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Cass had been occupying herself with reading her fashion magazines when Murphy had returned to the room. They had been able to pass perhaps a single sentence each before the noise began to come from Tasha's room. It was tolerable at first but quickly became louder and louder and louder until there was screaming. Murphy had quickly exited at that point and she half wanted to go check on things before she realised that it was really none of her business. She decided to instead go for a shower while the opportunity arose and jumped into the streaming water while Murphy ran off to calm down the commotion.

The noise had stopped pretty quickly after he had left so he must have done well to calm the two lovebirds. Then she heard the new guy yelling for Murphy. That was odd but she didn't think too much of it. Cass began to hum to herself as she washed the layer of grime that had already started to form on her skin since that morning and sighed as she scrubbed away hoping that if she lost some layers of skin things would be much, much cooler than it currently stood. She stopped quite quickly into her shower when she heard the screeching of tires from outside. She was curious so stepping out of the shower, and being careful not to slip and fall again, Cass dried herself off and threw her shorts and crop top back on again before she began to comb her hair out and put it into a high ponytail. She sang silly little songs to herself as she fixed herself up and then moved to leave the room. She shut the door behind her and locked it up behind her.

She stopped and saw some files strewn across the hotel hallway and she tilted her head before bending down and looking at them. She saw the name, date and noticed something white in the head scan that Tasha had clearly had. She wasn't a doctor or anything but it didn't look good. She felt bad about looking at something so personal and put it back down on the floor where she had found it before making her way down the hall to hazard a peek at the room of the lovebirds and let Murphy know she was going to head downstairs. No one was around though and she put her hands on her hips and pouted a little then chastised herself and shrugged it off. She then (very carefully) went down the stairs into the lobby of the hotel. She made her way towards the dining hall to try and find someone to hang with since Murphy had ditched her. No use sitting or standing around bored when there were no doubt other interesting people to meet and hang with in this Best Exotic Hotel.

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Desh looked over towards Alc and furrowed his brows. "The first floor has always been ready, since before we opened." Shaking his head he stopped what he was doing as he heard the screaming. It wasn't hard to hear, Tasha had no glass on her windows, none of the top floors did. Standing up as he heard feet tearing down the stars he slowly dragged his hung over butt towards the sound, Claire following out of curiosity and barely caught a glimpse of her brothers rear end as he bolted barefooted out of the place with the other new check in running right after him carrying the feisty woman in his arms; she looked completely unconscious.

Desh ran over to the phone at the front desk and began dialing. Haan, Doktar Brinnai mein aa raha hai. Behosh. ab aur nahin. Dhanyavaad," he said before turning and looking over at Claire, a worried look on her face. "Your brother is taking her to the hospital. It has happened before. I'll explain in much greater detail later when I know more," he said before turning and heading back to the dining room. Claire looked over at the rest of the group just standing there totally ignoring the screams and what happened.

"Fucking glad I ain't be countin' on one of ya around here. Just standing around not paying attention and ignoring shit like that? You suck," she said before looking over at Cass and sighing. "So, I take it things got interesting upstairs?"

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Glancing back and forth between Desh and Claire as they spoke, he let out an amused chuckle as he only then seemed to realise the fact he'd been quite lucky with his room comparatively to the room of many of the others. Rolling his eyes at Claire's comment, he shrugged his shoulders as she seemed particularly excited about the possibility of having access to air conditioning. "I'm sure I don't actually have any choice in the matter." He chuckled, shaking his head as he watched her with an amused look on his face.

That look was shattered soon however as his attention was drawn to a scream from the level above them. He say as Desh and Claire began to make their way toward it and followed soon after, catching just a glimpse of the two men he didn't know carrying the unconscious woman out of the door. Given the actions of the others, Joel assumed that it wasn't anything shady as it could have appeared, and followed after them again as he listened to Desh, hearing what was going on. Joel found himself quite confused, not exactly understanding what was going on as he stuck with Claire, looking over to Cass as she came down and remaining relatively silent, simply waiting for any sort of explanation as to what had been going on.

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Cass grinned as she saw her bestie but could only shrug on what had actually went down fully. "Could say tha', but rightly I dinnae ken exactly what happened upstairs. 'Eh lovebirds had a fight or two, that was them screams, 'nd yer big bro decided t'try help out. Things quietend down some 'nd then I've no clue where they went. Last I 'eard was the new guy shoutin' for Murphy t'help 'im." She tucked the loose strands of hair behind her ear and looked around and noticed that hardly anyone had came running at the noise and commotion that had been happening. "Take it this must be a regular occurence if 'eh live-ins aren't even battin' an eyelid..." Her voice trailed off as she frowned slightly.

Her eyes then lit up as she fully realised that Claire was back. "OH BUT WAIT! I ken wha' happened 'fore all the screamin' and ditchin' of me went down! Look at this!" Cass pulled out her phone and shoved it in Claire's face. A video was playing where it showed the tail end of Murphy and Lincoln fighting. It kicked in right as Murphy was taking his shirt off of course. She glanced up and her eyes then found Joel and she tilted her head. "You look familiar. Do I know ye?"

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This was one thing he hadn't forgotten from his time with Tasha, the woman was a fucking devil behind the wheel but he never lost his comfort with it. He held on tightly and made sure to keep Tasha pinned down with him so that she didn't become hurt. He glanced to Murphy and was glad he had no fear of fast and dangerous right now. The man was to be respected, that was for sure. Lincoln just gripped on to anything he could and hoped they got to the hospital quickly. He wanted Tasha to be okay, he felt fucking awful.

Pulling up to the hospital Murphy pulled up to the Emergency room door and shut the jeep off. "Come on man," he said as he ran over to the door and flung it open, holding it there for Lincoln. Turning he let out an ear piercing whistle. "Mujhe doktar kee jaroorat hai! Do neeche Brinnai!" he barked in Hindi. A man turned his head quickly and grabbed a gurney, dropping the side for Lincoln.

Lincoln hurried in quickly after Murphy and ignored everything that was being said, focusing only on what was going to help Tasha. He had been learning Hindi and had a decent grasp on it even if he still had a whole ton to learn but not a single ounce of what Murphy said made any sense to him right now. He cradled Tasha close to himself and let out a breath of relief when a man came over with a gurney. He gently lowered Tasha onto the gurney and then hovered over her, not wanting to leave right then. Their past argument pretty much all but forgotten right now.

Murphy explained quickly what was going on to the man. "Right, okay, I've got her Murphy, you know the drill," the man said in English before looking over towards Lincoln. "Sir, please step back, I have to get her to the trauma room." Lincoln hesitated, not wanting to leave her side but he knew she'd kill him if he stuck around or caused a scene. He reluctantly let go of her and stepped back.

"Come on mate, let's go sit down," Murphy said, nodding towards the doctor and wrapping a light arm around Lincoln as he tried to lead him away from the gurney so they could take care of Tasha. Lincoln could barely even feel anything except the light pressure from Murphy's arm around him. He stumbled forward as if he were a child taking it's first steps and glanced back as the doctor took Tasha away. He almost whimpered in protest but took a deep breath instead and steadied his nerves.

Murphy nodded and watched as they wheeled Tasha off before leading Lincoln over to the waiting room and made sure he was seated before sitting down himself. "Thank you." It was all he could mumble out as he sat down and rested the back of his head against his upper back as he stared at the ceiling. How was this happening? How did this turn into such a storm of emotions and anger and blame? He knew why but he didn't want to admit it, now he just felt like a spiteful dick and it killed him knowing that he'd caused her so much pain.

Sighing to himself he rested back in his seat, he knew it would be awhile. "I would ask if ya want to go outside and beat the shit out of each other until they fix her up but I think we already did that dance today," he said, chuckling slightly and then holding his rib as it ached some. "Ya know, we should totally get checked outs while we're here. Wouldn't that shock the shit out of her when she wakes up? Cause dun know abouts you but I hate hospitals." It was obvious he was trying to lighten the mood, granted he didn't think it would actually work but he was trying.

An idle nod was the only noticeable response that Murphy received from Lincoln straight away. His hands wrung together over and over as he stared off at the ceiling, not wanting to look to where Tasha was taken away to for fear that he'd launch off and burst in to be by her side. He felt awful and had no idea how to make things right. He had come to Jaipur with all the intentions of professing his still burning love for Tasha and hoping to god that she wasn't with anyone else and then... well it had turned out like a god damn drama and Lincoln felt utterly exhausted.

