You've gotta be kidding me.

The longer she stared at what must've been Elliot's mom, the more details clicked into place. Even before knowing the woman's name, she'd already looked oddly familiar. But now? Her red hair, her height, even the shape of her nose and eyes were all dead ringers for the male lead.

I guess he gets his eye color from his dad… Wow. I kind of forgot that his mom was a doctor.

Given that detail, it almost made sense to run into her, especially considering that she worked at this very hospital. But what were the odds that, of all the doctors here, Kaitlyn would find herself being cared for by this specific one?

…Pretty darn high, if we're being honest. Her thoughts turned cynical. This just reeks of game shenanigans. In fact, I'd actually be surprised if it was anyone else. I wonder if I'd still meet her if I was hospitalized for something else…

"I can see you have a question." Dr. Ambrose's voice brought Kaitlyn back to the present, evidently taking her silence in stride. "The answer is yes, I am related to the Ambrose that founded this hospital. It's no coincidence. But please, pay it no mind. At the end of the day, I'm just another doctor here."

"Oh." Kaitlyn scratched her neck awkwardly. "That's… thanks. It's not just that, though."

"Oh?" The woman arched a penciled eyebrow expectantly. "What's on your mind?"

"I did recognize your name, yeah, but… er, you're Elliot's mom, right?"

Her other eyebrow rose to meet the first. The professional demeanor thawed, softening the woman's features. "Why, yes I am. You know Elliot?"

"Yeah, actually. We're both bio majors at Hartland. He's my…" Kaitlyn nearly said "labmate", but stopped herself. That wasn't actually the case, not yet at least. In fact, she didn't technically know Elliot at all in this loop.

"Oh! You're a student," Dr. Ambrose said. "That certainly makes sense. Although I'm surprised you've already met him. My understanding is that the semester had yet to even start before you fell ill."

Internally, Kaitlyn gave herself a swift kick to the ribs. Dangit. My brain must still be scrambled from everything that's been going on. Pull it together, Kaitlyn. Get your head in the game.

"We just happened to run into each other," she blurted out, her mouth rushing to concoct a believable story. "But we share a class or two. And I'm looking into joining Professor Adams's lab, too, so I saw that he was one of the members. But yeah."

"I see." The woman nodded as though it made perfect sense. "Interesting. I'm so glad he's meeting people with similar interests. He's always been a smart boy, but a bit standoffish sometimes. It's never been easy for him to make friends. Are you planning on going into medicine?"

"Not really?" Kaitlyn admitted. "At least, I don't think so. I'm more into research. Is he?"

The doctor shrugged one narrow shoulder. "Oh, I don't know. He's always been interested in the family business, but whether or not he ends up going to med school or doing something else is entirely up to him. Some part of me hopes he does, considering how naturally it seems to come to him. But I'm sure he'll excel at whatever he chooses to do."

Hmmm… I got the impression he was heading that direction, too. Nothing new there.

Still, this was a golden opportunity to learn a bit more about the guy. She couldn't help but push a bit further in hopes of getting more information.

"Has he talked to you about maybe pursuing some of his other hobbies instead? Like music?"

"Music?" The woman frowned. "I certainly enjoy his guitar playing, on the rare occasion he lets me hear it. But he's never made any indication of doing more with it. Why? Did he mention something about that?"

Well, that answered that question. Apparently, not even Elliot's mom knew about his involvement in the Dream Lizards. "Ah, it's nothing," Kaitlyn deflected. "I was just wondering, since he seems to like music."

The woman looked at her for a moment, then shrugged. "Alright. Well, I was already glad to hear that you'd recovered, but now I suppose I have even more reason to celebrate. It's not every day that I meet one of my son's friends, though I certainly wish it weren't under such circumstances."

Interesting, Kaitlyn filed the tidbit away in her mind. That's also good to know. She said he doesn't have a lot of friends, but maybe he's just not close to his mom? I knew he was pretty private, but this conversation is making me think that even extends to his family…

"...But that's enough of that," the doctor straightened, pulling Kaitlyn's medical chart from where it hung at her bedside. "Look at me, rambling on like this. How are you feeling? Have you felt any lingering drowsiness, fogginess, headaches?"

