Chapter 8 – A Quick Recovery
A prodding at her consciousness pulled Katherine to awareness again. "You are better now mei'dran?" came the wistful question.
She breathed deeply, remembering the pain, but found only minimal discomfort remaining. "Yes, kei'dran, I'm much better and apparently you're stuck with me" she thought back.
Waves of satisfaction flavored with lingering concern were returned to her and she sent comforting thoughts to her kei'dran. Without opening her eyes, she slowly flexed each muscle, starting at her feet and moving up the legs, stomach, arms, shoulders and neck. Finally, she opened her eyes and looked around.
To her surprise, she was in a bedroom, not a hospital room. The drapes were drawn, only letting enough light into the room to let her see it was late afternoon. She sent a questioning thought to her kei'dran and pictures of Alucard, Walter and Sir Hellsing appeared. She blinked in surprise. Why was she here? Why would they look after her, a stranger? They could easily have left her in a hospital.
She sat up slowly, feeling only a moment of dizziness. "How long?" she thought. "One and a half days in their infirmary, and one day here", came the quick response.
She was amused by the kei'dran's obvious approval of her host's actions. She repeated some of the stretching exercises as she sat on the edge of the bed, feeling some joints crack and pop a bit. She stood and was pleasantly surprised at feeling steady on her feet. She cautiously stretched to one side and the other, then put one hand on the nightstand and stretched first one leg and the other. She couldn't help but grin at the draft from the hospital gown. Her skin felt a little tender, but not seriously burned. She closed her eyes and felt her energy levels. "Not too bad for someone who should be dead", she assessed.
She felt rather than heard the chirrup of amusement her kei'dran gave. "You're too stubborn to die" it replied. "Or I have very good friends looking out for me" she thought with affection. "Are you all right, bright one?" She had the image of a satisfied and smug affirmative.
She looked around the room for the first time, taking in the elements. Neutral carpeting and walls, accented with blues and browns. Light blue drapes hung on each of the two windows. The room was large enough for a chair and table by one window. A large mahogany dresser and nightstand flanked the bed and another chair was nearby. Across the room, she saw two doors and to her left appeared to be a door to a hallway.
She took a few cautious steps, and was pleased with the firmness of her steps. Reaching the first door, she opened it to find a closet, then paused and blinked in surprise. Those were her clothes hanging up and her suitcase resting on the closet floor next to her briefcase. She had left them in the hotel. An image of Walter carrying her suitcase and an unknown woman hanging up her clothes and putting her lingerie in the dresser drawer flashed into her mind.
She frowned slightly, uncomfortable with the thought of someone going through her belongings at the hotel, only to be chastised by her kei'dran. "Your clothes were practically burned off you, mei'dran. Did you want them to leave you naked?" She flushed at her ungrateful reaction and agreed that her hosts had shown unexpected kindness and consideration for her. She picked up the black jeans and an emerald green knit top, and turned to the dresser for her undergarments. Returning to the second door, she discovered it was indeed a bathroom.
She first looked at herself in the mirror and noticed that a good two inches at the bottom of her hair appeared scorched. She would have to cut it off at shoulder level. Her face had a shiny pinkness, as if newly healed and after removing the hospital gown, she saw similar red or pink patches across her body. She looked at her left palm and observed a thin red line across it where she had sliced it.
"I think the vampire helped heal it" her kei'dran chuckled. "And I think he liked it. A lot."
She grinned, then flexed the hand and made a fist. She nodded in satisfaction and turned to the tub and shower combination.
She noticed that her own shampoo was sitting on the tub's edge, and that a fresh bar of soap was in the dish. Thick white towels and a washcloth were hung nearby. She had always indulged in a hot shower to ease aches and pains, and was glad the skin was healed enough that she could treat herself to one. She felt mental disgust from her kei'dan who typically avoided the bathroom.
After showering, brushing her teeth and dressing, she felt much better. "Now all I need are scissors to clean up the burnt hair ends and I'll be back in action", she thought. She gave a slow stretch and smiled. It was time to find Sir Hellsing and report.