His head slowly ebbed back into the present and he glanced over to Murphy, figuring it was only polite to not ignore him after he had just done so much for Tasha. "I've been in and out of them and then working in them for most of my life so they're pretty old hat for me." He wasn't trying to be flippant but it could easily come off that way considering he held absolutely no tone in his speech. It was obvious how drained he was.

Murphy nodded some what, he wasn't going to read anything into it. Between the fight they had been through together and then hearing the screaming coming from Tasha's room he figured the man felt even more worn out than he did. Resting his head back against the wall he fiddled with the cuticles of his nails. "Okay, this is starting to make a lot more sense. You met Tasha when she was working in San Fran didn't ya?" he said chuckling a bit as he started putting the pieces together from stories Tasha had told him but she always managed to never say a name with most any story she told.

Lincoln rolled his head over to rest on his shoulder as he looked towards Murphy and gave him a quizzical glance. "Yeah, why?"

"Just trying to put two and two together and get a better idea of who you are is all," Murphy admitted as he closed his eyes and took a few long breaths.

"I wouldn't waste much time on that, Padrick. Tasha made it pretty damn clear I've to get out of her life and I am seriously considering it. I've not even been here a day and already I've caused her serious pain. The exact opposite of what I wanted to do for her." He rose his hands and buried his face into his palms before balling them up and then rubbing his eyes with his knuckles. As his eyes refocused he looked at the scraped and battered mess that were his hands and then looked over to Murphy and snorted with laughter before catching himself and biting down on his tongue to stop himself from laughing.

Murphy opened his eyes slowly to see just what the man was laughing at, seeing him looking at his hands he chuckled and held his own ones up. Chuckling to himself he shook his head before dropping his hands and rubbing them along the length of his thighs. "Yeah, well Dr. Ice says a lot of shit when she is mad, granted I'll admit I never heard her that mad before," he said as he rubbed his hands together and sat up, looking at the ground as he wiggled his toes a bit. "But if ya be that man she can't ever shut the fuck up about, then ya be makin' a mistake to leave," he said before standing up and reaching in his pocket. Pulling out his smokes and putting one between his lips. Lincoln's face lit up slightly and he almost smiled.

"That is, if ya love her," he snickered as he strolled towards the door to have a quick puff while they waited.

"If those things don't kill him, I probably will..." Lincoln shook his head and muttered to himself as he watched Murphy walk away.

Leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees, Lincoln rocked back and forth before deciding to get up and go over to stand with Murphy. "Can I bump one of those? I think this day deserves a cigarette..."

Murphy nodded and held out the pack to him, letting him take one before lighting his own smoke and then holding the flame out for Lincoln to light his own. Lincoln took the light and inhaled before holding, savouring the relaxing release it brought. Taking a deep breath Murphy blew the smoke out and up as he rubbed his chin. "So, you want her or not?" he asked rather bluntly.

Lincoln let out the smoke and made a small ring as he exhaled, his feet scuffing at the ground as he considered how to answer the blunt question. Blatant answer it was. "Of course I do."

"Naw, ain't no of course about it mate. You considering leaving, it's a legit damn question," he said as he flicked the ash off the end of the cigarette. Resting his head back against the outside wall of the hospital he glanced over towards Lincoln and rose his brow. "So, you gonna stay or gonna tuck yer English tail between yer legs and haul ass back across the pond? Wouldn't be the first time Merry Ol' England couldn't handle American fire."

"I ain't sticking around for this shit." Lincoln threw the smoke on the ground and stormed back into the hospital and walked up to the counter of the nurse's station and thought about asking to see Tasha but realised that they'd still be helping her and she wouldn't forgive him for barging in. Shaking his head at himself he pushed off of the counter and began to pace back and forth, his hands running through his hair in agitation. What was it about this damn idiot that got Lincoln's blood boiling?

Murphy chuckled a bit as he flicked his cigarette to the side of the street. He wasn't about to go put it out since he didn't have any damn shoes on. Turning he walked back in and spotted Lincoln pacing about. Strolling over to him as if he didn't have a care in the world he smirked a bit, well as well as he could all busted up and whatnot. "Keep walking away like that and me gonna think ya don't like me."

"Well you're half right." Lincoln scowled at Murphy and clicked his tongue slightly as he stopped himself from properly growling from frustration.

Lincoln flopped down on the chair and leaned his head against the wall. "So just why are you trying to push my buttons at every damn opportunity? Did I somehow insult your mother in another life?"

Shoving his hands in his pockets he grinned towards the man as he rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet. "Naw man, you done that I'd just let her have at ya. Woman got a mean right hook," he chuckled as he looked around and then glanced back over towards Lincoln. "Earlier it be because you needed to let off steam. Now, it be because you be needing a clue man."

Stepping over to Lincoln he leaned in a bit as he eyed him and smirked. "You ain't got no clue do ya? See, I be putting it together." Tapping the side of his own head before turning around a bit and then facing Lincoln again. "Now I gots a face and a name. I seen the way she looks at ya. Now, she be getting that same look when she be telling me about certain things back in the states." Taking a deep breath he stepped back and fiddled with his hands in his pockets, pushing them out comically. "That woman been measuring every man up to a yardstick that is made from ya, and guess walk bloke? Ery' one of them come up short."

"You ever considered learning how to speak English? I hear it's pretty handy to know." Lincoln wasn't much for people getting up in his personal space, particularly when they had been on the wrong side of his fists in the same day. "Look, it's all fine and well you telling me this but that doesn't mean it's true. I don't know you from Adam and you're getting all up in my business since we met and honestly man, I don't know whether to smack you or thank you. Right now I'm leaning more towards the former."

Murphy smiled, a broad one despite how man cuts he had on his lips. Pulling his hands out of his front pockets he reached into his back and pulled out his phone. Taking a moment he starts thumbing through various shit until he found what he was looking for. Turning the phone around he handed it towards Lincoln. "Hit play man," he said as his brows rose and he motioned for him to take the phone. Lincoln hesitantly took the phone and hit play on the screen, watching the moving pictures and listening carefully to the sound.

The video started and it showed some old guests that had moved out of the hotel already, there were some familiar faces though; Desh, Tasha, Alc. They were all in the dining room, some eating some not. Tasha was at a table alone and didn't notice Murphy as he slowly moved over to her. From the looks of the books strewn out everywhere it looked like she had been studying but she wasn't right then. One hand was fiddling with a key that hung around her neck and she was just sitting there looking at nothing. Murphy's voice piped in on the video. "So lass, what that key be all about?" he asked her. She brushed him off but he kept being Murphy until she snapped.

Lincoln glanced at Murphy and snorted. "I see you're as annoying now as you were then."

Standing up Tasha shoved her chair back until it fell over and glared at Murphy. "Want to know? Fine! It's just a reminder of the love of my life is all you fuck tard!" she bellowed before she stormed off. Murphy panned the camera over to himself and gave a "Oh ho ho ho!" look. "The mystery of Doc Glacier deepens."

"She kept it..." His voice trailed off as he handed the phone back to Murphy and sighed.

"Kept it? Fuck man, she never takes the damn thing off. It broke like a month ago. The jeweler had it three days, you would have thought he was holding the baby Jesus hostage the way she was pacing around waiting to get it back," Murphy chuckled as he took his phone back and sat down.

"Okay, point made. I'll stay. Just don't know that she'll ever want to talk to me again before she kills me for being a dick." He ducked down and hung his head between his legs as the nausea threatened to make him spew his guts up from worry. His forearms rested across his knees and his hands dangled at the sides of his face as he sat bent over himself as he waited for some news of Tasha and for Murphy's no doubt general annoying quips.

"Ahh, well she is a doctor. So sure, she might kill ya, but she'll bring ya back," he said before clearing his throat and doing the worst Tasha impression ever. "No Murphy, you just don't get it! Those eyes! They could melt me every time!" he said in a high pitched voice as he pressed his hand to his chest all girly like.

Lincoln looked up at Murphy with an incredulous look on his face and then burst out laughing, you know that kind of laugh that comes from deep in the pit of your stomach? Yeah that. "Oh dear lord, careful now Padrick, don't want me to go breaking Tasha's heart again when I fall for your womanly charms..." He then fell over laughing again, slipping right off his chair and landing with a thud on his backside on the floor as he rolled around still. His arms wrapped around his midriff and he held himself as he tried to steady his breathing.

