Owner	Pose
Sara Pezzini	Lying in the bed, Sara's left arm is wrapped in a cast and secured to her body to keep it completely immobilized. The rest of her chest and torso are wrapped in surgical grade gauze, to block against infection. She looks comfortable, but the rumor is that she's refusing too much pain medication, just enough to take the edge off.
Cael Becker	There's a quiet rap at the door before it opens, Cael stepping in with a small smile on her features, and a take out back in her hand. Inside: a steaming cup of minestrone soup. At her side is Bear in his service vest - pausing with Cael in the doorway, though he looks towards Sara's bed letting out a quiet whine.     "Feeling up for visitors?" she asks. "...Bear misses you," she remarks, a small, tight smile on her features.
Sara Pezzini	Trying to sit herself up more, Sara groans and uses her right hand to wave Cael in. "Of course," she comments once she catches her breath. "Come in. He can be at the end of the bed, but I can't have him on my torso. I've missed him too."
Cael Becker	"Of course," Cael agrees, closing the door behind her. Bear sticks close to her side - reaching up his nose to sniff at the blankets, and gently nudge at Sara's legs, while Cael sets her soup-offering on the bedside table. "I brought soup," she offers simply. "If you're hungry." Bringing Bear around to the foot of the bed - she orders him 'up' - and positions him carefully on Sara's feet and legs, with his head next to Sara's hip - beside her good hand. "Not Bear - stay," Cael adds in a firm voice. "Stay."     The pup wags his tail, head lying in the blankets, with his eyes peering up at Sara - staying carefully just how Cael had positioned him.
Sara Pezzini	Sara immediately reaches with her right hand to pet Bear's head. "Good boy, you're alright, just stay right there," she whispers to him, then looks back up to Cael. "Thanks. Hospital food sucks in ways I can't express. And the coffee, dear gods Cael... the coffee here, how do doctor's survive on that crap?" One hand, it was driving her insane, it was making her completely insane. She wants to keep petting Bear, but the soup smells good. "I... can't open it," she says quietly with a gesture toward the soup container. So far she's managed not to lose her shit over how fucked up everything is, but the little things, like not even being able to open her own soup... sometimes that triggered the anger and she had to take a moment to not get angry.
Cael Becker	"I got it," Cael promises, swinging the food tray into position, and putting the container of soup into place - pulling the plastic lid off the cup, and dropping the plastic spoon into position.     Yeah, yeah. Single use plastics, I know.     "How long as they planning on keeping you in here?" she asks quietly, as she pulls up a chair on Sara's right side - so her hand can rest on Bear's shoulder. The pup's been a lifeline for her today - and she has little intention of moving far from him.
Sara Pezzini	Picking up the container, Sara takes a sip of the soup. Easier than trying to use a spoon. She refused to let anyone feed her, so she was picking the easier routes toward eating. "Two week," she says as she sets the soup down, looking to her left arm for a moment then away again quickly. "Bare minimum, three weeks at the longest... just until the sutures are all healed I guess." She reaches over to pet Bear's head again, because it helped with the frustration and anger. "That's just this," she gestures to her torso, deliberately leaving her eyes off the arm. "I'll be out before that, I have to be out before that... I can't stay here, I can't be here that long."
Cael Becker	"Shit," Cael replies at this pronouncement. "That's..." a while. A long while. "...but I'll stop in," she promises quietly. "I'll bring coffee next time. I mean - I can head over to our quarters in a bit, and brew you a decent cup in your thermos and bring it down..." She frowns in thought before adding, "Hell, we could have Alis do it, sometimes. I'm sure she wouldn't mind."     She lets out a sigh as she adds sympathetically, "It'll be as long as it needs to be. I hope you're right, but- ...no point leaving early if it'll just set your recovery back, you know?"
Sara Pezzini	Sara lifts her eyes up to Cael, studying her for a moment while her right hand plays with one of Bear's ears. "Stop blaming yourself," she states first, watching her friend's face. "I'll stay exactly as long as needed, not a minute more. I can't do what I need to do sitting here. This..." again she gestures at herself. "This is nothing compared to the pain going on inside me Cael. That fucker took him away from me." She picks up the soup again, the real anger showing through. "I'm alone. He's here," a wiggle of the bracelet. "But that bastard took him away from me. I was /just/ starting to understand, just starting to get the answers, to put the pieces together and that fucking angel took it away from me. /That's/ why he can't heal me, why no one can heal me, and why I asked Uriel to visit me." She takes a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "I'm sorry, you don't need that... I have to deal with this... yes, Alis bringing cofee would be nice, just remind her she has to open the thermos."
