Day 36: Waiting Room/Lobby 2

[notachick]

Okita hadn't been expecting it when his nurse suddenly appeared in the Game Room. He'd expected to be left alone like last week, but instead she gently took him by the arm and told him he needed to say goodbye to Kaden for now. Okita assumed it was time for his visitor and waved goodbye to him, only to be led off himself. The swordsman had

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[gald_digger]

When she saw her parents walk through the door, Anise's gaze softened immediately. Even if this wasn't the way she wanted to see them, she felt relieved to see them safe. Were there any dangers outside of the institute to worry about? Anise wished she knew just what kind of place her parents were living in, but it would be strange to ask, wouldn't it?

Anise nodded at her mother's observations, doing her best to muster up a good smile for her parents. She thought they would be happier to see Tokunaga, but it was hard to tell if they remembered what the doll meant to Anise, and to the family. How much of their real history had been kept intact in their fake lives?

"I got them done over the field trip yesterday," she explained with one hand raised to show off the bright pink color, supposing that that subject was a little safer to comment on than Tokunaga was. Considering how she had gotten the doll back, she wasn't sure what sort of story would excuse it showing up out of nowhere.

To her father's comments, she flashed a bright smile, though she had to wonder just what Dolores' 'old self' was supposed to be like. "I sure hope they let me go home soon. I'm sick of this place." She sighed and crossed her arms. "I've gotten used to things, and I have a lot of friends here, so I guess I'm doing better." Anise wished her parents could help her get out, but after her father's promise to try and do so last week had fallen through, it looked like they were just as powerless as she was.

"Um, what about you, Papa? Mama? Is everything okay at home?" Just about every time Anise left home, she came back to find her parents even deeper in debt than before. Frankly, they were hopeless without her. Was it the same here?

[damned_visitors]

"Oh, they told us about the field trip," Carmela said as she admired her daughter's nails. "It must have been nice to get out for a day." And, really, if they were letting her get free nail treatments, it sounded like the doctors were at least going out of their way to help her relax and unwind a little. Heaven knew she needed it. "I do wish they'd let us visit you more often, though..." Once a week wasn't nearly enough!

Grover couldn't help but sigh to himself a little at Dolores' apparent dislike of the place. He knew Carmela couldn't stand it, would rather have her at home with them, and he would have been lying if he said he liked leaving his only daughter here. But at least it sounded like she was adjusting -- had made some friends, even! That was good, at least.

"I talked to the doctors, but it looks like you have to stay around a little longer," he gently told her. "Things are looking better than last week, right? But I promise I won't stop calling them until they tell me when we're free to take you back home with us." Because that's where every child needed to be -- home, with their parents. As long as Dolores was sick, though, he knew they needed to let her get the best care they could give her.

"And of course everything is fine," Carmela assured her. Dolores had always worked so hard for the family, and it was harder to get by without her help and with the medical bills piling up. They'd had to be careful with spending these days, but it was a sacrifice they were willing to make if it meant a normal life for their daughter. "You don't even need to worry about us. You should just focus on resting up so we can all be together again!"

She peered anxiously at her. "Are they still feeding you all right, Dolly?"

[gald_digger]

"Better doesn't mean it's good," Anise griped. Her parents had no idea what 'a little longer' could mean in this place! With how dangerous the nights were, an extra day could mean a death sentence for some people. Even with that chilling thought on her mind, however, Anise's displeased expression slowly subsided, allowing a small smile.

"But, Papa... thanks. I promise I'll keep doing my best, too."

He really did talk to the doctors. It might not have worked, but it meant he was still on her side, even if he didn't understand what was going on.

"And I'm eating fine, Mama," came the somewhat exasperated reply. "The food's about the only thing here that isn't terrible." While Anise looked annoyed at the unnecessary worrying, the familiarity of the situation, having her mother fretting over her like she always did, was oddly comforting.

Was everything really okay at home? It was hard to believe, but Anise knew it wouldn't do any good to press the issue. The biggest and most important problem facing their family right now was Landel's: once they were past that, they could deal with anything else together.

[damned_visitors]

"I know, Dolores," Grover said, and he was sorry to see his daughter wasn't happy here. He just had to keep reminding himself that this was temporary, just as often as he had to remind Carmela and Dolly. "But it won't be forever -- I promise."

