Edited by: Waning_Crescents

Late in the evening Cal rummaged through the closet and packed his belongings into a bag as a nurse knocked on the door once and entered the room right after. “Mr. Vaughn, if you really want to leave, we can’t keep you, especially, because your recovery went without any complications and your vital signs appear to be stable enough. However, the doctor told me to let you know to still take it easy, rest up and do nothing that could strain your body for at least another week, understood?”

Cal nodded without even looking at her, after which the nurse left the room again. After he finished packing, he put the bag over his shoulder and left the hospital. In front of the building, a cab was already waiting for him. He got in and sat down while he told the driver his destination, who nodded and started the car.

Cal let out a puff of air as he looked out the window of the cab. He really didn’t come, huh?

He took his phone out and stared at the screen. He also never called…

While some of his colleagues visited him at the hospital, the one person he really wanted to talk to never showed up, his partner Sigal. As much as he longed to express his gratitude to Sigal for saving him, the fear of rejection took ahold of him, so he shied away from even trying to call his partner.

Does he hate me so much now after I screwed everything up? Is this the end of our partnership?

He clenched his phone into a tighter grip, uneasiness lingering in his heart.

“We are here.”

Cal got pulled out of his thoughts by that, paid the driver and got out of the cab. He glanced at the Conciliator’s Headquarters building for a good minute before he found the courage to enter it.

He stopped in front of the chief’s office, took a deep breath, and knocked.

“Come in.” A voice echoed from inside.

When Cal heard that, he opened the door and went in.

 “Cal?” Vince said in astonishment. “What are you doing here? I thought your official release was in about a week.”

“Yeah, but I self-discharged myself, I am fine, no need to stay there any longer,” Cal explained.

The chief glanced at his subordinate with a quite worried expression. “I am not sure if you—“

“I am really fine!” The young investigator cut him off. “I need to come back…please.”

“It’s not like your position would be in danger if you take a longer leave of absence if that is what worries you!?” Vince remarked.

“I can’t deny that it did worry me, but I also need to do something. I can’t stay in bed all day anymore, please let me return.” Cal insisted while he slightly bowed his head down.

Vince examined him for a brief moment and eventually sighed. “On one condition!”

Cal lifted his head. “Yes?”

“As soon as things get too exhausting for you or if you should feel any discomfort, you immediately stop, is that clear?” Vince declared.

Cal nodded. “Yes, understood!”

“Now that this has been cleared up, we actually have a situation here. I will hold a meeting tomorrow at 8am on how we proceed in this matter. I will include you in the case,” Vince said, “Get some rest and report in tomorrow morning.”

Call nodded and left the office right after. At some point he wanted to ask Vince about Sigal, but he didn’t even know how to start, so he dropped it. I guess it has to wait until tomorrow…

Cal left his apartment early in the morning, earlier than he had to, but he hoped if he arrived before the meeting started that he could seize an opportunity to talk to Sigal.

He waited in front of the entrance and nervously tapped with his right foot on the ground. Then he glanced at his watch which showed 7:45am, only fifteen minutes to go. He took a few deep breaths to calm his nerves as finally Sigal arrived.

Sigal spotted Cal at once as he walked up to the entrance and frowned. Without any intention of stopping, he passed by the younger investigator and entered the building.

Caught off-guard by the unpleasant glare, Cal hesitated for a moment, but then he quickly caught the door and called out, “Sigal, wait!”

His partner, however, exhibited no intention of slowing down and instead moved straight onward. He totally ignored him!

Cal stepped inside with the purpose of following his partner as he heard a familiar voice calling out to him from behind, “Hey, Cal! I am glad to see you back again.”

He stopped in his tracks and whipped his head around. “Oh, hi, Claire and Nero…yeah, I am back.”

His response sounded absentminded, but he had no attention to spare for the two of them at this moment and, therefore, turned back to go after Sigal, but that one already disappeared out of sight.

He missed his chance!

He sighed as he let go of the door, disappointment written all over his face. That’s exactly what I was afraid of…how are we even supposed to move forward like that?

He put one hand on his forehead and slightly shivered. He had no idea how to fix this, what could he possibly do now? This took a turn for the worse, far worse than he predicted.

“Are you okay?” Claire asked in a worried tone, which pulled the younger investigator out of his thoughts. He completely forgot about his colleague’s presence.

Cal put his hand down and his gaze fell upon them as he replied, “Y-yes, sorry, I am fine.”

“Claire, get a move on, the meeting!” Nero suddenly let out and then also glanced at Cal. “You too!”

Nero Griffin was Claire’s partner in Section 3 and usually not a man of words; however, when the situation demanded it, he spoke up, but still used as few words as possible to get his point across.

“Oh, right! You are actually joining us…are you sure you are already up for this?” Claire asked Cal with concern showing in her voice.

Cal nodded. “Yeah, I am fine, don’t worry.”

Claire wanted to ask more but her partner interrupted her by pushing her onward. “Go!!” He clearly lost his patience with her.

“Hey!!” Claire complained as Nero forced her to move, while Cal just followed behind them in silence.

As the three of them arrived in the meeting room, everyone had already taken their seats, so had Sigal.

After Cal took his seat, he glanced at his partner who sat a bit further away. By taking a closer look at Sigal’s face he noticed that something seemed off about him. Somehow, he gave the impression of being exhausted and tired. Cal didn’t realize this at first, but the longer he eyed him the more details he witnessed, like the dark circles under his eyes or the slight paleness of his skin.

What happened to him?