Cael Becker	Cael looks away abruptly - as soon as Sara admonishes her to stop blaming herself, her gaze going to the wall across from them, her expression pained. "I said I would have your back," Cael answers quietly. "If- If //Fairchild// hadn't interfered, then- She saved your life. She stopped the bleeding. You would've- And I couldn't face it again. I couldn't- I couldn't be there while you- I couldn't face that again," she stammers out awkwardly, in a quiet voice.     Of course, as soon as she says it, she draws an arm across her eyes, and forces herself to straighten up. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't- You need //me// to be here for //you,//" she offers with a forced smile.
Sara Pezzini	The soup is set down and Sara reaches toward Cael, trying to get one of her hands, to hold it. "Listen to me very carefully," she says very calmly. "Barachiel was coming for me. From the minute he knew I was there, in fact I'm sure he was there /because/ I was there. From that moment on Cael, there wasn't a single thing you could do that you didn't do. The truth? You saved my life by blocking him, but putting yourself between me and him when you did, or he would have killed me in an instant. No, you didn't stop the bleeding, you didn't stop me from getting hurt, but /you/ saved my life. Never forget that, never." She looks Cael in the the eyes, a smile touching her lips. "I owe the fact that I'm sitting here, right now, to you. Not Caitlin, that cunt, to /you/. I need you to hear that, to realize that, to breath that in and /know/ it. Okay? You saved my life."
Cael Becker	Cael shakes her head, though she lets Sara capture her hand. "You were unconscious," she says quietly. "Fairchild got him to stop. Fairchild stopped the bleeding. You would have bled out. There's- there was nothing I could. Maybe I helped- I mean, I know I did, but... she saved your life, Sara. You'd be dead."     She wipes at her eyes again before adding quietly, "Fucking Michael did something to her - in the last battle. She screamed in pain and- and just... I don't know. I'm going to try to find her and talk to her."
Sara Pezzini	Sara squeezes Cael's hand lightly. "Okay, if that's what you need to believe, that you just helped, fine... but in my eyes, knowing what happened, being there, seeing it... you saved my life, because if you hadn't blocked him when you did, I would be dead. Those slashes, these..." she takes a deep breath. "This damage, it would have all been on me before Caitlin was even there. Think about it... think about how you put yourself in the way of him. Then think about the damage done from just that one attack, this damage... now double it, triple it. Would I have lived?" Another smile is offered. "The big picture Cael, you saved me. Caitlin may have stopped the bleeding in the end, and... I'm sorry Michael hurt her, I am... but you saved me and nothing you say will change that. I hope she's alright."
Cael Becker	Cael doesn't respond immediately, falling into a brief silence as she turns over Sara's words in her head, and holds to the woman's hand. Finally, though, she replies with a quiet, "Okay. ...okay. Both are true," she decides. "If I hadn't blocked more attacks, Fairchild wouldn't have been able to help. But if Fairchild hadn't help..." Then Sara would be dead.     She falls into another brief silence before she adds, "Fairchild tried to get me to go to you, to try to help you, after you collapsed. I- I couldn't. I kept facing down Barachiel. I couldn't do that. Not with Alis, and then with- ... you. I just couldn't."
Sara Pezzini	Another squeeze of Cael's hand, the smile staying on Sara's face. "That's alright... you didn't have to," she says quietly, her heart exposed. "You don't have to be there if it happens Cael, you don't have to face it or think about it because after this... it will /never/ happen again." Her tone turns determined, her eyes level with Cael's. "Witchblade and I will work this out, because that's what I do. While I was in surgery, I had a dream... I know they say you don't dream, but I did. I talked to Michael Yee, my old partner. He... told me some things I didn't know. I think it was Witchblade talking to me, the only way he can right now... and... this will /never/ happen again Cael."
