Hello! I'm sorry for the long wait - I lost my grandma last month and had a little trouble finding my muse after that. On top of that, school has me running around like a hamster in a wheel, and I've been looking for a new job (and recieved an offer this week), not to mention it's Chistmas in 9 days (!) and I haven't even thought about shopping for presents, yet. Which is why I think this chapter is somewhat... inadequate, for lack of better word. But, I would like your honest opinion of this. Maybe I'll do some sort of epilogue, but no promises on that. Anyway, enjoy.
MAGNUM
It had been another couple of days before the doctors were satisfied with Magnum's health and let him go home, under strict supervision, of course, and no strenuous activities. Nine days had passed since the private investigator had been woken up by the dogs in the middle of the night. He had spent half of those in the hospital, going stir-crazy and had, unsuccessfully, begged all his visitors to smuggle him out of said godforsaken place, at least once.
Higgins had come to visit at least twice, every day. Rick and T.C. had worked out a shift change, so he'd never been alone. Katsumoto had dropped by occasionally, keeping him updated on Five-0's progress. He had not yet inserted himself in the investigation, much to Magnum's confusion.
Kumu had been there a few times, claiming that, taking care of Higgins was equivalent of a marathon. That poor woman can't take a break from work, she expressed several times. She dutifully took her medicine and, probably, got a lot of sleep, but when she was awake, she was in the study, working on the computer or doing menial tasks around the property.
"Higgins suggested that you stay in the main house for a while," Rick said on the way home. Magnum had been carefully guided into the silver sportscar upon his release. He nodded absentmindedly, looking out the window.
"Yeah, she mentioned it yesterday," Magnum agreed and leaned back. Every time the majordomo had visited, she had kept it short, excusing herself with work, that needed to be done. He hadn't had the chance to really talk with her and he was surprised to find it bothered him. It also scared him, that she had intentionally put some distance between them. The 'what-if's had haunted him at night and tormented him through the days.
"You alright there, buddy?" Rick asked with a gentle hand on the shoulder of the private investigator. Magnum shrugged halfheartedly.
"I'm worried about her," he said. "She hasn't been herself," he explained and looked to his friend.
"She's been through a lot. And so have you," Rick replied and focused his eyes on the road again. "It changes you, man. You know that," he continued, referring to their time spent in the Korengal Valley. His voice got a little quieter, more emotions shining through. "We might look the same, we might sound the same, but we all have that shadow behind us, with all the memories," he said and cleared his throat. "You and Juliet have a new shadow now. It's only yours," he said encouragingly. Magnum looked at him, suspiciously.
"How did you become so knowledgeable?" Magnum asked with a little smile and Rick huffed.
"I read a book," he joked back and the two exchanged a look and laughed for a moment. Magnum brought a hand to his side when his chuckles pulled at the stitches and he groaned. "Take it easy, man, I don't want you leaking all over the upholstery," he warned with a smile. "Joke aside; T.C. and I have both tried to talk to her," he said and shrugged hesitantly.
"And?" Magnum asked, attention and worry neatly folded into a single three-letter word.
"Well, she appreciated the offer but hasn't brought it up since. I'm sure she just needs time. She's probably just guarded, because she's been all by herself for so long in contrast to you, me and T.C.," Rick explained and Magnum looked out the window again, contemplating.
"You think she'll be alright?" Magnum asked and thought about Kumu's obvious worry of the majordomo. Rick sighed in defeat.
"I don't know, Thomas. We kind of hoped she would talk to you," he said when he slowed to turn up the driveway to the Nest. The rest of the trip was quiet and it didn't take long for them to park outside the front door to the main house. Rick helped Magnum out the car and hovered right behind him, when walking to the door as it opened. Higgins stepped out through the door, with her arms crossed and the dogs right behind her. She was less pale, but more bruised and, if possible, looked even more tired.
"I thought, the doctor told you to use the crutches, until your leg has healed?" she asked and somehow made it sound like a reprimand at the same time. Magnum hobbled on with a huge smile.
"Nice to see you, too, Higgy, it's good to be home," he said and the look on her face softened and she looked to Rick, who shrugged, helplessly.
"He flat out refused to be seen with those horrible sticks of death. He's somehow convinced, that he would end up with a broken leg, if he even touched them," Rick explained and Higgins smiled.
"Afraid of crutches, Magnum? Who would have thought?" she said and invited them inside with a movement of the arm. The dogs moved back, obediently.
"I'm not afraid, I just have a healthy amount of dislike for them," Magnum explained and hobbled past her, eyeing the Dobermans wearily as he made his way to the sitting area. Rick paused briefly behind him and smiled to Higgins.
"Yup, he's afraid of crutches," he whispered and continued.
