The Day After

Fiora didn?t remember any of it.

The healers at Riverview Clinic had told her that was to be expected. By the time her rescuers had pulled her from the vault she?d lost enough blood to have slipped into a coma.

?So wait, Bandito found me?? Fiora?s voice was weak, an odd whisper of its normal vivaciously cheerful squeak.

?Yes.? Dusky answered softly with incredible patience as this was a question she?d already answered for the realtor a dozen times beforehand. Anticipating the next set of questions she provided gently, ?Luke managed to get the vault open by using your bloody fingerprints. Thankfully Rufus was aware of the properties of the vault that had kept you sealed in stasis, and Euriya was on hand to immediately supply medical care.? She couldn?t help the softening awe around the psychiatrist?s name.

Dusky would never forget returning from her lunch break to find the chaos of Fiora?s discovery, nor the sight of her frail little body being carried out in a rush to the clinic. The tightly held frantic edge of concern from all of them had been palpable.

?Why can?t I remember anything?? Fiora sounded plaintive, childlike in her tone as she struggled to take the next breath that ached painfully through her mending chest.

?The doctors say the trauma was severe Fi, you?ll probably remember more??

?Excuse me, Miss Beaumont. The Watch would like to speak with Miss Shantalaine.? The nurse interrupted with the poise and professionalism of her job.

?Oh, of course.? Dusky unfolded the elegantly long lines of her body and gently released Fiora?s hand, ?If you?re sure she?s up to it...??

The nurse knew better than to give her opinion on the status of the patient in view of an ongoing investigation. Someone higher up on the food chain had given the green light and she was simply following orders, but the demure countenance of the young woman and her general concern for her friend drew a softening of her edges.

?Fiora, I?ll just be in the hall if you need anything.? Dusky smiled bravely and slipped past the two men entering the hospital room. A blush stained her cheeks as she recognized one of them as the friend of her former lover, a friend she knew intimately well thanks to a bottle of tequila and a reckless energy that night. His double-take was quickly avoided and she found herself in the hall with the nurse who had waited.

?The reporters won?t be far behind, Miss.? She offered what support she could, ?They follow the Watch like vultures. ?

?Oh.? Dusky hadn?t expected to deal with anything like that.

?And I promise I?ll run the watchboys off after a few and make sure your friend gets her rest. You should probably think about getting some yourself.?

The advice was taken to heart. She was punch drunk with exhaustion. Weaving on her feet after her late night escapades with Euriya and then this drama, she needed to get some sleep. Of course, her mile long list of things to see to while Fiora was out of commission had suddenly just added PR release.

There was one person who could?ve seamlessly stepped into the chaos and smoothed things and Dusky spared a thought that had been on all of their lips in the last few frantic hours:

Just where in the hell was JhaiNein?

A polite cough sounded from the doorway. The amazonesque woman had long ago mastered the art of walking without sound. Curls of strawberry blond piled high upon her head nearly touched the lintel of the doorframe as she leaned with arms akimbo, a mischievous half-smile upon her lips. A multitude of colorful tattoos decorated bronzed skin, most of these visible thanks to the altered scrubs she wore as a concession to others' senses of propriety.

"Going somewhere?"

"Until I've determined that it's safe for you to depart. Your injuries were quite severe, and obviously inflicted by other parties who might not wish to see you recovering."

Lifting away from the doorframe with a dancer's grace, she strode slowly toward the bed, keeping a pleasant smile upon her lips.

"Now . . . let's just see how your healing is progressing, hmm? I promise, this won't hurt one bit."

No needles, no instruments . . . such things weren't a part of the woman's normal routine. A simple touch to a tattoo, the rose with thorns dripping blood that decorated her right calf, brought a glow to her fingertips, infusing them with a soothing energy meant for the gentle repair of damaged tissues. Not the most potent of her healing magics, but in this case, it would suffice. Kneeling next to the bed, and her patient, she slowly reached out, maintaining that smiling eye contact.

"Better that I endure the needles so that you do not have to, wouldn't you agree?"

The soothing smile remained as the healing balm of her magic ran its course. Microfractures in the bone knitting in seconds, instead of days. Tissue rent and mutilated by bullet trauma remembered how to be whole, and reassumed that state. Blood lost in the injury replenishing itself. However, this spell couldn't be maintained for too long. Such energetic healing took its toll upon the patient, building up stores of fatigue toxins within the body. And, unfortunately for the enthusiastic patient, nothing could purge those save for good, honest rest.

