Arms of The Angel (Kyle, Mercedes?, Openish)

[kayla]

(OOC: Continued from realmofotherworld.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=kaylasloft&action=display&thread=218 Dark Visitor. Openish cause I don't know who else might have reason to be at the hospital or who might wanna dive in. Mercedes, I included you in case you wanted to put that doctoring to work... not to mention the whole were expertise. You don't have to though. Just thought I'd make it available if you did.)

Kayla felt her eyelids growing heavier. She was just....so tired all of a sudden. She saw the expressions on Kyle's face, the modesty, and it made her smile lightly as she remained in the floor where she'd dropped as he grabbed the towel. A sharp sting of pain followed by the dull throb of it brought her back around and she saw him kneeling beside her, pressing a towel to her shoulder. She hadn't even realized she'd made a sound, everything was so dark and seemed so far away except the pain.

But at least she knew she was still alive. That was the good thing about pain. When you stopped feeling it you were in serious trouble. Her hand went weakly to where he guided it and tried to do as he said but it just seemed to take up so much energy to hold it there and she couldn't hold it as tightly as he had.

And that was when the floor went out from under her and she found herself in his arms. Try as he might to be smooth there was still some jostling that couldn't be avoided, each one bringing out a small sound of pain from her as she huddled close to his chest. To her credit she did not scream out or go hysterical on him but she trusted him. He was her angel despite his protests to the contrary. It was the only reason she wasn't losing her mind. The only reason that she wasn't concerned about her nearly nude state of being. God brought us into this world naked after all so it's alright if one of the heavenly hosts happens to see a little here or there. They've seen it all before and know you inside and out anyway.

Her head rolled back a little on his shoulder as they flew, taking in the leathery, dark wings, the stars in the sky above them, the feel of the night air on her flesh. This was it. She was going home. The pain was almost over. She said a small silent prayer for her family as she slipped into unconsciousness, her hand holding the towel slipping away as she went limp in his arms.

The bliss of unconsciousness is entirely underrated. It takes away the pain and bewilderment entirely. Makes everything so much simpler. She was oblivious as the ER folks swarmed and stripped her of her meager modest covering as they took her back to the rooms, people lingering over her and prodding, words of rabies shots bantered about. If she weren't unconscious she would likely have died of embarrassment.

[Kyle Aodhagán †]

[ I figured Mercy, you should prolly tag first and do your doctor thing, cause I was gonna' have him come in as she's waking up AFTER all that, but figured you might wanna actually RP that. ]

[Mercedes Rowe]

Yes, everyone around Mercedes spoke of treating this woman in the emergency room for rabies, but it didn’t seem worth it to her. The man that dropped her off had been questioned. He made them believe it was a wolf attack, but Mercedes knew differently. The wound didn’t look like it was made by a wolf, nor did it smell like one and she was afraid they would treat this woman wrongly if given the wrong direction.

They had to give the woman stitches to stop the blood loss, which went along smoothly. She yelled out orders to the emergency personnel around her. “Find her blood type and give her a blood transfusion. And don’t you dare start a rabies shot until I return. I will be back in just a moment,” she fled the room and left Kayla under the care of the emergency room staff. Yanking her gloves off, she tossed them into the trash on her way out. The scrubs she wore were covered with some of Kayla’s blood.

It was outside that she found the man. She wasn’t sure why he didn’t come in, but he did smell differently…shifter perhaps. She approached the man. “What exactly happened to her? And tell the truth,” she demanded. Her words were straightforward, but came off bossy. It was hard for her to sometimes keep in perspective that others might be offended when she came across this harsh. It wasn’t that she was being mean, but as a doctor being untruthful could cost a person’s life.

“They are speaking of rabies shots in there,” she pointed through the doors. “I know this was not done by no wolf. So, unless you want to continue lying and to torment your friend, I’d suggest you be completely honest with me what happened.”

Then her tone softened. “Sir, I’m not doing this to be hard on you. I know what you must be going through right now, but treating someone for rabies is a very painful process that she will endure for weeks. It requires three very painful doses, and it isn’t uncommon for someone to develop nervous system disorders from it. The vaccine is hard on a human body. Sometimes it can even be fatal. I would rather skate around it if I could.”

