AJ's walk had gotten faster when he had seen that Kevin's door was open, as he suspected it would be. And as Faith followed him, she suddenly became aware that her pace was quickening as well. After meeting the others, more than enough anxiety had been building up inside her over her meeting with Kevin, and she was finding that it was starting to get the better of her.
She caught up with AJ in short time, only to slow down again when she found herself nearing the doorway. AJ slowed to a stop next to her and stood in the open doorway, waiting for her to take the first step inside. When she didn't, he said, motioning with his hand to step ahead of him, "You could go on in first."
Faith looked at him for a moment, then entered the room; her first steps were ginger and hesitant and her stride didn't increase in confidence until she was nearly completely visible to the four pairs of eyes already in the room. She glanced back at AJ, who was keeping behind her, then looked back ahead of her as she stopped at the foot of Kevin's bed, yet to say anything.
Faith looked upon Kevin, who was looking back at her, mirroring her thoughtful gaze. She noticed his cheeks were streaked with what she knew were dried tear trails and his eyes showed signs that he had been crying. He held tightly onto Brian's hand, who was sitting beside him, with one hand, while his other arm was laying stiffly at his side, as if he were afraid to move it. His dark hair was a little scuffed, caused by nothing more than a fitful sleep. And he looked incredibly tired. Tired and a little distressed.
She stood rooted where she had originally stopped and looked away from Kevin to watch AJ take his place beside the bed next to Howie, breaking her observations.
As she saw AJ's lips move, just about to form a word, her head turned back sharply to look at Kevin when she heard his fragile, soft voice float into her ears.
"Faith?" he asked, not quite sure if this was the person that Brian had been telling him about.
Brooke stood quiet for a moment, taking in the sound of his voice. He seemed hopeful, like he would be disappointed if it weren't her. A good sign, and a much better reaction from Kevin than she had hoped for. She smiled and moved to stand in front of Howie, responding, "Yeah, I'm Faith. And, you're Kevin?"
A small grin broke out on his face. "That's me," he said.
"Well, Kevin, it's very nice to meet you," she said as she thrust out her hand to him.
He took it and did his best to give her a firm handshake. When he had returned his arm to its previous place on the bed, he looked up at her, thinking about what Brian had told him. She seemed as kind as he had made her out to be, and beautiful. Though, the former characteristic was much harder to judge by a mere introduction and handshake.
He moved his eyes to look down at the bed when he spoke again. "Um," he started, "I would really like to thank you for. . .well, for everything you've done. I mean, you went out of you way to do a lot of that stuff and I really appreciate it." He paused and, after a nervous breath, continued. "Not everybody would do everything you have." He lifted his head to look at her. "Thank you."
She didn't know what to say. What was she supposed to say? She couldn't very well simply shrug off such a sincere statement of gratitude. "Well, that's why I do what I do. I like helping people, caring about people."
His only response was to smile at her, a genuine smile, his eyes showing some added brightness that, until then, she hadn't seen before.
But their moment of eye contact was broken when Kevin turned his head, the content, happy look on his face instantly changing to that of an irritated and annoyed one, toward AJ, who had more or less ruined the quietness of the mood with a loud squeak of his chair across the smooth tile floor as he pulled it away from the wall and, sheepishly, sat down.
"Sorry," he said, a little embarrassed. AJ slouched down in his seat as Kevin continued to stare him down with a "Yeah, I'm sure you're sorry" look and was thankful when Brian spoke and drew everyone's attention back to where it had been, back to Faith.
"Faith, we're a little pressed for time here, so--"
"Is Chelsea coming back? She was finished, wasn't she?" AJ interrupted, alarmed, not wishing to hear the sounds he had heard just a short while ago.
Kevin was quick to answer. "No!" he said. He glanced around, watching the surprised reactions at his sudden exclamation, then continued, softer and slower. "She probably won't be back for a while. It's just that I'm really tired and she said it would be best if I were to get some rest anyway, so the quicker I could get to sleep, the happier I'll be."
"And we just want a couple answers," Nick picked up, directing the comment, this time, at Faith.
Faith nodded and, this time, Brian started. "I'm not going to beat around the bush here. We all want to go home, soon. And, I don't mean to put all the pressure on you, but if you would go with us and take care of Kev for a while and just make sure things are going right, we would be able to head out of here a lot sooner than if you didn't go."