Murphy laughed, wholeheartedly; maybe not so much at how Lincoln reacted to his words but Lincoln's words themselves. Looking at the man he made a puckering face and a few kissy sounds before the sound of someone clearing their throat came up from behind them. Murphy looked to see it was the doctor that he had handed Tasha off to when she arrived. Taking a breath he slowly stood up and wrapped his arms around himself. The man glanced towards Lincoln and shrugged before looking back at Murphy.

"She's stable," he said out right first and Murphy let out a breath of relief as his hands came up and pushed back the hair from his face, keeping them there at the top of his head as he waited for more details. "Her sugar levels dropped dangerously low. She went into shock but she's okay. Dehydrated and an empty stomach; which didn't help. But we should be able to release her once the next IV finishes, thing is I want her to take tonight and tomorrow off work. She needs rest, can you get her back to the hotel and keep her in bed?" he asked and Murphy chuckled before throwing a thumb towards Lincoln.

"Naw mate, I can't but he will," he said before slowly looking over at Lincoln and his face got serious. "Right?"

Lincoln blanched as Murphy turned on him and gulped the dryness down his throat. "I... y-yes. Yes. Unless she stabs me at which point it's on you." Lincoln smirked then and scratched the back of his head before rubbing his neck as he thought about the tongue lashing that he was going to get from Tasha when she saw him detaining her in her own bed in her own room in a place where she had previously kicked him out of... This was going to be eventful. Lincoln rubbed the beard on his face and glanced down at the floor. Could he really do this?

"No control over what Dr. Brinne does to you, you take your own life into your hands with her," the doctor said in his thick native accent. Murphy chuckled a bit as he covered his mouth. "Come with me," he said motioning to the two of them. Murphy held his hands up, pulling a Tasha and turning on his heals. He wasn't going to be anywhere near this shit storm that was brewing. Lincoln glanced over to Murphy and rolled his eyes before giving him a very half-heartened wave off.

"She's all yours mate. Gonna grab a bite to eat and be back at the jeep in a hour," he said as he started to stroll towards the cafeteria laughing his proverbial ass off. "I'll get you at the jeep then. Try not to start another fight before we leave..." The doctor shook his head a bit and motioned for Lincoln to follow him. He took him back through the ER and towards a private room, pushing the door open he nodded a bit before walking off. In the room Tasha was laying in bed on her side, curled up with her eyes closed. Her hand was tucked under her chin and it looked as if she was clutching the key she kept around her neck in her palm. Her hand had the IV's coming from it, thin pieces of tape keeping it in place; she looked worn but much better than she had when they brought her in.

Lincoln slowly entered the room and let the door close quietly behind him. He didn't want to walk over unannounced so he quietly cleared his throat then licked his lips. "Uh, hi." Smooth.

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Location: Hotel
Interacting with: Claire@Lady Amalthea Amber @SouffleGirl123, Joel@Pundii, Cass@Charnobylisk

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"Hmmm?" Alcander looked over to see Claire and Cass reunite. He followed Joel and Claire, looking back at Amber as he led himself away with a shrug. He suddenly came to a realization that something was wrong initially when Claire chided them, but Cass explaining it had him understanding the situation more. That sucked.

He was going to wait for her to reach a stopping point as they were speaking so he could say hi and then maybe work around to mention the birthday thing. It wasn't to be just yet, he supposed. She focused on Joel first, so he closed his mouth and looked to the new guy. He liked Joel, he realized. He was a cool dude in Alc's book.

Interacting with: Desh and Claire @Lady Amalthea, Joel @Pundii and Alec @POOHEAD189

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Amber was attempting to be part of the conversation, or at least she really was, these people seemed like they'd be a bunch of fun. They'd keep things interesting at least. The problem was the weariness of jet lag lulling her to sleep, she never expected it to be so prominent in a short journey but it resulted in this weary feeling eventually. Or perhaps it was her lack of sleep the previous night. Long nights and no booze left a very tired body. She looked around the room, turning to her fellow hotel-stayers as they talked and picking at the food still on the table. She gave a yawn as all talking turned to white noise.

She swore she wasn't going to go as far to fall asleep! Unfortunately she did at that table, only lightly so when the scream came she jutted awake sitting straight as a "GAH," escaped her lips. Yet, whether of the tiredness that overtook her or lack of knowledge if the matter leading her not to want to intrude Amber stayed planted in her seat, blinking rapudly at the table before her in an attempt to wake up

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Claire rolled her eyes a bit as NO ONE had followed her and Desh to check things out. Seemed it wasn't exactly a common thing so it SHOULD have raised an alarm with even the regulars there if the owner was making a mad dash to call the hospital. Already back in the dining room and NO having moved irked her a lot. She didn't even know this woman and she was raised in a home where screaming and fists were as common as hugs and kisses but it still rubbed her the wrong way. (Yes, anyone that said they followed, their post is ignored because of the last posts I have made and the ooc notes I left. I will continue to ignore all posts that ignore others posts or instructions left cause I am seriously tired of having to go back to correct people.)

Desh sat down slowly in his chair and rubbed his face a little before glancing back over to Claire who had this look of I'm waiting!. He knew Tasha wasn't one to speak about things but he also knew that if she had to be the one to explain later she would be even more pissed; that was the last thing he wanted to deal with. "Your brother has taken Dr. Brinne to the hospital. Long story short she is a cancer survivor. This is part of the after-effects of the Chemo and Radiation," he said as he leaned back in his seat.

"Is she going to be okay?" Claire asked Desh before looking over to Joel.

"I hope so," was all he would say more.

Claire sighed, she wanted to call her brother and see what was going on but she would just wait and see. Looking over as Cass whipped out the video she took a look and her eyes widened. "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph...." she said as she watched the end of the fight and began to laugh. "Surprised that those two weren't rushed to the ER," she laughed as she covered her mouth before realizing that she hadn't introduced Cass and Joel yet. "Oh Cass, sorry girl! This be me best man Joel, the one I met in Paris. Joel, this be me best girl Cass. Look out she has a bigger temper than me," she said introducing the two.

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Location: Hotel
Interacting with: Claire@Lady Amalthea Amber @SouffleGirl123, Joel@Pundii, Cass@Charnobylisk

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Alcander stood just behind Joel, letting the conversation move naturally while they spoke. He blinked and let out a sigh when he heard Tas was a Cancer survivor. Had he known that? He didn't think he had heard that before, though he wasn't particularly sure why she would ever bring it up. Why would that make her scream, like she had...apparently. He must have been so lost in thought. He turned around to see what Amber thought, but she seemed in her own little world.

He shrugged. He was surprised that Claire was so concerned about someone she had not known for any length of time, but that wasn't a bad thing. It was never a bad thing to be caring, he told himself. He didn't bother watching the video, already having half guessed the fighting that ensued. He smiled when Claire introduced Cass. He wasn't one for a lot of friends, but he had a few close ones and it was endearing seeing others having the same in their lives.

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As Cass began to speak, Joel raised an eyebrow at first, surprised and confused by her speaking in a similar way to how he had been confused by Amber. He made the wild guess that the girl was also Scottish, and made a mental note to practice understanding the two of them closely if he was ever going to go to Scotland. As it was, he figured he'd barely understand a word, he struggled to follow even now. Taking a step or two closer, he peered over Claire's shoulder to watch the video, the scene was pretty familiar to him, he and his own mates tended to fight in a similar way, but they usually did it because they were bored, he figured this wasn't a case of boredom.

Hearing Cass speak somewhat more clearly, he turned his gaze to her as she spoke toward him, offering a half-smile. He was about to answer when he heard Desh and Claire speaking, looking over to the two of them as he overheard the explanation, so she was a cancer survivor. He hoped that the woman would be okay, though he not actually met her yet. He turned back to Cass just as Claire began to introduce the two, offering her a smile as he nodded, holding his hand out toward Cass. "Nice to meet you, Cass." He chuckled at Claire's words, he wasn't remotely surprised, you had to be a special kind of person to be Claire's 'best man'or 'best girl'.

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"Daaamn. Poor lass, cannae imagine wha' that'd be like... Fuck. Good job yer bro was 'ere t'help her." Cass's face showed more sympathy than it had before and she slowly put her phone away after the video had done playing. She nodded to Claire and smirked a little, more subdued than before. "The new guy is as stubborn as yer bro. Pair o' 'em decided tha' Tasha would patch 'em up. Then everythin' went t'shit after tha'."

Cass rolled her eyes some and shrugged her shoulders before looking to Claire as she began to introduce Joel in answer to her question towards him. "Aaaah! So tha's why I recognise ye, 'em pics from Paris are mental!" She chuckled and took Joel's outstretched hand and smiled brightly. "Lovely t'meet 'cha." Cass then looked to Claire and nodded towards Joel and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively before bursting out laughing and slapping her thigh.

