when I left you were fast asleep...

[intensivistmd]

When one Robert Chase drug himself out of bed, he chanced a look at the calendar hanging on his wall. There were two names, written largely in red ink that, when realization struck, made him feel absolutely sick.The names'Rowan' and 'Kayla' were so carelessly scrawled upon it, and he tried taking it down, only to find it would be back in it's spot

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[lucy_in_his_sky]

She is seated at a table not too far away, eyes staring into the cup of tea as if it had the meaning of life hidden within the warm liquid.

She hasn't slept.

The sound of someone moving makes her raise her head, at first not even becoming aware of the young ban before it finally clicks in her tired mind.

It's nice to see someone else who seems a bit off.

Getting to her feet, she thinks up a cup of coffee and slides it in front of him before. She's not sitting down though, not yet at least.

[intensivistmd]

The coffee is a welcome surprise, and it takes a moment for Chase to realise it's not a figment of his imagination. Taking it between his palms, he looks up at the woman who appears to be in a similar fashion as he.

"Thanks," A smile with no feeling behind it, "Y'can sit, if you want."

[lucy_in_his_sky]

She does so,sitting opposite him and just watching for a few minutes before choosing to speak, her words soft and lacking much emotion as well.

"Some kind of bad night," she questions with a slight tilt of her head. If she doesn't get much of an answer, she won't be surprised but still, she may as well ask anyway.

[intensivistmd]

"I s'pose y'could say that." Chase mutters, entertaining the thought of downing the entire cup of coffee she proferred him in one sitting.

Might give him the rush he needed.

Or ulcers in his esophagus. Yeah, that would be pleasant.

"What 'bout you? Y'seem a bit under yourself."

[lucy_in_his_sky]

There's a slight arch of her brow as she hears his voice, she hadn't been expecting an accent.

"I gave up sleeping proper hours a long time ago." A slight bitter laugh accompanies the statement.

"Australian, right? May I ask where from?"

[intensivistmd]

And apologies, because Chase's accent is thicker than normal when he's only half awake.

"Seems like the whole world has, eh?" There's the hint of a smirk on Chase's lips, but it never shows. He merely sips at his coffee.

This doesn't mask his slight surprise, though! "Yeah, Melbourne, actually. Y'the first to get it right. 'Ave you been to Australia?

[lucy_in_his_sky]

A nod, "U used to travel." The words came easier to her than expected, she remembers a time when she couldn't say anything that could be connected to her late husband but now...

"Were you there before..." She looks around, gesturing vaguely. "All this came about?"

[intensivistmd]

"It's a lovely place." But it reminds Chase far too much of everything that was destroyed in his past.

"No, I wasn't." He shook his head, sipping his coffee again. "I was at a hospital in New Jersey. 'M a Doctor. And I just showed up here."

[lucy_in_his_sky]

Funny how that works because it reminds Lucy of everything that destroys the future.

There's a bit of a chuckle there. "Not nearly as nice, if I remember correctly."

"You were a long way from home," she comments then, a hint of curiosity in her voice. She's not expecting to hear too many answers though, after all she doesn't want to take the chance had have the table turned later on.

"I'm a writer," she adds as an afterthought. "Well, I'm an editor who fancies herself a writer when she's not picking through other people's works." It's a more lighthearted smile this time because when she says it like that, she can almost pretend she never met Harold Saxton.

[intensivistmd]

"Ha, yeah, I was, really. I don't mind though, I rather like America. Too cold there, though." There's something of a light laugh in Chase's voice. Is it terrible he actually misses the Outback? "I'm there for the job though, so..." A shrug.

Chase listens with great curiosity and seems impressed when she mentions her occupation, "You have more patience than I do, by far. I've never been much of a writer myself."

[lucy_in_his_sky]

"It's not npatience," she tells him quickly. "It's simply that I have a story to tell and if I told it in any other way, I would be sent to hospital and they'd never let me go."

She knows this from experience.

"Besides," she tries to keep her tone light. "I sit there each day and read through other people's drivel. After doing that as a job, you can't help but think you could write something better."

[intensivistmd]

At first, Chase really isn't sure how to react to her statement. He offers her a small smile either way, knowing that when it came down to it, he probably should be thrown in the psych ward himself at some point.

"I can imagine you've seen the good, bad and ugly, eh?" He has, too, but on a completely different level. He's done better than many of the other doctors he knows, yet, he's also killed a patient...

[lucy_in_his_sky]

She laughs softly at his reaction, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, now you've got to wonder if I'm absolutely mad or something." A sip of her tea. "I'm not, I promise."

"That's relative to whose good, bad and ugly we're speaking of but yes, I suppose I have." She's seen things that haunt her when she sleeps, that replay themselves over and over in her mind when she shuts her eyes.

"What about you? Surely you've seen a few things that make you raise your brow."