Jeanne truly could not fathom why Talulah's focus had drifted toward such a bizarre detail. Had the Draco woman eaten something strange that morning?
Still, looking down at the dark red garment the Doctor had been wearing for an entire year inside the machine, Jeanne let out a soft sigh, her heart growing slightly tangled as she recalled how she had once tried to strip it right off the sleeping woman.
She offered a brief explanation, and Talulah merely nodded, her curiosity satisfied. The leader of the rebellion had simply wondered why a brilliant medical specialist would be dressed in such an ill-fitting shroud.
"Doctor, can you hear my voice? Squeeze my hand!" Amiya cried out, grasping the limp hand of the slumbering figure, desperate to draw her back to the waking world.
Whether the numbing effects of the Sarcophagus were finally fading or Amiya's emotional voice had reached her, the Doctor's fingers slowly began to tighten. It was a remarkably faint movement, yet it proved that life was steadily flowing back into her veins.
"Doctor! She's responding!" The onlookers gasped in surprise. A moment ago, many had feared the worst, never dreaming the patient would stir so quickly.
The Doctor's breathing steadily grew deeper and faster. The monitors near the frame confirmed that her vital signs were shaking off the heavy slumber, lifting the spirits of every medic in the room.
"Is that truly what the Doctor looks like?" whispered an operator who had served during the Babel era. She found it hard to believe that this slender, fragile person was the legendary figure from her past.
In their memories, the Doctor ought to be a terrifying, imposing warlord—a form far more fitting for a moniker like the Ghost of Babel, rather than this gaunt woman who looked as though a gentle breeze could topple her.
"Doctor, please, squeeze my hand!" Under Amiya's persistent calls, the Doctor finally parted her eyelids, revealing a pair of deep, sapphire-blue eyes that slowly scanned the unfamiliar faces hovering above.
"Who... are you people?" the Doctor murmured, studying the strange expressions of the crowd. Their gazes were so peculiar, especially the little... Cautus girl standing right in the center.
"Doctor, do you truly have no memory of us?" Amiya asked, her voice dipping with disappointment despite the mental preparations Kal'tsit had given her before the expedition.
"Who are you all? I have no recollection of knowing any of you," the Doctor replied, a flicker of panic entering her face as she looked around the unfamiliar chamber.
"Doctor, please do not fear. We are..." Amiya spoke softly, keeping her tone as gentle as possible to ease the patient's wariness.
"I am your debt collector!" Jeanne interrupted, stepping forward with a mischievous grin. "You borrowed an immense amount of wealth from me to pay for your medical treatments, so you've effectively pawned the rest of your days to my service!"
This was likely her only chance to tease the woman before her sharp intellect returned. Once this clever individual regained her composure, fooling her would be an impossible task, even with her memories gone.
The surrounding operators cast thoroughly disapproving glares at Jeanne. How could anyone take advantage of a helpless, amnesiac patient with a straight face?
Amiya looked back and forth between Jeanne and the Doctor, wondering if a mountain of debt truly existed. She knew the two shared a unique bond, so such an arrangement wasn't entirely out of the question.
"You... for some reason, I sense nothing but mischief behind that smile," the Doctor murmured, staring up at the maiden. She felt her pulse quicken slightly. Was this the sudden flutter of a profound connection?
The rhythmic beeping of the EKG suddenly surged, displaying the Doctor's racing heartbeat to the entire room. A few operators exchanged highly suspicious glances, wondering if there was some unspoken, scandalous romance between the two.
Even Talulah's gaze shifted dramatically. What is going on here? I raised Jeanne all these years, only for this stranger to wake up and start acting like this? Don't tell me they made some secret vow in the past.
"Tell me the truth, you are twisting the facts, aren't you?" Despite her blank mind, the Doctor's instincts screamed that the grinning maiden was playing a trick on her.
"How could I? Do I look like the sort of person who would spin tales?" Jeanne spread her hands, projecting a picture of pure innocence.
"Put it in writing then!" the Doctor countered, refusing to be handled so easily.
