weeks. That's likely to assist in her recovery. Even before then, I strongly recommend going to an erogenologist, and can get you a referral to one within the week. It's up to Hannah to make the final call, though."

Nix gives Hannah a Look. 

A twinge of fear goes through Hannah, but she pushes it aside. 

"Yeah," she says. "I think that would be a good idea."

"Good girl!" Aria gives Hannah a firm scritch along the back of her head for her pronouncement. 

"Good girl indeed." Clematis smiles. "I will be eagerly awaiting you three's updates a month from now. And if the erogenologist cracks her, call me and I'll schedule her in my next available timeslot. Alright?"

"Alright." Aria smiles. "Thank you for your time."

"The session got a little away from me today, so you may have to do some more intake paperwork when you come in next, but I think that is, if anything, a good sign." 

She gets up and opens the door to her office. "Have a nice time, all of you."

Hannah gets up from the bed, and heads out the door along with Aria and Nix.

"We'll try."

She registers her erogenologist appointment for four days away with the receptionist at the front desk, and then moves on down the hallway, heading back towards the parkade.

"So," Nix says. "What do we think?"

"I didn't like how she started talking to me like Hannah wasn't in the room. She's the patient, not me."

"Agreed. But she did have some good points, and Hannah has been extremely brave and accepted an erogenologist appointment, so I think I can forgive her a little."

Hannah flushes just slightly.

"Can we go get ice cream now?"

"Absolutely."

Four days later...

"Good luck and have fun!" Nix flashes a smile at Hannah as she pulls the blue Prius up to the curb of the hospital loading zone.

"I'll try." 

Hannah gets out of the car and rolls her shoulders. 

This could be great, or it could be a mess, and she's still not really sure which it's going to be. 

Usually she'd be able to muster a little trepidation, but her deadened emotions don't seem to be responding well today. 

Might as well get this done with.

She takes the elevator up to the third floor and heads into the erogenologist's office. 

There's a receptionist, as ever. 

"Hello, you're here to see...?"

"Doctor Morning-Glory."

"Alright. Please take a seat."

She sits by the window. 

It's a slightly cheerier office than usual. It's got extra peach-shaped cushions for the chairs and a nice view of the city. It's still a hospital building, but it feels less... antiseptic... than the rest of the place. There's a selection of erocore magazines to read while you wait.

She's not really in a horny mood, but there's a small flicker of simple interest: she pounces on it and takes a maid-pleat magazine.  

I Love Peaches: a collection of easy-make recipes for mixing hungers.

You know how it is - you're in the middle of a scene and you suddenly realize that you don't have a recipe for your maid to make. It's happened to all of us. Here's a list of simple dishes that are easy enough for even beginner maids to make with a little supervision... or that you can embarrass an experienced maid with by making very difficult to complete! 

A couple of these are kind of decent, honestly. She's been getting into cooking a little more recently to kill time. It seems to be just about at the limits of what she can do...

She takes a picture of the article with her phone.

"Morning!" chirps a woman in a doctor's labcoat. She wears a locked steel collar and a short, spider-web pattern dress beneath. "Hannah Ashford?"

Hannah sets the magazine aside, puts her phone back in her purse, and stands. "That's me." 

"Lovely! Please come on back with me and I'll walk you through the procedure we're going to be trying today." She gives Hannah a small wink.

Hannah follows into Doctor Morning-Glory's office. It's not too dissimilar from Clematis' setup; a white-sheeted bed and three squashy chairs. It's a little less clinical though; incandescent fairylights shed a soft glow, and the computer is a laptop on a smaller desk rather than a full setup.

"So," she says. "How does this work?"

"Well," Dr. Morning-Glory says. "That's largely up to you. The goal today is to assess the depth of your anorgasmia and see if we can't overcome it with the right tools, but if at any point you become uncomfortable or need time we can take it. The appointment can stretch to up to three hours if necessary."

"And might not be the only thing that's stretching a little, if you're willing to try some of my devices out." She spreads her hands then taps her fingertips together. "I pleat scientist, so this is really a dream job for me."

Hannah takes a slow breath. 

She feels... a little fluttery, in her heart, now. She's not sure if that's fear or hope. 

"Okay," she says. "What do you need to know?"

Dr. Morning-Glory goes over to her laptop and scrolls through a file of medical records. "So, the referrer said you were experiencing anorgasmia even with a standard vibrator. That's a broad-head model, right? How were you applying it?"