Her hazel eyes looked into his, hoping to find the truth behind them. “I can help her if you tell me what truly happened but, if not, then I will have to take an educated guess at what I think it might be.” That she didn’t want to do.

[Kyle Aodhagán †]

The tang of blood on the back of his tongue. Piercing white lights over head. The sound of blips and beeping coming from the machines hooked up to most patients and the rancid smell of death from several rooms down stairs; the cancer ward.

All of these things made the ancient dragon anxious to flee the sterile white hospital, but so far, he’d yet to shift from his place just outside Kayla’s door where he stood propped against the frame with his arms crossed over his chest and the characteristic jaded expression written on his face.
It wasn’t long before the nurses had shooed him out. They were tearing away the bloodied towel sticking to her wound and shoving needles into her veins and attaching white discs to her chest made it possible to read her vitals signs on the monitor beside the bed.

A doctor that hadn’t looked any older than Doogie Howser had come over with a clip board and a skeptical look asking him what had happened and once again Kyle gave the same story as before; she was skinny dipping in the swamps because she was some kind of adrenaline junkie and along came the big bad wolf and his large teeth, attacking her before he’d had a chance to get her out of there.

‘Did he know her?’ The doctor had asked…

“No”, he answered solemnly, and this was the only truth he had given. They’d shared some time together, but he was still a stranger, and hoped to keep it that way. That’s why the dragon needed to get out of there before she was conscious.

The sun was just about to crest the horizon when the primeval shifter stepped out into the cool morning air. He took a moment to inhale the morning; his eyes sliding closed as the crisp breeze whipped around him like a blanket of clean silk.

And then he cringed at the piercing voice of the woman behind him.

Turning to face her with an air of irritation, Kyle arched an eyebrow as she made her demands; narrowing an intense cerulean gaze on her.
The scent of shifter on her was undeniable. The dragon could smell wolf just as easily as if she were holding a bottle of ‘essence of animal’ perfume right under his nose.
Kyle knew she could recognize that the laceration on Kayla wasn’t done by a wolf, but who was -she- to make any kind of demands on him?
What did he care if they gave the human rabies shots and it hurt like hell? He held no liability to the woman. She had put some kind of spell on him with the food, and now that it was worn off, the dragon felt he had done what was obligatory by saving her from the Red Cap and bringing her to the hospital. It was time to wipe his hands clean…

“You are mistaken. I feel nothing.” Kyle growled, approaching her with a feral look in his eyes. “I hardly know the woman. I saved her life, and brought her here…that is all.”

Piercing her with an untamed glare, the dragon stood up straight again, tilting his head to the side a bit as he regarded her. “If you know it isn’t the bite of a wolf, which is obvious since you are one yourself, you could have stopped the shots without troubling me with your useless prattle.”

Kyle furrowed his brow and blinked, turning his back on her and making ready to walk away. So…why could he not take that step? Kayla was a human, just like all the others, and he wanted no part of their world.

He closed his eyes and her trusting face appeared behind his eyelids, and a sigh was torn from his throat. The shifter had turned back around before he had consciously made the decision to get anymore involved than he already was, but he could not deny the doctor information that might help the waitress.

“It was a Red Cap; a malevolent goblin type creature. I don’t know much about them save they are vicious and may carry otherworldly disease. The creature was taken care of but not before he clawed her shoulder. That is the extent of my knowledge.”

[kayla]

Strange sounds. Bright lights behind her closed lids. People touching her. Ow! Pain in her arm and shoulder. Vaguely she heard the sounds of voices but they still seemed muted and muffled, like in a dream. Surely this wasn't heaven.

Her nose wrinkled as the scents of antiseptic and other sterilizing cleaning products hit her nose. Didn't smell like Heaven either. Surely Heaven would smell much better than this. And be warmer!

She shivered under the thin hospital sheet as her eyes slowly blinked, trying to make things come in to focus but the light over her was too bright, making her squint and cringe, turning her head from it.

"She's coming to Doctor!" someone shouted somewhere close by.

Doctor? A small whimper left her dry lips as she felt another needle stick into her. Other voices...speaking lower. One male. One female. But what in the world were they arguing over?