Still, he was glad to hear she intended to keep working at it, which meant a speedy recovery, right?

"Good girl," he replied with an affectionate smile. "I know you can do it."

Learning that she was still being fed all right was enough to alleviate Carmela's fears to a degree. It looked like Dolly had lost a little weight, but maybe she was just imagining it. Not being able to see her daughter made her fret even more than she would have under normal circumstances. "Well, that's something, at least." Tenderly, she brushed some of her daughter's bangs to the side. "Oh, I wish this place weren't so terrible for you." If she could whisk her daughter away from here and take her home, she would have done it in an instant.

Even if the food in Landel's was good, nothing could beat something lovingly prepared by a mother, and she pulled her purse out. "I brought more cookies," she said softly as she fished for the baggy of treats. "But please share them with your friends." She said she'd made even more since the last time they'd seen her, right? "It won't do any good if you spoil your appetite." She was sure Dolly knew that, but it was worth saying just the same.

[gald_digger]

Anise nodded slowly. "I, I know." If she had to stay at Landel's forever, she'd go crazy for real! She wished she could tell her parents just how horrible it really was, but if she did that, she was sure it would just convince them that she needed to stay longer. Anise wanted her parents to trust her, even if the only way to make that happen was to play along with the lies. "It can't be much longer now. I mean, if the doctors were even paying attention, they'd know I'm all better and ready to go already." She gave a disdainful shrug.

Her face took on a more curious look as her mother began digging in her purse, but it only took a moment to realize what she was going for. Cookies again? Anise hadn't quite finished the last bag - though she certainly wasn't going to admit that to the woman who had worked hard to make them for her - so sharing with somebody probably was a good idea. "I won't," she assured her mother, though it was practically an automatic response to the concern.

This was turning out much like the last visit, which reminded Anise of something that had been bothering her since. "Oh! Um, I was wondering. Have you heard anything more about... Helen?" Her mother had thought before that Arietta was at Landel's. Maybe she knew where she was now - if that girl really was alive.

[damned_visitors]

"She's right, Grover," Carmela said as she turned to her husband. "If the doctors were paying attention, then surely they would have gone ahead and released her by now."

That actually made Grover take pause for a moment, but he quickly shook off any misgivings he might have had. "Now, Carmela, you know as well as I do that we've been talking to the doctors as often as we can about Dolores, and each time they've said--"

"'We'll be sure to let you know the minute she's fit to go home'," she recited as if she'd had to listen to those words too many times. "I know, but can't they give us some kind of time frame?" She sighed, turning her gaze back to her daughter. "I'm sorry they've been making you wait so long, Doll. Hopefully we'll get the okay sometime this week."

As for Helen, Carmela's face actually brightened. "Oh, you wouldn't believe it. She got a clean bill of health not too long after we came to see you!" If Landel's had been able to cure her so quickly, then there was hope for their daughter, right? She already looked ten times better than when they'd initially left her here, so her release was bound to be soon, she was certain.

"I'm sure she's looking forward to seeing you," she added with a smile. "You two will have a lot to catch up on once we finally get you home."

[gald_digger]

Watching her parents' exchange, Anise found herself wincing slightly when she heard her mother's false name for the first time. Grover and... Carmela? They were similar enough to their real names to bug her just a bit.

So Arietta was alive... and brainwashed too, from the sounds of it. Anise felt kind of sorry for her, even if it meant that thankfully, she wasn't going to have the girl coming after her on top of all the other dangers of the institute. Still, it was somewhat insulting to think that anyone thought Arietta was more normal than Anise. Not looking anywhere near as pleased as her mother, Anise glanced away and replied with an unenthusiastic, "Really. Well, so long as I don't have to put up with her here."

Elsewhere in the room, there was a commotion as some kid lunged at his visitor and was immediately restrained by orderlies. It was hard not to stare for a moment at the ugly reminder of just what kind of place she was in. People were pushed to their limits every day, and were powerless to do anything about it. Frowning at the scene and feeling a little disheartened from it, she turned back to face her parents. "That... it happens all the time here," she explained. If they couldn't see the horrors of the night, they could at least see what a miserable place it was during the day. Anise wanted them to understand that this was about more than her just not liking the institute. If they understood, even if just to a small extent, how terrible it really was, then maybe they could find something more they could do to help...