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Tasha's eyes slowly opened and her lips thinned a bit as she saw Lincoln standing there. She wasn't expecting to see him, she figured Murphy would be the one coming to check on her and take her home. She hadn't even been aware that Lincoln was at the hospital. She tried to say something but she couldn't manage to. Her expression started to change; her lips pouting as the muscles in her face tightened. It was obvious she was trying not to start crying as she looked at him, her eyes looking down as her hand let go of the key and she pressed her palm against her eyes as she was attempting to fight it back.

He was unsure what to do, his instincts wanted to run forward and hold her, to stroke her hair and tell her it was all going to be okay but he also knew that she didn't want him there and he wanted to leave to give her exactly what she wanted. But he'd just told Murphy he would take care of her and he couldn't take another beating from the man again just yet. Lincoln walked forward briskly and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, hugging her to him as tightly as he could dare to without hurting her. "It's okay, I'm sorry, for everything I said that upset you. I'm sorry. Do you want me to get Murphy?" He would give her the choice on whether he was to stick around or not. He wasn't going to force her to deal with him if she really didn't want to right now.

Turning slightly she buried her face against his chest, curling around him slightly in the bed as her hand let go of the key and reached out; fingers curling against his shirt as she shook her head. "I don't want Murphy," she whispered in a shaky voice as she clung to him. She knew what she wanted right then, she wanted him, but she still felt it was best if he just packed up and let; it would save him a lot of pain in the long run. Right then though, she felt vulnerable and Tasha never made any rational decisions when she was like that.

Lincoln wrapped his arms around her and rested his cheek against the top of her head as he held her. He knew she hadn't changed her mind but for now he'd give her what she wanted. That's all that he wanted to do, to give her exactly what she wanted. He travelled here to tell her how he felt and see if they had a chance. He had told her everything and she had told him everything and she wanted him to leave. He had his answer. It would take some time to get himself a flight back home so in the meantime he'd do what he could to help her. Doesn't matter what Murphy said, if Tasha really didn't want him around then nothing could change her mind except for herself.

She had nearly forgotten how comforted she felt in his arms, letting out a slow breath as she closed her eyes and found herself calming down. Her other arm slipping around him as she pulled herself closer. She honestly never thought she would be enveloped in his embrace again and right then she found herself savoring it. Tilting her head back she slowly looked up at him, thoughts running through her mind. "Why now? Why'd you come find me now?"

"I came back from sabbatical and Dr. Joshi told me that you had returned to the hospital in my absence which took me by surprise. Then I ran into Marco and caught up with him and he gave me something." Lincoln reached into his trouser pocket and pulled out his wallet. He flipped open the coin flap and showed the contents to Tasha. The ring that she had left him was there. "I took it off on the plane because my fingers felt swollen, I didn't want it to have to be cut off." He lifted the ring out of his wallet and slipped it onto his left ring finger. "I hope you don't mind but it's kind of my good luck charm aaand it doesn't fit on any other finger." He let out a light chuckle before holding her tightly again.

Tasha looked down, her eyes widening slightly as she saw the ring that she had left him. Her bottom lip curled in as she bit down on it with her teeth. Sitting up slightly she reached out and ran her finger over the ring. "No, it wouldn't. I bought it for you the day after you proposed, it was meant to be your wedding band..." she admitted quietly as her hand cupped his, her thumb running over the platinum setting. "I didn't think anyone else should have it," she squeaked out as she always did when she was nervous as her eyes cast upwards towards his.

"So exactly why I left you with yours even if I did hide the true reason behind some nasty words..." Lincoln glanced down and gave a sorrowful smile towards Tasha and sighed as he looked at the ring. So it was supposed to be his wedding band. "I am so sorry for all the hurt that I've caused you." His right hand rose up and tucked some hair behind her ear and his eyes bore into hers. He wanted to kiss her but knew she wouldn't take kindly to it. Instead he raised his left hand, with hers cupped around it, and kissed the back of her hand. "Thank you for my ring. It's almost as beautiful as you."

Tasha swallowed hard as she sat there, those eyes of him breaking through her defenses like they always did. It was why she refused to look at him in the eyes the night everything that ended, she knew if she had she would have faltered; that she wouldn't have been able to walk away. She was barely able to and it crushed her that evening when she got to the airport. She had ended up locking herself in the lavatory during the short flight crying her eyes out. She felt her breath catch as he tucked her hair back and kiss her hand. She looked around for a moment, trying to compose herself but only found her eyes going back to his. "I'd never leave you over nothing, you are...," she started to say and closed her eyes, about to correct herself but in the end just continued as she looked back to him, "moya zhizn'."

He sucked his cheeks in some and felt his jaw tightening as he tried to fight the urge but he couldn't help himself now, she was so close, they weren't fighting, she wasn't screaming at him to get away... Lincoln cupped her face with his hands and lowered himself towards her. His lips found hers and he kissed her for as long as she would allow. He would regret either doing this or not doing it so as he saw it he was taking a 50/50 chance here.

Tasha felt her body quivering as he cupped her face and pulled closer to her, she knew this feeling. The way her heart fluttered, her breath went ragged; the way her eyes drifted close without thinking as a supple sigh escaped her lips when his own pressed a kiss to them. It was all coming back to her, everything he always made her feel. Her hand slipped up his chest, caressing the line of his jaw as her lips pulsed against his, savoring the feel and the taste of him. She was lost in the moment and nothing in her wanted to pull away right then. Her lips never leaving his even as she whispered into the kiss, "ya tebya lyublyu."

The words were familiar and warm but no matter how long it had been, Lincoln still knew the translation of those words. He held onto her tighter and scooped her up from the bed onto his lap as he made the kiss deeper. He'd respond to her words once he was done reacquainting himself with her taste, smell and the feel of her body against his own. His mind wandered to happier times where they were together and he felt his stomach fluttering and then he stopped and laughed, pulling away from the kiss and leaning his forehead against hers as he breathed heavily and chuckled. "I'm sorry it's just... I fucking hate your friend Murphy." He laughed some more before showering her face with light little kisses as he held her close.

It took a moment for Tasha to come out of the daze of his lips leaving hers, a small whimper escaping before her eyes opened and she looked up at him. Another moment passed before the words registered. That wasn't exactly what she had been expecting to hear. He was talking about Murphy? After... Right, she understood. Nodding slightly she forced a small chuckle out that was anything but heartfelt as she took a breath and reached up, pushing her hair out of her face. "Murphy is a pain in the ass but he's a good guy," she said slipping back onto the bed. She wasn't exactly sure what to say now.

A moment ago she was so wrapped up in him had he carried her off to exchange vows right then she would have gone without question. Now she was back in reality and the cold feel of the IV liquids going into her veins reminded her how sick she was and the promise she had made to herself. She had never been happier to see Dr. Kumar than when he opened the door to check on her. Turning slightly she crossed her arms over her chest, it was obvious she was closing herself off again. "Can I get the fuck out of here? I have shift tonight."

Lincoln noticed her wrapping in on herself and sighed a little. He shouldn't have stopped the moment but he couldn't keep from laughing at the situation for a moment. Alleviating the stress of it all for a second. Then Tasha's last words hit him and he gulped. "About that... You've been given leave for the next couple of days." Lincoln stood up from the bed and straightened himself out before stepping slightly away from the bed, turning to look at Tasha once again. "Doctor's orders, not mine. Honest." He held his hands up in surrender before she could react fully.

Tasha's eyes narrowed and she ripped the IV out of her hand before flinging the sheets back and getting out of bed. "Fine, I could use some time off," she said with venom in her voice. "Been planning on a trip to the north for a while now. I can make a couple day excursion of it and get the fuck out of town."

"Dr. Brinne you will do no such thing. You need bed rest, you need to be kept in a cool room and get lots of rest and fluids. Bed rest," Dr. Kumar interjected and Tasha whipped her head around as her eyes narrowed to the point of slits.

"And just who in the fuck is supposed to be waiting on my ass hand and foot for the next two days?" she spat, Dr. Kumar's eyes went over to Lincoln as he nodded in the mans direction. "Awww hell naw!"

Lincoln flinched from her reaction and his face fell completely. Even if he had been expecting it, it stung to know it was what she thought. "I'm not going to bother you, honestly. I'm just going to make sure you're okay since I am responsible for this and I am going to be around until I can get a flight back out to the States. It's only two days, Natasha. Just please let me help?" His voice trailed off and was quite meek after he said her full name. He was trying to become as formal as possible now, to stop her from doing something else to hurt herself.

