At dinner, Ellis stood beside the other employees and listened as Lisle introduced them one by one alongside their roles. The staff ate with the guests, enjoying a traditional first day of the season spread of various meats, cheeses, and breads with fresh fruit from the garden. Lisle explained that it was often a lighter meal on the first night since the travel schedules to The Planet were often so tiring, but that Ellis was welcome to anything else he may have wanted.

Ellis wasn’t sure what he wanted, he felt a bit groggy from the vaccinations and troubles sleeping in his new room, and the options were wide enough that he found plenty to eat. He sat with the rest of the staff, trying not to eye the lonely looking Emma Prescott who refused to join anyone else’s table. She looked to be about his age, and he wondered what happened to her. She looked as lonely as he felt, but he didn’t have the courage to ask her any personal questions.

After the meal was concluded, Lisle told everyone to enjoy the hotel at their leisure, reminding them that The Pink Hare would be open around 8pm and all of the facilities were free to use as they saw fit. The hotel proprietor and the doctor spent some time talking to Sydney and James, catching up since the last near-year between their visits, while Luisa hurried off to the bar to get things ready for patrons with the rest of the staff dispersing to spend their evenings as they saw fit.

Ellis was nervously called over and re-introduced to the couple.

“Ellis, I’d like to offer a better introduction than I did this morning since things were so rushed. This is James and Sydney LaRue, James is a defense attorney and Sydney is a psychiatrist. They’re based in New York, this is their… what, fifth visit to The Planet?” Lisle inquired as he sipped his glass of wine.

“Yes! I can’t believe how much time has gone by,” Sydney replied with a chuckle.

“And what brings you to The Planet, Ellis?” James inquired, his bushy mustache danced across his upper lip as he spoke. He looked like what Ellis imagined Tom Buchanan would look like from The Great Gatsby. He seemed as if he was pulled straight out of a 1920s novel.

“I don’t know yet,” Ellis replied honestly.

“You sound like Luisa, they came barreling in here one year looking for something… oh, how’d they put it… universe shifting, that’s what it was, and never looked back. The Planet felt so lively that first year after they arrived,” Sydney replied with a laugh.

“Luisa is the most energetic person I’ve ever hired, they really shook things up around here,” Lisle added with a smile as he turned to Ellis. “You can sit down, Ellis, you needn’t stand like you’re in trouble.”

“Oh… um… can I go to bed? I’m getting a headache,” Ellis noted nervously.

“Let me run your vitals before you do, okay? You’re awfully pale and I don’t want to send you to bed if something is wrong,” Grant noted as he stood.

Ellis lifted his hands defensively, “I’m alright…”

“Ellis, don’t argue,” Grant chided. “Goodnight, you two. It’s good to see you, I expect you,” he pointed to Sydney, “In the infirmary by 10 tomorrow so we can make sure the baby is alright. And you, I expect you to actually be in bed tonight so I don’t have to scour the hotel to find you at two in the morning.”

“Yes, dear. Goodnight, Ellis,” Lisle said softly.

“Night,” Ellis whispered as he followed Grant out of the restaurant.

Lisle watched him go for a moment with cautious eyes. He felt a pang of nervousness hit him when Ellis stumbled a bit, his body naturally jerked in response to rise to his feet but stopped when Grant caught him by the arm. Lisle set his head in his hands and sighed.

“Are you alright, Lisle?” Sydney asked as she picked up her tea once the others had left.

“I’m not sure,” Lisle admitted.

“He’s a lot like Killian, isn’t he?” James asked.

“Yes, he’s… he’s so much like Killian. It worries me,” Lisle whispered.

“How are you managing that?” Sydney inquired.

Lisle knocked back his wine, “Are you trying to analyze me, Syd?”

Sydney chuckled, “No, merely making an observation that you seem more uneasy than usual.”

Lisle’s leg bounced with agitation as he set his clasped hands against his lips in thought. He shook his head a bit.

