Barney's POV
The sound of her head smacking the ground brings a cold stop to my heart. I race toward Brenna, and reach her first as everyone crowds around her. She's on her side, facing away from us, and still. Very still. I push her right shoulder down, and she flops towards me. She's out cold. I curse to myself. Reagan, who's in tears already, reaches her friend who's now unconscious on the cold floor.
"Barney, I'm so sorry, I didn't see it in time and I couldn't move out of the way-"
"It's ok, it wasn't your fault. It was just a freak accident," I calm her. Damn kids were making me soft. Tool takes Reagan into a different room to console her, and it makes me feel even more sorry for her.
"Well one things for certain, she for damn sure has got your speed. I've never seen someone move so fast, especially to save a friend," Lee mutters, and I glare at him. I don't like to be reminded how alike we are. I prefer her to be the most like Sabrina. But her agility, her strength, and reflexes were increasingly proving how alike we are. But a movement distracts my eye, and it's Brenna's hand moving to her head. She cringes in pain, and it slightly worries me. Thorn kneels beside her, anxiety clear on his face. A lot of it. I frown, not liking how close he was to her.
"You ok?" he chokes, helping her into a sitting position. But she just leans on him, her eyes still shut. She nods weakly, not speaking either. It's immediately clear she definitely was not ok. She just got her lights knocked out. And just as I think this, she slumps over once more, out cold. Thorn catches her and picks her up bridal style.
"What should we do?" he asks me. I sigh. I really can't avoid leaving tomorrow, but I don't want to leave her.
"I'll call Doc." I pull out my phone, and in 20 minutes he's here. Thorn had placed the unconscious Brenna on the couch in the lounge area, and she hadn't moved or even gotten her color back. It was uneasy to look at, how dead she actually looked. Occasionally it got to be too much and I had to look away and remind myself she wasn't dead.
"Where's the patient?" he asks with a knowing grin and carrying his treatment case, but when we point to Brenna he stops dead in his tracks and his smile vanishes. "What happened?" He rushes over to her and kneels in front of the couch.
"She got knocked clear across the garage, landed on her head," I explain. Thorn paced behind the couch while Doc examines her. He's still anxious as all hell, and it starting to get painstakingly obvious the feelings he has for her.
"She got the wind knocked out of her, she'll have a helluva concussion. She'll need to take it easy for the next few days. I've got some painkillers for the headache, and she'll need to be away from major light sources for the next 24 hours. When she wakes up next, she has to stay awake for 12 hours as well. Just to make sure there's no serious damage. But she should be alright. There's no cerebral swelling nor signs of significant trauma. Honestly? I'd say she's got your luck, Barney," he finishes his assessment and I smile. That she does. And she can keep that trait we share all she wants.
"Thanks for coming in, Doc. I don't know what kind of insurance she has, if she has any. So going to a hospital would've been a nightmare before she even got seen," I mutter, rethinking how hard it may be to take care of this woman. But as I think this, she stirs awake once more.
"Hey Brenna, welcome back. You actually with us this time?" Lee asks. She nods, but squints in the light.
"I'm going to be sick," she mutters, attempting to get up quickly. She gets disoriented, but Thorn is at her side again in a flash and carries her to a bathroom. I glare at his back.
"What's the matter Barney? Didn't think you'd have to beat the boys off your daughter so soon?" Tool gives me a hearty laugh. I glare at him too, but deep down I know the answer. I didn't expect that I would have to. But I also never expected to be called Dad. Today was full of surprises. But at least once was good.
Thorns POV
I set her down in her own bathroom so she has better privacy. She covers her mouth with a pale hand, until she heaves over the toilet. I look down at her in sympathy. Poor girl has a bad concussion. I rub her back soothingly. She waves me off.
"I'm ok, you can go. You don't have to see this," she whispers weakly. I've never heard her talk so quietly, nor have I ever seen her so frail looking. I was glad her hair was still in a braid.
"I'm not letting you out of my sight until you stop looking like a corpse," I tease, and even through her pain, she has the ability to chuckle. But it's too much and soon she's dry heaving over the toilet. It looks painful as hell, but she has nothing in her stomach at this point.
"Should I go get someone?" I ask her, unsure what to do. She shakes her head.
"I haven't ate enough today. Don't worry about it," she wheezes.
"Brenna, you can barely breathe. I'm getting Doc," I rush out of the room, and to the top of the stairs.
"She's dry heaving and she can't breathe, I don't know what to do," I yell to Doc and Barney, and they both rush to her bathroom. She's still leaned over the toilet, no longer dry heaving but still gasping for air.
