Head Trauma (Blake)

Niko was lying on one of the hospital beds in one of the wards. He’d gotten hit in the head with wrench then fallen, further hit his head on the ground and then cut his side open at work. The last thing he remembered was feeling pain. Lots and lots of pain. Like his skull had exploded. Then he’d passed out and the next thing he’d known was that he was in a room with a doctor beside him and waving a finger in front of his face, telling him to follow the finger then changing fingers and asking him how many he was holding up. Niko couldn’t tell because he had been seeing double. Then he’d realized that his body felt numb and he felt drowsy. Vaguely, it’d come to him that he’d been injected with anesthetic or some other sedative because when he tried to move his hand it wouldn’t respond. Neither would his foot or his arm or his neck. Then everything had blurred out of focus, the doctor’s voice fading out. When he’d woken up again, he was on a hospital bed with a blue hospital gown on with a nurse at his side who had told him that a doctor would be with him shortly. Before leaving, she explained to him that he’d had a minor concussion so he shouldn’t get up because it would make him dizzy and he’d have to wait to see the doctor. He was now lying on the bed, playing with a Rubik’s cube that he’d found tangled in the bed sheets near his foot, twisting and turning each side and part so that the colours would change and match. The colours were all muddled. Each side of the cube had a mixture of red rows, green rows, white rows, blue rows and yellow rows and multi-coloured squares. He was going to make those two eat the leftover sandwich when he saw them next at work in the ware-house. The sandwich in the fridge with all that expired cheese on it and rotten eggs. Throwing a wrench at him when he had been working on screwing the widget tightly into place to hold the ankle to the leg. He’d told them to throw it to him after he’d looked up, not before. This would definitely be another scar to add to his body but he hoped that it wouldn’t be noticeable. A bandage was wrapped around his head at an angle, tied at the back and plastering some of his hair to the sides of his head while some tufts were poking out the sides and front and he wondered how badly he’d been bleeding. The wrench hadn’t hit him with such force that it’d broken anything. He’d know if it had. So that was good. Niko stared at the cube, his eyes distant as he continued to twist the sides in his hands. He didn’t want to stay overnight. He wanted to go home. But his head felt kind of heavy and at times, spikes of pain would stab at his head when he tried to think too much. And his side felt itchy. He twisted on his side, craning his neck to try to see down the side of the hospital gown to see if he could see the cut on the side. He didn’t think it’d been that deep but he’d landed on the same side of the body that he’d gotten the cut from when he’d been fighting that werewolf. It’d broken through a layer of skin at least.

He saw a pad-like material stuck to his side where he’d been cut. It was long and rectangular with the thicker part in the middle being made out of thicker material to absorb the blood. He’d seen it before. It was used to close cuts and wounds so that it would stop bleeding. Niko tossed the cube into the air idly with one hand, glancing at the blank, white wall in front of him. A table was lined up in the middle with a vase of flowers was sitting on it. His clothes were nowhere to be seen. Probably taken away because of the blood that would’ve gotten onto the jeans and the shirt from the cut to his side and the head wound. An empty waste-basket was in the corner. He could see snowflakes falling outside. Niko started to sit up, wincing slightly and had to close his eyes slightly as the room spun. Waiting until that feeling passed, he opened his eyes gripping the Rubik cube tightly with his hand and pushed himself until he was standing on both feet using both hands. And stumbled as the room seemed to tilt and he dropped back down onto the bed, closing his eyes and waiting for the dizziness to pass again. Yeah. He shouldn’t have stood up. Maybe it was a delayed concussion. Hit in the head with a wrench, then hitting his head on the concrete. Niko fell back down onto the bed onto his back, his head ringing and moved again so that he was lying straight on the bed. Nothing but the cube and flowers for company. Great. His thoughts drifted to who the doctor would be coming, wondering when he or she would come.

Blake had been working at the new hospital for about two weeks now, still settling into her role. It was an interesting transition going back to working in a sterile hospital after so long as a veterinarian. But it was like riding a bike, you never really forgot. The hospital was still working to get more doctors and nurses on staff, but Blake was more than happy to help out. The Shifters didn’t seem to need a Mender for the time being so it helped keep her busy. Speaking of, the hospital had been wonderfully flexible with her hours. She’d explained that she had a renovation project going on that sometimes needed her attention. So long as she was on call in emergencies she was free to do as she wanted. She’d been working tirelessly on the house, trying to get it ready before the end of winter. Already the kitchen had been completed. Using some of the names the Regina had given her meant she had some good help with the plumbing and electricity.  She’d done the gardens herself, enjoying the time to relax. Not much would be planted in the winter anyway. It was mostly just the landscaping and clearing of debris. The removalists would be coming the following day with the furniture she’d ordered. All that was left was the painting. She’d decided to do it herself and save the money. Choosing the colour scheme was the toughest part. She wanted to keep the public spaces neutral: browns, whites, greys with the odd pop of colour. Upstairs, though, that was her domain, she wanted it to be classy and fun.

She had to pull her mind away from her ideas and focus on her work. Yes it had been a long day; the Mender was bouncing from patient to patient with barely any time to take a break. But the food court here was much better than the previous hospital she worked at. And there was so much to choose from. Today she’d had a lovely chicken sandwich. She was thinking of stopping down there for some sushi after she clocked off. She sighed, just one more patient. Looking down at the file she’d been handed, she looked up at the doctor before her. “He’s got a suspected delayed concussion and a wound on his left side. It’s been stitched and bandaged, along with his head, but we need you to assess him for overnight observation.” She rolled her eyes at the other doctor. ”Let me guess, he has no plans to stay here for the night and you want me to ‘convince him’.” She said, making air quotes with her fingers. The other doctor smiled and winked at her. “You’ve got it.” She rolled her eyes again and turned to walk away. Blake rifled through the pages, trying to find the room the man was in. It said his name was Niko Santos. She was pretty sure the clans Eprors name was Niko. She hadn’t realized it was a common name. She took a deep breath outside the door. One more, she thought before opening the door. She’d kept her head down, studying the file on her way in. ”Hello Mr. ah-“ She flicked the page over, searching for his name again, ”Santos. I’m Dr. Blake Rowan, I’ll be assessing your need for overnight observation.” She looked up from the papers, blue eyes searching for a face. Her jaw dropped. This was the same Niko, her clansmen. ”Niko? Is that you under there?” She approached his bedside, placing a gentle hand over his forehead, testing for a fever. ”What the hell happened to you?” She started to lift the side of his hospital gown, wanting to get a look at his wound.

To keep his mind occupied as he waited, he continued to fiddle with the cube, turning it this way and that slowly. Success. One side turned dark blue. Concentrating on the cube, he started to try to make the other side one colour by playing with the rows. Yellow because it was a colour that he liked. It was warm and reminded him of the sun back when he’d been a cub in the mountains. And the clear, crisp morning when he was out swimming in the ocean in the morning with the sun shining down making everything look like it was a water colour painting brought to life. Now red. He liked that because it reminded him of the sunsets he’d seen with his parents before the poachers had come. He was starting to feel hungry. Then he realized it was getting dark outside. It was probably getting close to 9:00 or 10:00 since he’d been hit by the wrench in the afternoon sometime. Then he had to factor in the ambulance ride here and the time it took for the diagnosis and the stitches and then the sedation and the checking. Though he couldn’t remember what time because he’d been concentrating on his work so much he hadn’t looked up from the gears and parts he’d been working with. Was there a food court here? Probably. There should be. Maybe he could get a tuna sandwich later when he could walk without the world tilting. The room was so boring. The walls were all white. At that thought, he was reminded of the cottage at Monet Quarters. The house had been colourful and vibrant. With the furniture and the attic with the birds and the old wooden chest with all those old toys inside and the book-shelf. It was like there was life in there and it made it all the better that he’d met someone he enjoyed spending time with. Made it feel better. Not like here. He could hear nothing except the wheels of the gurneys with patients going by at frequent intervals and at one point, someone in a wheelchair, the nurses talking as they walked by and at random intervals, laughter that was the type of laughter he heard when one was stressed. The atmosphere was mostly quiet. He did not mind that but there was a pervading sense of graveness that he found unsettling. And maybe it was his primal side, the animal inside him that was pacing inside as it realized it was basically bound to a room with four walls instead of being out in the snow, in the wild free and out. Winter was his favourite season. As he heard the door click open he paused not looking up, watching the cube as the red squares fell into place to create one red square on the right side of the cube. Tossing the cube into the air proudly with one hand, he looked at the door thinking it was the doctor.

And he let the cube slip straight through his fingers onto the bed sheet near his leg, staring at her stunned. He knew that face. Those gentle, striking blue eyes. That voice. He could recognize her anywhere, even if she was wearing a doctor’s coat. He could never forget those eyes, coupled with dark brown hair. He straightened unconsciously, trying to make himself look taller and uninjured even though he was lying on the bed and swiped the cube away with the back of his hand, trying to make sure she didn’t see it. It ended up flying through the air and clattering onto the windowsill. It was bad enough she saw him like this, in a bed with a silly outfit on with a bandage around his head but he didn’t know what she’d think if she saw him playing with the cube. He remembered what she’d said. Doctor? That made sense. He had always thought being a doctor would’ve suited her. He hadn’t seen her since their adventure at the house and had no idea what she’d been doing but he was glad to see her again. More than glad. Happy. And now he knew what her full name was. She hadn’t told him when they’d first met. He nodded smiling at her slightly,“Yeah…surprise.” Reaching out with a hand, he put his hand over the top of hers without thinking about it as she came at his bed side. He liked the feeling of her hand in his, wrapping his entire hand around hers instinctively. He joked with her,“So this is what you got up to after the canaries huh? I knew you looked like a doctor when I met you.” Niko’s gaze drifted, going to the window momentarily as he recounted what had happened. A wrench, a fall and a concussion. He relaxed as he felt her hand on his forehead though he did not know why she was doing that. He also liked that feeling. His speech was slightly slower than normal, as he felt as if he could not really think that much but he explained what had happened the best he could,“I was hit in the head at work…then I fell down and hit my head on the floor and I got cut. Then I passed out…and I woke up here…”He blinked as he saw the light from the ceiling behind her start to grow brighter making his eyes hurt and squinted slightly. He was starting to feel hungry too. He turned his head as she lifted the side of his hospital gown, tensing slightly. He hadn’t had anyone touch him in a long time so he felt himself clenching the muscles in his side as in instinctive response for a short moment. He unclenched, letting go of her hand so that she could use it properly and looked out the window as she looked at his wound. His mind felt slightly sluggish. There were so many questions he wanted to ask Blake. What she was doing since he last saw her? When she started working at the hospital? If she was still doing the vet thing? If she was working on the house? What she was going to do in this overnight observation? If he could get out of here anytime soon. Though in the back of his mind he knew that was a long shot. Niko did not want to tell her because he didn’t want to look weak in front of her but he did not want to stay. It reminded him too much of a cage. Especially the observation part and he sat up, shutting his eyes as he felt a rush of dizziness pass him. He murmured,“Blake…I want to go home.”

