The sound of the panic alarm going off in Maple Grove Manor was usually a sign that someone had arrived in the panic room below and not managed to reach the button to turn it off in time. Most of the time, it meant that person - that cousin - was either injured, or it was their first trip to the panic room in the first place. Either way, it got the same reaction every time. This time, it was Jon who hurried down into the basement, leaving Vicki to collect the children, hurrying herself toward the study to leave them in Humphrey's hands. It might only be a false alarm, but it never hurt to be cautious.
Elle followed suit, herding Daisy into the study with the other children. There was no time for questions right now, though she assured her daughter everything was fine and that she'd explain later. Once the children were safely settled, Elle let Vicki see the worry in her eyes. She had no way of knowing for sure just yet, but she had a bad feeling about that alarm and had a pretty good idea who it was that might have just arrived in the panic room below them. "It's Dom," she told the other woman, as matter-of-factly as if she was sharing the time of day.
Leaving the children with Humphrey was easy enough; the Old Man knew his job was to keep them entertained until whatever was going on below was sorted out, and he had Cosmo to help him. Vicki smiled as she drew the study door closed, meeting Elle's eyes with the same concern. "I think you may be right," she agreed with a nod. "Come on, Jon might need a hand." That, and Vicki wasn't about to tell Elle that she couldn't come downstairs and see what a mess Dominic had gotten himself into. Whatever was going on there, the redhead had a feeling he was going to get yelled at when he was ready for it.
"Idiot," Elle muttered under her breath. They'd been over it a few times since he'd brought her here to Maple Grove, and while she appreciated what he was doing for her, she was afraid he might have vastly underestimated the danger he was involving himself in. This wasn't a movie - he wasn't Indiana Jones, and she wasn't Marion Ravenwood or any of his love interests, for that matter, though she certainly wouldn't deny the attraction, however one-sided it might be. "If he's not dead already, I'm going to kill him myself."
"He's a Granger, of course he's an idiot," Vicki agreed quietly. The only reason she could say this was because of Jon's vampire hunt when they had first got together, something she didn't often allude to these days. She lead the way down into the basement, toward the panic room. "Just ....don't yell at him until he's feeling better, okay' They don't deal well with being told off when they're not feeling very well."
Elle arched a slender brow at the other woman, who she was slowly starting to trust. It had been a long time since there had been anyone she considered a friend, but over the last week or so, she had allowed herself to open up enough to trust these people who had taken herself and her daughter into their home, hoping that trust had not been misplaced. The fact that they were both English didn't hurt their chances of friendship. "He better hope he's feeling better bloody well soon, then." Though on the outside, she appeared calm, albeit worried, on the inside, Elle felt the tension coil up inside her like a tightly-wound spring.
"Easy." Vicki laid a hand on the other woman's arm gently. "He wouldn't have done any of this if he didn't feel something for you. Try not to let being angry overwhelm that." It was easier said than done, as she knew perfectly well herself, but it bore repeating. Pushing open the door, the redhead sighed at what was waiting for them. Dom was a bloodied mess, emerald shards sticking out of his swollen cheek, clearly unconscious after a severe beating.
Elle frowned back at the other woman, taking her advice to heart, her guard lowering enough that her expression softened and Vicki could see the concern in her eyes. She didn't want the other woman to know that she was starting to have feelings for the man who had insisted on white knighting her, despite all his claims to the contrary, though she truly wondered if it was for her sake or for Daisy's. She knew Vicki well enough to not have to explain that she was only angry because of her concern for Dominic. The truth was she wasn't sure what she'd do if something bad had happened to him because of her. Thankfully, she couldn't yet see past Vicki to the bloody mess that was Dom just beyond the doorway.
"Bloody hell ..." Vicki sighed, stepping smartly into the room to move over to the console, slapping the button that would switch off the alarm. "Did you call for the healer, love?" she asked her husband. It was unnerving, to see Dom so still and bloodied, but a relief, too, that he was breathing enough to make the blood bubble at his lips. She glanced back to Elle, more concerned about her than about a beating that was easily healed right.
Jon was bent over his cousin, administering to him as well as he could, not nearly as covered in blood as Dom was. Though from the looks of it, Dom seemed in a bad way, Jon hadn't been able to find any major injuries, but then, he couldn't be too sure whether his cousin had suffered any internal injuries that weren't obvious to his untrained eye. "She's on her way," Jon confirmed without looking up at his wife. He was busy staunching the flow of blood from the more serious-looking wounds, but without the proper training or equipment, there wasn't much more he could do. "It looks worse than it is, I think, but I can't be sure," he said, more for Elle's benefit than Vicki's.
