The hospital finally let Quin go the next day; it had been a long night, after all. Nate stayed with her like the good boyfriend he was, and even met her partner from work. (Interesting to say the least.)

Now that she was released, she could not very well go back to her place; thankfully, she knew someone who was graciously willing to give her a place to stay, out of the good-natured kindness of his heart.

"So as long as you need, my apartment is your apartment." Nate pushed open the door to his apartment. It was tidy for the most part; the noticeable exception was a half-eaten plate of steak and mashed on the table. It had slipped Nate's mind that Quin's call came mid-meal. He laughed it off, "Oh yeah, I'll clean that up. In the meantime, make yourself at home!"

She’d been released after one night…thank god. There was something about a hospital that made it impossible to sleep. (Possibly the nurse that came in three times to check her vitals throughout the night) Nate had stayed with her, and that had helped, but it had still been a restless and sore way to spend 7 hours.

Her wrist wasn’t broken, but Quin had a bad sprain that was proving to be very uncomfortable, and the rest of the bumps and bruises started making their presence known as well. On top of everything, bright and early at 6 am word had come that she’d need to stay out of her apartment for the next few days while the investigation wrapped up and they replaced her carpet. Ten minutes later, the doctor told her she could leave.

Luckily…Nate had been accommodating, and accepted a partially invalid roommate for a few days.

He opened the door, and they entered. Not much had changed in the apartment since the last time Quin had seen it, and she gingerly made her way inside, eyes flicking to all the dark nooks and crannies to check for invisible intruders. It was ridiculous, but it was necessary.

There was still food on the table, and Quin suddenly felt a little bad for interrupting Nate’s dinner the night before. ”Don’t worry about it…really.” she said, as she made her way to the couch and sat down.

”Thanks again…really.” she said. Besides the fact that she needed somewhere to stay…the idea of being alone right now was just…not okay.

Nate picked the plate off the table and looked down at the steak. It was obviously cold, and there was barely any left, but it still looked so delicious. He mourned the loss of the meal as he scraped the remains into the trash and began washing the plate.

As he ran water over the plate, scrubbing it, he spoke over his shoulder. "My apartment obviously didn't come equipped for a gal-tenant, so we can get things you might need soon enough."

He turned off the water, brushing his hands on a hand towel. He joined her over on the couch, resting his hand (carefully) on her knee. "In the meantime, we'll make due." He kissed her forehead, smiling. The tragedy was awful, but it was undeniable that having her there made things better. "By the way, are you hungry? Well, for something that is not hospital food? I'd be glad to whip something up."

Nate’s apartment wasn’t set up for a girl inhabitant. Somehow, that actually made Quin happy. It meant there weren’t any past harpy women who had stored their things in his apartment. It also meant he hadn’t kept any of those things, and wasn’t going to make the huge mistake of offering them to her to borrow.

”If you’ll let me borrow a t-shirt and some running shorts to sleep in, and let me gargle with your toothpaste, we’ll be golden. At least until tomorrow.”

As for food. Quin shook her head, her stomach just didn’t feel up to a real meal.

”I’m okay…but you can eat.”

It probably should have been expected with her laid-back attitude and profession, but Quin was way more low maintenance than Nate was used to. It was nice to have a girlfriend he could relax around rather than the high class one-night stands who would not look at a man who owned a hoodie. "I'm sure I could spare a t-shirt. Anything to make my new flatmate comfortable." Universal truth: a cute girlfriend is infinitely cuter wearing a borrowed t-shirt.

She was not going to eat, so there was no point in cooking. "I'm sure I can hang on until lat--" His stomach interrupted with a well-timed moan. That actually sounded like the word 'food.' "Well, maybe I will find something to tide myself over."

He returned to the fridge, looking through his options. There was some leftover Chinese; maybe the best, easiest option. He had to act more normally with her there; she was not going to be a "guest;" this was basically her place for a few days. Needless to say, this was new territory for a decorated commitaphobic veteran like Nate. "I'll show you around soon, but the washroom is the first room on the right of the hall, the bedroom is second on the left, just past--"

It was as though a lantern was lit in Nate's mind revealing the glaring plothole from the night before. The first room to the right was Parker's room, but before Nate ran off the night before, he was giving Parker time out of the room to exercise and play.