It really had been a surprise to see him. Nearly 6 months had gone by since her first day in the clan. In one day she met most of the clan, small as they were. To her knowledge there had been a few new additions, though she was yet to meet them. Who wandered into town just to have coffee with their doctor? Until they needed her she probably wouldn't know a thing about them. She didn't even know their names or even their primal forms. What if one of them was a herbivore - what if they were a deer? What if she decided to go on a hunt and hunted the wrong animal? Not that she would. Lions hunted in a group, they were built for ambush, strength and endurance over speed. Plus she still wasn't comfortable shifting in Clan lands. Only two of the clan had seen her lion form and that was two too many. The Regina had scared it out of her on the first day, forcing her to shift if she wanted to join them. Kenai had... well not tricked her out of it. It was a product of her instincts. Their first encounter, unfortunately, has seen her trapped in her lion form. It was her belief that if he at least didn't see her face, her human face, she could still maintain some form of anonymity. The problem was, coming here meant she couldn't lie about who she was. The shifters wouldn't have accepted her if she gave a false name. To work at the human hospital also meant she needed to give her real name, just in case. In case something like this happened. If she'd given one of her old aliases - Doreah Jones for example - and someone she knew came to the hospital calling her by her real name, she would've been found out. It was a dangerous game she played. One slip and everything she had worked for would unravel. The Feline Armies would be upon her, both vying for her blood.

His hand against her own had been an odd thing, it confused her. Maybe he really did have a concussion, he'd probably mistaken her for someone else. She nodded. "Yeah. Well, not just this. I'm the Mender now, have been for a while actually. Got to renovating the house, the Regina finally gave me permission." She gave a small shudder at the thought of her leader. It was unnerving how different the Regina was on their second meeting. She wasn't sure if she could ever fully trust the tigress, the painful memories of her capture and torture were still fresh. Self-consciously, she pulled down the hem of her top, ensuring it didn't ride up and expose her secrets. She noticed his speech was a little slower - likely an effect of the concussion. Looking under his hospital gown she inspected his bandage. Nakedness didn't bother her after working so long as a doctor. It became a common occurrence, so she didn't consider his extremely bare body beneath the sheets. All she saw was the white gauze, barely bloodstained, and the rough medical tape that held it in place. She wanted to inspect the sutures herself but decided against it. Removing the fresh tape might jarr the area and spur a fresh flow of blood through the wound.Lowering the side of his gown she looked at him with sadness, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I know." And she did. He didn't want to be couped up in this place. Hospitals made a lot of people uneasy and with so many humans around he was forced to hold his secondary form. She was surprised after so long suppressing her lioness that she hadn't gone entirely mad. That was when she noticed a spark of red in her periphery. Turning to look she saw a rubiks cube with a completed red panel. Impressive. She walked to the windowsill, bending to retrieve it. "Is this yours?" She stood, placing it on his bedside table. In the split second it took to look back at him she noticed him squinting from the bright lights in the room. From her top pocket she produced a small torch. Clicking it on she held up a finger and shined it in his right eye. "Look at my finger please." She waited, observing the reaction in both the lit and unlit eyes. "Now at me." She observed his change in focus, then shone the light in his left eye. "At my finger." She observed. "And again at me." After that she clicked off the torch, placing it in her pocket. Picking up the file she jotted down a few notes.

He nodded to show her that he was listening, opening his eyes and laying back down. He was happy for her new position and that she could renovate the house. He had seen how happy she had been when she’d been mending the wings of that canary, how her eyes had lit up when she’d been poring over those healing books. And it’d been the best thing he’d seen that day. He would’ve liked to see it more often. He hadn’t wanted to scare her when he’d first met her. He was just like that. He just liked meeting new people. He had thought she had been one of their own, a Shifter that was part of the clan, when he had first seen her and had just wanted to play a joke on her. But he had pulled back when he realized that he had scared her and kept things at a level that wouldn’t be as confronting. He knew that pushing her so much to open up so soon would backfire. He still wondered why she had been that way. Was it trust? He guessed it was. He understood it could be hard to trust someone because sometimes you trusted people and they just hurt you. It made you never want to trust anyone again so that you never got hurt again. He knew she probably had a lot of secrets she wanted to stay secrets or her reasons for doing what she did and it was up to her to tell him when she wanted to. He was confused when Blake shuddered as she mentioned their Regina’s name. Had she been scared by her? He reached out to touch her arm with his hand reassuringly and said quietly,“You’re safe with us, with me.” He started to grin at her,“If the canaries are still at the house together…”He faltered, furrowing his eye-brows. It seemed as if the words had just trickled out of his mind, like his tongue wasn’t working for a moment.“They can be Nike. Like the shoe but like flying...Nikes.” Weird. Brushing it aside, he thought about his primal form. Even in a hospital he couldn’t reveal it. But he guessed it would’ve scared the kids in here, the human ones anyway. But he could feel the animal inside him clawing at his insides to come out. Not just to be let out of his human form either. But to get out of the room. He just stared down at his hands, his eye-brows creasing deeper in the middle as he thought of ways to get out. Maybe there was a tree he could use at one of the windows to climb out. But then again, he didn’t know Blake was here. If she was the one observing him, that was different. He felt more comfortable if it was her. As she pulled down the hem of her top, he looked at her again questioningly but then she touched his shoulder. He felt her fingers brush his skin through the thin fabric of the gown for a moment he turned and tilted his head at her, almost smirking at her as she inspected his wound. Did she like what she saw? He did not know why he didn’t mind this with her. He enjoyed this. This, here. Being with her. And she seemed more confident than the last time they’d met. And still as energetic and lively. He wondered if he could keep up with her. If they could operate on the same wavelength. He was the type to go with the flow but she seemed like she was full of energy, like an energizer bunny that just kept on going and going and he loved that about her. He wouldn’t mind chasing her. Keeping step in step behind her until they were walking side by side because she made him feel something no one else did just by being with him. And then they could end up matching each other’s rhythm.

As she strode over to the windowsill, Niko watched her keenly though his vision was making things starting to come in and out of focus at random intervals. Sub-consciously, his hand went to the space behind his back as if he was looking for his tail. It was an unconscious habit he had. Something he did without realizing he was doing it. He did not know why he was thinking of his tail at a time like this. He was looking to see her face so he could see her expression. Smiling was good right? He didn’t know what she was thinking but if she smiled it meant she was happy or impressed which meant she was happy. But he couldn’t really tell. He thought. As she turned around and walked back, placing the cube on the table he puffed up his chest, pleased. She was impressed. That was all he needed. Niko said proudly putting his hands behind the back of his head and rested his head back down into the pillow,“No but I did it. The colours…and I was close to getting the other sides too.” He moved slightly, sheets rustling. As she produced the torch from her pocket and lifted the finger in front of it to shine it into his right eye, he recoiled trying to sink further into the bed, growling low in his throat at her, narrowing his eyes and baring his human teeth which started to turn sharper, pointier. He stopped instantly, reverting back to full human, surprised and confused at himself and muttered,“Sorry…I don’t know what happened.”That had been unexpected. He hadn’t even been able to control that and he’d started to change without realizing it. He was far more sensitive to the light than he’d thought. Was it the primal side of him? Cats had sensitive eyes even to light that wasn’t very bright. The same held true for big cats. Maybe his brain thought he was a leopard because of the concussion and his eyes were reacting in the same way a leopard’s would if someone shone a torch-light in its eyes. That could explain the pauses in his speech as his leopard brain was having trouble doing it. Nevertheless, he did as she asked. He looked at the finger with both eyes though he concentrated on the finger with his right eye the most. The pupil of his right eye started to shrink slightly. He looked at her again as she instructed, his gaze lingering on her silently, especially her eyes with his own. It was a bit longer than normal before going back to rest on her finger. Tiny spots of white appeared in his vision and the pupil of his left eye started to shrink. Then he looked back up at her again, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand to try to clear the spots. As she jotted down notes he realized he could hear her heart beat which was unusual. He could hear the wheels rolling over the linoleum like it was right outside but he knew it was further down the corridor. He could hear the voices of the nurses as if they were sitting right next to him. One of them was talking about what she had for lunch. Niko put his finger in his ear, then out and then back in a few times. He could hear the noise of the finger getting in and out of the ear which was similar to something being rubbed against fur but it was louder than it usually was. Strange. He said slowly to Blake,“I can hear your heart beating. Really loud.”