"I don't care what she says. She's wrong. Standard procedures say for wild animal attacks rabies shots are given. Just like a tetnus shot is given if they come in here cause they stepped on a nail. You know what a weirdo she is about this stuff." the male voice hissed as the sound of plastic and paper wrapper being opened was heard along with other rustling from his hands as he hurried and tried to get the shot ready and administered before Dr. Rowe came back in. He was a resident. He'd graduated top in his class and had the ego that was typical of many Type A personalities that believed they were always right.

"She'll kill you! You can't just do that! You know how she is too. You'll be lucky to be allowed to mop the floor here after it's all said and done if you do this. You know the risks!" the female voice whispered worriedly as Kayla tried to open her eyes to see them. Something cold pumped through her veins, the blood bag and saline that was attached to replace the lost blood that she just couldn't see.

"Get out of the way Barton.. she'll be back any second." the male voice said as the woman protested. "I'm not losing my Residency for you Collins!"

Utter and total confusion swirled in her mind. Her lips parted to speak, whispering a name that she had sworn would not pass her lips again but did, the heart wanting what the heart wanted. "Ty?"

But no that was wrong...he wasn't the one that saved her. It was her angel. The image of the dark wings filled her mind and she said a little louder, croaked a bit over a whisper. "Kyle? Where's Ky.." but she was pushed back onto the pillow by the nurse that hovered nearby cleaning her shoulder. No way was she letting Collins close with that syringe he was filling. "Shhhh dear. Just lay still for us and let us patch you up."

[Mercedes Rowe]

Mercedes thought she was grumpy. Boy oh boy, had she met her match. This man was oozing grumpiness off of him as well. His words were short and abrupt. His feral gaze had the wolf in her beating against her for release, but unlike some she was able to tame the beast – most of the time. If pushed more than once too close together it was harder to fight off.

He didn’t have a connection with this girl? Then why did he save her life and bring her to the hospital. “I don’t believe that,” she said, her voice gruff.

Her eyes narrowed at his next words. She did not need people, more importantly, hospital staff to hear words of her being a shifter. Lucky for him she didn’t smell any other presences around or she might have lashed roughly out at him for being so ignorant, but she pulled herself together and let a calm breath slide out of her mouth. “How would I be able to stop the rabies shot without telling them how I know she doesn’t need it?” She shook her head and realized this man was naïve if he thought she could easily stop a procedure without good reason.

When he turned his back to her, she turned as well. She was not going to stand here and argue with some fool. If he didn’t understand the life of a human there was nothing she could do, but she knew how easy and short lived their lives could be. They didn’t have the resilience that she had or the man that was turning to leave.

His voice stopped her though. She turned back around to listen to what information he could give her about this attack. “A Red Cap?” She asked with a confused expression on her face. “I have never heard of them before.” But with this man’s help she might have a better idea on how to save this woman’s life.

“Thank you,” she told him. Even after his grumpy outburst she didn’t think differently of who or what he was. As a doctor she did what was best for her patients and tried not to let what others say bother her, even though it was hard not to sometimes. As a werewolf shifter she knew she would not leak the information he gave her. She would manage to work around what he told her without the humans knowing the reason her focus on the patient had changed.

The mechanical doors opened behind her, impeding any other questions the doctor might have. A nurse stepped outside. “Dr. Rowe, you’re needed back there.” From the tone if her voice it didn’t sound like things were going well.

Without another word, she darted back inside and headed back into the emergency room where the staff was working around Kayla. She caught the last words between Collins and Barton. Her hazel eyes were angry as she rounded on Collins. “You bring that needle any closer to her and I promise it’ll be the last needle you ever lift.”

She stepped in front of the resident, obstructing his path to Kayla. She gave her back to him and went back to the woman that was coming to. She asked for Kyle, the man that had brought her there. “Shh,” she told Kayla and brought a gentle hand into the girl’s hand, “He’s just outside. You close your eyes and get some rest. It’s the best thing right now.”

How was she going to get around this Redcap business? She couldn’t tell the staff what it was. Instead, she decided just to bark out orders about getting an antibiotic saline drip to administer along with a morphine drip. She didn’t want this girl’s wound to get infected, and she needed her to get as much rest as possible. The morphine should put her to sleep until later.

