Abigail was slouched resplendently in the uncomfortable plastic chair. She [i]looked[/i] like she was listening; she seemed attentive, brows furrowed in consternation as she...stared at the desk. She only glanced at Dr Cassar in passing before going back to looking at the mouldering altar throughout his tale. She was also restless, constantly fidgeting and moving around whenever her head dipped to her chest. She was chewing her tongue, her jaw working and gnawing and sometimes her fingers raked at the scabs and shimmering burnt skin around her wrists and forearms.

Funnily enough, it was the kid who was the first to break the silence. She cleared her throat and spoke quietly, solemnly - trying to mimic the composure of the doctor in vain - as she steepled her fingers and made a passable attempt at looking professional. “That must’ve been very frightening,” she acknowledged with a surprising tinge of empathy. “You’re clearly a very skilled doctor. I can’t imagine tryin’ ta do shit like, uh, operations n’ all that in a bouncy castle.”

The soldier woman in the background pinched the bridge of her nose, smiled and shook her shoulders as she held back the creeping fit of giggles under Brooks’ stern gaze.

Dr. Cassar's gaze turned to Abi as she started speaking, nodding along as she acknowledged his ordeal, and then turning a little, his eyebrows raised and eyes widening slightly, at the mention of a bouncy castle.

Then he frowned for a moment, and just as quickly began to beam with a big smile, and a hearty chuckle.

"Oh, no, no I'm sorry, I didn't explain that very well, I don't think. I would love to treat my patients in a bouncy castle, but unfortunately, even now I am still only learning, and I'm just not good enough for that yet. Our hospital was inflatable, but the floor was solid - it was mostly the walls, and some support for the ceilings and roof, that had inflatable parts." He nodded again as he finished, leaning towards Abi a little across the space they had between them in the circle.

"And thank you. I know I must seem like a real wimp, but I do still think about it, and it was very frightening at the time, you're right." He added, as his gaze drifted towards her hands, peeling and scabbed from her burns.

"Oh, that looks quite painful. Does this… happen a lot?" 

Abigail looked at him blankly. For a moment, it looked like she wasn't going to answer at all; then she looked down at her hands and realised what he was on about.

"Huh. These? Heh, nah, this ain't shit." She raised her hand, rolling the wrist around in the light. "Even before the Violet Dawn I used to get burns all the goddamn time." For once, she smiled. "Back when I was, uh. When I was a kid. And the engine broke down - we lived in an RV out in Arizona. Anyway - when the engine broke down, nine times outta ten, that's a coolant issue. Dust in the head gasket or a crack in the hose. And my pawpaw, he, heheh, he used to turn 'round to me doin' homework and yell 'ABI YA USELESS PIECE'A'SHIT GET'CHER ASS OUT THERE'N FIX THE DAMN HOUSE'!"

Abigail was rambling. Unlike the few other times she'd talked at length, this felt confused. She kept tumbling from one point to another at random and she sounded like she was only partially aware of what she was saying. "Ain't got no clue why he called it a house cause it was a leaky ol' truck in the desert but cause I got small arms an' little hands it was on me. An' holy fuckin' shit. I got burnt [I]all the time. [/I]Pop open the hood? Steam all the way up your arms. Try doin' a coolant flush with an engine y'all can cook an egg on. An' all that in an Arizona summer!" 

She smiled and laughed, shaking her head. "I got burnt, I am burnt, and chances are I'm [I]gonna[/I] burn."

Something about that last sentence gave her pause and kicked in a little realisation. She suddenly leant back and went quiet, glowering at her knees with shame and confusion. Just as quickly as it started, Abigail stopped talking and shut off with a clenched jaw and a newfound fascination with the desk.