Hey, just apologising again for anyone who found my use of the word
"coloured" when describing Gunn, offensive. I will do my best to make sure
that anything of this kind does not happen again.
As always, thanks for the reviews.
All Disclaimers apply
Chapter 6: Returning the favour
"Okay, so me and Doyle are gonna go see Jesse?" Cordelia asked excitedly, she loved the thrill of a new "project" and Jesse happened to be it, plus he was also cute! She really hoped he may be able to shed some light on this assassin demon, she wondered though, who would be after a guy like Jesse? He was the type of person who should never have enemies.
She liked spending time with Doyle too; he was as good a person as any to go to the hospital with. She new he had a crush on her, and there may have been a time when she reciprocated, but she'd moved on from that. As she sat, daydreaming to herself, the conversation amongst the rest of her friends continued.
"Yeah, if all five of us went, we'd get noticed. They've probably got our descriptions by now" Angel replied, "And. . .you two are probably the most normal looking out of all of us" He laughed, dodging a book that had been lobbed at him by Gunn.
"I resent that comment!" Gunn yelled, while Wesley sniggered in the background. Angel swung around in a rare act of humour, picked up the book and promptly flung it back towards Gunn's side of the room. Before long, it had erupted into a fully-fledged book fight, with Cordelia under the table, avoiding stray volumes.
Eventually she'd had enough, crawling out from under the table, "Okay people! Enough already! HEY!!" she shouted. The volley of books ended in a flash, with all four men staring at her. The sound of many books hitting the floor, broke the silence.
"Sorry, we just got a little carried away!" Joked Doyle, stooping to pick up some ruffled books at his feet. He looked a little sheepish at the murderous expression on Cordelia's face.
"I'll say!" Cordelia exclaimed, but with a dawning smile on her face. "But anyway, me and Doyle are gonna leave you guys to clean up this mess! We're going to the hospital, have a nice afternoon!" She waltzed over to Doyle, grabbed his arm, and breezed out the door, still laughing at the look of annoyance on Angel, Wes and Gunn's faces. They were still figuring out how they had been left to clean up.
* * * *
Jesse wasn't surprised to see Cordelia and Doyle again; he was sitting upright in his hospital bed, reading a surfing magazine that Kealy had bought for him, when they entered his room. Seeing them at the door, he had quickly thrust the magazine to one side and looked up at them. They both seemed to be uncomfortable in his presence, no doubt remembering exactly why he had gone into Cardiac arrest last night. The joker instinct inside of him meant that he could not let this opportunity pass him by.
"Oh, it's you! I have a mind to call security, after last night!" Jesse said in the sternest voice he could muster, but fell apart at the expression on their faces. "Joke guys!" They visibly relaxed, and Cordelia hurried up to his bedside, Doyle close behind, not sure what to make of the situation, or how he should act.
"How are you?" Cordelia cooed, laying a hand on Jesse's shoulder. He looked so fragile, but his boyish charm still shone through. When Jesse affirmed that he was okay, she continued, "We are soooo sorry about, you know, almost killing you!"
"Yeah" agreed Doyle, "We're so used to seeing demons, we just didn't realise what a shock it could be to normal people" Doyle noticed Cordelia's hand resting on the young doctor's shoulder, and it made his blood boil, but he managed to suppress it and act normal.
"It's fine, really" Jesse reassured them, "I should be thanking you for telling me the truth"
This brought a huge smile to Cordelia's face, as if a huge weight had dropped from her shoulders. Jesse wondered about her, What must her life be like? I had one run in with a demon, and it scared me witless, how can she go through life facing these things every day? Could it be that behind that ditsy façade, that there was something special? The Irishman obviously thought so, Jesse could tell from the way he was looking at her. It dawned on him that her hand was still on his shoulder, he removed it gently and asked "Just here for a visit or. . ."
"Oh! Sorry, I forgot why we came! Yeah, um, we found out something about the demon that attacked you" Cordelia was embarrassed at being caught out, but she managed to cover it up.
"It was called a mortificare demon" Doyle piped up, glad that Jesse had removed Cordy's hand. "It comes from a group of demons called assassins, raised by one human to kill another. It means that you have an enemy"
"I certainly do" Jesse muttered to himself, then said "I know who it was"
"Great, so just tell us who it was and then we can go stop him" Cordelia said excitedly.
