Alex walked with slow steps, one hand in his pocket as he passed through the corridor of the obstetrics and gynecology department. His face was calm, the previous agitation from when he left Dr Robin's office as if wiped by magic.
He had a relaxed smile on his lips, one as if unburdened by the responsibility he had been forced to take on. Leyna walked beside him. She looked at his expression, intrigued, then broke the silence between them with a curious, slightly amused smile:
"No scolding? No word at all after pulling me out of the office?"
Alex asked back without looking at her:
"Will that stop you from teaming up with my mother against me?"
Faced with the calm sharpness, Leyna responded with a smile that said it all, a smile that Alex didn't bother looking at, as the wordless answer didn't surprise him. So he did not bother wasting his saliva on a futile endeavor.
Arriving at the end of the corridor leading away from the offices and consultation rooms of the hospital department, Alex stopped. His gaze was appreciative, soft but respectful, as he looked at the pregnant women at different stages of pregnancy waiting in the hall, some unaccompanied by anyone, and a few, with children preceding the one in their belly beside them.
"Some say women in love are the most beautiful."
Leyna stopped lingering on her amusement, and followed Alex gaze with her own to look at the women waiting in the hall. Her smile gained a calm softness that held sisterly fond affection, as she softly questioned:
"I take it that you have a different opinion from most?"
Alex didn't take his eyes away from the protruding bellies and soft or frustrated but loving smiles around. He replied with a calm that held none of his usual frivolousness:
"For me, I think pregnant women are the most beautiful."
Leyna tried to look at the scene with the same eyes as Alex. But there was no real need for that to see the beauty in the maternal glow surrounding the women sitting down to rest, walking around to get a reaction from their growing little ones, or simply caressing their bellies.
At that moment, other criteria for beauty could only fade away in the pale in the background. Even the women crying from circumstances having taken an unfortunate turn had a tragic beauty about themselves, one shining a sad light around.
At some point, Leyna stopped being casual, her light smile fading into the softness that came to taint her calm expression. For a moment, her gaze held just that small hint of envy, and desire most women would feel in that situation, especially at an age ripe for motherhood, only for her to be startled by Alex's voice which snapped her out of that state with the bright frivolous edge it had regained:
"Woh, you seem interested!"
Her heart almost skipped a beat, and she sent a glare his way, which only intensified at the mischievous smile her reaction was met with.
"Humph!"
Without any big-sisterly dignity, she snorted, then sulkily turned her head away to avoid looking at the frustrating smile.
Alex's smile grew further, before he decided to quit while ahead:
"Alright, let's go."
Leyna sent him one last glare from the corner of her eyes, before letting her magnanimity take over. She looked around one last time, then moved to catch up to him.
"Where to? Aren't we waiting for the chairman?"
Alex didn't stop, but he gave her a flat look that carried his frustrations deep inside.
"I'm the 'chairman' now, remember?"
"Pfft!"
The frustrated retort made Leyna stifle a laugh, before she nodded:
"Yes, I remember."
Alex looked into her greyish-blue eyes, then rolled his eyes at the laughter they were carrying. Anyway, he was already deep into the pit, and no amount of complaining would change that, so he dropped the topic.
"Let's go get the prescriptions for mom."
Leyna raised her eyebrows at him:
"So you really hacked into the system of the hospital!"
"Don't use such a big word, sis. I just took a tour in the family garden."
"Then remember to trim the flowers there later."
Alex didn't feel the same amusement as Leyna at all. The only answer he gave was an eye-roll that was as loud as a stifled groan. It was like the silent cry of the oppressed for whom even rebellion was not an option. He tried to soothe his heart with the few good sights he could spot along the way, until they arrived close to their destination, and came across someone unexpected.
Alex paused his steps, eyebrows raised more from curiosity than surprise as he greeted with a teasing smile:
"Fancy meeting you here, Dr Cullman! It is almost as if you were waiting for someone here. You didn't invade the privacy of any patient of the hospital did you?"
Leyna couldn't help but look from the blond male doctor before them to Alex, the true menace for the hospital's system.
Gawain was standing on the way to their destination, and he looked unsurprised upon seeing Alex arrive, along with Leyna. His calm green eyes of a lighter shade than Grace's lingered on her for a moment, before he looked at Alex. Ignoring the teasing gleam surfacing in his brown eyes, he flatly explained:
"You are famous in my department for your name, the little girl you saved a few days ago, and the rumors you created when you asked me to check you last time, so I was informed when you arrived at the hospital."
Alex's teasing smile grew deeper.
"Oh? Were you informed, or did you listen to gossip?"
Gawain went silent for a moment, then quietly replied:
"The end result remains the same."
"Pfft! Alright, if you say so. Let me introduce you. This is Leyna, my sister, but you already know that."
Turning to Leyna, he pointed at his taciturn friend:
"This is Gawain Cullman, the next director of the pediatrics department of this hospital. He used to be a monk, but then he saw you at the gym last month and lost his peace of mind. Now he is hopeless."
Even an introvert like Gawain found himself struggling with warmth on his face at an introduction like that.
Slightly taken aback, Leyna took a moment before recalling the sunny blond hair that had attracted her attention beside Alex a month ago when the latter had fled out of guilt from her judging stare.
"I think I remember. Nice to meet you Dr Cullman."