Blahaj in the Water

[Deleted]

Luca sighed, “Yep, there’s always someone trying to ruin your day shopping in this city. First time seeing some idiot trying to do this at a furniture store…that I know of.” He laughed in amusement, as he followed her to where she last saw the injured woman.

He smelled someone coming from the rafters, and glanced up as they passed underneath the guy who Cassie placed up there. He chuckled lightly. “Nice, Cassie,” he gently patted her on the back. “Serves the asshole right. It’s a good place for him for a while.”

Who knows how long he meant by ‘for a while’. Although, inwardly, he wanted to give him a far worse punishment for trying to touch her. A subtle smirk formed upon his lips as he thought about it. Maybe I will, he thought.

The closer they got to the woman’s location, the more he could smell her, and the blood coming from her. The more he breathed in her scent and her blood, the more it became familiar to him.

“Hmm. This woman’s scent is…familiar to me,” he mentioned to Cassie, but didn’t say anything more about it yet. He glanced down at the polished concrete floor, noticing the streak of blood along the floor, as someone dragged themselves to a hiding spot. There was a lot of blood too, and even though he knew of Jaina’s power to reset like nothing happened at midnight, her being shot still worried him. She’s been through enough in her life as it is, and it’s any wonder why she was the way she is.

He picked up his pace, walking quickly, and then he spotted her around the same time as Cassie did, laying flat on the floor, and still bleeding.

“Jaina,” He quickly said in concern as he knelt on the other side of her and glanced at the wounds in her shoulder and leg, while Cassie checked for her pulse; though, he didn’t need to know if she still had one, as he could hear her heart beating. It was strong, good. He gently patted Jaina on the arm. “Jaina, can you hear me? Jaina?”

He quickly took his gun holster off of his belt and laid it beside him, and then took his belt off to use it as a tourniquet around her injured leg - placing it above the gunshot wound, and tightened it enough to slow the bleeding to a stop until EMTs arrived. He got onto his cell phone and called into dispatch. “Dispatch? This is Detective Moretti and I need you to send an ambulance my way. I’m here with a gunshot victim who was shot in the leg and shoulder, and is in need of medical attention. Yes, we’re in the IKEA store, in the cabinet section. Inform the EMTs it’s safe to enter. Yes, thank you.”

“They’ll be here as soon as possible,” Luca announced. He put his phone away, and glanced at Cassie after he applied pressure to the gunshot wound in Jaina’s shoulder with both hands. “I’m going to need some towels or something for the wounds. Can you get them for me, Cassie?”

@mayhem , Jaina Gaben

[Jaina Gaben]

Jaina kept very still and quiet as they approached, and made a point to not respond to Cassandra’s patting. Not for any particular purpose, just to be a dick. She kept her eyes closed the whole time, but when she heard Luca ask about her, she couldn’t help but sigh and roll her eyes.

“God damnit. I’m fine. Fuck. Don’t call an ambulance and waste shit, come on.”

She shuffled herself back up to a sitting position, wincing and cursing as she did. “Was hoping y’all’s think I was dead and would leave me be. Fuck this. I just wanted a fucking nap. I try to stay away from this super shit. God damnit.”

She shot a glare at Luca. “And why the fuck is it you that showed up? Fuck. I thought you micromanaged the morgue, werewolf guy.”

She tried to stand up. It wasn’t working very well. “I’m gonna get out of here, I’ll be fine, see ya around. Later. Don’t wanna owe you anymore, much less the EMT dicks, especially for something that is just gonna go to waste.”

@mayhem @lupo

[Deleted]

Cassie looked at Luca at the same time he turned to her, brows knitted with determination. “Yeah, I’ll get ‘em, and something to make a sling.” Before she’d started regularly going with her cousins on camping and hunting trips, her mom had insisted on teaching her backwoods first aid. Though she was glad to know it, the knowledge had turned out to come in handy way too often for her comfort.

She ran to the linen section, boots squeaking on the floor. Grabbing a load of washcloths and bundling them in longer bath towels, she rushed back. Cassie moved Luca’s hands away, and worked efficiently to pack the wound full of washcloths on both sides. She tied one towel around the young woman's chest, and another around her shoulder and forearm, creating a tight sling to immobilize her. “There. That’ll do for now."

Sighing, she sat next to Luca and finally let herself rest a minute, after all the craziness of the afternoon. “I take it you two know each other?” She looked between the two of them, and had to ask- “The morgue? What?”

