Disclaimer: The Invisible Man and the characters involved therein belongs to The Sci Fi channel. Alex Krycek, Mulder and Scully belongs to Chris Carter and Fox. No copywrite infringment intended. I'm just borrowing them for entertainment purposes. Maggie Rourke and anyone else you don't recognize belong to me. The title was borrowed from the song "A Dangerous Game" off the "Jekyll and Hyde: The Musical" soundtrack.
Hobbes gestured toward the front porch. Alex, sensing he really had no choice, grabbed his jacket and stepped outside. Hobbes, Darien and Mulder followed him.
"Don't let Maggie out here, 'kay Scully?" Mulder asked. Rolling her eyes, she nodded and he closed the door behind him.
Outside the storm had lessened to a light flurry. Alex leaned against the porch rail, bracing to be hit again.
"Is there a reason why you felt the need to drag Maggie into the mountains of Montana?" Hobbes was remarkably calm. Darien paced behind him, clenching his fist in barely controlled fury.
"Did the smoking bastard send you to find her?" Mulder jumped in.
The three men had him cornered against the support post. Alex watched each man carefully before he turned and looked at his adversary. "No. I haven't worked for him in years Mulder. You know that." Then he turned to Hobbes. "Maddie's in danger. Colonization has been set in motion and the Syndicate's been searching for her."
Darien leapt forward and punched Alex. "Her name is Maggie, you psycho."
Alex's head snapped to the side with the force of Darien's blow. He looked back at Darien, ignoring the pain of being hit twice in the face. "I thought she would be safe here."
Darien reached for Alex again but Mulder stopped him. Hobbes leaned in very close to Alex and whispered something in his ear. There was no reaction from Alex as Hobbes motioned to the others and headed back inside.
"What'd you say to him?" Mulder asked when they were back inside.
Hobbes shrugged. "I just mentioned that if he did anything to get Maggie hurt, I knew some people who would make loosing that arm seem like a walk in the park."
"Right. Cool."
Alex stayed a conspicuous distance from Maggie the rest of the day. He explained what was happening and his plan, showing them the route on the map. Maggie and Darien hunted around in the supplies and made dinner for everyone.
"I hope everyone brought sleeping bags. There's not too many beds in this place." Alex told them after they'd cleaned up from dinner.
"Yeah. We did actually." Mulder told him. "They're out in the car."
Alex laughed harshly. "Aren't you the regular boy scout?"
"I'm going to bed." Maggie announced and stood up. The tension building in the room was making her skin crawl.
Darien stood up with her. "I'll come with you." She nodded and headed for the bedroom.
Darien watched as she carefully closed the door behind them before changing into flannel pajamas.
"Princess, are you alright?"
"No." She dropped onto the bed. He stretched out next to her and she curled on her side. He dropped an arm around her for comfort. "I'm going to die Dary."
"We're all going to die Princess."
She shook her head. "Not tomorrow."
"Did he hurt you Mags?" Darien brushed her hair away from her forehead. She shook her head again and turned so she faced him.
"I'm having dreams that aren't mine. And dreams that are and I don't know which one I'm more scared of." She buried her head in his chest. Darien didn't know what to say. He wrapped his arms around Maggie, holding her close as her tears wet the front of his t-shirt.
Everyone bolted awake when the screaming began and they ran for the bedroom. Inside, they found Darien trying to restrain a screaming Maggie. She was yelling something in a foreign language, pushing Darien away as she yelled.
Alex pushed Hobbes and Scully out of his way and ran to the bed. He started speaking to Maggie in the same language. After what seemed to be an eternity, Maggie quieted and sagged into Darien's arms.
"Wake up, Maddie." Alex called to her. Her emerald green eyes opened and focused on him. She looked past him and saw everyone standing in the doorway. "When the hell did you learn to speak Russian?"
"Russian?" She rubbed her eyes.
"Yeah. You were shouting in Russian."
"I was in Russia. There were these dirty men. They had a huge knife." Maggie looked into his dark eyes. "God, you were awake the whole time."
Alex looked stricken as Maggie described the ordeal he'd gone through in Tunguska. "Devotchka, how do you know that?"
"I, I don't know." She looked past him to Claire who was standing in the doorway. "Why is this happening again, Claire?"