[damned_visitors]

That wasn't really the response Carmela had expected from Dolores, and she couldn't hide her surprise. She and Helen were friends, weren't they? "Are you two still fighting?" she asked. Those things happened sometimes, she supposed, but she figured they would have made up by now, at least.

She and Grover were startled by the patient who attacked his visitor, though she was relieved to see the staff quickly restrain him. It was almost as if they had to deal with that sort of thing on a regular basis. Dolores' remarks only confirmed her suspicions.

"That's terrible!" She should have known other people here were far more dangerous and unstable than their precious little girl. "No one's lunged at you, have they, Dolly?" Frowning, she quickly turned to her husband. "Oh, I can't stand the thought of her being here, Grover. She doesn't belong here."

Grover sighed, and it was apparent by the look on his face that he was none too happy with the situation himself.

[gald_digger]

"We're always fighting," came the flat reply. They'd never gotten along, yet her mother somehow got the opposite impression. And Anise was supposed to be the delusional one here?

More importantly, her parents reacted to the scene just as Anise had expected. She even felt her heart leap with hope at her mother's words. She didn't belong here. They really understood!

"I've been okay, but..." Anise moved closer to her mother, wrapping her arms around her waist. Maybe it was dishonest to make her fellow patients look like the cause of her misery, but it was all she had to work with right now. This was her only chance to try and get help from the outside. And with the way the nurses were moving about the room, it sounded like she wasn't going to have much more time to make her case. Her face half-buried in her mother's bosom, she pleaded, "I want to go home. And... if I can't go home, then I want to go anywhere but here."

[damned_visitors]

"Now, Dolly, I'm sure you two could hash things out if you just sat down and talked about it," Carmela said. "Helen probably misses you a lot, you know."

She was a little startled with her daughter suddenly hugged her, and after placing a gentle hand on her back, she turned to anxiously look at her husband. "Oh, she's miserable, Grover. Do you really want to leave her with these unstable people?"

For a moment, Grover wavered, but in the end he knew Dolores couldn't come home. Not until a medical professional had given her the okay, and the truth was that Landel's Institute was the only place that would be able to cure her in a timely manner. "I'm afraid things will just be worse if I send you anywhere else, Dolores," he sighed. "This is the best care anyone can offer."

He tried to sound positive, though, and he smiled a little. "But if they were able to send Helen home after a couple of days, the doctors should be getting ready to tell us to take you home, too. I've been calling everyday, believe me. It's just...until a doctor tells us you're okay, we can't take you home, and the doctors at Landel's are going to do that the fastest."

Carmela frowned before placing a tender kiss on her daughter's forehead. As much as she hated to admit it, she knew Grover was right. This was the quickest way to bring Dolores back home with them. If they took her to a place that wasn't as advanced as Landel's, it'd just prolong the process, wouldn't it? "I'm sorry, Doll," she whispered as tears sprung from the corners of her eyes.

She knew it was almost time for them to part, which made her hold onto her baby girl tighter.

[gald_digger]

Anise felt her heart sink again as her father came to his conclusion. No! They were going to leave her here again?

But despite everything that was on the line, Anise just couldn't bring herself to put any more pressure on her parents - not with her mother in tears like that. This was it: she tried her best, and still couldn't get through to them. Now she was out of time. With that realization sinking in, she tightened her hold around her mother's waist.

She wasn't going to cry. She promised herself she wouldn't.

"I know, Mama... I know it's hard on you, too." Anise spent a few more moments in that embrace, then slowly pulled away so she could face her father as well. Once she got a look at him though, she couldn't stop herself from giving him a hug, too. It might have been the last chance she'd have in a long time. "Papa... I know you're doing everything you can. It means a lot to me." That lump in her throat was back, but Anise forced herself to stay as calm as possible, and to get out everything she knew she would regret not saying if they didn't see each other again soon.

It hurt to admit it to herself, but her parents had been thoroughly brainwashed into trusting the institute. They couldn't save her. Anise had to save herself.