"Yeah, you'll be too fucking busy getting your shit together to leave to be under foot right Roberts?" she snapped at him before she started to get dizzy and collapsed against the side of the bed. Dr. Kumar groaned as he just let her fall, knowing better than to get in her way right then.

"Natasha, you must stay calm and stay in a cool place. Your body can't take this. I have already pushed back your chemo treatments that were supposed to start tomorrow for a week. You have to be strong if we..." he started before he was hit in the face with a pillow that suddenly came flying out Tasha's hand.

"Cancel them, I am fucking done with this shit!" she hissed before storming out of the door of her room and fighting the rising whirl in her head.

"TASHA!" Not again, he wasn't letting this happen again. Lincoln charged out after her and grabbed her from behind, lifting her up and carrying her in a fireman's lift. He didn't want to make her strain herself but he wasn't letting her make herself worse either. "Put me down you jackass!" she hollered as she smacked his back wit her fists, her feet kicking in the air. He carried her straight into the hospital room and plopped her down into the bed. "You are going to stay down, get better and let me take care of you. You are sick and I damn well want you to get better."

He folded his arms across his chest and stared her down. "Don't give me that look. It didn't work then, it sure as hell won't work now!" Her comments made him think that she didn't want him to leave but then she had outright said she wanted him to leave. It was all very confusing and at this point, Lincoln was at his limit. "You have to decide two things. Right now. Do you want to get better? Do you want me to leave? Think hard on what you want and whatever decision you make I will follow."

"Yes! I mean no! I mean, fuck!" she yelled as she flopped back on the bed and covered her face heaving for breath as she tried not to black out. "I'm tired of fucking fighting this shit! I'm tired of the pain, all of it. I just want it over!" she said through ragged breaths as she curled up on her side and into a ball. Dr. Kumar made a quick exit, figuring it was better to speak to her later. Closing the door gently he scurried off as Tasha kept spouting off. "You need to go, to get out. Never look back, fucking forget about me. I need to forget about you. I need this over. I want to get better. I want you here. I never wanted to leave. I just want this over. It's not over. I just want it over," she continued. She was torn. She didn't want him seeing her like this, that was why she needed him to go but she didn't want him to. She never wanted that.

Lincoln wasn't sure how to react, his mind was overwhelmed and his body was physically aching in more ways than he could ever have imagined. He walked forward and knelt down beside the bed his hands resting on her hip as she lay curled up. "I guess that settles it. I'm not going anywhere and you're going to get better. Now, you need to stop fighting right now and let me take you out to your jeep and get you back to the hotel and into a cool room with plenty of bed rest." He lightly let his thumb stroke across her hip as he rested his cheek against the mattress of the bed, his eyes watching the area where her face might pop out if she would just stop curling up into a ball.

Slowly she tilted her head back and a look was on her features that Lincoln would have never seen before; fear. Her guard was down right then, that glacier she kept built up one way or another in varying degrees finally cracked. She was terrified right then. Tasha wasn't able to say anything at first, simply reaching out and pulling herself over to him with a nervous nod of her head. Tucking her head beneath his chin she pulled herself closer. "No wheel chair this time," she croaked out to him.

"Who needs a wheelchair anyway? Certainly not you." His voice was soft, he was worried that anything he said could break her more than she already seemed to be and he wasn't risking that. He scooped her up into his arms and shifted her arms around his neck as he stood upright. He held her close to him, being firm but gentle with his grip, and made his way out of the room. He requested the assistance of her lithe little hand to grab the handle of the door so that he could carry her out to the jeep.

Slipping her arms around his neck her body curled up in his arms. Reaching for the door she opened it before quickly wrapping her arm back around him. Murphy looked up from his spot leaning against the jeep and he cocked a brow when he saw Tasha keeping her face down and looking so helpless in Lincoln's arms. He didn't say anything, just rushing over and opening the door to the jeep for the man carrying his friend.

Lincoln gave Murphy a single look of gratitude as he opened the door. He gave a nod and looked at the two seater jeep and chewed on his lip a little before deciding to do as they had done on the way to the hospital. He climbed in and settled Tasha in his lap before patting her hair down some and cradling her closer. He was worried she would get overheated but figured that the faster they got to the hotel then the faster he could get her cooled off completely and resting.

Murphy hopped in quickly and turned the car on, turning the AC on full blast and pointing all the vents towards her. He had been through this once before with Tasha when she first moved to India, he knew the drill.

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Claire nodded some what. She knew why Murphy was helping the girl now. Claire and Murphy had lost their aunt to cancer five years back. They were both close to the woman and had been the two main people to take care of her towards the end. Murphy had had a soft spot for ill people since then, well he had a soft spot for everyone, but if he knew someone was hurting he usually went above and beyond. It tended to tick some people off, him sticking his nose in where it didn't belong but in the end he was just a big lad with a big heart. It was one of the things that Claire adored about her big brother.

Desh sighed as he rubbed his temples. "Just don't mention it to Natasha please. The woman is a veritable volcano and it is very private. I only knew because the hospital called once to tell her her meds were ready. Murphy because they had been fighting when she got sick last time. She knew I opened my... how does she say? Pie hole? Yeah, she would bury me six feet under," Desh said as he groaned. He had to tell them something, he couldn't lie, wasn't in his nature. Give the truth scope yes, flat out lie no. And plus with his hang over his words came out to tell them what was wrong with Tasha before his brain could even think to tell him to keep his trap shut.

Claire glanced over and nodded. "I didn't hear shit, did you hear shit Joel? Did you hear shit Cass? Cause I know I didn't hear a damn thing. Anyone else hear anything?" she said before shrugging and playing it off like she had in fact hadn't heard a damn thing about what Desh had said about what's new name.

Interacting with: Alec @POOHEAD189

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Cancer was a terrible thing. Amber hadn't been overly involved in the conversation but with the group talking closeby she could not hear anything, right. Not that she had lost anyone seriously close to the disease, not as far as she could remember at least, but she could help but feel sympathetic for the woman she would inevitably meet soon enough. She said a silent prayer for the woman before looking at the group, Claire introducing her friends to one another. Amber, admittedly, felt like an outsider in the hotel. Everyone here seemed to know, well, someone. Amber was another story.

Amber's gaze then came to Alc, the good-looking guy. Not that Amber would she thought so, not so easily at least. He seemed to hover over the others at a slight distance, not quite included in the meet-and-greet. She slipped out of her seat, stretching slightly in the process to wake her body up from its two minute doze, and parked herself next to the almost-birthday-boy. "Looks lik' we've been left out o' this catch up, ay pal?" she whispers to him jokingly, hoping the others would hear and misplace her joke for bitterness. "Ay ne'er asked, whit brings ye 'ere?"

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Location: Hotel
Interacting with: Claire@Lady Amalthea Amber @SouffleGirl123, Joel@Pundii, Cass@Charnobylisk

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Alcander raised his hand a bit and nodded at Claire's question on if any of them heard anything, but his following grin showed it was just a joke. He shook his head and winked. The young Grecian was feeling much more at home around these folks now, it seemed. He might start treating them like he would treat his old friends back in Tampa. He doubted any of these girls were used to him teasing.

Truthfully, he was pretty good at it. He was only bad at not differentiating between teasing and brawling. He could mess with someone all day, and sometimes someone would think he was charming, and other times they'd think him a jerk. He remembered one instance where he said something witty as he walk walking with his friends, and a girl heard him and she apparently had thought him funny enough to check out. Unfortunately (for her), he didn't know her and wasn't about to be that way around just anyone.

However, he could never actually tease someone the way Murphy would. He wouldn't see a fight or a bunch of milk poured on someone's head, or anything Murphy usually did as teasing. If he ever did that to someone, he wasn't expecting laughs. He was expecting to defend himself at that point. He never understood how someone could make that into something light hearted. He guess he just didn't know when too much was too much, and decided to never delve into anything physical unless he really meant it.

He turned to regard Amber when she decided to step next to him and talk to him jokingly. He smiled to her, and then hesitated before answering her question. "Just decided to see the world before I grab a career. What about you?" he asked her, casually shifting it back to her.