"Did you touch his mind?" Claire remembered what triggered the dreams the first time it happened.
She nodded. "I had to show him."
"It'll pass." Claire assured Maggie. "They faded last time."
Darien held Maggie's hand as she collapsed back against him in exhaustion. "You guys go back to bed. I'll stay up with her."
Claire nodded and ushered everyone out the door. Alex was reluctant to go, looking back over his shoulder at the couple on the bed. "Come on Alex. There's nothing you can do to help."
Maggie had dark bags under her eyes when she and Darien emerged from the bedroom the next morning. Without speaking, she headed for the coffee pot and poured herself a mug. She turned and went to the fridge for the milk. Darien followed her as she wandered around the kitchen in a zombie-like state.
"Morning, Maggie." Mulder called from the living room. He and Scully were sitting on the loveseat, drinking their morning coffee, his arm around her shoulders.
Maggie grunted hello at Mulder. She shuffled over to the couch and curled up in one corner with her coffee. Darien slumped down next to her.
"Where is everyone?" She asked after a few sips of coffee.
"Krycek went out to get more wood, Hobbes went to scout around the area and Claire is in the shower." Mulder told her. "How have you been, Maggie?"
She smiled. "Good. I've been developing my powers and taking some classes at UC San Diego."
"What kinds of classes?" Scully asked.
"Everything. I'm working on my bachelors of science. Darien was thinking about coming back to school, too." Maggie said shyly, glancing at Darien.
"Maybe. Depends on what the fat man says." Darien threw an arm around Maggie, resting it on the back of the couch.
"Its what you wanted to do, right?" Mulder remember their first conversation in the hotel bar a few years ago. Maggie nodded. "That great."
That day was a boredom-induced haze for most of the occupants of the cabin. Alex and Hobbes chopped wood for the fire. Claire and Scully read some scientific journals Claire had brought with her. Maggie wandered around the cabin aimlessly, unable to settle in one place for very long. She felt uneasy and claustrophobic. Finally, she tossed on her parka and went out onto the porch.
Snow was falling in big fat flakes. They stuck to her hair and eyelashes as she tipped her head up to the sky. In the distance she could hear the sound of chopping wood but otherwise the world around her was completely silent and still.
Maggie didn't know how long she had been sitting outside when the door opened behind her. She heard steps on the porch before a white coffee mug appeared before her. She looked up at the person holding it.
"You've been out here for almost two hours. I thought you might want something hot to drink." Darien offered her the mug, which Maggie accepted gratefully.
"Thanks thief." She gestured to the step she was sitting on. "Have a seat."
"Damn, it's cold out here." He huddled into his snow parka.
She grinned and sipped the coffee. "I didn't notice."
"Feeling claustrophobic?" He reached out and scooped up some snow, trying to pack it into a snowball.
"Yeah. I just feel restless. Its this waiting for something to happen."
He let the snow fall from his fingers. "I know how you feel. Krycek keeps telling us they're coming but there's no sign of them. I just want to get you back home."
"I miss home too. At least its warm there." She sipped her coffee and looked out at the gray landscape before them. "Darien, do you think we have a chance?"
He looked up at the sky. "I think we do, Princess. You've got an incredible talent that's gonna kick some alien butt all the way back to wherever they came from."
Maggie laughed for the first time in days. "Okay, Dary. Its nice to know someone has faith in my abilities."
"Come on inside. It's cold out here." He stood up and tugged on her hand.
She smiled and shook her head. "I want to stay out a little longer. Stay with me. Or are you too cold?"
He settled back down on the step. "I'm cold. But I might be able to do something to do to keep us warm." His fingers dipped under the collar of her parka, brushing along her neck.
"Really?" She pulled off her gloves and ran a hand through his hair.
"Mmm hmm." His tongue touched the sensitive spot behind her ear as he unzipped her parka. She arched against his mouth as he sucked hard, breaking capillaries, marking her.
"Feeling possessive?" She purred as he raised his head. He grinned and she kissed him, hard and open mouthed. She tasted his mouth, her tongue entwining with his.
Darien his hand slipped inside her open jacket. Maggie wore a heavy sweater over two lighter shirts but he reached under the layers of material to touch her skin.
A cough from the doorway made them look up. Claire was standing in the doorway; her arm crossed one eyebrow raised. "There's food if you're hungry."
