Athens Hospital

Waiting. Waiting used to be the worst, but after a dozen or so trips you start to make friends with the staff and so it was that Haidee was chatting with a nurse when her pocket buzzed. She ignored it in favor of finishing her conversation, only pulling it out once the nurse had continued on with her duties and Haidee had returned to a vacant seat in the waiting room. The number wasn't familiar, but the hesitancy was. She smiled, one of her fingers giving away her affection as it trailed the side of the phone while she read the message again. Short but kind, that sounded a lot like how Luke usually spoke. Her hands shifted a little so she should text properly, easily faster than Luke probably was, and she hit send before she could even double check what she had written mostly out of habit. Only after the button was tapped did her heart jump a little and she quickly reread what she wrote, just in case she had accidentally been too familiar. Good morning to you as well, Luke. I hope you had a restful night after the work yesterday. I'm glad to see you have a phone, now I can let you know when I'm coming for a visit! I'll save your number.

Oh god. When. She meant if! Great, perfect. Haidee put a hand on her chest, trying to calm her nerves. That was such a little slip, he probably wouldn't even notice. She returned her attention to her phone and with a few more taps Luke was saved in her contacts. After a moment's hesitation, on a whim she added a less than three after his name in the saved information, just to amuse herself. He would never see it anyway.

Luke was certainly fast. Just as she finished with the contact- perhaps taking longer than was strictly necessary- her phone buzzed again. It was longer this time and as she read it, her cheeks heated and she covered her mouth with one hand. And she was worried about being too familiar? When he was clearly so excited. Maybe she was getting ahead of herself though. Maybe he had just been lonely? She wondered why. Luke was handsome and kind, surely he had lots of friends to spend time with? He had a lot of work but perhaps the evenings? Well, he was most likely too tired by then. She frowned, lowering her hand as she thought how to respond, or if she really needed to. She held her phone in both hands and started a message, then deleted it. Then she tried again, then deleted it. This was ridiculous, she didn't need to say anything at all, why was she trying so hard to talk to him? Something about that man made her feel like she had a million things to say and yet like she couldn't speak at all. It made her a little breathless, just staring at the silly little message on her phone. Finally, determined, she typed, "May I come over this afternoon?" Her fingered hovered over the send button however. Was that too soon? She had seem him.. what? Less than 24 hours ago, had it even been 18? She could just go again this weekend- Still arguing in her head, she started a little as her name was called. She locked her phone and put it away, hurrying to follow the nurse back to the examination room. She could worry about it later.

Emily waved to and greeted every nurse and patient on her way into the hospital. It took only moments for her to clock in, tuck her things away into her locker in the staff break room, and then sign out her patient files for the day. She settled herself in behind the nurse's desk and started looking over her assigned patients for the day, assessing which ones would need her attention first that morning. In the back of her mind, she wondered where Sebastian was. He had said he had an early appointment this morning, and she wondered what it was and with whom. The other nurses behind the desk had walked up and were starting to poke and prod her about what happened with moving in with the handsome doctor she always stared at when she stood to head to her first patient. She humored their jabs for a few minutes, but excused herself with flushed cheeks and tumbling nerves to hurry to her first patient of the day. She had promised Sebastian she wouldn't tell anyone anything. This was a workplace, not a gossip show, she reminded herself.

"I think you'll be just fine Ms. Kathryn," Sabastion told Haidee gently as he walked the girl back to the waiting room to check out. "But if you're going to continue remember to increase your water, alright? At least an extra 16 ounces a day, and take breaks as soon as you need them, don't try to push through anything strenuous." They stopped at the desk and he gave the young blond the trademark upward quirk of his lips that the nurses had come to understand was his way of smiling. They'd given up hope of seeing anything more. He had reason to smile though. Haidee was doing remarkably well, not a single complication since her surgery and while incredibly surprising, it was not unwelcome. A miracle could happen now and again he supposed.

"Thank you, Dr. Panas. I'll make sure Luke stays hydrated too. He seems the type to occasionally overwork himself." Haidee gave a small chuckle, her eyes glancing away toward the nurses station where she spotted Emily. She immediately smiled, wide and honest, a stark contrast to Sabastion's near stoicism, and waved at the familiar face. She didn't know the entire staff of the hospital, but Emily, and the nurse earlier, had by now seen her come in several times. She was here enough, she was surprised she didn't know everyone yet, but she supposed staff came and went, so there would always be a new friend to make.

Emily noticed the wave from the corner of her eye and smiled back. She rose from her desk, her clipboard and papers in hand, and approached Haidee and Sebastian with a warm and familiar smile of her own. "Good morning, Haidee! How are you doing today?" she asked, only giving Sebsastian a small glance of her azure orbs.

"Apparently very well," the blond replied, sharing a happy smile briefly with Sabastion before quickly returning her attention to Emily. "I just came in to make sure I'm cleared for some farm work. Luke Michaels is letting me help out on his. For the experience, that is." That's what she said but it was clear, at least to another woman, that she was pretty happy to not just for the experience, but who that experience was with. She was soft spoken as always but she was meeting Emily's eyes with a look in her paler ones that only confirmed her nervous excitement. She liked Luke a lot and was incredibly glad she would be able to continue helping him. "What about you? It's been a while since I was here last. How is everything? Have you started your residency yet?"

Emily could confirm that look in Haidee's eyes. It was all too familiar to her--it was the same look Emily got every morning on her way to work where she would see the very doctor standing beside her currently. She hugged the clipboard to her chest and gave a small shrug. "Oh, not yet, but soon. Its just a few months out, actually. I'm getting offers from hospitals everywhere. But I would really like to complete my residency here, I would just need a doctor to sponsor me and the hospital director to accept my application." she beamed. "Other than that, everything is," she seemed to pause here as her eyes once again took in Sebastian's form, even as he seemed too busy checking Haidee out with the nurse and looking over charts for his next patient to notice, "fantastic." she finished in a breath and then returned Haidee's smile with a kindred fervor.

"I can be your sponsor if that is what you should wish," Sabastion offered as he signed a last form and handed it back to the nurse behind the desk. He put his pen away in his coat pocket as he turned to the two women with him. "Though if you feel another doctor would be more suitable, I will understand. I'm sure the staff would be more than happy to keep you around for a few more years." He offered her a quirk of his lips, and a brief nod to Haidee. "Do take care, Ms Kathryn, and come back any time, I'll be happy to see you. If you two would excuse me-" He gave them each a little farewell nod and carefully stepped around them to head down the hall to his next patient.

Haidee nodded and thanked him as he left, but then her smile curled in on itself as if she were trying to eat it. "Well," she sequeyed. "It's sounds like things are going... well." She chuckled, her little smile sneaking out again. She leaned forward and whispered, "Good for you." Yes, even a patient knew she was smitten. She wasn't going to pry for details though, not with the more matronly nurses around to cause gossip, whether it was true or not. But they didn't have to talk here right? It was a small town, they went to the same university (albeit very different programs and years), they could be friends couldn't they? "Say, would you like to grab lunch together some time? Maybe catch up a bit more?"

Emily didn't have very many friends outside of work and school, so of course Emily jumped at the offer. "Yes! I would like that very much!" she said, clutching her clipboard to her chest again tightly. She had tried not to blush too noticeably at Haidee's comments about Sebastian. If Haidee had noticed, surely the other more loose-lipped nurses had noticed as well. Emily might have to distance herself from Sebastian a bit today... Still, she kept her attention on Haidee. "When do you think you'll have the time? I have a day off coming up soon."

"How about I just give you my number? Then you can text me whenever you're available," the blond answered. A quick check of the front desk before she took a post it note and borrowed a pen, quickly writing down her number before giving the bit of paper to Emily. "Working here I'm sure you're busier than I am, so just text whenever, for whatever. Unless I'm wrist deep in soil, I'll be sure to answer."

"Okay, great!" Emily said, yanking the sticky note from Haidee's fingers. She tried not to seem too eager, but she was just too excited about having a friend. Things were just working out so well now! She had a place to live, with the man she adored, and she would have friends? She would also be starting her residency and making more money. Everything just seemed to finally be falling into place. "I can't wait," she added to Haidee genuinely and with a big smile. "I should get to my patients now. I'll text you later!"

"I look forward to it," Haidee chuckled and gave her a little wave. "Talk to you later, Emily!" Once certain the medical student wasn't going to explode from excitement that Haidee honestly hadn't anticipated, she turned and headed out for a short walk, hands clasped behind her back and humming softly. A bit of light exercise would be good for her, after all.

Emily watched Haidee go with an ecstatic smile. She tucked the phone number into the chest pocket of her scrubs and then headed on her way to find her first patient. As she moved about the wing tending to patients, she tried to avoid being seen alone with Sebastian too often. Of course, they were both just busy enough that this wasn't too difficult to achieve. Still, she found herself glancing and staring at Sebastian when they happened to cross paths in the hallways. It wasn't outside of her normal daydreamy activity from before they were roommates--and lovers--so she wasn't worried about what the other nurses would say. If anything, it might pull them back from any other suspicions about them being together.