She paused mid-sentence, closing her eyes and taking a breath to steady herself. His hand on her arm was intended to be reassuring, but it just set her on edge. Especially after he'd snarled at her like that. It was so very feline, reminding her of the war. She wasn't sure how long it had been since she was taken. She remembered falling asleep in her cell. It was four walls of hard grey concrete. There had been a tiny little window marking the six foot point on the wall. It was level with the ground outside. She remembered wondering why her father hadn't killed her. Each night she went to sleep she was afraid that it would be her last. Then suddenly she was woken by a loud crash and three tigers running down the hallway outside her cell, one with the keys dangling from his maw. He shifted and unlocked the cell, the other two tigers bursting in around him. They held her down while the tiger-in-human-form slipped a syringe into the side of her neck. She woke, arms chained above her, feet barely holding flat against the earth. She was in some sort of command tent. There was a desk in one corner, overflowing with maps and charts. She saw an old transistor radio on a table behind the desk. If she could just get to it... She struggled, but the chains held. What did they want with her? She was there for nearly an hour before someone walked in. She later learned his name was Frederik, he was the second in command of the Tiger Army. "You can be useful to us," He said. "You're going to tell us your fathers plans, where he's sending his army. Where your brother is." He walked over to her right. She followed his movements to where he approached a sword rack, taking one of the blades and inspecting it. "You know, if you don't tell me, you'll have to tell my associate and he's not as forgiving as I am." She just hung her, letting her wavy hair fall over her face. "Fine. Have it your way." The flap for the tent moved and in walked a man with a balaclava covering his face. He unsheathed a katana from his back, resting the cold blade against her collarbone. He tore off her already ruined shirt, inspecting her body for where best to cut. First it was a small slash over the shoulder, making her scream. Then he moved down to her hip, this time making a much deeper incision.

She had to calm herself, ignore all other stimuli and focus on the task at hand. Niko was her patient and he needed her help. This wasn't Frederik or his "associate", this was Niko, he was meant to be her guardian. She opened her eyes, unaware of the tears that had leaked through her closed lids - luckily she didn't wear any makeup. She finished the sentence she had been writing, closing the file and turning towards the man on the bed. "Have you been experiencing any dizzyness? Headaches? Nausea? No memory problems?" She crossed the room to the door, ensuring it was properly shut. Returning to his bedside, Blake tucked her coat beneath her so she could sit on the end of the bed. "Please don't try to hid anything, it will only make things worse for you." She placed a hand over his ankle in her own attempt to be comforting. Waiting for his answer, she wondered what he meant by calling the canaries Nike. And could he really hear her heart beating? As Shifters they had enhanced sensed, but not that enhanced. When he had answered, she decided to turn the conversation a different way. "If I could ask you a semi-personal question. Have you been up to much since we saw each other in Monet? Have you been spending time with anyone?" She didn't want to seem like she was prying, but the ever curious cat did have something in mind. She was wondering whether he had found someone. Not out of any jealousy, how could she be jealous when she had Wesley? She was looking for an explanation as to why she hadn't seen her new friend around the shifter territories. Although she had been spending most of her time around the houses of Monet Quarter.

He was confused by her reaction. Was she thinking of something of her past? It wasn’t unusual. The touching had seemed to trigger something like a memory that had put her on edge. Was it when he’d growled? It’d been involuntary. He hadn’t meant it. He started to say, “Hey I didn’t…” He stopped as her eyes started to water with tears. Great. How was he going to stop himself from growling? He would have to hold it down but he knew there was something wrong with him. Niko rubbed the back of his neck, looking around the room for a tissue box. He thought touching her again was a bad idea. Looking at her again as she started asking him questions, he reached out to take the cube in his free hand and started to work on it again. This was a different side to her that he was seeing. He was worried he would make her start to cry again because of his growl. He answered, keeping his eyes on the cube to hide his uneasiness,“I tried walking didn’t work. Got dizzy, almost fell over. Headache…head hurts when I try to think too much. When I sit up too fast it hurts…no nausea but I’m hungry. Um…” His voice got slower,“I can still remember stuff. My name, who I am. Birthday, where I was born, what I am…where I live…who you are….” He bolted upright, spine stiffening as he heard the door click shut. He fumbled with the cube, almost dropping it as an instinctive fear rushing through his veins. He could remember the smell of blood, of rusted bars. His eyes grew wide. What the hell was happening? This was Blake he was with. She wasn’t going to do anything to him. He trusted her. Niko stared at her silently as she tucked her coat beneath her, sitting on the bedside at the end of his bed. Then why did he suddenly feel so uneasy? It was just because his head wasn’t working properly. His brain thought he was fully an animal. And the animal thought he was being trapped in a cage with no way out. He started to edge slightly away using his rear and leg muscles, pressing his back up against the wall even though it was already up against the wall. A part of him wanted to get closer to her. The touch on his ankle sent skitters through him. And he had remained still for a minute, staring at her face. She had the most beautiful face even when she wasn’t smiling. Like he was looking at the moon. Mysterious, eternal and ethereal. With cute cheeks that puffed up when she was grinning. If the moon had cheeks it’d look like hers when she grinned. But his heart had leaped to his throat when she had touched his ankle and he swallowed inaudibly when she spoke. It’d be worse for him? Niko’s human side knew she probably didn’t mean anything by it but to his animal side it only meant one thing-captivity and freedom stripped away. He started to breathe deeper, in more shallow, harsher breaths. There was something wrong here. Worse could have meant anything but right now he thought it meant being crammed inside a tiny cage he could barely fit in. Being prodded with an electric tazer for hours on end for cheap laughs when he was trying to sleep through the bars of that cage. Watching an animal chew and bite and tear at another animal because it hadn’t eaten for days and seeing that animal die from those bite. And thinking he could be next. His eyes darted to the door, then to the window in rapid-fire movements. Then to the lights. Too bright. It was too bright. His muscles tensed. He said, slowly sitting up,“I can really hear your heart beating…”He moved forwards so that his feet were touching the railing at the end of the bed and bent his knees so that he was closer to her. The gown settled on his body. Damn it was drafty down there. He said,“I can hear each heartbeat. One…two…three…each time your heart beats I can hear it. It’s kind of weird. I can hear the blood rushing through the arteries. Like water going through a drain.” Niko took his hand off her and turned around, stepping off the bed. He stumbled immediately as his foot touched the floor, reaching out with his hand to steady himself against the wall and dropped the cube with a clatter.    

He turned around to look at her pausing. There were two Blakes in the room,“I wasn’t doing much. Just trying to get to know the rest of the clan…patrolling……working in the city at the studio warehouse. At work I’m building all these mechanical animals for a project. Owl, bear, snake...leopard. I was trying to fix a leopard leg to make it work properly so the leopard could run...then I met another Shifter at the borders the other day. She turned into a horse. A black horse with a white stripe on its head and furry hooves. She turned into a good-looking Shire Horse.”He sniffed the air, trailing off as he smelt the stench of blood that was both fresh and dried, fresh bed sheets and even the smell of fresh snow. What the hell? He sniffed again. He could smell that and among that, cigarette smoke, flesh that had been burned, strange smells that smelt like dead things and some smells that were rotten and pungent and made his stomach churn, plastic, the smell of unclean bodies, soap and alcohol wafted through the air, entering his nose. He clapped his hand to cover his mouth as a rancid, putrid smell bombarded his nose made him want to vomit. Was that the nausea coming? His face turned white. His shoulders heaved as he bent over and he started to dry-heave, making rasping hacking noises in his throat. Luckily he hadn’t eaten anything since lunch which was something like six hours ago and he’d already emptied it out so there was nothing but water inside. Surprisingly, he didn’t regurgitate that. Breathing hard, he said answering the rest of her question and shaking his head,“No….no one.” Vaguely, he wondered why she was curious about who he had been spending time with. He had not really spent time with anyone unless she counted the Mora he had met, Finnlay but he hadn’t seen him since their night at the Light-house. He’d been a fun guy. And he had wanted to spend time with the Auxiliary Female to get to know her but he had not seen her. It bemused him as to why she wanted to know who he had been spending time with. He staggered to the door, leaning against it so that he didn’t fall and looked at her. His knuckles were white,“Do I have to stay here? I feel like I’m trapped in here. It doesn’t make any sense but that’s what I feel.” He sniffed the air again and muttered,“This is so weird. I can smell our scents and everyone else’s. The scent of the Shifters and the scent of the humans. I can tell which ones are humans and which ones are Shifters…” he looked at her again, dead serious,“I have super-powers.” He paused, then said,“Kind of.” He sniffed the air again. He could smell a human scent in here. It was coming from Blake. It could’ve just been from all the patients she’d been seeing as she would have had to touch them but he wanted to know. Humans could have good or bad intentions. There were good humans out there and there were bad humans out there just like with any other race. And they were Shifters, easily mistaken for animals by humans. Not just humans but other races as well. They had to be careful. The days where they had to hide weren’t over. A part of him thought that would never happen. But that was why they needed to look out for each other. Why he needed to look out for her, just as he did with everyone else in the clan and he had to consider that there were people out there that would hurt her. To maim her and destroy her in ways that would damage her beyond repair. And she knew that. He knew that she did. To experiment on her, to take her genes or kidnap her and take her to a zoo or give her to animal hunters for a hefty sum for her animal parts and then leave her out in the wild legless or toothless. At least, that was one of the reasons. The other reason was that he just didn't like the idea. Sniffing again, he frowned and asked her his gaze managing to focus on her,“Who have you been spending time with?”

Blake listened intently, mentally noting his symptoms: Dizziness and disorientation; headache; sensitivity to sudden movements; no memory loss evident thus far. She frowned, he almost certainly had a severe concussion as the other doctor had suggested. She'd have to tell him he was stuck here, at least for the night. But worse was that he'd tried to walk without assistance, or at least a nurse present. If he'd collapsed, hit his head... the thought didn't bear consideration. He got lucky, but that was it. "You shouldn't have tried to walk, you could've really hurt yourself," She scolded, squeezing his ankle gently to place emphasis on her words. It was another thing to hear his speech slower than usual. He really needed someone to keep an eye on him. He quickly seemed to grow uneasy, looking around the cause was obvious: the closed door. He felt trapped, like there was no escape. She'd only closed the door so their conversation could be more private. He was a friend and she only intended to make him more comfortable, inadvertently making him extremely uncomfortable. Internally she queried what could cause him to have such a strong reaction to such a small thing. She had no right to ask aloud, she did not know him well enough to discuss such things, even if she was his doctor. She stood, crossing to the window and opening it as far as the special locks would allow. The cold wintry air blasted in through the gap, though neither of them would be bothered by it. She returned to the bed, reclaiming her place at the foot. He sat up, sliding closer. This time she was very careful, keeping her hands in her lap. "Hearing stuff like that isn't a good thing, Niko." She sighed, dropping her head. Then she looked up at him, she had to have that courtesy. "I'm sorry, you'll have to spend the night so we can keep an eye on you." Then suddenly he was moving.

