Nancy blinked, then jerked suddenly. She wasn't where she expected to be. The room was dark, and she wasn't wearing the same clothes.
She sat up, making an incoherent sound of protest and alarm, when her vision cleared some and she made out Ned's face, painted an eerie blue by the light radiating from his laptop. He was a few feet away-sitting at his desk, she realized slowly. So she was on his bed?
"Hey," he said softly, moving his laptop onto his desk and slowly standing. "Hey, you're awake. It's all right, Nan."
"What..." She sucked in a swift breath as the pounding in her head intensified, almost past the point of endurance, and her balance faltered. She reached up and very gingerly touched the back of her head, but winced as soon as her fingertips grazed tender skin. "I... you?"
He sat down beside her on the bed, gazing into her face. "I made it back early," he murmured. "Bess and George were apparently helping you track down a suspect. Do you remember that?"
Thinking was actually physically painful. "I think so," she whispered, her voice scratchy. "But I was..." She looked down, making a vague gesture.
"Yeah, they said you were wearing a black cat outfit, and cat ears, to blend in with the party. I didn't get to see that." He gave her a small smile. "Anyway, they said the guy you were tracking and two of his friends managed to corner you and attack you. You jerked away and hit your head, at the same time that Bess and George ran up to help you. They said you were really out of it. Probably a bad concussion." He raised his hand a few inches, then let it rest on his knee again. "By the time I got here you were already over at the student health clinic. They checked you out and said someone needed to keep an eye on you, and I volunteered—after those guys had attacked you, they went over to the Theta Halloween party and harassed some of the guests. Bess and George are over there trying to find evidence, see if any of the girls took photos or anything. They're pretty freaked out. I brought you up here because it's pretty crazy downstairs, and I thought you'd need some peace and quiet."
"Oh." She swallowed. Tilting her head, actually speaking... it all hurt so much.
"Here." Ned grabbed a water bottle from his bedside table and handed it to her. "Uh, Bess and George helped you get dressed. Apparently the costume you were wearing was pretty dirty and torn."
"Okay," Nancy said haltingly, since a nod would hurt too much. "My head hurts so much."
Ned frowned, and she could sense that his dark eyes were full of sympathy, even in the near darkness. "Here, just relax. You're safe in here. Just get some rest. If you're still feeling bad in an hour, I can give you some more medication."
"More?" she croaked, then swallowed a few long drafts of water. It was cool against her throat, although she felt a little nauseated.
"Yeah. I'm sorry."
After a few more swallows, she put down the water bottle and slumped back to the bed, her eyes closing as her head throbbed even harder. She almost whimpered in relief when it began to ease off, and then she felt Ned tentatively touch her arm. He rubbed his palm against it reassuringly.
"Mmm."
"Okay? More, or do you want me to stop?"
"More." The word was barely a mutter, but Ned kept stroking her arm.
The feel of his warm hand against her was soothing, and when Ned slowly laid down beside her, she moved close to his chest. Any shift made her head throb again, but being close to him was comforting. She drifted off with Ned's fingertips lazily stroking up and down her spine, up and down, up and down...
Sunlight against her eyelids was like a stabbing pain, and Nancy moaned softly, burrowing into cover. The cover was warm; the cover was... Ned. His arm was still draped over her, and she could feel his chest expanding and deflating with each breath.
Experimentally, her eyes still closed, she took stock of her injuries. She still felt a little sore, and the back of her head felt like a massive bruise. At least her headache had eased off, although she'd know for sure once she tried to actually move more than an inch.
"Mmm." Ned made a soft noise as he shifted. "Oh..."
He was so warm, and he presented a very solid barrier against the sunlight. Nancy stayed cuddled against him, and released a soft, contented sound when Ned stroked her back again.
"Feeling any better?" he whispered.
"A little." She stayed still. "Can we just stay like this for a while?"
Ned chuckled. "Yeah," he whispered. "Man, that was an awful ending for October."
She smiled slightly. "But this isn't such a bad start to November."