A/N: Not one of my best chapters, but I wanted to get something up so that I could do a bit more studying for my exams... oh yes. The dreaded 'e' word...

So here you go :)

Chapter Twenty Two

“Lucy?”

She glanced up to see Blake stood over her, holding a bag in one hand, and a wide smile on his face. Lucy felt her heart flutter and immediately mentally chastised herself for it. Nothing had even happened last night! So… why did she feel embarrassed about it, yet excited about seeing Blake at the same time?

“What’s wrong?” She asked, tilting her head slightly. Kaitlyna had ceased speaking when Blake had turned up and had continued playing with her dolls. However, just in case, Lucy pulled herself up and took a few steps away, so she and Blake could talk in private – just in case he wanted to mention anything about the little girl. It didn’t seem as though he had Kaitlyna on his mind though.

“Well… I decided to take a break from the normal routine… and I’ve cleared it with the bosses… and… I was wondering whether… you’d like to come for a picnic? I have all the food, and we can go to the park across the street…”

Lucy frowned, bringing her hands together and glancing down at the bag that Blake was carrying – well that explained what was in the bag, then. Was this another of his psychiatrist plans? To get her to talk some more, to reveal some more of her past? Or… perhaps, because they’d had a good time yesterday just… talking… he thought that she might enjoy something else out of the ordinary. To be honest, Lucy would do anything to get out of this place, even if that included getting drilled by her psychiatrist while sitting outside. She gave him a brief smile. “Sure. That sounds like fun. Just let me tell Kaitlyna and grab my coat, okay?”

He looked slightly surprised at her quick answer, but nodded and moved towards the entrance of the dayroom, so that she could tell Kaitlyna what was going on by herself. Thankful for that, Lucy moved back towards the little girl. “Kaitlyna… I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to leave you in here, is that alright? My psychiatrist wants to see me today…”

Kaitlyna immediately nodded with a look of understanding. She’d obviously been called upon by her psychiatrist more times than she liked… but also, she was fine about Lucy leaving with Blake. The two seemed to have hit it off quite well, surprisingly. Lucy had seen Kaitlyna around her psychiatrist, a man who was a lot older than Blake, and the little girl was normally silent. But with Blake, she was animated and happy. Perhaps Blake should be her psychiatrist…

Lucy waved goodbye to Kaitlyna and walked out of the dayroom, nodding at Blake before turning and walking to her room. She wasn’t sure how cold it was outside today, but she wasn’t risking going outside without some sort of jacket. As she reached her room, she noted that it was quite sunny outside, so opted for a thin black jacket that was hanging over one of the chairs in her room. She didn’t bother putting it on yet, but turned and studied Blake closely.

“Can I just ask a question?” She inquired, and with his nod of approval, she continued. “Why do you want to go for a picnic?”

He frowned at the question for a moment, his green eyes darkening with thought. “Well… it’s a nice day, and I didn’t want to be cooped up in here all day. I didn’t think you’d want to be either… the Institution doesn’t really allow for the patients to be outside much, and I know how frustrating that can be… if you don’t want to go, we don’t have to, you know.” He gave Lucy a small smile of encouragement, but she immediately shook her head.

“No, no… it’s a great idea. I’ve wanted to visit the park, it looks really nice. Besides… the food in here isn’t the best…”

Blake let out a laugh. “No. It isn’t… I’ve had my fair share of lunches in here. Well, I hope you like some of the food that I’ve brought.” He ran his hand through his hair and turned away from Lucy, before adding over his shoulder. “Come on… we can get out there early and pick a good place to sit.”

Lucy smiled and followed him out of her room and along the corridor. It was nice that he’d thought of her when putting together this picnic idea… he could have easily taken one of the nurses or something… but she guessed this was just killing two birds with one stone. He was able to have a day outside and continue his sessions with his patient. But she wasn’t arguing. She got to have a day outside and some food that would probably be a lot better than the stuff they served at the Institution. She wasn’t exactly getting the bad end of the deal here, was she?