Jane reached out and did the same as Thor, pulling Darcy down into a hug. Thor's words would have to stand for her as well because Jane found herself too overcome to speak. Instead, tears shortly began to roll to down Jane's face. The past couple months had been hard and Jane had missed Darcy in a way that was only thrown into sharp relief now the other woman was here.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," were the first words she spoke. Jane didn't know why she was apologizing. For being in the hospital? For the cancer that put her there? For the way she was acutely aware of her appearance: pale skin, dark circles under her eyes, cheekbones too gaunt, and headscarf covering her missing hair.
Something in their position twisted her IV, which began to emit an angry beep. Jane pulled away and straightened out the tubing connected to her arm. The beeping stopped, which hopefully meant no nurse would be in to check.