lover/fighter - Finnick Odair

Chapter 7 - After the storm

Today, however, Rhea would skip for once. She was so knackered that she didn't need a chore to remind her what it meant to toil away. She needed something else today.

As if in a trance, she goes about her morning routine, but takes considerably more time doing it. After showering and dressing, she grabs her keys and the old worn denim jacket from the coat hook in the hallway and headed out.

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As Rhea stands in front of the white front door, her stomach suddenly turns. She's not sure if it's the memories of yesterday morning, triggered by the blinding white color, or if her stomach just wants to remind her that she hasn't eaten properly in over 24 hours. It's probably both. She could have gotten something to eat on her way, but hadn't thought about it at all until now, as her thoughts revolved solely around what happened yesterday.

After a short while, she hears the sound of familiar footsteps behind the door, before it opens a short time later. On the other side, a man in his sixties greets her. The stature a bit bulkier but in a way often seen in aging people, he is just a little taller than Rhea, the face round, a pair of rimless glasses on the nose behind which light brown eyes look at her full of kindness and wisdom. His somewhat disheveled hair, as well as the well-groomed Henriquatre beard are already grayed for the most part, only in some places remnants of the former maroon hue are still visible.

Before she can say anything, she sees joy come over his face and he doesn't hesitate a second to step out of the door and enclose her in a warm embrace.

"Rhea! How nice to see you face to face again," he greets her, though most of it is swallowed by her hair into which he mumbles.

She replies softly, "Yes, you too," and lets herself sink into the embrace. In that moment, she realizes how badly she needs this right now. She feels like a little child again, fragile, helpless, and suddenly she has to fight the tears. She thought she would be all right after a good night's sleep, but it seems she was far from being fine.

He seems to notice her feelings and holds her until she regains her composure. It's not surprising, he had always been unusually empathetic. When she finally breaks free of his embrace, he lets his hands rest on her shoulders as he carefully surveys her.

"You look exhausted, even more so than usual. I'm guessing the reason you're here has something to do with what we talked about on the phone yesterday. It's best you come inside first," he announces in a slightly worried tone.

"Fine," she croaks, her voice a little hoarse from her emotional near-outburst, and follows him into the manor she knows so well. He leads her into the kitchen, and from the horrible mess she finds there, she immediately recognizes that he must have just been cooking.

The sight brings back many fond memories of the last two years and she has to laugh. She is about to make a teasing remark when her stomach starts to make itself heard and now it is he who is laughing.

Her face blushes violently but he just pushes her lovingly to one of the stools at the counter. "Seems like you've come at just the right time. It's still best to talk about problems while you're cooking," he explains, clearly amused, as he rummages around in his mess and finally spreads out a cutting board, a knife and various vegetables in front of her.

Linus Coppergrove, is probably the nicest person she has ever met. There is no one else she respects more than him. She liked him right from the start, back when their relationship was purely professional. Linus had taken over a course for a colleague as a substitute during her second year as a medical student. Rhea was convinced after the first session that it would be better if he replaced the other lecturer permanently. He has a talent for dealing with people and is a far better teacher than most of the other professors she has dealt with. Unfortunately, he has too much to do with his actual job to teach permanently at TCMP. You see, Linus Coppergrove is the chief medical officer and director of the Capitol Central Hospital. Not only a very prestigious job but also one that comes with a lot of responsibility.