Over the next few weeks, the lab was in a flurry of activity as Brian and the other patient, who Lena found out was in a similar situation as Brian, were steadily gaining strength and being monitored daily to ensure their mental state was stable.

Dr. Nikolaev was tasked with another priority project and left the majority of the work to Lena and Hyun Joon.  He would check in with the two every other week but from the stack of new folders he carried with him, Lena was sure Dr. Nikolaev would be quite busy for the next little while.

Lena checked her tablet, matching the notes from the computer before stretching her hands above her head and sitting back in her chair.  She glanced at the closed door to her office and wondered if Brian was in his room or the fitness facility.  

She had not been able to find an opportunity to be alone with him, to gauge if he recognized her.  Even with Dr. Nikolaev away most of the time and Hyun Joon volunteering to take care of the other patient, Lena had always bumped into Brian only when there were others around.

She was able to monitors his vitals of course, but the sheer weight of his gaze on her made her shrink away from the thought of trying to talk to him about anything past a professional standpoint.

“Coward.”  She muttered, looking at the calendar on her desk.  She had circled the fifteenth of the following month, promising herself to find a way to free him in a month’s time.  She figured he would regain his strength and would be able to make do on his own by then.

She stretched again and stood up from her chair.  Glancing down at her watch, realizing that it was already past eight, Lena left her office with the tablet in her arms.  

“I’ll go check his vitals again and try to at least meet him in the eyes.”  She promised herself with a stern look on her face.  “You can do this.  It’s Brian in there.  You need to get him to trust you enough so you can help him get out of here.”

Moments later, she came across Brian in his room, having already been to the fitness facility and found it empty.  

She knocked at the side of the open doorway, waiting for him to notice her before she entered his room.

He had been moved almost immediately after he woke up, keeping up with the story that the building was a recuperation facility for injured soldiers.  

Brian glanced up at the small desk, where he had been writing in a journal and nodded in greeting.

“Dr.”

“It’s that time again, I’m afraid.”  Lena raised the tablet a little and Brian nodded again in understanding, standing up and following her into the next room, where she began to turn knobs and push buttons on a monitor.

She could hear the ruffle of clothing and she turned around to find him sitting neatly on the edge of the observation table, his chest completely exposed.  She almost dropped her tablet but internally shook her head.

Wheeling the monitor over with one hand while she gripped the tablet, she took in a deep breath and braced herself.

He glanced at the monitor and straightened his posture as she carefully taped various wires over his temple and chest.

She could feel his gaze on her but she fiddled with the last of the wire over his arm, inwardly calling herself a coward again for avoiding him.

“Alright, let’s get this done quickly so you can have the rest of your evening to yourself.”  She mustered a smile, already stepping back from the closeness of him.