#chat:dot

Scamp was ready to tell Atta that he was going to help her. Whether he was going to work at her company or not for the long run, he still hadn't decided, but getting her out of a shitty dealing with the boss who he now understood better than ever was more important. He meant what he'd said: he did care about her, to an extent, and he'd seen a new side to their boss and how he treated people when he expected so much from them. So, he found himself outside her office, wandering around the floor she worked on while her assistant told him to wait until she came out of a meeting.

In one of the rooms, he saw a familiar face through the glass wall, and Scamp immediately recognized her. The face that Hopper had melted into his brain, and the minds of everyone who they worked with: Dot Dreyfus. Atta's younger sister, who she put up with so much shit to protect. With a light knock on the door, Scamp opened the glass, giving her a small wave. "Hey, uh ... do you mind if I sit in here? I'm kinda waiting for your sister, we--I work for her," he explained in greeting. "If it's not gonna bother you, that is."

Atta hadn't slept in days. This was, by far, her worst nightmare come true: her baby sister was off who knew where, and she couldn't be entirely sure that she was alive. It was even worse than anything she'd endured while under Hopper's watch, though she knew that he had to be the one responsible for this. Many people had threatened her sister over the years, including him, though none had actually ever taken action quite like this. A small scare on the floor of the factory was far worse, and far different, than actually taking Dot away from her family like this. Hopper had threatened her yet again after Annette had been taken; it had to be at his hands.

A full-fledged search with all the resources she had to deploy was made for her sister, including sending Scamp, who was now more on her side than Hopper's, to try and find her. Though she'd reached out many times to Hopper himself to try and demand her location, he didn't seem to have any interest in speaking to her unless she had Oryan's head on a platter. Things were looking bleak, and Atta's heart sunk further into her stomach with each passing day while she didn't have Dot at home.

That was, until she heard a knock at her door and saw her sister on her front porch. Atta nearly collapsed in the doorway, but instead, she flung herself forward, enveloping Dot into her arms. "Oh, my god," she breathed into her sister's shoulder, not even minding the overwhelming smell of the forest. Atta held her there for a while, unable to let go after thinking she may never be able to hug her again. "I--holy crap, I love you, I thought you might've ... are you hurt? Do I need to get you to the hospital?" she blurted, unable to help herself.

The past few months had been the most trying between Atta and her sister--that much had not been a secret to anyone who knew the Dreyfuses. It was strange, and lonely, to spend what should've been a happy time in her life to remain with the man she married without Dot's support. But, like she had done in the past, Atta stayed firm in her decision, knowing that this was best for their family, even if her heart held a bit of bias for Buster after getting to know him. All she needed was this one life-saving instance to know that she'd been right, because if it weren't for him, Dot wouldn't be sitting in the lobby of the hotel now.

"We're going to stay here the night," she informed her as Atta took the armchair beside her, placing the bottle of wine Myles had given her and two glasses on the table between the two. "I know we don't have anything, but we can go home first thing in the morning. I just don't want to risk anything, going outside, if we don't have to, okay?" It might not have been what her sister particularly wanted, but it wasn't the first decision Atta had made without her, and it likely wouldn't be the last. "Myles said we can have the room next to him, and Buster will stay with the rest of the people who need medical." With a sigh, after taking care of business, it was only then that Atta could begin to work on uncorking the wine and focus on her sister. "You're sure you're okay, right? Even if you have a headache, or feel off, you can tell me."

"Oh, no, you haven't. I haven't even started on Mom's yet," she admitted as they began to walk down the line of shops on Main Street. Atta had far more pressing things on her mind than to think of what to get her mother for Christmas. In contrast, though, she already had a small pile in her house for her sister accumulating. She always went above and beyond for Dot during the holidays, but felt like this year she had to do more than the usual. Not only did she have to purchase something for her mother, but felt like she had to find something for Buster, as well as Myles. "Do you know where you at least want to start? I never have anything on the list for Mom until I find something that just stands out to me. Something for the house, probably--she never says no to one of those sentimental picture frames. @blueberrydot