As she barked out orders Dr. Collins pushed her aside. The syringe he held was full of the first of the rabies shot. He brought his hand down to stab Kayla in the thigh with the syringe. Persistent little fellow, wasn’t he? Mercy’s hand shot up and slammed against the resident’s chest. It knocked him back violently. He bumped into a medical tray and both he and the tray toppled to the ground with a loud clatter. Her eyes changed for an instant as she bit back the wolf in her. It took every ounce of will within her to keep from growling ferociously at him.

She instantly knew that she had also just stepped over hospital boundaries. “Get him out of here!” She told the staff. She would handle the repercussions for her outburst later. She hoped she didn’t lose her job over this. At the same time, she wondered why she ever thought she could work with humans.

[Kyle Aodhagán †]

Kyle crossed his arms over his chest when the female challenged the genuineness of his answer, lofting an eyebrow up in incredulity.
He could smell the animal in her scratching to get out, and he waited until she had gained some semblance of calm before replying to what was most likely a rhetorical question.
The last thing any of them needed; especially Kayla, was either one of them shifting in front of a bunch of humans. Talk about a shit storm.

“You’re the woman in the white coat.” Kyle retorted snidely, letting out an aggravated exhale and rubbing his hand across the top of his head. “Tell them you’ve recently seen her for another animal bite, and it’s been less than ten days. It’s going to get busy in the ER in the next few minutes; they won’t have time to check her records.”
The dragon wasn’t born yesterday, but of course the doctor didn’t know him from Adam’s housecat so she why would she assume anything but naivety from him.
He also didn’t know if she was aware of the group of ambulances screaming down the street towards the hospital. His sense of smell, even for a shifter, was extraordinary;
Hence the ‘busy’ comment.

When they both seemed to have gotten past, or at least tried to ignore the animal dominance issues, and Kyle was able to explain what had truly wounded the waitress, it was with a wince that he learned she knew as much about Red Caps as he did.
He was about to tell her that he had a means to find out more information about them; at least he hoped he did by way of the council chambers and a certain file cabinet which contained information about all sorts of otherworldly beasts, but was interrupted by an anxious nurse that needed Mercedes right away.
Immediately his thoughts went to Kayla, and he stalked after her until he was stopped at the door by a male nurse.

“You can’t go in there, man.” The scrawny guy told the shifter, and seeing the furious look on Kyle’s face, let go of his arm.

“Like hell I can’t.” The livid dragon went through the door at the same time another doctor; this one male, pushed through as well. He bumped into the shifter’s broad chest and almost cursed, until Kyle pierced him with an intense azure glare.

Thinking whatever beef he had wasn’t worth the throttling he would get from the big guy, the male left and Kyle approached Kayla’s bedside.
“I’m here.” He answered Kayla’s dreamy call, casting Mercy a look that told her he wasn’t leaving anytime soon.

[kayla]

((OOC: I wasn't sure if Collins made it with the syringe or not so if this is wrong let me know and I'll fix it.))

Now that was what she'd always thought an angel would look like. Beautiful with a white glow around her, Kayla thought as she looked through the haze that was her vision, not really seeing that the white glow was from the too bright florescent lights hitting the white lab coat the woman wore.

A soft, sort of loopy smile came to Kayla's face as she felt that hand in her own. "Have to tell him thank you.." she whispered. "The little man was gonna get me..but..my angel saved me."

Yeah, from the look the nurse on her other side gave Kayla then Mercedes the girl was clearly not making sense. But just as she was allowing herself to succumb to the pull of sleep again she felt the sharp, stabbing pain in her thigh and cried out, coming up off the gurney slightly as she stared at the syringe that stuck there then to the man being shoved so hard he fell over and the crash followed.

Whatever was in the syringe was still there, the vile looking yellow liquid still full in the reservoir as she reached for it only to have herself pushed back down gently by the nurse that held her shoulders.

Those big brown eyes turned to the voice as she watched the chaos of the room as Collins was shown out of the room and led down the hall. She had to blink a few times to clear the moisture from them that the syringe pain had caused before it registered that Kyle was there. "I'm not dead am I?" she whispered to him, her small hand seeking his out and slipping into it, needing that sense of solid reality to anchor herself and not slip into unconsciousness again. "Gotta call Casey...tell him he has to run things in the morning." she said mostly to herself, her mind not exactly on the steady side at the moment but not fractured either.

The morphine was starting to hit her blood stream from the shot that was administered into her IV and she felt so warm and fuzzy and even, despite the little spikes of pain that shot through her now and then, a bit giddy.