Not long after Haidee left, Emily's beeper went off, alerting her to a missed call. In her voicemail was a message from the realtor that suggested she live with her previous roommate: "Miss Cornary? I just spoke with Mr. Wicker, and he has informed me that you've moved out? I understand if you've found a better apartment, but...he said you're moving in with someone else? And he didn't know who or where you were going? Are you ok? Did Cash say something? I understand he's not a very...considerate person, but...did you check out this new roommate? Are you safe? Where are you living? Can you afford it? I understand finances are hard with school and debts and...please, just call me back and let me know everything's ok. Uh, this is Nathan Kerr. Thank you."

Emily had noticed the voicemail a little too late in the morning, after her fifth patient of the day. She stopped by the nurse's desk and heard the intermittent beep of her pager on her belt--a sound she had otherwise ignored all day. She pulled her beeper from her belt and frowned, then looked at the nurses at the station. "I'll be right back, I'm just going to step into the locker room to take a phone call." she said and headed down the hall. Once she was in the employee locker room, she listened to the voicemail left by Nathan and couldn't help but laugh and sigh at once. She hung up with her voicemail and dialed for Nathan, leaning against the wall as she waited for either him or his own voicemail to answer.

By the third ring Nathan picked up, sounding considerably less panicked than the voicemail but still concerned enough to muster a firm, almost fatherly tone--odd coming from a man three years younger: "Miss Cornary? Is everything alright?"

"Nathan, everything is fine," Emily said at once, her tone calm and as soothing as she could muster, very similar to the tone she used on her patients at work. "I'm sorry I haven't called, my move was very," she paused and thought about how she wanted to describe it, then settled with, "abrupt. Cash kicked me out, but luckily someone was kind enough to take me in. You have nothing to worry about."

"HE KICKED YOU OUT?!" Immediately after his outburst, Nathan's voice sounded fainter, as though the phone were held away from his face, and he seemed to be mumbling something angrily--or perhaps muttering to someone else... After a few moments of this, his words rang clear in the phone again, but far tighter than before. "Who took you in? Is it someone you can trust? Do other people know where you are if anything happens?"

"Yes, it's someone I trust!" Emily laughed lightly, awkwardly. She didn't want him to think she was laughing at him or his angry outburst though, so she quieted quickly and cleared her throat. "And... yes, several people know where we live. In fact... why don't you join us for dinner tonight? You can see the house for yourself! I can make us all dinner." She then proceeded to give him the address to Sebastian's house before her beeper suddenly went off on her hip again. "Oh... I'm sorry, Nathan, but I have to go back to work. I have patients waiting. I'll see you tonight!" she said and then hung up with a sigh.

The scratching of pen on paper as Nathan wrote down the address was nearly as audible as the relief in his voice as he agreed to dinner, insisting that he bring something for dessert, himself. "Yes, yes, go save lives and earn credits, Miss Cornary. I'll see you then."

Emily pocketed her cell phone and clipped her beeper back to her hip. It was only after she left the locker room that she realized she had invited Nathan to dinner without discussing the matter with Sebastian first. She groaned and rubbed her head, then moved down the halls in search of the doctor. She knew she would see him eventually, so she simply took her files back up and went back to work, but her gaze was always diligently seeking him out. Maybe I'll catch him at lunch? she wondered hopefully. She certainly didn't want Sebastian to be surprised by Nathan's appearance at their doorstep tonight.

It certainly didn't take long at all. Sabastion appeared a short way down a hallway from her, exiting a patient's room. He make a few notes on a patient's chart before closing the folder and putting it back in the holder next to the door before putting his pen away and checking his watch.

Emily looked up just in time to see Sebastian preparing to step on his way down the hall, his back to her. "Sebas--" she stopped and cleared her throat, correcting herself, "Doctor Panas!" She caught up to him with long strides in lieu of running in the hallway, and hugged her charts to her chest. "Hello," she greeted. She tried not to look flushed, but he always made her that way. "How is your shift going?"

Sabastion had paused at the sound of his name, both the beginnings of the first and then his professional title, turning to see Emily hurry toward him. Ah, he wondered how long it would be. "As well as can be expected," he replied mildly and motioned for her to join him as he turned to resume walking down the hallway. It seemed they were headed the same way anyway. ""And how is yours?" He was taking in her slightly flushed face with a slight frown. He wasn't sure if he preferred it to be illness or is own fault for that.

"Good, strangely," Emily chuckled slightly and shrugged. She tried to keep her eyes ahead, for the sake of looking professional. "I just wanted to talk to you about something... inviting someone for dinner." she said cryptically as they walked. She felt guilty and nervous about what he would say, and she didn't want to hide it from him any longer, so she admitted weakly, "Well... I might have already..."

Sabastion halted, staring at her but only because he was sure the hallways was empty. He was a bit confused, but not quite mad. "If you... wish to invite someone to dinner, it is your home now as well of course..." he started carefully, clearly thinking about something. "I had just thought- You were very persistent-" He checked the hallway, then gave her that same confused furrow of his brow. "Who is this person and... why exactly are you having dinner with them?" Still, more confused than angry, though something ugly was stabbing at the back of his heart he refused to acknowledge.

Emily paused when he stopped walking, nearly tripping over her own feet in the process of halting. She turned to him and blinked, confused by his line of questioning. It seemed to hit her at once and she gasped, her cheeks going red. She raised her hands to console him, but her papers fell out from her files when her grip loosened even the smallest fraction. She sighed in exasperation and quickly knelt to collect the papers, putting them back in order with small fumbles. She was getting nervous again and it made her clumsy. "Its not what you're thinking," she started to Sebastion, shaking her head, "he's my realtor... The one who put me with my old roommate. He was worried about me when he found out I moved out of Cash's apartment, so he called to check on me. I invited him to dinner to assure him everything is fine." she explained, feeling more and more guilty as she went.

Sabastion tapped the papers he had recovered for her to tidy the small stack before holding them out for her to take, having listened to what she had to say while helping her. "He certainly sounds very intent on you. I do not think realtors usually go to such lengths as to contact clients." He stood, making sure she didn't drop anything else as she did as well. "If you wish to have guests, that is fine with me," he finally answered her original question rather blandly. "Do you wish for me to cook or would you prefer to do so?" That part was slightly more conversational. He looked at his watch again. "I was just about to take my lunch break. Are you available to discuss it over a short meal?"

Emily's cheeks flushed again and she hugged the files to her chest, her fingers hooked under the bottoms this time to prevent any more paper escapes. She shrugged. "I have patients still..." she mumbled. A couple of them were waiting on her. "I guess I can give them to Holly to see to so I can have lunch..." She looked up at Sebastian and frowned. "I promise you it's not what you think." She quickly checked up and down the hall before stepping up and pecking a kiss on his cheek. "Do you believe me?"

Sabastion's eyes also checked the hall as she kissed him, proud that he remained perfectly calm. He did sigh though, the action more a pronounced movement of his chest than any actual noise. "I don't think you have any idea what I think," he told her quietly, but not unkindly. "Tend to your patients. We can discuss it at home." His pale gray eyes looked into her impossibly blue ones, his expression unreadable, but after a moment he turned and continued down the hall to let the nurses know his patient was ready to be seen in the room he just vacated.

Emily was left breathless and confused with Sebastian's departure. Was he mad at her? Did she really insult him this time? She hugged the files tightly to her chest and just stood there trying to contemplate what he had said and how he had looked at her. She stayed there until her beeper went off again on her hip, calling her back to the floor. She went on her way, but was considerably more distracted and clumsy as a result.

It didn't take long for the ambulance to pull up under the large awning our front. The paramedics made short work of unloading them and helping Madison into the hospital. Once inside they started shouting. "One male age 26, approximately 210 lbs. Was hit by a car. He was unconscious when we arrived and has yet to wake up. Pulse is 50 bpm, blood pressure was 86/53 on last check."

The nurses and orderlies We're ready as soon as Jace came in, having been notified ahead of time. Vitals were complete by the time Sabastion arrived, nodding as information was passed to him at a rapid fire pace. "I need him on oxygen until we can get his blood pressure back up, I don't want to administer anything before-" He had moved Jace's shirt enough to notice the bruise forming just under his side. "I need an OR! Now, please!" The staff immediately had the stretcher headed to the right room as he hurried to the scrub station. "He's bleeding internally. It wasn't too large, we'll close him up, worry about the pressure in a moment. Get him on a monitor. If brain activity slows down I want you to push 50cc dobutamine, bring him back to us."

"But if we do that while he's open he could-"

"I'll deal with the bleeding! Scrub up. Now!"

