Nathan sat quietly leaning back in a chair, thinking of a way to try and pry Tanya out of the ivory tower she had enclosed herself in after the breakout. They had only been at the Labs for a few days. She still would not talk much, other than one word answers when asked a question directly. She was starting to not eat as much as well and was beginning to look pale.

He still continued to bring her food and even ate with her sometimes so that she would not be alone. But it was no use, she still would not open up. Not that Nathan could blame her after what she had been through. But he had made a promise to Neena to keep her safe and that was exactly what he was doing. He hardly left the room anymore other than to get food and even then he was back as quickly as he could manage. He was starting to fear for the worst with Tanya. He thought she might be having thoughts of suicide but he could not prove it.

So he spent most of his days inside this room he and Tanya shared. There was only one bed so he had offered it to Tanya opting to sleep on the floor with only a pillow and a blanket. He had grown up staying at a daycare center where the woman who ran it was Korean and she was a true Korean as in she up held many of the traditions from her homeland. She had made all the children sleep on the floor when it was naptime. So Nathan had gotten used to sleeping on hard surfaces at an early age so he didn't mind.

Nathan rose from his seat and stretched. "Do want to get some food?" he asked Tanya. After receiving the expected no, he stepped out into the hallway and quietly closed the door behind him. While he was on his way to get food for Tanya and himself when he spotted Neena in the hallway. Relief quickly flowed over him. Not only was he happy to see a familiar face but now he could get help for Tanya.

"Neena, you don't know how glad I am to see you. I have Tanya with me. She's still kind of closed up after the camps. I was wondering if you could talk to her."

Neena grumbled on her way back to the Infirmary. Life in the Labs would be just fine if those infernal doctors and nurses would just leave her alone. All she needed was rest, food, a trip to the heath food store, and much, much less nagging, and she'd be right as rain. Honestly, what was so hard to understand about that?

"Neena, you don't know how glad I am to see you."

The tall black woman paused when she was addressed, not realizing she was still frowning. She recognized Nathan quickly. Like most of the other refugees and rescuees, he looked much better after a bit of food and rest.

"I have Tanya with me. She's still kind of closed up after the camps. I was wondering if you could talk to her."

Unconsciously, her frown deepened into a scowl. She didn't intend to look so mean; she wasn't angry in the slightest, at least, not with him or Tanya. But the little girl's lack of response did not bode well.

Neena walked up to Nathan's side. Idly she noticed how much taller he was than she. She blinked, and looked through the closed door at the poor girl on the other side. Her knees were drawn up to her chin, and she was picking at the linen distractedly.

"She hasn't said anything? I guess I can try talking to her. I'm not too good with stuff like that though." Neena sighed. She placed on hand on her hip, ran the other through her hair, and chewed on her lip for a moment. Finally she sighed again, and shook her head. Then she turned to look at Nathan, her expression less hostile this time.

"What about you? You recovering okay, kiddo?" She lightly reached out smacked him lightly in the stomach with the back of her hand.

Nathan watched as Neena silently cracked the door and peered in on Tanya. Unsuprisingly, her look was one of concern. It was much different than the one Nahtan received in the hallway.

"She hasn't said anything? I guess I can try talking to her. I'm not too good with stuff like that though." Neena finished with a sigh.

"I'm not too good with stuff like that either, but I thought that it would be good for Tanya to see a familiar face. I thought she would open up to you since she has known you for longer than she has known me as well." Nathan replied.

Nathan watched as she placed on her hand on her hip, ran the other through her hair, and chewed on her lip for a moment as if considering something. Finally she sighed again, and shook her head. Then she turned to look at Nathan, her expression softened to something similar to when she looked at Tanya a moment ago.

"What about you? You recovering okay, kiddo?" As she reached out to smack him lightly in the stomach with the back of her hand, Nathan unconsciously tightened his abdominal muscles.

He took the "kiddo" comment stoicly since she was at least 8 years older than him. "I'm all right. I've been better but who hasn't? I'm more worried about Tanya than myself right now. Which is saying something since after I leave this place I don't have anywhere to go." He paused, thinking of something. "I suppose I could get a job and an apartment in the city somewhere but who wants to hire someone without a degree? Well anyways, enough of that. You seem to be doing a lot better. Where are you going to head to after all this is sorted out?" He offered the last just to be friendly and to try and learn a little more about this woman who had risked her life to save the little girl just inside the door next to them.

OOC: I hope it doesn't sound too whiny.

"I thought she would open up to you since she has known you for longer than she has known me as well."

After what the youth had been through, it was a long shot, but worth trying.

"I'm all right. I've been better but who hasn't? I'm more worried about Tanya than myself right now...."

Neena smiled slightly. He reminded her of how her brothers used to be.

"....Which is saying something since after I leave this place I don't have anywhere to go. I suppose I could get a job and an apartment in the city somewhere but who wants to hire someone without a degree?"

Neena shrugged. "All depends on what you're good at, really."

