SWNOVELS Chapter 56: PUSHY FUCKING PEOPLE!
“What the hell happened?” Kenneth asked, looking at the carnage of the front entrance as he dragged both Marco and Carter with him.
“Puppy wanted in!” Johnny said, looking at him.
“So how did things go for you?” Damon asked.
“They’re like herding cats,” Kenneth pointed at Marco and Carter. Johnny and Damon just looked at eachother and howled with laughter, when a low growl escaped from Kane on the floor, Damon emptied his last dart into Kane’s back, silencing the growl.
“Fuck! No, bad puppy!” Damon cursed. Kenneth hunted down two other doctors to look at Marco and Carter while Johnny and Damon struggled to get Kane onto a gurney, so he could be checked out as well.
“He’s a heavy puppy, how has he not crushed her yet?” Damon said, groaning as they struggled to lift him.
“We could always get the cats to help us.” Johnny said grunting.
“Carter….Carter….CARTER!!” Damon yelled, but got no answer. He grabbed a chunk of the wall that broke off and threw it past Carter’s face trying to get his attention.
“WHAT?” Carter looked at him, Damon pointed to Kane then to the gurney. Carter just nodded and grabbed a hold of Marco ushering him towards Johnny and Damon.
“COSA? (What?)” Marco tried protesting but Carter kept pushing him.
“OH!” He grabbed a hold of one of Kane’s legs and together they lifted him onto a gurney.
“Fuck! That’s a heavy boy!” Damon stated, stretching out his back.
“CHI È UN GIOCATTOLO? (Who’s a toy?)” Marco yelled. Damon and Johnny just stared at him. Damon held his finger to his lips, trying to silence Marco.
“SCUSA!” Marco yelled again. Damon gave him a thumbs up.
“Go sit down!” Damon said to him.
“COSA? (What?)” Johnny was struggling to fight back a laugh.
“Sit down!” Damon pointed to the chairs.
“COSA? (What?)” Marco looked at him confused, he didn’t know what he wanted. Damon pushed him towards the chairs.
“FANCULO! SMETTILA DI SPINGERMI! (Fuck you! Stop pushing me!)” Marco yelled!
“Just sit down” Damon pushed him into one of the chairs and held his hand up telling him to stay. Johnny grabbed Carter before he could do anything and sat him in the seat beside Marco.
“COSA? (What?)” He looked at him confused.
“Kenneth better get his ass back here with a damn doctor” Johnny commented, shaking his head. Damon just nodded in agreement.
“Calm yourselves, I’m right here!” He said, rounding the corner with two doctors in tow. “Try driving with that, except when you tell them to shut up, neither one can hear you. I’m not even going to tell you about all the fun it was trying to get them in the truck.” He added, Johnny just broke out laughing, he could see that.
“Not the most cooperative pair I gather?” Damon asked, grinning. Kenneth just gave him a look.
“SCOPATO? (Who’s fucked?)” Marco asked, rather alarmed by this.
“SONO SCOPATO? SONO SCOPATO? (Am I fucked? Am I fucked?)” He looked back and forth between the three men standing there pointing at himself as he continued to ask if he was fucked.
“FANCULO! KENNETH, SONO SCOPATO? COSA HO FATTO? (Fuck you! Kenneth, am I fucked? What did I do?)” Marco grabbed Kenneth’s arm, he could see the panic on his face. Kenneth spent the next 5 minutes trying to calm Marco down.
One of the doctors was trying to help Carter, but he seemed to be fighting him instead.
“WHY ARE YOU TOUCHING ME? DON’T FUCKING TOUCH ME!” He yelled then looked to Damon for assistance “WHY IS HE TOUCHING ME? DON’T FUCKING TOUCH ME!” Damon grabbed Carter’s arms.
“YOUR EARS, HE WANTS TO CHECK YOUR EARS” Damon yelled back pointing to his ears letting go of his arms.
“ARE THEY CROOKED?” Carter went to straighten his wolf ears.
“NOT THOSE EARS, THESE EARS” Damon flicked Carter’s ears and realization dawned on his face.
“WHY DIDN’T HE SAY SO?” and he sat still. Johnny cracked up laughing all over again.
The doctor gave them the all clear, saying they should be fine tomorrow, but they couldn’t be left alone in their condition, and they might have a little ringing in their ears.
“How long do you think he’s gonna be out for?” Damon asked as he looked at Kane. One of the doctors was checking his vitals.
“I have no clue. It took 6 darts just to slow him down. Let’s just find out what room she’s in and put him there, then find the doctor and see what he has to say.” Johnny suggested.
“What about those two?” Kenneth asked, pointing at Marco and Carter.
“I got ’em!” Damon grabbed both men by the arms and lifted them to their feet and started ushering them down the hallway, while Johnny wheeled an unconscious Kane.
“CAZZO PERSONE! SEI SEMPRE STATO COSI’ DAVVERO PUSHY? (Fuck people! Have you always been so fucking pushy?)” Marco yelled,
“He asked me the same question.” Kenneth laughed.
“At least you know what he asked,” Damon muttered.
They located Dax’s room at the end of the hallway. When they opened the door they saw wires attached to her that were connected to monitors all beeping.
“That’s a little unnerving,” Johnny said, swallowing hard. They wheeled Kane into the room and put him beside her. Damon was looking at all the medical equipment, when her heart monitor started beeping faster.
“I didn’t touch nothing!” He put his hands up and stepped away from her. The doctor stepped in at that time.
“Her heart has been fluctuating like that off and on, since you brought her in.” He said,
“Is she gonna be ok?” Johnny asked him, then looked back at her.
