Two More Days (Closed except by PM)

[Ekaterina Gordieva]

"It was an accident! I mean, gyah! Do you really think I'd burn my date's clothes off on purpose?" Bobby paused for a moment to look at the gathered group. "Don't answer that."

A snicker rose from the group at the boardwalk, enjoying the summer air and ice cream cones. The sun had set just minutes ago as Bobby again tried to defend his wounded pride after the incident at Prom. The cool wind coming off the water blew through Kat's hair as she instinctively tucked a stray strand behind her ear. The night was almost perfect.

Almost. The throbbing in Kat's head had been getting steadily worse as the evening wore on. She knew what that meant. Her medicine was wearing off, the pain would build until she took another pill, the kind that knocked her out for the night. Throughout the past weeks, she hadn't been on patrol, even once. Never used her shields and tried to get by not flying. Nothing helped. Little by little, the pain and pressure were building.

It was just last week that had given her hope though. The scientists at GIFT had located someone who could help her. Someone who had dealt with headaches very similar to hers before and beaten them. He'd be in Paragon in just two more days. She could hold out that long right?

"Guys, I think I'm going to go to bed. I'm real tired." Kat stood, adjusting the strap of her gym bag as she dug for her cell phone. She waved tiredly over her shoulder and began to punch Dom's number out. She really hated to cancel their date... again. It seemed like more often than not, they ended up watching a movie in one of their rooms, while Kat drifted in and out of her restless sleep. But she couldn't focus in anything but the pounding in her head. She kept her head down as she made her way up the sidewalk towards the train station, listening carefully to the ringing.

She wasn't quite sure how she had lucked into Dom. He was patient with her, always looking for a silver lining in any situation. Even her headaches. "So you can't patrol anymore. More time to study and hang out with me, right?" She smiled at the thought of the smirk he'd get and the nudge against her shoulder.

Fifth ring now. He must be out. She'd have to leave a voice mail. She hated canceling over voice mail. "Hey, Dom. It's Kat. Hey, I'm real sorry but I..." She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, forcing the pain back for a moment. "I've got a real bad headache. I'm going to have to cancel tonight. I think I just need rest." She flipped the phone shut and sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. Two more days.

"Hey there, little girl. You lost?"

Kat stopped in her tracks, her head jerking up. Before her on the sidewalk, stood two thugs, their heads covered in ballcaps, smug smirks playing across their faces. "I said, 'Are you lost, little girl?' You look lost." Kat swallowed the lump in her throat and tightened her grip on her bag. She took a quick step to the side, only to be blocked when the thug in red mirrored her. She took another step, again was blocked. "Sorry, darling. There's a toll for getting through here. Let's see the bag."

He reached for her, only to bounce off an invisible barrier. Kat inhaled sharply at the impact as the pressure increased, but was already airborne, flying down the sidewalk. "^%$&, guys! She's a cape! Get her!" Kat heard the sound of flames erupting and looked back. The thug in red had his hand engulfed in fire and hurled it at her as the his friend fired a bolt of ice from the side. Kat threw her hands out in front of her, sending a blast of telekinetic energy at the pair, knocking them over before turning again, desperate for the train station.

When the second set of blasts hit, Kat was barely five feet off the ground, her concentration breaking with each second. The fireball blossomed and spread across the shield, never touching the petite girl inside, but it didn't seem that way. Kat tumbled to the ground, rolling along the sidewalk before coming to a stop on her back, her hair splayed out behind her head. She didn't move. She didn't open her eyes. It was only a moment or two before she winked out as the medbadge system registered her distress, teleporting her to the nearest hospital.

Just two more days...

[Kara]

Kara worried. Sometimes it seemed to her that she did nothing BUT worry about her friends anymore. She had resigned herself to the fact that she could not save everyone, couldn't stop all the pain, but it did not make things any easier. Kat in particular had been worrying her lately.

The pain was not always there. But lately, her headaches had become both more regular and stronger. They had also been lasting longer; sometimes they just blended into one another for days, it seemed. Kara had approached Kat several times, asking if there was some way that she could help, but Kat had insisted that she was all right even when she was nearly screaming inside. Finally she had sought help, and Kara knew that she was just a day or two away from seeing someone who could help her (okay, she was 43.122 hours from seeing someone who could help, but Kara was trying not to be so literal lately, especially in situations that involved someone being on time).

When Kat left the group with her headache, Kara did what she had quietly been doing for a while now: she went invisible and followed. It was not that Kat could not take care of herself. Kara just worried.

She was not in time to stop the attack, but her reactions were slowed because in spite of everything, somewhere deep down she assumed that Kat could take care of it. She saw her friend fall, felt the burst of pain, and immediately concentrated on the small girl. But Kat was too far gone for Kara's empathy powers to help; she flickered and vanished, on her way to the hospital. Kara stayed long enough to deal harshly with Kat's attackers, sending them both to the Zig in a daze, and then she pulled out her comm.

