Well, there were flowers. The parks in Doyleton were full of them. They were mainly daisies and dandelions, and it was difficult to appreciate them fully when you were dodging the aforementioned nurse-monsters and zombies besides, but they were there.
As for Skulduggery's doctor, he only ever met the man once, but he was pretty sure any legitimate medical licence was stolen, rather than earned. What would that doctor think of a dinner-date? He'd probably call the whole thing a healthy alternative to the 'delusions.' Or something equally ridiculous. For doctors who were supposed to be concerned with their patients' mental health, they were very good at ignoring all the complaints of monsters wandering around at night.
"There's not much I can do about it at the moment," Skulduggery repeated patiently. "Whether I owe you a cane or not, you're not getting it until it's finished. Don't rush perfection."
"You mean we can't pass laws that break the established laws of time and space?" Erskine sighed. "I think I'm disillusioned. Can I still resign?"
Barney, who was understandably a few steps back from the rest of the group, shifted slightly, drawing Skulduggery's attention to him. He was doing remarkably well for someone being given a whole new world to absorb in a matter of hours. He hadn't blinked once at all of their friendly banter just now, for example. That might have been because he'd grown numb to shock, but still. It was a step in the right direction. And Allie, once she woke up, would likely help him work through the rest of it. Children had a natural ability to accept magic for what it was, which Skulduggery always rather liked. He doubted Valkyrie would have been nearly as open to any of it if their meeting occurred even a year later than it did.
Magic made it easier to accept angels for what they were, too. Poor Barney was still sneaking looks at both Gabe and Rafe, like he'd been doing all day, probably trying to convince himself they really weren't human. Now, however, he was forcing himself to look directly at Rafe, and he cleared his throat nervously.
"Thanks. For... everything, today." He moved Allie's weight more evenly over his shoulders, gently and slowly, trying not to wake her. "What do I..."
He hesitated, swallowed, and tried again. "What's going to happen when we get back to the hospital?"
He didn't want to assume Allie had been healed, Skulduggery realised. Or that she was going to be. Even after everything today, his hold on hope was still fragile enough that he wasn't going to let himself believe anything had changed.
And yet, he asked. He was entertaining the possibility. If Skulduggery could see his own soul right now, there would probably be a small amount of pride in it. What did pride look like? Did it glow, like love apparently did?
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As for Skulduggery's doctor, he only ever met the man once, but he was pretty sure any legitimate medical licence was stolen, rather than earned. What would that doctor think of a dinner-date? He'd probably call the whole thing a healthy alternative to the 'delusions.' Or something equally ridiculous. For doctors who were supposed to be concerned with their patients' mental health, they were very good at ignoring all the complaints of monsters wandering around at night.
"There's not much I can do about it at the moment," Skulduggery repeated patiently. "Whether I owe you a cane or not, you're not getting it until it's finished. Don't rush perfection."
"You mean we can't pass laws that break the established laws of time and space?" Erskine sighed. "I think I'm disillusioned. Can I still resign?"
Barney, who was understandably a few steps back from the rest of the group, shifted slightly, drawing Skulduggery's attention to him. He was doing remarkably well for someone being given a whole new world to absorb in a matter of hours. He hadn't blinked once at all of their friendly banter just now, for example. That might have been because he'd grown numb to shock, but still. It was a step in the right direction. And Allie, once she woke up, would likely help him work through the rest of it. Children had a natural ability to accept magic for what it was, which Skulduggery always rather liked. He doubted Valkyrie would have been nearly as open to any of it if their meeting occurred even a year later than it did.
Magic made it easier to accept angels for what they were, too. Poor Barney was still sneaking looks at both Gabe and Rafe, like he'd been doing all day, probably trying to convince himself they really weren't human. Now, however, he was forcing himself to look directly at Rafe, and he cleared his throat nervously.
"Thanks. For... everything, today." He moved Allie's weight more evenly over his shoulders, gently and slowly, trying not to wake her. "What do I..."
He hesitated, swallowed, and tried again. "What's going to happen when we get back to the hospital?"
He didn't want to assume Allie had been healed, Skulduggery realised. Or that she was going to be. Even after everything today, his hold on hope was still fragile enough that he wasn't going to let himself believe anything had changed.
And yet, he asked. He was entertaining the possibility. If Skulduggery could see his own soul right now, there would probably be a small amount of pride in it. What did pride look like? Did it glow, like love apparently did?