Her head started feeling heavier and heavier as they sat there waiting for the medics. Shit, she hadn’t eaten since breakfast, and it was almost 9. And… “Ugh, you know when we were on the hike, that thing I said I’d forgotten and couldn’t remember? Yeah, I was due in to the hospital for a potassium infusion.” She mumbled, head resting on Luca’s shoulder, grabbing his arm to keep from falling over onto the concrete. Her heartbeat slowed, and slowed, and slowed as the very last dregs of adrenaline left her body.

Well, fuck, this was embarrassing.

Her eyes fluttered closed.


@lupo , Jaina Gaben

[Deleted]

Luca watched as Cassie left to get what he requested, and when he heard Jaina suddenly protest, he rolled his eyes, and returned his attention to her.

“Too bad, Jaina,” he replied sternly, “You were shot and you’re going to the hospital.”

He instinctively put a gentle hand on her good shoulder when she sat up to prevent her from moving around or getting up.

“Easy,” he whispered mildly, “Don’t try to move around.” He then grinned and replied to her comment about hoping he and Cassie would’ve thought she was dead and left her alone so she could sleep. “Trust me, innamorato, if you were dead, I would know. You’ll be able to sleep while you’re in a nice, warm bed in the hospital soon enough though. So sit tight.”

He glanced up when Cassie returned with a bundle of washcloths and a towel, and then watched as she worked on the young woman, smiling warmly as she did so. When she was finished, he kept looking at her, impressed with her first aid knowledge. “Grazie, Cassie. Apprezzo che tu mi aiuti con questo bambino testardo.” He chuckled lightly, then glanced back at Jaina.

“Is that what you think?” He raised both eyebrows, smiling in amusement. “I’m a detective of the Human Crimes Division at the Astaria Police Department. I don't even work in the morgue.” He pointed at his detective badge attached to the front of his belt.

Luca gazed at Cassie as he explained, “Yeah, we know each other. I was available during the time the head medical examiner who works in the morgue asked me to look into who was breaking into the morgue and stealing items.” He paused, smirking a little. “Turns out, this young lady was coming back to life after being killed in various, often horrible, ways and at different times over the years, and stealing clothes and whatever else collected from those who are dead in there, and then breaking out instead of in.”

He then introduced the two. “Cassie, this is Jaina. Jaina, this is Cassie.” He smiled briefly, and then quickly returned his attention to Jaina when she tried to stand up.

“See? That’s exactly why I didn’t want you to move around.” He firmly grabbed her and sat her down, but was careful not to hurt her. “Sit. You’re going to the hospital, young lady.” He sighed, making sure she didn’t move again as he kept a hand on her shoulder and held her hand in his.

“I told you before…you don’t owe me or anyone anything. I know it comes as a shock to you and you don’t believe me, but I’m trying to help you, and I’m going to help you. I’ll help pay for any hospital bills too. It’s not like I’m using my insurance and benefits anyway.” He smiled, looking at her like a father would at their stubborn child.

He glanced at Cassie, who was sitting beside him while they waited for the medics to arrive. She mentioned about their hike they went on, which he smiled when he remembered all they did, and then his smile faded as she mentioned how she was due for her potassium infusion, and then rested her head on his shoulder and grabbed his arm. He could hear her heartbeat, and it was getting slower and slower as her adrenaline left.

While he continued to hold Jaina’s hand with his right, he removed his left hand from her shoulder, and then reached over to caress Cassie’s cheek. He smiled as he gazed lovingly at her through half-lidded eyes, and whispered softly, “Poor thing. You’ve overworked yourself kicking these idiots’ asses, when you probably shouldn’t have. Looks like I’ll have to take you over to the hospital too so you can get your infusion then.”

The paramedics arrived a minute or two after with a gurney, being escorted in by one of the other officers who let them inside the store. He sat up, gently moving Cassie out of the way, and leaning her up against a cabinet, and then stood out of the way to let them work. He pointed over at Jaina. “She’s the gunshot victim, and don’t worry about this woman here. My girlfriend has chronic fatigue syndrome and forgot to go and receive her potassium infusion. I’ll be taking her to the hospital so she can get it.”

“All right,” one of the medics nodded in understanding, and started to help their co-worker to work on Jaina, and get her ready for transport to the hospital.

“Jaina,” Luca looked intently at her. He was stern, but still cared. “Let these two help you.” He crossed his arms. “In time, I think you’ll learn to appreciate and accept there are still people out there who are willing to help you and care about you without any favors you’ve grown accustomed to seeing and dealing with in return.”

@mayhem , Jaina Gaben

[Jaina Gaben]

Jaina struggled and fought, cursing at the medics. Eventually, one of the medics produced a syringe and sedated her.