"Hold on a sec" Jesse stopped her, "I have the CIA dealing with this, my girlfriend works for them"
"Girlfriend?" Cordelia said disappointedly. It figured, a gorgeous guy like Jesse had to have a girlfriend.
Doyle tried not to notice Cordy's evident displeasure, but couldn't help being happy at the revelation that the doctor had a girlfriend. "Jesse, the CIA can't help you with something like this, just let us investigate and see what happens. We have experience in these matters"
Jesse was torn, should he let them know about Seville? How exactly would they be able to stop him? The CIA had as good as told him not to say anything, but what harm could it do? And they probably did know more about it than the CIA.
"Okay, I'll let you investigate, for now" So he told them everything, about his kidnapping, about Seville. He left out Delta 5 however, that had been the one thing Kealy had been adamant about. Cordelia and Doyle were horrified to hear about SW-13 and the explosion; it seemed that even though they had experienced many things in their lifetime, they had never come across anything like this. Cordelia looked at him in amazement, and even Doyle seemed to have a new respect for him.
It was a long time until he was finished, and he found his throat was very dry. He coughed a little, which made Cordelia jump. "Oh, god! We've been here for ages! We should let you get some rest" She leapt up from the chair she had been sitting in and started to rummage around in her bag. Eventually she pulled out a small piece of cardboard. "Here" she handed it to Jesse. On it was written
Angel Investigations
We help the helpless
This was followed by a phone number.
"It's kind of like our calling card, just ring us if you have any questions or problems, or if you get attacked again, which could be likely to happen. So just be on your guard" Cordy paused for a second while Jesse read the card.
"Thanks, uh, if you find anything then. . .you know where to find me" They said their goodbyes, and then left, feeling as if some headway had been reached.
Jesse felt exhausted after all that, he picked up the discarded surfing magazine, but decided he did not feel like reading it. Instead, he fell asleep, causing dreams of angels and demons to fly through his mind.
* * * *
Steve Sloan walked down the main corridor of the ICU in Community General hospital. His mind was preoccupied with thoughts about Jesse, and the information he had just learned from the receptionist. He didn't realise it, but his feet were unconsciously steering him towards Jesse's room. He walked past two people standing deep in conversation, a young woman and a man who spoke with a soft Irish tongue. He thought nothing of them as they flitted past.
It finally dawned on him where he was when he found himself outside Jesse's room. He fought the urge to enter, knowing that he could never just sit by his friend's bedside without interrogating him. Still though, he wanted to feel that best friend connection again, the one that he had felt shatter between them when he grasped the fact that Jess didn't trust him enough to tell him what happened.
He didn't know how long he stayed like that, but when Jesse lazily turned over in bed, dreaming of god knew what, the spell broke and he remembered that he was to meet his father in the doctor's lounge. He sighed, and walked away, not looking back at Jesse's sleeping form.
* * * *
"Hey Steve, I thought you said you were just going to the bathroom" Jack Stewart asked his friend with a look of concern. "Where'd you go?" This was when Steve had eventually entered the doctor's lounge. Mark and Amanda turned to look at him also.
"Oh, I uh, I went to see Jesse, and before you say anything, No I did not question him. I didn't even go inside, I just kinda stood there for a while"
Mark knew how hard it was for Steve to admit that. They were all upset about Jesse, but perhaps he hadn't quite understood just how much it had affected Steve. He could see his son's look of frustration at the futility of the situation. He nodded at his son, giving him the message that he did not need to talk about it if he didn't want to. This message was obviously received, as Steve rearranged his facial features to an expression of bland interest.
"So Dad, what did you find out?" Steve asked, trying to keep his mind on the task at hand. Amanda handed him a coffee, which he stared at in an attempt to deflect attention from his face.
"Well, James told me about the group of people that found Jesse. . ." Mark relayed the information that Dr. Spence had given him, he described the group, and James's suspicions about them. Then he told everyone about how these people had caused Jesse to go into Cardiac Arrest. As soon as he said this, Steve flew into a rage.
"So that's why he won't tell us! He's too afraid! I'll find those people if it's the last thing I do, they almost killed him!" Steve threw down his untouched cup of coffee, leaving a dark stain seeping underneath one of the couches. Amanda laid a hand on his arm.
"Steve, calm down. We can't help Jesse by flying off the handle! We will find those people, don't worry" she said soothingly, caressing his arm gently.
