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When Benton Fraser opens his eyes to find himself perfectly healthy and in his own bed -- not dying on a train station platform, not paralyzed in the hospital -- he knows what he should do. He remembers the conversation he'd had with the Admiral, if in a very fuzzy, nebulous, bleeding-out-at-the-time kind of way. He knows he should get up, seize this second chance by the horns, and go out and face his newest duty: redemption.

Instead, he rolls over, stares out the window for a while at what is definitely no longer Chicago, and eventually falls asleep.

It's been a very long day, in his defense. A very long week. And while he's fully committed to the idea of redemption-seeking, to the need for it, the thought of actually getting up and going about it is such a massive undertaking that it feels like a weight pinning him down to the bed.

He's already failed-- well, everyone. In every possible way. A nap won't make that any worse.

It ends up taking him the better part of a day to actually get himself up, dozing off and on, slowly discovering his new circumstances in between: the expanse of space outside; the surprise of the new scar on his spine where Ray's bullet had caught him, killed him; the startling silence of his apartment without Diefenbaker, without his father's presence (he even checks, but he's in the wrong afterlife for that, he supposes).

It's boredom that wins out in the end, more than anything. Boredom and hunger, which is another interesting post-mortem surprise.

***

When he finally makes it out of his cabin, then, his first goal is a burger and fries in the Cafeteria. After his hunger is sated, he keeps exploring, but in an aimless, even listless way. He knows he needs to know his surroundings, but the drive just isn't really there.

Still, he pushes on, with the telltale newcomer's slightly lost look on his face, hands stuffed uncomfortably in the pockets of his jeans or touching doors, signs, things that don't typically beg to be touched, in a sort of tactile exploration of his own design. He can be found just about anywhere with inmate access or an open door.

[Video]

[Eventually, he'll even find his way to the network. He looks a little lost here too, actually, but more in the way of someone coming to grips with brand-new technology: he eyes the camera uncertainly, brushes a hand through his already neatly-groomed hair, and shifts a few times in the frame before he seems satisfied.

He folds his hands behind his back and stands very straight. He looks, and sounds, like a Nice Young Man.]

Hello, everyone. My apologies for the interruption; I'm new. My name is Benton Fraser.

[No Constable, no spiel; he's never been more off-duty than he has been since yesterday.]

I think I have my bearings, more or less, but I did have one question: is there any way to find out what's happened to someone in the outside world?

[He's practiced this question to make it sound like mere curiosity: like something that would be convenient if so, but ultimately unimportant if not.]