Colin's posts

Lindsay just laughed.

"I understand." he said.

"I'd be happy to be there for you." he told her.

"I'll be there and keep watch." he continued.

"You're my daughter, after all." he went on.

"It's the least I can do." he reasoned.

He then got closer, leaned in, and gave her a hug.

"I love you, sweetie." he said quietly.

Lindsay paused when she said that.

"Oh?" he asked.

"That DOES make sense, but what do you mean by that?" he asked her.

"I realise that wanting someone there is wise, but in what way do you mean?" he reiterated, turning around and stepping back inside.

"Do you mean someone being there to offer support from the sidelines?" he asked her further.

"Or are you requesting someone actually run WITH you?" he continued to ask.

"And do you have any preferences for who it is, regardless?"

Lindsay raised an eyebrow.

"Ah-hah." he said.

"I see." he said further.

He then stood up and sighed.

"I shouldn't be surprised." he muttered.

"..." he was then silent, before leaving the room, stopping outside the door.

"I hope you know what you're doing."

"......" Lindsay was silent for a moment.

"...I, ah... I see." he said.

"Crash, huh?" he asked.

"Did... he say why?" he asked her.

"Because that's a bit alarming." he went on.

"Especially seeing as you're seemingly fit to run..."

Lindsay was silent for a moment, and just sighed.

"I will not." he said quietly.

"I know you're grown now. You can make your own decisions." he went on.

"You are not bound by our rules. Well... besides basic respect and cleanliness and such, but... you know what I mean." he continued.

"Your mother may have a different opinion." he then said.

"However, if you got clearance from Rene, then I won't stand in your way." he told her.

"He's your doctor, he knows better than I do when it comes to things like this." he reasoned.

Lindsay stepped through the door and smiled at her.

"Hey." he said.

"I can see you're up and about." he commented.

"And you look... reasonably well." he went on. "Considering what happened." he clarified.

"Anyway, I've heard you're going to be running tomorrow." he then said.

"You feel up to it?" he asked.

"I thought for sure it'd be too soon." he commented further.

"......" both Evan and Darrell were silent as she said what she did and moved on.

Sure enough, about 35 minutes later, there was a knock on her door.

"Sammy?" someone called in.

"It's your father." he said.

"Came I come in?" he asked.

Sammy knew that Evan had probably told Lindsay about what she'd said.

"Really? Wow." Darrell replied.

"Yes. WOW." Evan chimed in, a little louder than usual, and sounding... suspicious of her.

"That really IS something." he went on.

"Your regeneration must be really damn good suddenly." he continued.

"Dad should know of this." he then said further.

"Should we tell him?" he asked.

When she got down, she saw Darrell taking the slices out of the oven, and Evan was batting around a stuffed mouse on the table.

"Oh, hey." her brother greeted her.

"Just in time." he said.

"Yeah, they're just ready." Darrell told her.

"Go on and grab." he said further.

"Got what needed to be discussed... well... discussed?" he asked.

"They shouldn't." Rene responded.

"I've seen them, I know what they do." he went on.

"Should be fine." he muttered.

"And I'm off to make the proper cocktail for you." he finished.

"I'll call you when it's done." he said further.

With that, he disappeared, leaving her to try and figure out how her parents were going to find out about this.

"......" Rene was silent as she made her response.

"All right." he said.

"It's YOUR body." he told her.

"Just don't complain about the pain you'll be feeling." he warned her.

"Also, you know your parents are going to find out about this." he then told her further.

"Doctor-patient confidentiality states I cannot discuss this with them, as it is not a threat to your wellbeing... long-term, anyway... but I suggest you decide on HOW they find out." he finished.

"Well, the original recipe is for a warrior with life-threatening injuries. Which is to say, his life is over, but he is allowed to continue fighting. In such cases, the crash results in immeasurable pain, and death." Rene replied.

"In THIS case, the pain in your injuries would flare up again." he told her further.

"And, ultimately, it would delay your healing process." he went on.

"Think of it as hitting 'pause' on everything in your body, pain AND healing." he continued.

"So when it wears off, there's a decent chance you'll endure such pain that it brings you to your knees." he told her.

"Is this a risk you're willing to take?" he asked.

"You're an adult, you can make this decision on your own, without your parents stepping in to influence yourself, or me." he finished, which let her know why he wished to speak with her alone.

Rene just sighed deeply.

"And that is as middle-of-the-road as it gets." he muttered.

"...but I have something..." he told her.

"And old lanthan recipe." he said further.

"It was a special serum... meant to keep a warrior fighting past the point where he could no longer fight. If he was injured too gravely, or the pain was too great, he would be given it so that he could ignore his pain and injuries, and continue to fight until death." he explained.

"Granted, this is nowhere near this level of severity, but I can concoct a lesser version of it." he told her further.

"But you'll need to know that the crash, when it wears off, will be... not nice."

Sure enough, about 4 minutes later, Rene appeared in the room.

"Right." he said.

"We both know why I'm here." he told her.

"So let's get down to the bottom line." he continued.

"HOW important is tomorrow to you?" he asked.

"Which is to say... how badly do you feel you are to participate in physical activity tomorrow?"