The nurse immediately started barking orders at the rest of the staff and in nearly record time Jace was anaesthetized, numbed, and under the knife. Sabastion felt like he was a world away, his hands flowing easier than a conductor over a symphony. Barely anyone stepped in. It was so fluid, so quick, it was almost as if it were closing itself right before their eyes. The excess fluid was drained, the bleeding stemmed, and the wound cleaned and closed. A cracked rib was checked and bandaged and a shoulder reset and settled in a sling. It was hours before Sabastion was cleaning himself but it was fine, because Jace was fine, sleeping under the haze of lingering anaesthesia and a steady drip of pain medication in a bed in the small recovery ward of the hospital.

Emily had not been far from the excitement of Jace's arrival. She had been in the OR with Sebastian, watching him work like it was magic, her own brain following his movements and predicting his next actions. When Jace was released to the ICU to recover from his surgery, Emily was there to monitor him. He was her patient now, so she wrote out her name in perfect handwriting on the whiteboard beside his bed, under the caption, "Your nurse is:". She checked his med drip and vitals one more time, patiently waiting for him to come out of his anaesthesia.

"You have to let me see my brother!" Madison's distressed voice echoed from outside the doors to the recovery room. "You rush him off and don't tell me anything! I'm just expected to hang around, like nothings happened! Is he in there? I need to know he's ok!"

"Miss Carter," Sabastion interrupted the struggle as he stepped through the doors. He gave her a stern look, but it wasn't even close to a glare. "I assure you, your brother is doing quite well." He whispered a thank you and a gentle dismissal to the guard that had been trying to detain Madison and waited for him to leave before he returned his attention to her. "He had some internal bleeding and a couple other minor injuries but he is going to be fine. He is sleeping at the moment but if you promise to remain calm I can show you to him, he should be awake soon. I need to check in anyway. Do you promise?"

"He's OK?" Madison repeated weakly before quickly nodding at his last question. "I'm calm.. I just need to see him. He should wake up with someone familiar there.."

"I agree. Please follow me." Sabastion made a motion with his hand to match his statement and stepped back through the doors to the recovery hallway, walking calmly to the room where Jace was resting. "Emily..." He hadn't expected her to be the one in the room but he recovered quickly. "Miss Carter is here to see her brother." He stepped out of the way to allow Madison in, then closed the door behind them before attending to Jace's charts and checking the machines monitoring his vitals. It was somewhat faster than he was expecting, but perhaps he had over reacted due to the urgency he had been brought in with. It must not have been as bad as it first seemed.

"Of course. Welcome in, miss Carter," Emily said smoothly and without hesitation, moving away from Jace's bedside. She pulled up a chair beside him and motioned for Madison to sit down. "Take care of his IV lines." she requested gently. She stepped away and towards Sebastian, her tone a bit too professional. "His vitals are good. Heart rate is normal, blood oxygen excellent, blood pressure up and stable." she said, looking at the charts and not at his handsome face. She was still reeling in confusion about what they had said to each other in the hallway earlier--or rather what he had said to her. "I don't think you have any idea what I think." She swallowed hard. "Miss Carter? Would you like something to drink? I can get you some water or coffee?"

"Oh.. Uh some coffee would be great thank you." Madison replied in a soft distracted tone after a moment from where she now sat next to Jace, her hand wrapped round his.

"Sure thing, I'll be right back." Emily said and gave only a slight glance and a quiet, "excuse me," as she passed Sebastian and headed out of the room. On her way out, her hip bumped the edge of the door and she gave a small hiss between her teeth, both out of surprise and pain, then hurried on.

Sabastion watched her go with a concerned frown trying to tug at the corners of his mouth, but for now he turned his attention to Madison. "Your brother's injuries were comparatively minor," he informed her, as gentle as the rather hard to read doctor could be. "His shoulder has been set back into place, his cracked rib set and bound, and the small amount of internal bleeding from the perforation the rib caused has been repaired. He has some bruising and he will need to take it easy for a few weeks, but he will make a full and easy recovery with only a few small new scars to indicate this ever happened."

"T-thank you. Thank you do much!" Madison replied in a grateful tone as she looked up at Sebastion. "I don't know how I could ever repay you for saving his life.." She looked back down at Jace with a sniff.

Sabastion waved it away. "Your gratitude is more than enough," he assured her and put the chart board back on the end of Jace's bed. "When he wakes, make sure he doesn't try to get up, will you? He's going to be very sore and I don't want him pulling his stitches." She only had eyes for her brother, so he didn't bother trying to console her with a look. "Please excuse me." With a little nod of his head, mostly out of habit, he exited the room, closing the door quietly behind himself.

Emily was coming back down the hall, and rounding the corner just as Sebastian was going the opposite way. She was looking down into the cup, not out of fear of spilling it, but because she couldn't bring herself to look at anyone right now. She was not paying attention when Sebastian suddenly stepped in front of her. She did, however, have fast enough reflexes to spill the coffee more on herself than on whoever she ran into. She yelped and hissed as the hot coffee spilled down her shirt and onto her bare arms. She stepped back and whined, but even with tears in her eyes she wanted to assess whoever she had run into. When she saw it was Sebastian, she gasped and her face blanched. "Sebastian! I-I'm so sorry!"

"Emily! Where is your head today!" Sabastion, less worried about the bit that did manage to get on his coat than about the woman in front of him, looked around them quickly. Spotting a nurses cart, he grabbed a towel and gently helped to dry the areas where bare skin was exposed first. "Come on, you're shift is almost over anyway. I'm taking you home." He handed her to the towel to dry her front. "Wait in the locker room, I will meet you there shortly." He sighed and shook his head at her before turning on his heel to head toward a supply closet.

Emily stared after him, frozen in place in the hallway. He had just yelled at her. Her throat suddenly felt tight and her skin felt hot in embrassment. She clutched the towel to her chest to soak up the coffee from her shirt, but also because she just needed to hug something. She glowered at the spilled coffee on the floor and, knowing she couldn't leave it there for another staff member or patient to slip on, she knelt and used the towel he had given her to dry the floor tiles. She threw away the coffee cup, tossed the towel into a linen cart, and headed down to the nurse's station. She passed Jace's report to another nurse and vaguely explained that she was having a bad day and that Dr. Panas had dismissed her for the remainder of her shift, then turned and headed to the locker room. She paused on the way to inform a medical assistant that miss Carter in the ICU room 2B wanted coffee. The med student hurried off to finish Emily's task, and Emily vanished into the locker room. The tears didn't start until she was safely behind closed doors. She sniffed and peeled herself out of her coffee-soaked scrub top. It had soaked her black tank top underneath, but she didn't care as much about that. She ran her scalded arms under the cold tap and hissed when the cool water touched her burns. Her tears intensified and she leaned her head in her wet hands.

"Emily..." Sabastion watched her cry for only a second before he was already working out what had happened. He forgot, Emily had that tendency to blame herself. He sighed and stepped away from the lockers where he had stopped upon seeing her rinsing her arms. He set the items he had been carrying on one of the benches before he came up to her, hesitantly raised a hand and rested it on her hair, pausing a fraction of a moment before it slid down, then repeated, stroking her hair soothingly. "The water isn't enough," he said softly. "Come, let me take care of you..."

Emily almost flinched from his hand the first time. It was a small twitch of her head. She sniffed and shook her head, quickly wiping at her eyes. But because her fingertips were as wet as her cheeks, it did very little to make her look or feel any better. She put her arms back under the water and mumbled, "it's okay. I'm fine. This helps."

"I'm sure it does..." Noticing her discomfort, he stopped stroking her hair and removed his hand. "You've been distracted today," he commented, keeping his voice gentle and quiet. "I'm sorry if us working together is causing you strain... I can try to have our schedules rearranged if you would prefer-"

Emily quickly shook her head and turned off the water of the sink, grabbing some paper towels and dabbing at her burns. "No-" she started, then hissed as the friction of the paper irritated her burned left forearm. It seemed worse off than her right. "No, it's not that." she sniffed. She didn't look at him, but moved around him to sit on the bench, blowing between lightly pursed lips on her forearm. "I just... I feel like I've ruined things already..." she whimpered. "You seem so unhappy with me right now and... And before when I told you about my realtor coming over..." The truth of it was that he was a lot harder to read than she had anticipated. He had always been hard to read over the last two years they had worked together, but for some reason she thought it would get easier if they were together. It was easier when they were alone, but only marginally. She didn't know what else to say, so she went back to trying to blow on her burned forearm, but her chin kept puckering and made it hard to do.

"I am concerned," Sabastion corrected her as he knelt on the floor in front of her, picking up one of the things he had brought in with him: a clean, soft towel. "Will you please allow me to tend to your burns? I will explain more at home but this is not the place."

She still didn't look at him, but she nodded and relented enough to let him tend to her red and slightly swollen forearm. Out of both stubbornness and pride, she hugged the right one in against her stomach and said, "The right one isn't so bad..." But she let him have her left arm and sniffed again. As an afterthought, she asked quietly, "I didn't burn you, did I?"