Jeanne instantly fell silent, choosing to ignore the request with a tight-lipped grin. The onlookers began to feel a different sort of doubt—had the Doctor truly lost her memory, or was she just incredibly sharp by nature?
"Lost your tongue? If I don't even know who you are, how could I possibly owe you anything?" the Doctor noted, nodding with immense satisfaction at Jeanne's silence.
Watching the patient's smug demeanor, Jeanne felt a sudden urge to deliver a playful headbutt. However, considering how dangerously weak the Doctor's physical frame was, she refrained from pushing any further.
"How can you say you don't know me? The very clothes on your back belong to me," Jeanne countered, pointing at the dark red garment.
The Doctor looked down at the loose fabric draping over her chest, then glanced back at Jeanne before checking herself once more. She realized that unless her physical frame had shrunk significantly during the long slumber, the maiden's claim held some truth.
"Does this medical treatment cause one's chest to diminish?" the Doctor lamented, her voice laced with bitter disappointment.
"Keep dreaming. You've always possessed that exact slender shape. I merely lent you this shroud as an emergency measure," Jeanne chuckled, gently patting the woman's shoulder to encourage her to lie back down and let the medics proceed.
The Doctor slowly began to relax. Though her mind remained completely blank, the deep sense of familiarity and safety Jeanne provided assured her that the maiden would never truly cause her harm.
Well, physical harm, at least. The kind of mischief that involved playful teasing from someone with a far more impressive figure was clearly still on the table.
Surrounded by the medical staff, she endured the remaining emergency procedures. Once she regained a modicum of mobility, the team prepared to transfer her to a proper hospital room for a thorough evaluation.
"Doctor, can you truly recall nothing at all?" Amiya asked sorrowfully as they rode in the transport vehicle. The rest of the staff remained in the outer compartment, leaving only the two of them inside the small private cabin.
Amiya had spent the last hour recounting countless tales—their shared past, Theresa, Kal'tsit, and the foundation of Rhodes Island—yet the Doctor offered no reaction.
"I am so sorry, Amiya. Even though you speak with such warmth, my mind remains completely empty," the Doctor replied gently, feeling a pang of guilt as she looked at the young Cautus, who looked like a discarded pup.
"However..." the Doctor started, her tone shifting playfully. Amiya's long ears instantly perked up, her eyes shining with renewed hope.
"If you were to let me stroke those soft ears of yours, it might just trigger a spark of memory!" the Doctor added, a peculiar, yearning look entering her eyes as she stared at the velvety features.
Amiya froze, instantly realizing the truth. This had nothing to do with recovering memories; the Doctor simply wanted a golden opportunity to touch her ears!
"I... I suppose that is alright," Amiya murmured, lowering her head to grant the request.
In the past, the Doctor had rubbed her ears countless times, but with so many operators sitting just beyond the thin partition, the young leader felt a deep flush of embarrassment.
"Then I shall not hesitate!" the Doctor cheered, eagerly taking hold of the large, plush ears. The warm, incredibly soft texture instantly sent her into a state of pure bliss, and her fingers began to rub and stroke them with wild enthusiasm.
Oh my goodness, the texture is absolutely divine! the Doctor rejoiced internally.
Meanwhile, in the outer cabin, the medical staff were descending into utter panic!
"Why are the readings spiking so wildly? Amiya, is the Doctor alright in there? A pulse this rapid goes far beyond a minor irregularity!"
The operators fretted, terrified that the Doctor's racing heart would cause her to lose consciousness all over again. Among the crowd, the only ones who could accurately surmise the truth were Jeanne and Talulah.
Jeanne was thoroughly acquainted with the Doctor's eccentric streaks, while Talulah understood all too well how much of a temptation soft ears, horns, and tails were to those who lacked them. The person inside was clearly no exception.
Inside the cabin, Amiya's face turned bright crimson. She stammered out a hasty, clumsy excuse to quiet the monitors.
Amiya looked away in deep embarrassment, silently scolding herself for entirely forgetting about the telltale EKG monitor, and refused to grant the Doctor another glance.
Left with no choice, the Doctor could only offer a string of sheepish apologies in the quiet room.