Leo had just left the coffee shop, having waited longer than needed just to ensure he wouldn't have to see her again that day.
Guilt swirled inside him because of his prior actions.
He understood why he had lied. But the lack of self control? That was a bit harder to swallow.
Was he simply that scared of losing someone again?
But what did losing someone mean if they were never tethered to you in any real way to begin with?
Was it just an obsession with the sensation of company?
Fear of what it meant to continue on without that sort of distraction?
One thing was certain; far too many thoughts had been disturbing him as of late.
He hadn't taken the proper time to tackle each internal conflict before putting himself in the situation where another could arise.
Could he stop lying to himself about the nature of his promises?
Was it really him who did that to Pierre?
And could he tell the truth to Rachel?
He rubbed the bridge of his nose, trying to drown out the thoughts.
That's when he realized a bigger issue was at hand.
In a panic, he hurriedly made his way to the hospital.
A moment later, he entered the clinic with a heavy sigh.
Several heads turned to him, many whispering to one another.
He had gotten a bit more used to it by this point.
The usual woman at the desk looked up in surprise.
"Leo? It's nice to see you! I take it you're here to visit her?"
He breathed in for a moment, catching his breath. It wasn't necessarily the run that had taken it out of him, just the pure panic.
"No. Well, yes. Sorry, what day is it?"
She looked down at her desk for a moment, moving several documents.
He followed her gaze towards the desk.
The mountain of papers had given him some small insight into her own life.
Perhaps his job as a professor wasn't all too hard in comparison to someone like her.
Having to keep up with hundreds and hundreds of different profiles must've been tiring, especially for someone who was so kind as to remember names and faces.
Or, at least his own.
He felt a pang of shame as he realized he hadn't a clue what the woman's name was even after all these years.
His lips parted as he planned to ask, but closed once more as he felt inclined to wait until she was done searching.
She pulled a calendar out from beneath the pile of paperwork with an exhausted grunt.
"It is a…"
She scanned the calendar for the marks she made, leading towards the current date.
"Saturday."
He let out a sigh of relief.
"Do you think I could take Maria out today?"
She stared for a moment, her gaze dropping slightly.
"I would love for you to have that time with her, but I can't make that call. I'm sorry."
He let out a small, internal groan of frustration.
He thought for a moment how he could get Maria out of her room.
Usually, he would've accepted defeat by now, but he felt particularly determined at this moment.
He took a hand, brushing his hair out of his face as he leaned against the table.
"A few hours couldn't hurt, would they?"
Her eyes widened as her cheeks began to burn.
She gulped loudly.
"I… well, I suppose…"
He leaned closer.
"You suppose what?"
Sweat had started to form all over her face, making her glisten.
She tucked a bit of her hair beyond an ear, her eyes still avoiding his.
Her voice fell to a low whisper.
"I suppose… I'd be too busy filling out these documents to notice someone getting wheeled out."
He sighed in relief, dropping the act almost immediately.
"Thank you, uhm…"
He quickly scanned her desk, for once noticing the name plate that lay just beside a vase of flowers.
"Ms. Esmerald."
He hurried down the hall and towards Maria's room, leaving the woman to swoon.
Slipping past several people on his way to Maria's room, he arrived just beyond the door.
He stood there for a moment, giving himself a moment to tidy up and prepare.
He might've been a little late, but he assumed that him showing up at all would've broken her expectations.
As regretful as that was.
He eventually opened the door, slipping inside.
Leo walked deeper into the room, turning to view just behind the curtain that separated her bed from the rest of the room.
He felt his chest grow lighter from everything that had weighed on him before.
There she was.
Her black, silky hair just as long as usual.
She held a book that seemed gargantuan in her frail hands.
"I don't think I'm familiar with that title. Where'd you get it?"
Her eyes widened as her head shot up towards him.
"Father?"
He smiled awkwardly.
"Look at you. You don't look ready at all."
She laughed at this, her voice ringing like music in his ears.
Her laugh died down as she noticed the bandage over his eye.
"What happened? You didn't get hurt fighting one of those beasts again, did you?"
He smirked cockily, waving a hand in dismissal.
"This little thing? No, nothing like that. Just something your big brother Caspian gave me for being an idiot."
She let out a huff, reluctantly accepting his explanation.
"If you say so… but he better have a good reason or he's losing his brother status in my eyes."
Leo winced jokingly.
"Oof. I'm sure that'll get him."
He scoured the surroundings for a moment before grabbing a brush and handing it to her.
"We aren't going anywhere fancy. But at least brush your hair."
She looked at the brush for a moment before handing it back.
"I want you to."
He breathed heavily in a joking annoyance.
"Yeah, yeah. Come here."
Some time had passed as Leo sat beside her, gently brushing her locks.
It took quite a bit to get all the knots out due to the length, but he eventually got it all knocked out without complaints of being too rough.
He felt a strange pride in the moment because of that.
Some time later, he had finished tidying her hair and assisted her into her wheelchair.
He knew she hated the thing, so he had an idea to kill that feeling before it festered too much.
She was about to say something but he put a finger to his lips.
"Shhh… I'm not actually allowed to take you out today."
She shot her hands to her mouth, gasping as she played along.
"We're sneaking out? How thrilling! It's just like from the novels!"
He gently opened the door, looking left and right to ensure the staff were all busy with their own matters at the moment.
Finding an opening, he rushed her out of the room and down the halls.
Maria giggled with excitement as they "snuck" around.
Esmerald watched from her desk, softly smiling in admiration of how Leo could make his daughter laugh despite her situation.
Maria likely would recover from the look of things, but not for a good while.
Leo was now rolling Maria down the street.
"So, where to?"
She pointed forward, as if commanding him.
"To the library!"
He nodded, picking up the pace.
"To the Library we go, then."
Pushing her along, he tried his best to remember the path.
There were a few closer ones that came to mind, but she deserved the best after having waited this long.
Vaguely remembering the location of the Central Augustine Library, he continued on, taking several turns and trying his best to dodge bystanders who wished to speak to him.
Finally, they reached the enormous archive of books.
Both nearly sighed out loud as the warm air hit them, cleansing them of the chill outside.
It had started to become noticeably colder in Augustine, making it apparent that Winter was just around the corner.
He leaned down, whispering to Maria.
"Do you want me to push you"
She shook her head, muttering back in response.
"I'm okay by myself."
Her thin hands took hold of the wheels, pushing herself towards the desired isles.
He stood still, just smiling as he watched her go.
It felt as though all of his effort had finally been rewarded.