“I don’t know! I warned Alpha Kane yesterday, she needed to take it easy. I didn’t know if she could handle another assault on her body like she took on Saturday, this one seems to be worse. All we can do now is to wait and see.” He sounded mournful.
“She’ll be fine!” Damon said. “She’ll wake up! Tomorrow she’ll be punching people in the throat.”
“Damon….” Johnny began.
“NO! She’ll be fine and she’ll wake up. She’s feisty pants. She has a fire burning in her, so she’ll be fine and she’ll wake up. She just….needs her rest.” Damon walked out of the room. He didn’t want to hear anyone say any different, she had to be fine, he needed her to be fine. Kenneth went to say something, but Johnny shook his head, Damon needed to believe she would be fine.
“What do we do now?” Kenneth asked instead,
“Now, we find Magnus!” Johnny gave Carter a note telling him to stay with Damon, and Kenneth pulled Marco down the hall.
“GENTE DEL CAZZO PUSHY! (Pushy fucking people!)” Marco huffed.
Carter found Damon in the waiting room and he sat down in a chair beside him.
“I’m fine Carter!” He said, before he remembered that Carter couldn’t hear him. He ran his hands through his hair, fighting to contain his emotions. He could feel the tears welling up in his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. She’ll be fine, she’ll wake up! She’s the toughest little one he has ever seen and she’ll wake up. When he felt Carter’s hand on his shoulder, he looked up at him. He could see the same look on Carter’s face that he probably had on his own. No words needed to be spoken between them, they were thinking the same thing. Damon just nodded at him. She’ll be fine! Damon stood up and headed back down the hall to her room, with Carter following behind him. He pulled a chair up beside her bed and sat down and Carter followed.
“What a fucking day huh feisty pants?” Damon said,
“WHAT?” Carter yelled at him, Damon just put his finger to his lips and pointed at Kane. A sheepish look crossed Carter’s face as he looked away from Kane.
“Ignore him, he’s temporarily deaf. When your beast here was hollering the other truck down, Carter was fighting to keep ours on the road. Marco’s deaf as well, he’s a belligerent little asshole, and his English hasn’t gotten any better. Now he just yells at us in Italian” Damon said with a laugh. “They’ll be fine tomorrow though, maybe a slight ringing, but they’ll be ok. Carter’s also the only one still wearing his ears and tail, just between you and me I think he’s grown quite attached to them.” Damon leaned forward and rested his arms on his knees.
“You’ll be ok too, you just need your rest. It was a tough day for you, but you’re strong, little sister, so….you’ll be ok.”
“Let me tell you about the rest of my day after the cockroach in the pancakes. Carter and I went door to door. Took a few houses, duct taping a man naked to a tree with his dirty picture collection and beating a man for laughing at my ears before we got some answers.”
“Seems our little friend Shane, started that fire in the art gallery” her heart rate picked up at the mention of Shane’s name and Damon paused and waited for it to regulate itself again. “It gets better so you better hold off the heart palpitations till the end.”
“We initially thought it was because you put Carl in jail, but after talking to his mom we don’t think that’s the case anymore, but I’ll get into that later. He did it because you rejected him, and beat him with a napkin dispenser.” Her heart picked up again “I know, I know, he’s fucked in the head, just wait though before you interrupt me.” Her heart slowed down again. “Anyways, it seems Shane held a competition to see who could get the best photo of you, that’s how he got so many. Don’t worry though everything’s been destroyed. And I’m pretty sure one guy isn’t going to be eating right after Carter got through with him. Shane’s crazy about you and not in a good way. Shane’s real name by the way is Magnus, but I have a feeling you know that and that’s why you’re here and not causing shit somewhere else.” He wiped the tear that escaped and slid down his cheek.
“I don’t even know if you’re listening or can even hear me, I could just be talking to myself” Her heart picked up then slowed down. “I’d rather hear your voice. I’d rather hear you call me squeaky again.” He sniffled. Once more her heart rate picked up then dropped.
“Alright, alright, if you’re really going to make me tell you. His mom says he’s nuttier than a fucking nutter butter. I can’t tell you everything she said, Johnny was the one to talk to her, but she told him he was diagnosed with something called Obsessive Love Disorder. He’s envisioned a whole relationship with you, granted he might not have if Carl hadn’t cemented it into his fucked up little brain that you belonged to him. But who knows really. Regardless, when you rejected him at the art gallery three years ago, he lashed out and tried to burn it down with you in it. But when you survived, he looked at that as his second chance, and his obsession became stronger.” Her heart beat wildly, until he placed his hand over hers. “Don’t worry little sister, he won’t touch one hair on your pretty little head, I’ll rip him limb from limb before he even gets the chance, and that’s a guarantee.” He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and her heart calmed down once more.
“Then Marco called after the visit with the mom, and shit had gone down with you and we were racing to get to you, but your beast was throwing a fit in the back of the truck. Wrecked two trucks, the medical van, the entrance to the medical ward and deafened both Carter and Marco. Took 10 darts to put his ass down. We’re not exactly sure how long he’ll stay down for, but we hope you wake up before he does. If he wakes up first he’ll be big big mad. Johnny and I are the ones that shot him, and I don’t think he’ll be happy to see us. But take your time and get some rest.” Damon stood up, brushed the hair from her forehead and placed a kiss on it.
“I love you little sister, I’ll see you when I see you. Just don’t take too long.” He sat back down and continued to hold her hand. At some point Carter had slumped over in his chair and fell asleep, Damon just laughed, some company he turned out to be.
Five hours later Damon woke when he heard Kane groan. He tensed up immediately. He didn’t know whether it was Kane or Ky that woke in the bed next to him. He hoped for Kane he would at least somewhat understand the need they had to sedate him.