Cael Becker	"It still feels like everyone who-" Cael starts quietly, cutting off to let out a heavy sigh. "My mother died, Alis died. You almost died. Jon's... going to die." She silent for a moment, scratching at the pup in front of her before she adds, "...Amit is dead. He snuck out to the latest battle, determined to do his part and he- His body's in the morgue. I need to find his parents, and... tell them. While I have the time, while I'm waiting for Jon to... to come back."     She takes a deep breath in, letting it out slowly before she remarks, "Anyways. I'm trying to convince myself that- well. That not everyone I love... is going to die because of me, but it's hard, and it's- I mean, I cared about Amit, but I never loved the kid. He was a good kid, though. It isn't right."
Sara Pezzini	The light in Sara's eyes flickers for a moment, only a moment. Amit had been a good kid, too eager, but to hear he was killed... that hit her in the chest like someone punched her. She takes a slow, deep breath, letting as much of the shock go as she can. "Hundreds died," she finally says, then let's go of Cael's hand so she can take another mouthful of the soup. She's not thinking about the children she killed, the family members still alive who still don't know who killed them. "But... the kids, that's the hardest." Then it hits her, the subtle way in which Cael just said she loved her. She wouldn't make a big deal out of it, but she'd said it, it was out there. "You aren't cursed Cael," she then says, letting the other thing just slide away for now. "People die, it's the fact of life, you just happened to have gotten really screwed, but it's not a curse. And as you can see, I didn't die."
Cael Becker	"Yeah, I know," Cael agrees softly. "The angels have a lot to answer for. I just- I was responsible for him. He was a kid, and I was- I was so sure if I sent him away, he'd find a way to get involved anyways, so I let him stick around. I thought- if he went out there and picked a fight on his own, he'd get killed for sure, but I could keep him out of the fighting, and still feel like he helped. I should've-" She shakes her head in frustration. "I don't know what I should have done. But I should've done //something// different. He was my responsibility."     She continues to scratch at Bear's shoulder, her eyes locked down onto the dog.     "Anyways. I shouldn't be dumping all my troubles on you right now."
Sara Pezzini	Alis walks through a wall, in her hand are two giant travel mugs of coffee. One has a silacon straw sticking out of it, the other does not but it smells of a hint of whiskey. The straw cup gets set on the tray in Sara's reach, the other is offered to Cael. She doesn't say anything, she just smiles and walks through the wall on the other side of the room. Sara blinks once at this, then one more time as she looks toward the second wall Alis walked through, then back to the coffee cup. "I owe that girl," she comments with a chuckle, then her eyes return to Cael. "Are you hungry for blame?" She asks bluntly. "Amit was no more your responsibility than the hundreds of people staying at Grand Central were. You couldn't have stopped him from doing exactly what he did, because he was determined to do it. Just because he was a teen doesn't mean he wasn't set on it, and not one thing you did, other than send him to California, would stop him." She picks up the coffee and takes a sip through the straw. The real stuff, two sugars, one cream. Bless Alis. "Just like you're stubborn, and I'm stubborn, it couldn't have gone any other way than it did. It sucks, it hurts, but it's not your fault."
Cael Becker	"Thanks Alis," Cael says to her sister a bit dully as she takes the drink in her hands, cautiously taking a sip before letting out a sigh. She needs that... more than she would have cared to admit.     Then towards Sara she adds bluntly, "That's bullshit, and you know it. Of course he was my responsibility. I tapped him as my assistant - that //made// him my responsibility. Maybe there is nothing I could of done - and yet... His death is still my responsibility. They're both true. I'm going to find his family. Explain to them... what happened. Return their son to them." And take whatever blame and recriminiations they had.
Sara Pezzini	Sara sets the cup back on the table. "I'm sorry, I forgot he was your official assistant Cael," she admits, laying her head back. "So much has happened... then you're right, he was your responsibility. I'm really sorry." Reaching over she starts petting Bear's head once more, then again tries to adjust herself in the bed... this time using her leg and Bear as leverage to scoot up and she actually manages it. "All this and it's my back, from this fucking bed, that hurts," she comments. "They keep trying to push the morphine, but this is going to be a constant for a while and no way am I getting hooked. I'll deal."
Cael Becker	Cael takes another deep breath in, letting it slowly as she adds quietly, "I just miss the kid. It isn't fair." None of its fair, but you can't scream it too loud and too often without sounding like a fucking child.     She takes another sip of the coffee, then looks back to Sara with concern in her expression. "Probably nothing I can do to help with that, but if you could think of anything..." she offers quietly. "I wish I knew a way to get you out of here sooner, Sara."
