It was silent, the only sounds that could be heard were the sounds of the running motor and of two cartoons catching their breath. After a few minutes, the cartoon devil was breathing normally again, except for the angel, he was still gasping for air.
"Angel face?"
Benicio didn't even need to finish his question anymore as the angel already knew what he was trying to ask.
"I'm h...olding up...f-for...now...W-What...about..y-you?"
"My headache is gone thanks to you but I'm not the one we should be worried about".
Abel coughed again and just like before, there was ink with it as he did so; "I'm g-gonna...be ha...ppy...when...i st..op...c-coughing. My throat...f-feels...like... s-sand...paper".
"Just hang on a little longer, alright? We're gonna make it".
Abel just closed his eyes and rested his head against the car window, focusing on his breathing. It was quiet again for a while, Abel was trying to keep himself together, so Benicio just let him be and focused on the road instead. They drove like that for a while until the angel flinched, he raised a shaky hand and placed his arm around his chest. The mob boss looked at the angel, he was scared. The rebel angel saw him from the corner of his eyes.
"N-Not..yet"; Abel wheezed.
The mob boss felt his heart go faster, he became nervous; "Please, just a little longer. We're halfway there".
The radio of the mafia leader started to make noise; "Boss, can you hear, me? It's Luna, we haven't heard of you in a while, the boys are getting anxious... Is everything alright over there?"
Benicio glanced at the angel who was gritting his teeth of the pain.
"We have the vaccine, we're on our way back but..."
Before the mafia leader could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by a pained scream from the angel. Abel sat leaning forward with his arms around his upper body, rocking back and forth a bit. Tears were running down the angel's face and ink was dripping from the corner of his mouth. He slowly looked at Benicio; "C...Can't...b-breathe".
The mob boss's eyes went wide; "No, no, NO...SHIT!"
"Boss? Boss, what's happening?"; Luna asked as she could hear the panic in the devil's voice.
"ABEL'S HAVING ANOTHER ATTACK! HE CAN'T BREATHE! GET READY ASAP, WE'RE ALMOST THERE!"
The cartoon demon threw his radio on the back seat next to Mercy and smashed his foot on the gas pedal. The motor of the car roared as they drove to headquarters as fast as they could.
"HANG ON, ABEL, DON'T YOU DARE DIE ON US!"
In a flash, they reached their destination. The gate was already open so the mob boss could park his car in one swift move, the medical staff and henchman were already waiting for them with a stretcher. Benicio got out of the vehicle and sprinted to the other side to get the angel out as well. He held Abel bridal style as he carried the angel to the stretcher. Once he layed on it, Fonzy and Gizmo sprinted with the stretcher toward the infirmary, followed by Luna, Deeralyn and Benicio.
"BOSS! Do you have the vaccine?"; The wolf asked.
Benicio grabbed the small glass bottle with green liquid and threw it at the doctor. Luna catched it and ran to the closet to get a syringe.
As fast as she could, she sucked the content of the bottle in the syringe and ran to Abel who's body started to convulse again.
"HOLD HIM STILL!"; She yelled at the group in the room.
Benicio pressed on Abel's shoulders as Fonzy was doing the same with his abdomen and Gizmo his legs. Luna Injected the vaccine.
The cartoon angel lost consciousness as the ink was flowing out of this mouth, some ink splatter got on the shirt of the mafia leader, hanging above his head.
"Deeralyn, get the oxygen, stat!"
The nurse came running with a cart containing an oxygen tank and an oxygen mask. She placed the tank on some holder attached to the stretcher and wiped the ink from Abel's face with a cloth before placing the oxygen mask. Luna took her trusty stethoscope and placed the bel on the angel's chest.
The doctor shook her head; "SHIT! NO PULSE! GET THE DEFIBRILLATOR!"