"Brenna, talk to me. What's wrong?" Doc asks, all business now. She shakes her head.
"It's not… possible. I haven't… had one...in years," she gasps. I don't follow what she's saying, but Doc seems to immediately understand what's happening.
"Do you have an inhaler?" he asks. She shakes her head.
"Haven't had asthma… since I was...13," she chokes out, clutching her chest. He runs downstairs and when he comes back up, he's carrying a blue inhaler.
"For emergencies. Here," he places the inhaler to her lips, and she sucks in the medicine as he presses the nozzle. As soon as he does this, she starts to breathe evenly again. She takes two puffs and sags against the wall to her bathroom.
"You're asthmatic?" Barney asks, kneeling in front of her. She shakes her head.
"I didn't think so. I haven't even needed my inhaler since I was 13," she explains.
"The head trauma and nausea could have triggered it. The brain is weird when it gets injured. You just need to rest. We'll bring you something light to eat so you don't faint on us too," Doc explains. She nods and flushes her toilet. Barney takes her hand and helps her off the ground. She brushes her teeth and then he guides her to her bed, and she sits down on it and leans against the cool wall.
"I'll go with Doc to find you something to eat and to ask a few more questions. Be right back," he warns me more than her. When he's left the room, she giggles suddenly. It's a beautiful sound, and it's a rare one as well. She laughs all the time, and that's a wonderful sound as well. But she's not much of a giggler.
"What?" I ask with a smile.
"I think Barney thinks you're up to no good," she says with a wink. I grin at her and sit down next to her.
"Maybe I'm not," I murmur in her ear. She pushes me away weakly.
"Oh stop that, you'll get us both in trouble," she giggles once more.
"You have such a nice laugh, I've only ever heard it once. But today I hear it twice. Within a few minutes. Maybe you should hit your head more often," I suggest, and she pinches my arm playfully. I capture her hand before she does it again, and she swats at me with the other one. She laughs when I capture the other one. Her eyes meet mine, and I'm lost in hers for who knows how long. I hold both her small wrists, but her hands slide into mine gently as we stare at each other. I feel electricity buzz between us, and I know she feels it too. Because she's looking at me with same wonder on her face. And then she bites her lip, as a sign of nervousness. It makes me grin down at her.
"Am I making you nervous?" I tease.
"You usually do," she says in a serious tone that shocks me. My smile vanishes, and I realize our faces are inches apart.
"Why?" I whisper, but I don't really need an answer. I just need to keep talking to her, so I don't end up kissing her.
The thought of kissing her sends my blood boiling, spiraling through my veins faster. My lips tingle at the nearly irresistible urge. The pull I felt toward her was tangible, like an invisible tethered rope around her. A lovely pink shade spreads across her cheeks, and I realize she's thinking the same thing. I reach up and graze my fingers slightly across the pink flesh of her blush. She very sweetly leans into my hand. It's a gesture I don't expect, and while it was incredibly pure and sweet, it makes my heart sink.
Anything I wanted to do with her, I couldn't. Excluding Barney murdering me, there was no possible way this could work and I could keep her in the dark the way Barney wanted it. His wishes were starting to piss everyone off. And plus, just like Barney, I'd be endangering her. And I didn't want what happened to her mother to happen to her.
"We better quit before Barney walks in," I attempt to tease, but I see a trace of hurt in her eyes as I pull away. Shit. I didn't mean to reject her like that. She nods and distances herself from me.
"Probably a good idea," she smiles but I can still see the hurt in her eyes. We sit in awkward silence until Barney walks in with soup.
"Just soup for now, until we're sure you can handle more. That ok?" he asks. She smiles gratefully and nods.
"Thank you," she takes the soup and eats slowly. Reagan bursts into the room.
"Are you ok? I just heard you had an asthma attack? You haven't had one since you were like what? Thirteen?" she asks. I laugh.
"Hello Reagan, how're you?"
"Fuck off with your bullshit right now, Arvelo. Are you okay?" she exasperates.
"I'm fine. Come here," Brenna hands me the soup and holds out her arms to calm her frantic friend. Those two are more like sisters than friends, and I don't even think Brenna realizes it. Much similar to Barney's friendship with Lee. They even acted the same, with the fist bumping, the roughhousing, the teasing, etc.
"You're actually stupid, you know that?" Reagan mutters. Barney scoffs in agreement.
"You're right, next time I'll let it decapitate you," Brenna says sarcastically, and Reagan laughs. The sound makes Brenna wince.
"Eat. And then settle in for a long ass day, because you're gonna be up for a while," Doc warns, and Brenna pouts.