Mordecai had spoken to people since returning to Atlantis. He'd seen the doctors and nurses and had a handful of visitors. He'd checked in with Will about the cats and with Eliot's family. Emmeline and Julia had come by. Valkyrie had answered his request for alcohol (even if it had been discovered and confiscated not long after), and Temple had been a regular presence even during his stint as a penguin. He'd felt something of an obligation to address the departure of Chirrut Imwe with Shepherd Book, for all that he hadn't really interacted with either since Breckentale (entirely coincidentally, of course). So he felt entirely innocent of any accusations that he'd been avoiding people, even if he had not been as active on the network as usual. It was a busy time for everyone, after all. Who had time for small talk?
Between worrying about Alicia, who was still missing and looking in on Callie Spinnet, Katie had her hands full. She didn’t like the feeling of not being able to do anything to help in either case, but there wasn’t a lot of choice in the matter. Callie had plenty of people hovering while she slept, so Katie decided a distraction was in order and visiting Mordecai in his nearby room seemed like it could be a good one. She hadn’t found a moment to do so before now.
“Hey, there, handsome,” she greeted him with a small smile.
Mordecai had not expected any other visitors, especially since Abe's departure, not with all that had been going on. Katie's entrance surprised from him a smile that had grown rare over the past few days. “Hello.” They had been friendly for some time, had talked and flirted both in person and over the network recently - and done quite a bit more than flirt over the holidays - but the fact that she'd stopped in to see him was still rather flattering. “There is balm in Gilead,” he said appreciatively. “Forgive me for being a poor host, and not standing to greet you. It's difficult to be dignified in a hospital gown.”
“I supposed you’ll just have to find a way to make it up to me later,” Katie offered, smiling back at him. Truthfully, he looked good, even in the unflattering gown and with the obvious injuries that kept him in here. He did look good, but seeing him banged up made her smile short-lived. She frowned slightly in concern as she looked him over a little better.
“How are you feeling?” she asked. Most of their banter had been playful, flirty, but Katie’s expression was more serious now. Whatever else existed between them, she considered Mordecai to be a friend and she didn’t like seeing her friends hurt.
“Better than I was,” said Mordecai, vaguely. He hadn't been killed, and Julia had healed the most serious of his injuries. “And full of incentive to escape and let them focus on those with more need,” he added. Even after his time in Atlantis, over solicitude for his well being was strange.
The more pressing question was, “How are you? I've heard about the sleepers.” It didn't seem that true love's kiss would make a difference this time.
With Alicia still missing and Callie in some kind of coma, the answer to that was decidedly not good, but Katie was trying very hard to distract herself from all of that. She didn’t want to admit how much it was all weighing on her.
“There hasn’t really been any news,” she said, shrugging, rather than really answering the question, “but everyone thinks the comas are just one of those Atlantis things. They’ll wake up eventually.” Would they get Alicia back, too? Katie wanted to believe they would, but it wasn’t easy to sit around and wait for it.
Mordecai didn't miss how she'd avoided answering, but he couldn't blame her. He'd done much the same in response to the question. “‘Atlantis’ covers a multitude of ills,” he paraphrased freely. “They usually do, even without assistance.” Hopefully, this misadventure would prove to belong to the quirkier end of the Atlantis scale. He hesitated, debating whether to tell her about his efforts. Why bother when they had proven fruitless? But - “They aren't spirit traveling,” he said, at last. “I tried looking.” Temple had obligingly brought him the music to attempt a trance, although Mordecai had not told his son what he'd wanted it for. “And was soundly scolded for my trouble, but it was worth the attempt.” His smile turned dismal. None of his trances had brought him closer to helping the sleepers or the kidnapped victims.
Katie wasn't sure if that should make her feel better or not, but she did appreciate the attempt, if nothing else, and she summoned up a grateful smile. There weren't a lack of people trying to find their missing or help the sleepers, but as with many things in Atlantis, it was easy to feel helpless. Most Atlantis hijinks would sort itself out, usually sooner rather than later and she knew command had good people on the hunt for their people and the COS agents who had taken them. Not being able to do much in the meantime was still frustrating.
“Thank you. For trying, at least.” She suspect he didn't like feeling helpless any more than she did.
Mordecai wasn't certain how much the attempt was worth nor how much thanks he had earned, but it had been something to try. “I'm glad to,” he said before turning back to lighter topics.