The cartoon nurse ran to get the needed device. In the meantime, Luna ripped open the angel's blouse making his chest bare
"COME ON ABEL! DON'T DO THIS TO US! WE WERE GONNA HAVE A DRINK IN ELYMAS'S BAR AFTER THIS, REMEMBER?"; the devil cried as a tear ran down his face and fell onto the face of the unresponsive angel below him.
Deeralyn brought the defibrillator to Luna. The doctor placed the brown box which was connected to two metal spoon-like sticks with wooden handles on a small table standing next to the stretcher and grabbed the staves by the handles.
"LET HIM GO!"; she yelled as she was about to administer an electrical shock to the angel's heart.
The trio did as they were told and the spoon-like sticks hit Abel's chest, sending an electrical current through it. Deeralyn was holding her hand on the Angel's wrist to feel for a pulse, she shook her head at Luna.
"Give him some adrenaline, I'm going to administer a second shock".
The nurse injected the adrenaline while Luna prepared the defibrillator again. She held the two spoon-like sticks on Abel's chest, sending a second electrical stream through his chest. Deeralyn felt the angels wrist again, there was still no pulse.
The doctor started with heart massage; "Come on, Abel, stop being so stubborn... Come back".
Just as they were about to lose hope, the nurse felt a weak pulse coming from the angel's wrist.
"HE'S BACK!"; Deeralyn yelled to inform the doctor.
Luna rubbed the sweat from her forehead as she murmured at Abel; "That's it... I knew you could do it".
"So, now what, what's going to happen to him?"; Benicio asked in a worried tone.
"Now, we'll get the angel installed in one of the hospital beds, then you three can go outside so I can do my job and examine his body"; the doctor explained.
They rolled the stretcher next to one of the beds and the trio gently moved the angel from the stretcher to the bed. Benicio gestured to Fonzy and Gyzmo to follow him outside. Once they were out of the infirmary, Fonzy and Gyzmo made their way to the other henchmen so they could update them but they noticed Benicio walked to his car instead.
"Where are you going boss?"
"Out! I think I have deserved a drink after all this chaos".
The henchmen looked at each other, Gizmo was about to follow him but was stopped by the boss himself; "I don't need a bodyguard, Gizmo, thanks for the offer but I want to be alone for a while, I need to think".
The cartoon crow looked at the mafia leader; "As you wish boss but please tell us where you're going. Just in case".
Benicio seemed distant as he was daydreaming, lost in thought. Eventually, he replied; "Elymas's bar. I have a feeling he will miss one of his best costumers for a while".
The cartoon crow nodded. The cartoon devil got in his car and drove off. He arrived at the bar, got inside and went to sit at the exact same spot at the bar counter where he had been planning the heist with Abel, only this time the angel's barstool was empty. Without realizing, another cartoon demon was standing in front of the mob boss, it was Elymas.
"Hey there, what can i ge...?"
"Whiskey, make it a triple", the mafia leader replied before letting the bartender finish his sentence.
Elymas was surprised by Benicio's behavior; "Sheesh, is something wrong?"
Benicio didn't dare to look Elymas in the eyes, he lowered his head. The bartender noticed the mob boss clenching his hands into fists as he saw a tear fell on to his bar counter.
"A...Are you okay?"; Elymas continued to ask as he placed the beverage in front of the mafia leader.
Benicio wiped his face with his arm, he drank the whiskey in one go, shook his head and finally was able to look at the bartender.
"I-I just came to inform you. I'm afraid you won't see Abel for a while".
Elymas's eyes went wide; "Why, what happened?"
The mob boss sighed; "It's a long story. All i can tell you, is that he's sick. The details, i will give you another time".
And with that, Benicio placed some money on the counter and made his way back to his car, leaving a now worried bartender behind.
The mafia leader arrived at headquarters again, he instantly went to the infirmary and knocked on the door.
"Come in!"; he could hear the doctor say.
The cartoon devil got inside and made his way towards Abel's bed. Luna came to stand next to him.
"H-How is he?"