He was up and stumbling across the room, loosing his rubiks cube in the process - though for now that was the least of her worries (so long as he didn't stray into its path). She stood, watching him worriedly. He was unsteady and extremely uncoordinated, stopping to speak before staggering in another direction. He claimed there was no-one, but he spoke a lot about this horse Shifter. Blake knew very little about psychology, most of what she knew was very basic and self-taught, but it was enough to tell her the Epror had quite possibly taken a liking to the horse - likely a clydesdale by his description. Now he was sniffing the air. What can he smell? She was wondering. He looked ill, covering his mouth with his hand like he was going to puke. Next moment he was doubled over retching. She rushed across the room to meet him. When he straightened she took his arm and placed it over her shoulders, holding his wrist in her left hand. Her right arm went around his back, her hand resting on his waist so he would use her as a crutch. "Yes you have to stay here, but like I said it's just for the night. You'll probably be better in the morning and you can come home." It wasn't uncommon to find patients who didn't want to stay long in the hospital. They all had their reasons. Some had bad memories associated with the building, deaths and the like. Others were claustrophobic. A few were extremely paranoid, scared that while they slept doctors would harvest their organs. It was sad, a hospital should be a place of healing and regeneration, not death and stifling discomfort. She just nodded along with him, trying to keep him calm. "Come on, you need to sit back down, your body's not quite up to walking yet." She helped him hobble back to the bed, letting him settle himself down. She was definitely staying overtime tonight, she'd have to get him to fall asleep. He'd wake up in the morning and it would all be fine. After he seemed comfortable, she stepped away from the bed, pacing a moment. There had been something in the air, something only someone with a heightened sense of smell could place. The scent of Human mixed with Shifter. Back and forth, back and forth. She walked across the room and back nervously. She hadn't planned for this. She wanted to wait a while before telling the clan about Wes, and even then it would be the Regina who would know first. If Eden denied their partnership then that would be the end of it, no one else would know. She stopped abruptly, taking a deep breath before turning to see him. "I've actually been seeing someone," she started nervously, but the more she spoke the more her smile grew. "He's really wonderful, you should meet him. We've been out a couple times and... yeah. It's going great." She tried to keep it concise, she didn't want to oversell it.

He knew he shouldn’t have tried walking. But it was as if he only had two responses now which was fight or flee. And he was not going to fight her. He knew she was trying to help. And he would’ve wanted no one else. As she had squeezed his ankle gently, it made him feel slightly calmer even if she was scolding him which he actually enjoyed. And he was grateful that she opened the window. The room was warm and the covers were thick enough to keep him the same way. As she did, he settled back down becoming calmer again but his instincts were still telling him to flee and it was over-riding the instinct to fight. He could not do it. Could not fight her. Could not hurt her when she was trying to help him. He gripped the door-knob, looking at the floor and away from her. It could’ve been shame but he hid it well as he controlled his expression. But this wasn’t the state he’d wanted her to see him in. He could even hear people crying and praying for their vegetable-induced family to wake up and whispers of love. And random laughter as relatives visited their patients who was recovering. For where there was misery, there was also genuine joy, no matter how short-lived it was. Niko said, his voice filling the room, “I know I shouldn’t have but I can’t help it. It’s this place. I’ve been to the hospital before…I could feel it then…” His voice wavered slightly and he paused before continuing,“I can still feel it you know, the misery…the pain…and this room feels like a cage even though it’s not supposed to…everything here….the windows, the door it’s all trapping me…” He paused, squeezing his eyes shut as the floor tilted and mumbled, “I don’t know what’s happening to me. I know it’s not good but it is happening and I got look at the positive. I can hear your heart beat. I can hear the wheels outside from the gurneys all the way down the corridor. And hearing your heart beating is the best noise out of all the noises here because then I know you’re here and it’s better when you’re here. Because I can even people whispering in the rooms below this level, people crying because their family member is in a coma and they don’t even know if that person’s going to wake up and I can smell things. Flesh burning, the chemicals in cigarette smoke, the smell of decay. But it’s a thousand times worse because it’s magnified by that much. It’s…it’s like being back on the streets. Being back...” He trailed off as another sharp burst of pain stabbed his head when he tried to think even more and groaned, “I can’t even think without hurting. This is super-hero power is horrible.”

Niko had considered the Shifter he had met, Anivea, as an acquaintance that he could become friends with and had only thought of her when she had asked him what he had been doing. He had taken an interest in her initially but he felt differently with the both of them. He had been friendly to her but that was just how he was. He thought he and her could be friends. With Blake, there were things he felt that he did not feel with the other Shifter. Niko did not think that when the other female’s cheeks puffed up when she grinned she looked like the moon for example. Or that her eyes were as beautiful as Blake’s. The hospital was also brighter with her around though, least that’s what he thought. As she took his arm, putting it over her shoulders and placing her right arm around his back he murmured. “As long as it’s you keeping an eye on me I guess I can stay.” He entwined his fingers with hers subconsciously, holding them gently. He liked the way they fit in his and the feeling of it. He started to go back to the bed, making sure he didn’t lean onto Blake. He was heavier than her so he could’ve pushed her sideways by accident. But he knew she was supporting him as he felt her hand on his waist. Niko said with a note of humour in his voice,“One night’s okay. I’ll listen to the sound of the crickets outside.” As he hobbled back to the bed, he reached out to plant his hand on the bed and let himself fall down onto it, turning so that he was facing her and sitting with his rear on the bed. He leaned back his upper body, raising his head to look at her. His vision was still being weird. Before, he was seeing double but now he could see her every detail of her. Every strand of dark brown hair. The colour of blue in her eyes which was one colour but he could see them sparkling like water in the light. But then she started to get nervous. She was pacing. Pacing always meant someone was worried about something. A dawning realization crept up on him. The smile on his face started to vanish. Did she…? His face shut down as she spoke of seeing someone, confirming his thoughts. Unconsciously, his jaw tightened, clenching and his hands curled into fists. His hazel eyes had changed to amber for a moment before returning back to its original colour. Bah. Why did this bother him? He thought of Blake as a friend…right? She was smiling but Niko felt like punching something. He felt his shoulders, back and chest tense. Shrugging, he uncurled his fingers and relaxed, telling himself to stay cool. He mumbled,“Yeah. Sure. I’ll meet him…” He added muttering in a low undertone so that Blake didn’t hear him, “So I can crush his skull for touching you.” He looked up at her and asked trying to sound aloof, casual and emotionless though not quite succeeding,“Where’d he take you? He’d better have treated you good or I’ll eat him. I’ll eat his face off so he won’t have a face anymore. Then he’ll have to get another face.”

The Doctor waited with bated breath for his reaction. This was so unorthodox, discussing her personal life with a patient. But then, this was not your typical situation. They were shifters, both from the same clan, he was something of a friend. Friends discussed this sort of thing, right? She'd seen them do it in movies, but usually it was two girls talking about their guy problems.. What their current love interest was like, comparisons to their past relationships, whining about why they can't find love. And always the clichéd tub of ice cream. She never understood why it was necessary to eat ice cream on such an occasion. ice cream was a dessert, a treat for a joyous occasion. Why ruin that by associating it with discussions of bad situations and gossip? And why the unhealthy binge-eating? These women constantly obsessed over their weight and negative body image, all she wanted to do was scream at them: "Stop eating chocolate and ice cream!" But they'd never hear her. As she'd tried to get to Niko he was rambling about how uncomfortable he was. She'd been right, he was experiencing some form of claustrophobia as well as reliving painful memories associated with hospitals. Aside from opening the window there wasn't much she could do about it aside from talk, hopefully occupying his mind. She'd nod and smile, appeasing him. "Don't worry, I'll stay with you," until you fall asleep, her thoughts finished. He'd taken his time settling himself back on the bed while she'd paced.

Now she waited and his response was better than she'd expected. Although, she wondered if it was because she hadn't mentioned Wesley was Human. Blake was entirely sure that that tiny piece of information would turn the entire clan against her. Niko even agreed to meet him at some vague point in the future, she was glad for that. If he had just one friend on her side she thought she'd be ok. "Well, we met on Astridax. I was stupid enough to go cliff-diving and he saved me. After that we just seemed to really click. He too me to the theatre for our first official date. He brought me a rose and paid like a gentleman. We walked the city by night, admiring the lights in the trees. Just talking." She left out their venture to the Moonlight Inn and all that occurred there. She didn't think it right to share such an intimate, personal moment with someone else. Though it had been wonderful. He'd been such a caring lover, so patient of her inexperience, so loving in his actions. Blake grabbed the visitors chair from beside the bed, pulling it to sit by he head. The chairs feet scraped against the linoleum floor, but not so loud as they would have on floorboards. She sat there, crossing and uncrossing her legs a little nervously. Niko was the first person she'd spoken to about Wes. The first person she'd spoken to about any sort of romantic encounter. Tucking a few strands of hair behind her ear she continued. "He really is wonderful, Niko. Wes is just so spontaneous and interesting, not to mention chivalrous. I really think you'd both get along so well." She leaned forward in her seat, hands resting on her knees. She was waiting for the one question: So what is he? The Epror would want to know, if only to do his duty and ensure the safety of his clansmen. Was this mystery man a Werewolf? Mora? Vampire? Or was he Human? She, of course, already knew the answer, what she didn't know was what the males reaction would be. Blake knew most Shifters were at odds with humans for their crimes of the past - and maybe other crimes. But in a way, Blake wanted to be the one to change all that, to bring peace between their warring races. Maybe not in her lifetime, but if she and Wes could be the first stepping -stone on the path to peace and equality, she'd be happy. Even if it killed her.