“I’m not managing it, not well, but I’ll have to because he needs to be here… Killian was wounded beyond the capabilities of what we could offer here, try as we might to believe otherwise. There’s hope for Ellis, he still has a light in his eyes,” Lisle replied with a soft smile, “And I refuse to let it go out.”

“Are you sure you’re alright, Mr. Hughes?” Grant inquired as he wound up the heart rate cuff.

“My head just hurts a lot,” Ellis replies.

“Do you want some ibuprofen?”

“Maybe?”

Grant furrowed his brows, “What does your headache feel like?”

“A pressure behind my eyes? The lights make it worse.”

“Did you get enough to eat?”

“Yes, I feel full.”

“Alright, make sure you drink a glass of water before bed. Two, if you can manage it, and take an ibuprofen to help ease the tension so you can get some solid sleep. I don’t want you sleepwalking again. There’s a humidifier in your room to help with how dry the hotel can be so let’s get that turned on, I can show you how to use it if you aren’t sure how… hmm…”

Ellis tilted his head to the side a bit, “Is something wrong?”

“Your shoulders look tense.”

Grant looked into Ellis’ tired eyes. The young man appeared uneasy and exhausted, even after the several hour long nap he took. It was obvious he struck a cord with his musing.

“I don’t want to talk about it…” Ellis said curtly.

“Okay…” Grant scooted closer and bit his lip, “Yes or no questions. If you don’t want to say it, just shake your head, alright? I’m not trying to be invasive but I need to at least know how to treat you. Is it an injury?”

Ellis nodded.

“Bone?”

Ellis nodded again.

“Collar bone break on the right side?”

“Y-yes…”

Grant pursed his lips for a minute in thought, “I’d like for you to try and use the hot tub in the morning to loosen up your muscles. The tension from the flights and the new bed have probably tightened everything up and it might be pulling on your neck and adding to your headache. Just promise me you won’t stay in too long and make yourself sick.”

“I didn’t bring a swimsuit.”

“Did you bring shorts?”

“Yes, I think so.”

“Then that’s all you need. Doctor’s orders, take tomorrow to let yourself recover after you help Luisa with some of the housekeeping and I’ll let Lisle know you need some more time before he throws too much work on you. You’re doing good, Ellis, we’ll take it one day at a time,” Grant grabbed the bottle of ibuprofen and popped the cap open. “Don’t stress my husband out anymore than he already is, he’s wired for sound and I can’t keep him reined in. So, let’s keep this between you and I, alright?”

Ellis smiled when he saw the gentle, loving expression on Grant’s face as he thought of Lisle. He felt much calmer and more relaxed around the doctor when his mind was on something other than his own medical needs.

The young man’s eyes lifted to address the new presence in the room as Lisle poked his head in, “Is everything alright? I finished two glasses of wine, you’ve had plenty of time to get him to bed.”

“Yes, just making sure he’s got everything he needs and knows how to use his humidifier. You need to go to bed if you’ve had that much wine, Lisle,” Grant chided.

“I’m on my way to take a shower now, you grumpy old man. Ellis, Luisa will need to clean the windows and dust tomorrow after breakfast if you’d be so kind as to join them—should you feel up to it, of course. If you need anything, please use the intercom! Masoud programmed your name in this afternoon, we have one in our bedroom that will chime if it goes off for either of our names. Grant, I will see you in a bit. Goodnight, Ellis.”

“I’ll be up shortly,” Grant replied as he handed Ellis the pill and a bottle of water.

“Goodnight, Mr. Hawthorne,” Ellis said sleepily.

“Please, call me Lisle, you make me sound so old,” Lisle said with a laugh as he left the infirmary.

Grand patted Ellis on the shoulder and told him to head to bed, letting him know that he would be along shortly to show him how to use the humidifier after he closed up the infirmary and grabbed his notes to finalize his day’s entries before bed. Ellis did as he was asked, walking out into the hall with Lisle’s name on his lips and a question that he forgot to ask festering.

All Grant could do was sigh, “This is going to wreck him, I just know it… dammit, Killian, why did you do it…”