She hit the private-channel button and keyed in Dom's number. She did her best to remain outwardly calm as she said, "Dominic, it is Kara. Kat has been injured in an attack, and is in the hospital at Talos. I am on my way there now. I will call back when I find out more."

Kara made a few adjustments to the rockets in her boots, and she went into hard burn. It meant a few hours in the shop, replacing burst-out components, but she was willing to do that. Two minutes had passed. 43.119 hours left.

[Dom]

Dom stood there by the hot tubs, watching everyone who just got there climb in, he patted the bag over his shoulder "Hey I am going to go see if I can't get ahead of Kat, if not, I'll grab my suit"

Ty called out "Later Dude" As if expecting he wasn't going to come back. He rolled his eyes away from him, making his way back around the corner.

Digging through his pocket he brought up the display on his phone, four missed calls, two new voice mails. Anna, Dad, Kat, and... Kara? He pulled up the phone to his ear hearing "Two new messages" Kat's voice came through as he furrowed his brow in frustration... again... she canceled again. No invite to come over, just another canceled evening. A bitter look came to his face and cut the message short, ending the call. He pitched his phone into his bag, and got changed shortly afterwards. He wasn't about to go out there and feel bad, just have a good time, as he had been over the past month now. Reminding himself as if it justified things, he always offered to spend time with her over just hanging out. It wasn't fun, but it was the thing to do. Walking back out he tossed his bag to the side and grinned hopping into the warm water, relaxing letting any anger he might have had slip away.

-------

He was pulled out of class early on Friday for some scheduled tests, and made his way over to the Atlas park medical center. Things had been looking up over the past month, the condition seemed to be stabilizing to an extent, and he was doing everything he could to take advantage of the good fortune. Despite the discomfort, he smiled as the last needle was removed from his forearm, rolling down his sleeve sliding to the edge of the bed. A small grin came to his face as one of the doctors went over the latest results. The exchange was short, but positive, and it left him feeling great about tonight.

Walking out, he dug his phone out of his bag, no missed calls. She would still be in class most likely, but he called anyway, it seemed like a nice surprise for the start of a weekend. Her voice mail came up of course and he spoke in a tone that passed on his positive attitude towards the night. "Hey Kat? I know you are still in class... and I know you're having fun, but I thought tonight we could go down to D for unmasked, just for a little, right after you take your medicine, then we can call it a night early and head back to the room. Have to keep up appearances you know?" He laughed quietly and smiled to himself "So I will see you tonight, I am going to run some patrols here, but I will meet up with you at D."

He ended the call and smiled, just one more day, and the worst would be over.

[Storm Scream]

"Johnson."

"Here!"

"Jones?"

"Yo!"

A few laughs here and there were stiffled when the instructor looked up, glaring at Greg Jones. He sunk in his seat a bit, still smirking. Jessiy rolled her eyes. More names, more acknowledgement.

"St. Peter?"

"Here, ma'am." Jessiy raised her hand, then lowered it again, her focus back to the textbook in front of her.

Chemistry. The very word made Jessiy's stomach churn. The fact that they had been in class for just about three weeks now made her even more sick. Still, summer classes were a necessity. Part of the liberty of going on patrol during the school year. But, she did have a few friends in the class with her.

"Miss Gordieva?"

Jessiy looked up at the name, then turned to the desk beside her. Kat was missing. She raised an eyebrow, then shrugged it off. Probably just running late. Yeah...

The lecture began, and Jessiy found herself unable to pay attention long enough to learn anything. She slowly began doodling on the page in front of her, half aware of the lesson. Kat'll take notes...no biggy... She looked over again. Kat was still not in her seat.

Jessiy furrowed her brow. This wasn't like Kat to be THIS late ever. She turned back to her paper, head bowed, her doodling becoming less and less actual images and more just lines on a page.

Maybe she's patrolling? No, not during the day, not when she knows we've got class. Hmm...it was a pretty hectic week with invasions rolling in...nah, we would have heard something it THAT had happened to her... A brief image of her trapped in the rubble of a destroyed building no more than a year ago sent a shiver down Jessiy's spine. No...definitely not that...maybe she's just sick? Jessiy glanced again at the empty chair. After class, she would have to go check Kat's room and see if she was there, sick. Maybe get her some chicken noodle soup too...heh... Jessiy giggled a bit, then quickly tried covering it up.

She'd have to get notes from someone else for today. She smiled again, convincing herself her friend was ok.

She's just a bit under the weather...that's all...

[Ekaterina Gordieva]

By late Friday evening, Kat still lay in the Talos hospital's ICU, monitors beeping around her. A short elderly woman stood over her, looking jet-lagged and harried, quietly saying her rosary. Her hand held tightly to Kat's, her thumb running over the back of it. Near the door, the lady's husband spoke quietly with the a doctor, intermittently taking off his glasses to rub his eyes.