Elle's face had blanched, drained of color so that she looked nearly as pale as the wounded man. "Oh, Dom," she whispered quietly, almost forgetting she wasn't alone, blinking back the sting of tears before they got the best of her. "What have you done, you stupid man?" She resisted the urge to rush to his side and gather him into her arms, afraid she'd only hinder the first aid needed to save him. He was certainly going to get a dressing down, if he survived.
"Here." Vicki tossed Elle the med kit - she knew exactly what it was like to see a man you could easily fall in love with wounded and unable to fend for himself. Having something to busy her hands would help, at least a little. As for Vicki herself, she moved to help support Dom as he coughed, his head lolling a little. "He looks like he didn't even try to defend himself."
"Of course, he didn't," Jon remarked, as he pressed a bloodied cloth to a particularly nasty-looking cut on his cousin's cheek. "He gambled on the ring bringing him here before things got out of hand." It was obvious enough to Jon that whatever it was Dom had done, he'd had it all well-planned out in advance, but Jon also knew the best-laid plans had a way of going awry. He lifted his head to meet Vicki's gaze, as if to exchange unspoken words. "He was lucky."
"Like hell," a female voice with an English lilt broke in, catching the med kit and going straight to work. "He was stupid. Brave, I'll give him that, but stupid and stubborn." She didn't mean stupid in the way that Dom hadn't used his head or planned well, but stupid in that he had taken such a huge chance with his own life all because of her. He had once told her that he wasn't a white knight, but despite that claim, here he was bleeding all over the place, simply because he'd had to be the hero. Her hero, though she couldn't deny he might have done it in part for himself. They'd been after him, too, because of his connection to her. "Stupid, bloody man," she murmured under her breath as she went to work on him. She said nothing more, mostly for Jon and Vicki's sake, but the anger was slowly fading, replaced with something that left her feeling far too vulnerable for comfort.
Vicki met Jon's gaze, understanding what he said as much as what Elle wasn't saying. There was a certain amount of humor in her eyes as she looked at her husband, though - they'd both seen worse than this and knew the victim had survived. So they both knew Maple Grove was going to ring with furious words in a few hours, when Dom was healed and awake again. The redhead bit her lip to hold down the smile, not wanting to offend Elle with her amusement, glancing up as Rebecca, the familiar healer who always seemed to end up being called out to the Grove, stuck her head around the door.
"Well now, doesn't he look a state?" she commented, moving inside to join them. "I hope you've got a bed somewhere for him, he'll be sleeping this off for a while."
Elle followed suit, herding Daisy into the study with the other children. There was no time for questions right now, though she assured her daughter everything was fine and that she'd explain later. Once the children were safely settled, Elle let Vicki see the worry in her eyes. She had no way of knowing for sure just yet, but she had a bad feeling about that alarm and had a pretty good idea who it was that might have just arrived in the panic room below them. "It's Dom," she told the other woman, as matter-of-factly as if she was sharing the time of day.
Leaving the children with Humphrey was easy enough; the Old Man knew his job was to keep them entertained until whatever was going on below was sorted out, and he had Cosmo to help him. Vicki smiled as she drew the study door closed, meeting Elle's eyes with the same concern. "I think you may be right," she agreed with a nod. "Come on, Jon might need a hand." That, and Vicki wasn't about to tell Elle that she couldn't come downstairs and see what a mess Dominic had gotten himself into. Whatever was going on there, the redhead had a feeling he was going to get yelled at when he was ready for it.
"Idiot," Elle muttered under her breath. They'd been over it a few times since he'd brought her here to Maple Grove, and while she appreciated what he was doing for her, she was afraid he might have vastly underestimated the danger he was involving himself in. This wasn't a movie - he wasn't Indiana Jones, and she wasn't Marion Ravenwood or any of his love interests, for that matter, though she certainly wouldn't deny the attraction, however one-sided it might be. "If he's not dead already, I'm going to kill him myself."
"He's a Granger, of course he's an idiot," Vicki agreed quietly. The only reason she could say this was because of Jon's vampire hunt when they had first got together, something she didn't often allude to these days. She lead the way down into the basement, toward the panic room. "Just ....don't yell at him until he's feeling better, okay' They don't deal well with being told off when they're not feeling very well."
Elle arched a slender brow at the other woman, who she was slowly starting to trust. It had been a long time since there had been anyone she considered a friend, but over the last week or so, she had allowed herself to open up enough to trust these people who had taken herself and her daughter into their home, hoping that trust had not been misplaced. The fact that they were both English didn't hurt their chances of friendship. "He better hope he's feeling better bloody well soon, then." Though on the outside, she appeared calm, albeit worried, on the inside, Elle felt the tension coil up inside her like a tightly-wound spring.