“Oh fuck, Johnny he’s awake”
“What? How is that possible?”
“Don’t know!”
“Is it Kane or Ky?”
“Don’t know!”
“What are you doing?”
“Trying not to have a fucking heart attack.”
Damon was watching Kane closely, if it was Ky he would not have a lot of time to get out of the way, before he came after him. He didn’t think Ky was the forgiving type.
“Ow! Fuck my head!” Kane groaned, rubbing his head.
“Thank the fucking Goddess” Damon breathed a sigh of relief.
“What the fuck happened?” Kane went to sit up, but a wave of dizziness washed over him and he slumped back into the bed.
“We had to sedate you or rather Ky. And you might want to leave the blanket on, he’s not a shy guy.” Damon said,
“It’s Kane, bring pants”
“We’ll be there in 10 minutes”
Damon moved to get him some water while Kane adjusted his eyes and tried to focus on his surroundings. The sterile scent, the grey walls, harsh lights, they all assaulted his senses, but it was the incessant beeping that was driving him crazy. He looked to his left and he was pretty sure his heart stopped. His beautiful queen was lying beside him with wires connected to her. He wrapped the blanket around his lower half and went to get out of the bed only to hit the floor hard. He couldn’t get his legs to function; he slammed into Carter on the way down. Carter bolted to a standing position, ready to defend his Luna.
“WHAT?” He yelled,
“Ow! Fuck Carter stop yelling!” Kane covered his ears,
“WHAT?” Carter yelled again. Damon rushed over and grabbed a hold of Carter’s shoulders silencing him, then he pointed to the ground. Carter’s eyes went wide when he saw his Alpha on the floor. Damon motioned for him to help pick him up, Carter just nodded.
“He can’t hear you!” Damon explained when he saw Kane’s confused look. “Your loudness deafened both Carter and Marco.” He added.
“What the fuck happened?” Kane was more firm when he asked this time.
“Like I said we had to sedate Ky. Took 10 darts to put him down, I guess you’re still feeling the effects” Damon and Carter helped Kane into a chair.
He tapped Carter on the shoulder and pointed to another chair and he just nodded and went to sit down. Kane just watched, Damon handed him some water.
“What do you remember?” Damon asked, after he took the vacant chair across from Kane.
“I remember the warehouse, I was loading a locked box into the truck, I didn’t want to open it there I just wanted to get her the fuck away from that place when Marco and I opened the locked room. This intense coldness hit me hard, I was frozen in place, my body felt completely numb, then this voice told me to focus, and that she needed me. I hit the ground and took off running towards the warehouse. We found her in the bathroom, she was frozen and barely breathing.” Kane recounted the events he could remember.
“She was scared?” Damon asked,
“No, she was ice cold to the touch, I thought I was going to lose her on the floor of that fucking bathroom.” Kane looked at him, Damon could see the fear in his eyes, but he didn’t say anything, just waited for him to continue.
“We got her warmed up and then I told Marco to burn it to the ground, and we headed back to the pack house. The drive back I felt something pulling at me and that same voice told me to let go, and I did. That’s the last thing I remember, I still feel it, I still feel the coldness.” Kane explained.
“Allow me to enlighten you, to what you did after. We thought maybe she was in some catatonic state of shock after finding something in the bathroom, like she was the night I found her in the kitchen. Johnny called Marco to tell him that when he gets to the medical ward, have the doctor give her the same thing he did last time, something to calm her down, but not sedate her. That’s when we heard you through the phone. You were loud and getting louder by the second. You took out two trucks. Johnny needs a new one and Carter’s needs all the windows replaced. We called the triplets and they had the benzowhatevers and we met up on the side of the road. James gave it to feisty pants, and the eruption that came from the truck sent a shock wave that knocked Marco 20 feet back. Johnny and I had to pry your arms from around her so they could get her to the medical ward. I guess not having her close woke Ky up. Cause he was hella pissed when he kicked the door off and took off after the medical van. Johnny and I cut through the woods beating you to the medical ward. They got her inside and used the van to block the entrance. Not that it mattered, Ky got in anyway, it was just a prolonged entrance. We need a new medical van, and the entrance needs to be repaired. Then Johnny and I shot you 10 times.” Damon recapped everything that happened after Kane went under.
“She hasn’t woken up yet. Her heart rate has been fluctuating since we brought her in.” Damon said when he saw Kane looking at her.
“She’s reliving memories!” Kane said, not taking his eyes off of her.
“Every memory?” Damon asked, Kane shook his head.
“No, whatever she found in that bathroom set off a chain of them in her head” Kane replied. Before Damon could say anything else there was a commotion in the hallway outside the door.
“FANCULO! SMETTILA DI SPINGERMI, CAZZO! (Fuck you! Stop fucking pushing me!)” Marco was yelling at someone.
“If you could hear me, I wouldn’t have to push you” Kenneth hissed back.
“CHE CAZZO MI HAI DETTO APPENA? (The fuck did you just say to me?)” Marco yelled again,
“You’re gonna wake the dead Marco, shut up!” Johnny chided, as he opened the door to the room.
“He’s a belligerent little asshole.” Damon laughed, causing Kane to grin.
“Maybe he needs to be sedated,” Kane offered,
“Trust me, the thought has crossed my mind. I would leave him somewhere but unfortunately they can not be left alone, and Jackie can’t deal with three kids and a deaf idiot.” Kenneth commented,
“A CHI MANCA UN DITO? (Who’s missing a digit?)” Kenneth just sighed and directed him to sit in a chair beside Carter.