Jack looked upon this scene with a little resentment. Of course, he'd known that once he'd left, others would come to take his place; but he'd never thought that it would be someone that they so obviously cared about. He felt almost as if this Jesse Travis had replaced him, he felt disconnected from his friends. He hated to admit it, but he was jealous!
"I know, I know" Steve was saying, a little way off, "I just can't help it" He looked pretty forlorn, so Amanda decided to deflect the subject slightly.
"Mark, I just remembered! Something that the receptionist said to us" she said excitedly, wondering how on earth she could have forgotten. Mark was all ears. "Well, Tori the receptionist described that same group that Dr. Spence did, only she said noticed something strange: she told us that the woman of the group had come up to her and asked where Jesse was, only she didn't seem quite sure about his name. And then when Tori asked the reason why this girl was asking, she answered "He needs our help" why would she say that?"
"It's almost as if she knew what was going to happen!" Mark caught on quickly, "They must have been involved in the attack! We need to find them"
"But how?" Jack piped up; his jealousy towards Jesse didn't hinder his interest in a case. "We have no way of finding them! They are totally anonymous, we have no way of telling who they are or where they came from!"
Mark was thoughtful; his eyes were unfocused as he searched inside his brain for any way that they might continue the investigation. His hand was stroking his chin gently as the wheels inside his head turned slowly. After a few minutes, while everyone delved inside their brains to see if they themselves might find the solution, Mark spoke quietly as if talking to himself, "It seems that the answer lies with Jesse. He's our only link"
* * * *
Kealy Banks strode briskly down that familiar ICU corridor, hearing nothing but the tick tock of her heels on the linoleum. Being late in the evening, there was no one around, and everything around Kealy, apart from the sound of her shoes, was silent. She always felt spooky when walking down these deserted corridors, constantly glancing about as if she expected to be attacked. In her hand, she carried a bag from BBQ Bob's. Jesse had expressed a desire to have some brought to him, something along the lines of "I can't stand this hospital food any longer". Kealy chuckled at the memory.
When she reached Jesse's room he was asleep - it seemed as if he never did anything else - the lights were off, and all that could be heard was the drone of the heart monitor. She was about to step in and announce the food, when she noticed a shimmering light near to the wall to the right of Jesse's hospital bed. It glowed an opalescent blue, and then an emerald green. Kealy hoped fervently that she was imagining it, or that it was a trick of the light, because it just did not give her a good feeling inside.
Suddenly it began to expand, slowly at first, and then at a great speed. Then it was gone. . .but in it's place was one of the most hideous things Kealy had ever seen. It was immensely tall, with a hunchback which made it's head sink down. It was a murky brown, with ridges down it's back, long arms like thick branches, and yellow teeth with saliva dripping down the side of it's mouth. She'd never seen anything like it, but she knew instantly what it was. She'd heard enough about them. It could only be a demon.
She dropped the bag of takeaway food with a thud; the beast barely turned in her direction. Instead, it moved slowly and deliberately towards Jesse, who had no idea of the mortal danger he was in. Kealy could only watch in transfixed horror, as she saw for the first time, the huge club it carried in it's right arm.
Suddenly her CIA training kicked in. She shouted "JESSE LOOK OUT" just as the beast reached his bedside.
Jesse flinched as he woke with a start, and without thinking, leapt out of bed and staggered to the far wall, clutching his middle and gasping out of pain and shock. His eyes widened in undeniable terror as it inched towards him, eyes fixed upon him, not noticing Kealy at all where she stood at the doorway. Jesse's drugged, sleep-ridden mind was whirring away at a speed he had never thought possible. He glanced down at his arm and noticed the line connecting him to the IV stand, in a flash he had grabbed it, pulled the line out of his arm, and was brandishing it in front of him.
The room was absurdly quiet, Kealy seemed rooted to the spot and unable to say anything, Jesse was too scared to say anything, and the monster was eyeing up it's prey. Jesse knew that the IV stand wouldn't last long against the demon, but at least it was keeping it at bay. His eyes roamed around the room, searching for potential weapons. If only Angel had taught me how to fight demons, Jesse thought ruefully, then I'd know what to do. His gaze fell upon the crash cart beside his bed. Of course! How could I not have thought of this earlier!
