Chapter V

---Broken Wings---

"As the sun sets on battlefields,

I hope you can save me,

I hope you can save our wounded hearts.

Distance makes my heart grow colder,

Distance makes my heart grow older,

Just enough to cut the air from your lungs."

Funeral for a friend – Bend your arms to look like wings.

The Bladebreakers where somewhere in a doze, each of them leaning their heads on each other for support, Tyson's mouth let out a small trickle of dribble... Ray appeared to be purring, Kenny's legs where brought upwards around Dizzi and Max sat with his legs hanging from the side with Hilary somewhere in between.Alexander sat in the opposite seats of the corridor to the others, with her head in her hands; James found it hard to tell whether she was sleeping. Arkenzere made an appearance every once in while to see if there had been any news.

The double ward doors swung open and closed again, making the Bladebreaker's jump. Alexander lifted her face so her crimson eyes peered over her petite hands. A young doctor appeared, sweating slightly but looked thoroughly pleased, "Kai is okay. You can see him now." He smiled, holding open the door, "But not too many at once, he's under heavy sedation so he may be a little gruff." Xander smiled, "Thank-you doctor, you guys go in first, I'll stay here," Ray yawned, "Don't be silly, you saved him." Xander rubbed her eyes replying with sternness, "I'll wait okay?" They nodded and followed the doctor. James sat beside Xander and pulled her into a one-armed hug, "It'll be okay, you'll see."

The ward was a large and spacious, with open windows and crisp white sheets on the unoccupied beds. The walls where painted a creamy white with apple green, and portraits of famous people and posters where plastered above most beds. There where about 10 patients, most of them sleeping due to the time of night, but a few lay awake, not being able to fall back to sleep again due to the commotion Kai had caused. Never the less they didn't mind seeing a celebrity on the ward. Kai was in a bed at the far end of the room, beside an immense window with a blind drawn half way across. They where relieved to see Kai, staring up at the ceiling, letting off a beeping noise every once in a while. Kai caught sight of them and smile slightly, waving his arm as best as he could.

"Hey guys," His smile was slightly un-natural, but the others didn't seem to care much. "Hey Kai, good to see your getting better bud," Tyson smiled examining the stitches running across his forehead. "So how badly are you hurt Kai?" A gentle voice asked, sitting beside him. "20 stitches, bruised ribs, some cuts and bruises, but that's bout it." Hilary gave a sigh of relief, "So no gunshots?" Kai laughed, "Nah, Xander arrived just in time. Say," He looked around, "Where is she?" Ray smiled, as he leant against the wall, "She wanted to come in after us," Kai gave a sigh of disappointment and looked around at the beaming faces, Tyson gave a growl of great dislike in his throat as he watched the fluids in Kai's drip, Kai watched in amusement and pulled him into a tight hug, "Will you stop worrying? That's Hilary's job," He laughed as he pushed Tyson away again, Hilary pouted, "Oh you will so pay for that one day," Kai smiled, "The sooner the better,"

"So when can you come home?" Asked Max, managing to retain his cheery manor, "Tomorrow hopefully," Kai yawned, "But I'm not sure, depends on the doctors really, they think I could go into shock or something stupid..." Hilary looked at him with slight disgust, "You don't really care do you?" Kai laughed, "This is nothing compared to what happened at the Abbey, you could end up staying like I was for days before anyone would help. So I'm used to this. I just really hope Xander's okay." Ray nodded, "She was understandably a little upset when they wheeled you away from casualty, but she got her head around it," Kai lowered his gaze, "What about the baby?" Ray sighed, "I'm sure it's fine Kai, you shouldn't worry about that right now, you getting better is our main concern." A nurse appeared with a cheery expression upon her old face, the skin covering her jaw fell baggy, "Okay Kai, let's see if that temperature of yours has gone down, oh and a young lady in the corridor asks if it is okay to see you," Tyson nodded, "Come on guys, let's give Kai a break..." The others said their goodbyes and followed suit.

Xander found Kai hopelessly staring around the room allowing himself to grumble about one thing or the other. The young nurse who now accompanied the other, was beaming at him batting her eyelashes and blushing slightly not that Kai seemed to care. Alexander approached his bed and kissed him on the forehead, to which the red-haired nurse gave a reproachful look of jealously and muttered something about having to check other patients. "Your looking better now," She smiled pulling a large wooden green chair aside his bed, "Though you're still looking peaky,"

Kai laughed, "I'm fine, really I'm okay." Xander raised a thin raven eyebrow but then smiled, "Good to hear it." Kai took her hand in his own free hand, "How are you?" He asked sincerely, "I'm okay. It's not easy but I'm okay. Look, I'm sorry about this whole mess, it was my fault... if only I had told you sooner," She sobbed slightly, retracting her hand away from his grip. Kai lowered his gaze, "No, I set you up, you don't understand that." Alex furrowed her eyebrows, "What do you mean?" Kai sighed, "I met Voltaire from the airport a week ago, I knew what hotel he was staying in, I knew why he was here, and he told me all about him and you, in every detail. The only thing I didn't know that he was going to hit you, but I'm sure it wasn't intentional," He heard her make an un-commuting noise in her throat, "Nothing's ever intentional with your grandfather is it?" Kai glared at her slightly, "Forgive me for trying to help you," He replied sarcastically, "Help me?" She outburst, gathering attention, "What are you looking at?" She snapped at the others, making them hastily hide under their bed sheets, "Setting me up is helping is it Kai, and then bailing him out of prison? Next you'll be telling me you've agreed to be best man," Kai switched his gaze to a poster opposite him, "It's not like I had a choice really,"

"Kai, he told me if I didn't marry him he would kill you," Kai nodded slightly, his gaze still transfixed on a 'stop smoking now' poster, "The man is getting lonely in his old age, he never used to be like this before grandma died," Xander leant back in her chair, "I dread to think that Loire could be turning in her grave about now." Kai shot a glare at her, "Don't speak of Loire that way!" "Your in no position to tell me what to do Kai," She spat back. A long silence brewed between them, "Look, I'm sorry okay, we can sort this out, but I need you to be strong until that time comes."

"And when will that time be Kai? I haven't got time to wait around." She replied painfully, "I'm going to have to marry your grandfather in 2 weeks, how does that make you feel?" Kai looked at her, "How am I meant to feel about it? Happy? I fucking hate the idea." Alexander regained some calmness in her voice, "I don't know if I should trust you anymore," She sighed, looking away. "What do you mean?" He asked, "Look at everything I've done for you over the years, all you can do to repay me is stab me in the back! How do I know everything you said to me the other night wasn't lies?" Kai glared at her, "Don't be stupid of course I meant it," Alexander got up from her chair, "You can rot in hell for all I care right now," Kai begged her, "Please can't we talk about it?" She glared down at him, "There's nothing to be said, and you've made it quite clear where I stand with you. So I couldn't care less." Xander almost sprinted out of the door in sheer disgust with herself, as the doors swung closed on her (Dranzer: She's leaning against them ) she could hear Kai yelling for her, with the doctors telling him to calm down, she sunk into a nearby chair and began to yell at herself in between hard sobs. The others watched her in a surprised manor, but left her alone until James demanded that it was time to go home.

"As the sun sets (we push and pull apart)

On battlefields (enough for this to end)

I hope you can save me (from ourselves)

I hope you can save us from ourselves.

Denial in the arms of our saviors,

And my heart is torn to pieces,

Just enough to cut the air from your lungs.

And paper cuts and bloody hands,

In the middle, they would meet."