"You can examine me later," Sabastion replied easily, for once deciding not to fight her stubbornness and tended gently to her arm. Once it was dry he looked it over. It didn't look any worse than first degree thankfully so he set aside the towel and picked up the other supplies he had brought: burn salve and gauze bandages. Of course, it was more to protect from friction in this case than to keep out infection. "I'll be observing your work, so make sure you are thorough."

Emily almost laughed. It came out as a disheartened sort of half-scoff, which was followed promptly by another sniffle. "I'm not a child, Sabastion." she whispered, but she sort of picked up the corners of her lips at him. She finally looked at him, her pale eyes brighter with her tears, a few strands of inky black hair falling around her face out of the ponytail she'd had it all pinned up in. "I'm sorry I made you mad, Sabastion. It seems I'm really good at making people mad..."

"Not mad, only worried," Sabastion assured her as he tucked the stray hair behind her ear. Her arm was fully bandaged so he gathered up the wrappers from the creme and stood to toss them in the waste bin. It was clear to him she had missed his meaning of his words if she thought he was implying she was a child. He definitely did not want a child doing what he had suggested. Well, he was never very good at flirting anyway. "Are you ready to go home?" His shift had ended sometime during Jace's surgery but he had wanted to stay and finish.

It seemed Emily was not very good at flirting either, because that second implication had simply flown over her head--or maybe she was too upset to notice it. She stood from the bench and ran the fingertips of her right hand over the bandages lightly. "Yes..." she whispered, her eyes downcast again. She went to her locker and pulled out her bag of supplies and books, and hooked it over her shoulder. Once her locker was closed and she was ready to go, she pulled her fine hair from the ponytail that restrained it all, letting it flood around her head and shoulders. She headed out of the locker room first, being extra careful to look both ways up and down the hallway before opening the door and stepping out. She didn't want to hit a patient with the door, or run into another staff member with delicate equipment. She walked just ahead of Sabastion, heading outside before him so no one would see them leave together.

Sabastion made sure to check Emily had punched out for the day before clocking his own time, bidding the rest of the staff a good rest of their day, then left the hospital to join Emily and head to boto Sebastian's House.

Adela pulled into the first empty space she saw and parked, "I'll call Jade." She told Archer, pulling her phone out of her pocket as she got out of the car, "She'll want to be here too."

Cayson had parked and was climbing out of his car when they pulled up. He ran a hand through his hair, throwing up his other hand in a wave as he headed into.the hospital to the nurse's station. "Uh I'm here to see... fuck... what was his name..." The nurse stared at him and cleared her throat at his language. "Uh... I'll just wait till his friends come in."

"Kid?" A soft voice called from behind Cayson as he waited at the nurse's station. Madison stood, clutching a bottle of water, her expression surprised to see Cayson. "What are you doing here?" She asked slowly.

Cayson swiveled around at the familiar voice from earlier. Her question caught him off guard for a moment. "I... well... I'm not exactly sure. Everyone expects the worst out of me and honestly I'm not the best person but... I never meant for anyone to get hurt. I just wanted to see if he was okay... your...boyfriend?" He offered, not even sure who the girl was. Two years of living here and he barely knew anyone here but he was pretty sure he's never seen this girl before.

"Brother." Madison corrected him with a polite but weak smile as she gripped the bottle of water. "He'll live. He has a cracked rib that caused some internal bleeding but they got to it before it got too serious. Apart from that he's just pretty badly bruised. It'll take him a few weeks to get back up on his feet properly, but he'll survive." She explained quietly. "Thank you for coming to check on him, its very kind of you."

"Kind? Pft... I don't know that anyone's ever called me that before..." Cayson crossed his arms over his chest. "But thanks, I guess." He looked her up and down as she squeezed the water bottle, unsure really what to say. "I really did try to stop, no matter what Adela says. I street race yeah but, I'd never intentionally run someone over. I know she thinks I'm a bad kid and sure... I am most of the time but I didn't mean for this to happen... if the fucking roads weren't wet..." He realized he'd cursed and raised his eyebrows. "Sorry..."

"Its OK, I'm a big girl. It's not the first time I've heard those words." Madison joked lightly. "Look.. If you say it was an accident, I believe you. I'm not going to press charges or have you arrested or whatever. The weather was crazy today.. Driving conditions were bad. And if Jace really did step out without looking, well there was really nothing you could do." She reached out and gripped his shoulder in a reassuring fashion. "But maybe you should use this as a wake up call kid. This was an accident but with street racing, next time it might not be. You're young, I'm sure there's something else you could do with your time."

Cayson stiffened slightly at her touch, almost as if he was afraid she was going to hurt him. He relaxed after he realized differently and nodded his head. "I was supposed to work out at some lady named Jade's ranch but... I bailed and never did it... Mom doesn't know. So far she hasn't turned me in though because I haven't been picked up... I guess I could start going..."

"Jade? Oh you should! She's wonderful. You'll love it on her ranch." Madison smiled as she allowed her hand to drop away. "You should give it a chance uh.. Sorry I don't believe I got your name?"

"Really? You know her? Okay... I'll have to figure out where she lives tomorrow and go by her place..." He nodded his head and held out his hand to her. "Cayson... Cayson Sterm and you are?"

"Madison Carter." She smiled in return and took his offered hand lightly. "I can give you directions to where Jade lives. She's a good friend of Jace and mine so I can put in a good word for you." She let go of his hand then looked back towards the door to the recovery room. "You want to see him? He'll be waking up soon."

Cayson scrunched up his face in thought for a moment. "I'm not sure that's a good idea. I mean... would he be okay with that?" He jammed his hands into the front pockets of his pants and shook his head lightly. "I feel like I've over stepped enough I don't want to upset him..."

"Do you want to apologise directly?" Madison asked with a small tilt of her head. "Now's the perfect opportunity if you do Cayson."

Cayson stared at her for a moment which he knew was rude but didnt really care. He sighed heavily and shook his head. "Why do you have to be so damn persuasive..." He crossed his arms over his chest defiantly. "You could give my mom a run for her money. But yeah sure... I'd like to apologize..."

Madison smiled then wrapped an arm round his shoulders and began to lead the way back towards Jace. "He'll appreciate it Cayson. My brother isn't that bad. I mean yes he trains in self defense and other combat styles so if he wanted to kick your ass he could but he can't right now, so that's ok." She teased before laughing slightly. "But he won't. He's a good guy. If you're apology is genuine, he'll see it." As she appeared at the foot of Jace's bed she let go of Cayson and stepped up to the side, retaking her seat next to him and wrapping her hand round his. "The nurse says he should be waking up any time now.."

"Are you trying to talk me into this or out of it?" Cayson asked as she led him down the hall and into Jace's room. He was lying there hooked up to machines that beeped and checked his vitals. At least he was breathing on his own. "Are you sure I should be in the room when he wakes up? I mean he doesn't even know me..."

Jace's eyes began to flutter and move about. It looked like it was too late and it was no longer an option on whether Cayson should be in the room or not. Jace could hear them and he knew he was there. "Maddy..." He croaked, his voice hoarse due to lack of talking and not drinking.

"Hey you. Good to see you awake Jace.." Madison replied softly as she stood up next to the bed so he could see her as she continued to grip his hand. "I'm not going to ask what you were thinking just stepping out into the road like that Jace. But you scared me..I can't lose you, you understand that? I need you around. Now I'm saving a punch just for you, but I want you to get better first before I do it. I won't hit an injured man." She said playfully as her smile weakened slightly. She brushed a hand through his hair then glanced back at Cayson and gave an encouraging motion for him to step forwards. "Jace someone's here to see you. The kid that hit you..he wants to talk."

"Yeah, cuz your puny punches could hurt me." He groaned when he tried to chuckle, his free hand moving to his ribs. "Alright, maybe..."

Cayson stood by and watched the two interact. It was interesting, seeing there close bond. When she indicated him he frowned. "Oh yeah, thats a good way to introduce us Madison. 'Here's the kid who hit you...'" He rolled his eyes gently.

Jace's smile turned into a grin. "Come here kid."

Cayson inhaled deeply as he moved forward. "Look man I am really sorry. You just stepped off the curb, I tried to stop but the roads-"

"I know... I was upset and wasn't looking where I was going. For someone as smart as me I made a really stupid decision. But you, you had the guts to come here and face me... I'm very proud of you."

Cayson froze at Jace's knee and stared at the man. He couldn't remember the last time anyone had ever said that to him. His chest tightened painfully and he shook his head to clear it. "Uh... so are we cool?"

Jace smiled and nodded his head. "We're cool, kid."

"See what did I tell you? My brother's a good guy." Madison said as she smiled over at Cayson before looking down at Jace. "He seems like a good kid Jace. I'm thinking he should come to some of my dance lessons.." She said playfully. "what do you think Cayson? You up for some ballet? Or maybe something a little quicker?"