“They’ll be fine tomorrow, maybe a slight ringing in their ears, but fine. Until then we get free entertainment, except Carter he just randomly yells ‘what’ when you look at him” Damon said laughing louder. Kane looked over at Carter as soon as he noticed his Alpha looking at him.
“WHAT?” He stood, but Johnny just pushed him back in his chair.
“How are you feeling brother?” Johnny asked Kane, as he gave him his pants.
“A little foggy” Kane replied as he went to get up, but he still didn’t have function in his legs and Damon and Johnny had to catch him before he hit the ground for the second time.
“Apparently you can’t use your legs either. So sit your ass in that chair till you get mobility back, cause I ain’t helping you put your pants on.” Johnny said as they helped him back into his chair.
“What did you all find out?” Kane said changing the subject.
“The list Carter and I went through only two guys had any information but they both said he is obsessed with her, like bonkers obsessed. He has a competition going to see who can get the best photo of her. They both also said that he told them he started the fire in the art gallery. He’s also a naughty boy with 6 sexual assault allegations, but the charges never stuck, they all recanted their statements.” Damon said.
“The agent at the art gallery said the fire started in the middle of the room and they used Molotov cocktails, but she should have been able to get out the back door, as it locks from the inside. Someone barricaded the door shut after she went back in. The last one out was Shane. We think there were two people that night. There is no way Shane could barricade the back door and be inside to start the fire.” Kenneth filled him in.
“And what did Maria Whitekar say?” Kane asked, Kenneth and Damon looked at Johnny.
“This is where it all starts to make sense. Shane’s real name is Magnus, Magnus Whitekar” Johnny began telling him what Maria said, about Carl wanting to adopt Dax, to give to his son, so he never has to be alone. That they would train her right. But Maria took Magnus when he was 6, she thought it would keep Dax safe. Said that from the day he was born she knew something was wrong with him. About the doctors she tried taking him to, but his ability to tell a believable lie was uncanny. Told him about the missing neighbourhood pets and their bodies she discovered in the backyard, but still doctors told her nothing was wrong with him. Told him about the little girl that he pushed from the playground when he was 12 because she didn’t like him, and how he stalked her until the family was forced to move away.
“At 13 he was diagnosed with something called Obsessive Love Disorder. Basically he picks an object of affection and envisions a whole relationship with that person, sometimes the relationships are actually real, most often they aren’t. If the object of his obsession rejects him then he lashes out, like trying to burn her alive.” Johnny went on to explain that he did a turn around and Maria thought it was due to the medication, but he was communicating with Carl and he gave him someone new to obsess over. Kane looked at Dax, and Johnny just nodded.
“So he started the fire in the art gallery because she rejected him, but she survived and now he thinks he gets a second chance at his fucked up fantasy?” Kane asked a growl escaping his lips. Damon pushed back in the chair away from him. Sounds like Ky is waking up, even Johnny took a few steps back.
“And how does White fit into all of this?” Kane asked. No one had any idea. The only evidence of two people working together was the night of the gallery fire.
“What if Shane….” Damon began to ask,
“Magnus” Johnny corrected,
“Whatever….what if he’s White to?” Damon asked,
“I don’t think so. White seems to be organized and can cover their tracks pretty well. This Shane….Magnus seems to be more disorganized and doesn’t seem to be interested in hiding anything.” Kenneth stated,
“Marco found his hidden laptop under the couch as he was burning the warehouse down, if he can get into it, it might give us more information. As well as the locked boxes Dax found.” Kane said as he looked back over at her. Kenneth looked over at Marco.
“CHE COSA? PER COSA MI STAI GUARDANDO? (What? What are you looking at me for?)” He yelled,
“He’s utterly useless right now” Kenneth commented,
“Sedate him! He’s giving me a headache” Kane said, rubbing his head. Johnny just cracked up laughing.
“We’ll get everything set up in your office.” Johnny offered as a knock came to the door. Kenneth opened the door to find the doctor standing there. Stepping aside to let him in, his eyes widened when he saw Kane sitting up and awake in the chair.
“What’s up doc?” Damon asked,
“Just came to check on these two, but I see one is already awake, which surprises me a little. You filled him full of enough sedatives that he should have been asleep for a few days.” The doctor answered. “How are you Alpha?” He added turning his attention towards Kane.
“A little foggy and I don’t seem to have use of my legs” Kane answered,
“The fog will clear, it’s just the sedatives working their way through your system. As is leg paralysis, you should start getting mobility back in them soon.” The doctor assured him,
“That’s a relief, I’d eventually like to be able to put some pants on.” Kane grumbled, tightening the blanket around his waist. The doctor ducked his head, but Kenneth, Johnny and Damon did nothing to cover their laughter. The doctor checked his heart beat and his breathing making sure there were no other issues before he turned his attention to Dax.
He checked her pulse, her heart rate and listened to her lungs. Then he moved over to some other machine that looked like wavy lines on it.
“What’s that?” Damon asked, pointing at it.
“It’s an EEG. It is monitoring her brain activity.” The doctor was looking at the results on the screen and writing something in her chart.
“Does she have a busy brain?” Johnny asked,
“An extremely busy brain, especially at this time.” He pinpointed a time where her brain seemed especially active. That was when Damon was telling her about his day.
“Can she hear us?” Damon asked,
“Tough to say really, she is highly responsive, most coma patients are not. So it would be a guess at best, but yes I think she can hear you, she just can’t communicate.” He shone a light in her eyes and he showed them her pupil dilation. “That however I really can’t explain.” As soon as he pulled the light away, the amethyst in her eyes glowed. They all exchanged a look.
