They had brought Spirit to him, the man covered in blood. Sid held him; Nygus had been the one pounding and screaming at the door. Stepping back Stein ushered them into the lab, hurrying ahead of them and flipping on lights as he went.
"Sid, what wounds does he have?" Stein asked as he and Nygus both were washing up in the sinks. Marie slid off the operating table as he came back, and when they brought Spirit in Stein had to catch her as she fainted.
"He was on a patrol at the request of Shinigami-sama when he was attacked. It was closer to bring him here than to Shibusen. We know of a pretty sizeable wound to abdomen and two more on his right arm. We didn't want to risk wasting the time to check, we got him here as fast as we could." Sid explained quickly as he laid Spirit on the table that Marie had just vacated.
"Sid, do you mind taking Marie out with you?" The zombie nodded, helping the woman to her feet as she started blinking, conscious again. She went willingly with Sid as Stein and Nygus started the effort of saving Spirit.
The surgery took hours, and at the end both Stein and Nygus were literally exhausted, but Spirit was stable. They both cleaned up before Stein came out to get Sid's help in moving Spirit to the small bed he kept tucked away in the corner of the lab.
Marie was upstairs when everything was done, and Stein found her in his bed asleep. There were tear tracks on her face and his pillow. Pulling the stitched blanket up and over her he stepped outside the room and back downstairs.
"You two are welcome to crash here in Marie's room if you'd like." He glanced into the eating area and sighed. "Marie also cooked, and since she's asleep and I don't have any type of appetite right now you two are more than welcome to have it."
Sid and Nygus just shook their heads. "We'll head back to our apartment, Stein. We'll come by again in the morning." Stein nodded as the pair left before trudging into the eating area to put up the food that Marie had spent so much time cooking.
He finished quickly and drug his exhausted body up the stairs, slipping into bed beside Marie and pulling her against himself. She woke briefly and turned to face him, quiet sobs wracking her body as he held her, stroking her hair until she drifted back to sleep. He could see the pain in her wavelength, the residual terror of seeing one of their friends so close to death. He was familiar with the feeling. Spirit had actually died twice during the surgery.
Marie dreamt that night, shivering against Stein's body. She never quite woke the man, but several times he was pulled through several layers of sleep by her shaking. Unconsciously he wrapped his arms around her, holding the distraught woman close to his chest until she relaxed.
She sat up with a shriek the following morning, and Stein had her in his arms before he was even awake, smoothing her hair while he blinked the sleep from his eyes, yawning.
"Marie? What's wrong?" He asked quietly, holding her close to him.
She just shook her head, burying her face against his chest. "Just a bad dream," she said finally, her voice muffled. He ran his hand up and down her back until the trembling stopped.
"I'm right here, Marie." Stein said quietly and felt her head nod against his chest. "I need to go check on Spirit now. He may be awake."
Marie slipped out of the bed and stood, pulling on what clothing she was missing. "I'll come with you, Franken." Stein nodded, pulling on his pants and lab coat.
They walked downstairs together and into the lab. Spirit was still under from the anesthetics, and Stein prepared a cocktail to help wake the man. Marie stood to the side, her arms wrapped around herself. Carefully injecting the syringe into Spirit's waiting IV Stein stepped back, unsure of how the man would wake from the anesthetic after his earlier trauma. His previous experiences with the patient were all from a calm entrance.
Spirit woke up swinging, a blade springing from his arm as he lashed out, neatly severing the IV before he collapsed back onto the bed; the blade winking out of existence, pain surging even with the pain medicine that Stein had given him.
"Senpai, relax." Stein said quietly from a few feet away from him. "You're safe; Nygus and I have taken care of your wounds."
Spirit stared blindly at the man, the after effects of the surgery and the anesthetic readily apparent in his face, before blinking a few times. "Stein."
"Senpai?"
"It hurts." Spirit's voice was ragged.
Stein just nodded, moving to the death scythe's side. He selected a syringe from a selection that he had left near the bed, sliding it into Spirit's arm without hesitation and depressed the plunger. A look of relief crossed the death scythe's face a few moments later.
"Thank you…" The man whispered.
Stein just nodded, Marie trying to stifle her tears. Stein pulled her into his arms as Spirit drifted back to sleep. The scientist found a sudden thought presenting itself to him and he twisted the screw in his head as Marie sobbed quietly against his chest.
'Why is this affecting Marie so much? We've seen friends injured worse than this in front of us and she's never broken down this badly…' The woman shifted a bit in his arms and he tilted his head down to kiss her. 'Perhaps it is simply that time in her menstrual cycle when she becomes more emotional.' A smirk crossed the scientist's face briefly as the image of Marie knocking him through a wall with a hammer transformed arm for asking passed through his mind.
Marie's eyes were closed during the kiss, which probably saved him from the image becoming reality.
A/N: Yay, Spirit survived! Next chapter begins his road to recovery~!
I don't own Soul Eater.