"I heard that, Orville," Magnum called back over his shoulder and awkwardly sunk into the corner of the couch in the sitting room. The short walk had left him exhausted and slightly out of breath with small twinges of pain radiating through him. He closed his eyes for a moment and could hear Rick and Higgins conversing just out of earshot.
"I have to go, Thomas. T.C. will stop by later," Rick called to him and Magnum only raised a hand in an ambiguous wave. Seconds later, he heard the door close and it was blissfully quiet. Even the hospital had some kind of background noise. The silence was wonderfully cool to his head.
The cushion dipped beside him and he opened his eyes to look at Higgins.
"Here," she said and handed him two pills. He eyed them with skepticism and she huffed. "They're for your pain, Magnum, you are not that good at hiding it," she explained and he reluctantly accepted them and the bottle of water. He made quick work of downing the two pills with a mouthful of water.
"Thanks," he said and Higgins smiled warmly.
"I've prepared one of the guestrooms for you. You can stay there as long as necessary," she said promptly and got to her feet.
"Higgins," Magnum said and she turned around to look at him, questioningly. "How are you doing?" he asked and she gave him a little smile.
"I'll be right as rain in no time, don't worry about me," she replied and Magnum nodded pensively. She crossed her arms when she studied his face. "What?" she asked, suddenly sounding more defensive. Hesitating. Anxious.
"Do you get enough sleep?" he asked honestly and Higgins just stared at him for a moment, confused by the unexpected comment. Magnum leaned forward with a cringe and studied her closely. After a minute of internal discussion, she let her arms drop with a sigh.
"No," she replied and suddenly looked more fragile, than Magnum had ever seen her before. He felt his stomach drop and he tried to give her a reassuring smile.
"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked her, hopefully. She hesitated and sighed again before she moved back to the couch and sat down carefully. When she didn't say anything right away, Magnum continued. "We're all worried about you, Juliet," he said, hoping she would actually open up.
"You were dead, Magnum, I'm sorry if it takes a little while to process that," she commented scathingly and looked down at her hands on her knees. She looked like she wanted to say more, but kept her mouth shut. Magnum was a little surprised about the topic she had blurted out, initially he would have thought it was the physical and emotional punishment she had endured through Henderson and his lackeys that were tormenting her.
"But I didn't," he said quietly and Higgins continued, her eyes locking on to his.
"What happens to you is important," she said, referring to his own words, days earlier. Magnum cringed.
"Is that what's got you out of sorts?" he asked tentatively. He had to choose his next words carefully.
"Your total disregard for your own well-being? Yes, among other things," she confirmed with a tight nod.
"Among other things," he parroted under his breath and received a glare from the majordomo. "I'm sorry. I will try to do better," he promised and Higgins nodded a brief thanks.
"That's all can I ask," she said and hesitated. "I don't think, I could go through another funeral for a good man," she admitted with a tiny, sheepish smile.
"I mean it, Juliet. You shouldn't have to," Magnum said and tenuously reached for her hand to convey his message. It was even more chilled that he remembered. "Go to bed. Try to get some sleep," he said and tightened his grip for a second.
MAGNUM
Hours later he had settled himself into his temporary bed, just across the hall from Higgins' room. T.C. had, as promised, been there and had almost hovered to fluff his pillows. Begrudgingly, he admitted, he had needed the help to pull off his shirt and at one point he had fallen clumsily into T.C.'s arms, when his hurting leg gave out. Now, he was staring at the ceiling, a cool breeze hanging in the air, going through everything that had happened the last ten days.
Falling asleep proved harder than he'd thought and when he finally gave up and threw the covers off of him, he sighed deeply and sat up, before heaving himself to his feet and limping to the door. It only took about five minutes for him to fight his way to the kitchen and retrieve a bottle of water from the fridge. As he uncapped it and raised it to his lips a faint sound caught his attention and he froze, bottle halfway in the air. He hadn't needed to turn on any lights, for which he was grateful now.
He looked to the doors alternately and then through the windows out in the moonlit dark. Movement from the door had him turning back to see the two intimidating shapes looming in the dark, eyes zeroed in on him and heads tilted.
"Good boys," Magnum said, hesitant, but relaxing. They belonged, there was no outside threat. Getting back to the room suddenly looked more dangerous – an obstacle course in the dark, while chased by two hellhounds, and even being disabled. It wasn't good odds, Magnum decided. The two dogs quietly stepped closer, not removing their eyes from their prey.
"Zeus, Apollo, come on, guys, I'm in no shape to be chased around," he tried to reason with them. One of the dogs promptly sat down while the other walked closer, inquisitively. Magnum carefully reached forward, surprised by the dogs and their gentle approach. The dog, Zeus, he vaguely decided, sniffed at his hand and then proceeded to nozzle under his fingers and sit down right next to his foot.