Faith shifted her weight uncomfortably. 'Nothing like being put on the spot,' she thought, looking down at the floor. "Well," she said, not bringing her eyes up to look at any of them, "there's a lot I still have to think about. It's not a little decision, you know?"
"We understand," Howie jumped in. "You do need to think it over, and again, we don't mean to come across as mean or selfish or anything, but we need to know soon. You can't be thinking about it for a week. It's got to be soon. I mean, do you see our side of it?"
She did. And she had been thinking about it and she was sure she would be doing the exact same thing later on tonight. She raised her eyes to look at Kevin. He was already looking at her, his green eyes pleading. She locked her eyes with his for a moment, taking in their rich color and their naked honesty. They were beautiful. And he wanted her to go. She could see it. She could see how much he hated it here, how much he wanted to go home. She tore her eyes away from his for fear that if she looked there any longer she would agree to go before her brain registered with what was coming out of her mouth.
"I still need to think about it," she said. "I'll most likely be in tomorrow and I'll probably have decided by then. Is that okay?"
Everyone nodded.
Faith gave each of them a smile before turning to leave. She felt her business there was done, and besides, Kevin needed to get to sleep. But she was stopped when a hand grabbed hold of her arm, startling her . Turning around, she came face to face with Brian, who, she was surprised to find, had left Kevin's bedside to say a few additional words to her.
"Would you mind joining the four of us for dinner after you're finished with work?" he said, finally freeing her arm from his grip.
She looked at him, surprised by his unexpected offer. Initially, she figured he had come back to continue with his interrogation and she was a little taken aback when he delivered his kind invitation. "Sure," she said, a smile spreading across her face. "I'm done today at eight. That's not too late, is it?"
Brian shook his head. "Nah, that's fine."
"You're not going to bombard me with a bunch of questions, are you?"
He smiled, laughing softly. "No," he said. "I just thought that since you might be going along, hopefully, it would be nice if we all got to know you a little better."
She nodded, the idea of light conversation much more appealing than somewhat of a Spanish Inquisition.
"Cool. So we'll just meet outside the room at eight, then?"
"Sure."
"Okay, see you then, Faith," he said and disappeared back into Kevin's room.
The ride to the restaurant was a quiet one, the extent of conversation not going beyond the decision of deciding where they would like to eat. After Faith rattled off several choices, they agreed on a quaint Italian restaurant which, oddly enough, was located within walking distance of their hotel. And, following those few minutes of interaction, no one ventured to take the conversation any further until they were seated and food orders were taken.
Nick was the first to start talking. "So, Faith," he said, "AJ was telling us a little bit about you after you left."
Faith felt her eyes grow wide. She had no intentions of telling them about Julian so soon. "I, uh, well. . ." she said, stuttering.
"Yeah," Howie said, "He was telling us how you worked with all the little kids. Pediatrics, is it?"
She took a nervous breath, trying to smile, though, relieved that he hadn't told them what she thought he had. "Yep. Sometimes they seem more fun to work with than adults. They just have this hope about them. I think it's kind of admirable."
"So that's the reason you like working with kids?" Brian asked, leaning with his elbows on the table, intrigued.
"Well, I mean, I have always loved kids, even though I don't really come from a big family or anything. I mean, most people who come from large families and who are around kids a lot tend to take more of a liking to them than people who come from smaller families. But, I don't know, I've just always loved them. Maybe I haven't grown up yet, maybe I still have that little girl still inside of me. I don't know," she said, smiling, her nervousness melting away.
"But, well, maybe I'm confused," Nick said. "But, is that why you need to think about going with us? I mean, is it that you don't know what to do with adults, or what? Or do you just not want to leave the kids?"
Faith leaned back in the booth and sighed. "I don't know. I really don't want to leave the kids. You get to know them all, the ones that stay for a while. And you see them every day and if I were to leave. . ." She sighed again, fidgeting with her fork, running her fingers along the shiny steel. "It's not that I don't like working with adults. And, I certainly don't have anything against you guys, but. . ." Again, she trailed off, returning the fork to the table as she thought.