From there, Dr. Ambrose launched into her own questioning of Kaitlyn and her health. Many of the questions mirrored those of the nurse, but she took the opportunity to go more in-depth about what she had experienced leading up to and during the "coma." The first set of questions she obviously couldn't answer—even if "I attempted to hack reality and got punished for it" would have sounded sane, she was all but certain it would land her right back in this hospital bed in moments. But the explanation of her consciousness and inability to feel anything sparked some interest in the woman's eyes.

"Hmmm…" She tapped her pen against the medical chart thoughtfully. "This is quite the unique case."

"It is?" Kaitlyn asked, setting her spoon down. She'd taken to eating small bites as they talked and managed to finish the rest of her food.

"Yes. Usually, responsiveness and consciousness go together, to some extent. A coma patient who is still conscious and aware of their surroundings usually have some amount of control over their eyes, however small. Since you didn't respond to any stimuli, it certainly seemed that you were in something closer to a vegetative state at first. The irregular breathing and the presence of brain activity made that assumption difficult to fully endorse, though.

"As for what caused your condition… I'm afraid we don't have any definitive conclusions on that one." Dr. Ambrose shook her head in disappointment. "We have theories, certainly, but all of them have their flaws. You show no signs of organ failure, physical trauma, hypoxia, poisoning… We'll want to confirm that everything's all right in your head with another MRI this afternoon, but I'm not sure what more it could tell us now. I wish I could tell you for certain that it's because of some blockage here or a bad reaction there, so that you know it won't happen again. But…"

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Kaitlyn nodded. The lack of evidence and medical justification made complete sense, given that this was a game-inflicted issue. Not that she would say that aloud. Still, the doctor's concern was heartwarming.

"It's ok. I appreciate everything that you're doing, really. I'm just happy that I'm back to normal." She shifted the pillow behind her into a more comfortable position. "So… what does that mean for me? I mean, do you need me to stay here longer?"

The woman nodded. "Yes, but how long depends on what we find out. If all your tests come back clean this afternoon, then we should be able to send you home in a day or two. We'll have you come back for a few checkups, just to make sure that everything stays stable, but there's no reason to keep you here in the meantime."

Kaitlyn perked up at the information. "Awesome! I mean, that's great to hear. Really. Not that I mind it here, everyone's been great, but…"

Dr. Ambrose chuckled. "I understand. Hospitals don't usually have the most positive connotations for most people. Besides, I'd assume you're fairly eager to get back to Hartland and begin your college experience in earnest."

She nodded. More than you know, lady. More than you know.

They chatted for a short while longer before Dr. Ambrose finally stood. "Well, it was nice to meet you, Kaitlyn. I wish you the best, both in health and in school."

"Thanks, doctor," she gave a small wave. "It was nice to meet you, too."

As she watched the ginger-haired woman leave, Kaitlyn considered their interaction. Knowing that Elliot's mom worked at the hospital was one thing, but actually meeting her was a different matter. It was as though some barrier that she hadn't even registered had suddenly shattered before her.

It really was nice to meet her. For different reasons than she probably expects, of course. But nice anyway.

The interaction had raised a few more questions, though. Was Elliot really keeping his music career a secret from even his family? If so, why? It could be a matter of feeling pressured to follow in their footsteps, a poor relationship, or even simple embarrassment. She really had no idea.

…Whatever the reason, I can't help but think that's going to be key to his route. Figuring out why he keeps those parts of his life separate—and whether he actually wants to do biology—are going to be top priorities.

She lay back onto the bed. Of course, that would all have to wait until she was back at the dorms. In the meantime, all she could do was rest. Rest, think, and plan.

***

A couple of days later, Kaitlyn stood in front of the Hartland University west dorms once again. The towering structure of red brick proved a welcome sight, one that had been sorely missed during her brief absence. She drank in a deep breath of cool autumn air laced with the scents of roses and oak trees.

Home. I'm home at last.

