It usually took Darque a couple of minutes to adjust to the different surroundings when he awakened in a strange room, and this time was no exception. He identified the rhythmic clicking noise he heard as the respirator to which Penny was attached, and that realization brought him to an instant awareness of where he was.
He stood up and walked to Penny’s bed where he watched her breathe for a while. She appeared to be resting comfortably, and that was reassuring. As he turned and made his way to the room’s monitoring station, he saw that a different nurse was now on duty. He also noticed a pot of coffee that rested on a small heating element behind the counter.
“Can I talk you out of a cup of coffee?” he asked.
“Of course,” she said.
She got up from her chair and walked to a small cupb