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Desh seemed relived that people were agreeing to keep quiet. The last thing he wanted was for when Tasha got back to beat the shit out of him as well. Claire glanced over towards Cass as she excused herself and headed back up to their room, saying something about picking up the mess from having to get Murphy cleaned up from the fight. Claire nodded and went to grab something to drink since the heat was quickly rising in the city and the openness of the dining room next to the courtyard let the heat flow right in. Granted it could have been a lot worse being closed away. She just really missed the cold Boston winters right then.

Flopping down in a chair she glanced up at Joel and stuck her tongue out playfully at him. She hadn't expected to see her friend there when she showed up but she was glad he was there. She had wanted to sit and visit with Murphy some but with everything going on she doubted the two of them would really get a lot of time to talk and catch up. He was off doing what he normally did, helping people. She figured when he got back, no matter how he was feeling he would end up still taking people out to see the city like he had mentioned he did for new comers in one of his emails.

Leaning back in her seat she downed the cold drink, it wasn't exactly lemonade but some type of slightly sour fruit drink that reminded her of lemonade. It could have been goat piss though truthfully for all she cared right then. It was hot outside and the drink was ice cold. Chomping on some ice she picked a piece from her glass and flung it at Joel, cracking him in the back of the head with it and then laughing as she watched it tumble right into the back of his shirt. Oh she would have hell to pay for this one.

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Joel completely over-looked the wiggling eyebrows and glances between himself and Claire that Cass gave, turning toward his Irish friend as she and Desh spoke up once more. He shrugged his shoulders idly, "Nicht verstehen Englisch." He commented with an amused smirk. He doubted anyone around would actually understand what he was saying, but he figured the amused look on his face would be getting the message across that he was playing along. He didn't figure it was likely he'd be in a position to mention it anyway, he didn't know the woman at all, and even if he did meet her, it wasn't exactly first conversation material.

Turning back toward Cass as she excused herself, Joel smiled over at her and gave her a nod, looking over to Alc and Amber to see the two of them were getting along reasonably well. As Claire moved off, Joel chuckled as he saw her sticking her tongue out toward him. Moving off, he went to grab a drink of his own, though he paused as he felt the piece of ice hit his head and quickly run down his shirt. Letting out a quiet groan, he arched his back somewhat as it ran down his back, while it was refreshing, it was also bloody cold, and he quickly let it fall out the bottom of his shirt.

Glaring back over at her, he reached down and got himself a glass of ice water, moving over to her with a meaningful smirk as he stopped before her, reaching out before turning over the glass, letting the water and ice pour down onto the woman.

Interacting with: Each other
A collab between @POOHEAD189

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She smiled at his reply, noting the hesitance. Was there a reason behind that hesitance? Or was that the thought of her own reasons coming up just playing with her? ”Travelling’s always good, ‘tis nice t’ see th’ world, aye?’ she pursed her lips ever-so-slightly as she tried to think of a way to answer. Girl running away from her family wouldn’t really lead to a spectacular first impression. ”Travellin’,” she replies, ”An’ my job, when Ah’ve settled in, that is.” She gives him a smile, ”Ye been ‘ere long?’

Al's eyes narrowed the tiniest bit at her hesitation, but his closed mouth remained. He couldn't tell what she was thinking, but she did have to think on it a bit. It amused him. "A little over a month. Got here in the middle of July. It's about as hot here as my home in the states though. I guess you're not used to the heat?"

"Definitely not," Amber replies, running a hand through her brown hair. "Ah've been 'ere once. Came for a uni trip. 'Twas Winter but it felt a Summer in Scoland. Ah'm still tryin' to decide if 'tis t' hot 'ere or t' cold in Scotland," she chuckles slightly before continuing on, "Ye from th' States, aye? Whereabouts?"

"Florida." he told her. "Tampa. It's a city near the center of Florida." He lost himself in thought for a moment. "Are..." he began, not entirely sure how to ask. "Do you know these girls over there?" he asked Amber. He subtly pointed to Cass and Claire. He needed to know. How did all these girls from Scotland (or areas near) get here? Coincidence?

Amber chuckled a response, "Not unless ye count a small meetin' a bit earlier. Not if ye mean before coming 'ere at least. Didn' expect t' find other Scots 'ere to be truthful. Less of you 'Mericans you'd think there'd be with the amount of Scots. Why do ye ask, did they all come together?"

"No reason." he said. "It just seemed like a big coincidence. I know there's only about 5 million people in Scotland or so. That's like, half the size of Florida. I just wouldn't have been surprised if you were Cass' younger sister maybe." He glanced at the two girls over there talking. Then again, either would be plausible. But she said no, so it's no. He knew Claire had never mentioned a younger sister, and Al hadn't talked to Cass much other than helping out a bit at the bar the other night with those idiots.

[color=87CEA]"Ye know yer geography, ah will give ye that. Ah'm not muckle o' a geography peson beyond where paintings 'n' museums are 'n' where artists lived,"[/color] she replies. "Ah do know 'Merica's much bigger than Scotland." she shrugs. "Wha' do ye do for a livin'? Or will when ye finish travelling at least?"

"I don't know." he said honestly. "Not a teacher. Maybe write books for nonfiction subjects. I'm studying philosophy and classics at the moment. Nearly done, but I'm taking awhile off before I finish and go on an adventure. India was the best place to go when I was thinking of where to travel." Amber seemed quite inquisitive, and adorable in a little sister kind of way. It was fun talking to her.

"Philosophy, aye? That mus' be interestin'! India's a nice place t' visit in my experience," she replies, giving him another smile. She could tell they'd be fast friends, he was interesting to say something and seemed a genuinely good person.

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Claire glanced over towards Amber and Alc as they spoke and she grinned, it was good that people were settling down. Resting back in her chair she wondered when her brother would be back. She had a few things she wanted to speak to him about. One she wanted to know about the girl he had taken to the hospital. She was curious, Claire had a very bad habit sticking her nose into things. Not in a gossipy way but because she was just interested in everything that affected her brothers live, especially now that they weren't around each other constantly. She missed him. Sure, he had a twin but her and Murphy were the closest pair out of all the siblings and having him in India over the last months made her miss him.

Then of course there was her fight. She hadn't exactly planned on having a bout when she came to India. Her manager had mentioned it could happen but she doubted her opponent would take up the offer. It was a bit unorthodox even for the MMA circuit. India didn't have a lot of female fighters but she had been talking she wanted her name out more in Asia. Her manager Sergio had suggested that since there were not many and not one on her level she make it a co-ed thing. She had laughed in his face, not maliciously but the idea was just so out there. She had said sure, why not, laughing as she did. She hadn't been totally serious. She just figured it wouldn't come through. That was until the call.

"Claire.... Claire..... CLAIRE!" Desh tried to warn the Irish woman as he saw Joel looking at her with the same gleam Tasha got in her eyes before she would dump food on Murphy.

Off in lala land, Claire wasn't even paying attention to what was going on around her and then it happened. She felt the cold wet gush of water rushing over her. She froze, gasping with her mouth wide open as the rivulets of liquid ran down her. Her back stiffed as her hands came up. Slowly she let out a breath and turned gradually to look at who just assaulted her senses. She knew who it was even before her eyes fell on his bald head and his smirk. "It's on," she said as she with complete purpose started to push her chair back from the table.

"If I were you my good sir I would take heed to my advice right now," Desh said trying not to laugh. "Run."

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Joel chuckled long and heartily as he poured his drink over Claire's head, he knew deep down it was a terrible idea, it would lead to a chase and quite possibly a fight that had the potential to make one hell of a mess, while likely spilling as little blood as possible. Hearing her words only set it off, another laugh escaping Joel as he turned his gaze to Desh. He certainly didn't need to be told twice as he was already sprinting off and out of the Dining Hall, realizing for a moment he had no idea where exactly to go, having certainly not had enough time to get to know the layout of the place.

He settled on the one room he actually knew which wasn't one currently occupied by the Irish woman now out for blood, sprinting down the hallway to his own room as he opened the door and moved inside, closing the door behind him as he stifled his laughter, hiding behind the door and blocking it with his body as he half expected her to start banging any moment later, that was if she didn't just come through the window - which was also a possibility, she never really gave up on getting revenge on him for things like this.

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Location: Hotel
Interacting with: Claire@Lady Amalthea Amber @SouffleGirl123, Joel@Pundii, Cass@Charnobylisk

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Alcander had enjoyed chatting with Amber. He was hoping he could do the same with others sooner than later, but Amber had a 'little sister' vibe to her he thought made it easier to open up to her. That and she seemed to be naturally curious on a lot of things. He nodded at her words, deciding to tell her more about the last few years of his life. After all, India was not the first time he had been abroad. He found himself missing Greece. The images of the architecture came back to his mind vividly.