Sara Pezzini	Sara finally looks over at her left arm. She's been avoiding it, avoiding facing the damage done there. "Not this time," she finally says quietly as she looks back to Cael. "I have to ride this one through on the doctor's terms. This is a test Cael, I'm being tested for worthiness, by an asshole angel that has no right to test me, but all the same... I'm being tested. I was questioning my own worthiness, but this...." she shakes her head, the anger rising again. "Barachiel, the Guardian Angel of Guardians... I want to hurt that bastard so badly, and that's /without/ Witchblade's influence, but I know... it won't do anything, it won't change anything, it won't even make me feel better. I have to pass this test, and when I do, Witchblade will be connected to me again and he will heal me, but for now... I play the game for the doctor's."
Cael Becker	"Oh, believe me, I want Barachiel's fucking head on a proverbial pike," Cael growls out abruptly, anger showing on her features. "Even when Fairchild told him to stop - he was still coming. I- God. He's fucking awful. Him, Michael, and Metatron. //Fuck them,//" Cael spits out with venom, before letting out another of her sighs.     "Well. Maybe I'll get the chance on the Astral Plane. I guess. Whatever that'll even be like."
Sara Pezzini	Sara studies Cael as her anger flares. The temper. It was something she and Cael have in common, but they both control it when it needs to be, well most of the time. There were times that they both lost their shit and nothing would stop it from happening, but right now... both had a grasp on reality. "The fight continues," she says quietly. "That what Yee said, the fight continues... there will always be a fight, tomorrow, next week, next month... there will always be a need for the strong to stand against those who would harm the innocent, or unbalance this reality." Turning her right hand over, she looks at the double bracelet on her wrist. "I was cocky, I was unsure, I was questioning, and now I'm being tested and you know what..." she looks up at Cael, a smile appearing on her lips. "This test will tell me, once and for all, if I am truly worthy to be a guardian for this planet, for the people, for all those who can't defend themselves... shit timing, but I can feel... Barachiel doing this pushed me toward success, and he doesn't even realize it."
Cael Becker	"Yeah, well, Barachiel can still suck my proverbial cock," Cael mutters under her breath. "I hate him. I will always hate him. I'll never get over how much I fuckin' hate angels. I want to go back into Manhattan - and tear Saint Patrick's down. It's- god, it's a blight. It's a crime scene. It's... it shouldn't be there anymore, a constant, painful reminder of everything that-" She lets out a frustrated sigh, and stares down into her coffee.     "...you know, Uriel made himself mortal for meeting today - to enter the station, with Jon's wards still there. I'm pretty sure if I'd shot him, he wouldn't have come back. At all." She takes a sip of her coffee. "I punched him. A real punch, that he really felt. Which... felt good. Just wish it'd been one of the other fuckers, and not Uriel.     "Oh well."
Sara Pezzini	Sara shakes her head a little with a soft sigh. She totally understood why Cael felt the way she did, but she also understood human nature and the need to believe in something bigger than themselves. Johnny needed to believe, after the hell he lives over and over again, he needed to believe he would be rewarded. She would never take that away from him. "Uriel isn't the enemy," she offers quietly. "Though if it made you feel better to punch him, that's something at least. I need him to visit me. I hope he keeps his word and comes. You don't have to be here, you've dealt enough with the angels."
Cael Becker	"If he gave his word, he'll come," Cael says simply. "He has to. And if you want, I'll come too. I have some time, for the next few days, though I, uhhh, have a few things I'm going to try to do myself, the next few days. ...Redo my hair, get my other tattoo, find Amit's family..." One of those things is more important than the others. "I also need to try to talk to Fairchild, and Lady Death. See if I can get things started with them. I mean- maybe that'll help Jon, for when he- ...when he comes back." Someone's trying to keep herself busy. Can you really blame her?
Sara Pezzini	Finally in a more comfortable position, Sara takes another drink of coffee through the straw and just grins at Alis' ingenuity with it. Straws were so much easier when you only had one working hand, but in coffee? Apparently yes, a silicon straw can handle the heat. "If you want to be here Cael, you should already know you're welcome to be here," she offers, reaching to pet Bear's head again. "I know you have things you need to get done, and I don't know when he'll be here, but I can call you if you'd like." Running her hand over Bear's ear, she offers the dog a pat then goes back to petting. "I haven't seen Johnny yet, is he alright?" She then asks, knowing full well that Cael won't likely know or care. "Wade's been here since I was flown in, I think he's at our room taking a shower right now, but I'm worried about Johnny." Now was not the time to tell Cael anything about that.