He settled into the bed, feeling happy by her words. She’d stay with him. There’d be no other person peering over him, walking around in the room with a clip-board. He would’ve tried to run. There’d be someone he knew. He realized she’d been waiting for her reaction and…to talk about it he guessed? Guy problems. Girl problems. He wasn't a girl. He wasn’t all that interested in talking about it in great detail. He only wanted to know where he took her and what he did. And who he was. For safety reasons. He started tapping the end of the bed with a foot, looking down unsmilingly. Though, part of him did want to know even though for some reason it didn’t make him feel good. His head snapped up towards her, incredulous as she told him about cliff diving. Cliff diving where? And from what height? He’d never seen a cliff in Astridax. But she was here and not at the bottom of the ocean. Niko snorted as she spoke of him clicking with her after he saved her. He muttered,“Was he wearing a cape too and red underwear on the outside?” Niko turned, putting his legs back on the bed and lay back down staring up at the ceiling as she continued to speak of what they did but did not comment on it. He did not want to comment on it. A rose? Niko could do better than that. Anyone could buy a rose. Niko shifted his glance towards her as she finished, his expression blank. There was something she wasn’t saying but he could already guess what it was. He said,“Yeah sure you were. That’s why I smell him all over you.” Niko gave a one-shouldered shrug “Whatever.”

He fell silent for a while, trying to ignore the tightness in his stomach. He heard her pull the chair up, heard the scrape of the chair legs on the linoleum. Niko cringed slightly. He looked at her, glaring. He hated this feeling. Never had he felt this way before. She was safe, obviously. But then why wasn’t he happy? The more she spoke about this person, the more he wished he could escape through the window. Get along well? He did not do anything for a long, silent moment then turned on his side and reared his arm back, punching the pillow with a fist making a loud thud. He rolled back onto his back and started to laugh,“Haha…” He stopped laughing and stared at her,“No probably not. I don’t think I’m spontaneous or interesting or chivalrous enough. So what is he? A jellyfish since he has such an electrifying personality? What does he look like?” Personally, Niko didn’t care what he was. Human, Shifter, werewolf, whatever. Race was secondary and only important because it showed him what he was dealing with. One didn’t use the same strategies to take down a werewolf to a human for example. Humans to him, were not one single faceless entity. They were good and bad. Good and bad. He’d seen bad humans. Seen good humans in his life. Seen bad Shifters and met a couple of good Shifters. He tried to clamp down the emotions that were swirling around in his heart, though by now his eyes had grown dark and angry as thoughts flew into his head. In the back of his mind he thought he already knew what this person was. A human. But he needed to ask. Usually, he did not care what this person was really. But he cared about his clanswoman. He was not so naïve to think that no one wanted to hurt them. People had their reasons, their motivations. And sometimes, it was just because they could. Other times, you were just the way so they felt hurt you was the only option. Or worse. Niko stared at the wall, feeling his shoulders tense up again. Over. He wanted it to be over now. But he knew he needed to know this part about the guy. And what he looked like.

Blake rested her elbows on her knees, lacing her fingers together beneath her chin. She truly was afraid of what her leopard-friend might say. He might quite possibly be her only friend in this world. Not in the most literal sense - she did think she could count on Kenai. But in a more important sense. How to explain it... Niko was a feline. THE feline. The first feline she could actually trust, without fear of judgement or expectation. Without fear. It sounded silly but it was true. Aside from that first moment of fright when he'd snuck up on her, she'd never once felt afraid of him. Never felt like he was going to attack her or turn her in. He'd never asked what she looked like, what she really looked like. Blake had very nearly forgotten that the lioness was her natural form. The human was just a secondary shell to help hide her true visage. A camouflage. She was always hiding, to the point where she almost forgot who she was. The use of so many aliases could do that to a person. One would morph into the character they'd created, slowly chipping away at the original until all that was left was the mask. But she never forgot where she came from. No, those memories were to ingrained in her mind to ever forget. There were too many reminders for her to ever forget those. But as things stood he was one she might trust and that was important. To trust another feline was a big step it meant that maybe, she was finally beginning to recover. Some might see it as weak that it had taken her so long, but they had to go through what she had in order to understand. Sure, some people might've taken less time to come to terms with things, some might've taken longer. The point was that she was finally getting to a sort of place where she could open up to people. Maybe. At some point. She'd consider it.

Niko, his ever vibrant self, seemed to find a way to make any situation seem funny. She gave a little chuckle at the idea of Wes in a cape wearing red underwear on the outside of his clothing. What an odd thing to suggest. He muttered something, followed by a "whatever" and a shrug. She passed it off, if he'd meant for her to respond he would've said it loud enough to hear clearly. The Epror was adamant that he wouldn't get on with Wes, but she thought she knew otherwise. She thought they'd be the best of friends if they took a little time to get to know each other. It was an odd thing, one she'd never had to consider - having a boyfriend and introducing him to her friends. She'd never had either, well not at an age where dating was something she'd thought about. She was barely fourteen when the King - her own father - had killed her mother, sparking the war. But her mind remained on other, more present matters. She grinned and laughed a little harder when Niko suggested Wesley might be a jellyfish. "No," she said, still smiling, "He's a human. Here," She pulled her phone from her pocket, swiping to unlock the device. Her thumbs moved swiftly with practised ease, dancing across the screen to find the photo she had of Wesley. She found it, but scrolling back one she found a picture she forgot she had, but liked even better. Blake was grinning, so remarkably happy, all rugged up in her coat and scarf. Her cheeks were a little flushed from the cold. Beside her, Wesley had leaned in for a sweet kiss on the cheek. He too was grinning. She smiled, remembering the lovely day out in the city. "I forgot I had this," she handed him the phone so he could take a look. "If you scroll forward one, there's a picture where you can actually see his face." She knew the picture was a good one. Just Wesley, all brown-eyed and beautiful, smiling at her on the other side of the camera. But would Niko approve?

He resisted the urge to break the phone as she passed it to him. Why had he asked? He knew he didn't really want to see it. But no, he had to be obligated. He didn't actually care. His insides felt like there were live snakes writhing around in it. Flicking through the picture with a thumb he committed the face to memory. All the details without emotion. But he still did not say anything. What else was there to say? He didn't really think she wanted to hear what he was really thinking. Did she really think he would get along with this joker? He stared at the face, expressionless and handed it back to her without a word. He reached down, taking the cube on the floor and turned around on his side with his back towards her, hurling the cube through the gap in the window. Anger was clouding his mind. Closing his eyes, he let it pass. Minutes ticked by. More minutes. He opened them, staring at the wall, not looking at her as he tried to process these emotions churning in his mind. Why? Why did he care so much? If it had been any other person in the clan he wouldn't have. He was sure of that. Sure he'd want to know but he wouldn't have punched a pillow. Niko couldn't understand why she was so eager to sleep with someone who she had just met. He didn't know what he was mad at. He let the silence stretch on, watching the snow fall outside. No he didn't like this at all. Something told him even if it wasn't a human he wouldn't be okay. Still one question left. An important question. He thought he already knew the answer but one could never tell. Just one more question and then he could sleep. He wasn't going to stay up listening to her talk about this. Wasn't that what "girlfriends" were for? He didn't want to talk about this. Niko closed his eyes again, listening to the snow falling outside for a long, long moment before asking emotionlessly still facing the wall,Does he know what you are?"

She watched him nervously, his blank expression not helping the rising anxiety. She couldn't get a read on him at all. It brought her to the very brink of shifting. She knew if she did a sense of calm would come over her and pacing would actually help instead of make her more anxious. When she took the phone back she expected some sort of commentary, even if it was just a good luck. But he turned away. The Doctor figured he was finally getting tired, preparing himself to sleep for the night. But between his fingers came the clicks of the sliding panels of the cube. If he was doing this then his brain was still working intensely, nowhere near shutting down for sleep. She considered confiscating the toy, but that might just aggravate him more. Still the minutes wore on. On her phone she swiped open a message thread she held with another doctor. This was what she sent him:

Hey, I'll stay with this guy, make sure he gets to sleep naturally. Once he's down I'll stay here the night and keep an eye on him. It was the only way he'd cooperate.
- Blake

She hit send on the message and got an almost instant reply.

All good. Headed home now myself. Since you're staying tonight, take the next 2 days off and get some rest.

She nodded as she read the message, replying with a simple:

Thanks

She locked the phone once more and slipped it into her pocket, once more resting her head in her hand while she watched him. It was some time before he finally resumed their conversation. "He does," She nodded, swallowing. "He figured it out for himself mostly." She just couldn't understand how hospitals had this effect on him. Back home he was so excited and fun, but still mature. This brooding, moody, cranky-thing wasn't appealing at all.

More silence. He heard something, the sound of a phone being locked. When she answered his heart clenched. He had varied feelings about this. From what Blake had said, he had sounded good but he had known this person for such a limited amount of time. It was dangerous to give your heart to someone, especially a human where their kind was concerned. There were good humans to be sure. He cared a lot about her. More than he thought he had initially. This Wes knew. Knew what she was when she hadn’t even told him. He wanted to ask her if she’d told him anything about the clan. Or if the person had hurt her in some way. But he’d blown that chance. But it looked like she wasn’t hurt. And he thought she wouldn’t have told him anything that would endanger them. He opened his eyes, regretting how he had acted and regretting that he had thrown the cube. The cube had had a calming effect on him. He didn’t wish her any harm or ill will. He relaxed, pushing aside his thoughts and clamping down his emotions. Be calm. Be rational. Blake was allowed to be happy with whoever she wanted and from the smile on her face, she was. Technically, he should be okay with it. Technically. But technically didn’t usually factor in feelings. But this Wes had treated her well and saved her from jumping off a cliff. He did not know what her Shifter form was but he thought that there had been a chance she could have died or been injured, even drowned if she hit the water from such a massive height and she hadn’t had dived properly and she had been saved from that. But then again, maybe he saved her because he had another motive. None of those thoughts were comforting. He could only form an answer based on what she had given him so he would have to trust her.