“She’s in a coma?” Kenneth asked,
“I don’t know, I don’t have an explanation for what she’s in” The doctor was absolutely baffled. He’s never seen anything like this. Kane tried to lift himself up enough to see, but didn’t quite have his strength back yet, he just sat back down in the chair.
“You should all leave now though and let them get their rest” The doctor suggested. “And keep him from yelling,” He added, pointing at Marco.
“COSA? CHE CAZZO MI GUARDI? CHE COSA FACCIO? (What? What the fuck are you looking at me for? What’d I do?)” Marco yelled,
“Can we sedate him?” Kenneth asked. Johnny laughed, he was pretty sure Kenneth was serious though.
“I can give him a mild sedative to keep him calm and quiet,” the doctor offered,
“Somethings better than nothing!” Kenneth agreed, he looked at Marco. His eyes went wide when Kenneth motioned for him to come with him.
“NON VOGLIO VENIRE CON TE (I don’t want to go with you)” Marco yelled, shaking his head.
“I’ll take Marco,” Johnny offered, laughing. “I’ll drop him off with Lacey, she’ll put him to work setting up the nursery, that way I don’t have to” he grabbed Marco by his arm lifting him to his feet.
“CHE COSA È CON VOI CHE FOTTONO PERSONE PESANTI? (What is with you pushy fucking people?)” Marco huffed again,
“This boy better be right tomorrow” Johnny grumbled, pushing him out the door.
“I’ll drop Carter off with Brandon, he can yell ‘what’ at him for a few hours.” Damon said, getting up motioning for Carter to follow him. Carter was on his feet following Damon out the door.
“He’s got that boy trained, how the fuck did he do that?” Kenneth asked.
“If you haven’t noticed, Damon has an older brother complex. He takes family very seriously. He looked after Carter when we were younger and Carter looks up to him.” Kane explained,
“I know it’s not Marco’s fault for his current situation, but it doesn’t make him any less infuriating.” Kenneth stated. “But I swear he yells at me one more time I’m going to put him down” Kane just laughed,
“Go be with your mate Kenneth, what is her name by the way?” Kane asked,
“Her name is Seraphine Velasquez” Kenneth’s cheeks flushed slightly at the mention of her name. A small smile graced Kane’s lips as he saw his friend’s reaction to his mate.
“Go, be with her” Kane motioned towards the door, then turned away from him and looked at Dax.
“Do you need help getting back into your bed before I go?” Kenneth asked. Kane shook his head, but never took his eyes off his mate. Kenneth nodded and left him alone in the room.
He waited till he heard Kenneth walking down the hall before he spoke to her. If what the doctor guessed was right, she should be able to hear him.
“Look where we are again, little mouse? Last time I had pants on though.” He saw the spikes in the waves on the EEG machine. He once again tried to push himself up in the chair so he could see her better, but was unable to hold himself.
“If this is what it feels like to be fully human, I don’t like it” He mumbled, more spikes. He could only imagine her laughing at him right now.
“The last words I spoke to you were ‘don’t touch anything’. What I should have said was how much I love you. What I should have told you was how important you are to me. How much meaning you bring to my life. But I didn’t and now I am sitting here hoping, praying to the Moon Goddess, to fate, to whoever will listen that the spikes I see are you hearing me.” He rubbed his hand over his face, releasing a deep sigh. Slipping his hand over hers giving it a gentle squeeze as he entwined their fingers.
“I love you baby, come back to me when you’re ready, I’ll be right here waiting. I’m not going anywhere” He whispered.
He didn’t know when he fell asleep or how long he fell asleep for, but when he woke up he was slumped over in the chair. His neck hurt, his back hurt and his legs were stiff. He stretched out as best he could in a sitting position. He tightened the blanket tighter around his waist and slowly went to stand up. Using her bed to hold onto and support himself, he got into a standing position. A small victory smile graced his lips, he looked down at her lying in the bed. She didn’t look troubled, but she wasn’t at peace either. Brushing the hair from her face, he could feel her skin warming as his thumb traced her cheekbone. He leaned down pressing his lips to her forehead.
“Take your time baby, just come back to me” he whispered again, before he grabbed his pants off his bed and slowly headed for the bathroom.
It’s time to wake up, little one! She could hear the voice all around her. He needs you, they all do, you’re not done! She felt the warmth of all the ones she loved around her but she couldn’t see them. She heard Damon talking to her telling her about his day, she felt the kiss he placed on her forehead, but she couldn’t talk back to him. She heard the concern in both Kenneth and Johnny’s voice. She heard Marco yelling. It’s time to open your eyes! Still your mind and quiet your cries. She heard Kane talking to her, telling her he loved her, to come back to him, he would be waiting for her, she felt his kiss and warmth spread through her from his touch. Fight little girl, for a love so true. Fight little girl, for what belongs to you! She fought to open her eyes, her family still needed her, Kane still needed her. Open your eyes little girl, it’s not time for your goodbyes! She wasn’t done yet, she still had fight left in her and she would continue to fight till her last breath. Deep breath and open your eyes! She took a deep breath and fought one more time for her eyes to open.
