Wow, I finally got chapter 15 out. Mostly cuz I have an IRL fan, now. Hi, Darrin! So I figured I'd get out a new chapter before I saw him again this weekend. Heh. Enjoy!

Chapter Fifteen: Heart of the Matter

Gary didn't want to walk back to his room after he'd eaten, so he and Lisa lounged on the couch for a while. Eating had made him feel a bit better, though not by much. He was a little more tired now, yet he still couldn't fall back to sleep because he'd been doing it for so long.

If Lisa had wanted to tell Gary about Ben being there, she didn't have the chance to before her tall visitor had exited from the Hall, sleep-tousled and bleary-eyed. Gary did a double take when he noticed the stranger emerge and walk into the kitchen. Through the link, he felt a twinge of aggravation bubble up from within Lisa.

"Why are you up?" she wanted to know. "We didn't make that much noise."

"I was thirsty. Is that a crime, now?"

Lisa's grip on Gary's hand tightened. She was annoyed, yet Gary didn't understand why. As gently as he could, he prodded, "Lisa…?"

She shook her head quickly, as if trying to dispose of any of the foul things he felt were on the tip of her tongue, and looked at him. Her expression softened a little, and she said with an irritated sigh, "Gary, meet Ben. Ben, Gary."

"Nice to meet you," said Ben, extending his hand over the back of the couch.

"Likewise," Gary responded, shaking the taller guy's hand. A question was on his mind, but he could find no way to phrase it.

"He sensed I was in trouble," Lisa said, evidently reading his mind and saving him the trouble. "Took him long enough," she added with a pointed glare. Ben simply ignored it and headed for a cabinet for a glass. "Ben's an old pain in my…er, acquaintance of mine… immortal like me with powers of his own."

Gary didn't need the link to know what she wanted to say, and a corner of his mouth twitched in a brief half-smile. He asked Ben, "Are you from Alnilam, too?"

Ben shook his head, sipping the water he'd poured himself. "No, but I have the means to come here when the need arises. Unfortunately, I was unable to prevent Lisa from being captured." Gary noted the tone of his voice…disappointment combined with something else he couldn't identify yet. "I was caught in the storm, and I'm just waiting for it to pass before I leave." Thunder sounded in the distance. "Could be a while, though."

"You're leaving as soon as it passes," Lisa insisted. "I have enough problems to worry about."

Ben put the empty glass in the sink and came over, leaning against the back of the couch. "Are you feeling any better?" he asked Gary. "Lisa told me you were sick."

"A little, thanks."

The petty small talk was getting on Lisa's nerves. Gary couldn't help but notice just how much her personality changed with the sudden appearance of this guy. Every fiber of her being seeped utter annoyance and anger. She clearly didn't want Ben there and seemingly wasn't shy about telling him so, though she held her tongue in that respect. She wouldn't make anyone head back out into that storm, even if it seemed to have tapered off a bit.

"Speaking of problems," said Ben, "what are you going to do about Von Braun?"

In truth, Lisa hadn't thought of it. She'd been too worried about Gary's condition to really consider the options. She knew one thing for certain, however: she didn't want to do any real permanent damage, even with everything they'd done to her. Two wrongs don't make a left turn, right?

"What I'd really like to do," she said, standing and pacing the length of the living room with her arms tightly folded, "is give him a taste of his own medicine." She glanced at Gary. "Inject him with his own drugs and let him live through what you're going through."

"Problem with that is getting our hands on it." Ben pointed out.

Lisa blinked and her head turning so fast Gary felt he'd gotten whiplash. " 'Our hands'," she echoed. "What's this, 'our hands'? I told you, I want you out of here when the storm stops."

"I can help," he insisted.

"I neither want nor need your help," Lisa spat, moving to stand in front of Ben so she could glare at him properly – or as properly as a 5-foot-3 woman could do facing a 6-foot-6 guy. Gary had to sit up to watch the exchange, wanting to interrupt but not sure how. "I have everything under control." She, unfortunately, stepped the wrong way on her injured foot and had to catch herself on the edge of the couch. Her ankle was healing, but not fast enough for her liking, and this annoyed her even more.

"Yes," Ben said skeptically. "I see that. What, exactly, is your plan to give this guy a taste of his own medicine?"

Anger was radiating off Lisa's body in waves. Had her wings been out, both men were positive they'd be flaming red. She growled, "I can break into the place and steal a syringe, no problem."

"Lis," said Ben, eliciting a glare from her that was both icy and hot at the same time. That nickname wasn't one he should be calling her. "You're getting overconfident again. Look what happened the first time." He gestured both to Gary and to Lisa's twisted ankle.

Suddenly, Gary felt an odd twinge somewhere in his body. He couldn't figure out what it was, yet he didn't like it. "Lisa?" he called softly.

She was so caught up with the argument that she didn't hear him. "I learn from my mistakes, thank you very much," she snapped. "I can figure out a way in and out."

"And how do you intend to inject the guy?" Ben asked, all too calmly, which furthered her anger. "The building probably has security."

"Invisibility."

"Which you can't keep up for very long. You know that."

The twinge was becoming more painful and localized around his chest. Gary called for her again, this time louder. "Lisa?"

Again, she didn't hear him. "Just enough. I'm not stupid, Ben."

"I didn't say you were. But, you're reckless."

Pain flitted through Gary's left arm. Some corner of his brain screamed: heart attack. If only he could get Lisa's attention…

"And you're not?" The heated argument continued, Lisa for some reason oblivious to Gary's plight.

Finally, as pain shot through his arm and chest, he cried, "Lisa!" and, at last, she noticed, for she clutched at her chest and groaned, knees buckling. Ben caught her before she lost her balance completely, but she pulled away very quickly as the link locked the pain out and was at Gary's side in an instant.

He, however, was still suffering and she needed to act quickly before any permanent damage happened. Rather than bark out orders to Ben, she figured things would go quicker if she did them herself, so she instead instructed him to stay with Gary.

Lisa raced to the kitchen and opened a cabinet to the right of the refrigerator. Inside was a whole manner of bottles and vials of Medicus' medicines. She picked one particular one out and carried it back with her. This particular one was a sort of spray bottle filled with an orange-colored liquid.

"Gar, open your mouth," she instructed. "I'm going to spray this in, and I want you to swallow."

Through pain, he managed to do as she told him. Almost immediately after he'd swallowed the orange-flavored medication, the pain in his arm and chest receded, leaving him drained and breathless, but no worse for wear than he had been that she could tell right away.

Lisa held one of his hands in her own, placing her other on his shoulder. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Gary nodded and took a deep breath. "I…I think so, yeah."

Ben idly pointed out, "You want Von Braun to go through that?"

Lisa shot him a look that could've melted lead. Before she could answer, Gary quietly asked if he could go back to his room. Lisa, of course, agreed and helped him back down the Hall, but the glance she threw over her shoulder at Ben promised that the argument was far from over.

End chapter fifteen.