Flynn had always hated hospitals, ever since his mother died. The sights and sounds of this room deeply vexed him; the monitor beeps, the distant murmurs of medical staff and the moans and screams of sick, dying patients. The illusion that everything would be fine in this room was just that: an illusion. He knew better than that.

He caught Sara staring intently at the heart monitor. "I'm not going to flatline, you know. It's impossible for me."

She snapped back into reality. "I thought you were sleeping," she said.

"No. Couldn't even if I wanted to. I've just been... spacing out," He eyed her, noting the small amount of fear in her deep blue eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Hah! You pass out, damn near getting us into a wreck–"

Flynn's eyes bugged out. "I did? I was only joking about that."

"– Crumple to the ground in a panicking mess, and you're asking me if I'm okay?"

He shrugged as best as he could with multiple pillows under his head and neck. "I care."

She gave him a thin-lipped smile while taking hold of two of his fingers. "I know. I'm all right. I'm more worried about you."

"It was just a panic attack."

Sara slid Flynn a dubious look. "Flynn, as someone who suffers from generalised anxiety, I know it's never just a panic attack, mate. What's the matter?"

He breathed in deeply, trying to find the words to convey what he was feeling. He felt a lot of things; scared, tired, queasy, annoyed that he was stuck here... In the end, he was able to pinpoint one: lost. "I don't know. That's the problem. I've always been so sure, and now? I don't know. And that terrifies me."

"The unknown," she said, almost sounding lost in thought, though she was very much at the moment. She could relate to him. "Welcome to the club."

Following a sharp inhale, he put forth the question that had been poking at him since he got there. "Did you call me a sweetie earlier?"

"I did. Too much?" Sara winced in anticipation of his answer. She knew it would freak him out.

"No, it's just– It's new."

"Well, I can't help it," She shifted in her seat a bit and avoided eye contact. "I mean, you are one. I think?"

"I try to be."

She smiled once more, briefly. "Look, I know I don't know you that well, but... I feel like I do, on some level. If that... makes sense. So... instinct told me to go with that."

Flynn put his other hand on top of hers and looked her kindly in the eyes. "I don't hate it. Really. It's just I've been called everything else but that. I'm not used to it."

"Not even by girlfriends?"

Ah, yes. Girlfriends. Just hearing the word made him feel like he was getting stabbed by Excalibur all over again. A small twitch of his lips was enough to tell her she struck a nerve.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to–"

"It's fine," It wasn't. "On second thought, maybe you shouldn't call me that anymore, all right? I don't want you to get attached."

It's a little late for that, sweetie, she thought. You have no idea.

"Anyway! I need to get out of here," Flynn swung one leg over the edge of the bed, then the other and got up. "I can't– Ahhhh-haaa aye, aye, aye, that hurts!" He slapped his hand on his lower back and massaged it.

"What does?"

"My... back. Am I bleeding?" Flynn turned around for her to check.

She shook her head. "Just skin. And a lot of freckles."

"Oh, yeah," he responded, giggles tucked into his words. "You could play Connect the Dots back there. Seriously, though, nothing?" He strained to look at it himself.

"Nothing but a red splotch where you rubbed," she lied. True, there was nothing on the surface, but inside of him was something that not even a doctor could explain. It was the kind of thing that would have landed him in a testing facility, and for that reason, she kept her mouth shut on the subject. "Kidney stone maybe?" Sara offered.

"Oh," he sighed. "That would be my luck. My once brilliant mind is mush, my mental health is shambolic, why not?" Flynn stared up and shouted at the heavens, "Bring it on, you merciless bastards!"

Even though she was snickering at him, Sara still acted serious and folded her arms. "Is this the sound of giving up I hear coming from you, Mister Flynn Carsen?"

"I don't know what else to do. I'm out of ideas."

"Well, maybe it's the– Haa! Hahaha!" Sara caught herself before going further. Loudly, she coughed and redirected her thought. "Hey, how 'bout you get back into bed," Sara eased him in and covered him up. "I'll see about getting you discharged, and we'll go from there. Yeah?"

The manic expression on her face made Flynn more than a tad uncomfortable. "Did they give you something?"

"Me? Nah! You know my phobia won't let me," That was the first truth out of her in the last minute. "I'll, uh–" She jerked her head back, towards the door and left without another word.

He sat there, watching her go, perplexed, to say the least. He shook it off and mumbled to himself. "And they say I'm the weird one."