The room was blurry and unfocused, she heard the machines beeping loudly. Please shut those fucking things up! She thought. The smell of antiseptic filled her nose. Fuck! Not here again, just once can I wake up in my bed with Kane and not here? Wait! Why am I here? I fell asleep in the truck, so why am I here? She struggled to sit up, her body hurt and protested her movements. She felt like she had been in several car accidents simultaneously every inch of her hurt. She almost cried out when pain flooded through her. She settled back and waited for it to subside, taking deep breaths, she’d try again in a minute. Ok. makes sense why I’m here, pain not a good sign? Was I in a car accident? Taking another deep breath, she tried to pull herself up again, wincing at the pain it caused. Silently screaming and fighting it all back she forced herself up. She blinked a couple times, her head hurt, it felt like it was going to explode. She looked around the room, this room was bigger than her last room. Two beds she assumed one was for Kane, she didn’t know how long she had been there for and he probably camped out in the room waiting for her to wake up. Oh god what if she’d been asleep for a month, or a year, how long was she out for? It felt like a very long time when she was under. She heard a noise to her left, turning in that direction she was staring into dark grey eyes.
“I love you too!”
Kane was in the bathroom, staring at his reflection in the mirror. He pretty much looked like hell froze over. He felt drained, both physically and mentally. Whatever game fate was playing, judging by his appearance he was losing. This made him angry, he only liked losing to his little mouse. The coldness he had been feeling since the truck left his body and a knot started to form. Pain spread throughout him, but it wasn’t his, it stole his breath causing him to double over and hiss and groan, when it subsided, he knew it was hers and he had to get back to her. He opened the door and when he rounded the corner his breath caught in his throat.
“Baby!” He whispered, he wasn’t sure it was even audible, but when she looked at him, she said the four words he’s been dying to hear since he held her on the bathroom floor.
“I love you too!”
He was by her side in a flash, not sure if this was real or maybe he was still sleeping and this was a dream, he didn’t care, she was awake. He gathered her in his arms and held her to him. She buried her face in his chest, he lifted her face and he pressed his lips to hers. He kissed her like he’d never see her again, like he has not seen her in forever. He knew he should call the doctor, but he didn’t want to remove his lips from hers. He didn’t want to take his arms from around her, and the doctor would make him do that. Her mouth moved under his, her body hurt and she fought the urge to recoil from the pain. She didn’t know how long she was out for and she just wanted him to touch her, to hold her, to kiss her. She moved closer to him, his hands couldn’t touch enough of her. When the monitors in the room started beeping like crazy, they broke apart.
“Well that might bring attention” he barely got the words out, before the door was thrown open and the doctor stood there wide eyed staring at both of them. They looked back at him and no one said a word.
“So it didn’t go very well with Lacey I take it?” Kenneth was laughing.
“Oh it went great, I have never laughed so hard in my life, I still have a nursery to put together but that was pure fucking entertainment” Johnny was still laughing. Lacey had cursed him up and down for leaving Marco with her. Not only did he not cooperate with what she wanted him to do, but when she yelled at him he just stared at her.
“Non so quale cazzo fosse lei problema! Ha continuato a passarmi lei cose poi ha agitato lei braccia come se stesse cercando di far atterrare un dannato aereo. (I don’t know what the fuck was her problem! She kept handing me things then would wave her arms around like she was trying to land a damn airplane.)” Marco still couldn’t hear, but at least he wasn’t yelling anymore. Kenneth cracked up laughing, as much as he would have loved to see this, he enjoyed his quiet time with his mate.
“So explain again why he needs ice” Kenneth looked at Marco, who had a bag of ice on his eye. Johnny just laughed harder.
“She handed him a lamp, he looked at it, handed it back and said no thank you. So she started yelling at him, so….so….so he asked, and never ask a pregnant she-wolf this….but he asked what the fuck her problem was, and she hit him. The dumb bastard….starts laughing….and then….asks….what the fuck was that?....she hit him with the lamp.” Johnny could barely get out why Marco needed ice. He was laughing so hard. Kenneth was howling.
“Where’s Damon?” Johnny asked after he got control of himself.
“Brandon called and told him to come get Carter right now. I don’t think it was going well with them either. He said Brandon sounded quite upset.” Johnny started laughing again.
“Why would Brandon be angry? The only thing Carter does is yell ‘what’ when you look at him.” Johnny choked out.
“What’d I do? Damon….Damon what’d I do?” Carter was asking when they met up with Johnny and Kenneth at the medical ward. “Why is Brandon mad at me? What’d I do?”
“What happened?” Kenneth asked, Carter was quite upset about something and Damon was trying to contain himself.
“Carter flipped Brandon onto the coffee table, breaking it, because he thought that’s what he wanted. It wasn’t, he wanted it moved. I stood there for 20 minutes with a straight face listening to Brandon explain to me what happened. In Carter’s defence he did ask him if he was sure first.” Damon broke and howled with laughter, Johnny and Kenneth had to sit down, they were laughing so hard.
“But Damon, why is Brandon mad at me? I did what he wanted me to do.” Carter was still trying to ask what he did wrong, Damon just shook his head, he had tears streaming down his cheeks.
“No!” Damon just shook his head again, he couldn’t get any words out. A look of concern crossed Carter’s face.
“Did I do something wrong? What’d I do?” He looked between all three of them, before he could ask again Damon put his hands up to stop him.
“What happened to him?” Damon breathed out trying to pull himself together, drying his eyes with the heel of his hand.
“Lacey hit him with a lamp” Kenneth choked out.
“Non so quale cazzo fosse lei problema (I don’t know what the fuck her problem was)” Marco threw his hands up in the air. “Stupido, non volevo quella fottuta lampada. (I didn’t want that fucking lamp.)”
They heard a commotion at the end of the hallway, and the laughter died down fast. Growing concerned Damon grabbed Carter while Johnny ushered Marco down the hall towards the noise. Machines were beeping loudly and quickly and they were coming from Dax’s room, they saw the doctor take off running in that direction. Panic setting in Damon took off running as well with Carter following close behind. He stopped short of slamming into the back of the doctor standing in the doorway, Carter however did not and knocked the doctor to the floor in the room.