"Well, it was a close call, that's for sure. We actually lost him there for a minute. For now, he's stable, not out of the woods yet but stable. The virus seems to have affected his lungs the most, his respiratory system is badly damaged but it's nothing that time and medicine can't heal".
The demon chuckled; "Yeah about that, keep an eye on him while he needs to take medicine, alright?"
Luna looked confused at her boss; "Why?"
"Let's just say, he likes to hide the medicine you give him when you're not looking".
"Is that so? Thanks for the tip".
"So...How long will he be out cold?"
The doctor sighed as she slowly shook her head; "Only time can tell, the virus really did a number on his body. He's completely drained from the attacks not to mention the fact he still has a big fever".
"Wait but... he got the vaccine"
"Yeah, that doesn't mean it works instantly. The vaccine is going to need some time to travel through his body by its ink circulation and to produce antibodies that will deal with the virus".
"Oh".
The doctor smiled as she placed a hand on Benicio's shoulder; "No worry's boss, Abel is a fighter. He got back to us, didn't he? I'm sure he'll get better soon, besides, he's way too stubborn to stay ill for a long time".
Benicio grinned at that; "You have no idea".
It was silent for a moment, when the mob boss suddenly asked; "Can i stay with him".
Luna looked reluctant; "I don't know, boss. He needs his rest".
"I'll be quiet, i promise".
The doctor finally gave in. As if on cue, Deeralyn brought a stool; "Here you go mister boss. I think it's really sweet of you to stay by mister Abel's side. I'm sure he'll appreciate it".
The demon laughed; "I understand where you're coming from, most people would certainly appreciate it, not Abel though. He'll probably think I'm being overprotective and pampering him". Benicio looked at the unconscious angel; "but i wanna be there when he wakes up, i just want to be sure he's okay,".
The nurse nodded in understanding.
The doctor noted; "Boss, I'm sorry to disappoint you but i don't think it's a good idea to stay by the angel's side for that long. Like i said before, we're not sure when he would wake up, you need your rest too, you've been through a lot these past few days".
Benicio looked at Luna; "I promise you that if i can't handle it anymore, I'll go get some shut eye but for now i really wanna stay with him".
The doctor bowed her head; "As you wish, boss".
The devil sat next to the angel for a while, as he looked at the wall clock, he noted it was already twenty five minutes past one am and he was left alone with the angel since Deeralyn and Luna already went to bed in their living quarters, the demon had offered to keep an eye on the angel and would go get them if something went wrong. The two female cartoons had already done enough the past few days. They deserved a break.
Benicio yawned, he was really tired himself, he should have followed Luna's advice but he really wanted to be there when Abel opened his eyes again just so he could convince himself that the angel was still alive. The mob boss rested his arms on the bed Abel was laying in and placed his head on his arms, his eyelids became heavy and without realizing he drifted off to sleep.
The following morning, Benicio slowly woke up. He felt a pressure on his arms, like there was lying something on it other than his own head. As he slowly opened his eyes, he saw something white, a glove, it was a hand. The cartoon devil completely opened his eyes to find Abel's hand on his arms. He sat up in one quick movement, getting sure of his surroundings.
"H-Hey t-here...sl...eepy head"; The angel greeted, his voice being hoarse.
The mob boss didn't reply, he was still processing what was going on. Abel had a weak grin on his face as he saw the devil suddenly smile once he realized that Abel was awake.
"Y-You...kept your..p-promise"; The rebel wheezed, apparently he still had trouble breathing. Luna had warned the demon about this.
Suddenly the duo noticed Deeralyn standing next to the bed; "I'm sorry mister Abel sir but i need to advise you to not speak for a while. You are still very weak and need your rest. Good morning to you mister boss".
"Morning?"; a confused mob boss asked, he noticed he had a sheet draped around his shoulders, a glance at the clock was all the devil needed to realize it was 10 am already.