The glow faded, and her gentle touch became a soft but insistent push back down to the bed.

"There. Now, you must rest. Doctor's orders. But, if you see fit to behave, I promise you two things. One, a speedy recovery. Two, a handsome and fit male nurse bearing chocolate. If you are very well behaved, I'll even tell him to . . . help you enjoy that chocolate."

Until her patient once again ensconced herself beneath the bedcovers, she chose to remain, subtly engaging another of her tattoos under the pretense of scratching an itch. A calming, peaceful aura washing invisibly over the woman.

At the Plaza ...

"Rufus, will you come on? We're gonna miss visiting hours if you don't hurry up." Lei sighed in exasperation, moving across the office to flick her fingers against her Watcher's ear. He was scowling down a microscope at something, and only just managed to avoid the bruising that her fingertips could have given him. "What's that you got there?"

Rufus frowned thoughtfully, lifting his eyes from the lens of the 'scope and knocking his glasses down from his forehead as he turned to look at her. "Hmm? Oh, just a sample of that sealent Dr Shilo identified as holding that door closed on me," he explained, gesturing toward the empty doorway to the nearby storage room. "It appears to be silicon-based, applied as liquid, but with a hardening phase of such rapidity I've never come across before."

Lei frowned with him, laying her present for Fiora - a box of ludicrously expensive chocolates - on the table and peering down at the sample of sealent. "Sounds like it's a specialised thing," she mused curiously. "Reckon it needs following up?"

Rufus sighed, looking down at his Slayer in concern. "Lei, I realise you're itching for revenge, but we already have ample proof that whoever did this is not averse to murder to get what they want," he said uncomfortably. "I would rather not lose you to some trigger-happy assassin."

"Yeah, well, if you hadn't been drunk and passed out, I would have already lost you," she pointed out heatedly. "Whoever sealed you in must have been looking for me. You're damned lucky you aren't dead, and you know it. Whoever it is, they probably know what I am. Which also means they think they can take me, and locking you in was as much a warning as it was helpful to them."

"I think we should speak to Detective Boudreux about this, at the very least, before you -"

"I am not going to stand by and let my best friend get threatened," Lei fumed angrily. "Or let people think they can get away with hurting anyone I consider to be a friend. Fiora is a friend. Whoever hurt her, whoever took JhaNein, I want them found."

Rufus rolled his eyes, shaking his head, and put his glasses down. "Let's not go into this any further, shall we? As you say, visiting hours are limited." He leaned over and grasped his coat, taking Lei firmly by the elbow and steering her out of the room. "I'm sure Miss Shantalaine will be pleased to see us."

The Slayer allowed herself to be steered out, the box of chocolates back in her hand. And the other hand wrapped firmly about that little sample of sealent. If Rufus wasn't going to follow it up, she definitely would.

http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/img-set/BQcDAAAAAwoDanBnAAAABC5vdXQKFlVocy03Wk03NEJHRW9fMWVQWTA3bFEAAAACaWQKAWwAAAAEc2l6ZQ.jpg

"So wait. I missed RILEY AND DAVID'S WEDDING?!" The shriek was heard round the ...halls of the clinic.

Tasha did her best not to wince as she calmly explained, "Yes, though you really should remember, after all your last temper tantr- I mean, your last upset was equally loud and theatrical. You did send gifts."

"I did?!" Fiora scrunched up her nose as she waved off the frightened nurses who appeared in her doorway after this her newest outburst.

"Yes. I believe you sent a special brand of heels to the bride and a watch to the groom. Very tasteful."

Fiora pouted. What good was gift giving if you couldn't even remember it or be there to see the joy it gave someone?

"And now I get to miss out on Fashion Week." She crossed her arms over her chest and harrumphed.

Tasha did her utmost to calm the cranky bosslady and was ashamed on a private level to realize that she was glad when her visit had come to an end. Keeping the rambunctious Fiora calm was a full time job best suited to someone who could apply a sedative.

How do you see someone that you feel responsible for nearly killing? I spent several nights at my loft, thinking about the night we had been painting, the times we had spent together, and the night of the Gala. I turned up the bottle and drained the last of its contents down my throat, and shook my head to clear my thoughts. If I had stayed there, with her, instead of taking off leaving her to celebrate her victory, she wouldn't be laying in a hospital bed, she wouldn't have had to fight for her life.