"Well anyways, enough of that. You seem to be doing a lot better. Where are you going to head to after all this is sorted out?"

"Well, back to school actually. You know, you're welcome to stay there until things work out for..... Aaiie!" Neena grimaced dramatically and slapped her forehead with the butt of her hand. "The school! I forgot that place is a disaster zone! Man, we're gonna have to overhaul the whole place...." She groaned.

Finally after a few moments of closed eyes and under-the-breath muttering, she let out another groan, then opened her eyes.

"Well, the offer is still open. But its gonna be a bit.... rocky.... for awhile. Just until we clear out the debris and start rebuilding. Shouldn't take too long."

In one of her usual abrupt subject switches, she smiled and crossed her arms across her chest. "What's with the grumpy face? You look like you swallowed a lemon."

"Well, back to school actually. You know, you're welcome to stay there until things work out for..... Aaiie!" Neena grimaced dramatically and slapped her forehead with the butt of her hand. "The school! I forgot that place is a disaster zone! Man, we're gonna have to overhaul the whole place...." She groaned.

Finally after a few moments of closed eyes and under-the-breath muttering, she let out another groan, then opened her eyes. Nathan stood there as she began to collect her thoughts.

"Well, the offer is still open. But its gonna be a bit.... rocky.... for awhile. Just until we clear out the debris and start rebuilding. Shouldn't take too long."

The thought of going back to school didn't exactly appeal to Nathan at the moment. But he had always been good with his hands when it came to hardwork. And he needed a place to stay...Neena just smiled and crossed her arms across her chest while he considered it.

"What's with the grumpy face? You look like you swallowed a lemon."

The statement took him out of his thoughts. Then he remembered her coolness back at the camps when she had spoken to him so coldly. Suddenly, it all became a little bit clearer. He could not understand why he said what he said next, and yet it still happenned.

"Back at the camps you seemed angry at something the whole time you were going after those guards. At first, I thought you were angry at me since I followed you when you were probably thinking that I should have been headed out of there. But since then I think that...you were angry at something else. Did the guards wrong you in anyway that may have harmed you, personally...?" He was feeling very uncomfortable at the moment, probably the most in his whole life. He was standing infront of a woman talking about the possibility of her being raped.

Being as young as he was, he could not contain the blush that spread across his face. He began to feel his body give off more heat. His palms turned sweaty so he quickly stuffed them in his pockets. He then leaned back towards the wall in an attempt to try and pull of the classic cool guy look but to no avail. He had incorrectly judged the distance from where his feet were to where the wall was. It was farther than he thought. Which meant that he fell further than intended which caused his head to smack hard against a thick wooden door to a room across the hall. He could begin to even think of how embarrassed he was.

"Back at the camps you seemed angry at something the whole time you were going after those guards."

Unconsciously the frown returned to Neena's face. Now that they were free of the Camps, she didn't feel the need to stay positive about them.

"At first, I thought you were angry at me since I followed you when you were probably thinking that I should have been headed out of there."

Ooooh! That explained why he seemed uneasy around her....

"But since then I think that...you were angry at something else. Did the guards wrong you in anyway that may have harmed you, personally...?"

She found Nathan's reaction to his own question rather comical, but wisely kept any hint of amusement off of her face. Instead she simply smiled, in a big-sister kind of way, and walked over to his side.

"Y' all right?" She reached up to ruffle the back of his hair, where he'd hit his head, then backed off, so as not to embarrass him further.

"The guards wronged a lot of people." She didn't think it was necessary to give details, even though he'd guessed right; he was already red enough. "My intentions were to get a bit of justice back, for those who died. But.... well, I guess I got too angry to see straight. I didn't mean to take it out on you." She smiled. "For the record, you following me was probably a good thing. For both of us." Then she nodded toward the door.

"For now, what say we see what we can do for the living instead?"

Neena's reaction to his head striking the wood was similar to that of an older sister. She walked over beside him and asked if he was all right. He said he would be okay. After which she ruffled his hair in a comforting manner. Then she stepped away to prevent further embarrassment, thankfully.

"The guards wronged a lot of people." She continued."My intentions were to get a bit of justice back, for those who died. But.... well, I guess I got too angry to see straight. I didn't mean to take it out on you." She smiled. "For the record, you following me was probably a good thing. For both of us."

Nathan found it hard to disagree with her last statement. Now beginning to understand Neena a little bit better he smiled in return. Then she nodded toward the door. "For now, what say we see what we can do for the living instead?"

"You're right." And with that he strode towards the door which led to his and Tanya's room. He knocked before entering as always. Tanya was exactly the way he left her. She was still sitting on her bed curled up into ball with her knees against her chest.

"Tanya, I brought someone hear to see you." He said this hoping to produce some sort of verbal reaction from her but all she did was raise her head and look at Neena as she walked in.

"Tanya, I brought someone hear to see you."

Neena squinted a bit under the bright lights, but still smiled brightly at the little one.