Magnum carefully stroked the dog's head and scratched him behind the ears. He was just about to praise them for not eating him, when something caught the attention of the two dogs and their heads swiveled towards the bedrooms. Magnum looked to see if there was anything hiding in the corners but saw nothing. A second later he heard something and the two dogs trotted off to investigate.
Magnum followed, though he kept a slower pace and saw the two dogs where nuzzling and scratching at the door to Higgins' bedroom. Clearly, something was wrong, he determined and limped closer.
"Zeus, Apollo, move aside," he said and to his surprise they both backed up. Another vague sound had them sitting attentively and a quiet whine from Apollo urged Magnum to open the door. "Higgins?" he asked into the dark before he carefully walked inside. The bed was a mess, sheets and pillows all over and a fragile-looking Higgins in the middle of the bed, fighting something unseen. The sheets were wrapped around her legs and her arms and head were tossing.
"Higgins?" he called again but stepped closer when nothing changed. "Juliet, come on, open your eyes," he said and eased himself down on the side of the bed. He didn't want to restrain her, partly for his own safety and partly because it would most probably frighten her even more, but he knew he couldn't stand by and do nothing. Trying to be the least invasive, he grabbed her floundering hand and held on tight as he spoke.
"Juliet, you're having a nightmare. Everything's alright, you just have to open your eyes. Come on, you are safe. Open your eyes for me, Juliet, it's just a nightmare, everything is alright," he coaxed firmly and proceeded to brush errant strands of hair from her face. Finally, her movements stopped and she opened her eyes, searching the room and, lastly, landing on Magnum.
"Thomas?" she whispered, slightly out of breath and sat up straight. Her voice betraying her and conveying how scared she had just been. Magnum found her other hand and held on tight to her.
"Easy, now, everything's alright," he repeated from his previous chant, as he felt the tremors going through her hands. She breathed deeply, trying to regain control, but seemingly losing the battle.
"It was awful. It hasn't been that bad before," she confessed with a shaky breath.
"Hey, it wasn't real, you can relax," he said and considered his options before he continued. "Come here," he said and placed her hands around his neck and then proceeded to wrap his arms around her and pull her closer, when she didn't object. It didn't take long for her to bury her head in his shoulder and hold on for dear life as the tiny sobs evolved and he could feel warm tears running down his chest.
This tiny bit of vulnerability would never be mentioned to anyone outside the room. They didn't move for minutes and only when Higgins pulled away and swiped at her tear-stained cheeks in the dark, Magnum gave her the space she needed, but didn't break the connection completely as he moved a hand to rest on her knee.
"I'm sorry," the majordomo croaked and Magnum shook his head.
"Don't worry about it, Juliet," he only replied and gave her knee a light squeeze. "Are you alright?" he asked and saw her nod in the dark room.
"Yes," she said confidently and let out a deep sigh. "Thank you, Thomas," she continued, a bit more hesitant.
"Anything for you, Juliet," he only replied and smiled warmly, though he wasn't sure if she could see it in the dark. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked, expecting her to flat out refuse his offer and promptly let him leave.
"I'm… it's… I don't know…" she said and took another deep breath to steady herself. Magnum gave her knee another squeeze and moved to his feet.
"You don't have to, if you don't want to. Just know that I'm here, if you need it," he said as he picked up the discarded pillows and dropped them behind the majordomo. Next, he unwrapped the sheets and shook them out as she scooted back against the pillows, her knees drawn up.
"Thomas?" she asked, before he walked towards the door. "Don't go," she said and he briefly looked at the door before turning around and limping back to the bed. She didn't have to say more than that.
"Scoot over," he said and levered himself onto the bed and got comfortable. "And don't you dare trying to hog the sheets," he said, jokingly, and smiled when he heard her chuckle. They were silent for a while, keeping a decent distance between them. Magnum was back to starring at the ceiling, but now he was on the brink of sleep.
"My nightmare…" Higgins finally said and Magnum turned his face towards her, silently prompting her to go on. "I couldn't keep you from dying. Over and over again," she continued and Magnum raised himself up on one elbow, not quite knowing what to say to that.
"You're here. I'm here," he started out seriously, but then smiled. "And I had never thought we would end up sharing a bed," he said and smiled when Higgins let out a resigned breath, clearly regretting opening up to the private investigator. "I'm kidding, I'm sorry," he said quickly and flopped back down on the pillow. "Thank you for telling me, Juliet," he said quietly, appreciating her honesty. "It must've been scary," he said. He knew it would have been for him.
"Yeah," she just whispered and turned on her side to face him. "Thank you for staying," she said and he looked at her through the dark.
"Always," he said and found her hand between them. It didn't take long for either of them to fall asleep after that.
MAGNUM
Remember, honest opinion! Thank you for reading. Merry Christmas... or happy chanukah.
/kwueenie.