He swung the IV stand at the demon and yelled "Kealy, the Defibrillators! I'll keep this thing occupied" This was the command Kealy had needed to spring into action, she dashed behind the huge monster, which was using it's club to grapple against Jesse's measly IV stand. She reached forward and pulled the crash cart towards her and picked up the paddles. Then she realised that she didn't have a clue how to use them.
"Jesse What do I do?" She screamed frantically, she could see he was weakening, his wound was obviously hurting him. Jesse hit the beast with a glancing blow across the head, and shouted out instructions in short bursts.
"Now switch it on, to 300 Joules and. . ." Jesse stopped short as the demon swung it's club, which knocked the feeble stand out of Jesse's grip. Kealy didn't watch, because she knew that any second wasted could cost Jesse his life. Finally she had the paddles in her hands, she raised her arms in a wide arc.
As if in slow motion, she brought down the electrically charged paddles upon the demon's hunchback and unleashed the power within. It roared in agony, and then stiffened. Jesse and Kealy watched as it shrivelled up and shrank into the hospital floor, leaving no mark. The paddles lay sparking away on the ground. Long after the demon had gone, the two people stared at the defibrillators, each knowing just how close a call that had been.
Jesse stepped forward, his arms held wide apart. Kealy needed no encouragement as she stepped into his embrace. She felt as if she would never let him go, and he her. The atmosphere was so electric that it could have powered the entire building. Jesse had thought that the two of them could not have become any closer since Rome and SW-13, but he was wrong. He had never felt this before, it was as if they had become one, and would be forever. Kealy felt the same, Jesse had saved her life in that SW-13 building, and now she had returned the favour.
They broke apart abruptly as a commotion could be heard down the hall. It was only a moment before Steve, Mark, Amanda and Jack appeared at the doorway. The chaotic scene that lay before them did nothing to allay their fears. "What the hell happened here?" Steve demanded.
"Jesse, the nurses called us from the station. They heard screaming, and some sort of fight, they were too scared to check it out so they called us" Amanda said frantically, "What happened to the room? Wha-" She stopped, seeing the look on Jesse's face. He had glanced at Kealy, desperately. She knew instantly what he was thinking, they seemed to have connected in a way like never before.
"Tell them" she said softly.
To Be Continued. . .
As always, thanks for the reviews.
All Disclaimers apply
Chapter 6: Returning the favour
"Okay, so me and Doyle are gonna go see Jesse?" Cordelia asked excitedly, she loved the thrill of a new "project" and Jesse happened to be it, plus he was also cute! She really hoped he may be able to shed some light on this assassin demon, she wondered though, who would be after a guy like Jesse? He was the type of person who should never have enemies.
She liked spending time with Doyle too; he was as good a person as any to go to the hospital with. She new he had a crush on her, and there may have been a time when she reciprocated, but she'd moved on from that. As she sat, daydreaming to herself, the conversation amongst the rest of her friends continued.
"Yeah, if all five of us went, we'd get noticed. They've probably got our descriptions by now" Angel replied, "And. . .you two are probably the most normal looking out of all of us" He laughed, dodging a book that had been lobbed at him by Gunn.
"I resent that comment!" Gunn yelled, while Wesley sniggered in the background. Angel swung around in a rare act of humour, picked up the book and promptly flung it back towards Gunn's side of the room. Before long, it had erupted into a fully-fledged book fight, with Cordelia under the table, avoiding stray volumes.
Eventually she'd had enough, crawling out from under the table, "Okay people! Enough already! HEY!!" she shouted. The volley of books ended in a flash, with all four men staring at her. The sound of many books hitting the floor, broke the silence.
"Sorry, we just got a little carried away!" Joked Doyle, stooping to pick up some ruffled books at his feet. He looked a little sheepish at the murderous expression on Cordelia's face.
"I'll say!" Cordelia exclaimed, but with a dawning smile on her face. "But anyway, me and Doyle are gonna leave you guys to clean up this mess! We're going to the hospital, have a nice afternoon!" She waltzed over to Doyle, grabbed his arm, and breezed out the door, still laughing at the look of annoyance on Angel, Wes and Gunn's faces. They were still figuring out how they had been left to clean up.
