Mary: "What happens until they do?"
Dr. Sutherland: "Regulations require that two physicians sign off on brain death. We're waiting for Dr. Waltham from the neurology department to come down. She's in surgery right now. Nothing will happen until she sees Emily. We've taken her to the ICU while we wait."

The man stood up, spotting them as he turned around. He looked tired and very grim as he and Markus exchanged a quick and knowing look.

Dr. Sutherland: "You can take them into waiting room three, it's empty. I'm very sorry."
Markus: "Thank you."

James: "Should we wait for Deanna and Abigail before we move? I can stay here and let them know where you've gone."
Abigail: "That won't be necessary, but thank you, James."

The confusion won out as Tristan tried to untangle the influx of information his brain had no desire to understand. James and Markus were once again shuffling him off to another smaller room. They'd hardly made it through the doorway when Tristan felt something inside him begin snap.

Tristan: "Wait just a fucking minute-"
James: "Tristan…"
Tristan: "No, I won't 'calm down' or 'relax' or whatever you're going to tell me to do! I've had it with being dragged around this hospital and never told a damn thing. Mary, what happened to Emily?"

Mary: "She's dead, Tristan. They're just waiting for a second signature to confirm brain death."
Tristan: "Dead?"

The word was like ash in his mouth, and he felt the world begin to fall apart around him. Mary nodded silently, her calmness nearly as shocking as the words she had spoken.

Tristan: "Are they sure? Did you see her? What if they have the wrong person?"
Mary: "I haven't seen her yet, no."
Tristan: "Then how can you be sure she's really dead?"
Deanna: "Tristan--"

Tristan: "What?!"
Deanna: "I'm really sorry."
Tristan: "Everyone is so fucking sorry but no one wants to actually do anything! There has to be something, I can't let her just… I don't understand how you people can all just stand around like it's a fucking hat party or something!"

There was a light knock on the door and all six of them turned in unison to see a professional-looking, middle-aged woman holding a clipboard and wearing an expression of quiet dignity.

Dr. Smith: "Excuse me, I need to speak with a Ms. Marion McMally."
Mary: "I'm Mary."

Mary crossed her arms and took a step toward the woman.

Dr. Smith: "Ms. McMally, I'm Dr. Roberta Smith from LifeCenter Northwest. First of all, just let me say that I'm very sorry for your loss. I understand how difficult this is for you and your loved ones."
Mary: "Thanks."
Dr. Smith: "I need to go over a few details with you and have you sign some paperwork. It won't take but a few moments of your time."

Tristan watched in dismay as Mary and the woman stepped out into the hall, leaving the door to the waiting room slightly ajar. Through the gap he was able to clearly make out their exchange; words he didn't want to acknowledge came to him regardless of his efforts to ignore them, to make the situation somehow less real.

Dr. Smith: "Emily noted on her driver's license that she wished to be an organ donor. Are you aware of this?"
Mary: "Yeah, we were each other's witnesses."

Mary smiled to herself as the memory hit her. Emily had just gotten her new license and made a production of signing away her organs and tissues. She'd said it would be a way to live on, to give someone else hope, for her death to mean something to someone. Mary, on the other hand, was pretty sure she wanted to keep all of her organs. Just in case. She'd relented eventually, though she drew her arguments out as long as possible just to exasperate Emily--there had been talk of Egyptian gods and all the gold she'd need to have buried with her. In the end, she'd given in just to see Emily smile proudly at her.

Dr. Smith: "That's wonderful. Does Emily have any family? Although the state won't require consent since there is a clear indication of Emily's wishes, we do like to make sure there aren't any objections."

Mary thought of Emily's mother, and then silently disregarded her.

Mary: "She's all I have."
Dr. Smith: "Pardon?"
Mary: "That is to say, I'm all she has. There's no other family."

Dr. Smith: "Okay then. I'd like to tell you a little about what's going to happen. Dr. Sutherland says he has already informed you that our first priority is to make sure the diagnosis of brain death is correct. For that we require two signatures. Dr. Sutherland is the first opinion; Dr. Waltham will be the second as soon as she gets out of surgery. Neither of them are involved in the organ procurement process, as we always want to have one-hundred-percent objective opinions."

Dr. Smith: "In the meantime, we're taking some measure to preserve the organs as well as typing and cross-matching against potential organ recipients. Once a match or matches are found, things start to move very fast. The organs will go to the people who need them, and the body will be prepared and released to the funeral home of your choosing. There won't be any delays in making arrangements."

Mary: "And will there be physical damage? Can she have an open casket?"

Dr. Smith seemed unfazed by the question. Tristan, on the other hand, could feel the beginnings of a frenzy starting to build.

Dr. Smith: "We take great care with these procedures. We have an enormous respect shown for donors. There will not be any noticeable damage to the body."

Mary nodded absently. She took a deep breath in through her nose, exhaling forcefully out through her mouth.

Mary: "I'll need to find something for her to wear."

In only a few short minutes, Mary was walking back through the door.