Chapter 63: Sympathy

*"You meet with a familiar face again"*

## Major Events

* Lucius showers Ten directly following the incident in the previous chapter - Ten is visibly shaken and has a hard time processing her surroundings. Ten finally cries after Lucius leaves the room
* As time passes, Ten no longer dreams nor have nightmares - still stressed and vexed by her confinement. She feels pain on her lower body but Lucius neglects to address it right away - leaving her to suffer silently
* Ten is left with her thoughts:
	+ Glad Jade was able to escape her fate from becoming a worker, even if it meant death
	+ Wonders about how the Numbers are faring with her disappearance and glad that they can still love and support each other in a horrible fate
	+ She's willing to put up with Yosuke again if it meant getting away from her current confinement and how little he really knows about the Underground due to his relevance aboveground and being a newer doctor
	+ Lucius enjoys being sadistic while The Overseer's approach is more indifferent in comparison
	+ Ten checks her abdomen every now and then due to her fear of pregnancy despite not knowing how to properly check
* The Overseer enters the room wearing a suit and holding his lab coat and asks Lucius about the Worker's body (C1) that Lilah has to deal with (the curtain is drawn so Ten only hears their conversation)
	+ Knowing it was Lucius' doing, The Overseer only lightly scolds Lucius and to avoid doing it in the future
	+ Ten notes their familiarity with each other despite The Overseer being rather dry - he mentions how he's having a hard time with Lucius occupied with watching the room and how he has a hard time with maintaining his façade in social situations
	+ The Overseer has to deal with replacing a Nurse and Worker and working on their procedure - Lucius could help with "*extracting a select*"
	+ Lucius suggests that Ten should be examined by Monica again due to "aches"
* The Overseer approaches Ten's bed and unveils the curtain. He examines her crotch and scolds Lucius again - assuming the bruising and swelling was his doing. He cuffs Ten and warns Lucius that this should be the last time Ten has to see Monica
* After being forced to eat, Lucius begrudgingly ferries Ten to the examination room
	+ Ten compares Lucius' cold hold to Yosuke's caring touch
* Once at the room, they are met with Monica again and a nurse on standby. Lucius drops Ten off before he goes on his way
* Ten has a hard time grappling with the fact that someone who comes off as caring like Monica could end up in a horrible place. Monica treats Ten as a patient and kindly asks about her physical status but Ten thinks about how she would act when Monica is seen during a "visit"
* Monica examines Ten and states that it's very swollen and red. She assumes it was Lucius' doing (instead of C1)
* Once again, the nurse emerges preemptively with a tube of gel before Monica can request for it. Monica also suggests pain killers to prevent infection
* Monica points out that Ten is more reluctant to be open than before and asks if she wants to talk about it. However Ten vents her frustration of Monica's paradox - how she would never understand the Numbers despite attempting to be sympathetic
	+ Ten is further vexed when Monica mentions that her current position is a "stable job" - and is further annoyed that she states she can't "*really even remember*" the reason why she joined
* Despite Monica disagreeing with her Boss' and Lucius' treatment of her, Ten stresses that she can't nor will ever trust Monica. She also calls out Monica's seeming familiarity with the nurse
* Frustrated at the lack of answers and her predicament, Ten starts crying for a bit - Monica stays by her side and personally hands her a cup of water. Monica gives Ten her sympathies despite not being able to do much
* Monica reassures Ten she won't personally tell Yosuke about her chances of pregnancy and how The Overseer will likely try to hide any indication in the paperwork but it might not be hidden forever due to the bleeding
* Ten suspects Monica may have a gap in her memory due to how vague her answers of her past are - and thinks of the possibility of Monica retaining her skills but lacking memories. But finds it strange and notices her recollection of her past differs from all the other doctors
	+ She asks Monica about her time while working with kids but even the response was vague and the memory was "put out of her mind" due to it being a "difficult time in her life"
	+ Monica also seems to have no idea what The Overseer's goal for the operation is
* Monica stresses that the doctors are also suffering for their predicament - that they have no choice but to do their jobs and take any joy they can. Again, Monica tries to sympathize with Ten but receives resentment and hatred in response
* The Overseer enters the room with a Worker and notices blood splattered all over his sleeves and vest. Monica seems shaken by the sight but tells him Ten would need to take pain killers and apply gel on herself
* Ten is ferried by the worker back to his room and is re-shackled to the bed but The Overseer keeps the curtain opened:
	+ The Overseer mentions how he is aware of Lucius' actions and appreciates how he tries to hide it. But still allows it and looks the other way due to their relationship
	+ He mentions how their relationship is akin to that of brothers - he is very loyal and have more worth to him than anyone else
	+ Lucius appears "fascinated" by Ten but in a similar manner as he did for Jade and the Workers - likely enjoying their suffering
	+ He also notes how the prisoner's quality of life (the rec areas) is a newer development - that the earlier groups only had a singular room in the past. And how she should owe him thanks
* After he injects her with anesthetic, he watches her before tapping his cigarette over her face - noting that she had a disgusting face
* He leaves Ten be and states he has a "*procedure to prep for*" before Ten loses consciousness

## Trivia

* Monica used to be a pediatric doctor before her current position as a female gynecologist
* The strangeness of Monica's spotty recollection in joining the Facility and vague answers is explained further in Chapter 77