"Indeed." Hal replied.

-A few hours later-

"And that should be about it." Hal responded, as they finished up.

"You will have your first appointment tomorrow afternoon." he said.

"Now, would you like a tour of the facilities?" he asked her.

"See where everything else, so you can get around?" he suggested.

"Oh, and unpack your things in your dorm as well." he then added.

Hal just smiled.

"No imposition at all." he assured her.

"We give tours to new people all the time." he said.

"Come on, I'll personally give you the tour." he then told her, standing up.

"I need to get away from this desk for a bit anyway." he added with a light chuckle.

Hal chuckled again.

"Yup." he said.

"Pretty much." he agreed.

With that, the two of them set out, and he showed her the entire building, pointing out and stressing relevant places for her, before ending at the dorms, and letting her step into one.

"It's nice and roomy, should be enough for your stuff and yourself." he told her.

"Has a private bathroom, closet space, bed, dresser, everything one needs." he said.

"Oh, and here." he went on, taking a card out of his pocket.

"Your key to get in and out as you please."

"Well, it's the standard singles dorm." Hal responded.

"Use as much or as little space as you like." he told her.

"You're allowed to go to the cafeteria whenever you like, and order whatever you like." he continued.

"Want breakfast at 5pm? Done. Pizza at 8 in the morning? No problem." he went on.

"The gym is 24 hours as well." he told her further. "But we close the pool for 8 hours a night." he then warned her. "Nightly cleaning and sterilizing and such." he reasoned.

"Any questions?" he then asked her.

"All right, then." Hal said.

"Feel free to explore on your own now." he told her.

"If you find yourself lost, don't be afraid to ask anyone for directions." he continued.

"Beyond that... enjoy your free time until your first session." he finished.

"Oh! And there's already towels and such in the bathroom." he then told her. "So you can take a shower right away if you like." he said.

"Laundry facilities are at the end of the hall on each floor." he added.

Hal made his way down the hallway, and sighed.

"We've got our work cut out for us." he mumbled.

"But by God, we have to try our best." he said.

-Several months later-

Hal sighed deeply as he stepped out of his office, noting his secretary had gone home for the night. He looked at the clock and saw it was 9:00pm, before shaking his head.

"Ugh, worked later than I thought." he mumbled.

"Maybe I should take a sick day tomorrow." he told himself with a small laugh.

"Or just collapse in bed when I get home."

Hal just smiled when Hazel approached him as she did.

They'd made amazing progress with her in a relatively short amount of time... she was like a whole new woman.

"Of course." he replied.

"Nothing going on right now. Too late for that." he chuckled.

"What is it?" he asked.

Hal raised an eyebrow when he heard that.

"We are." he said.

"And you wish to take that position?" he asked.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"If you honestly feel like you want the job, we can fill out the paperwork now." he offered.

"Will only take about 10 minutes or so."

"Hm." Hal mumbled.

"Well, I cannot fault that line of logic, as potentially depressing as it may be." he said.

"But come on, then." he then said.

"Let's get to my office so we can sign the documentation." he told her, as they made their way back to his office, where he turned on the lights and started to prepare everything.

"R&D will love you." he said.

"Willing test subjects, especially full-time ones, mean progress on new development." he chuckled.

Hal just chuckled.

"Ohhhh, it will definitely be appreciated." he told her.

"Believe me, they'll welcome you with open arms, and love you for wanting to help them in such a way." he continued, before pausing a moment.

"And you'll have someone to talk to about more personal life matters as well." he went on.

"Not sure if you've met yet, or even heard, but we have a Fyrane working in R&D." he informed her.

"Kiah Fyrane. She's Lindsay and Ash's first cousin once removed. But they're quite close." he said.