I'm a f*cking idiot.

I picked up my coat, and walked to the garage. The Firebird, was another source of memories with her, purred to life as I turned the key. I thought of how many times she killed it, the one time I let her drive. How patient I was, how excited she was, and how that clutch burned in protest, but hung on. On the way, I stopped by a street vendor for a bouquet of various flowers. Bright colors, cheerful, much like Fi herself, how I remembered her, before finding her in that tomb of a vault. The smile, the clothes, and the attitude, maybe I read more into what we had, maybe I didn't. She wasn't an easy read.

I pulled into the parking space outside of the ER, and made my way to her room. I wondered what I would see, as I hadn't seen her since the day I found her. I wondered if she would even remember that it was the dog and I, but I was about to find out.

I had a case, that needed answers. Fi was the only one that had those answers. I wondered if she would be glad to see me, or of she'd tell me to shove the bouquet. I tapped on her door, announcing my quiet arrival, and pushed open the door.

"Fi?"

She looked good. Damn good. Spirits high, and even in that bed, where she'd been, beautiful came to mind.

"I didn't think the doctors around would like the flea sack walking around their sterile zone," answering about Bandito then found myself pinged with two chocolates before I knew what the hell was going on.

"What the hell. Fi!" I ducked in and got closer, maybe not the brightest of moves, as she would be able to take a swing, kick, bite... pull stitches?

A week? Seven days, and counting...

I didn't feel the guilt, when I saw the dimples, she was truly glad to see me, and I was glad to see her.

"God, I'm so sorry, Fi. I never should have left... but I am going to find out who did this."

I leaned forward to take her into a hug, if she'd allow it, careful of her wounds, glad to see her on this side of life again, for more reasons than one.

"I am going to need whatever info you can give me, and I'll make up the week to you, somehow."

"Right, you are going to drive?" I chuckled at that. "Let's get you mended, so you have a finer grasp of that shifter, hmm?" I smiled at her, and pushed her gently back into the pillows, "You gotta get some rest on, Killer. Get your strength back, ya know?"

If it was one thing about Fi, it was going to stand that even if I knew her for the rest of my life, I wouldn't understand her. I don't think that I'd want to, as that was part of the draw toward her.

"Maybe it wasn't obvious you were going to get shot, but... at least I could have shot back, ya know?" I looked over at the woman she mentioned, a healer I would guess, and anyone helping Fi, was already welcome in my book, then thinking of her walking around in the overcoat of Columbo, or the old hat of Holmes with that big pipe had me laughing. "Girl, if you want a sleuth-like hat, we can find you one. Though, honestly, I picture you in one of these," I put a gift bag on her bed, "And no... not a pipe. Cigar with me maybe?"

I took the chocolate, on my way out the door, smiling at her . "Get some rest, to run with me, you are going to need it." I winked again, as I started toward the door.

"I don't really care." He said into the phone. "I'm her physician and I need to be updated as often as possible. Understand?"

He paused as the nurse on the other end gave her explanation and then continued. "Who is coming in and out of her room is very vital to her recovery. Mental trauma from a gunshot wound can take up to twenty eight days to set in and I need to be made aware of who is coming and going in case there is a connection there. Now, I'm no longer asking you. I'm telling you."

Before another argument could be made he pressed the button and closed the line, tossing the blackberry on his desk. He slid the glasses from his nose with his left hand and with his right pinched the bridge to alleviate the pressure that had blossomed the moment the conversation began.

It was a simple request. Really it was.

Hiatus. That's what he was calling his break, which was more mandatory than voluntary considering the loss of Dusky. He wasn't taking any new patients for a while as he tried to figure out exactly how the office would run without the frenetic energy of Rhy'din's premier Realtor keeping the walls standing straight. He also needed to go by and see Rufus and Shen. It had been a bit, but he really wanted to make sure they were okay.

And Luke to.

What he really needed to do was get out of the office. He headed for the door and grabbed his coat from its usual hook. He wasn't sure why he was still wearing it, the temperature was starting to rise to a point where it was unnecessary, but he certainly enjoyed the look.

Actually, what he really needed was to go by and check on Fiora, not as her doctor, but as her friend. He had been by to check in on her, to take her vitals, to give his medical opinion, but he hadn't been by just to say hello and make sure she was alright.

He headed down to the parking garage. He would go and see her.

And maybe stop by the sandwich shop along the way.