Niko turned over so that he was on his back, his features relaxed once more and said, looking down embarrassed at himself, “I’m sorry. Can you forget that happened? It’s being in here. The noises…the smells. My animal side, it’s trying to get out…and I don’t know why but I’m happy for you.” He said,“Listen put my number into your phone. Don’t put my name. Put a fake name or some random word or words in the contact list. Like uh, I don’t know….Cheese Pasta or Grand Master Chess Champion. Or Eagle Dawn. Something that’s weird and people won’t think it’s me if they see the contact name. The number’s…” He faltered, stifling a yawn that was coming and continued,“Zero-four-two…eight…” He stopped, rubbing his eyes as the room blurred out for a moment,“Seven-two-eight…eight-eight-one. Anything happens, call me. I’ll come.” He glanced at her,“Just be careful. This guy…he sounds too good to be true but hey, maybe he’s a good guy. Just don’t say about anything about the clan. Absolutely nothing. No matter how much he tries to sweet talk you or…” His eyes started to half-close unconsciously and he murmured,“Or how many roses he gives you. Or…or whatever he says,” He turned his head towards her and said smiling slightly,“Good luck with him.”

She could almost see it on his face, exactly what he was thinking. "Why did she tell the Human her true form and not me?" It was so much more complicated than choosing one friend over the other. It was about safety, it always was. Her father had detested humans, but had seen the value in having a human form. It was highly unlikely any Humans would have been enlisted to find her. Telling Wesley was a calculated risk, a very low risk. If she'd told Niko the day they'd met, there was far more chance he'd know who she was and turn her in. It would mean a death sentence. And it was purely based on the fact that he was feline. It was some kind of racism, really. But could she really be racist towards her own genus? In any case she'd made her choice. Maybe one day, she'd feel safe enough to shift for the clan, so they'd know her. It wasn't like she'd shifted right in front of him, rolled belly up and started purring like a kitten. She'd only mentioned being a lioness. She hadn't mentioned her colouring or parentage. There were thousands of lionesses in the world, he'd be hard pressed to pick her from the pride.

He finally turned back to face her, giving her the time of day. Apologies were appreciated, though often too little too late. In this case she understood, though she wasn't in the least bit amused. She nodded, letting the tense moment pass. Producing her phone and unlocking it once more, she typed the number into her contacts. 0428728881. She saved it under the name "Beast Tamer" and slid the device back into her pocket. The doctor looked up, "Thanks." She thought for a moment. "I haven't mentioned anything to him about the clan, he never asks. But thank you, really. Just, please don't mention this to the Regina. I need to tell her myself, when I'm ready." She stood, her shadow falling over him. She reached a hand out, gently brushing a few curls from his face. "You look tired. Get some sleep, I'll be right here." She smiled softly, watching him slip deeper and deeper into unconsciousness. She had a long night ahead.

Niko still felt tense. He knew it was complicated, this whole business. There was still something she wasn’t telling them. He did not understand this attraction but she was smiling. He looked at her, surprised as he felt her fingers brush his skin to push part of his hair out of his eyes but felt his smile grow slightly bigger. He felt a yawn coming on as tiredness started to seep in but managed to push it down. He knew he should’ve slept but he couldn’t. His head felt better the more it rested on the pillow. Less throbbing. He could still hear things but he concentrated on her heart beat. Of the smell of frost and snow. It reminded him of happy times. In winter when he’d gone to the beach. There had been snow drifting on top of the water. He’d walked around to get his temperature up. When he had been walking alongside the edge of the water in his human form, just taking in the smell of the sea air and the sound of the waves lapping up against the sand. Sometimes it’d come in fast, other times slow. The feeling of the sand between his toes and under his feet. Grainy but soft at the same time. Enough for his feet to sift through. And then there were those tiny seashells he always felt poking the bottom of his feet that had been washed onto the sand from an earlier tide. White seashells with brown stripes. Plain white seashells. Dark brown seashells with black trimming. Dark and light blue ones with white shading. Bronze and orange-yellow ones with spiral shapes on them. All different sizes. Different shapes. When he’d built his first snowman.

Niko rubbed his eyes again, unable to stop the yawn coming and covered his mouth with a hand. He hadn’t realized how tired he was. He squinted at her, trying to focus,“I won’t say anything but you have to tell her. Bring pepper spray with you and…” Another yawn which he covered. He felt his teeth with his tongue. Did he have fangs? He felt his teeth with a tongue. Yep they were there. He shook his head, widening his eyes even more which made it worse.“Stay under bright lights where there’s…there’s light…and lots of people…with people…” He felt his eyes start to drift shut and he mumbled,“Light and people. And stay away from zoos and human-land. Even if you have to work there. Or, or go with someone. In day time.” He said in a sleepy voice,“I will hold you in the day time. Like…like a penguin baby. And put you in my shirt with a jacket over it so no one can see you.”

He was rambling in his exhausted state. All she could do was smile and run her thumb across his bandage forehead. All evidence pointed towards sleep being only moments away. It made her own eyelids droop a little. She blinked slowly. It took an agonising amount of time for her eyes to open again. She could have easily fallen asleep on her feet. That was her punishment for choosing to work so much overtime. She should've gone home hours ago, but that "one last job" turned into another and another, leading her to pick up Nikos file and promising to stay there with him. She would definitely enjoy the next two days off. Another. Slow. Dropping. Of. Eyelids. One second closed. Two seconds closed. Three seconds closed. With great difficulty she pried them open once more. A soft song lilted its way through her mind. A lullaby her mother use to hum to her restless cubs. Without consciously deciding she started humming the old tune, watching her friends eyes draw closed. The song brought tears to her eyes as she remembered her beautiful mother. It had been so long since Blake had thought of her. Despite all her faults, Denala was her mother and she loved her. The Queen of the Cats, brought down by her King. By her own foolishness. If Blake had any way of running a paternity test, she would. She had to know. Murtagh had never considered a blood test, he was more primal than that. All the proof he needed was in her fur. Blake was an omen of death, she just hoped that death ended within the confines of the feline war. She couldn't lose anyone else.

A final swipe of her thumb and she leaned in, placing a motherly kiss on his forehead, she whispered. "Don't be stupid and try to escape. Think logically, the nurses would catch you. Stay safe." Hidden in those words was a message: Don't escape, but if you have to, be smart about it - consider the nurses, their habits. It was probably very vague, but her words might serve him well. She pulled back smiling and picked up his file. Heading out the door she wandered to the wards nurse, asking for the files of the patients she'd handled that day. "Go home love, you're dead on your feet." The Mender gave a small smile and shook her head. "I made someone a promise." Taking the elevator down to the next level, Blake set herself up in the Doctors break room. There was a pot of coffee on one bench, but it was cold. Files spread across the table, she settled in to complete all her paperwork for these patients.

The last thing he heard before he slept was someone singing. And Blake's words. But his sleep was disturbed. He twisted and turned on the bed. He was getting a nightmare. He was in the same hospital room, sitting on a chair grasping the hand of his old friend, Randalf and telling him about a remote-controlled tank the size of his head with a storage compartment that could deliver medicinal pills and bottles of tablets that he'd built for one of his projects. Suddenly, the number on the heart monitor began to decrease. The door burst open, the nurses rushing in. Niko was pushed aside. When he pushed them aside, shouting at them another nurse joined him, putting her hands on his chest to try to stop him from going. Niko shoved her aside. The nurses at the bed-side turned to him, sympathy and sadness on their faces and shook their heads at him. Dread washed over Niko. He knew what they were going to do. Randalf was gone. They couldn’t save him. Niko pushed past them, hearing the beep of the monitor flat-lining. No, no, no! He took his shoulders, shaking him furiously and yelling his name. The old werewolf’s face was going grey and pale before his eyes. His hair was thinning and falling out. The oxygen mask he was wearing over his nose and mouth started to crumple and the light started to go out in his eyes. Niko shook him harder, shouting his name. As a nurse tried to pull him away, he threw her off angrily and turned back to Randalf. But then suddenly, he was lying on the bed. He could see himself in the reflection of the nurse’s eyes. But he could see himself as a leopard cub, pudgy belly with stout legs and a small head the size of a hand. With fuzzy fur and wide, scared blue eyes. Then the nurse’s uniforms changed into dark brown khaki pants and shirts. Poachers. A hunting helmet appeared on their heads. A rifle appeared in their hands. Niko lunged at the rifle as the poacher pulled the trigger.

Instead of a bullet shredding through his fur into his skull he felt the cold, hard floor of the linoleum as part of his face made contact with it followed by his side and elbow, then arm. He bolted upright, checking for holes or blood dripping from his chest. Niko realized his heart was pounding. That he was breathing hard. He closed his eyes, calming himself before standing up. Nightmare. It'd just been a nightmare. No dizziness. Great. It was completely dark. Niko realized Blake was gone. Had she gone home? Probably. He didn’t expect her to stay past her working hours. But all the apprehension he’d felt when she wasn’t in the room came flooding back. The concussion had really done a number on his head. He still felt twitchy. He couldn’t wait until the morning. And this place was giving him nightmares. He could’ve transformed into a leopard in his sleep and been seen by one of the nurses. Then he would’ve been put into a zoo or maybe taken by anyone for nefarious purposes. He had to get out of here.

He tried to remember what Blake had said before he had slept. Don’t be stupid and try to escape. Nurses would catch him. Be smart about it if he wanted to. Hmm. She’d been trying to give him a hidden message. He had to watch out for the nurses. The nurses would have to take a break at some point, change shifts. But then what about his clothes? Going to the door, he looked outside through the glass pane of the door. He couldn’t make it to the storage room so fast that the nurses wouldn’t see him. He spied two nurses just outside his room. One was pushing at trolley with folded-up clothes on it. Another was coming out of a room. They were leaving. For the next shift? He could see the lights on outside in the hallway. Pressing his ear to the door he listened to the voices of the nurses fade away.I don’t know the guy just left. I think he went stark raving mad trapped in here to be honest. He didn’t even want these clothes back when we calked him! Niko waited until their voices faded away. He didn’t see anyone at the trolley, he darted towards it, grabbing the pile of clothes that were by themselves and plucked a pair of white and blue sneakers from the bottom level of the trolley. Quickly because he probably didn’t have long before the nurses came back or some other staff.

