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Parker stalked in, and frowned when she saw the empty bed. "Hey. Do not tell me she took off again!" She continued to look around the room, and did a double-take when she saw Callisto curled up in a corner. "Cal?"

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Callisto looked up. "Parker?"

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Parker gave a breath of relief, and waited until Bridge and Xander were in the room too. "You're outta here. Come on. We've got better places to be than this dump."

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"No," Callisto shook her head.

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needsaparrot

"Why not?" Xander? Still not fond of hospitals, to understate a point. Psych ward not exactly an improvement on the emergency room, though it beat hell out of the morgue.

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"Bridge said to stay," Callisto mumbled. "And I don't even know if you're real or not."

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"We're real," Bridge says, kneeling down by Cal.

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"You promise?" Callisto asked.

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"We swear," Parker said, not sure Callisto would believe anyone but Bridge. "And you're not staying here any longer. Or going back to the Hyperion."

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Callisto slumped down further. "Of course not, not after he made a special visit just to throw me out."

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"We've got some place better," Bridge clarifies.

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needsaparrot

"Not that it would take much to be better than this place." Xander made a face at the room. "But it is. It's outta here and away from...stuff."

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"Why?" Callisto asked. "I'm not worth it."

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"Yeah? Well, you're outvoted. We think you are." Parker held up a Louis Vuitton shoulder bag, and looked around. "Where are your other clothes, sandals, stuff? I need to pack them up. Then we're catching a portal. All four of us."

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"Well, you're wrong," Callisto replied. "I wouldn't be here if I was. They're at ho- the hotel, everything is at the hotel."

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"We're not having this argument now. Now is the time for leaving. We'll send for the rest of it. I bought you some stuff, jeans and shirts and underwear and a couple pairs of shoes. It'll help you blend in at Neptune." Parker was being brisk as an alternative to either shaking Cal or begging her to listen. "Unless you want to come back to Fandom with us? Still an option, just so you know."

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"Not for me, it's not."

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"Then Neptune, California, it is." Parker grabbed the toothbrush from the bathroom, and the slippers on the floor, and zipped them into the case. "Come on. Up and at 'em. Stand and deliver. Time to go." She sighed. "Please? Just this once?"

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Bridge holds out his hand to Cal. "Please?" he echoes Parker.

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Callisto just stared at Bridge. "But I'm evil," she said. "I deserve this."

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"You are *not*, and you do not deserve *this*," Bridge says fiercely, waving the hand that he's not holding out to Cal to indicate the room.

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needsaparrot

"We've given second chances to people who did a lot worse than you've ever done," Xander added. "If Angel deserves a life, you sure as hell do too."

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"But if I'm not, then why does he keep punishing me?" Callisto asked. "He deserve to destroy me to get it too?"

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"We don't know. And? We don't care." Parker gave Cal a stern look. "We care about you getting better. And out of this hospital. And life that doesn't include him. You can figure it out later, at Veronica's. Where you will relax and go to the beach and watch TV, and clean your weapons if that makes you happy. And come up with a Plan B for your life. Come on." She opened the door, gesturing to the hallway. "First step's the hardest."

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"It's not that simple," Callisto said, "I can't, Parker. I'm tired and I just want it to stop."

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Bridge just grabs Cal's hand, ready to pull her to her feet if it comes to that. "You *can*. Please. I have faith in you. I always have."

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Callisto started to stand up at least. "Wish I did."

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