Getting there had been a little more complicated than she'd initially bargained for. Without family or any of her usual contacts, she'd ended up awkwardly stranded outside of the hospital after her release, debating about whether she'd actually have to walk all the way back. Considering her weakened state, it didn't seem like the smartest idea. Luckily, Heather had her covered. A quick text and the blonde had organized a ride for her from a generous volunteer.

The other thing that had stayed on her mind was the cost of her treatment. She didn't know much about medical insurance, but she did know that a week long stay in a hospital was no joke. And between her $300 of starting funds and the game's general antagonism, she fully expected an outsized bill to slap her in the face without warning. Fortunately, those fears were for naught. Apparently, she had quite the insurance plan in this world.

I mean, it wouldn't REALLY matter either way. The loop would probably reset before I could actually default on a payment or anything, so I could probably just afford to ignore any bills it stuck me with. Still, I'm glad I don't have to worry about that at all.

It also gave her some peace of mind for future incidents. So far, she'd managed to avoid doing anything risky or life-threatening enough to require legitimate medical attention. But if she did find herself in the hospital again, at least she wouldn't have to worry about it breaking the bank.

Taking the elevator up to her floor—her legs may very well have revolted if she even tried climbing the stairs—Kaitlyn soon stepped into the familiar comfort of her dorm room. Before she even made it two steps in, she was tackled backwards in a flurry of golden curls.

"Omigosh, you're back!" Heather practically squealed, her arms wrapping around Kaitlyn's midsection in a crushing hug. "How are you feeling? Are you ok? I was like, soooo worried! I swear, I totally freaked when you texted me! I wasn't sure if you were gonna wake up cuz you were, like, out of it, girl! Did they figure out what happened?"

The artillery barrage of questions left her reeling, even as she struggled to catch her breath. Has Heather always been this strong?! Seriously! It feels like she's gonna snap me in two!

"...Air…" Kaitlyn gasped, patting feebly on the girl's back. "Gentle, please…"

"Oh! I'm like, soooo sorry!" Heather released her crushing grip and stepped back quickly, but kept her hands on Kaitlyn's shoulders. "You're, like, probably super tired! Wanna sit down? Do you need anything? I can totally run to Cappy's if you need some food!"

It took Kaitlyn a moment to recover from the assault, then organize her responses in some semblance of a coherent order. "I'm ok. They don't know what happened, but I'm completely recovered now, just a little sore. Not really tired exactly. I do want to go grab food as soon as I've had a moment to settle in, though. And I've got some packages to pick up that I could use help with."

"Oh, I can totally help with that!" Heather grinned as they both retreated into the dorm, closing the door behind them. "By the way, if you need any help catching up with classes, just let me know! I know you haven't, like, been here to meet people or anything, but I've got you covered. I've got connections that would love to help out, especially in a case like yours. It's like, totally a feel-good kinda thing, y'know?"

Kaitlyn chuckled. "Thanks, Heather. I don't think classes will be a problem, but I'll make sure to let you know if I need anything. Getting me a ride was already more than you needed to do."

"Psssh, and leave my precious roomie stranded? Uh, no way!" The girl flapped her hand dismissively. "Girl, it was the least I could do!"

The blonde continued to pepper her liberally with questions and anecdotes of all the things she'd missed as Kaitlyn flopped onto her bed with a grateful sigh. Compared to the hospital mattress, this one felt like a particularly fluffy cloud that had descended from heaven.

Finally. Things are starting to get back to normal.

It would take her time to process and really move past the events of the past couple weeks, of course. It might take even longer for her to fully sort through the implications of everything she'd learned. But right now, at this very moment, she was content to simply enjoy this slice of relative peace.

After a few minutes of relaxing and talking with Heather, Kaitlyn's stomach rumbled. She sat up with a groan. "Well, guess that's my cue. I'm gonna go grab food. Want to come with?"

Heather paused for breath, perking up. "Of course! Wanna go to Cappy's, or somewhere better? We should, like, totally celebrate! Oh, there's actually this really neat little place on campus, you probably haven't tried it yet…"

As the pair headed out the door, Kaitlyn couldn't help but smile. Her latest trial was over. Now, it was time for the loop to really begin.