"This. The food. Staying here. You don't really know Alexander… not truly."
Reyes unwrapped his own sandwich. "We know he helped us. That's enough for us."
Kade shook his head. "He didn't do it for us. He did it for his daughter. For Emma."
"It doesn't matter why he did it," Leo replied. "He still stepped up. He risked his life and got shot because of us."
There was a brief pause.
"So yeah," Leo continued. "We're sticking around. We're making sure you eat. Because someone needs to be here, and right now, that's us."
Kade looked at him for a bit, then down at the sandwich. He picked it up and took a bite. It tasted like cardboard, but he just kept eating.
They sat quietly for a while, munching and sipping coffee.
The waiting room was pretty calm, except for the buzz of the fluorescent lights.
Finally, Kade spoke up.
"Alexander was a great dad."
"Was." The past tense made it clear he was already gone. Leo didn't correct him.