Maggie blushed an honest to goodness redhead blush, bright red from the top of her head down her neck. She adjusted her clothes and stood up, pulling Darien up with her. They followed Claire into the cabin to eat.
Darien closed the bedroom door softly and joined the group around the coffee table. Hobbes looked up as he sat down.
"She still out?"
"Yeah. Like a light. Hopefully, she'll stay that way tonight." Maggie had been the first one to go to bed. Darien had already been in to check on her twice.
Alex started to speak when his cell phone rang, causing everyone to jump. He answered it quickly, stepping away from the group. After a moment, he hung up and turned back, grim faced. "It's time. They're heading up here as we speak."
"How long to we have?" Hobbes pulled out his gun, checking the clip.
"Half hour, maybe a little more, probably less. I'm gonna wake up Maddie." He opened the door to the bedroom. Maggie was curled on her side on the bed. Alex hated to have to wake her but they had to move.
"Maddie, wake up." He shook her awake, pulling her upright. "We've got to go." He grabbed a nearby sweater and pulled it over her head.
She looked at him with fuzzy eyes when her head emerged from the sweater. "What's going on?"
"They're coming." His words spurned her into action and she pulled on the jeans and snow pants he brought for her. He helped her into her socks and boots before handing her a gun. "It might not do any good but I'll feel better if you have it."
Everyone else was waiting in the living room, dressing for the cold and preparing for their impending visitors. Darien grabbed Maggie's hand and pulled her to him.
"He promised to protect you." With that he kissed her fiercely, holding her head in both hands. His fingers wound themselves in her hair, holding her to him. "Come back to me, Princess."
"I will Thief. I love you, Darien." They stood forehead to forehead. "More than anything."
"I love you too, Maggie."
"I don't want to break up this touching scene, but we have to go now Maddie. I don't know how much time we have left before they get here." Alex spoke up softly.
"Okay." She kissed Darien one last time before following Alex out the kitchen door, waving at everyone as the door shut.
Alex pulled her through the snow, heading further and further into the woods.
The door to the cabin burst open and three men stepped inside. The group around the table looked up startled.
"Agent Mulder. How interesting that you should be here." The Cigarette Smoking Man nodded a greeting to them all.
"Bastard. I should have known you would have something to do with this." Mulder lunged at the man but Hobbes and Darien held him back.
"Nice of you to bring some friends as well. Where are they Agent Mulder? Where did Alex take Magdalena?"
"They're gone, Spender. You and your alien friends can go home." Mulder told him.
He turned to one of the men behind him. "Take the others and comb the woods. I'm sure they haven't gone far."
The forest around them suddenly came to life. Light streamed in from all angles and there were voices drifting toward them. Alex pulled Maggie into the shadow of a tree as he looked around.
"Damn it." He said under his breath.
"We're not going to make it, are we, Alex?" She whispered to him.
Alex turned and looked at her. "We will. There's no other option. Come on." He took off and she followed him close behind, ducking into the shadows. Maggie used her powers to swirl the snow around them, creating a barrier so they wouldn't be seen. An alien appeared in the woods behind them and Alex sped up.
"Shit." Another one appeared before them and he was forced to come to a stop. Maggie tripped at the sudden stop and their snow wall dissolved.
"Sir, we've found them." A dark suited man holding a cell phone stepped out from behind the trees. He was joined by several aliens, who surrounded Alex and Maggie. "Krycek, give us the girl."
Alex held on to Maggie tightly. She stood back to back with him, one hand gripping his, the other aiming the gun at the men around them. "Over my dead body."
"We can arrange that."
"NO!" Maggie put her hand up as the aliens advanced, stopping them in their tracks. "No one is dying over me."
"All of that depends on you, Magdalena." The smoking man stepped out of shadows. He looked around at the aliens struggling against the invisible wall. "Even you have limits, child. What happens when you can no longer sustain this?"
"Go to hell, old man." Alex took the gun from Maggie when her arm began to shake. Her eyes were already glowing brightly. Leaning down so his mouth was against her ear, he whispered, "How long can you keep them back?"
"Maybe another five, ten minutes. Less if they don't stop struggling against it." She whispered back.
