Pathline (32 page)

His frown deepened, he stood and walked up to her.  "No Laura, you don't get to do that.  You can't just brush this off and pretend it's not a big deal.  I know you better than that."

She turned away from him. 
Can't wander away anymore, hell, right now I can't even walk away
. 
A
nd it hit her.  She'd left home and
her family because of her ability, because they would never have accepted her.  Then she'd found a new home and family and had ultimately left them because of her ability, because she'd wanted to make some sort of difference.  Her life had been run by her ability for so long now, it so defined who she was and how she related t
o the world at large.  Being a W
anderer was why she kept her distance with people, it was why she was so secretive, it was why she knew Rook, why she met Malik, it was why she owned the expensive high rise apartment, and why the media had attacked her relationship,
and it
was why she was here now in this place and situation.  Part of her wanted to laugh again, it was all so ridiculous; part of her wanted to scream, to throw something, or crumble to the ground in tears, but mostly she just felt empty and alone. 

Marcus wrapped his arms around her and held her
tight
against him.  She closed her eyes and listened to his heartbeat. 
No, not alone
. 

The rest of the day passed in a haze, neither of them speaking much.  She started her physical therapy that afternoon and found that although it exhausted her, it was helping her recover some strength.  Th
at evening as she sat up
eating her dinner the phone next to her bed rang. 

"That's pro
bably Rook" Marcus said.
"I left a message for him yesterday letting him know you'd finally woken
.
"

She turned to look at the phone and frowned, she couldn't bring herself to pick up the receiver. 

Marcus st
ood and walked to the bed stand.
"I'll talk to him, you finish your dinner."

He picked up the cordless phone and walked out into the hallway to speak.  When he came back a few minutes later she didn't ask about it, just sat there pushing her remaining mashed potatoes around the food tray. 

He came up to her a
nd put his hand on her shoulder.
"
F
inish eating, you need it to help build up your strength
.
"

She sighed and sc
ooped up a spoonful of potatoes.
"I'll talk to him, I will, just not today
.
"

He nodded.
"
O
kay.  Now eat."
 

She finished up the food on her tray.  Later as they both sat in silence Marcus came up and motioned for her to scoot over so he could sit next to her.  He put an arm around her as she settled against his chest.

"Do you need anything?  I was thinking of driving out to my place tomorrow during your physical therapy to get a change of clothing, I can swing by your place too
.
"

She thought about it.
"I'd love to have something to wear other than hospital gowns, and maybe my music dock
.
"

He nodded.
"
A
nd since we're on the topic, we're still not living together.  We can wait until you're up to it to go house shopping, but I'd
like
to be ready for when you get released.  I can move into your place if you prefer it to min
e
, what do you think?"

She considered it, but it didn't feel like what sh
e wanted.
"
I
t would still be my place, and if I moved i
nto yours I'd still think of it
as yours.  I want to go home to someplace that feels like
ours
.
"
S
he chuckled.
"
N
ot to be difficult or anything."

He laughed.
"You're allowed to be a bit difficult for a while.  I'll call a real estate agent tomorrow and have them put together a list of
properties for you to consider." 

She shook her head.
"
N
o babe, you've made enough concessions for me, you pick out the place.  You choose whatever works best for you, I'll be fine with anything you pick." She pulled herself away from
him and looked him in the eyes.
"I mean it."

He chuckled then reached out and stroked her cheek
.
"
O
k
ay
hun, I'll pick the place."

She leaned back into him and slipped her right hand into his.  She looked at the two hands together, the two rings. 

"I guess there's no need to wear the
se on our right hands anymore" S
he said, pulling her hand up to look at the ring. 

She reached over to pull it off and was about to slip in onto her left hand when Marcus stopped her.

"I believe that's my job"
H
e said, he pulled her closer to him, with both his arms around her.  He held her left hand
with his left and used his right hand to slip the ring onto her finger.  "I love you, now more than ever.  You are my l
ife and I'll be your strength" H
e whispered into her ear, his head leaning over her shoulder.  He kissed her neck
.
"
A
nd you are not allowed to ever scare me like this again
.
"

She smiled, pulled his ring off his right hand and slipped it onto his left. 
She turned her face towards his.
"
Y
ou are my voice in the dark, my home and my heart
.
"

S
he lifted her face to meet his lips.  He ran his hand up her body and held her kiss. 

She smiled again.
"
Y
ou're stuck with me."