"Easy." Vicki laid a hand on the other woman's arm gently. "He wouldn't have done any of this if he didn't feel something for you. Try not to let being angry overwhelm that." It was easier said than done, as she knew perfectly well herself, but it bore repeating. Pushing open the door, the redhead sighed at what was waiting for them. Dom was a bloodied mess, emerald shards sticking out of his swollen cheek, clearly unconscious after a severe beating.
Elle frowned back at the other woman, taking her advice to heart, her guard lowering enough that her expression softened and Vicki could see the concern in her eyes. She didn't want the other woman to know that she was starting to have feelings for the man who had insisted on white knighting her, despite all his claims to the contrary, though she truly wondered if it was for her sake or for Daisy's. She knew Vicki well enough to not have to explain that she was only angry because of her concern for Dominic. The truth was she wasn't sure what she'd do if something bad had happened to him because of her. Thankfully, she couldn't yet see past Vicki to the bloody mess that was Dom just beyond the doorway.
"Bloody hell ..." Vicki sighed, stepping smartly into the room to move over to the console, slapping the button that would switch off the alarm. "Did you call for the healer, love?" she asked her husband. It was unnerving, to see Dom so still and bloodied, but a relief, too, that he was breathing enough to make the blood bubble at his lips. She glanced back to Elle, more concerned about her than about a beating that was easily healed right.
Jon was bent over his cousin, administering to him as well as he could, not nearly as covered in blood as Dom was. Though from the looks of it, Dom seemed in a bad way, Jon hadn't been able to find any major injuries, but then, he couldn't be too sure whether his cousin had suffered any internal injuries that weren't obvious to his untrained eye. "She's on her way," Jon confirmed without looking up at his wife. He was busy staunching the flow of blood from the more serious-looking wounds, but without the proper training or equipment, there wasn't much more he could do. "It looks worse than it is, I think, but I can't be sure," he said, more for Elle's benefit than Vicki's.
Elle's face had blanched, drained of color so that she looked nearly as pale as the wounded man. "Oh, Dom," she whispered quietly, almost forgetting she wasn't alone, blinking back the sting of tears before they got the best of her. "What have you done, you stupid man?" She resisted the urge to rush to his side and gather him into her arms, afraid she'd only hinder the first aid needed to save him. He was certainly going to get a dressing down, if he survived.
"Here." Vicki tossed Elle the med kit - she knew exactly what it was like to see a man you could easily fall in love with wounded and unable to fend for himself. Having something to busy her hands would help, at least a little. As for Vicki herself, she moved to help support Dom as he coughed, his head lolling a little. "He looks like he didn't even try to defend himself."
"Of course, he didn't," Jon remarked, as he pressed a bloodied cloth to a particularly nasty-looking cut on his cousin's cheek. "He gambled on the ring bringing him here before things got out of hand." It was obvious enough to Jon that whatever it was Dom had done, he'd had it all well-planned out in advance, but Jon also knew the best-laid plans had a way of going awry. He lifted his head to meet Vicki's gaze, as if to exchange unspoken words. "He was lucky."
"Like hell," a female voice with an English lilt broke in, catching the med kit and going straight to work. "He was stupid. Brave, I'll give him that, but stupid and stubborn." She didn't mean stupid in the way that Dom hadn't used his head or planned well, but stupid in that he had taken such a huge chance with his own life all because of her. He had once told her that he wasn't a white knight, but despite that claim, here he was bleeding all over the place, simply because he'd had to be the hero. Her hero, though she couldn't deny he might have done it in part for himself. They'd been after him, too, because of his connection to her. "Stupid, bloody man," she murmured under her breath as she went to work on him. She said nothing more, mostly for Jon and Vicki's sake, but the anger was slowly fading, replaced with something that left her feeling far too vulnerable for comfort.
Vicki met Jon's gaze, understanding what he said as much as what Elle wasn't saying. There was a certain amount of humor in her eyes as she looked at her husband, though - they'd both seen worse than this and knew the victim had survived. So they both knew Maple Grove was going to ring with furious words in a few hours, when Dom was healed and awake again. The redhead bit her lip to hold down the smile, not wanting to offend Elle with her amusement, glancing up as Rebecca, the familiar healer who always seemed to end up being called out to the Grove, stuck her head around the door.
"Well now, doesn't he look a state?" she commented, moving inside to join them. "I hope you've got a bed somewhere for him, he'll be sleeping this off for a while."