* * * *
Jesse wasn't surprised to see Cordelia and Doyle again; he was sitting upright in his hospital bed, reading a surfing magazine that Kealy had bought for him, when they entered his room. Seeing them at the door, he had quickly thrust the magazine to one side and looked up at them. They both seemed to be uncomfortable in his presence, no doubt remembering exactly why he had gone into Cardiac arrest last night. The joker instinct inside of him meant that he could not let this opportunity pass him by.
"Oh, it's you! I have a mind to call security, after last night!" Jesse said in the sternest voice he could muster, but fell apart at the expression on their faces. "Joke guys!" They visibly relaxed, and Cordelia hurried up to his bedside, Doyle close behind, not sure what to make of the situation, or how he should act.
"How are you?" Cordelia cooed, laying a hand on Jesse's shoulder. He looked so fragile, but his boyish charm still shone through. When Jesse affirmed that he was okay, she continued, "We are soooo sorry about, you know, almost killing you!"
"Yeah" agreed Doyle, "We're so used to seeing demons, we just didn't realise what a shock it could be to normal people" Doyle noticed Cordelia's hand resting on the young doctor's shoulder, and it made his blood boil, but he managed to suppress it and act normal.
"It's fine, really" Jesse reassured them, "I should be thanking you for telling me the truth"
This brought a huge smile to Cordelia's face, as if a huge weight had dropped from her shoulders. Jesse wondered about her, What must her life be like? I had one run in with a demon, and it scared me witless, how can she go through life facing these things every day? Could it be that behind that ditsy façade, that there was something special? The Irishman obviously thought so, Jesse could tell from the way he was looking at her. It dawned on him that her hand was still on his shoulder, he removed it gently and asked "Just here for a visit or. . ."
"Oh! Sorry, I forgot why we came! Yeah, um, we found out something about the demon that attacked you" Cordelia was embarrassed at being caught out, but she managed to cover it up.
"It was called a mortificare demon" Doyle piped up, glad that Jesse had removed Cordy's hand. "It comes from a group of demons called assassins, raised by one human to kill another. It means that you have an enemy"
"I certainly do" Jesse muttered to himself, then said "I know who it was"
"Great, so just tell us who it was and then we can go stop him" Cordelia said excitedly.
"Hold on a sec" Jesse stopped her, "I have the CIA dealing with this, my girlfriend works for them"
"Girlfriend?" Cordelia said disappointedly. It figured, a gorgeous guy like Jesse had to have a girlfriend.
Doyle tried not to notice Cordy's evident displeasure, but couldn't help being happy at the revelation that the doctor had a girlfriend. "Jesse, the CIA can't help you with something like this, just let us investigate and see what happens. We have experience in these matters"
Jesse was torn, should he let them know about Seville? How exactly would they be able to stop him? The CIA had as good as told him not to say anything, but what harm could it do? And they probably did know more about it than the CIA.
"Okay, I'll let you investigate, for now" So he told them everything, about his kidnapping, about Seville. He left out Delta 5 however, that had been the one thing Kealy had been adamant about. Cordelia and Doyle were horrified to hear about SW-13 and the explosion; it seemed that even though they had experienced many things in their lifetime, they had never come across anything like this. Cordelia looked at him in amazement, and even Doyle seemed to have a new respect for him.
It was a long time until he was finished, and he found his throat was very dry. He coughed a little, which made Cordelia jump. "Oh, god! We've been here for ages! We should let you get some rest" She leapt up from the chair she had been sitting in and started to rummage around in her bag. Eventually she pulled out a small piece of cardboard. "Here" she handed it to Jesse. On it was written
Angel Investigations
We help the helpless
This was followed by a phone number.
"It's kind of like our calling card, just ring us if you have any questions or problems, or if you get attacked again, which could be likely to happen. So just be on your guard" Cordy paused for a second while Jesse read the card.
"Thanks, uh, if you find anything then. . .you know where to find me" They said their goodbyes, and then left, feeling as if some headway had been reached.
Jesse felt exhausted after all that, he picked up the discarded surfing magazine, but decided he did not feel like reading it. Instead, he fell asleep, causing dreams of angels and demons to fly through his mind.
* * * *
Steve Sloan walked down the main corridor of the ICU in Community General hospital. His mind was preoccupied with thoughts about Jesse, and the information he had just learned from the receptionist. He didn't realise it, but his feet were unconsciously steering him towards Jesse's room. He walked past two people standing deep in conversation, a young woman and a man who spoke with a soft Irish tongue. He thought nothing of them as they flitted past.