"God... god damnit..." She felt the lethargy slipping into her body, which any other day she would be very happy about, getting a good nap, but she knew this meant that they could mess with her and do whatever they wanted. She hated that. She hated not having control.

"Fuck... fuck all y'all. Nobody... nobody does shit for... for anyone unless... unless they want somethinnnnng...."

And she was out. The medics went to work, stopping the bleeding and prepping her for transport to the hospital, and just before she completely lost consciousness, Jaina was incredibly frustrated knowing they'd probably keep her overnight. And Luca was gonna be there.

All those confusing emotions were going to be very frustrating, and gave her odd dreams.

@mayhem, @lupo

(Scene change to the hospital?)

[Deleted]

What felt like the next instant after she shut her eyes, she woke up sitting in a hospital bed, IV taped to her arm. Jaina lay in another bed close by, the beige divider curtains pulled back between them. Both their monitors beeped with varying tones, Cassie’s picking up a bit as she became more awake. More curtains blocked off their cubby from the rest of the ER, but she could faintly hear the various beeps of others’ monitors, footsteps shuffling around on the linoleum, some guy in the distance coughing like he was going to hack up a lung.

“I’m Adebayo - but most people call me Dee. I’ll be your ER nurse today. I hope you’re feeling a little better?” a tall black man in navy blue scrubs said, adjusting the bags on her IV pole. He was giving her electrolytes through the line, too, by the looks of it. And probably some Motrin - she felt pleasantly relaxed. Cassie nodded in answer, then relaxed back into the flat hospital pillow again as best she could.

Dee went over to a computer on a wheeled cart, looked between Cassie and Luca, and continued, “As you know, we have to ask everyone that comes into the ER a few questions. Is it alright if I ask them in front of this gentleman, and discuss your medical history around him?” Cassie nodded again.

“I’m bringing up your chart in the system, here, and the intake checklist. Do you smoke? Have you fallen in the past year? Use recreational drugs? Do you feel safe at home - is anyone hurting you there?”

Cassie answered each of Dee's questions with a bleary ‘no,' except the last, to which she said, "Yeah, I'm safe," and looked at Luca with a faint grin.

“Alright, good. I apologize for not asking you up front, but you were in such rough shape. And… it’s not normally the procedure to put two patients in the same room for triage, but you wouldn’t calm down until we did. Your boyfriend had to get you to sit in the bed because you were too strong for the rest of us,” Dee said, chuckling a little. “Made me question if you even needed the infusion in the first place. But after running some tests on your blood, I am very glad you came in today. Your potassium levels were so low, I do wonder how you were even walking around, let alone going to work every day and fighting bad guys.”

“That bad?” Cassie croaked, throat dry.

“That bad,” Dee returned. “We’ll discuss a game plan for you going forward after you’ve had time to rest and recover. For now, just relax, and I’ll be back with some apple juice and crackers, if that sounds alright?” Cassie nodded. Dee parted the curtains and left the room.

Cassie’s head lolled, eyes half-lidded, feeling trapped in a weird twilight zone between being asleep and awake. Her phone started ringing.

🎶 All eyes on me in the center of the ring just like a circus 🎶

She groaned, too weak to even get her phone out of her pocket. “Christ, of course Bell would call now. Can you answer it and tell him I’m not dead, Luca?”


@lupo , Jaina Gaben

[Deleted]

While the paramedics took Jaina to the hospital, Luca picked up Cassie over his shoulders, and headed back outside to his vehicle, and carefully placed her into the passenger seat, secured the seat belt, and headed over to the same hospital so he could check in on Jaina while he was waiting for Cassie to finish the infusion. He stood near the wall after returning from the floor Jaina was on and asking the doctor to send for him once the young woman woke up, and allowed the nurse room to take care of Cassie and waited until the nurse left to sit back down in the chair beside her hospital bed.

When her phone started ringing and she murmured for him to answer it, he carefully pulled her phone out of her pocket, and answered.

“Hello,” Luca said, grinning mischievously, “It’s okay, Firouz. She’s not dead…yet.”

Jaina Gaben , @mayhem , @bell

[Jaina Gaben]

Jaina groggily came to her senses. No. No no no no no. This... fuck. She hated this. Fuck. She was going to owe these two a shit ton.. Forever.

Maybe she could just run. Maybe she could just get away and...

Her arm was tied to the bed. "What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fuuuuuuck."

Jaina struggled, rather weakly, against the bonds. It was a smart idea, she had to admit. Had she been conscious she would have fought like hell to get away, and was even now trying to get the hell out of dodge.

"Fuck! Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuuuuck!"

Jaina swore and cursed, struggling to no avail. She was a sixteen year old girl, and had the strength of one. Specifically one that had lost a lot of blood and only just came back to consciousness. "Let me go! Let me out! Let--Let..."