"Madison you're hot an all but you would never get me to do ballet." Cayson shook his head as Jace gave a bark of laughter before wincing in pain.

"Oh I like this kid... How about kick boxing? I can tell you've got some pent up aggression. Want to work some of it out?"

Cayson frowned slightly, growing irritated at the two. "What the hell? Why are you guys trying to so hard to get me to join things? Am I that fucked up that I need help?"

"Cayson... we didn't say that... come on now..." Jace's tone was calm and reassuring as he sat up straighter in bed.

"Hey." Madison said firmly as she looked at Cayson and folded her arms over her chest. "Just because I said I'd heard the language before doesn't mean I'm ok with you openly using it on a hospital ward." She told him firmly before she stepped towards him. "Neither of us thought that about you, ok? We just thought maybe you'd like to join in with something..we're very much big fans of joining in with things." She finally smiled again and unfolded her arms, resting one hand on his shoulder. "I keep telling you I believe you're a good kid. We just want to give you the opportunity to show others. I can see you get a hard time from home Cayson..we got a pretty hard time from home too.."

"Maddy, don't scold the boy... It's how he talks, don't try and change him." Jace looked around and noticed a cup of ice water on the tray next to his bed. He took a drink of it, swallowing half the cup before continuing. "She's right though, we aren't trying to belittle you. We had it rough at home too. That's mainly why I started the dojo. I want to help you Cayson, not change you. You want to drive fast cars? Great... do it on a track." Cayson's eyes widen but Jace didn't give him time to talk. "Yeah, I know who you are. Your still young, don't screw your life up to where it can't be fixed. We got lucky today. Next time you might not. Let Jade, Madison and I help you. We're really good at it, I swear."

They could see the wheels in his head turning, he was scared and overwhelmed. "Uh... I don't-" He looked up at the two of them for a moment, Jace sitting there all relaxed, Madison with her hand on his shoulder. "I don't know how to take someones help..."

"You just say yes, thank you. I'll see you in the morning with my ballet shoes." Madison joked with a grin before laughing slightly and letting go of his shoulder and moving back to Jace, where she sat on the edge of his bed. "Unfortunately as much as Jace would like to teach you kick boxing he can't, he's meant to be resting." She shot a pointed glance at her brother to make sure he understood. "But if you don't want to dance that's ok. Maybe you'd like to be an assistant or something for me? Help me take bookings? Clean up the dojo when classes are over..things like that?" She asked looking back at Cayson as her smile returned.

"When you say faster, what do you mean?" Cayson asked as he took the empty chair on the opposite side of the bed. He felt a bit more comfortable with the two of them that he didn't feel the need to stand by the door, ready to bolt. A nurse came in then and checked over Jace, making sure his vitals were good, got him a fresh cup of water and told him she'd let the doctor on call know he was awake.

"You know things like tango maybe or salsa, Charleston, jive..things that make you move. Real energetic pieces you know, with partners mainly. I'm trained in everything so if there's something you want to learn just ask.." Madison smiled lightly and tilted her head after she had thanked the nurse. "You got any ideas?"

"I'm not sure I can do that... maybe I can just help out around the studio..." It wasn't that he thought the dances were stupid, he didn't have any friends to criticize him about it so he wasn't worried about that. He honestly didn't think he could do them.

"Well if you're sure.." Madison shrugged lightly. "But honestly I believe you have a good physique for dancing. Tall, muscular..you'd make a promising dancer. But if you'd rather be my assistant then that's fine."

"How about I just watch for now? And if I think I can handle it... then maybe I guess start up lessons or something?" Cayson couldn't believe he was saying it but like he told her earlier, she could give her mother a run for her month. He shook his head as Jace laughed from his bed. "Shut... up..." He chuckled though, the situation was pretty funny.

Madison grinned triumphantly. "Good. You can start tomorrow. Come to the dojo in the morning and you can help me set up and then try and get some new clients too." She nodded firmly then looked down at Jace and poked his arm lightly. "I don't know what you're laughing at. Once you heal up you're joining too.."

"Bullshit... Maddy, I've got too much-" When he looked up at her he sighed heavily and shook his head, cursing under his breath. "Only if you get Adela and Jade to join as well. I'm not looking like a fool on my own."

Cayson grinned from where he sat, almost glad he had hit Jace after all. He had made two... friends? Could he consider them friends. He wasn't sure yet but at least he was going to give it a try.

"The ladies lead very busy lives Jace, I'll ask but I'm not going to push them." Madison replied casually, though her eyes still sparkled playfully. "You can't back out now. I've already ordered your leotard. You're going to look great. It's really going to bring out your eyes.." She finished as she looked down at him the looked over at Cayson and grinned mischievously.

"You aren't even funny... And that's part of the problem. Jade's leads too busy of a life. She needs to take a break every now and then." Jace inhaled deeply, flinching slightly but not as much as he had been. "Gah, damn..."

Madison's grin quickly disappeared as she looked down at Jace with an expression of concern. "Are you alright? Should I get the nurse?" She asked as she gripped his hand.

"No no, I'm fine... just a little pain. Thank you though." Jace took in a deep breath as he reached out for his cup and drank from the straw, sighing gently. "Guess I won't be physical for a few days..." He set his cup back on the tray.

"I can help out whenever you guys need me... here." Cayson stood and walked over to the tray where there was a folder with his lunch menu and a pen. He jotted down his cell phone number so they would have it. "I'll explain to mom what happened and make sure to get my phone back so that you guys can get a hold of me." He glanced up at the two of them and smiled softly. "I'm going to head out though... just text or call me, Madison and let me know when you need me. If you need someone to pick him up when he gets discharge I can help with that too... not that you don't have friends or anything..." He blushed softly and shook his head.

"It'll be more than a few days Jace." Madison told him in a stern but soft voice before she looked up at Cayson. "Thank you Cayson. That's very thoughtful. I'll be sure to get in touch." She gave him a small smile. "Take care getting home ok. And watch out for idiots stepping out into the road." She said jokingly as she poked Jace's arm again.

Cayson smiled softly, clasping the hand Jace held out to him for a moment before turning and heading out. "I like him..." Jace mumbled after the door had closed behind the young kid. "Even though he did run me over, he seems like a nice enough kid. Has made a few stupid choices with that street racing... Seems to think you are the prettiest think this side of Neptune..." He teased her gently.

Madison rolled her eyes and swatted Jace's arm. "I doubt it. So don't dare tease him on it. He looks like he could scare off easy." She settled herself back in her seat next to him. "He was a good kid though. I think he could become something great."

Jace shied away from her swat with a giant smirk on his face. "Just calling it like I see it. I was his age once ya know. But I agree... he's a bit jumpy. I'll have to figure out what his home life it like, maybe Adela knows." He watched her sit down and smiled softly. "What do you mean by something great?"

---

Archer nodded and waited for Adela to make her phone call. "Got it." He said getting out of the car and looking at the hospital.

Adela dialed Jade and put her phone to her ear. She walked around the car and grabbed Archer's hand for comfort, heading toward the hospital as the phone rang
Jade answered and Adela started talking, "It didn't," Adela's voice sounded like she was using that professional tone of hers to hold back tears, "We're at the hospital, Jace was hit by a car. We haven't heard how he is but it didn't look good when the ambulance took him."
Adela flinched, pulling her ear from the phone when Jade's voice came through shrill and loud enough for Archer to hear, "He wasn't watching when he went to cross the street and the kid couldn't stop in time." She said, "I thought you should know, thought maybe you would want to be here. We're heading inside now to see if we can find Maddy and see how he is."

Archer stopped at the door like a stubborn mule. He took a deep breath looking into the front door of the ER. Archer hated hospitals... he would wait for Adela to get off the phone to explain but he was not going through the door. He took a deep breath, and let go of Adela's hand heading to the bench next to the door. He would wait there instead of inside.

Adela nearly stumbled, she was caught off guard when Archer let go of her hand and moved away from the door. She hung up the phone and looked at Archer in confusion, "Aren't you coming to see Jace?" He asked him

"I'm not going in... I'll wait out here for an update..." Archer told Adela. He could see that was not going to suffice. "I don't do big hospitals. Some shit happened on deployment in one and I have not been able to walk into one seance then." He really didn't want to explain any more than that. He remembered the hospital being a lot smaller than this when he was in high school.

Adela nodded, "Alright, I'll let you know how he's doing when I find out." She promised then gave him a quick kiss before hurrying inside and over to the reception desk. "I'm a friend of Jace Carter, he came in in an ambulance a little but ago. I know you probably can't let me see him or anything but is there any way you can let me know his status or where his sister might be waiting?" She asked urgently

The nurse looked up at Adela as she spoke then nodded in understanding of her words. "Miss Carter is with her brother at the moment but I can send someone to see if she's available to come speak with you. Please take a seat while you wait." She smiled and motioned to a row of chairs opposite the desk before she motioned to a passing nurse to relay the message to Madison.