The group at the cabin watched their alien guards warily. Hobbes locked eyes with Darien, silently communicating his idea and Darien nodded slightly. Hobbes fell out of his chair a minute later, writhing on the floor. While all the aliens were watching Hobbes, Darien quicksilvered and disappeared from sight.
Mulder, who had been sitting next to Darien, jumped up. "What the hell?"
Claire and Scully were on the floor next to Hobbes, trying to prevent him from hurting himself during the seizure.
The aliens became confused watching all that was going on. Darien snuck up behind one of them with the ice pick like weapon Alex had given him and stabbed it in the back of the neck like he'd been shown. It fell to the floor.
The other aliens noticed their compatriot and started to round up the humans. They realized one of them was missing and began to get agitated. Another of the aliens fell and Mulder finally attacked, taking down the third. Hobbes stopped writhing and sat up, brushing himself off as he stood up. Claire and Scully watched him in disbelief.
He looked at the women and shrugged. "Misdirection. Oldest trick in the book."
"Nice job Hobbes." Darien reappeared next to Mulder, causing him to jump again.
"How do you do that?" He demanded.
Darien laughed. "It's complicated. Claire'll explain it when this is all over. Right now, let's go find Maggie."
"Do you have to drop the shield to hit 'em?" Alex asked. Maggie's eyes were alarmingly green and she was leaning heavily against him, his prosthetic arm around her waist.
She nodded. "I'm not going to be able to keep this up for much longer. Are you ready?"
"As I'll ever be, devotchka."
"Okay. Here goes nothing." Maggie reached out as wide as possible with her mind. She touched the alien presence and forced her way in, tearing a path through the collective mind. She could feel hundreds of minds screaming as she pushed her way in to the very core.
"Maddie? Maddie?" Alex watched the aliens fall. Maggie was staring off into the sky, not hearing his voice.
Realizing that colonization was literally dying in front of him, the smoking man crept back into the forest.
"Going somewhere, Spender?" A gun cocked next to his ear and he turned slowly. Mulder held his gun aimed at the smoking man's head.
He dropped his cigarette in the snow and stepped on it. "Agent Mulder. You finally get what you've worked so hard for. The end of the alien threat. And it seems, the end of me."
Darien and Hobbes rushed into the clearing and found Alex was calling to Maggie. Her eyes were glowing, casting off a green light onto the snow around her. Blood dripped from her nose, falling in dark spots to the snow under them. Claire and Scully skidded to a halt next to them, watching Maggie. Scully finally tore her eyes from the young woman and looked around for her partner.
"Where's Mulder?"
Maggie could feel the alien presence growing weaker and weaker. Her body felt lighter as the aliens died. The screaming had stopped a few minutes ago and she enjoyed the silence, letting her mind drift through the emptiness.
Mulder felt his finger tightening on the trigger.
Spender watched him with feigned disinterest. "Are you going to do it? Pull the trigger, Agent Mulder. End my reign."
"Shut up." Mulder growled.
"Can't do it, can you? You can't just kill me, shoot me down in cold blood." Spender taunted him.
"Don't push me."
"A coward. Just like your father."
Everyone but Maggie jumped when the gunshot echoed through the forest. A stricken look passed over Scully's face before she took off into the woods looking for her partner.
"Maddie?" Alex caught her awkwardly as she collapsed. He laid her down on the snow-covered ground and looked up at Claire. "What's happening?"
Claire rushed to Maggie's side, checking her pulse and breathing. "She's dying." She looked up at Darien, who fell to his knees on the ground. "We've got to get her out of here. Get her to a hospital."
"The closest one is at least 100 miles from here." Alex told her.
Without words, Darien scooped up Maggie and headed back toward the cabin. Hobbes and Alex were close on his heels as he ran through the snow. Claire ran just behind them, on the phone with the closest hospital.
"A helicopter is going to meet us at the base of the mountain to take Maggie to Peace Hospital in Great Falls." She yelled as they came up to the cabin. Hobbes jumped in the drivers seat. Darien and Claire climbed into the back.
"I'll stay here. Let them know where you're going." Alex told them before slamming the back door of the SUV. Hobbes nodded and started the vehicle, heading down the mountain.
Scully found Mulder heading toward the cabin. He was still holding his gun and had a dazed look on his face.
