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To his surprise, you extended a hand towards him. With some caution, he shook it.
<span class="mu-r">“Nice to meet you, Dr. Badr. Thanks for helping Cindy protect my family.”</span> you said. <span class="mu-r">“And, uhh…sorry about that ‘blaspheming’ business. He made my girl here feel super uncomfortable, you see”</span> you admitted.
Dr. Badr was just staring at you with an unreadable expression, not saying anything.
<span class="mu-r">“But I see you guys are trying more carrot and less stick. We appreciate it.”</span> you said.
Dr. Badr shoved his hands in his coat pocket and flashed you an appreciative smile. <span class="mu-b">“I must say, your apology is rather unexpected. You are far more reasonable than I have been led to believe.”</span> he said. <span class="mu-b">“The Gods are not famous for their social graces or their subtlety, but I assure you that Khonshu does not wish to harm Ms. Moon in any way. In some ways, she is one of the more balanced avatars that Khonshu has requisitioned.”</span>
You found yourself nodding in agreement. Even with her fucked up childhood and the obstacles placed before her, she was still a better person than she had any right to be.
<span class="mu-b">“But,”</span> Dr. Badr continued. <span class="mu-b">“I can see that you are in a hurry. I won’t take up any more of your time.”</span> he said, patting you on the shoulder and stepping past you. <span class="mu-b">“Have a good night, Mr. Parker.”</span>
You watched Dr. Badr disappeared down the hall. He would no doubt be mistaken for a medical doctor that worked at this hospital. Maybe he did have some medical knowledge. You couldn’t say for sure.
Abandoning this line of thought, you stepped inside the room where your family had been staying. Relief crossed their faces when they looked up to see that it was you who had entered.
Pete was the first to show any sort of real reaction, as he ran up to hug you by the waist. You reached down to tussle his hair, but your Mom proceeded to pin that side of your body down with an embrace of her own. You would’ve tripped, if Vic hadn’t come to cover the other side. You suddenly found yourself being smothered by your family, your father and brother looking on in amusement.
<span class="mu-r">“Yeah…thanks.”</span> you wheezed, finding it hard to breathe in this suffocating atmosphere. <span class="mu-r">“I’m glad you guys are okay, too.”</span>
—-------
Eventually, they finally let you go, and you were able to get a better look at all of them. Everyone was seemingly unharmed. Well…everyone except your brother, that is. He still looked rather terrible, but you could tell that he was healing slowly.
The six of you chatted idly for a while after that, recounting details of the event and trading stories. You had a ton to share, considering how you had been there to experience them firsthand. It made for fairly entertaining gossip for your parents, making them far too busy to ask any pointed questions that you didn’t want to answer. Peter seemed entertained as well, but Rich was giving you a strange look.
(Cont.)