Cael Becker	Cael takes her own sip, savoring the hint of whiskey - something she hasn't been able to enjoy much of late, given how high she's upped her dose of medications, of late. "If you want me here when Uriel is here - I'll try to. But, I mean, if you want to talk to him on his own... I might not be his favorite person right now after slugging him," she remarks - a hint of amusement showing on her features.     God, it'd been worth it.     "Johnny's okay. He was at the meeting, actually," she points out. "I didn't, you know, check in with him or anything, you know. But... I mean. He seemed fine, I guess."
Sara Pezzini	Sara nodded a few times, her mind already spinning a few circles over if he was fine, why hadn't he come by yet? Admittedly, it was only the next day, perhaps he had to get his head together... but he normally would have been there, right there, just like Wade. She'd call him later, find out what happened. "That's good at least," she finally says, taking another mouthful of soup by drinking it. "I saw him briefly when Alis moved the camera around, but he was further back, harder to see. I wonder..." Moving the blanket she pulled out the tablet. Everything was on the right side because the right hand was the only one working. "I could distract your brain probably," she then adds, accessing a thing on the tablet. "Just all depends on how pissed off at me you want to get."
Cael Becker	"Why would I get pissed at you?" Cael answers with bafflement. "You're hurt. It's not like you've done anything wrong," she points out with her brow furrowing in puzzlement. She scratches at Bear's shoulder again, then takes another, deeper daught of her coffee. Alis is a godsend, sometimes.
Sara Pezzini	Setting the tablet on the table for now, letting it find the file she was looking for, Sara offers Cael a sheepish grin. "Ooooh, I could piss you off reeeeeal easy," she offers with a chuckle. "I don't know if you'd be pissed at me, but you'll be pissed alright." She takes another drink of the soup, giving Cael a moment and herself then finally sets the soup down. "Just remember, I am injured... but uh..." yep, she's gonna say it and give Cael a nice distraction for a little while. "Johnny and I are dating... a couple... like Wade and I are. No, this doesn't mean you have to see or socialize with him, I promised you you wouldn't have to and you don't. He's going to live at the house, take care of it for me."
Cael Becker	Cael's puzzled expression, slowly turns to one of annoyanced, before she lets out a heavy sigh. "//Him//?" she asks - something akin to frustration in her voice. "But he's such a fuckin'... prat," she points out, with a roll of her eyes. God. Why //him//?     She runs her hand through her hair, looking tired more than anything else before she remarks, "I just don't get it. Don't expect I ever will - but it's your fuckin' life, ya know?" As long as she doesn't have to put up with him.
Sara Pezzini	Sara covers the smile by taking a drink of the soup. She /knew/ that's how Cael would react, almost exactly what her mind pictured for her best friend and roommate's reaction. "Yes, /him/..." she says after getting the smile locked away again. "There's more to him than just the... prat, but it's okay that you don't see it. I didn't plan for it to happen, just like I didn't plan for it to happen with Wade. It just... happened." She offers another sheepish smile. "Did you expect to fall in love with Jon? I seem to recall that was a shocker for you, that it happened... same thing with Johnny. It just... happened, but I do love him."
Cael Becker	"No, I didn't expect to fall in love at all, let alone to fall in love with such an... idiot," Cael mutters under her breath, before letting out another sigh. She runs her hand through her hair again, revealing the badly faded rainbow of color underneath, as she stares at the wall across from her. "Look, if he makes you happy then- ...then that's all that really matters, yeah? But he's a fucking prat, and I'll probably pop him in the jaw one of these days, and we'll just have to all fucking deal with it when that happens."
Sara Pezzini	Tilting her head, Sara lifts a brow. "Why would you... you know what, never mind," she shakes her head a little. "If you need to pop him in the jaw, then at least make sure it's because he actually deserves it for something he said at the time... because he does make me happy. So when it happens, it happens and we'll deal with it. In the mean time, don't worry about it. The only times you have to deal with him are in relation to von Strucker and the JLD stuff."
