She can also try.

Meredith was silent for so long that June almost repeated the question. Finally, she spoke.

"I feel... whole," she said dreamily. "Not like I'm on **** or anything. My mind is as sharp as ever, I think. I'm just ok now."

"You keep saying you're ok." June sat up. Ignoring the undignified wet spots on her intern's shirt, she searched Meredith's face. "What does that mean? You seem a little more than ok."

"It means I'm not troubled by anything." Meredith took June's hands in hers. "All my anxietes, my phobias and neuroses and hangups and insecurities are just..."

"Gone?" June suggested.

"No, not exactly. It's like I can finally see them for what they are. Like... have you dealt with toddlers much?"

"No," June said. She didn't like where this was going.

"I used to babysit so I know a little about how they think. To a three-year-old who doesn't want to go to bed, being sent to bed is devastating. They'll shriek, scream, bite, beg, and generally fight with their life to stay up another ten minutes. As the authority figure, I can see that this is a real problem for them."

"So I'm the toddler in this analogy?" June asked.

"Not exactly," Meredith said with a smile. She was running her thumbs across June's knuckles soothingly. "It's like I was the toddler and now I'm seeing everything with grownup eyes. We all have to do things we don't want to, but as adults we can remain calm and see it in perspective. I used to dread coming in to work because of the way you treated me, but now I see that it's simply one tiny unpleasant experience in a lifetime."

"Wait, you did?" June was shocked by her candor. Meredith laughed guilelessly.

"Of course! You had to know that you were making me unhappy. But now I see that unhappiness as such a tiny, miniscule speck of my life that it's not worth fretting about. My anxiety over what you might say caused me so much more pain than anything you said!" She tittered again. "It's funny, really."

"And being locked up and having your brain altered against your will?"

"I don't love the imprisonment, but the ataraxia is worth it." Meredith's hands were now sliding up and down June's forearms. "Do you really think we're gonna die in this room? Why would they keep us alive and experiment on us just to kill us?"

"But they're fucking with us! Meredith, they changed you! That doesn't upset you?"

"Not at all. They're clearly going to change you, too, but for all we know it could be a change for the better."

"I don't wanna be changed for the better!" June cried. An overwhelming exhaustion suddenly overtook her. "They're drugging us and imprisoning us and you can't even fight back! and now they're pumping **** in here to put us to sleep..."

Meredith shook her head. Now she was massaging June's face. June sagged forward, letting Meredith's hands support the weight of her head.

"I don't think so. There's no clock in here but it's got to be at least midnight by now. You've been through a lot and now the adrenaline's wearing off," Meredith said. "Huh, I guess I'm not gonna get adrenaline rushes anymore. I'll miss them, I suppose."

June was only half awake at this point. Meredith slowly lowered her head till it was in Meredith's lap. "I'm so tired..." June slurred before she consciousness left her body completely.