"I just mean I think the kid has potential to do something good with his life Jace. The fact that he came to the hospital to check on you says what kind of boy he is." Madison replied with a smile before turning to look at a nurse who stopped suddenly by the foot of Jaces bed.

"Miss Carter, a friend of Mr Carter is here. We thought you'd want to talk to her." The nurse informed them before briskly walking off to take care of her other work.

"It must be Adela,she was there when you were taken away in the ambulance. Are you feeling well enough for more visitors?" Madison asked as she stood up and began moving from the side of his bed.

"I honestly feel fine... Have her come in, I'm sure she's freaking out... I kind of ran out on her when this happened." Jace frowned slightly, remembering the moments right before the accident. He inhaled deeply and shook his head. "God that was dumb... I was so upset... all those years of pining after her and Archer comes back into town and they're together and I loose my chan-" He looks up at his sister, blushes and shakes his head. Giving his throat a short clearing he waved his hand. "Never mind... go ahead and bring her in."

Madison paused in her movements to blink at Jace before shaking her head slightly. "We'll talk about that later." She told him then turned and headed from the room and out towards the reception area. "Adela." She said with a smile once she saw the other woman sitting there before moving to give her a hug. "I'm so glad you're here. You can come see him if you like. He's awake."

Adela paced a little and then barely sat down before Maddison came out and she bounced back to her feet. She hugged her tightly, relief washing over her when the youbger woman said her brother was awake, "He is? He didn't look good, what did yhe doctors say?" She asked, "Archer is outside, he says he doesn't do hospitals but he's waiting to hear how he is."

"He wants you to come in so you can fill in Archer once we're done." Madison replied before she hooked her arm through Adelas and began to lead her back to Jaces room. "He has a fractured rib which caused some internal bleeding but they got to it in time. Apart from that he's just badly bruised up. He got lucky this time." She explained with a shake of her head as they walked. "He needs to take a few weeks to rest so I'll have to cancel all his classes.." She stopped talking as they approached Jaces bed and finally let go of Adelas arm as she moved back to Jaces side. "See I told you he's just being a drama queen." She teased as she smiled at Adela.

Jace rolled his eyes gently and shook his head. "Right... I'm being the drama queen." He said, his head laying back against the bed that he had moved to an upright position. His arms laid at his sides in a relaxed position. His face was still pale as he gazed across the room at Adela but all in all he looked pretty good. A soft smile spread across his face as he turned over his hand to her. "Hey Adela..."

Adela looked relieved, "How do you feel?" She asked, her eyes concerned as her eyes roamed over him as though she expected to see something wrong.

Jace smiled softly and shook his head. "I feel fine, really. I keep telling everyone that but they won't let me leave, I really dont understand why." He teased her gently.

"Oh, I don't know, I guess it probably has something to do with internal bleeding." Adela countered with a smirk.

Jace shrugged dismissively. "Ah... that's nothing. I'll be good as new in no time." He shifted around in the bed to get more comfortable and gave a small wince of pain. He took a deep breath to center himself before speaking once again. "Where's Archer?"

Madison frowned at Jace as he tried to shift then carefully helped him sit more comfortably. "He's outside, he says he doesn't do hospitals." She answered him as she fixed his pillows before sighing. "Stop moving." She scolded him then sat back down.

Adela nodded confirmation, "He said it had something to do with something that happened on deployment." She explained, "I'll let him know you're alright." She pulled out her phone and sent a quick text to Archer, He's alright. The doctors said he had some internal bleeding but they stopped it. He's fully concious.

"I can see that being hard." Jace nodded his head gently. "I won't hold it against him." He relaxed into them bed and glanced around the room. "You guys didn't call Jade did you? I mean she's got enough going on we don't need to worry her or anything."

"Jace, she would have been furious if she found out and we hadn't told her. She's on her way." Adela said.

"She's going to be furious regardless. You might want to prop that door open and listen for yelling. Normally it's her lying here. You'll both be surprised if the nurse's tell her she can't see me." Jace pursed his lips together nervously, clearly not wanting to see any of that happen.

Adela frowned, "You seem to have a hard time wraping your head around people worrying about you." She observed, "Would it make you feel better if I went and waited for her?"

"That's because I do the worrying and taking care of, Adela. I always have." Jace's eyes landed on his sister for a moment before glancing away. "And no that's alright. I'm sure she won't give them too much trouble." He hoped.

"You've done enough caring for people over the years so let us do it for you Jace. You need to rest up for a bit so let your friends and I help you." Madison told him as she rested a hand on his arm. "I'm going to be in charge for a while once you get home, OK?"

Jace frowned slightly, knowing he wasn't going to be able to get himself out of it so he just nodded his head. "Alright, Maddy, I'll take it easy for a little while. Can we try and keep my classes? I won't help, just instruct. Maybe Cayson can help out or something... we can teach him a bunch of moves and he can be my hands on guy?" He really didn't want to let his students down, for most of them this was a way to get out of the house and away from their parents and he completely understood that.

"Oh, so Cayson did come by." Adela wondered how she had missed him, but she supposed he had probably wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible once he knew Jace was okay, "Isn't it the responsibility of your black belt students to help instruct?" She asked, that was how most schools she had tried in the city ran.

Jace nodded his head as he moved his arm slightly so that Madison's hand felt into his and he squeezed it gently. "I could do that, thought Jade's extremely busy all the time. My older students are busy with school most of the time but I guess it wouldn't hurt to ask. I just wanted to get him involved in something. He's going to start helping out around the dojo and Maddy with her dance stuff... I think he even may help Jade at the ranch. But we'll see how things go."

Adela nodded, "Good, he needs something." She sighed and shook her head, "He's not a bad kid, he just doesn't get it. I hate that someone had to get hurt to knock some sense into him." At least she hoped this had knocked some sense into him and she wouldn't catch him racing on the streets again.

"I'm going to keep an eye on him and make sure he stays on the right track now. No more racing if I've got anything to do with it." Madison added before she looked at Jace. "Alright you can sit and instruct your lessons but if I catch any signs of you trying to take part, I'm cancelling your lessons until you're recovered. I can help out too. You've taught me some of your moves and if Cayson is interested like you said, he can help too."

---

"Will Adela be able to give you a ride home?" Luke asked as he pulled up outside the hospital and turned to look at Jade. He didn't know Jace as well as Jade did so he didn't feel right visiting. He hoped to go home and relax for a few hours.

"I'm sure she can, if not it's not like I haven't made the walk before." Jade leaned over and kissed Luke's cheek. "Thanks for everything. Sorry for having to skip out on dinner, I promise to make it up to you." She smiled softly before climbing out of the truck. "See you later..." She shut the door and waved him off before turning to the hospital. She spotted Archer sitting off to the side on a bench and frowned. "Archer, what's wrong? What are you doing outside?" She asked as she approached him, concerned that maybe Jace was worse then she feared.

"I don't do hospitals." Archer informed her. "It would take quite a thing to get me into one with out being knocked out." He then stood up as she got closer. "I'm pretty sure Jace ain't all that bad off. Prolly gonna need to set a few bones though."

When he stood, Jade came to a stop where she was, only a few feet from him. She realized this was the first time she'd seen or talked to him since this morning so for him they were still okay. She smiled gently though, glad to hear that Jace would most likely be okay. "That's good to hear. I should probably go see him. I'll uh... do you want something do drink while you wait?" Her eyebrows drew together as she asked, knowing she sounded strange.

"No. I'm all r-" before Archer could finish his phone rang 'Incoming transmission.' Chimed a voice like a computerized female. Archer looked at the text then nodded. "Jace is up and responsive. Bit of internal bleeding, and a few bones to set but he is stable, and I would guess able to see visitors if I'm getting this text from Adela." Archer pointed.

"That's great. I'm going to head inside and see him then. I'll see you in a bit." Jade gave him a soft smile before turning and heading inside. She went straight for the nurse's station where they all knew her. "Hello Jade, good to see you know how to come in here without incident. I'm sure you're here to see Jace." The nurse got to her feet without waiting for an answer and led Jade down the hallway. "Jace sweetie, another admirer is here." The nurse teased, stepping out of the way for Jade to duck inside. She gave Adela a quick smile before hurrying to Jaces other side and carefully hugging him.

Jace was about to answer Madison when Jade came into the room. He smiled and gave a soft sigh as he wrapped his free arm around Jade. "Hey... it's alright. I'm okay." He kissed the side of her head and held her away. "I promise... Madison would kill me if I wasn't alright." He teased gently, squeezing his sisters hand.

Jade sighed softly holding onto his other hand. "Well that's good to know. Today has just been one bad thing after another. I just want it to end..."

