Eleanor watched her leave, a mix of emotions churning within her. She pulled her gaze back, took a deep breath, and finally entered Mansfield''s room with Principal Maxwell.


    The room was exceptionally quiet, filled only with the rhythmic beeping of medical instruments. Mansfieldy silently on the bed, looking as if he had simply fallen into a deep sleep. But his paleplexion and increasingly gaunt cheeks silently spoke of the ordeal he was enduring.


    Eleanor walked closer step by step and sat down gently in the chair beside his bed. She gazed at Mansfield''s sleeping face, a thousand words caught in her throat, her heart twisting into a tight knot.


    "Mansfield," Eleanor called his name softly, her voice trembling almost


    imperceptibly. "I came to see you. Don''t worry, I''ll push the research forward as fast


    as I can. You have to hold on. Wait for me."


    Beside her, Principal Maxwell quietly stepped out of the room, leaving her to be with Mansfield in peace.


    Eleanor said nothing more. She just sat with him quietly, carefully reaching out to hold the hand that wasn''t connected to an IV line, feeling the chill of his fingertips.


    As Eleanor felt his faint life signs and looked at his resolute face and the location of his injuries, she could sense his bravery on the battlefield. Her heart ached, but it wasn''t the heart-wrenching pain of a lover.


    It was a deeper, moreplex emotion-pity, pride, sorrow, and worry.


    He was an intimate friend she admired, or perhaps like the outstanding boy-next- door who would risk everything for his beliefs. Eleanor felt a sense of protectiveness and responsibility toward Mansfield.


    She wanted him to be well, to be safe, to see his ambitions fulfilled and his dreams realized.


    This hope was very simr to her hopes for her daughter; they were both people she cared about deeply.


    It was a bond akin to family-deep and weighty, yet devoid of the possessiveness and excitement of romantic love.


    This realization brought a wave of guilt to Eleanor''s heart, guilt for having ence given him mixed signals With boundaries. And at the same time, it steeled her resolve. No matter what, she had to do


    О


    everything in her power to wake him.


    She gently withdrew her hand, the movement both tender and firm.


    "Mansfield," she whispered again. "I have to go now. I''lle see you again next time."


    Eleanor nced at the time; her return flight was in just an hour and a half. Standing at the door, she took onest, long look at the man on the bed, then stepped out of the room, her sense of purpose renewed.


    She talked with Principal Maxwell all the way to the hospital entrance. He mentioned that they would transfer Mansfield to Ashford City as soon as possible, so that if anything happeried, he ould immediately receive the awakening technology from the Neural Interface Project.


    Eleanor nodded. "Principal Maxwell, thank you for everything here. I''lle up with


    a moreprehensive n as soon as possible."


    On the journey back, Eleanor''s mindset had quietly shifted. Her focus was now


    clearer. The turmoil caused by her ambiguous feelings had dissipated, leaving only


    a powerful sense of responsibility.


    -Wake Mansfield, at any cost.


    Two hourster at Ashford City


    Airport, the city lights were just beginning to glitter outside the cabin window, Eleanor, feeling drained, followed the stream of people toward the exit. The day''s travel, the intense stress, and the heavy weight of Mansfield''s condition had taken a toll on her spirit.


    Ellington was supposed to pick her up, but as Eleanor walked out of the arrivals area, she was surprised to see a tall figure and a striking head of silver-grey hair in the crowd.<pn stood there, his posture straight and tall, standing out in the crowd. He was dressed simply in a dark shirt and cks, his deep eyes locked onto her, calm and focused.