"I've been to Greece before, actually. It was great. I actually studied in the library in Athens. It-" he stopped, and moved a bit of his fringe of hair out of the way so he could better turn and see Claire and Joel going at it once again. He let out a small chuckle as he watched, and Desh's face was priceless too. If Alcander didn't know any better, he'd say that Claire and Joel often played the part of the RoadRunner and the Coyote.

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Pulling out he took the drive as quickly as he could but made it gentle as to not jostle her. "Tasha, you can't stay in your room tonight, it'll get too hot," Murphy said glancing towards Lincoln. Tasha just nodded and pulled herself closer to Lincoln, clinging to him at this point.

"Does she not have AC in her room?" His voice was incredulous as he gaped at Murphy. His room had better bloody have AC. He hadn't actually checked. He'd been too preoccupied having just ran into Tasha to realise what he did and did not have in his room.

"Naw man, only a couple of second flood rooms do. First floor is totally renovated so they do but Tasha doesn't even have windows, or a door currently," he said taking a breath as he wove through traffic. Tasha just bit her bottom lip slightly as she sat there quietly in Lincoln's arms. Murphy was getting worried, Tasha not piping in her two cents? It was odd and slightly unnerving.

"That decides it then, she's sleeping in my room. I'm on the first floor so she should be comfortable enough there." He nodded as if that decided the matter and he looked down to Tasha as she sat there in silence, curled up on his lap. He'd take things one step at a time this time. He'd be careful with what he said and he wouldn't presume anything. He idly stroked her arm and gently bounced his legs as if it would help to lull her to sleep.

"Yeah, I'll sleep with him tonight," she said in a meek voice as Murphy pulled up to the hotel. His eyes nearly jumped out of their sockets but he just nodded as he climbed out and got the door for them.

"I'll go get some of her things from her room while you get her settled down," Murphy said before heading upstairs. Tasha just wrapped her arms back around Lincoln's neck as she held herself closer to him, she didn't want to let go and her body was trembling slightly as her head stayed tucked under his chin.

Lincoln was extremely worried that Tasha wasn't even trying to fight back. He was glad, of course, that she had listened to his advice but was worried that she was worse than expected and was hiding it from him. He quickly opened the jeep door and kicked it open before slipping out, ensuring his grip was sure he began to walk back into the hotel, stopping only to turn and look to Murphy. "Thanks. I'll keep the door unlocked for you to get in easily." He then made his way to his room which he had only spent a matter of minutes in earlier.

"Hey, I'm going to need to put you down for a second. Gotta unlock my door." He very gently placed her down but kept a single arm around her shoulder, holding her against him. He dug into his trouser pockets and pulled out his key to unlock his door. Once it was opened up he helped Tasha inside and led her over to the bed.

"Here you go, just climb on in and get comfortable. All fresh linen for you since I haven't slept in here yet." He smiled and then helped her into the bed carefully.

Tasha laid down on her side and tucked her arm under her head. The bed was smaller than hers, a twin instead of a queensized. She looked around the room slowly. It was smaller than hers as well but much better furnished with a full bathroom,walls that were new, an ac that was running, small sink and fridge, small sitting area with a love seat. Maybe she should have opted for a ground floor when she moved in.

Murphy came down, knocking lightly before stepping in. He had a bag of clothing for her, her journal, the papers that had been dropped in the hallway and her meds. Setting everything but the meds down on the couch. Handing those over it Lincoln with some more syringes in sterile packs. "Keep this in the fridge, she drops again, yell for me. I'll stay in tonight just in case."

Lincoln nodded and gave Murphy a small, tense smile. He wasn't a stranger to medical care but it was different having to do this with Tasha. She'd never really been more sick than a flu while they'd been together so this was entirely new to him. He moved over to the fridge and placed the medication inside. Closing it over he walked over to Murphy and gave him a gentle, friendly slap on the back of his shoulder before gripping it between his fingers. "Thanks Murphy, really appreciate the help today. Really." He let go of Murphy's shoulder and glanced over to Tasha and gave her a small smile.

"No problem mate, what I am here for," Muphy said as he gave a small nod.

He motioned to Murphy and pointed to the hallway before crouching down and speaking to Tasha in a gentle voice. "I'll be right back, just going to talk to Murphy quickly. I'll be right back, if you need me just shout okay?" He tucked her hair behind her exposed ear and flattened her hair down before standing up and heading into the hallway with Murphy.

"Look man, I'm sorry about the whole... For earlier. I shouldn't have kicked you from behind, you just got me so damn riled up. Y'know?" He crinkled his left eye closed and scratched the back of his head with his left hand. It was clear that he was sorry for that but not for the fight in general.

"Remember mate, never follow up an apology with an excuse or justification. Tasha takes it as a back hand," he said chuckling before he turned and headed up the stairs, he figured by now he needed to do some explaining to poor Cass considering he had run out on her for a while without word.

Lincoln rolled his eyes and shook his head. He was half and half with this man so far and really didn't know if he liked or disliked him really. He shrugged to himself and headed back into his new room.

Tasha swallowed slightly as she glanced around the room, her arm tucked under her head. She wasn't exactly sure how to take everything was going on. Sighing she rolled over, turning her back to the door as she tried to get comfortable. What happened before the hospital was one reason she never opened up, people always made what patients were going through about them; how it affected them, how they should have a choice, them, them, them. It pissed her off enough when she witnessed it happening to others; to have dealt with it first hand now made it even worse. Then the whole moment they had shared being disrupted by him telling her he hated Murphy. That was not what she was expecting to hear after she admitted she still loved him. Today was one big clusterfuck.

He saw Tasha laying away from the door and he wasn't sure what to do from there. He decided to take a seat at the foot of the bed and cleared his throat. "Hey. How are you feeling?"

Tilting her head down Tasha glanced over towards Lincoln and shrugged a bit. "Just a little tired, I'll be fine," she said as she rolled onto her back and tucked her hand underneath her head. "You should probably lie down, you haven't exactly had it easy today," she said as she slid over to one side of the small bed and rolled back onto her side. "And before you even try to say no or that you will take the couch, don't. Then I'll get mad and I'll yell, and we saw what happened last time I did that, so just save us both the trouble," she added as she looked over to him and cocked a brow.

Lincoln's mouth was opened to protest and as soon as it had, Tasha had shot him down and shut him up. He shut his mouth and winced a little at how accurately she had figured what he would do, even if it did make him feel a little fuzzy inside. "You make a very good and valid point." He slipped off the foot of the bed and lay down beside her, on his back. His hands rested on his chest and he drummed his fingers lightly before turning his head to look at her. "So... I didn't say this when I should have but..." He took a deep, calming breath and released it before continuing. "I love you, Natasha Paige Brinne. I'm going to be here for you from now on in any way that I can be." His eyes found hers and looked between the two dark pools of upset beauty. He felt his chest aching for her and what she was going to go through for the second time and he felt awful that he hadn't been there for her the first time but... this was a second chance. If she'd let him.

Looking up slowly to see his eyes she found herself biting her bottom lip slightly as she reached out and rested her hand gently on his shoulder. "You don't know what you are saying," she said quietly as her lip slipped from between her teeth. Her fingers slid up along the side of his neck until they were running with a feathers touch along the line of his jaw. "Are you really sure you can handle watching what is going to happen?" she asked as she found herself lost in his eyes once again, like she always did.

"No, I'm not sure, but I'm willing to try and promise to stick by you until the moment you want me to leave." He lifted his hand up and rested it on hers as her fingers traced the line of his jaw. He turned his face and kissed the open palm of her hand and cupped hers within his own and leaned forward, his lips pressing to hers softly before he drew back and gave her a crooked smile. "I'm not going to leave you through choice, ever. I can't do that."

Tasha closed her eyes for a moment, the look on her face was a contorted mess of physical and emotional pain as she let out a long breath as her lips parted. "I never wanted you to see me like this," she said quietly as she sniffled lightly. Tucking her head beneath his chin she curled up against him like she had all those years ago, letting her arm slip around around his chest as her legs laced with his. "But I never wanted to be away from you either."

"I'm sorry that I ever thought you did." He stroked her hair down and held her close to him, her body feeling so tiny in the moment. He wanted to just scoop her up and protect her from everything that she was going to go through... again. His chest constricted tighter as he realised she had went through all this once before, all on her own and he just ached for her. He didn't know what he could do to help except being her for her but he'd learn. He was willing to do that much and so much more for her.