***************************

"You don't understand," Sara insisted to the doctor. "He's going crazy," Going? Nice one. She sloughed her thought off. "It was just a panic attack, he's fine now."

As the Doctor flipped through Flynn's chart, he told her, "We're waiting on the police. They'll want to ask some questions."

Blankly, she stared at him. "Heh?"

"I don't know the details, Miss Wheeler, but it sounds bad."

"Listen, Doctor..."

"Greene."

She chuckled. "Your first name wouldn't happen to be Mark, would it?"

"It is, actually."

Once again, her countenance was expressionless, but laughing on the inside. "Right, well, let me know when they get here, eh?"

"Will do," he said and excused himself.

Sara lingered a moment before sprinting back to Flynn's room, except something got in the way yet again: her parents. "Mum?"

"Oh, Sara, honey!" Clara exclaimed, following a gasp. "They told us you were here, but I didn't want to believe it. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Giddy, even," she said, sounding anything but that. "What are you doing here?"

"We're taking you home," Daryl sternly stared at her. "Where that–" He struggled to find an adjective to describe Flynn and gave up. "Where you'll be safe."

"Safe, right... And you're such a proponent of protection, aren't you?" Sara's eyes shifted to the side, thinking. "Ooh. I see why he likes that so much. He's rubbing off on me already. Or I am him. Tell me," She suddenly donned an American accent and absently rubbed her the fingers of her right hand together. "Do I look tired? I don't feel tired. Although Baird keeps telling me I am, and that I need her, but–" A single guffaw burst out of her. "What does she know?" she rasped. "I've been the Librarian for ten years! I'm fine!"

Clara's eyes shrunk, weasel small. "Are you?"

"Oh, yes! I am perfectly peachy. Absolutely all right. Extremely ecstatic. I can't stop!"

She took Sara's hand, or whomever's hand it belonged to. "Maybe we should go..."

"No! No, I am fine," Bit by bit, her inner-Flynn faded. "I– He's in here," she said and pointed to her temple. "Already he– I-I can't leave him. He needs me. I'm sorry. I can't," Her voice quavered.

One last time, she apologised, and when she turned to run, she almost crashed into a nurse. Without another word, Sara squeezed by her, hurried back to where Flynn was and barged in through the door, once again, appearing hysterical. "We need to go!"

Flynn leapt out of bed. "Excellent plan. But where can we go?"

"Anywhere but here," Sara grabbed the plastic bag that held his belongings. "My parents are here, the police are on their way, and you'll most likely be arrested."

"Arrested? What did I do?!"

"Kidnapping, stealing a car..."

He was silent for a few seconds, harking back to those dreadful moments he blocked out. "Oh, that!"

"Yes," she drawled in her Welsh accent. "So, think! Use that big brain of yours. How did you get here in the first place?"

It hit him harder than a shot of tequila. "The back door..."

"Well, we can't go back to mine. They're expecting that."

"No, not your back door. The back door. To The Annex," He face-palmed. "Why didn't I think of that?"

"It'll pass in a few months..." Dammit, shut up! Sara grimaced.

"What will?"

"What?"

Flynn waved off the current conversation, such as it was, and cringed as he ripped out his IV. "Never mind. We need a door."

Sara pointed at the one she came in through just seconds ago.

"Ah, that works. Again, why didn't I–? Doesn't matter!" Flynn held out his hand for her to take. "You coming?"

Begrudgingly, she took it. "This isn't gonna hurt, is it?"

"Not unless you run into the wall on the other side."

She snorted, but then it occurred to her that he might not have been joking. "Guess I'll be mindful of my footing. So, what, we just think of where we need to be and we're there?"

"Pretty much."

"And you're going dressed like that?"

"Are you going to keep asking questions or are you coming with me?"

"Ye-yeah. I am, yeah," She felt a shiver down her spine, the idea of visiting the fabled Annex made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. Still, she had one last question. "Do I have to think, too, or–?"

"Just... hush," he answered, becoming cross with her. He shut his eyes.

Following a deep breath, Flynn opened his eyes and the door, and within the door frame was the familiar bright blue glow. It made Sara uneasy. Paranoid, for some unknown reason.

She latched on to his arm. "Flynn?"

"It's okay," He had an assuring smile on his face. "I've got you, too."

They strolled through hand in hand, and in the time it took them to take one step out of the exam room, they arrived in the Annex.