Page 116 of Private Exhibit
“Totally,” Oliver agreed.
“I–” Andy grumbled and scrubbed a hand over his face. “I'm so not ready for this.”
Devon laughed.
Andy took Devon away to give him a proper bath and change him into something clean and comfortable, then parked him at his computer while he went to make arrangements for dinner.
Devon had some use of his right arm, so he slowly logged into the Gentleman Hackers chatroom while he glanced across the table at Oliver.
“I heard you, you know,” Devon said. “When I was in the hospital.”
Oliver's eyes went wide. “Shit. You did?”
Devon nodded. “And I understand,” he rushed to assure his friend. “You did what you needed to do in order to move on. But if you still want help tracking down what happened to Dannika, I'm here.”
Oliver blinked rapidly. “Thanks,” he whispered, smiling shyly before ducking back behind his computers.
Devon finished logging in, and the main chat box immediately exploded with activity.
Phantom: Voy(ag)eur's back!!!
BabyDoll: YAY!!! About time. We missed you!
Incubus: He's here! He's here! Yay! Thank gods. It hasn't been the same in here without you.
Limbo: I'll second that.
Devon swallowed hard as a wave of emotion crashed over him. They'd actually missed him? He couldn't help grinning as tears collected on his eyelashes.
Then he heard five distinct keystrokes, and a private chat window popped up.
Rogue: Hi.
Devon grinned and carefully typed a response.
Voy(ag)eur: Hi.
Then another private chat window popped up.
Grim: Good to see you in here again. How's your head? Not too overwhelming, I hope?
Devon was about to type a response when he paused, realizing what lay underGrim's message.
Holy shit.Was it coincidence or fate?
Voy(ag)eur: It was you!
Grim: It was.
Voy(ag)eur: Why didn't you ever tell me? How did you even find out about me?
Grimseemed to type hesitantly for several minutes before a response finally came through.
Grim: You had a tendency, back then, to mentally reply to the people whose cries you heard. I don't think you even realized you were doing it. But I heard it, and I tracked you down. I found you in the hospital, and convinced your doctor to tell me all about your case. When they explained that your mental abilities were compounding an already fatal medical condition, I volunteered to help.
Voy(ag)eur: But why? I was nobody to you.
Grim: Let's just say…I know all too well how traumatic it can be, having other people inside you.