Nate put the plate of friend rice and chicken teriyaki he was preparing in the microwave hastily and turned around. "Um, Quin, I hope you remember that I sorta had a roommate already, cuz he's around somewhere..." Well, it was nice having Quin around while it lasted...

Parker had been content nudging a tennis ball around the apartment before his owner came back; even better, he brought the red lady! Pleased to have people to play with again, he found his ball and pushed it around toward the sofa. The tennis ball rolled, tapping the foot of the woman. Parker awaited her eagerly.

”Temporary flat mate.” Quin pointed out. ”I promise I won’t be in your hair for very long.”

Quin felt bad, she really did. It had to be strange for Nathan, having a girl kind of just invite herself in to stay for a few days. Sure they’d been dating for a while…but that didn’t mean that short-term stay overs were okay. He went to get himself some food, and Quin curled up on the couch while she waited for him to come back.

Said couch was comfortable, and while Nate was digging in his fridge, she dozed a bit, finally able to relax for the first time since she’d come home from the store the day before.

Nate mentioned something about a roommate, and it took Quin a few moments to figure out what he was talking about.

The spider.

The giant spider.

Somehow, after what she’d been through in the last 24 hours…the spider just wasn’t that bad.

”He’s right here.” she said, turning her head to look down where the spider was nudging her foot with a tennis ball.

”I’m not really up for ball though.”

Parker understood the words and the tone of the red lady. Maybe she was just too tired to play? Changing his mind, Parker climbed up onto the couch, not touching the lady; (she did not seem happy the last time he touched her.) He made himself comfortable and curled up his legs, resting at the other end of the couch.

Nate pulled his plate out of the microwave, his other hand searching for a fork in the utensil drawer. Quin's tone talking about Parker was way more calm than Nate remembered; maybe after all the stress she had endured, a little thing like Parker's creepy-crawly affection became more manageable.

With his plate ready, Nate returned to the living room area to see Parker up on the cushion; the little people-pleaser was just acting, of course. Parker only slept in his web, so at the moment he was just trying to keep Quin company. That might have still been a bit much for her at the moment though, so Nate grabbed the stray tennis ball and held it in front of Parker's face. "Come on buddy, you're in my seat!" Sure enough, the spider opened his eyes and got to his feet as his owner tossed the ball into the hallway. Nate had solid aim, so the spider followed as the ball bounced off a wall and into the web room. Parker would know to stay there for the time being.

Nate sat down in the vacated spot next to his girlfriend. "Sorry about that. So tonight feels like a good time for a quiet night in." Even without the circumstances, the statement was true; it was going to be chilly out all night, with the chance of rain. Nate was considering ordering in a movie. That was, of course, if Quin did not end up dozing off. (The poor thing could use some sleep after all.)

The spider jumped up onto the couch with her, and Quin decided that maybe the little guy wasn’t all that bad after all. He hadn’t tried to eat her face, or attack her, or anything like that, so maybe she’d been a little quick to judge the first time.

Nate returned with his food, and tossed the tennis ball so Parker could chase it down the hallway. The little (huge) spider took off after the thing and disappeared into his room. Nate sat down, and Quin smiled at him from the opposite end of the couch.

”Yeah, I’m not sure I’m up for the club scene tonight.” she said. ”Though with the black eye, I’m pretty sure nobody would mess with me.”

Nate shoveled a forkful of rice into his mouth, already feeling his stomach calming down. Chinese food was a cure-all.

Nate was humored by her comment, since she was a pretty tough cookie, black eye or not. 'No one should be messing with ya anyway; nothing's scarier than a pissed-off redhead."

Nate took a break from his plate to play with her hair. "Well, my original plan tonight was to go grab a drink," God, I hope it wasn't too soon for that joke, "but if you're interested, I was thinking of curling up under the covers and watching movies until you fall asleep?"

”Heh. Yeah.” Quin said to Nate’s joke with a small smile. Tell that to creepy stalker elephant guys. She’d felt…no been so completely helpless against that attack. It was a new feeling, and one that Quin didn’t appreciate at all.

Originally Nate had planned on going out for drinks, and Quin grimaced slightly as he played with her hair, scalp still tender from the grip Maurice had had.

The second idea sounded much better, with the cuddling, and she nodded appreciatively at Nate. ”I think I’d prefer the latter over the former.” she admitted.

Maybe they could go out in a day or two. Maybe when she was able to get back into her place.