"Faith," AJ said, "we just want you to know something, here. We don't want you to think that we want you to do this just because we want to go home. I mean, that's a very small part of it, but we don't want you to do this for us. We want you to do this for Kevin. You know how he reacted when he was taken in and, despite what you and Chelsea and whoever else has seen on the surface, his attitude toward the hospital and the doctors hasn't changed."
"Kevin has been through a real lot in the past few months and this whole thing hasn't helped," Brian said. "Every other word that comes out of his mouth is 'I want to go home' or 'Get me out of here' or 'Make them leave me alone'. He doesn't like it there, Faith. And the only way to get him out of there is for you to go with him."
"But why me?" Faith asked, getting a little defensive. "Why couldn't you have picked somebody else?"
"Because you are the only one that Kevin has had something good to say about. You're the only one he trusts," Brian said, being as direct as he could.
Faith sat surprised. She wasn't prepared for this. He had said they wouldn't talk about this, and here they were, trying to convince her to go, and the worst part about it was that they were actually succeeding. The image of Kevin's smile and the brightness in his eyes when she said she liked caring about people played over and over in her head. But she couldn't decide now, not here. Later, but not now.
"I still have to think about it," she said, keeping her eyes on Brian. "I, I really would like it if we talked about something else," she added after a pause, her voice growing weaker, almost afraid to make such a request.
"We're sorry, Faith," Nick said. "I shouldn't have brought it up. We're all just really worried about him, you know? It's funny. He's the one who always used to worry about us. Now look, we're all worrying about him." He laughed to himself softly. "It's weird having it all backwards."
Faith, despite her suggestion of a subject change, didn't see the end of this particular conversation coming anytime soon and wouldn't have if she didn't see a waiter emerging from the kitchen with a tray full of their food. "Well, it looks like the food is here."
Everyone leaned back to allow the waiter to reach across them to set the plates in front of them. And, with a chorus of "thank you's", he left to carry on with his evening's work.
Conversation lulled as they ate, relieving Faith of any further questioning. Comments were thrown back and forth about the food and the appealing mood of the restaurant, but nothing major was said.
When appetites were satisfied and the dishes were cleared away, everyone was more or less ready to leave.
Everyone stood up to gather their coats and as Brian was working one of his arms into a sleeve, he spoke, making everyone stop to look at him, "Do you guys mind if I go back to the hospital after we get back to the hotel?"
"Why?" Nick asked. "Aren't we going back tomorrow?"
"I thought we were staying at the hotel and going back in the morning," Howie said.
"Well, you guys don't have to go. I just forgot about something and I need to go back quick. It should only take a few minutes," Brian said and turned to Faith. "Would you mind driving?"
And with a shake of her head, they were out the door.
"So what's so important that it couldn't wait until tomorrow?" Faith asked as she and Brian drove back to the hospital.
Brian looked at her and smiled. "This," he said as his hand dove into his coat pocket and pulled out a clean white envelope and held it up for her to see. "He hasn't said anything, but I have a feeling Kev's missed these."
Faith focused her attention back on driving as she pulled into the hospital parking lot and proceeded to reclaim her spot at the far end. After the car was stopped and parked, she turned to Brian, unbuckling her seatbelt, and said, "What are those?"
"Listen, Faith," Brian said, grinning, "why don't you go on up and deliver these to Kev. I'm sure you'll find out what they are."
"But what about my car?"
"Don't worry about the car. I'll stay and watch it and you could go see Kev. How's that?" he asked. "Please?"
"Fine," she said, grabbing the envelope, a smile spreading across her face. "I'll be back."
Faith sprinted into the hospital, shaking her head. "I can't believe I'm doing this," she said out loud as she walked through the doors and made her way to the elevator.
In the elevator, she looked down at the envelope in her hand. She held it up to the light, attempting to get a look at its contents. No good. All she could gather was that whatever was inside was somewhat rectangular and was anything but transparent. "Oh well," she said, and stepped out into the hallway as the doors opened.
At ten o'clock, the hallway was empty, save for a janitor at the end of it. The only sounds that could be heard were the occasional ones of night-time television programs that were supposed to give the patients something to think about other than why they were there in the first place, but patients and doctors alike knew that a TV was a poor diversion.
And as she stood in the doorway of Kevin's room, envelope clutched in both hands, she discovered that he was no different. The ten o'clock news was on, and he was certainly looking in its direction, but his mind was not on the television. It was easy to see. She stood quietly, watching him.