“Hey, Luna’s awake” Carter stated when he saw her,
“Thanks Carter!” Damon said sarcastically,
“What?” Carter looked at him, Damon pointed to the doctor on the ground, “Oh, sorry” he said as he picked the doctor up off the floor. Damon looked at her, then to Kane but his gaze shifted back to her. He swallowed hard as he stepped into the room past the doctor, to stand in front of her.
“I’m ok Squeaky!” She said as she looked up at him. He engulfed her in a big bear hug and held her tight.
“Don’t you ever fucking do that again. Ever!” His voice wavered and was thick with emotion as he spoke. By then Johnny, Kenneth and a protesting Marco showed up.
“Smettila di spingere! Perché cazzo mi spingi sempre? (Why are you always fucking pushing me?)” Marco huffed, “Luna!” his face perked up and flooded with relief when he saw her. Both Johnny and Kenneth walked past the doctor into the room, Johnny pushed Damon out of the way and wrapped his arms around her.
“Darling, you scared the hell out of us. Can we stop doing that now?” He said when he stepped back from her. Even Kenneth hugged her.
“Welcome back!”
“How long was I out for?” She asked, looking at all of them.
“7 almost 8 hours” Kane answered as he wrapped his arms around her. She looked confused.
“Did I miss the trip?” She looked at Kane, then to the rest of them. They looked at each other then back at her.
“What do you remember?” Johnny asked, growing concerned.
“Falling asleep in the truck on the way there” She answered, again she looked at all of them. They all looked at the doctor, who still hadn’t said anything.
With all eyes on him, he could only open his mouth and then close it. She shouldn’t be awake, there is no way she should be awake. How is she awake?
“I think you broke the doctor,” Damon commented, motioning to him just standing there.
“Somebody snap him out of it,” Kane ordered. They needed answers and the doctor standing there with his mouth hanging open was not giving him any. Damon motioned for Carter.
“What?” Carter looked at him, he pointed towards the doctor, Carter looked at him then looked back at Damon a little confused.
“What?” Damon motioned for him to get the doctor’s attention.
“Yeah?” Damon just nodded. Carter smacked the doctor in the back of the head, then looked back at Damon, who grinned and nodded his approval.
“He really does have him trained,” Johnny laughed. The doctor blinked a few times then moved further into the room.
Kane stepped away from her so the doctor could examine her, he still didn’t say anything.
“I….I….I” was all he could say as he looked her over. When he moved back to the door, he was just shaking his head.
“Is she alright?” Kane asked.
“Fine….she’s fine….I….she’s fine” he threw his hands in the air, he didn’t know what else to say, he didn’t understand, had no explanation for why she was fine, for why she was sitting on the bed, for anything.
“And the memory loss?” Kane arched his eyebrow.
“I don’t know….I don’t know, it’s not uncommon for patients to wake up after an accident and have no recollection of the events that preceded it. Their memories eventually come back, but her, her I don’t know. I can’t explain anything” the doctor walked out of the room repeating that he didn’t know.
“Well that explains everything” Kenneth said as they all watched in shock.
“How do you feel?” Kane asked, with all eyes back on her, she felt on the spot. Does she tell them she’s in pain or keep it to herself.
“A little sore and I have a headache.” Not a total lie! Came her very groggy subconscious. Truth would be big fucking sore, big fucking headache! Kane furrowed his brow at her. He knows! She shifted under his gaze and he didn’t miss the flinch that crossed her face at the movement. When everyone else was gone he’d track the doctor down again and have him look her over one more time, just to make sure.
“What happened in Garrison?” She asked, looking back at them, the concerned looks on their faces told her she did not sleep through the trip and she was awake for it. None of them were sure how to answer, and without the doctor giving them any answers they didn’t know what to do.
“Before or after the cockroach in the pancakes?” Damon asked,
“Who’s pancakes? My pancakes? Did I eat it?” Her eyes widened and she looked mortified.
“No, but that pretty much ended breakfast.” Johnny assured her,
“Johnny and I went to the art gallery. Damon and Carter went to talk to people, and you, Kane and Marco went to Shane’s warehouse” Kenneth added. She sat there and waited for them to continue. They all looked at Kane, he wasn’t sure anymore than they were.
“She wants to know what happened, it might help jog her memory. Start with the art gallery.” Kane said, as he sat with her on the bed. Kenneth filled her in on everything they discovered from the art gallery about the night of the fire.
“Someone barricaded the door? Why would they do that? Are you sure it wasn’t him?” She asked,
“Maybe Shane had someone working with him, but there was no way he could get from the back of the building to the front to start the fire and have you still be in the building” Kenneth answered,
“He didn’t speak to anyone else that night but me.” She said,
“Maybe they were waiting outside for you?” Johnny asked,
“Maybe, when I packed my truck I didn’t look around to see if anybody was watching, I just wanted to get the hell outta there” she replied, she tried to shrug, but a wave of pain crashed through her and she did everything she could not to show it.
Damon told her what they found out when they were talking to some of the people on the list. Johnny told her what Maria said and that Shane’s real name was Magnus.
“I don’t remember her!” She looked at him,
“You were two when she left with Magnus,” Johnny said,
“So he’s not going to stop until either he’s dead or I’m dead?” She asked, pointing at herself.
“Afraid not darling, he’s obsessed with you. Maybe he wouldn’t be if Carl hadn’t ingrained it in his brain,” Johnny said,
“Why would he do that?” She asked,
“She said, Carl never wanted Magnus to be alone, or have to look for someone to love him, they would teach you to do it the right way.” Johnny explained.