"S'funny....I can take care of everyone but m'self. Can't heal the..." her words were slurred and airy as she spoke, babbling out of her mind as the drugs soared through her, her last words tapering off a little and a pause before she resumed. "heal...the healer."

It made perfect sense to her and, she thought, to everyone else.

[Mercedes Rowe]

((Perfectly fine with me. :3 I kind of left it open for your own interpretation of what might happen to Kayla or not.))

That stupid doctor! Mercy could rip his throat out. The Asian looking doctor's eyes were filled with such hatred when Kayla screamed and she saw the syringe that stuck out of Kayla’s thigh. She had shoved him away before he could inject the liquid into her bloodstream, thank God. Her hands carefully and proficiently pulled the syringe away with careful ease, not wishing to cause the girl anymore pain.

The rage in her was palpable. For the people around her they wouldn’t even know how close the beast in her was to the surface. It was pacing wildly, rearing its head. This was going to be one hell of a night. As much pain her body was going through fighting back the change not an ounce of it showed on her face. The only person that would sense it would be Kyle. The two of them really weren’t that much different.

Her hazel eyes looked up at Kyle as he stood on the other side of Kayla, hovering with a dominating presence. The look in his eyes spoke clearly that he was not leaving and she couldn’t blame him. She wouldn’t leave a friend’s side either.

“He’s here now, don’t worry,” she told the girl while looking over her vitals. She seemed to be hanging in there. “Yes, he is an angel. He saved your life,” she said, quickly casting a glance towards Kyle.

The healer comment caught her off guard. Sure, people might think Kayla was crazy, but Mercy knew differently. Plus, there was one thing she learned about people when they were heavily medicated; it was very hard for them to lie. Mercy and this girl weren’t that much different from one another. They were both healers; one in a magical sense, the other in science.

Another doctor entered the room. She lifted her head quickly and knew that Collins had told him what was going on. He was one of the directors on staff. “Dr. Karem,” she said coolly.

“Dr. Collins said this patient was attacked by a wolf. He told me of your scuffle. Why won’t you allow the rabies vaccine?”

She shot a look at Kyle before turning to the other doctor. “I’ve seen this woman within the last week for a recent bite. She’s already been administered for the rabies vaccine,” she told him. The lie fell from her lips too easily – with the help of Kyle, of course. She had used the line he had said just before they entered the hospital.

“You’ve seen this patient before, Dr. Rowe?”

“Yes sir.” She watched him exit the room, mumbling something on the way out. If she knew Dr. Karem he would look into Kayla’s files. He wasn’t a director for nothing. He made sure to be thorough when it came to the patients and staff, especially when there is unfairness.

A nurse entered the room with the antibiotics that Mercy ordered. She turned abruptly and took the solution from her. She decided to administer it herself. Suddenly, she needed to keep herself occupied. She didn’t want to build her anger up again.

“I’m going to lose my job over this,” she mumbled to herself as she hooked the bag of saline that was mixed with antibiotics to Kayla. She got a steady drip going, which would pass through the IV. “This will feel a little cold as it first passes through the IV,” she gave Kayla’s arm a gentle pat.

[Kyle Aodhagán †]

Kyle couldn’t help the whisper of a smile that crossed his lips when Kayla lifted her head off the pillow just a little and asked him in a raspy voice if she was dead. The almost smile didn’t last long however, for when the waitress’ small hand found his rough one, the dragon stiffened, taken aback by the human gesture.
He didn’t like to be touched; hadn’t in fact since the sorceress had forced him to bed with all those women so long ago. His skin was eternally soiled; even the rough pad of his palm which she so tenderly wrapped her smooth clean fingers around and squeezed ever so gently.

Kyle wanted to pull it away from her; he needed to break that contact lest he begin to feel anymore companionship for the little woman than he already did, but he found he couldn’t deny her this simple bit of reassurance.
Bringing his other hand to rest atop hers, he gave it an awkward pat. “No, you aren’t dead Kayla. The Fates would see that you live to bake pies another day.” The shifter answered her, and amazingly enough, there was something like laughter within his rough voice.

He watched her, head tilting to the side just a little when she began to fade into slumber again; mumbling things he had no comprehension of. He recognized Casey must work at the diner, but the healer comment was lost on the rigid dragon.