"Mulder? Are you hurt?" Scully made him stop while she looked him over.
He shook his head. "I killed him."
"Who? Krycek?"
"Spender." He looked down at Scully as if seeing her for the first time. "Scully, he's gone. He can't hurt you anymore."
"Maggie's dying." They both turned and saw Alex standing by a tree. "They took her to Peace Hospital in Great Falls."
"Why didn't you go with them?" Scully asked.
"Didn't want to leave you out here wondering where we went. Want a ride?" Alex looked very young, hunched into his ever-present leather jacket. His green eyes were wounded, showing scars long hidden from the world.
Mulder nodded and climbed into the back of the SUV with Scully. Alex got into the drivers seat and started the car. He turned back to the FBI agents before driving away.
"Spender's dead isn't he?" Again, Mulder nodded. "Good. I always hated him." He turned back around and started down the mountain.
Darien and Hobbes ran into the Emergency room waiting area, desperate for any information about Maggie. They found Claire huddled in a chair, her eyes red.
"Claire?" Darien's lip trembled in anticipation of the bad news. She looked up startled.
"I didn't think you'd be here so quickly." She said softly.
"How is she?" Darien demanded.
"She died twice on the way here. Right now she's in a coma and the doctors aren't optimistic." She told them honestly.
"Can we see her?" Hobbes asked.
Claire nodded. "She's in ICU. I'll take you up."
As they were waiting for the elevator, the other agents arrived. Mulder and Scully rushed over the group, leaving Alex alone. Darien saw him standing by the door and ran toward him.
"You! This is all your fault." He growled as he threw
Alex against the wall. "If you had just left her alone from the start, she wouldn't be in a coma." He hit Alex across the jaw before Mulder and Hobbes pulled him back.
"He's not worth it Fawkes." Hobbes muttered, glaring at Alex.
"You don't understand. If it hadn't been me, it would have been someone else. Someone who doesn't care about her like I do. She would have been dead a long time ago if I had left her alone." Alex spat out at him. "I just want to see her."
Darien shook his head but Mulder nodded. "Alright. Five minutes then get out and don't come back."
The ride up in the elevator was uncomfortably tense. Claire got off first and went in search of the doctor. The small group waited in the lounge, Alex standing away from them.
"Alright Alex. Let's go." Claire waved for him to come forward. "She's in here. There's been no response from her since they resuscitated her the second time."
He nodded and stepped into the glass room. Maggie looked so small in the hospital bed, tubes and wires connecting her to the machines helping her live. A tube down her throat helped her breathe. He pulled a chair over to the bed and sat down, holding her hand, careful of the IV.
"Milaya, I know you can hear me. I didn't know this was going to happen. William never told me any of this." He sighed. "The Smoking Man is dead. Mulder killed him. So you really are free."
"I've only got five minutes before Mulder and Fawkes come in here and haul me out into the street to shoot me. They blame me for what happened and rightfully so. But they don't understand what we were dealing with. That if it hadn't been me, it would have been someone else. Once the syndicate get's an idea in its collective head, they don't let go for anything."
"And they don't understand that I love you Maddie. That I would do anything to keep you safe. I would trade places with you, give up my life so that you would be awake and okay again." He stood up and leaned over, kissing her forehead. "Get well, devotchka. Come back to us. Ya tebya lublu, moya krasavista. Dosvedanya." He kissed her again before straightening up and turning to leave.
Claire was standing in the doorway. She looked at the ground, feeling as if she was witnessing something very private. He gave her a half smile before pushing past her into the hallway.
"Alex?" She called to him.
He turned back to her. "Yeah?"
"You did your best. I don't think any of us could have saved her." She felt an odd need to reassure him.
He nodded. "Thank you." He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small slip of paper. "I know I can't ever see her again, but if you could call this number and let me know how she's doing," He held out the paper to her as he trailed off.
She took the slip and tucked it into her pocket. "I will."
"Thank you."
"Claire."
"Thank you, Claire."
"Good bye, Alex."
Hearing was the first sense to come back to her. Small noises, the rattling of a blind being drawn, the steady beep of the monitors, rustling as the nurses moved around her, voices talking around her and to her. Soon after that was smell. She smelled cotton and plastic, familiar, yet subtle cologne and under it all, the sterile antiseptic hospital smell.
