Chapter 423

They walked in silence to the train station, and then stayed quiet on their ride to the hospital. James had a lot to think about after what he’d just witnessed, and he was sure Fel was processing what her mom had said. The fact the women had so casually implied murdering her own daughter’s boyfriend, was chilling. James did not envy Fel of her family situation. Nor did he envy Alex of that situation. Come to think of it, compared to the parental situations he’d been seeing since starting DCO, he had it pretty good. His parents loved him, supported him, and had sent him a high-tech dog as a companion. Compared to everyone else, he had nothing to complain about.

James smiled as he played through some of his favorite memories with his parents. They’d always been outgoing and adventurous and had always encouraged him to chase his dreams. Even with this new job, that had pulled them away from him, they’d checked with him first, before accepting. Of course, James didn’t really have a choice to tell them no. Not because they’d have resented him for it. No, they would have turned the job down without a second thought, if it meant keeping him happy. But James never would have forgiven himself. Keeping them from their dreams, when they supported him with all of his, would have been too selfish.

Still, he did miss them. Who wouldn’t miss their parents when they’d been gone so long? And with everything going on in his life, it was only human to want them there to support him. A glance at Dagger though, caused him to smile. They were there. They were with him. If not in person, in spirit.

“What has you smiling so much?” Fel asked as they got off the train and made the short walk towards the hospital. Miraculously, they were still on time for James’s appointment, though just barely. And he was sure he was going to get an earful from the hospital for not arriving early for check in. But hey, if they wanted people to arrive early for their appointment, maybe the norm should be to schedule the appointment time for check in as well, not just what time he was supposed to be there.

“Just thinking.” James said, trailing off. He wasn’t about to tell Fel that her crazy mother was making him appreciate his own family even more. James did stupid things at times, but this, wasn’t one of those.

“Of your cute little girlfriend?” Fel said with a chuckle, nudging him playfully as she did. The laugh she gave off, was sincere. He couldn’t remember ever seeing her so relaxed outside of immersion. It was like the thought of seeing Alex, had completely energized her.

“Among other things.” James replied. It wasn’t a lie. Rue had crossed his mind during the whole situation. Just like he’d claimed Fel was in love with Alex, so too was James in love with Rue. He felt that shared attachment, that depth of a bond, helped bring him and Fel together. They both had people they loved, and situations that made their relationships a little less…normal. Then again, nowadays, who was to say what was normal?

“Uh huh.” Fel smirked and gave him a wink. “I’m sure I can think of a few of those other things.”

James immediately felt heat rise to his face. He’d not been thinking anything of the nature. But the way Fel implied it, and so casually mentioned it, made him feel a little awkward. Come to think of it, he knew Fel, and Alex as well, likely got up to all sorts of, er, activities in immersion. Hadn’t they mentioned something about one of the Job Trainers in DCO? He could only imagine what all they did in their free time. And, he realized, he didn’t want to think about it.

However, Fel must have taken his blushing as confirmation, because her smirk grew even larger. “I knew it. Then again, based on those messages and such she’d been sending you while I was keeping an eye on you, it was pretty obvious.”

“Can we not?” James said in a hushed tone. They were at the entrance to the hospital now, and he was more than a little self-conscious about the situation. Not only the whole, talking about personal aspects of the relationship part, but of talking about Rue out in public like this. Fel was likely the last person to say or do anything that would cause them trouble, but James was still on edge. When it came to Rue, he could never to be too careful about not doing anything to take her away from him. And considering how Cyb3ru5 had been handled, James had no doubt of the swift manner the government would handle things, if it came down to something as secretive as Rue and her actual existence.

“You’re no fun.” Fel said, complete with fake pout on her face. “But really, thank you for everything back there. I know we haven’t known each other long, but I appreciate what you said to my mom. And obviously, what you said, you meant. I could tell you were completely sincere, and if you hadn’t been, my mother wouldn’t have believed you. So, seriously, thank you James.”

“You going to mention this little meeting to Alex?” James asked, trying to move the conversation away from uncomfortable, emotional bits. He was not about to have a heart to heart with Fel in front of the hospital entrance.

“Yeah right.” Fel chuckled. “Could you imagine his reaction? Besides, I know people joke about their mother in laws being a nightmare and hating them, but like, how do you think Alex would react if he knew the truth?”

“That she wants him dead?” James laughed, the air between them friendly and playful. “I’m sure he’d handle it just fine.”

“Uh huh.” The doors slid open and Fel motioned for James to enter first. “If he did, we’d be admitting him to the psych ward once he was done with his stay in the hospital.”

James laughed at that. He’d been filled in on Alex’s injuries. There were quite a few broken ribs, one of which had punctured a lung, along with a decent amount of internal bleeding. He couldn’t remember if any bones, other than the ribs, had been broken or fractured, but it was clear Alex was going to stay in the hospital for a bit longer. Even with modern medicine, the body took time to heal.

“You going to swing by and say hi to him, after your appointment?” Fel asked as she followed him and Dagger into the hospital. “Or you planning on ghosting him?”

“I wasn’t sure if it would be alight.” James said after a momentary pause. He still felt guilty about what had happened to Alex. And while he was certain no one blamed him for it, he still blamed himself. If he’d been able to handle the Dwight situation on his own, no harm would have come to Alex.

Fel grabbed him by the shoulders and spun him around, so he was looking into her face. Her expression was serious, her eyes, sincere.

“Alex doesn’t blame you for what happened. And neither does his family. He stood up to a bully, he helped someone out in need. There’s no need to feel guilty over that. So quite beating yourself up, and come say hi. I’m sure the two of you could become good friends, if you gave it a chance.” Her voice grew quieter. “And, it would be nice for him to have a friend like you. Someone who, you know, knows the whole situation. Could be helpful, when he does finally learn the truth.”

James didn’t know what to say, so he simply nodded his head. That seemed good enough for Fel, because she smiled and pushed him away towards the check in counter. Without another word, she left him and Dagger, heading towards one of the terminals to register her arrival at the hospital, and to send Alex a visitation request.

With that awkward moment out of the way, James trotted over to the counter to check in for his appointment. Time to find out just how long that lingering pain Dwight had left him with, at least the physical pain, would last. Because even if Fel insisted no one blamed him, he knew he’d still hold that feeling for a long while.