"So, you see, Mr. Gilca, Ekaterina's CT scans indicate that she's suffered what looks like a concussion. The loss of consciousness may indicate a more severe injury. We're still running tests. The best we can do for her right now is make sure she's comfortable and resting." The doctor nodded and placed the chart at the end of the bed. "I'll leave you three alone now. Page me if you have any questions."

As the doctor left, Lucian Gilca slipped his arm around his wife's shoulders, hugging her close as he looked down at his granddaughter. "The doctor said she just needs rest. She'll be fine, dear. She's going to be just fine." He kissed the top of her head and squeezed her shoulder again.

[Kara]

Kara sat quietly in the waiting room, working away on her laptop. A small timer in the upper right corner counted down the minutes and hours. She had been there ever since Kat had fallen, barring time spent in class or sleeping. She was no stranger to hospitals, and did not want her friend to wake up alone. She had been glad to see Kat's grandparents arrive, and had spoken to the couple briefly before they had vanished into the ICU area.

Behind Kara's electric green eyes, her mind was almost divided into two parts. The first part, by far the largest, was tasked with keeping the pain around her from invading her mind. It was a well-practiced maneuver by this time, but it put a strain on her in hospitals. The other part was almost absently taking notes and making comparisons in the information scrolling by in front of her. She did not want to risk the wireless connection inside the hospital, so she had her computer download information about head injuries, head pain, and mental mutations during the day while she was at class. She cross-referenced and took notes while she waited. The stack of books she had pulled from her bag sat on the chair beside her, seemingly unread. She had paged through them earlier, memorizing the contents. If only English was that simple.

Kara knew that she was keeping busy so that she would not simply be staring at the clock for hours. She had to rely on the doctors to give her word about Kat's condition, since her pain got swallowed up in the general background roar of the hospital. Her comm beeped again, and she sighed. Another hour had gone by. She pulled it out and hit the button.

"Hello, Mike. No, no word yet. No, I cannot feel a change. Yes, I will call you as soon as I hear something." She recited the litany of responses without thinking much about them, but his new question stopped her for a moment. "P...pray? Have I...well, I guess, in my own way." She glanced at the stack of books and the humming laptop, stuffed with information that had not quiet yielded answers but had managed to provide comfort nonetheless. "I am sure she would be glad to hear that, Mike. Yes. I know. Yes, they are still in there with her. Okay, goodbye. Love you too."

She put the comm down and glanced at the clock. She closed her eyes and thought a few words, and then smiled a little. She did not know whether anything or Anyone was listening...but somehow, it helped. She sent a text message to Dom, hoping that he would be by soon. Then, she picked up the laptop and opened up Minesweeper. It was time to rest a bit.

[Dom]

This is why you don't stay angry, why you don't just toss things aside, he looked to the bag sitting in the passenger seat having got the text, then listening to the voice mail shortly afterwards. The ride over was taking an eternity, but there was a cold look on his face as his eyes drifted down showing only fifty five miles per hour on the speedometer. It wasn't the reaction, the demeanor you expect for something like this, maybe it was.

He was three doors shy of her room when his phone when off in his bag, wondering in a bit of anger "Now she decided to call to cancel" He pulled it out, to see another message from Kara "What the hell does she want?" speaking to himself and no one else. Kara had been on of Kat's closest friends, but the empathy thing, being that close around him. Everyone had things they didn't want people knowing, it was just one of the little oddities, everyone seemed so comfortable around her. Pulling out the phone he looked to the message, he didn't fall he didn't stammer, he got that look few recognized, that few really saw. When someone was out on patrol, they would take that hit where their body would just collapse, you never knew how bad it really was, but he always felt something deep down click on, like it was a switch. There was nothing he could really do in the way of fixing injuries, but he could always hit harder, move faster, to make sure they got out of harms way as fast as possible.

Slowly tucking his phone in his pocket, he all but vanished from the hallway in a blur.

He was close to the medical center now, pulling up into the assigned lot, exiting the car quickly, he took to a slow jog across to the main doors. At the front desk, he got the information as to where the waiting rooms were, what section of the hospital at least. He hurried to the elevators, finally making his way to the waiting room, seeing Kara sitting there, in her own little world of worry. He didn't really say much upon entering, the doors didn't swing open wide, he simply slipped in. Standing there he quietly asked, "What happened?" There were no accusations, just information needed to fill in the gaps. As the pieces of information started to trickle, the story filled in, he nodded along quietly. As Kara finished, he replied in a quiet tone. "Thanks Kara, for being there for her" he filed into his seat in the waiting room, hoping more details would be along soon.

The part of him was phased by the situation was buried deep, barely a blip on any sort of emotional radar, if anything he came off terribly cold and focused. Folding his hands in his lap, he sat quietly and waited.