"Directly to my clit. The three lower settings are too gentle to get me there and the highest one is just unpleasant."

"Have you tried broadening and softening the vibrations with a muffler of some form?"

"Yes, a pillow. It was too diffuse."

"Professional attachments can often give better results than improvising, but I think it's possible it's a headspace issue to some extent. Some testing might give us the way forward there. If the physical arousal response is suppressed then there's medication that can help restore it. If it's a nervous interpretation issue then we might be able to get you there today with some fiddling." 

Dr. Morning-Glory stretches and gets up. "I think it's time for me to show you the stimmer." She beckons over her shoulder and leads Hannah deeper into the clinic.

Hannah follows, a small flicker of uncertainty going through her. 

It'd be good if this works, but medical procedures are always a little...

The "stimmer" turns out to be a chair with glossy black vinyl cushions and several metal arms. The seat is bifurcated with a clear hole in the middle, more of a saddle-style seat, and there's a pair of footrests with stirrups. Currently it's in an upright position, but it seems clear that it reclines and brings the legs apart when you sit in it. 

"A little intimidating-looking, isn't it?" December runs a hand along one of the armrests. "Don't worry, it's super comfortable, it just needs to be like this so it can be sterilized easily. It was never going to look super cozy without much fabric, so the manufacturers decided to pleat it as something more in the mistress-slave spectrum." 

It is a little intimidating-looking...

She feels kind of vulnerable, and she hasn't even taken her clothes off yet.

"Not really my pleat, usually," she says. "That's more Nix's thing..." 

She takes a breath. "I guess this is where I disrobe?"

Dr. Morning-Glory pauses for a moment, then assents with a nod. "As long as you're comfortable with that, yes."

"I'd be lying if I said I was totally comfortable with it, but I think it's a good idea anyway."

She sets her purse aside on a small desk and starts to disrobe, starting with her blouse and her bra. Her shoes, socks, skirt and underwear follow, leaving her nude and vulnerable. 

It's a little scary...

... but part of her is also responding to being put in this vulnerable position with distinct interest.

Could she really get an orgasm today...? It's been months...

"Now that's a nice face to see. Good pet."  Dr. Morning-Glory winks. "Get in the chair, please." 

Whuff, that's a breath of domme energy right there. That "please" was totally an afterthought. 

She gets in the chair. 

"Alright, I'm going to lean you back now." Dr. Morning-Glory reclines the chair, and the stirrups come up and spread out in a smooth motion, leaving Hannah in a half-reclined position with her pussy fully on display. 

Dr. Morning-Glory pulls on a black latex glove with a snap and looks Hannah in the eye. "I'm going to stimulate a little to check if you have full feeling. We're not going for an orgasm right now but I'm going to get up in your business. Alright?"

Hannah takes a breath and suddenly a smile comes to her face. 

"Yeah, okay. Green." 

Dr. Morning-Glory presses her latex-clad hand in and starts to stroke gently along Hannah's folds. Her touch is neat, precise, like she's been trained on this. Which Hannah supposes she has been; after all, she is a professional. 

"You can feel that?" she asks. "And this?"

"Yeah," she takes a small hitching breath as the doctor's finger slips across her clit. "Yeah, definitely!" 

She tests her depth and lubrication, then withdraws. "Still feeling positively? Color?"

"I, um, uh — green." 

"Alright. Your arousal response seems to be normal. You're producing fluids. I think it's time we tried to give you an orgasm."

... she's actually kind of looking forward to this. 

"Okay."

Doctor Morning-Glory taps a control panel, and a chunky-looking arm comes up from below the machine. There's a soft silicone nub on it, and the base is shrouded in a soft plastic sheet. 

She pulls a sealed sterile package with a short but chubby dildo in it out of a small cupboard by her control panel, and fits it over the soft nub. Then she brings the arm in, and settles the dildo slowly into Hannah.

"Comfortable? Is the sizing right?"

It's an almost-exact copy of her favorite dildo at home. It fits perfectly. The bulge of it grinds against her g-spot too, from the angle of the arm.

"Yeah," she says. "It seems just about right." 

"Alright. I'm going to turn on the stimulation now. This could be a little intense since it's likely a form of stimulation you have less experience with. That may help to pierce things. Ready?"

Hannah takes a deep breath. "Yeah, ready." 

December minutely adjusts the setup, pressing a firm nub at the base of the device into Hannah's clitoris, then once everything is perfectly positioned she thumbs a control. 

The machine lets out a heavy buzz.

