She thought that maybe she was dying. Finally. It sure as hell had taken her body long enough to finally give up the fight and just throw in the towel, wave the white flag, whatever. Still, she wasn't positive that was the case and so she decided it might be wise to work out what details she could manage before she mentally staked her claim one way or the other.
First of all, she wasn't cold any more – not just everyday run of the mill warm either but lounging-in-a-bikini-on-a-white-sand-beach-in-the-Bahamas warm. Second, she wasn't hurting as much which totally kicked ass since, for once in a very long time, it didn't feel like someone had totally kicked her ass. Third, the glorious smells of food wafted on the air: meaty and cheesy and mega-wat scrumptious food that made her mouth water and her stomach do somersaults in jubilant expectation – the wonderful foodie smells could only be improved upon by being scrumtabulous foodie tastes.
Yep, she was dying, or possibly already had died.
She could feel fingers gently touching her. Barely there touches that didn't immediately make her tremble with terror. In the dim recesses of her brain was the notion that whoever it was that had her now was just lulling her into a false sense of security so they could crush her spirit all the more when they killed her. She didn't want to listen to those niggling fears but, based on experiences, they were all too real possibilities. And seriously, who was she kidding? Her spirit was already destroyed. There was nothing anyone could do to restore what had already been mangled beyond all recognition.
She wanted to open her eyes and see if she was really dead or not, not that she was sure what an afterlife would look like beyond being relatively sure it wouldn't have pearly gates and golden streets. She wasn't even sure she believed in an afterlife at all. Even so, she wanted to know something of her surroundings. Bracing herself as much as she could manage without actually moving, she cracked one eye open enough to peek out at the limited world around her.
Soft light illuminated an oddly, vaguely familiar room. From her position she could make out a few pieces of furniture, stacks of books, some homey odds and ends... there were also people. People she had no desire to focus on. Obstinately ignoring anything that might have a pulse, she surveyed the things that filled the space. She couldn't shake the feeling of familiarity. Narnia. Where the hell had that came from? The afterlife wasn't really supposed to look like the plush set of a period children's movie, was it?
The people she didn't want to acknowledge kept moving around and invading her field of vision, not to mention her personal space. They kept touching her with their cool fingers – strange fingers lingering on her hand, her wrist, her arm, her neck, her face, her head, her shoulder, nearly everywhere... Kind, gentle touches that still made her skin crawl with fearful anticipation. If they would just stop touching her she'd be a lot happier chilling out in Narnia surrounded by musty old books and vintage wood paneling.
The ignored people were talking softly among themselves, seemingly unaffected by her refusal to acknowledge them. Even had she wanted to hear their words, she doubted she could have. Their worried voices kept getting tangled in the fluffy bundle of spun silk floss that was currently residing in her skull in the place ordinarily relegated for her brain. Her head felt heavy with the weight of all those things she was adamantly working so hard to ignore. She imagined they were like so many flies caught in a spider's web and bundled up in gossamer threads to be absorbed at a later date.
Content to wait out whatever was to come, she allowed herself to relax back into the cushioned softness beneath her. Still ignoring the people around her, she continued to peek out at the inanimate objects in her direct line of sight.
oOo
Tamsin wondered if she should point out to the rest of the room the fact that Kenzi was awake. Clearly, Kenzi wasn't interested in alerting anyone to her own wakefulness and so Tamsin elected to remain silent herself for the time being. She sat silent, watching and waiting – she'd already done quite a bit of that over the past three years, a little longer wouldn't hurt any of them and hopefully it would help Kenzi.
Bo had stationed herself at Kenzi's side much as the Valkyrie had. From the first moment sitting next to the petite Russian, Bo had refused to let go of her hand. Even as she drowsed fitfully, as she now did, she rested her head near Kenzi's shoulder and clasped her hand between both of her own. They were all of them afraid of losing her again. Bo even more so than any of the rest.
Tamsin had no doubt that Bo would have noticed Kenzi's was no longer sleeping had the succubus not fallen into her own exhausted doze. She figured the least she could do was keep watch over them both. Settling in, she propped her chin in her hand and refused to allow her eyes to drift shut.
