After Shock

[holiday_pirner]

The hospital was quiet. It didn't take long for Holly to realize that here, without a clock or a watch, she would have no idea what time it was. Everything looked the same. She watched blankly as nurses and other personnel passed her by. She was perched on a hard plastic seat in the small waiting area.

The brunette had tried to purchase a snack from the vending machine, but her dollar had gotten stuck. She couldn't find it in her to care. She turned her head to look at it now, the bill sticking halfway out of the slot.

Holly had washed her hands, but there was still blood on her shirt. She hadn't noticed it. It wasn't so out of place there, anyway. At least she fit in.

Comments

[daniel_stacy]

Sighing, Daniel crashed in the seat next to hers and laid his arm across the back of Holly's chair. "It's not," he offered. Three of his fingers twirled into her hair. He slumped lower. "It's Las Vegas."

Logically, he knew he couldn't be around all the time, but damn. Twice this bodyguard was the only thing between Holly and death or armed robbery. He hated it for her, hated it for himself, and then hated himself period. If there was a dick swinging contest, this guy Rhys had won.

Not the point.

If Holly wanted to live in a city and move around after dark by herself, she had to protect herself. Vampires and humans -- even crossbow-yielding ones -- were fallible.

"But I'd feel better if you carried a weapon."

An arsenal.

[holiday_pirner]

"Like...what kind of weapon?" Holly studied his face. "Rhys had a gun," she pointed out. "I don't know how you get more..weapon-y than that."

The brunette clutched her jacket closer, and her gaze drifted to her shoes. "He's out of it. And I don't think I'm ready to see him yet. I've never seen anyone, you know, bleed that much."

[daniel_stacy]

He poked his cheek with his tongue.

'Can't say I relate there.'

When she pulled her jacket closed, he wondered if she was cold or just wanted security. Daniel squeezed her shoulder and tried to do a better job. "I dunno." A gun, a knife, a stake, mace, holy water, what? Self-defense classes? If Holly kicked a vampire in the shin, it would laugh in her face.

"What's the prognosis? They hit anything major?"

'It could have been her.' What did you send dudes who saved your girl's ass when you were out biting a wasted tourist? A fruit basket?

[holiday_pirner]

Holly leaned against him, her hair falling over his shoulder. "He lost a lot of blood, but he's going to be okay. I thought he was going to die, though, when it happened."

She frowned, watching the activity going on at the desk. "He told me, 'tell Shannon I'm sorry.' I don't know who Shannon is. And the police questioned me about his weapons. I don't think I did a very good job."

[daniel_stacy]

“C’mon, Holly. You’re being hard on yourself.” Daniel kept his voice low. He kissed the top of her head and stroked her hair again. His eyes, too, were on the receptionist. “You’re not supposed to know how to disarm purse snatchers and make tourniquets and throw cops off the trail.” The scent of Rhys’ blood wafted to him again. He closed his eyes, burrowed his nose into her hair, and concentrated. “You won’t have to call Shannon.”

[holiday_pirner]

"It's easier to be hard on myself. Strange as that sounds." Holly smiled, though, when he kissed her.

"Which is good, because I have no idea how that conversation would go." The brunette started to laugh, trying quickly to compose herself. "Hey, you realize this is the second time my wallet's gone AWOL in Las Vegas?"

[daniel_stacy]

“I didn’t do it this time, either,” he said into her hair.

He recognized the laughter as the kind of inane response to stress that made people laugh at funerals. Nothing was funny, but everything was funny. Daniel had gone into fits of hysterics a few times over the years: in the Dean’s office, in the middle of a job interview, while he took his SATs. Once, he tried to settle himself down with an inner mantra of, ‘drunk drivers, dead kittens, naked grandmother,’ but he screwed up and thought, ‘dead drivers, naked kittens, drunk grandmother,’ which made it worse.

If he caught Holly's scent on a guy on the street and found a wallet, Daniel promised himself that he would rip open his throat.

[holiday_pirner]

"I know."

Holly closed her eyes, and pretended for a moment that she wasn't where she actually was. The rolling of a cart past them brought her back to reality. "It could have been worse. I mean, I couldn't tell you how, right now. But that's what everyone says to feel better, right?"

[daniel_stacy]

“It could definitely be worse,” Daniel said, lifting his face out of her hair. The vampire could probably name off five different ways without stopping to think. He lifted his ankle to rest on his kneecap and his foot bounced. “But how does that make anybody feel better? Unless you’re trying to get intimately familiar with the thought of your own mortality.” Or immortality. When Daniel had woken up as a vampire and freaked out, Deanna had regaled him with stories about how much worse it could be, which didn’t change how shitty it already was.

“I’m glad he was there.”

[holiday_pirner]

Holly couldn't help but agree. Maybe it was selfish to. She was the one still in one piece, and not a gaping hole in her stomach.

"Yeah," she said, and she lowered her voice, though it was futile. He could hear her anyway. "But I'm glad you're here, most of all."

What did she think Daniel would do? Make fun of her?

[daniel_stacy]

“Because you called.” He squeezed her shoulder in what was half congratulation, half gratitude. He kissed her temple. It was new to him, this liking being needed. It was the sort of thing that used to send Daniel running for cover. “So what can I do? I want to get it right. I can harass a nurse for updates. I can,” he danced his fingers in the air, “Run around yelling, ‘Why won’t somebody talk to me!’ and pulling my hair.”

[holiday_pirner]

"You would do that for me?" She was really smiling now.

"I think they've forgotten I'm here. This feels like some sort of hospital limbo."

[daniel_stacy]

“That and more.” If he turned the charm up high enough – i.e. flashed his baby blues at the right nurse – Daniel could probably get his hands on a medical file and stand in full view reading it. “That chick hates me,” he said, tipping his head at the lead receptionist. “But that one…” He nodded at a brunette who looked like Margot Kidder. “Just so you know, I’m gonna tell her we’re related. Otherwise, this isn’t gonna work.”

Daniel stood up.

[holiday_pirner]

Holly looked over at the desk, her brow furrowing. "Why does she hate you?" She was going to argue that Daniel was probably imagining it, before noticing the icy glare on the woman's features when she looked in their direction.

[daniel_stacy]

"Eeeee-eghhhh," he cringed, "Long story short, I tried to do that thing we were talking about and almost killed the girl by accident. I'm fairly sure the nurse suspects I had something to do with it." The vampire shoved his sleeves up his forearms. "Be right back. Oh wait, is Rhys the guy's last name or first name?"

[holiday_pirner]

"Oh." Holly wasn't sure what to say to that. "Rhys is his first name. His last name is Stoneman."

The brunette had checked his ID. The police had a lot of questions about the man, and Holly was only able to answer a few of them.