The dragon’s intense sapphire gaze rose to meet the doctor’s when she addressed him as an angel. He inhaled sharply; resisting the urge to correct the werewolf with all the sentiment he felt on the matter. Kayla didn’t need to hear an argument between the physician and her savior; neither did the rest of the medical staff.

Already the waitress had begun to drift back into blissful unconscious and Kyle removed his hand from hers to step back to watch an older doctor come in to speak to Mercedes.
He lofted a brow as she repeated the excuse -he- had given her; surprised that she had taken him seriously after their brief, but off-putting exchange.

As the other doctor took his leave with a rather cynical expression on his face, Kyle could smell the distress on the female wolf as if it were a perfume. It clung to the air like the humidity after a rain and lingered as a salty flavor on the back of his tongue.

“I’ll take care of it.” The dragon told her gruffly with a solemn nod of his head, and followed the older physician out into growing commotion of the hospital.
By now the ambulances he’d heard from afar had arrived at the emergency room; evidence of a multi-car pileup on the interstate. The infirmary was alive with activity; near chaos as nurses rushed around like chickens with their heads cut off and orderlies wheeled the more serious patients to surgery.

He followed doctor Karem onto and elevator, keeping his head down until they began to ascend to a higher floor.
Stepping past the physician who was muttering to himself about incorrigible residents and young doctors, Kyle pressed the emergency stop button and turned around to pierce the human with a level stare.
“The patient you have just seen; the one that was attacked, she was here less than a week ago for another animal bite.” The dragon told him firmly, taking a step forward until he was nearly chest to chest with the male.

“Now wait just a minute…” Dr. Karem began, placing a hand on Kyle’s chest in order to shove him away.

“She didn’t have her insurance card before, and her files were confused with another patient’s.” The dragon went on, and this time his black pupils became reptilian slits in the center of glowing cobalt irises.

The doctor cringed, placing a shaking hand to his slack mouth.

“You WILL make sure that this information is submitted into Kayla’s file, will you not?” Kyle demanded, his voice remaining as calm as if they were conversing on the weather. “I would hate for Dr. Rowe to be reprimanded for a mistake that was hardly her fault."

The startled doctor nodded in concurrence and Kyle patted him evenly on the shoulder.
“Thank you doctor Karem.”
He turned and pressed the release so that the elevator began moving once again, and the physician darted out as the double doors opened on the next level.

Quite pleased with himself the dragon returned to the floor where Kayla’s room was, and quietly slipped back in.
“Dr. Karem says he will adjust Kayla’s file to reflect her last visit.” Kyle told her, and his lip turned up just a little at the corner. “You have nothing to worry about except taking care of your patient.”

[kayla]

Those drugged , heavy eyelids of hers fought to stay open. She didn't like being unconscious. Even less did she like the idea that if she fell asleep she might not wake up, that irrational fear of hospitals a hard thing to shake. Only the calming prescence of the lady doctor and her own personal guardian angel helped to ease that apprehension in her.

She knew that Kyle wouldn't let anything happen to her and even though she didn't know the lady doctor there was just something about her that was calming and trustworthy. That small smile of hers was warm despite the worry behind her eyes.

Looking from the doctor as she spoke to the older male doctor that came into the room and back up to Kyle she kept his hand in hers squeezing a little as she spoke in that slurred mumble, shivering as the antibiotics hit her blood stream.

"Think imgonna make aspechul ...", her words were running together, her tongue feeling entirely too large in her mouth or maybe it was numb. A small sigh left her as the grip on Kyle's hand grew looser as she drifted on the blissful floaty feeling that was stealing over her. "..gonna make pie...Kye Pie...schocolate an..cina..cinamammonon an..marsh.."

But the curious confection that was rolling around in her mind that was inspired by her savior was never entirely voiced as her lids slid closed and her hand went utterly slack in Kyle's. On that wave of drug induced loopiness she dozed, unable to feel anymore pain thanks to the morphine filtering through her and leaving it an easier job for the slices to be stitched up now that they were irrigated and cleaned by the nurse.