Luna stood next to Benicio with a mug of coffee in her hand; "Seriously boss, you promised me you were going to go to bed if you couldn't handle it anymore". She handed the mug to her boss.
The cartoon devil accepted the coffee as he said with a cheesy grin; "Well, technically i said, if i couldn't handle it anymore, i would get some shut-eye. Which i did apparently".
The cartoon wolf rolled her eyes; "You're no better than that angel there, you know that?"
Abel and Benicio locked eyes as they both grinned.
"Okay then, time to go back to work. And before you're going to complain again mister Abel, I'm not just touching you out of the blue, I'm only making sure your body operates normally".
Abel nodded as he coughed. Luna was wearing her stethoscope and placed the bell on the angel's chest; "Hmmm, heartbeat is normal again...Still, much fluid in the airways". The doctor put her stethoscope away and got a thermometer to measure his fever instead; "Open your mouth".
The angel did as he was told. Luna placed the device under his tong and waited for a moment; " Thirty-nine degrees, still a high fever. Okay Abel i need you to lay flat for a minute".
The angel was a bit confused by the weird request, Deeralyn came closer to Abel and placed one hand under the angel's head for support while she took the pillow away with another hand. Finally she slowly lowered the angel's upper body so he layed completely flat and lowered the sheets so Abel's upper body was completely bare.
Luna explained; "I'm just gonna look for anomalies okay?"
She held her index and middle finger together and applied pressure on different places of Abel's abdomen, she suddenly hit a spot near the stomach making the angel flinch in pain; " ...and an inflammation of the stomach".
The doctor faced Deeralyn; " Would you please get some aspirin for Abel?"
The nurse followed the instructions of the doctor, who took some ink from the angel's arm while they waited for Deeralyn's return. Just like before she placed the ink on a small glass to study under the microscope; "Just gonna compare the ink sample with the vaccine, with the old ink sample without the vaccine".
The nurse gave Abel the aspirin and was about to do other work as Luna suddenly noted from behind her microscope; "Best to stay with him till he takes the medicine, miss Deeralyn. I've been informed he likes to hide his medicine when we're not looking".
"Okay doctor, thank you for the tip"; the cartoon deer replied as she held an eye on the angel.
Abel raised an eyebrow at Benicio while he took the medicine; "T-Tattle...tail".
The demon looked at the angel with an apologetic smile.
Luna came back to the group to give her diagnosis; " It seems the vaccine is working, the virus is diminishing, though it has left its mark. He has pulmonary edema and, to top it all off, an inflammation of the stomach. It's nothing we can't handle but Abel will need a while to be fully cured. Having said that I'm glad to inform that he's officially out of danger, the virus is as good as gone and the damage is fixable without being permanent".
It took Abel four weeks to fully recover, but he did it. His body felt like he'd never been sick in the first place, he felt as good as new and it was all because of the two lovely ladies who took care of him even when he didn't like it that much and of course, he couldn't forget that silly demon of a boss, from him. Abel thanked the doctor and nurse by giving them each a bouquet of flowers even though Luna told him they were just doing their job.
Just as promised Benicio took Abel to Elymas's bar. The bartender was really surprised to see Abel again, he was so glad he gave the cartoon angel something on the house. Benicio hadn't forgotten his promise to Elymas though, he explained everything that had happened from the trap to the moment where they almost lost the rebel angel. The bartender was in shock after hearing the story, he had been inspecting Abel for a while, making sure the angel was okay and scolded the mafia leader on why he needed to be more responsible.
Abel watched the mob boss as he listened to the bartender, he could see the guilt and shame on his face. The angel actually felt bad for him and tried to stop Elymas from his lecture by assuring him that everything was okay again. The bartender noticed the look on Benicio's face as well, he sighed and gave the mob boss also a drink on the house on the condition that he would never put Abel in harm's way ever again.
The rest of their time in the bar was actually quite cozy, the three of them were joking around all the time and the rebel angel and mob boss were enjoying their drinks, maybe even a bit too much.
The end