"There are some supplies I'll need in order to continue treating her beyond the rudimentary first aid I already administered. Some of them will be easy enough to acquire, others...I'll need to find a clinic or a mobile imaging company to provide some assistance. The Fae community has some available to them, it's just a matter of finding one who will be willing to help treat a human." Lauren had already begun compiling a list, a very extensive list from what Tamsin could see. "The medicines we need to begin administering as soon as possible, the rest can wait a day or so but I'd rather get started on her treatments as soon as possible. We have a lot of lost time to make up for. Unfortunately, I have to get back to my lab but I'll return this afternoon to check on Kenzi."
Trick accepted the list, casting a worry-filled look Kenzi's way.
"What can we do?" Hale had been ever-present and rose to his feet, crossing the distance to where Lauren was gathering her things in preparation to depart.
"Be patient. She's going to need as much patience as we can muster and then some." Lauren placed her hand on Kenzi's head, smoothing her hair gently. "This is going to be a long process but, if there's anything of the real Kenzi left in her, it's not impossible."
"And if the real Kenzi, our Kenzi, is gone?" Dyson questioned.
Lauren swallowed. "Then we make her as comfortable as possible and learn about the new Kenzi."
Dyson and Hale nodded, returning to their places as Lauren briefly made eye contact with Tamsin. Tamsin, for her part, thought that if anyone should know their patient was it awake it would be the doctor and she was relieved to see the flicker of unnamed emotion spark in Lauren's eye as her attention lighted on Kenzi once more.
Lauren glanced back at Tamsin, mouthing the words she wanted to speak. "Is she?"
A quick nod confirmed Lauren's suspicion.
"For how long?" Lauren's whisper was so soft Tamsin nearly missed hearing her.
She shrugged "A little few minutes maybe, not much longer than that though. She doesn't seem to want us to know."
"She probably feels safer that way. It's at least a modicum of control that I doubt she was allowed to wield in the last three years." Lauren sighed deeply – they'd all been doing a lot of that recently. "Kenzi? Kenzi, honey, do you know where you are?" She delicately touched Kenzi's cheek, turning her head just enough so that she had no choice but look at the doctor – or shut her eyes. "Kenzi..."
Tamsin watched as pale blue eyes drifted fully open, staring unseeing at Lauren. There was no emotion, no soul or spirit behind that empty gaze. Tamsin could only hope she'd successfully managed to stuff it down beneath layers of self-protection rather than have lost it completely.
"Kenzi," Lauren repeated once again, caressing her cheek in an attempt to lure her out of her shell. Lauren's voice drew Bo's notice, even if Kenzi continued to ignore her.
Bo roused, her hand tightening on Kenzi's. "Lauren?"
"She's awake but I don't know how alert she is yet. The sedative is probably still pretty strong in her system. She is however, incredibly stubborn, sedated or not."
"That's our Kenzi." Bo smiled.
Kenzi seemed to respond to Bo's voice. Her fingers twitched and her heart rate increased causing the portable heart monitor to follow suit – beeping out an ever-increasing, somewhat erratic tempo.
"Kenzi?" Bo's expression darkened as Kenzi's breathing became as erratic as her beating heart. "Lauren!" Bo caught Kenzi when she suddenly moved to lunge from the couch, feeling her friend begin to hyperventilate as she pressed Kenzi's face into the crook of her neck. Automatically, she wrapped her arms around her.
Tamsin moved with Kenzi, catching up the mound of displaced blankets and quickly bundling one back around her. She'd worked too hard to warm the tiny Russian woman to have her ruin it all now. "Is this a good sign? I can't tell if she's trying to hug Bo or attack her."
Lauren stood dumbfounded. "I have no idea but her breathing seems to be improving and her heart rate is slowing back down gradually. Surely it's a good sign."
Bo smoothed the mussed hair from Kenzi's face. "If the death grip she's got on my waist is any indication, I'm pretty certain she's not trying to launch a one-woman assault."
Everyone in the room had sprung to life with Kenzi's sudden movement. Still unsure of her intent, Hale and Dyson were slow to return to their seats but Trick approached his granddaughter and her best friend.
"This is a very good sign. Buried somewhere deep inside she still remembers your voice as something to cling to, something that won't cause her any harm."
Bo tightened her grip and awkwardly transferred herself and Kenzi both to the couch while Tamsin readjusted pillows and blankets – she needed something to keep bust with, to disguise the fact that her hands were shaking. Kenzi's entire desperate act to get to Bo's protective embrace had been completely silent. Even her distressed breathing had been without any real noise.
"Are you sure she can talk? What if the guard lied?"
to be continued...