Some time later, her body came back to her. She could feel the crisp sheets, the soft cotton hospital gown, pain in her head, pain where the IV needle entered her skin and pain in her throat. She could feel a warm hand holding hers. She could taste something hard and plastic in her mouth.
Maggie struggled to open her eyes and wake up. Something kept pulling her back down into the darkness. She clawed her way up, clinging to the hand holding hers. Her eyes fluttered open and the last of her senses came back to her. The white ceiling tiles came into focus and she blinked several times.
"Don't try to talk Maggie. The doctors put a tube down your throat to help you breathe." Claire's face appeared in her field of vision.
Darien ran back into the room, breathless. "He's on his way."
The doctor appeared a few moments later, a nurse close on his heels. "You're awake, Miss Rourke. Excellent. Let's get that tube out of you."
A few minutes later, Maggie was slowly sipping water through a straw. She was sitting up, several blankets tucked around her to keep her warm.
"How're you feeling Miss Rourke?" The doctor asked, checking her vitals.
"Tired." Her voice was hoarse and her throat was sore from the intubation tube.
The doctor smiled. "I can imagine so. I want to run a few tests, keep you here for observation. You were very lucky." He nodded to the other agents around her before leaving.
Darien leaned down and kissed Maggie softly on her chapped lips. "Don't you ever do that to me again."
She nodded. "Did we stop them?"
"Yeah, Princess. We did. Mulder even got the smoking man."
"Good. Where are they?" She noticed the FBI agents were absent from the group in her room.
"They had to go back to DC when we transferred you here." Claire told her.
Maggie looked confused. "Where are we? How long was I out?"
"Two weeks, Princess. Claire had you moved to Fort Leavitt." Darien rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb.
"Two weeks?"
"You died twice while they were transporting you to the hospital in Great Falls. The doctors didn't think you were going to come out of the coma." His eyes were sad brown pools.
Claire went into the hallway, leaving the pair alone. She let the door fall shut behind them and headed to the nearest phone to call the Official.
"Do you know what happened?" Darien settled into a chair next to her bed, still holding her hand.
"I think I got trapped. While the aliens were dying, I should have been able to separate my mind from theirs but I couldn't. Something trapped me inside."
"If they died, they were taking you with them."
"I think so." She looked around the salmon colored hospital room. "When can I get out of here?"
He laughed. "You heard the doctor."
"Okay. Can I at least get a chapstick?" She pouted.
He laughed. "Sure Princess."
"Knock, knock." Hobbes pushed the door open. "Can I come in?"
Maggie smiled when she saw the giant teddy bear he was carrying. "Of course Bobby."
He set the bear on a chair in the corner and leaned over to kiss Maggie on the cheek. "How're you feeling kitten?"
"Tired and sore. That for me?" She gestured at the bear.
He smiled. "Of course. What'd you think I brought it for Fawkes? When're they going to let you out of here?"
"The doctor said he want to do some more tests." She reached out for the cup of water and misjudged the distance, knocking the cup over. "Oh, damn it." Maggie struggled to sit up and wipe up the water but Hobbes and Darien brushed her hands away.
"We'll get it Mags." Darien told her. They wiped up the water and Darien went to get the pitcher refilled.
"Bobby, did you wear Alex's skin to his funeral?" Maggie asked with a sleepy smile.
He laughed. "No. We let him go. Fawkes gave him another couple bruises on the way out though."
"Poor Alex." She commented softly. "How's Misha?"
"We dropped him off at Eberts' when we came up here. The cat seemed happy enough."
Darien pushed open the door to the room, carrying the pitcher. Claire followed behind him.
"The Official said he was happy to hear you were felling better and Eberts said Misha misses you. He sits at the front door meowing." Claire relayed her messages to Maggie before coming to stand next to Hobbes. "The doctor said he's going to schedule some neurological tests for tomorrow. If everything comes back fine, you be discharged to my care the next day."
Maggie nodded. "Okay."
"We've got to go into the office for an hour or two but I'll come back for dinner, 'kay Princess?" Darien rubbed his knuckles over her pale cheek.
"Sure. I'll see you later."
She waved as they left her room and turned on the TV, flipping aimlessly through the channels.