And soft, sweet lightning runs through Hannah's sex, the vibrations pressed in perfectly against her g-spot and clit simultaneously. She's completely helpless to escape it — the angle of the seat means she'd be fighting gravity to squirm away — and it feels good.

It feels really, really, really good.

"Oh," she says softly. And then a moment later. "Ooooooooooooooooooh..." 

She closes her eyes and just basks.

"That sounds like a positive noise. Shall I turn it up a little?"

Hannah nods. "Please."

December turns the machine up very slowly, adjusting the level of the vibrations precisely with a small dial. 

"Tell me when."

"— There. Right there —" 

Heat builds between her legs. With the more finely-tuned vibrations deep inside her she's getting there. 

Dr. Morning-Glory doesn't touch the control dial.

Hannah's breath starts to hitch and rush, her sex clenching hard around the dildo inside her. She tosses her head against the black vinyl and holds on for dear life on the armrests. 

"Oh, holy shit, holyshit holyshit —" 

She comes apart, her body overwhelmed, and tips over the edge into a panting, moaning, deeply immodest orgasm.

Dr. Morning-glory precisely dials down the stimmer as her orgasm crashes over her, expertly compensating for the overstimulation response. 

It's a long orgasm. It rolls on, and on, and on... 

But eventually Dr. Morning-Glory shuts down the machine and gives Hannah a soft smile. 

"Seems like we got there." 

"Hell yes we did." 

She's honestly blown away. She hasn't felt this alive in months. 

Dr. Morning-Glory laughs. "Yeah, we certainly did. Alright, so. It turns out your anorgasmia isn't as deep as you might have thought; this level of stimulation should be reachable with a prescription for a higher-end sex machine. Your health insurance will cover the price out of pocket. Congratulations." 

She slips the dildo out of Hannah and disposes of it in a biohazard receptacle, then sits up the chair and helps Hannah to her feet. 

"Have a fun time with your partners." She smiles.

Hannah cleans herself up a little with a provided pack of wipes, then slips her clothes back on and shakes Dr. Morning-Glory's hand. 

"Thanks so much," she says brightly. "I — this was really — thank you." 

"Don't mention it. The reward for me is knowing you'll be happy." 

Dr. Morning-Glory leads Hannah back out to the reception. "Feel free to register another appointment with my office whenever you like. The reception will handle it."

She feels... warm. A little happy, still. Something good happened. 

"Thank you, Doctor. I'll register a follow up for a month out and we'll see how things are going then."

She checks in with the front desk, gets an appointment card, and heads back out to the bare-leafed garden outside. 

It's a calm day. Fewer people are coming and going than usual. A bicyclist passes on one of the footpaths down towards the river.

Snow is falling, soft and light and fluffy.

She gets out her phone and calls Nix. 

"Hey," she says. Her voice is warm and has a natural cadence. "It worked."

"That's wonderful to hear. I'm in the parkade, so I'll be by in just a moment!"

"Thanks for believing in me," Hannah says. "This was... really good." 

She nestles the phone into the crook of her shoulder. "Actually, if you're in the parkade it'll probably be faster for me to come to you. Which floor?"

"Second floor on the far side from the hospital, left corner."

"Alright, I'll be there."

She shuts off her phone, slips it back in her dress pocket, and starts walking. 

There's a little glassed-in entryway across the street, then two flights of stairs and she's almost on top of Nix. The blue Prius is nestled into a corner of the parkade; she'd know it anywhere. 

She lets herself into the car and takes Nix's hand.

"It all worked out," she says. "They've prescribed me a better vibrator. A floor-mounted model, I think. I've kind of always wanted one, so it's convenient to get one for cheap through the medical system." 

Nix squeezes Hannah's hand back. "I'm sure Aria will love to hear all the details. Home straight away, or do you want to pick up your prescription on the way?"

Hannah tilts her head. "I think we should probably pick it up on the way home. But it's your call; I'm satisfied for the moment."

"Alright. We could also drop by that place that does nice danishes on the way, if you wanted a treat."

"I think the session is its own reward in this case, but I won't say no to a danish." Hannah's mouth curves up in a small smile. 

"Call it training. Good old positive reinforcement." 

She squeezes Hannah's hand again. "It's good to see you smile again."

"It's good to smile again."

Hannah settles herself back into her seat. 

"Alright, let's get going."

"Whatever my good girl wants." Nix gives Hannah a smile back, then starts the engine and backs the car out of the parkade stall.

A couple ramps down, and they're on their way to the store.