DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything, nothing at all. L
Kitty stared straight ahead. She couldn't look at the Prime Minister. She focused on nothing but him. She said the words she knew by heart and waited. Wind started blowing and a huge gargoyle with the ugliest look on his face came into the pentacle opposite Kitty. It looked into her eyes and she smiled.
"Hello Bartimaeus." She said softly. He slipped back into Ptolemy as she knew he would.
"Well, I was hoping to let you mourn a little longer before I had to see you. Now, Kitty don't start that crying stuff, he wasn't that special." She hadn't even realized she was crying. Now, she laughed.
"I'm not crying over Mandrake, that ended about three and a half minutes ago. I'm just happy to see you." She looked over at him and noticed he was staring at the pentacles.
"So, what's with the pentacles? I thought we were past that." He said.
"Just precaution. You never know, if I hadn't have made them you might've attacked without waiting to see who it was. I also needed to see if you'd changed in the past week and if I could still trust you." She replied.
"Well, why am I here?" He asked simply.
"Mandrake is alive." Kitty said quietly. His head shot up. "We found him this morning. Bartimaeus, I'm disappointed, you haven't even figured out we're in a hospital. Maybe you have changed." She teased.
"You wish. How did the brat survive?" He asked.
"We're not sure. And as to the reason you're here, well, I got to the hospital before it occurred to me. If he lived then maybe you did too. I had to find out." She smiled. She moved her foot and smudged the line of the pentacle. A slight smile curved at the djnn's lips. She practically ran across the room and threw her arms around him. She heard him laugh and hug her back. Then, she heard a gasp.
"Miss Jones!" She turned to see the Prime Minister with his eyes wide, his mouth open, and a reddish hue to his face. His fists were clenched. She stepped back from Bartimaeus and turned to the large reddish man. She bit her lip and wished something; anything would stop him from yelling. She got her wish.
"Excuse me? He's awake." Kitty grabbed Bartimaeus' hand and walked toward the nurse.
"How is he?" She asked. The nurse looked to the Prime Minister. "Never mind, then" She pushed past the nurse. Then, all her resolve came crashing down. The tears started again and she tried to turn back around.
"Nope. You and I are going in there to see him, tears or not." Bartimaeus pushed her forward and grabbed the door knob. Kitty shook her head and cleared her throat. She reached up and brushed her sleeve across her face to erase the tears. She took a deep breath and nodded. Bartimaeus twisted the knob and opened the door. Kitty opened her eyes. Her hand flew to her mouth. There were tubes and wires and cords everywhere. Her eyes finally found Nathaniel. He had his eyes on the ceiling. His arms were covered with wires and Ivs. There were monitors set up all over the room.
"You'd better come over here. I can't move so whoever is standing over there is going to have to." His voice was soft and shallow. It reminded Kitty of all those years ago when the guys were beating the poor kid up. She felt Bartimaeus give her hand a squeeze and push her forward. She turned and gave him a small smile and then faced Nathaniel. She stepped up to the side of the bed and sat in the chair sitting there.
"Welcome back." She said simply. He blinked a few times but said nothing.
"Are you alone?" He asked finally. Kitty turned and waved Bartimaeus over. He came quickly and went to the opposite side of the bed.
"Not quite." Kitty said quietly. She met Bartimaeus' eyes and nodded.
"So, Nat, mind telling me how you got out?" He said in that old obnoxious way that only Bartimaeus can use. Nathaniel's mouth curved into a smile and he laughed.
"I guess I should have figured I wouldn't get much time away from you. " He said when he stopped laughing.
"So, what now, Kitty?" Bartimaeus asked. She only smiled. What could she say? They were alive. Isn't that enough?