“He’s as crazy as his nutcase for a son,” Damon commented. She rubbed her head, her headache was getting worse. The pain in her body was getting worse. It was all getting worse.
“What happened at the warehouse?” She asked. Kane explained what they found, told her about the locked boxes, the hidden laptop and the pictures she found and pulled off the walls.
“There was something about them,” she said. They waited for her to continue but that was all she said. He continued with what happened, about the locked room he skipped the part about the chains on the bed though. He told her about finding her on the bathroom floor, Marco burning the warehouse down and then waking up in the hospital bed next to her.
Damon filled her in on what happened from them leaving the warehouse to getting to the medical ward.
“Is that why you’re not wearing a shirt?” She asked, looking at him. Kane looked at Johnny.
“I brought you pants….again might I add” Johnny shrugged,
“What’s in the locked boxes?” She asked looking back at Johnny.
“We haven’t got them open yet!” He replied,
“What’s on the laptop?” She asked Kenneth,
“We don’t know that either. Marco’s uncooperative right now” Kenneth answered, and they all looked at Marco.
“Che cosa?....what?....perché mi guardate tutti? (Why are you all looking at me?)” Marco looked back at them all.
“Maybe you should get some rest now?” Kane suggested,
“I just slept for 8 hours” she said looking at him.
“You look tired!” He countered,
“He’s right, feisty pants you look exhausted, and I need to figure out what I am gonna do with him tonight, cause I don’t think Brandon wants him back right now.” Damon said, pointing at Carter. Kane looked at him confused.
“Brandon wanted the coffee table moved, but I guess he wasn’t clear enough, because Carter flipped him onto it and broke it. Brandon is slightly mad about it and Carter has no idea what he did wrong, he thought that’s what he wanted.” Kane looked at Carter, he could feel the smile tugging at his lips but he was trying his best to hide it.
“As entertaining as it was last time I can’t take Marco, pretty sure Lacey will kill him. He’s all yours Kenneth.” Johnny said laughing,
“I’m gonna go find the doctor for that sedative,” Kenneth replied. They said their good nights, leaving her and Kane alone. Before she could even say anything.
“How much pain are you in?” He asked, looking at her.
“It hurts everywhere, it feels like I was in multiple car accidents. And it’s only getting worse” she answered, biting back a whimper when she moved.
“Why didn’t you say something?” He looked at her concerned.
“I didn’t want to worry anybody,” she looked down at her fingers. He gently got off the bed.
“Come on lie down, and I’ll get the doctor” he helped her get as comfortable as she could and he left to find the doctor.
When he came back with the doctor she was curled up on her left side in a ball, her eyes were closed, but he could see her wincing in pain.
“Ok Luna, where does it hurt?” He asked,
“Everywhere” she whispered, he could see her body shaking. Wave after wave was crashing through her, her face twisted with the agony she was feeling.
“Can you be more specific?” The doctor asked. She pointed to her arms, her legs, her torso, her head, she pointed everywhere.
“Can you sit up?” He asked,
“No!” She was almost crying. It hurt so bad. He took her right arm to examine it causing her to cry out in pain. It didn’t make sense there was not a mark on her. She shouldn’t be hurting, but then nothing about her made sense.
“Where on your arm does it hurt?” The doctor asked. She pointed at her wrist, her forearm, her elbow and her shoulder. Her wrist made sense; she broke it this past Wednesday, but the rest didn’t. The doctor walked out of the room, then came back a few minutes later with a syringe. Pulling off the cap, he stuck it in her arm pressing the plunger.
“Just a painkiller.” He said to Kane. “It might make her sleepy though”
“What’s wrong with her?” Kane asked, he was becoming upset.
“Nothing that I can see, I understand her being sore around her existing injuries, but not the rest. Unless….” he walked out of the room again with Kane following him and pulled the images he took on Monday when they did the scan.
“She had a previous break in her wrist, her forearm, an injury in her elbow and shoulder.” The doctor said pointing to the same areas she pointed to.
“She’s feeling pain from previous injuries?” Kane asked. Zooming out on the scan pulling her full body one, they saw all her injuries.
“That’s a lot of previous injuries,” the doctor commented,
“That’s a lot of pain, she said she felt like she was in several car accidents, but how is that possible?” Kane looked at him,
“It’s not impossible, some of her injuries could have healed improperly. So her body adapted to the changes made by this, but now it could be putting unnatural stress on the joints. The interesting part is I don’t see that in this scan. The painkiller I gave her is not going to last long. I’ll need to find her something stronger.” The doctor just shook his head.
“When she was 17 she was in the hospital for 9 months, she said they had to break a few bones, because they didn’t heal correctly the first time.” Kane explained. The doctor just nodded and wrote that in her chart.
“I want to get a hold of that file,” the doctor said,
“Safe to say she’s staying here the night” Kane didn’t even need to hear the doctor’s reply to know she was spending yet another night in the medical ward.
“Yes, I would like to keep her for observation, tonight for sure, but we’ll see about tomorrow as well.” The doctor kept looking at her scan, writing notes in her file. Kane left him there and walked back into her room, she was still curled up on her bed with her eyes closed. He brushed the hair from her face, he could see she was still fighting against the pain.
“What’s wrong with me?” She whispered,
“He thinks the pain is coming from all your previous injuries” he went to sit in the chair beside her, but she grabbed his hand.
“Lay with me, please?” She asked, he nodded, gently as he could, he crawled into the bed and laid down beside her, he wrapped his arm around her and she held it to her chest tightly. When a wave of pain rolled through her she squeezed it tighter. Pressing her as close to him as he could, in hopes that would relieve some of her pain, he hoped she would fall asleep.