It finally dawned on him where he was when he found himself outside Jesse's room. He fought the urge to enter, knowing that he could never just sit by his friend's bedside without interrogating him. Still though, he wanted to feel that best friend connection again, the one that he had felt shatter between them when he grasped the fact that Jess didn't trust him enough to tell him what happened.
He didn't know how long he stayed like that, but when Jesse lazily turned over in bed, dreaming of god knew what, the spell broke and he remembered that he was to meet his father in the doctor's lounge. He sighed, and walked away, not looking back at Jesse's sleeping form.
* * * *
"Hey Steve, I thought you said you were just going to the bathroom" Jack Stewart asked his friend with a look of concern. "Where'd you go?" This was when Steve had eventually entered the doctor's lounge. Mark and Amanda turned to look at him also.
"Oh, I uh, I went to see Jesse, and before you say anything, No I did not question him. I didn't even go inside, I just kinda stood there for a while"
Mark knew how hard it was for Steve to admit that. They were all upset about Jesse, but perhaps he hadn't quite understood just how much it had affected Steve. He could see his son's look of frustration at the futility of the situation. He nodded at his son, giving him the message that he did not need to talk about it if he didn't want to. This message was obviously received, as Steve rearranged his facial features to an expression of bland interest.
"So Dad, what did you find out?" Steve asked, trying to keep his mind on the task at hand. Amanda handed him a coffee, which he stared at in an attempt to deflect attention from his face.
"Well, James told me about the group of people that found Jesse. . ." Mark relayed the information that Dr. Spence had given him, he described the group, and James's suspicions about them. Then he told everyone about how these people had caused Jesse to go into Cardiac Arrest. As soon as he said this, Steve flew into a rage.
"So that's why he won't tell us! He's too afraid! I'll find those people if it's the last thing I do, they almost killed him!" Steve threw down his untouched cup of coffee, leaving a dark stain seeping underneath one of the couches. Amanda laid a hand on his arm.
"Steve, calm down. We can't help Jesse by flying off the handle! We will find those people, don't worry" she said soothingly, caressing his arm gently.
Jack looked upon this scene with a little resentment. Of course, he'd known that once he'd left, others would come to take his place; but he'd never thought that it would be someone that they so obviously cared about. He felt almost as if this Jesse Travis had replaced him, he felt disconnected from his friends. He hated to admit it, but he was jealous!
"I know, I know" Steve was saying, a little way off, "I just can't help it" He looked pretty forlorn, so Amanda decided to deflect the subject slightly.
"Mark, I just remembered! Something that the receptionist said to us" she said excitedly, wondering how on earth she could have forgotten. Mark was all ears. "Well, Tori the receptionist described that same group that Dr. Spence did, only she said noticed something strange: she told us that the woman of the group had come up to her and asked where Jesse was, only she didn't seem quite sure about his name. And then when Tori asked the reason why this girl was asking, she answered "He needs our help" why would she say that?"
"It's almost as if she knew what was going to happen!" Mark caught on quickly, "They must have been involved in the attack! We need to find them"
"But how?" Jack piped up; his jealousy towards Jesse didn't hinder his interest in a case. "We have no way of finding them! They are totally anonymous, we have no way of telling who they are or where they came from!"
Mark was thoughtful; his eyes were unfocused as he searched inside his brain for any way that they might continue the investigation. His hand was stroking his chin gently as the wheels inside his head turned slowly. After a few minutes, while everyone delved inside their brains to see if they themselves might find the solution, Mark spoke quietly as if talking to himself, "It seems that the answer lies with Jesse. He's our only link"
* * * *
Kealy Banks strode briskly down that familiar ICU corridor, hearing nothing but the tick tock of her heels on the linoleum. Being late in the evening, there was no one around, and everything around Kealy, apart from the sound of her shoes, was silent. She always felt spooky when walking down these deserted corridors, constantly glancing about as if she expected to be attacked. In her hand, she carried a bag from BBQ Bob's. Jesse had expressed a desire to have some brought to him, something along the lines of "I can't stand this hospital food any longer". Kealy chuckled at the memory.
