What Comes After (AiO Fic)

Chapter Two

  The light, little melody he'd been whistling while walking up to the building quietly came to a brief stop. Bernard's stride did, too. Before even making it up to the rotating doors, he eyed the front entrance of Odyssey General Hospital. Stuffing his hands in his pocket, Bernard continued to hum—walking inside. No sense being hesitant, after all, Whit had called him to tell how Eugene was doing. Things weren't dire anymore.

But, that had been quite the scare. And Bernard wasn't even the slightest surprised by the small heart attack he'd nearly had when he'd heard about the hold up—and how Eugene nearly hadn't survived. True, he didn't much know the boy outside of their interactions at Whit's End—even if they were technically family—but that still meant he didn't enjoy seeing something terrible happen to him. Especially since he's not a Christian. Bernard had stayed up quite late praying that night Whit had called him.

There was little need to worry now. Less so considering he was here to visit Eugene, anyways. Even if he was stopping in for a 'hello', it'd give Bernard some more relief to see Eugene awake and talking. (Bonus points if the 'hello' segways to something or other about some science jargon, or another, similar topic Bernard can't make heads or tails of even understanding).

Walking into the main waiting area of the hospital, many of the seats were filled by many different people. Of course, that came as no surprise. This was a hospital, after all. However, there was one person that seemed to catch Bernard's attention. A teenage girl wearing a green turtleneck, along with a scrunchie in her auburn hair. She was sitting slouched in her seat, arms crossed in front of herself—a despondent look on her face, and a watery glint in her eyes. Bernard blinked.

Stepping closer to her, he leaned down a little to catch her eye. "Connie?" Connie quietly gasped in startle. She hadn't noticed Bernard approaching her. "O-Oh! Hi, Bernard." He hummed. "Hi, Connie. Didn't expect to see you here." Bernard commented. Connie shrugged. "We came to visit Eugene." She replied. A bit puzzled, Bernard glanced nearby, before looking back at her. "'We'?"

"Me and my mom." Connie clarified. "Uh huh," Bernard nodded. "And uh, where is your mom?" Shifting a little awkwardly in her seat, Connie answered, "... Talking to Eugene." That simply made Bernard more puzzled. "So, your mom's visiting Eugene, and you're sitting out here...?" Hesitantly, Connie gave a nod. "W-Well, I already said 'hi' to him." She added. "Right," Bernard began. "But, you didn't maybe wanna stick around after saying 'hi'?"

"No- I mean- I... don't know, okay?" Bernard's eyes narrowed a little. "'You don't'..." He trailed off. Then, he shook his head a little and exhaled. Bernard took a second to consider the expression on Connie's face before he said his next words. "Well, I might." It was now Connie's turn to look confused. "'You might' what?"

"Know."

"Know 'what'?" Bernard sat in the empty chair next to her. "Know why you didn't hang around." Connie said nothing, letting Bernard continue. "I think it may have something to do with that pitying look you're wearing." Connie tilted her head a little. "... 'Pitying'?" Bernard shrugged. "That was just what I observed, anyhow." He disclosed. Connie's gaze fell to her lap. "But, anyway. How've you been holding up, by the way?"

"Well... it's been really stressful... kind of hard..." Bernard gave her a look of sympathy. "Of course," He assured her, sighing. "I wouldn't think having to deal with all the emotions from somethin' like this would be easy." Connie nodded, a hand coming up to wipe her eye. Putting a comforting hand on her shoulder, Bernard tried giving her a light hearted smirk. "I've definitely been praying for you, Connie." She so briefly smirked in return. "... Thanks."

"And if you need someone to talk to," Bernard added. "Don't forget there's a lot of people, who care for ya, to listen." He reminded her. "Me included." Connie glanced at him. "I'll keep your offer in mind. Thanks, Bernard." Bernard nodded, patting her shoulder. "Anytime." Then, he stood from the hard, plastic chair. "Now, if you'll excuse me," Connie looked up at him. "I'm also here to see Eugene."