Closing her eyes tightly Tasha sighed as she felt the corners of her lips curling downwards into a frown. Shaking slightly she pulled herself closer to him. Tasha wasn't one to have regrets in life, she took each day as it came and tried to keep moving forward. Yet being in his arms again after all this time, feeling as broken and as weak as she did she knew she had one regret in her life; one she feared right then she may never actually be able to make right. "I'm sorry we never had a chance get married," she choked out in a soft squeak before she admitted something else. "It's my only regret in life."

Lincoln opened his eyes in surprise and leaned back from Tasha and had a sad smile on his face. "Mine too." His eyes took in her face, the line of her neck, her shoulders and then her eyes. He'd missed those eyes. He'd missed her. "But lets not dwell on the should have, could have, would haves of life. Why don't we start fresh?"

He smiled and gently let go of her before sitting up on the bed and held his hand out towards her. "Hi. My name is Lincoln Roberts. It is lovely to meet you Miss..."

Tasha looked at him oddly for a moment and then glanced at his hand, seeing the ring that was supposed to be his wedding band resting there she shook her head. "I don't want to start fresh," she said as she felt herself swallowing the lump in her throat. How could she start fresh with him? With all the history they shared? Turning she let her feet fall over the side of the bed, knocking the bag that Murphy had brought down for her over and its contents spilling out. Reaching down she left it there except for one item, a worn out ring box.

Picking it up she ran her fingers over the well worn down velvet and bit her bottom lip. "I wanted..." she started saying but cut herself off as she shook her head at her own words. "I want to be Dr. Roberts." The words came out in a whisper as she lowered her head and let out a depressing sigh. It was all she had wanted for so long.

Lincoln blinked and felt his heart plummeting as he saw the ring box. He hadn't really expected her to keep it after he had forced her to take it with her last time but it brought back a lot of bad memories and he felt his body hurting again. He felt cold and slightly hollow looking at that box. "We can't look back right now. Things are different now. Similar but different. That hope is going to take some time to reach again. If we look back we might make the same mistakes, have the same regrets. That's not what I want to happen."

She understood what he was saying and she didn't blame him for it but it didn't mean it hurt any less. Opening the box slowly with one hand she wiped away the tears with her other. Pulling the ring out she looked at it slowly, turning it over in her fingers as she sat there slouched and defeated in so many ways. "This ring... it was the only thing that got me through every thing last time. I kept it on through every treatment, every round of chemo. It was on my finger through every surgery," she admitted weakly as she felt her breath go ragged thinking back on all the pain and how much she had missed him. "I don't know how many times I dialed your number that year, trying to call you, to beg you to come be with me."

This was all so confusing. Lincoln didn't understand how she could chase him away, leave him behind and yet still keep the ring on and want to call him back into her life but didn't? It was all new to him, it was all so messy and Lincoln hadn't really dealt with messy in his entire life. He was pretty cut and dry as a person and preferred to know where he stood and gave other people the same courtesy. It was just how he was, he was open and honest and didn't like to play games if they weren't going to cause a bigger happiness at the end.

"I... I don't understand you sometimes, Tasha." He let out a small laugh and watched her playing with the ring. He didn't know what else to say at this point. He was so confused.

Tasha looked over to Lincoln slowly as she palmed the ring in her hand and sighed deeply. "The only reason I didn't is because there was so little hope I would survive. I didn't want to call you to watch me die. It would have been selfish. I wasn't thinking about what I wanted, I was just trying to protect you," she said before looking away and staring out across the room blankly as she felt her face warm more and she fought back breaking down.

"I came back, went to your place. It was my first stop. Ran into a neighbor who told me you were gone. When I started working at the hospital again I heard you ran off with some nurse. After that I couldn't bear to try to find you. I figured you had moved on, that you were happy somewhere with someone that wasn't me. I knew how badly I had hurt you, I wasn't going to darken your doorstep again," she said as she closed her eyes and lowered her head in shame. Pulling her knees up to her chest as she wrapped her arms around herself.

He tilted his head more and more as she spoke and he almost laughed, but held it back. He didn't exactly think it was appropriate right now. "I appreciate and understand not wanting to see you... dying." He swallowed as he choked the word out and a shiver run up his spine. "I don't think I would have had the strength to do the same for you but who the hell told you I'd ran off with a nurse? I can tell you right now that that is absolutely not true."

Tasha's head shot up as he told her he hadn't run off with anyone, her lips trembling as she looked towards him. "Emanuel, your old boss," she exclaimed as she sat there dumbfounded, then went on to explain that there was this nurse that had started working there after she left but had left the same time he did. The whole hospital way abuzz about how he had run off with her. "If I see Emanuel again I am going to punch him in the nuts."

Tasha let out a groan as her head fell back and she flopped back on the bed covering her face, covering the tears. "That's why I came here, to get away from California, to try to move on, to try to do what I thought you had. I thought you had forgotten about me..."

"Tash, I could never ever forget about you." He scooted closer to her and wrapped her in his arms again, stroking down her hair and kissing her temple gently. Tasha curled up against him and clung to him as she cried; she felt so fragile right then, so broken, and like a complete fool. "There was never anyone else. I moved back home with my parents and took some time to try and figure out what I wanted. Everything led back to you."

Tilting her head back she gazed up at him; her glacier eyes glistening through the tears as if everything cold within her was melting away. Sighing she lowered her head again as her fingers slowly ran over his bare chest and her lips brushed against the side of his neck while she pulled herself closer to him. She knew they couldn't start over, there was too much history. She still desperately loved him, nothing had changed there. He said he loved her still, told her he wanted to see if they could make it work again but was that really possible at this point? All she knew right then was despite the pain and the worry and everything, she felt best when she was right where she was; in his arms. "What do you want from me?" she choked out.

"Everything and anything that you're willing to give me." He gently placed his fingers under her chin and raised her head up to look at him before he leaned in and kissed her with as much passion and fire as he felt for this woman who had hurt him, who had left him behind to protect him and had never forgotten about him. He had no words, only actions. He was careful, gentle, making sure not to hurt her or himself.

Tasha found herself lost in the kiss, returning it with as much fervor and love as she could, as her hands slipped up his chest and over his shoulders. She knew what she was willing to give him, what she was willing to go through, to endure; for the slightest chance of making up all the hurt she had caused him. She wouldn't have changed leaving to protect him but she knew she couldn't do it again. She had made the choice for the both of them last time, it would be unfair to him to do that again; especially after telling him so much, after telling him she still loved him and still wanted to be with him. It would be cruel to run away again. Even if she had wanted to she knew she wasn't strong enough to push him away again.

She didn't know how to tell him though, how to put it into words right then as her lips slowly peeled from his just in the slightest. She lay there, pressed against him, as she fought to catch her breath with her lips still resting against his as she searched for the words. Holding her tongue until she found them and then finally spoke after a long silence. "Anything and everything you want, just tell me what that is."

He smiled at her, his one dream in life, a warmth shone from that smile like nothing you could even imagine until the moment you experience it. "I just want you to choose to be with me without me guilting or forcing you into it. That's all." It was an honest, open and clear answer and he hoped it answered her question. He didn't know how else to explain what he wanted because all he really wanted was her. He needed his Tasha again, not just Tasha that he used to date, Tasha his ex-fiancee that dumped him shortly after he proposed, not Tasha who ran away from him and made him run home to mummy and daddy but just... his Tasha. His other half. The cream to his bun, the milk to his cereal, the jam to his scone. That was what he needed from her and he had no idea how else to say it.

Natasha gazed into his eyes, her fingers caressing the back of his neck as he spoke. He could ask anything of her right then and she would have said yes. Not out of guilt though, or feeling like she had to. She wanted to, it was as plain as that. "I've always wanted to be with you, always. Since the moment you stepped on my foot," she said in a soft weak voice though it was laced with a light giggle.

He ran his fingers into her hair and pulled her close to him again. He wasn't done tasting her again after all this time. Sliding closer to him, she pressed her body to his and sighed gently, she had nearly forgotten how warm and comforted she had always felt in his arms. Still palming her ring in her hand she brushed her nose against his. "We can't go back, I wouldn't want to if we could. I love you, it's as simple as that. If we could, if you'd let me, I'd put my ring back on this second and start trying to build the future we once talked about," she whispered against his lips, speaking from her heart. Tasha didn't know if she would make it through everything this time, she was counting days if not minutes at this point in her life. If he'd give her a second chance, she wasn't about to waste it.