"Yeah I would." Madison joked back as she pointed a finger at Jace before looking at Jade. "Sounds like you've had a rough day. If you've got room, I could stay over at yours tonight? We could have a few glasses of wine whilst we speak of our woes.." She said with a smile. "You'd kinda be doing me a favor. I don't like the thought of being alone in the apartment."

Adela looked curiously at Jade, "What's wrong, hun?" She asked.

Jade thought about her room situation for a moment before nodding her head. "I still have room so having you over would be great." She would worry about introducing her to Teos and Ate then, right now she didn't want to think about it. It was weird to her, seeing Jace with his hue but then sitting next to him his sister was perfectly normal. Well as normal as she could be, it being Madison and all. At Adela's question she looked around the room nervously, these would be her biggest critiques. The ones who she cared most what they thought of her in the end but she knew she couldn't lie to them. "I made... what I thought was a great choice last night but when I woke up this morning it wasn't or... It didn't feel as great." She sighed heavily and shook her head.

"Jade, whatever it is you can tell us. I mean... it's you, how bad can it be?" Jace teased her gently but realized then that her eyes were filling with tears. He sat up a bit straighter, growing nervous. "Jade, come on, what happened?" His voice remained soft, not wanting to scare her away.

"I slept with Archer...I-" She couldn't look at Jace, knowing he had always had thoughts that his wife had been unfaithful. Looking at him was just too much right now. "I didn't mean for it to happen, it just did. Then this morning I went to break it off with Dorian because of how possessive he was yesterday, it really scared me off... I eventually told him everything that had happened but that was after I told him we could try and work things out. He was furious obviously, he has every right to be."

Jace sat frozen for a moment staring at Jade, he wasn't mad, disappointed in her but never mad. She hadn't meant to hurt anyone and he knew better then all her friends how inexperienced she was with love and dating. In truth in that department she was still a high schooler. It then dawned on him that Adela was the one who had asked what happened. "Adela..." Jace sat up fully in bed, wincing heavily.

Adela watched Jade with concern as she teared up, obviously debating if she should tell the group what had happened. But when she finally admitted what happened Adela felt her stomach drop. She stared at Jade for a moment and then looked away, hand balled into a fist. She should have known. She knew what Archer was like, how had she let herself think she was so different from all the girls back in high school and the many more who had probably waltzed through his barracks room in the army? She should never have let herself get her hopes up.

Jade was confused by Jace's reaction but when she turned to her friend she could tell Adela was upset. "I don't understand. What's wrong?" She felt Jace's hand tighten around hers and knew she wasn't going to like what came next.

"Jade... did Archer not tell you that him and Adela were dating or anything?" He saw the color drain from her face giving him all the answer he needed. "So he lied to both of you." He would talk to her later about the cheating thing but what was most important right now was helping these two women that he cared a great deal about.

Jade released Jace's hand and crossed the room to Adela's side, grasping her hands. "Adela I am so sorry... I didn't know. I never NEVER would have done anything... shouldn't have done anything... if I had known. I swear. I know me saying that doesn't mean much because of what I did but you're still one of my closest friends and I'd never do that to you."

Adela squeezed Jade's hands gently to let her know she didn't blame her and shook her head, "We're not dating." She said, her voice sounding hollow, "We never really talked about what we were doing, so he has no obligations to me. I missed my chance is all, everybody knows he adores you." It didn't make it hurt any less though.

"That doesn't mean you deserve to be treated poorly and I should have known he might have been having a thing with you before jumping into bed with him. I mean did he not think before doing this?" Jade asked to no one in particular and shook her head. She was extremely frustrated with him and wasn't sure what to do about it.

Adela sighed, "Archer and I had a bit of a thing right after I turned eighteen." She admitted, using Jade's phrasing, "I never mentioned it to anybody because it was just when I flew out to visit him for Christmas my senior year and with him being so far away..." She shrugged, "Jade, I like Archer a lot, but you two are great together, we all saw it back in high school and when he got back... With you and Dorian being together I hoped maybe I had a chance, but... I never brought up the subject of a relationship so I guess I missed my chance." She was rambling, admitting things she hadn't ever told her friends before, she blamed the knife in her chest.

Madison watched the two women, frowning sadly at their situation but with a quick glance at Jace she couldn't help but stand up from where she was sitting next to him, still gripping his hand. "Guys.." She said softly as she looked back at Jade and Adela. "Maybe..maybe you should take this outside?" She said looking a little guilty. She didn't like pushing them out but she didn't need her brother, who had just come out of surgery and should be resting, starting to worry or stress about two of his friends. "You can see Jace is going to be fine, so you can go home now. I'll call you if anything changes. For now I think you two should go speak in private."

Jade looked over at Madison and nodded. "You're right... I'm sorry Jace." He had to be disappointed in her. She crossed to his side and gently wrapped her arms around him, whispering in his ear. "So sorry."

Jace kissed her temple as he gently wrapped his arms around her, releasing Madison's hand. "Don't worry about it. We'll talk about it later. I promise it'll be okay and no matter what I still love you."

Jade smiled softly as she pulled away from her best friend. "Thank you. I'll come check on you tomorrow." She looked over at Madison as she moved around the bed. "Just text me when you're heading over and I'll make sure the front door is unlocked." She stood by the door and waited for Adela, wanting to walk out with her.

"You're right, I'm sorry, Jace." Adela forced a tight smile and placed a hand briefly on his shoulder, "I'll check in when I can." She promised, following Jade to the door and leaving. She felt like a fool, thinking Archer wouldn't jump at the chance to be with Jade the first chance he got.

Jade linked her arm with Adela's as they walked along, her voice soft and quiet. "Gods this is so messed up. I'm so sorry Adela. This shouldn't be happening. I wish I could just turn back time and redo everything." She sighed heavily and shook her head.

Adela shook her head, "What's done is done, if we regret the decisions we make then we can't move on." She said, "Look if..." She hesitated, "If you want to go out with Archer...I'll back off. You two are great together, we've all seen it." The words were like glass in her mouth, but it was true.

Jade's eyebrows rose in surprise at Adela's words. "I... I don't know what I want right now Adela. Jesus last night it was all so clear but now that I know he lied to us it just makes things harder. It makes me wonder if the things he said last night were even true." She chewed on her bottom lip and shook her head. "I've never actually done this before and it's terrifying. In high school everyone was too afraid of Jace and Archer to ask me out and in college I was too focused on my studies. Dorian was the first time I've actually let myself feel anything except for Archer." She blew out a breath of frustration as they came to the exit of the hospital. "I feel like a child..."

Adela shrugged, "You have to decide what you want." She said softly, "I'm...gonna go clear my head." And by that she meant she was going to have a seat in a quiet part of the local dive bar and have a drink or two.

"I know that... maybe this is just the gods telling me I'm better off alone." Jade wondered if that was a possibility. Was she not supposed to find someone to love? She waved her hand in the air with a sigh. "I'll see you later." She glanced out the door and shook her head. "Archer and I have a long walk home I think..." She gave Adela a soft smile before stepping out into the parking lot and crossing to Archer. She cleared her throat when she was closer. "Looks like you an I are hiking home. Adela had to... take off."

Adela nodded to Jade. She glanced in Archer's direction as she left the hospital but turned away, heading for her car. She a drive would help clear her head, maybe she'd get out on the highway along the coast or drive into the city and look up some old friends. Or maybe she would just drive around town and then go get a drink, she would figure it out once she was on the road

"Work?" He asked a bit confused, but then let it go and shrugged. "At least it's not that bad a day to walk home. I love the rain." Walking in the rain reminded him of being a scout before he moved up in the world. He offered Jade his hand before they walked.

Jade tilted her head slightly to look at him, unsure whether to let him think that or tell the truth. "No, Archer, it had nothing to do with work..." When he held out his hand she looked down at it before giving a soft sigh and shaking her head, rejecting it all together. She turned away and headed towards home, confident that he would follow. "You led us both on, Archer... and didn't tell either of us a thing. I mean last night you should have stopped me... I should have stopped me but thats beside the point. How could you do that?" She asked loudly, growing angry and more hurt by the second.

Archer was a bit confused as the two started walking but that quickly changed as Jade spoke. He let her vent her anger and regret. He wanted to tell Adela, but it just didn't seem like the right time before Jace got hit by a car. Not that he was mad Jace was hit by a car. Archer walked a long side Jade as she pike then responded. "I never had anything official with Adela... and I was planning on telling her today... then Jace got hit by a car." Archer had fallen back into a bad habit the army bred into him, and spoke with no emotion in his voice.

"Right... so that gives you a right to play with her emotions then? Did you know she wanted more?" Jade asked as they walked along. His dead emotionless voice bugged her. Did he even care about the situation they were in, that he had hurt the two of them? "Do you even care, Archer?" She stopped walking before she got to the corner of the street and turned to him. "You've really hurt the both of us, does that even bother you?"