Cael Becker	"I just think it's inevitable," Cael says simply, giving a brief shrug of her shoulders, before letting out another sigh.     "Look. I just want you to be happy, Sara. Yeah? You know that, right? And I'm- I'll be alright too. Once all this shit is done. I swear, me 'n Jon should take a //year off// after all this bullshit." Rubbing at Bear's shoulder she adds, "Whatcha think, Bear? Go live on a beach for a year?"     There's a momentary pause before she adds, "I'd probably last about two weeks before losing my mind from boredom, huh?"
Sara Pezzini	"A week, that's it," Sara states flatly. "You'd last a week then start going insane for something to do." Then she offers a smile. "I know you want me to be happy, just like I want you to be happy. I want the best thing in life for you Cael. I mean I teased you and Jon at first, but I'm /really/ happy for you, and for him." The smile gets a little bigger. "I might have to still tease you from time to time about it, so long as you realize that I'm ecstatic over you finding someone and loving him. Hell, he even comes with a premade family! Talk about luck!" Picking up the soup, she looks into it and realizes that all the solid bits are still in the bottom of the container. Truth was, she really didn't feel like trying to get them out, so she sucked out the last of the broth and set it down again. "Still think you won't be living with Jon?" She then asks with a playful smirk on her face.
Cael Becker	"I mean - //I// give Jon shit //all// the time," Cael replies with a wry smile, before shifting uncomfortably in her seat. She rubs at Bear's shoulder before admitting in a quiet voice, "Martin seems determined to... insist that I'm family now. I'm still not sure how I feel about that. That's not something I was looking for. Not something I'm sure I even want. Not... something I ever really had. I don't know how to deal with any of that shit."     She runs her hand over her face before adding softly, "I should add 'checking in on Martin and Agnes' to my to-do list, huh?"
Sara Pezzini	Sara nods, that smiling smirk still on her face. She can't help it. She's really happy that Cael found a family, a place to belong, people to love her, even if Cael was having troubles accepting it. "You should add that to the list, most definitely," she says, picking her coffee back up. "My advice to you is take it a little at a time. I told you this would happen, that you'd be considered part of their family. So, start there. Take it just a little at a time toward accepting it. I know your scared of what that means, about having a family, but you do, they're already there. One day at a time, one thing at a time, ease yourself into it." Taking a sip of her coffee the cup has to go back on the table. Too much work to hold it, and her hand needs to go back to petting Bear. "You don't have to rush into anything, but you know that. Just like you know I'll help any way I can. You deserve the best things in life Cael, that includes a family."
Cael Becker	Does she, though? //Deserve// a family? //Jon's// family? She leans back into her seat, a flat expression settling back into her features, as Bear turns his head to look towards Cael, letting out a quiet whine, and thumping his tail against Sara's foot a few times. But he doesn't try to move from where he was put - he was told to //stay.//     "I guess we'll see," she murmurs quietly. "I really don't know how you... I mean, friends I get, sure, but... 'boyfriend's husband' is fucking bizarre. I don't know how to deal with that, and... Agnes is a //good kid//. I'm not used to... that. I'm used to thugs."     She sighs, then adds, "It still feels like- ...they're Jon's. Not mine. I don't get it."
Sara Pezzini	Sara gives Bear a nudge when he whines and says, "Go get her." Then she looks back to Cael. "It doesn't happen over night, Cael," she comments. "Right now they're Jon's, I agree with that a hundred percent. Over time it will feel more normal, which is part of that 'easing into it' thing. As for boyfriend, that also will take time. The only change from friend to boyfriend is the way you look at them, and usually sex... but not always. It's all new to you, so don't try rushing into it head first and expecting everything to make sense." She pauses for a moment and actually snorts. "Boyfriend's husband is your friend, right? You consider Martin a friend? That's all the more that needs to be applied there. What should really melt your brain is thinking of this... your husband's husband."
Cael Becker	Bear pushes off of the bed - moving carefully. Either it was a trained behavior, or he honestly understood that she was hurt. He then settles in beside Cael, shoving her head into her lap, and nudging at her hand insistently. She starts rubbing at his head gently, almost without any thought.     "I... yeah, we're friends, I guess. I mean, I barely known Martin but... he seems nice enough. It's not like we don't get along, or anything like that." Thankfully.     Her hand tightens in Bear's fur before she finally remarks softly, "Three days, Sara. He had me for what - three hours?" She honestly has no idea how long Michael had her - but she knows it was a matter of hours. "Three fucking days..."