His eyes were locked on the screen and the hard looks of uneasiness and anxiety were playing on his handsome features. But his expression changed to that of a softer, hopeful one, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, when his eyes strayed from the screen to fall upon her figure standing amidst the shadows of the doorway.
"Faith?"
She stepped closer, offering him a smile which, she was pleased to find, he returned. She stopped next to the bed and standing over him, she spoke softly, "I thought you would still be sleeping."
He shrugged and thought before he answered. "I haven't slept for very long periods of time since I've been here. I guess I'm just. . ."
Faith pulled close a chair and took a seat beside him, giving him time to gather his thoughts.
"It's just that," he paused to glance at her, then continued, "I'm just afraid to fall asleep for too long. I'm afraid something might happen, just like. . ."
Faith leaned close to him and ran a hand down the side of his face. "Shhh," she lulled, stopping him from saying anything else, from saying something that she knew was still painful for him to say. "I know you don't like it here," she said. She took a deep breath, wondering if she knew what she was getting herself into, and spoke again, "But you'll be out of here soon."
A look of confusion passed over his face. "What do you mean? How soon?"
"Well, I was hoping the hospital would let you go tomorrow and then we could all head down to Orlando together." There, she said it. It was out, official. Her decision was made. And judging by the wideness of the smile on Kevin's face, it was the right decision.
"You're going?" he asked.
She nodded.
"So was that what they talked to you about at dinner tonight?"
"Well, sort of. They had originally said that they wouldn't be talking about that, but they skillfully eased it into conversation, I guess," she said.
He chuckled. "Skillfully, huh?"
Again, she nodded.
"Well, it's just my opinion, but I think they were set on discussing that from the very beginning," he said, grinning at her.
"Maybe," she said, grinning back. "You know them much better than I do."
They were quiet for a moment. Faith looked down into her lap and realized she had forgotten all about the envelope, which was basically the reason she had come up to see him. She turned it over in her hand, trying to figure out one last time what could be inside.
Kevin looked back to her, only to find her looking elsewhere. He tried to lean over, wanting to see what had stolen her attention from their enjoyable chit-chat. His eyes fell on the white object in her hands and was surprised when he realized what it was: it was his envelope.
"Faith?"
She raised her head to him. "Hmm?" she asked, wondering if he had seen the envelope.
"Why do you have those?" he asked, gesturing to the envelope.
"Uh, Brian wanted me to stop up and give this to you, but," she laughed to herself, "I guess I was so caught up in, well, talking to you, that I forgot all about it. Here." She handed him the envelope and stood up to leave. "I guess I should get going. Brian's still waiting in the car."
He didn't answer. His attention was fixed on what he was pulling out of the envelope.
Faith stood watching him, still curious as to what he was looking at. She leaned over to him and said, "Kevin? Brian never told me what they were. He said it couldn't wait until tomorrow, so it must be important, but he never said what was in there."
Kevin looked up at her and handed her what he had been holding. When she took them, he said, "They're photos of my family. I don't go anywhere without them. I've always taken them wherever I go. I guess it's just a way to keep my family close."
Faith flipped through each picture quickly. But, when she came to the picture of a young woman, tall, blonde-haired and, by every means, beautiful, she lingered on that one a little longer than she had on the others. And, as much as she wanted to ask who she was, just to confirm her suspicions, she kept her mouth shut, and continued on to next picture.
"I like to look at them before I go to sleep, when I'm away anyway," he said, taking them when she passed them back to him. "I didn't get to do that last night, since they were at the hotel."
She nodded. "Well, now I really have to go. I need to go home. You know, got to get packing."
"Tell Brian thanks for me," he said as he went back to looking at the photos.
"Sure," she said and headed for the door.
"And Faith?" he called to her, waiting until she turned back around to face him before he continued, "Thank you. For going, I mean. I wouldn't have wanted anyone else to go. Thank you."
She smiled. "Just get some rest, okay? I'll see you tomorrow."
Faith took one look back at him before taking off for the elevator. When she finally arrived at her car a few minutes later, she expected to see a very annoyed Brian. She was, after all, there much longer than she had anticipated. But she was greeted with a smile, and as she got stepped inside, she couldn't help but smile back at his comment.
"Well, then," he said. "I take it that visit went well."