True to his word, when Maggie's tests came back all right, the doctor released her into Claire's care. Maggie was sitting on the edge of her bed waiting to be released. She had put on her jeans but had to wait until her IV was removed before she could take off her hospital gown and put on a shirt.
"If that nurse doesn't get in here soon, I'm going to pull out this IV myself." Maggie muttered to Claire.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Miss Rourke." Jenni, the morning nurse breezed into the room. She smiled patronizingly at Maggie before fiddling with the almost empty units of liquid on the hanger. "We wouldn't want you to hurt yourself."
"If you'd just take this out, I can go and you won't have to worry your pretty head about whether or not I hurt myself." Maggie's voice was laced with venom. In two days Maggie and Jenni had managed to make lifetime enemies of each other.
Claire stepped forward. "Can you please stop this childishness and just take out the bloody IV so we can go home?"
Jenni glared at Claire and set to pulling out the IV. She withdrew the needle and pressed a piece of cotton over the spot. A strip of tape held the cotton in place and she was done.
"Ow." Maggie gritted her teeth as she pulled out the needle.
Jenni patted the tape down. "All done. The doctor will come see you in a few minutes. Then you're free to go." She turned and left the room.
As soon as she was out of sight, Maggie stuck out her tongue. "Bitch."
"Very mature Maggie." Claire sighed. "I think you've been around Darien too long."
"Sorry Claire. That woman just irks me." Maggie pulled her t-shirt over her head, glad to finally be dressed.
"Who, Nurse Jenni?" Darien appeared in the doorway, pushing Hobbes in a wheelchair. "Your chariot awaits, m'lady." He looked down and tipped the chair so Hobbes would get up.
"Yeah. She took out my IV." She held up her bandaged hand.
"Ouch." Darien winced in sympathy.
The doctor came in, holding a chart. "Okay, Miss Rourke. Looks like you're all ready to go. I've given instructions to Dr. Morgan as well as a few prescriptions in case you have any vertigo or nausea. If you start feeling unwell in anyway, get back to the hospital. Sometimes neurological problems can mask themselves."
"Okay, thank you." She signed the forms he held out to her before sliding off the bed and sitting in the wheelchair.
"You're welcome, Miss Rourke. Get lots of rest and you'll be feeling right again in no time." He smiled and shook her hand before leaving the room.
Darien leaned over and looked Maggie in the eye.
"Ready to go?"
"Absolutely. Let's get out of here before that torturer decided I need an enema or something." They laughed as Darien pushed her down the hallway to the exit. When they got outside, Maggie realized she had left the bear back in her room. "Oh, my bear."
"I'll get it." Claire dashed back into the hospital and up to Maggie's room. The room hadn't been cleaned yet and the bear was still sitting in the chair by the window. "There you are, Mr. Bear." She folded the instructions and put them in her jacket pocket so she could pick up the bear. When she reached inside, she felt a folded piece of paper. Claire pulled it out and opened it, reading an international phone number on the page.
After a moments debate, she pulled out her cell phone and dialed the number.
"Privet?" A heavily accented woman's voice answered the phone.
"Hello? I was looking for Alex." Claire leaned back against the windowsill.
After a moment, a younger sounding but no less accented voice asked, "Who is this?"
She sighed. "My name is Claire. I have news about Maggie."
"Oh, da. I get him." The girl on the other end dropped the phone and Claire heard her shout, "Alexei, phone!"
Rapid Russian was heard on the other line before a male voice answered, out of breath. "Da?"
"Alex, it's Claire."
"Maddie woke up?" He sounded relieved.
Claire smiled at the joy in his voice. "Yes, a few days ago. She was released from the hospital this morning."
"So she's okay?"
"She seems to be. We won't know if there were any long-term effects for a while though."
Alex was quiet. Finally she heard him sigh. "Okay. Thanks for calling, Claire."
"You're welcome, Alex. Good bye."
"Dosvedanya."
She hung up the cell phone and picked up the bear, heading outside. The three agents were waiting by the car, watching her as she came out.
"Hey Claire, what took so long?" Darien asked as he helped Maggie into the back.
She smiled. "They had started cleaning the room. I had to find a nurse to get Mr. Bear." She handed the bear to Maggie and climbed in next to her. "Let's go home."
All three agents nodded in agreement. Hobbes started the car and drove away from the hospital.