Jaina choked back a sob. She hated this. She hated all of this. She just wanted a nice nap and then all this bullshit happened and now she was stuck and owed these two assholes that "saved" her so much fucking shit...

Jaina began to sob, giving up on fighting against her bonds, and for the time being, giving in to despair.

@lupo @mayhem

[Deleted]

Bell, on the other end of the phone, pinched his nose and sighed in annoyance. “I'm so glad to hear Cassie's okay. Listen, in my defense, I usually drive her to her infusion appointments and she hasn’t answered her phone in days. Must have been one hell of a date.” He laughed a little, then stopped when he heard Jaina shouting and sobbing in the background. “Hey, I’m gonna let you go. Sounds like there’s something going on you might need to help with? We’ll talk more after I get back, which, I should be home tomorrow, unless I have any more flight delays. See you soon.” He hung up, and put the phone in his pocket.

“That Moretti?” FBI Special Agent Garcia said to Bell, as she took the thick evidence file he'd been leafing through back from him.

“Yeah, sorry, even though it’s completely unrelated, looking at this made me remember he was dating Cassie, and that Cassie hadn’t gone for her infusion, and…” Garcia held up a hand, and Bell stopped rambling with an apologetic smile. “Sorry. Where were we?”

///

Cassie was beginning to feel better, but only just. She said blearily to Luca, “Hey… what’s going on with Jaina? Is she okay?” She struggled to get up, but only managed to move a few inches, before she collapsed back into the bed again. She really had left her infusion far too long this time - she was going to have to be more careful. Her head lolled as she fell into a half-sleep again, with a frustrated grumble. Jaina sounded really upset, and she wanted to check on her, if nothing else…


Jaina Gaben , @lupo

[Deleted]

(TW: Talk of suicide)

Luca laughed a little as Bell spoke to him over the phone. “Yeah, it was one hell of a date,” he grinned briefly, but it faded as soon as he heard Jaina shouting and sobbing in the other room. “Okay, yeah. See you tomorrow, then.” He ended the call and set Cassie’s phone down on the table next to her bed.

He glanced over at his girlfriend and gently placed his hands on her shoulders to keep her from sitting up again. “Cassie, please. You should lay down and relax. I don’t want you to get dizzy and hurt yourself if you try getting up.” He smiled, leaning over and kissing her on the forehead. “I’ll check on Jaina and see if she’s okay…which, from the sounds of it. She isn’t.” He sighed, caressing the woman’s cheek for a couple of moments before walking over to the other room.

He politely knocked on the doorway to let Jaina know he was there, and opened the privacy curtain and entered her room. He paused as he gazed empathetically at her as she sobbed, but had given up struggling against the restraints the doctors and nurses placed her in so she wouldn’t be a danger to herself and others. He slowly headed over to stand at her bedside.

“Jaina…” he whispered as he gently held her hand in his to try and comfort her as best as he could. “You’re okay. I’m here. I’m sorry they had to restrain you to your bed. The hospital staff had to so they could treat your wound, as they felt you were a danger.” He paused as he studied her exhausted face that was full of despair. He could smell her chemical signals, and it pained him to know she was going through such a horrible time with her powers.

“You’re not alone, Jaina,” he went on, “There were plenty of times where I wanted to kill myself, and I tried. Everything you can think of, I tried it and woke up after my wounds were healed and wanted to lash out at the world; especially when I was a kid. My whole family was killed by the Plague, while I survived and they didn’t. I wanted to kill myself then to, and I still feel guilty for being able to survive while they suffered until they died.”

He sighed as he admitted, “Sometimes, I still want to because of all the shitty things that have happened in my life, and what I have to deal with on a daily basis, but I also realize there are people in my life who love and care about me, and I wouldn’t want them to suffer long after I’m gone if I end up actually killing myself.” He paused. “I’ve dealt with way too many cases involving suicides, and seeing their loved ones suffer…I wouldn’t want that.” He chewed on his lower lip for a moment. "I also wouldn't want to find you out there either if you end up staying dead from a self-inflicted, fatal wound."

“You may not believe me still or you may not even care, but I love and care about you, Jaina,” he assured her, “You also have other people who love and care about you, and we want to help you.” He gently squeezed her hand and said, “Let us help find ways to improve your life and make it easier for you.” He lightly patted her shoulder. “Our powers may not work in the same way, but I do understand what you’re going through mentally, and I’m here for you, okay? And no, you don’t owe me anything, other than getting better, and letting us teach you to adapt and overcome your powers.”

Jaina Gaben , @mayhem