"It's ready doctor." the elderly nurse told Mercedes as she looked anxiously out at the people rushing hither and to outside the doors. Gesturing out that way she asked "If you don't need me here anymore I'm going to go see if they need an extra pair of hands." Kyle made the woman nervous, her eyes flickering over to the intimidating man as he reentered the room and spoke before she hurried out, not even waiting to hear Mercy's answer.

((OOC: Okay.. consider Kayla out for a bit. YAY morphine!!! LOL! ))

[Mercedes Rowe]

“Pies? I do love pies,” Mercy spoke, trying her best to keep Kayla’s thoughts elsewhere. She didn’t want this woman to worry that she was dying. She was in good hands. If there was one thing Mercy was good at it was helping people. She knew what she was doing. She had a lot of experience in the area. Since her attack as a teenager that had been her goal; to help others in need of medical assistance. If it came down to assistance in fighting to save lives, she was sure she would even do that.

“Your pies sound very delicious,” she said quietly and peacefully to Kayla just after the director had left the room. Then, she watched as the girl fell into a deep slumber. The morphine had kicked in. That was good. Kayla wouldn’t feel a thing from this point forward.

Kyle caught the look in her eyes after the director left and he excused himself. The skin between her eyes bunched together as she tossed him a questioning look at his backside. What was he going to do? If their brief interlude outside spoke anything about Kyle she was suddenly afraid he was going to do or say something that she might have to pay for later. Strangely, she didn’t care. She had already come to terms that she would probably lose her job. There was so much happening tonight. She could have swore it was a full moon, but she knew that definitely wasn’t the case.

Mercy grabbed the stitch scissors. They looked scarier than they were. She used the stitch scissors to hold the suture needle and guide it carefully through the wound of Kayla’s skin. She did the stitching as small and close together as she possibly could. She hoped by doing so that the scars wouldn’t be as big and visible.

When Kyle reentered the room she didn’t lift her head from over Kayla’s shoulder. The nurse that was supposed to stand by and help dab at the wound ran with her tail between her legs. “Thanks, but you didn’t have to do that,” she said to Kyle. She didn’t want to dwell on it right now though. If the director didn’t like to be intimidated she knew she would have to face the repercussions later.

“Kyle was it?” Her head was still bowed. Her dark brown hair pulled back, so that it wouldn’t get in her face. “Could you wash your hands and put some gloves on? I could use a little help swabbing the wound. The blood pooling around it is making it difficult to close this.”

Finally she looked up and nodded her head towards the tray of medical tools. On it there was gauze sponges used to soak up fluids.

Her hazel eyes glanced towards the door as they wheeled a victim by from the pile-up. It didn’t look good. A team of staff was working furiously around the figure as they set up at the station next to Kayla.

What a crazy night this was going to be. She knew that as soon as she finished stitching up Kayla she was going to be needed with the other patient. She was ready for it. There was an unusual calm about Mercy after Kyle had returned and said he’d taken care of it. Even though she thought it would come back to bite her in the butt later she just didn’t care.

[Kyle Aodhagán †]

Kyle would have chuckled darkly at the way the nurses all excused themselves upon his return had it not been for his…companion lying there on the operating table bleeding out like a sieve. His brows seemed permanently etched with worry; his piercing eyes fixed on her as if his mere thoughts would heal her. Damn it! Why were humans so fragile?! For as long as they had existed on this earth you would think by now they would have evolved a little more. Frail weak beings that they were…

The dragon nearly growled allowed when the last nurse hurried out of the room mumbling something about Dr. Rowe being able to handle this patient and she was needed in the other operating room since they were shorthanded on staff tonight and massive traumas had just come in. It took all his resolve not to reach out to clamp a hand on her arm and drag her ass back in, but the last thing he wanted was the hospital to send someone in to order him out; not before he was positive Kayla would be alright.

His eyes went back to the doctor, who was leaning over the waitress with a fierce look of concentration on her visage. He imagined her in wolf form as a strong female soldier and considered briefly if she knew anything about the Council. It had been his task to recruit more enforcers for the group of otherworldly protectors, but lately he had been dragging ass about; too unwilling to delegate missions that he could easily take care of himself.

When Mercedes asked him to scrub up, Kyle made a strangled sound; initially thinking he’d misheard her request. When the shifter realized he hadn’t heard wrong, he narrowed his eyes at her in incredulity; shaking his head with vehemence.