Sleepily, Dr Blake Rowan worked her way through a days worth of paperwork. It was boring and very nearly sent her insane. Every so often her eyes would droop, each blink getting harder and harder to recover from. Days spent working on the house in Monet Quarter, others spent here at the hospital. Nights spent out with her Human, Wesley. They took their toll. The bad habit of pushing through the barrier was catching up on her so that now she was so close to unconsciousness. Her handwriting became oddly varied. Sometimes she was extremely alert and her letters were neatly forms, albeit quickly scratched out. Other times the writing was slanted and barely legible. When she finished the first five patients she closed the file of one Ms. Alecia Dunbar, placing it on the pile she'd mentally labelled "completed". She stood, raising her arms above her head in a stretch before heading out the door for the elevator. Up on the next level she sleepily waddled her way to Niko's room. On this, her first check, he was quiet in a deep sleep. She stayed for only a few minutes until she was satisfied he was doing well. Then she returned to her paperwork.

An hour later, Blake stood, stretched and made the short elevator trip up to check on Niko again. And again he was sleeping, if not a little more restless. But he seemed to calm down and so she left again.

Her third trip was a little more eventful. Walking down the hall to the short term ward used by overnight patients moved out of the Emergency Room. She waved a sleepy hello to the Nurse at the desk and she passed, getting a cheery smile back. When the Doctor pushed open the door she was met with an alarming sight. Niko was thrashing around in his sleep, likely affected by a nightmare. She ran into the room, gently shaking him by the shoulders. "Niko, come on Niko wake up. It's just a bad dream." She tried to keep her voice low, not wanting to disturb the nurses. But despite her best efforts, she couldn't get him to wait. He was sleeping too deeply, extremely under the influence of his panicked mind. If she were to wake him now, it could be damaging. She'd have to wait it out. The chair scraped across the linoleum floor as she settled in to see his nightmare through. Elbows rested on knees, perching her chin atop her clasped hands. "Don't worry Niko. I'm right here. And I'll be here when you wake up." For nearly an hour she sat with him, only leaving once to grab a water bottle off the nurse at the desk. In that hour her worry left her parched, sculling half the bottle in less than a minute. Niko was still restless, but he seemed to be getting better. She hated to leave him, but her insides were aching and she was fit to burst. She ran for the room in search of the nearest bathroom. "I'm so sorry Niko," She whispered as she bolted through the door.

Carrying the folded up clothes in one arm he put them on the bed but was careful enough not to make the pile topple over so that they wouldn’t get creases in them. It wasn’t uncommon to see people looking slightly disheveled and a little unkempt in a hospital considering a hospital’s primary goal was to save lives. A completely perfect appearance without a crinkle in the clothes and hair all gelled and spiked or looking immaculate wasn’t that important. Niko pulled off his gown leaving his body almost bare-naked. He quickly took the pillow, putting it over his privates. Nope. Not something he was comfortable in people seeing even if he still had his boxers on. The window was still open and people could see through the glass in the door. He pulled the cover back with a hand. Putting the gown flat out on the bed he pulled back the covers over it. There was nothing in here to show that he could put under the covers to make it look like there was a body under there. He’d just have to hope that they thought the room was empty. Seeing a pair of black frames poking out of the bundle of clothes, he plucked it out revealing a pair of sunglasses. Sunglasses? Picking them up with his hand, he spun the sunglasses with his frame with two fingers before putting the sunglasses on his face. Perfect fit. Awesome. It hid the colour of his eyes. Niko grabbed the marble grey jeans, slipping them on as fast as he could. Agh, the jeans were slightly tight. He picked up the grey shirt from the pile. Pulling the shirt on over his head with a hand, he stuck his arm through the right sleeve, sticking his head through the hole. He stuck his arm through the left sleeve, pulling the shirt down with both hands. He buttoned it up, noting how it fit his body and adjusted the sunglasses so that it was straight. Walking to the window on bare-feet he peered at the window, staring at his reflection which was staring back at him with sunglasses on. Now sunglasses at night. He needed to come up with something. Tapping his fingers on the window-sill, he gazed out into the darkness, with the shimmering orange glow of the street-lights in front of the hospital. An eye condition. He could pass it off as an eye condition. He had heard about problems where eyes were sensitive to light and people had to go for surgery to fix it. The sunglasses could be an excuse because of the hospital lights. His eyes were still recovering from surgery to make the vision better so he could need the sunglasses to help aid the recovery process without hindering the process.

He could get his arm through the gap in the window. There was snow on the windowsill. He turned, grabbing the dark blue flannel shirt and blue jacket, slipping them on. The shirt was thin, long-sleeved and the flannel shirt was light blue with dark blue stripes going across and down the shirt in a check pattern. The jacket was cotton, made out of good fabric and had stylish pockets. Whoever owned these clothes had expensive taste. Even the jeans felt expensive. They were loose, made for someone who was a bit bigger than him because the cuffs touched the ground but still fit him so that they weren’t that baggy. As he was pulling them on, he thought back to the nightmare. Too many bad memories in one nightmare. It’d been at least a century since he’d had nightmares like that. He had heard a familiar voice punch through all of that, telling him to wake up and repeatedly calling his name. He could hear it, kind of but it was like he was a train and he couldn’t stop until he finished his journey. Couldn’t wake up until his mind told him to. As always, it’d been when he’d about to die. What did they say? It was your body’s way to tell you that it wasn’t real. That’s why you woke up before you would have died in your nightmare. He had only heard of one person dying in their sleep. Read it in an article. A boy in India. The voice had sounded like Blake’s. Maybe she hadn’t left after all. He sniffed the air. He couldn’t smell so good anymore. Thank god. He didn’t tell Blake but he had smelt something bad. Something that’d made his stomach curdle. It was probably because his nose had just been so sensitive. Anything that smelt a little bad would’ve made his stomach hurl. Niko sniffed the air. He could still smell the smells outside and inside the room. Blake had been here. He could smell her scent. Five minutes or ten until the nurses came back. But definitely five. Couldn’t risk guessing how long their breaks were so he picked ten. It had taken him at least three-five minutes to get out and back in and then change.I’m right here. I’ll be here when you wake up He remembered those words. She was still here in the hospital. Maybe she’d gone out to get a drink or something. He disappeared out the door. Time to go.

Halfway down the corridor. Left. Past the nurses desk. "Are you alright doctor?" Running. Sprinting. Damn that big bottle. Elevators on the left. A little further. Right. Around the corner to the left. There! The last door on the right. She burst through, startling the middle-aged woman in everyday clothes. Possibly the mother of a child staying in the Childrens Ward. "Sorry," she muttered, eyes downcast. The woman just waved her off as she threw herself into a cubicle. Sweet relief. Never again. Water was good for you, sure, but a lot could be dangerous. You could drown your lungs if you drank to quickly. It was unlikely, but not unheard of. Blake just felt bloated and gross. She probably could do with drinking more water each day, it was probably why she felt to yucky. It was hard to drink a lot during the day when you were running around a place full of sick people. Sure hospitals were sterile - to a point - but one couldn't risk running around with a water bottle all day. You never knew what wing you might be asked to cover, what might be wrong with your next patient. It could be a broken arm or it could be ebola. Well, not ebola. Ebola would require quarantining and extreme care. But they could have viral encephalitis. Not pretty.

After finally relieving herself she scrubbed her hands in the sink before drying them with paper towels. The hospital was very thorough on cleanliness, one especially was particularly ruthless. Luckily it was the graveyard shift, otherwise the other doctor would've been inspecting her cleanliness, crucifying her for imperfection. Satisfied, Blake made her way from the bathroom corridor and back towards the Overnight Ward. Now that she didn't have to concentrate on holding her bladder, the Doctor returned into a state of drowsiness. On this her fourth trip, at around three in the morning, things were different again. The nurses from the late night shift were making their sleepy ways home while those working the graveyard shift were shuffling their way to the desks. Two doctors rushed past her though she hardly noticed them in her sleep deprived state. One stopped, grabbing her arm and turning her to talk. On instinct she snarled at him. "Hey, that patient of yours? He's loose." She raised her eyebrows in confusion, walking the remaining fifteen steps into Niko's private room. Sure enough, there was no one in sight. "Shit," she swore under her breath. The other doctor walked in. "See, told you he was gone." The rubiks cube was still there, so she picked it up, turning back to the doctor. "I know," She lied smoothly. "I'm signing him out. We live in the same apartment block. He was so uncomfortable here in the hospital and he showed signs of improvement. So with his permission I'm taking him home to keep an eye on him there. I just came back to see if he'd forgotten anything." She held up the cube. "It seems the idea was a good one." It was awful how easily these came to her. "Why not just tell me that in the first place?" He asked suspiciously. "I'm extremely tired, doctor, I didn't quite hear you properly." He nodded in understanding. "Alright. Go home and keep and eye on him. And get some rest yourself, you look exhausted." She nodded sleepily, pocketing the cube before exiting the ward. Now all she had to do was find her escaped patient.