Sara Pezzini	Even before Bear whined, Sara was sensing that Cael was starting to get edgy. It was in her body language, the tone of voice, and her eyes. She really wished there was something she could do, other than lay there in a hospital bed. "I know telling you not to think about it won't do any good," she offers with a soft sigh. "So instead, what I'm going to tell you is to focus on the things you /can/ do something about. You got a family to find, people to talk to, and to check in on Martin and Agnes. Go do it Cael, get your mind focused in other places when you can."
Cael Becker	What's going to be left of Jon when he comes back - after being tortured for that long? What if she can't help him come back from that?     She presses her eyes closed for a moment, listening to Sara's words, and simply breathing as she pets Bear with one hand.     "I need to get Fairchild and Lady Death onboard, somehow. We need them to work with us if we're gonna... if we have any chance of fixing this thing, and saving Jon." And what shape will Jon be in, himself?     Opening her eyes again, she looks towards Sara, adding, "I should be here for you. Are you sure you're...?"
Sara Pezzini	Sara raises her right hand to cut Cael off. "I'm fine Cael," she states with a nod. "Or rather, I'll be fine. There's too much going on, and things you need to get done. Wade's here, Johnny will be here, go do what you have to do. Check in when you can. Remind Caitlin and Lady Death that this is about a man's life, and if Lady Death wants a price paid for her involvement, tell her the Witchblade and I will pay it. It's the only thing I can offer to getting Jon back, so let me do that one thing if it comes up, alright?" She reaches her right hand toward Cael again, to try and catch her hand. "It won't be weeks for me to heal, because I'm going to work this out and get Witchblade back... and then he will heal me and I'll be right back at your side for the things I can do, but until then, I'll be here. Remember though, Jon's my friend too, and anything I can do, including a pay off to Lady Death if needed, I'll do."
Cael Becker	"I don't think she's in it for a price. For a personal gain," Cael answers. "I think she's in it for the cause. I think she wants to save the world as much as we do, she just- maybe disagrees about how to do it?" She lets out a sigh, reaching out to take Sara's hand, and giving it a squeeze. "I appreciate it, though. We'll figure it out. We'll- I'm not willing to sacrifice Jon to fix this. We'll find a way. There has to be something on the other side of this, or-" It can't be all pain, and torture, for him to just die at the end. She won't let it end that way.     Finishing off the last of her coffee, she pushes herself up to her feet. "I'll make sure Alis checks in on you when I'm not around - gets you that coffee when you need it, yeah? And I'll be back."
Sara Pezzini	Sara gives Cael's hand a squeeze in return before letting it go. Just a moment of contact, that little reminder that she's there even if she's a little broken at the moment. "Alis will likely be with you as much as she can be," she states. "She's been worried about you, but she can check on me and report back to you. If Uriel comes by, I'll call you... but try not to worry about me. I've got the guys, they'll take care of me for now... and soon, I'll be back on my feet. I think..." She takes a deep breath, then continues. "I think I know exactly what I have to do, I just have to get the balls and do it. So... I'll be healed in no time."
Cael Becker	"Okay," Cael agrees, as she lets her hand drop to her side. "I'm glad you have Wade and ...Johnny, you know," she remarks, only hesitating a moment over the man's name. "I wish I could help you more, and be a better friend, but- well. You've got this, right?" she asks - giving Sara a small, tight smile.     "...and I've got my shit handled." She hopes.     "I might drop Bear off with you - before I go talk with Lady Death. If I can even figure out how to do that. I don't know that it'd be safe to bring him along - you know?"
Sara Pezzini	"That's fine," Sara replies. "Drop Bear off when you need to, you know I'll take care of him." She lays her head back. More than anything she wanted to be there for Cael right now, to be out there helping her with what needed to be done, but she had to accept that she couldn't. Until she had the shit handled in her own head about Witchblade, she would be in that bed. Picking her head back up she offers Cael a smile. "I got this, and you got this. Just remember to take care of yourself as well, or I'll send Wade after you."
Cael Becker	"Pft. The real threat would be to send Johnny after me. I'm sure it'd end well for all involved." There's a smile for a moment - some of Cael's usual, wry humor before she reaches out and puts her hand on Sara's shoulder.     "Hey, and thanks for not dying," she adds. "I really couldn't handle that shit right now." As Cael heads for the door, Bear spends a moment nuzzling at Sara's hand, before trotting at his owner's heel.