Archer looked at Jade with empty eyes. He didn't want an argument or an emotional argument in the rain. This was real life not some hall marke movie moment. He responded with the same emotionless tone from before. Like a professional answering questions to the news. "I am aware of the situation we are in, and if I had been told by Adela that she wanted to have a relationship instead of just jumping into bed, trust me when I saw I would have never come near your bed. This dose bother me, but not for the same reason it bothers you. Your hurt for you. I'm mad at myself for ever even ending up in this situation in the first place." Archer then shook his head. "I'm going to head to my mothers to collect a few thing a and go think." With that archer started the opposite direction down the road from Jade house hopping to take the long way into town. He want walking fast. Hell he was just confused and a angry.

Jade stared after Archer for several long moments. That was it? He was just going to leave it like that, after putting them all in this situation? She clenched her fists at er sides tightly before shaking her head and heading home home. She didn't want to deal with him anymore than he wanted to deal with the situation. He put himself into it, he could dig himself out. She sighed heavily as she steered herself towards home but decided instead to just walk around town for a while and headed for BotO Streets of Athens Harbor.

---

Jace watched the two walk out the door before sitting back. He didn't need them to leave but he didn't fight Madison on it. She wanted to take care of him and he was going to let her. He like the she felt needed, which he would always need her but he wasn't used to it. "I feel really bad for those two... and Archer... what a damn idiot. I should have known he would do something like this."

"Don't start blaming yourself Jace." Madison told him gently as she sat back down. "They just need to work it out. It's probably best I don't stay at Jade's now. She needs space. It seems a lot has happened today. It explains why Dorian visited earlier.. I thought it was strange." She said with a shrug.

"I'll meet not sure space is smart. She may need you since I can't be there. Archer lives there so this may be difficult for her. If she didn't want you there she would have said." When she brought up Dorian Jace frowned. "What do you mean Dorian visited earlier?"

"He came by the apartment earlier after you left. Said he was just coming by to say hi, then he said he thought I was bored and so asked if I would hang out with him, his treat." Madison replied with a small shrug as she watched Jace. "He took me for ice cream."

"What a strange thing for him to do..." Jace frowned slightly and shook his head "I'm worried about Jade. You haven't seen the way she's been with Dorian the past... year or however long he's been in town. She never would have done anything like that usually..." He sighed, running a hand through his dirty blonde hair.

"There's gotta be a reason. But honestly..this whole town seems different since I was last here. Like..there's a weird energy here or something." Madison replied as she relaxed back in her seat. "Like the whole thing with Dorian earlier..I didn't really want to go Jace and you know me..If I don't want to do something I won't, plus I don't like ice cream. But..it was like I couldn't stop myself saying yes. It was like I wasn't in control of what I was saying and then the strangest and probably most embarrassing thing of all..I cried in the ice cream shop, I couldn't stop myself." She groaned as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I hope I'm just imagining the weird feeling I'm getting here."

Jace reached out and ran his hand up and down his sister's arm. She was clearly shaken by the entire experience. "No... that does all seem strange." He frowned deeply as he replayed what she said in his mind a few times. "What were you crying about?" He wondered if that had to do with any of it or if it was just something randon.

"Dorian was talking about Jade..how he wanted her to be happy. How wonderful he thought she was and how much he loved her. There was so much sadness in his eyes, it was like I could feel his pain and before I could stop it I was in tears and as much as I tried to stop I couldn't.." Madison explained with a sigh. "Talk about humiliating..I swear if it didn't sound ridiculous I'd say it was like he had some weird hypnosis skills or something. I mean he asked me if I was ok and I told him no, that I was hurting because Risk basically dumped me..I don't know Dorian! Why would I tell him that!"

"Loved her... Yes but will he forgive her?" That was Jace's biggest worry. It would crush Jade if she lost Dorian. Maybe not as a boyfriend but they had grown close over the past year, Jace had seen it and had gotten a bit jealous at times but he'd understood their connection. If Dorian turned away and never forgave her he wasn't sure what it would do to her. He tried to focus one what his sister was saying but it was all so strange. "Hypnosis... strange. Maybe it was just because you were feeling vulnerable? Speaking of which... why did you end it with him?" Jace had a sickening feeling it had to do with him. He knew how he felt about Risk and he didn't do a very good job of hiding it.

Madison frowned slightly at his words then sighed heavily, running her fingers through her hair as she did. "I didn't end it with him, he ended it with me Jace..because of you. I just told you I had ended it so you wouldn't get mad." She said softly. "Risk didn't want to effect our relationship because he felt you would never accept him so he thought we were better not seeing each other in the romantic sense.."

Jace clenched his hands into fists angrily. "Im going to beat the shit out of him..." He shook his head, wincing at the pain. "You thought I would be mad so instead you lied... that doesn't make it better Maddy... Now I'm mad about two things, you lying to me and that traitorous bastard dumping you." He snorted rudely and rolled his eyes. "Effect our relationship... yeah, like he's ever cared about that before." He glanced around and threw off his covers. "I've got to get out of here... I can't stay in this damned hospital any longer. Nurse!" He called out as he shifted his weight, an alarm sounded on his bed, alerting the nurses station that he was trying to get out of bed.

"Jace!" Madison gasped as she quickly jumped to her feet and grabbed a hold of his arm. "You can't just leave, you're just out of surgery. You'll injure yourself further! So stop! Please! I'm not a little girl anymore Jace. I don't need you fighting my battles OK. So just leave Risk alone!"

Jace stopped just after swinging his legs over the side. He was already panting from exertion and knew he wouldn't get far without help. "Madison as much as I love you... and I do... it isn't just about you. He can't just keep... taking things and then throwing them away." Tears pricked his eyes as he held on to his ribs, sniffling slightly. "I trusted him... Maddy... I trusted him and he betrayed me..." His head fell as he realized it was the first time since the divorce that he'd said those words out loud. He hadn't even told Jade why his anger towards Risk ran so deep.

Madison quickly moved to stand in front of Jace then carefully wrapped her arms round him and gave him a gentle hug. "What do you mean he betrayed you?" She asked softly.

Jace wrapped his arms around his sister, relaxing into her warm embrace. "I didn't want to tell you this but I've always suspected he was a big part of the reason..." He couldn't even say her name! "The reason she divorced me." He choked out, his hands clutching her shirt as pain wracked his body at the memory of her leaving him.

"Wait you think she and him.." Madison started but couldn't bring herself to finish. "Yeah I'd say he betrayed you!" She growled lowly as she rubbed his back soothingly. After a few moments she pulled back slowly and looked down at him. "You need to lie down Jace, getting worked up like this isn't going to help you." She told him then carefully helped him back into bed. "I'm glad he ended it now, I wouldn't want to be with him. I just wish you had told me sooner.. I would never have went out with him in the first place."

"It's not an easy thing to talk about, Maddy..." Jace eased himself back onto the bed like she had asked just as a nurse came strolling into the room. "I guess I should have expected this... you're just as bad as Jade..." The nurse helped him get resettled with promises of strong pain killers for bed before leaving them alone once again. "I didn't want to hinder your opinion of the guy... it's... it's not my place..."

"Jace your opinion matters to me.. Well most of the time." Madison teased with a smile. "But something like this is important to tell me OK? I don't ever want to hurt you, even if it's unknowingly. You're too important." She planted a kiss on his forehead before fussing with his blankets. "I guess I'll be declining his offer to go to his party tomorrow.. I don't want to start any arguments in front of his clients or friends." She finished then took a step back. "You want to get some rest?"

Jace stopped his sister's fussing and held her hands for a moment. "Thank you but I kept quiet because I can't stand seeing you unhappy. And if I'm the one causing that unhappiness, it's even worse." He shook his head gently, realizing he was probably due for a hair cut, he was getting kind of shaggy. "I can rest when I'm dead but if you'd like to head out, I'll be fine on my own."

"You need to get some rest Jace, you just had surgery remember?" Madison teased lightly. "The nurse just gave you strong painkillers so they'll probably make you sleepy. I'll go home for a while, pack some things for you so while I'm gone you can get some sleep, OK?" She said in a motherly fashion before she leaned down and hugged him again. "I'm so glad you're OK."

Jace returned her hug, kissing her forehead gently. "Sounds good, pack a bag for yourself to and stay at Jade's. I'll feel better knowing you aren't alone at night anyway." If she wanted to be bossy then so could he. He squeezed her one last time before laying back and sighing gently.

"I'll have my phone so if you need me for anything, even if it's just you want me to change the channel on the television, give me a call ok?" Madison replied as she moved to gather her things. "I'll come as quick as I can. Now get some sleep and be nice to the nurses, understood? I don't want to hear that you were causing trouble..no more trying to get out of bed." She pointed a finger at him before smiling. "I'll see you later. I love you big brother." She stepped back towards the door then with a final wave she turned and stepped from the room before heading out, choosing to walk back into town to get some air.



BotO Athens Harbor
Blood of the Olympians