He had unwrapped the bandages, tearing them into pieces and stuffing them inside his jean pockets so that no one could see them hanging from his pockets and slipped the sneakers on. As he walked out the door he put the black and white baseball cap he found, covering his curly hair. It fit his head like a glove. He kept his attention forwards, putting his hands inside his jacket pockets. The hallway was empty. As he was walking down the corridor he felt himself step on something soft and squishy. It was a teddy bear that had one brown button for an eye and one black button. He looked around, spying a little girl further down coming out of the room with tears running down her face, looking around frantically. When she saw him, she ran towards him. Niko looked at the bear, handing it towards her.“Is this yours?” She nodded, taking it and hugged it smiling slightly at him,“Thanks Mister! I dropped it! It’s really important. My grandfather gave it to me on my birthday but he’s in a coma. Dad told me if I pray every night and talk to him with it then he might wake up.” With that, she turned and ran back towards the room, reaching up to grasp the doorknob and wrench open the door. He heard the sound of steady breathing and the steady beating of the heart monitor. But when he caught a glimpse of the man in the bed, Niko’s eyes started to itch as they started to water. He lifted his shades to rub his eyes with his thumb. Nah, he wasn’t crying. As he walked down the stairs into the main corridor that would led into the waiting room he could hear voices, multiple ones. Blake’s. And maybe a couple of doctors. Was it better to make sure that they didn’t see each other until he was outside? They seemed to know already. He looked to the side in the direction of the voice as he heard someone ask if she was alright. Had something happened to her? Niko sniffed the air again. He could smell blood. But none of it was hers. Niko kept his ears peeled for her voice. It was quiet now. He stopped as he heard a snarl somewhere far away. Was there another Shifter here? Blake? No way. That didn’t really sound that much like her. Niko quickened his pace, entering the waiting room. There were only a few people here. He could still hear her voice and another doctor. Niko caught snippets of the conversation. That patient…he’s loose. Signing him out…live in the same apartment block…taking him home to keep an eye on him….seems the idea was a good one… As he moved closer to the door, he realized his hearing was returning back to human levels. Pity. Niko could’ve used these abilities to his advantage. Though he guessed hearing everyone’s heart beats would’ve been bothersome after a long time. He could hear them all as he walked into the waiting room, thumping and pumping. Some were quite steady. Others were beating like they were on a sugar rush. Others were slow, too slow. Niko caught out some snippets of the conversation. Tired…looking exhausted Maybe they could stop to crash at his place for a little while before heading back to the Shifter lands. He hadn’t noticed how tired she’d looked. Or he could carry her half of the way there. He was almost there.          

Niko stopped as he felt a hand touch his shoulder, controlling his expression before turning around. It was a nurse. Her hair was in a messy bun. She looked tired, with black circles underneath her eyes and was glancing over her shoulder at someone, the corners of her eyes tight. Niko could tell she was stressed. When she saw his face she looked confused, then her eyes went up and down his body. She looked disappointed. A case of mistaken identity? Niko thought.  
“Oh sorry, I thought you were another one of our patients. You have the same clothes but you’re taller...,” The nurse said apologetically. She started to walk away, then paused her gaze lingering on him.
Niko gazed back at her calmly, his stance relaxed. He gave her an easy, smooth smile,“No I’m just here to visit my friend but they wouldn’t let me see him. No visitors after-hours. First time at the hospital. I had no idea.”
She glanced back over her shoulder again, shaking her head and laughed,“Oh no…no. But it’s not every day you see visitors wearing sunglasses in the morning.”
“It’s an eye condition,” Niko laughed. He tapped the side of his glasses with a finger,“The doctor told me to put this on so I won’t hurt my eyes. Trust me I wish I wasn’t wearing them either. I bet I look like an idiot.”  
The nurse started to laugh then patted his shoulder and turned around, hurrying away towards another nurse standing near the receptionist. Niko turned back around and stepped out into the cold winter morning, his sneakers crunching through the snow as he walked to a nearby lamp post, turning to the side so that he was partially facing away from the hospital entrance and leaning against the post. He would wait until she came out. He took off the sunglasses, hooking the frame onto the collar of his shirt. As he did, he realized there was something inside his jeans pocket. Something made out of metal and silver. He wrapped his fingers around it and pulled it out, opening his palm to look at it. It was a silver chain with a pentagram attached at the end. He had seen this symbol before. He looked back at the hospital windows, thinking back to the little girl and her grandfather in the hospital bed. That girl only had faith to go on that her grand-father would wake up. What else could she rely on? He could imagine the rest of the patients. Those who were suffering from broken bones, injuries. Life-threatening illnesses. Illnesses that were long-lasting and made you suffer in the worst way possible before you died. Cancer was one. Ebola? Niko had never seen it but he had heard stories. Vomiting blood, eyes bleeding, headaches, sore throats, joint pain. All that before you died. A life was a life and once that was gone, it could never come back no matter how much you wanted it to. A phrase came to him. Words that he remembered his father speaking a long time ago one night when his mother had gotten sick. Niko rubbed the pentagram with his thumb and murmured“Espero que melhores logo…”

Translation: Get well soon

She was frantic. Blake had no clue where to look for Niko first. Did he try to run out the doors in his gown? Surely he wasn't that stupid. Although it would be rather amusing. Tall, muscular Niko sprinting through the hospital, gown flapping around his ankled, bare bum out for the world to see. Had she not been so worried the thought would have brought an amused smile to her face. Instead she had to consider where he could have gone. His end goal was to leave, but where would he go first? Food? Clothes? She was losing time and she had to act as if nothing were amiss. Her mind was buzzing, making all sorts of obscure connections, giving her a rush like drinking high-strength coffee. But at the same time her body was fatigued. It made her movements slower, more clumsy than usual. She walked past the nurses desk at the entrance to the ward. "I've heard you're signing out that concussion patient from 326," she said expectantly. She was an older woman, a little plumper than might be considered healthy, with short greying hair. Blake stopped, addressing her. "Yeah, he's actually a neighbour of mine and he gets really claustrophobic in hospitals. It's a severe case. I told him he could go home if he let me keep an eye on him there." She leaned against the desk tiredly. The nurse leaned forward, placing her right hand over Blakes left. "That's extremely kind of you dear. I hope he gets better for you, you seem like you care about him a lot." Blake nodded sleepily without thinking, then shook her head, catching herself. "He's just a friend, I'm just looking out for him. Nothing special." Blake shrugged. The nurse pulled back, nodding as though she knew something more, not believing what the Mender said. "Well go on, love. Get him home and get some rest." The doctor nodded walking off down the corridor towards the elevators. She had no idea where Niko was but at least she could go along with her lie. Even though it was easy, the lie scared her. If she was caught and someone found out she'd lost a patient and lied about it, she could lose her job.

She waited impatiently for the elevator to come to her level. When the doors opened she stepped aside to let two nurses wheel a bed to the Childrens Ward down the other end. The boy on the bed looked young, maybe seven or eight. His leg was strapped in bandages. If she had to guess he had a broken leg as was waiting for morning when he could get a cast put on. She thought of his parents, how worried they must be. The doors to the neighbouring lift burst open and a middle-aged woman dressed in her pyjamas and wearing ballet flats on her feet came rushing out, purse in hand. She looked frantically down both ends of the corridor, looking for her son. "They've taken him down there, to the Childrens Ward. He'll be fine," Blake said to the woman. The mother mumbled a "thanks" before dashing down the hallway, nightgown flaring out behind her like a cape. Blake stepped into the elevator, pressing the number two button to go to the next floor. There she went to the break room to collect the paperwork she'd completed. With the folders bundled up in her arms, she took them down to the ground level, handing them in to the clerk at the desk of the Emergency Room. "I need discharge papers for Niko Santos." She told the man. He slid the papers and a pen across the desk to her. As his doctor, she filled out the papers authorising an early discharge and slid them back across the counter. The clerk nodded with a barely-there smile while she turned and walked down the hallway and out the main doors of the hospital, removing her coat as she did so. When the automatic glass doors shut behind her, Blake sighed and slumped against the wall, running a hand over her face. "What the hell do I do now?" She muttered.

As he waited, he glanced around for a 7-11 or a gas station. He wasn’t tired anymore. Just kind of hungry. But he could miss Blake if he moved out. She could be out any second. Should he go inside and sit in the waiting room? He turned, taking one step towards the hospital. No, that’d just seem strange. It was better if he just waited outside. Holding the pentagram in his hand, he took off the cap and rubbed his hair with a hand, brushing flecks of snow off. Miniature snow-flakes were drifting down from the sky. Putting the cap back on, he made up his mind to walk inside the hospital, putting the sunglasses back on and looked around. No one but the receptionist, the people in the waiting room and the nurses that he could see hurrying up and down the hallway. And a doctor but not Blake. He could even hear frantic foot-steps somewhere up ahead and the wheels of a gurney going across the hospital floor. It was that quiet. Where would Blake be? Checking up on her last remaining patients? Finalizing paperwork? He knew that she was his doctor so she was the only one who could let him go. He hoped he hadn’t gotten her in trouble. Maybe she was filling out that paperwork and checking up on her patients. Best to wait then. Niko walked back out into the streets outside the hospital, putting the cap back on and raised his arms in a stretch, feeling the tension in his shoulder muscles ease out. Inter-twining his fingers, he moved his left arm sideways so that his forearms were straight and his right arm was behind his head. He tilted his head to the right a little so that the side of it was nestling inside the crook of his right arm stretching his neck and gazed down the street. The apartment was a long way away. They could’ve just transformed into their primal forms. But Niko couldn’t leave the lands unguarded. He looked back to see if Blake was coming out. No sign yet. He dropped his arms back to his sides and walked ahead a little, kneeling down to pick up a broken bottle he saw lying in the snow and walked over to the bin to throw it inside. As he did, he heard the whooshing noise of the glass doors open again and a sigh. Niko stood up, turning around and saw her slumped against the wall. Relief appeared on his face. She was okay. Well, maybe not completely because she was running her hand over her face for some reason. Was it work? It had seemed stressful. He noticed she hadn’t seen him. Maybe she thought he’d gone back home. An impish gleam appeared in his eyes. He took off the sunglasses, scuffing the snowy ground with one foot to get rid of any dirt under his shoe and walked towards her looking serious. Approaching her from the side so that she didn’t see him, he threw his hood over his head so that only his face could be seen and when he was beside her, placed a hand on her shoulder, lowering his voice so that it was deep and gravelly, menacing and growled staring at her with his face partially shadowed by the lip of the cap.“You can come home with me Doctor.”