(OOC: Continued from At Humanity's Steps)

Hunter pulled into the vehicle bay with Iris following. Wasting little time he led her through to the infirmary. Once there he stepped back and let the doctors do their work. He’d told them about the injury on the way there, so they knew what to expect.

Also on the way back he’d asked for someone to send Katrina to him. He had no idea what he was going to say yet, but felt he should say something before leaving. Now he watched to see if the doctors would manage to aggravate his daughter further, if that was even possible.

Iris follwed the car closely, and found herself getting both angry and nervous at the same time the closer they came to the Labs. Once in the garage and parked, she paused for a moment to collect herself. The damage she had caused during her previous 'visit' was gone, as if it had never happened. Even the hole in the wall was patched up and painted over.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, before picking up Ebony's carrier and exiting the van. The feline's annoying yowl echoed against the vaulted cieling. Iris didn't notice the annoyed and/or pained glances she received in return; she'd long ago learned to ignore the rucus. The trip to the Infirmary was quiet, at least on her's and Hunter's part, but only partially due to her current irritation. The maze of hallways intrigued her, and she made a mental note to go exploring if she got the chance.

At the journey's end, she was surprised to see how much like a hospital the Infirmary was. She'd been expecting something more like what was found on a college campus, or maybe a small doctor's office, not a full-fledge clinic. Her surprise was enough to give her pause, and the doctors time to descend on her in force. They'd been ready for her, it appeared, again Hunter's doing, no doubt. She scowled at him one more time before being bustled away. Ebony was placed in an empty room, with the door shut, while Iris was ushered to one of the exam tables.

All of her stubbornness aside, Iris had to admit the wound was worse than she'd wanted to admit. It had been a clean cut, so the pain stung and ached dully, rather than throbbed. Deep at the top and shallow at the bottom, it extended about four to five inches across her ribs from font to back, and downward a bit. It was as if the Stalker had tried to fillet her like a fish. If it hadn't been for the ice, she didn't doubt it would have succeeded. Some of the bandages she'd used to patch it up had already bleed through. When removed, the wound began bleeding again.

Iris gritted her teeth. She was no stranger to pain, as numerous scars and bite marks on her arms and legs proved. But that didn't mean she enjoyed it. She refused to be put under; not in this place. Still, she was grateful that they gave her painkillers before the stitching began, because by the time it was over her knuckles were white, her eyes tearing, and her head was spinning. She also felt sick to her stomach.

"You'll need to stay here for the night," one of the doctors informed her gently. "We want to be sure that it's cleaned properly, so infection doesn't set in." She caught the reprimand hidden in the man's tone. She snorted, but didn't retort. Suddenly she found herself wondering what had happened to the DocProf during the Raid?

Carefully she replaced her shirt, and got up off the table. When one of the nurses made a move to stop her she merely waved her away.

"I'm not going anywhere. But unless you want to hear that yeowling all night and day, I'd better stay in there with the cat." That was enough incentive to leave her be. Her steps to the room were a bit shaky, but she made it inside under her own power, and shut the door, notably without slamming it. She let her baby out, then carefully eased onto the bed, eventually dozing off.

Her dreams were filled with images of a little grey-eyed kitten, playing hide-and-seek in the dark with a silver-eyed black panther.

Crystal listened from inside Iris's phone as she was patched up, then went to sleep. As was her habit, the hologram waited to be sure the girl was out before wandering off on her own.

(OOC: Continued for Crystal in Knock, knock - Cyberstyle)

(Before dawn, the next morning)

A fifteen-year-old habit resulted in Iris waking up before dawn, without an alarm. She felt something heavy around her neck; at some point in the night Ebony had planted herself on her mother's chest and snuggled in for a catnap. Idly she gave the feline scritches behind the ears, and spent about half an hour after waking drawing comfort from the rumbling purr. Finally a rumble in her stomach pushed her out of her comfort zone, for sake of not adding to the pain she was already feeling....

Pain in her side.... and generally everywhere else as well.... Ugh, definitely time for more painkillers....

There was a quiet knock on the door, then one of the nurses peeked in, a small oriental woman. She smiled to see Iris awake, then quickly closed the door again. Ebony grumbled in her throat at the disturbance, but rather than jump off, she draped herself like a scarf around Iris's shoulders, and continued to purr loudly. Several minutes later the same woman reappeared with a glass of milk and a packet of pills. Iris eyed them warily.

"Vicadin," the woman told her. "Two if you need it. We've got a couple other things too, if you want something else, stronger stuff."

Iris double-checked the pills to assure herself that they were what the woman had claimed, then downed them with half of the glass. The rest she set on a nearby table, to be immediately investigated by a curious feline. The little Siamese was one of the few cats that Iris knew who actually enjoyed milk as much as cartoons would have you believe. Though she had an odd habit of sticking her paw into the liquid, then licking the drops off.....

"And here's directions to the Canteen. We could hear that growling out in the hallway. If you time it right, no one will be able to say they saw you leave," she added with a wink, then left the room again, leaving a hotel-like 'Do Not Disturb' sign hanging on the doorknob.

Iris blushed a bit, though she knew the nurse was teasing. But if she was already in favor of Iris sneaking out, Iris was all for the idea. Though Eb would have to stay put for the time being....

Leaving the kit to her drink, Iris slipped out into the hall and hung the sign on the door. The room was sparsely occupied; she only saw three people. All three studiously ignored her as she left, though they were smiling. Idly Iris wondered why they weren't fussing, like they had the evening before. Not that she was going to argue....

Out in the hall she studied the directions for a moment before attempting to follow them, urged on by her talking midseciton.

(OOC: Continued in Dawn Wanderings)