When she reached Jesse's room he was asleep - it seemed as if he never did anything else - the lights were off, and all that could be heard was the drone of the heart monitor. She was about to step in and announce the food, when she noticed a shimmering light near to the wall to the right of Jesse's hospital bed. It glowed an opalescent blue, and then an emerald green. Kealy hoped fervently that she was imagining it, or that it was a trick of the light, because it just did not give her a good feeling inside.
Suddenly it began to expand, slowly at first, and then at a great speed. Then it was gone. . .but in it's place was one of the most hideous things Kealy had ever seen. It was immensely tall, with a hunchback which made it's head sink down. It was a murky brown, with ridges down it's back, long arms like thick branches, and yellow teeth with saliva dripping down the side of it's mouth. She'd never seen anything like it, but she knew instantly what it was. She'd heard enough about them. It could only be a demon.
She dropped the bag of takeaway food with a thud; the beast barely turned in her direction. Instead, it moved slowly and deliberately towards Jesse, who had no idea of the mortal danger he was in. Kealy could only watch in transfixed horror, as she saw for the first time, the huge club it carried in it's right arm.
Suddenly her CIA training kicked in. She shouted "JESSE LOOK OUT" just as the beast reached his bedside.
Jesse flinched as he woke with a start, and without thinking, leapt out of bed and staggered to the far wall, clutching his middle and gasping out of pain and shock. His eyes widened in undeniable terror as it inched towards him, eyes fixed upon him, not noticing Kealy at all where she stood at the doorway. Jesse's drugged, sleep-ridden mind was whirring away at a speed he had never thought possible. He glanced down at his arm and noticed the line connecting him to the IV stand, in a flash he had grabbed it, pulled the line out of his arm, and was brandishing it in front of him.
The room was absurdly quiet, Kealy seemed rooted to the spot and unable to say anything, Jesse was too scared to say anything, and the monster was eyeing up it's prey. Jesse knew that the IV stand wouldn't last long against the demon, but at least it was keeping it at bay. His eyes roamed around the room, searching for potential weapons. If only Angel had taught me how to fight demons, Jesse thought ruefully, then I'd know what to do. His gaze fell upon the crash cart beside his bed. Of course! How could I not have thought of this earlier!
He swung the IV stand at the demon and yelled "Kealy, the Defibrillators! I'll keep this thing occupied" This was the command Kealy had needed to spring into action, she dashed behind the huge monster, which was using it's club to grapple against Jesse's measly IV stand. She reached forward and pulled the crash cart towards her and picked up the paddles. Then she realised that she didn't have a clue how to use them.
"Jesse What do I do?" She screamed frantically, she could see he was weakening, his wound was obviously hurting him. Jesse hit the beast with a glancing blow across the head, and shouted out instructions in short bursts.
"Now switch it on, to 300 Joules and. . ." Jesse stopped short as the demon swung it's club, which knocked the feeble stand out of Jesse's grip. Kealy didn't watch, because she knew that any second wasted could cost Jesse his life. Finally she had the paddles in her hands, she raised her arms in a wide arc.
As if in slow motion, she brought down the electrically charged paddles upon the demon's hunchback and unleashed the power within. It roared in agony, and then stiffened. Jesse and Kealy watched as it shrivelled up and shrank into the hospital floor, leaving no mark. The paddles lay sparking away on the ground. Long after the demon had gone, the two people stared at the defibrillators, each knowing just how close a call that had been.
Jesse stepped forward, his arms held wide apart. Kealy needed no encouragement as she stepped into his embrace. She felt as if she would never let him go, and he her. The atmosphere was so electric that it could have powered the entire building. Jesse had thought that the two of them could not have become any closer since Rome and SW-13, but he was wrong. He had never felt this before, it was as if they had become one, and would be forever. Kealy felt the same, Jesse had saved her life in that SW-13 building, and now she had returned the favour.
They broke apart abruptly as a commotion could be heard down the hall. It was only a moment before Steve, Mark, Amanda and Jack appeared at the doorway. The chaotic scene that lay before them did nothing to allay their fears. "What the hell happened here?" Steve demanded.
"Jesse, the nurses called us from the station. They heard screaming, and some sort of fight, they were too scared to check it out so they called us" Amanda said frantically, "What happened to the room? Wha-" She stopped, seeing the look on Jesse's face. He had glanced at Kealy, desperately. She knew instantly what he was thinking, they seemed to have connected in a way like never before.
"Tell them" she said softly.
To Be Continued. . .