"Hey there, kiddo. Good to see you up and awake. How's it going?" She peered at the medical chart at the end of the bed. Tanya's general health was about the same as everyone else rescued from the Camps; malnourished and roughed up. Bandages adorned all of the cuts and bruises on her body. The doctors had her on antibiotic injections for infection in many of the razor marks, as well. Neena grimaced dramatically. "Shots, huh? Never did care much for shots, myself. How 'bout you?"

Tanya shrugged and returned her gaze and fingers to picking at the bedsheets.

<"Okay.... a shrug. It's a start....">

"You know, I'll bet that infection will clear up by the end of the week," she continued cheerfully. "And then you can go home, safe and sound."

Wrong thing to say, to judge from the girl's reaction. Her entire face scrunched into a scowl, and her linen-picking hand clenched into a fist. Neena winced and looked up at Nathan. 'Bad idea', she mouthed silently.

"Ookay..... ooor you could.... not go home. That's okay too. We're not going either, really." She made a 'We're not, are we?' look at Nathan. "Actually, I'm going back to the school I teach at. I was just talking to Nathan about it. It's a bit messy, but there's plenty of room." She grinned and tried to sound really cheerful about it.

Tanya's scowl lessened a bit, but she still refused to speak or react. Again Neena glanced over the child's head at Nathan. 'Now what?' she mouthed.

"No, we're not going home." Nathan chimed in when Neena gave him her first look. Then when Tanya gave little to no response he got the "Now what" look. He just shrugged his shoulders in response. He knew that was the only response they would get from Tanya so he led Neena out of the room.

Just before he shut the door he heard Tanya say something. "Are you going too?"

Thinking he had misheard he said, "Excuse me?"

"Are you going to the school too?" She said more firmly.

Thinking quickly Nathan wondered why she would want to know about him. "She wants to go if I will be there," he realized. He knew what he had to do. It was what was best for Tanya.

"Yes, I will be there." With that statement it the flood gates opened up. Tanya ran across the room and tackled him around the waist and began to cry. All he could think to do was hold her and say that everything would be all right. When it seemed the tears began to slow he kneeled down so that he could talk to her face to face. "Yes I will be there but you have to promise me that you will be a good girl when you go with Neena, ok?" The word ok came out between sobs. He hugged her one last time before he faced Neena.

"You are going to have to take her. I can't and besides, I have to do somethings before I go to your school."

Tears were tears, but even they were more encouraging than stoic silence. Neena sighed happily as the little girl finally opened up and clung to Nathan's side.

"Yes I will be there but you have to promise me that you will be a good girl when you go with Neena, ok?" She though she heard a choked out 'Okay' in those sobs.

Nathan turned to her. "You are going to have to take her. I can't and besides, I have to do somethings before I go to your school."

Neena nodded. "We'll take care of her." Then, before he left, she reached out to place a hand on his shoulder. "Do me a favor, kiddo. Whatever you feel you have to do out there, be careful. We may be free for now, but the majority that world out there still hates us." She gave him another 'big sister' look. "Don't prove 'em right, 'kay?"

From next to them came another small-voiced request. "You promise you'll come back?"

Neena held back a grimace; she hated when kids asked that. It was impossible to say yes without lying, but telling the truth could end up just as hurtful.

Neena had only meant to help as a older sister would. So, Nathan took Neena's advice to heart when he said. "I promise I won't do anything stupid."

While she was still holding onto his waist Tanya looked directly up into his face and asked "You promise you'll come back?" It was one of those classic movie moments that happens in real life. Nathan had not realized how much she had come to rely on him and how much she was going miss him. Or how attached he had become to her and how much he was going to miss her. He was going to have to leave her for a while, there was nothing else he could do.

"I promise," he said wholeheartedly. He knew when he had said that he had never said anything more important to someone else in his life. And that he felt the need to keep this promise more than any other one he had made, no matter what happened.

After he said this he quickly gathered his things. He didn't have much so it didn't take more than a couple of minutes. Giving Tanya one last hug with both arms that lifted her off the ground, he sweetly kissed her forehead. Not knowing what to say to Neena, he embraced her as well so they were in a group hug. While they were embraced he said to Neena, "Thanks for everything." Eventually, he let go reluctantly.

"Don't worry, I will be careful," he told the both of them. Taking in one last look at the both of them he strode down the hall and out of the Labs.

"I promise I won't do anything stupid. I promise."

Tanya nodded, so Neena kept her comments to herslf. The girl obviously needed the reassurance.

"Thanks for everything. Don't worry, I will be careful."

"You'd better," she muttered under her breath as he walked away. Glancing down at Tanya, she sighed. "You'd better."

"Well," she reached out to ruffle the girl's hair. "What do you say we at least eat while we wait? Sound like a plan? You can even ride piggyback." She knelt down and held out her hand.

A barely audible sniffle, and barely seeable nod was her answer.

"All right then. Come on!" Neena grunted as Tanya climbed aboard, and she pushed back to her feet. "Watch your head up there, kiddo."

And the pair of them headed for the Canteen.

(Thread finished)