Brendon leaned hard on his walking stick.
He stared blankly at Grace, lying in the hospital bed in front of him. Monitors beeped steadily, punctuating the silence as they displayed Grace's vitals. Her body looked frail.
Her arms were thin, and her collarbones pronounced through her hospital gown. Her V.R. headset obscured most of her face, but Brendon could see her cheekbones were far more prominent than they ever had been. She had a feeding tube now coming out of her nose, and the team had intubated her, so her face was almost totally obscured. She looked like she was starting to turn into a skeleton.
He wasn't sure how he should be feeling.
Naomi slowly walked into the room, carrying a big bunch of flowers. Brendon quietly acknowledged her as she laid them on the over-bed table at Grace's feet. She stood on the opposite side and then crossed her arms tightly over her chest.
She glanced from Grace to Brendon.
"How's she doing?" Naomi asked, voice low and strained.
Brendon took a breath, raised his eyebrows and said, "She's missing a lung. Her spleen is gone, and so is half her liver."
Naomi's eyes widened with disbelief. "Jesus," she whispered. "What are they going to do now?"
Brendon shook his head. "She's too far in now. They can't pull her out medically."
"But they will do something, right? They can't just leave her like this!" Naomi's voice rose, tinged with incredulity.
Brendon turned away briefly, unable to meet her gaze. "Trying to pull her out would almost definitely kill her," he said quietly. The words hung in the air like a thick fog around him. "Besides, I'm sure that's not what she would want."
Naomi stepped closer to Grace's bedside, brushing a hand over her pale arm as if trying to reach through the layers between them. "But she's going to live, right?"
Brendon nodded slowly.
"Grace can stay like this for years. She'll probably relive her life over and over again before her body gives up," Brendon replied, his heart heavy with resignation as he stared at his wife, lost in a dreamworld of her own making. Living a fantasy that she could never make work here, a lie that she preferred to tell herself rather than face reality and deal with it.
Naomi looked at Brendon, a maternal gaze flowing from her eyes. "What will you do now?"
Brendon sighed, glancing back at Grace. "I'm heading down to Florida," he replied, an air of submission in his voice.
"Florida?" Naomi echoed, surprise flickering across her face.
"Yeah," he said, forcing a faint smile. "An old friend runs a car rental place there. He's willing to let me buy into it." Brendon paused, and then continued, "I'd been thinking about it a lot," he said. "When I couldn't sleep, before Riley had found out where she was. I'd just stare at the ceiling and imagine I was there. Simple life, no more ER, no more Cyberdome," his shoulders dropped, "no more Grace."
"A fresh start then, is that what you want?" Naomi asked gently, searching his blue eyes for certainty. "Do you think you might be running away?"
"I am," Brendon admitted, a shadow passing over his expression. "But I can't stay here. Not like this." He gestured towards Grace, frustration boiling just beneath the surface of his gentle demeanor.
Naomi nodded slowly, her empathy palpable as she absorbed his words. "You need to do what's best for you, Hon. If this whole thing was able to set you free, then there is something in that."
Brendon hesitated for a moment before meeting her gaze again. "What about you? What are your plans?"
Naomi inhaled deeply and continued looking at Grace, her posture softening. "I'll keep working, I think. Riley had a long list of clients that he did regular work for. Cody says he'll work with me. El Paraiso isn't working out for him. He thinks it's got a couple of weeks before it goes bust," she said resolutely, glancing back at Grace. "Besides, the cops want me to help them build the case against Cyberdome and Mesmerium. I owe it to Riley."
He could see the determination etched on her face and felt a flicker of hope igniting within him.
"I admire that," Brendon said softly.
Naomi smiled faintly but didn't reply right away. Instead, she stepped closer to Grace's bedside again and brushed a finger against her hand, lingering for just a moment longer than necessary.
Brendon cleared his throat, trying to wrap things up.
"Well," he began, straightening up on his stick and forcing an upbeat tone into his voice, "I guess it's time for me to hit the road."
"Take care of yourself out there," Naomi said quietly, turning back toward him with sincerity in her eyes.
"You too," Brendon replied.
They embraced warmly as Brendon hobbled around the bed towards the door. They shared one last look filled with an unspoken understanding before he stepped back from her and made his way towards the door.