“You must be mad, woman.” He rumbled in disbelief. “I’m a warrior, not a surgeon!”
But he was moving toward the sinks anyway, grumbling under his breath as he went.

His hands were rough and stained with scarlet, and the dragon winced at the amount of blood that whirled down the drain. He slipped on a pair of gloves that seemed too tight as his hands were huge, but he imagined it was how they were supposed to be.
On the table the shining silver tools looked like devices of torture, but he grabbed a pile of gauze and a metal clamp with a sponge on the end and edged over to where the doctor bent over her patient.

With a look as nervous as a five year old on the first day of Kindergarten Kyle cautiously dabbed at the bleeding wound. “Like this?”

(( I’m thinking you could probably close her up and we can fast forward to Kay waking so she can get back into the thread, yeah? ))

[Mercedes Rowe]

“Not mad, I assure you,” Mercedes said to the man as he moved to the sink. “We are all warriors at heart, so believe me if I can do this so can you.” Her gaze never lifted. She heard the water running and knew the dragon was doing as she asked.

It dawned on her that he wasn’t as bad as she had thought in the beginning. He came across very rough around the edges, still is a little rough, but he seemed to have a kind heart. If he didn’t he wouldn’t have scrubbed in to help her with Kayla. That’s why she had to comment. “Most shifters would have put their tail between their legs and bolted from the room. I commemorate you on your bravery.”

As he dabbed at the blood around Kayla’s wound, she smiled, “That’s absolutely perfect. You just keep it somewhat dry and I’ll have this done in no time.”

She didn’t lie either. It wasn’t long after that Mercy had Kayla completely stitched up and the wound closed. Kayla was safe for now, as long as she didn’t get an infection, which still worried the doctor. She didn’t know a whole lot about the Redcaps.

She tossed her gloves into the trash and went to wash her hands. “She should be coming to any time now. You can stay here until she does,” she told Kyle. As she passed back by him she gave his arm a pat. “But you are probably exhausted. You could go grab a cup of coffee while you wait. I can grab you when she comes to.”

She stopped back near Kayla, checking over all her vitals while she did. If Kyle had considered the cup of coffee Mercy would stop him from going by probing him with a question. “I’ve run across more than one shifter around here. I was a little shocked. Is there a lot in this area?” Her interest had become peeked. Her old city didn’t seem to have nearly as many supernatural creatures as New Orleans.

Since the nurses had all scrammed in fear of Kyle it was a safe enough question to ask.

Next to her she heard the softest moan. The doctor glanced down quickly. “As a matter of fact, she’s coming to now.”

((Sounds like a plan to me! I figured Kayla can wake her next post. -nod-))

[kayla]

Faint sounds came to her as she made her way through the cobwebby darkness that fogged her mind. It was disorienting to say the least. She felt a little sick to her stomach from the powerful drugs she'd been given, and on an empty stomach to boot. She heard a sound that seemed muffled but closer and it took her a minute to realize that it was her own voice as she blinking slowly, looking up into the face of the pretty doctor that stood over her.

There was still a dull ache in her shoulder from the wound but the pulsing, throbbing pain that each beat of her heart was causing was gone. The light was too bright as she opened her eyes, squinting. With a mouth that felt dry as cotton she whispered. "Kyle?" not seeing him off to her other side at first.

She was sure he was gone, or just a figment of her imagination. What had really happened to her? Her mind reeled as the logical portion tried to make sense of it all and reject the impossible that had happened. Surely it was something else. An intruder sure but a gnarled little old man with razor sharp teeth and claws? And the ride here. Surely that was all a trauma induced hallucination.

She tried to sit up, whimpering at the pain in her shoulder as she moved and slumping back down in the bed looking wan and pale, even her normally lively blushing cheeks and rosy lips were ashen from the loss of blood. "How bad is it Doc?" she asked in a soft whisper, her country accent a bit thicker as she spoke, showing her distress subconsciously.

But almost as if sensing him there her eyes turn to see Kyle and they widen a bit as she realizes that it was all real, the memories trickling through her mind and a soft gasp of awe leaving her lips. A soft, tired warmth fills her eyes as she looks at him and raises a hand out to touch his arm lightly. This is one human that would always revere him with compassion and warmth.

Her words are soft as she speaks "Thank you. I...I can't ever repay you."