The next few days went by without much issue.  Her strength was slowly returning and she was soon able to walk small distances without someone holding her, though the effort still wore her out.  Marcus was spending more time away now that he knew she was recovering, mainly to make arrangement and check in with the agency.  On the third day, while Marcus was out, the nurse came in and asked Rune if she was up for a visitor.  Rune agreed to see the visitor, guessing that Rook must have come since she still hadn't called him back.  She was surprised when it turned out
to
be Serk who walked into her room a few minutes later. 

"I hope i
t's alright that I stopped by" H
e said, looking
around the room. 

Rune nodded.
"Sure, but Malik isn't here" S
he said, assuming that Serk wanted to speak with him.

"I know, he was at the agency when I left, I was hoping to speak with you without him here."

She frowned.
"
U
m, okay."

He looked around the room again, then turned back to her.  She couldn't get a read on his expression. 

"Malik said that you don't remember what happened right before you went down?"  He searched her face, apparently looking for confirmation. 

She shook her head, trying to figure out where this was going
.
"
N
o, I didn't
.
"

He sighed
, then stiffened a moment later.
"
D
idn't
?"

Rune sat up.
"
T
here's something I don't understand Serk, something I've been wondering about... Malik said he heard th
e same story from you and Rook."

Se
rk came closer and met her gaze.
"
Y
eah, so?"

She studied him for a moment.
"
W
ell
, I can understand why Rook lied, but why did you?"

He stepped back and nodded his head i
n thought.  He gave a dry laugh.
"I thought you were dead whe
n I saw you go down, even when R
ook managed to restart your heart I didn't see how you could possibly come back from that.  What was the point of further complicating the op?"

She nodded.
"
W
ell thank you anyway
.
"

He looked at her and frowned, shaking h
is head slowly.
"
Y
ou're thanking me?  Rune, you fucking saved my life!  I would have been dead, no doubt about it.  Hell, you want to talk about not understanding something?  Well I don't understand
that
!  Why did you save me?  Why did you put your life on the line for mine?"  He came up and put his hands on the rail along the foot of her bed. 

She smiled.
"
Y
our life is worth more to the world than mine, you can save so many other lives as a top Defender; it was the right choice and I'd do it again."

H
e looked at her, incredulous.
"
S
hit Rune, just like that?  That simple?"  He sh
ook his head at her and snorted.
"I think I'm starting to understand why Malik fell for you."

She chuckled.
"I'll take that as a compliment.  How are Nave and Ash?"

He gav
e a brusque huff.
"Ash is back at work, but Nave is milking the sick leave.  He was cleared to return to work, but since medical had never dealt with a Charger injury before they gave him the option of taking additional leave time, so he's taking advantage."

Rune gave a half-smile, she had enough experience working with Serk to know that he hated when people didn't 'pull their weight', he was a firm believer that
respect and
status should be earned, it was one of the things she admired about him. 

"Malik said that when he and his team arrived at the location of the hostile Charger he was already down, what happened?"

"Hell if I know.  Rook took off ahead of me, so when I came up and found him standing over the body
I thought he had taken him down.
I wouldn't blame him, bastard sure tried to kill us, but Rook actually looked bothered by the fact
that
the guy was dead, like it didn't make sense to him.  So I figure the fucker decided to end things his way instead of getting taken by the agency.  Cowards way out, never ready to face up to consequences, it's happened enough times before."  He looked down at the bed in front of him where she lay.  "Malik hasn't said much about how you're doing."

She shrugged.
"I'm coming along; slower than I'd like, but they seem happy"
S
he gestured to the door, to the medical staff.

He nodded and grinned at her.
"I'd hate being stuck in here this long, must be driving you crazy.  Never took you for an indolent person.  Why not just wander out when you get the chance?"

She looked up at his face,
they don't know
.  "An escape
option no longer at my disposal;
s
eems I shorted out my super status."

He met her gaze.
"
Y
ou...?"  He looked down at the bed again,
and then
winced.  "Fuck"
H
e mumbled under his breath.  "I'm sorry."

"Not your fault.  Probably for the best in the current climate, might help settle things down."

He was looking at her thoughtfully when his sat-com chirped.  He looked at th
e device.
"I'm needed back at HQ
.
"

She nodded.
"I've kept Malik away a
lot;
you must be taking up the brunt of the slack for that.  Thank you."

He shook his
head, a half-smile on his lips.
"Malik and I have been friends, colleagues, and rivals for years
, and covering for him at the agency helps my reputation."

She chuckled.
"
U
ndoubtedly.  I'm sure I'll be seeing you for the next Appreciation Award
.
"

H
e turned back again at the door.
"
D
amn right
.
"
T
hen he was gone.

Marcus returned about a half hour later. 

"Serk stopped by while you were out."