Euriya watched the interaction Fiora had with the nurse, patient enough to sit back and enjoy the spectacle as she attempted to persuade him into releasing her from the ward.

Luckily, Euriya was wise enough to understand the lengths Fiora would go to in order to escape her room, and before he left on the first day had a meeting with all of the nurses and attendees on the floor to warn them about the persuasive little realtor.

He even set up a secret word they were to look for next to his signature to ensure authenticity.

He was glad to see that this elven nurse was paying attention during that meeting, but that still didn?t mean he?d interrupt a rather charming rant in progress.

Finally, when it seemed the nurse was at wit?s end, Euriya emerged through the door with a knowing smile plastered upon handsome lips. He met the eyes of the nurse and gave him a nod, adding a look that was an amalgam of sympathy and appreciation as he took the chart.

He turned to Fiora as she declared the nurse?s thespian future and then moments later sobs streaked her cheeks. That knowing smile shifted to something a bit warmer, one step taking him to her, the next turning her for the bed , unable to resist the urge to slide his arm around her waist. ?Let?s get you back into bed and then we?ll talk about it.?

Spying the splayed paper (and taking note of its current subject) he swept it to the side in the name of clearing space for her to rest, though before he could get her situated he caught sight of those darling dimples and the connotation of her playful inquiry.

"Is that....is that a sandwich in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?"

He laughed, a deep sound with purity that emerged from the broad span of his chest, and drew from the wide pocket of his coat a narrow plastic bag housing twin sandwiches. ?It is, or should I say, they are. I figured you were growing tired of hospital food so I thought that I might change up your diet a bit.?

When she reached to snag he extended his arm, holding the sandwiches up and away from the spunky Fiora and keeping his body between her and the prize. ?Now now, get seated in your bed and we?ll have ourselves a little patient-doctor picnic. But only if you get comfy. You need rest, not running around.? He laughed. ?I have to step outside and make a call, and by the time I get back I?ll expect you to be ready to go, deal??

He grinned at her and stepped out, pulling the blackberry from the depths of his other pocket. He didn?t need to scroll to get to the contact he wanted - all he had to do was hold down the number one and it would connect him to who he needed.

?Hey Dusk, I need you to do me a favor.? He said as he glanced to the door, making sure it was closed. ?I need you to get me the number of Mataya De Luca.?

The box that was delivered to Fiora was cold to the touch but this made sense once it was opened for inside was an acorn tarts (4inches high and 4across shell of nut flour pastry filled with mixed berries that are covered with a thick nearly frozen cream this is topped with a cap 2inches high and 6inches across the whole thing is then drizzled with both white and dark chocolate topped and garnished with chocolate shavings and mint leafs.) each on a crystal plate, wrapped in near transparent silk a crystal fork tied to the top of the bundle and a cooling crystal to keep it just at freezing also inside the box was a scroll that read,

Just a little something that we hope will make your hospital stay a little more tolerable and something to look forward to.
the ConColor Pride (family)

Also a 6inch by 3inch ovals of iridescent crystal ember with the name ConColor in thin elongated emerald crystal letters going from top to bottom, on both sides. Attached by gold silk ribbon was a scroll that looked to be golden tan parchment on which in small but readable script is

Opening
March, 19th
ConColor
Formal Dining
Dancing
8pm-11pm
"Dancing In the Moonlight?

R.S.V.P. Ander ConColor Magical Delights

"Cleared?!"

Fiora's shriek was wince inducing and the nurse shared a look with the doctor who was doublechecking Euriya's signature.

"It looks as if you are being remanded to out-patient care. But you do realize that this means you are still confined and should definitely follow up with therapy--"

"YES! YES OH YES YES YES!" Fiora would've hopped up from the bed to deliver hugs but they had learned quickly to be ready for such rapid movements and the nurse was already soothingly pushing her back down.

Feverishly bright cerulean eyes landed on the Doctor, "I could have your babies right now I'm so damn happy!"

The doctor blinked.

"Well, if you weren't a woman!" Fiora giggled, "And I was, you know, serious or something, which I'm not."

"R-ight." Nodding, "Is there anybody we should notify to come and get you?"

"Yep! Notify the entire damn Plaza because I'm outta this joint and it's time to get JhaiNein back!"

"Bed. Rest."

"Right. From my bed." Contrite.... "Wait, does a couch count? I mean I can still go to the Plaza right?!"

"Someone page Dr. Shilo."

"Right away Doctor."