Typical. You fight through hell, hacking through legions of beasts, rabid mutts, zombies and demon-spawn; to then fear the blizzard of a snowstorm after squaring off death once again. Riley just moved her eyes so she was gazing towards Stonehaven that was overwhelmed by the large snowflakes that seemed to force their way into the vehicle. The Mercedes was being battered by the howling ice-cold wind. A frown engulfed her features as she took in the intensity of the weather and the intermittent gusts of wind that deterred her usual 'get up and go' approach. The young Doctor turned to face her companion who had rotated the keys within the ignition and removed his feet from the pedals, his eyes dull with exasperation as he prepared himself to face the snow. Riley adjusted the collar of her coat at the same time as Nicky pushed open his door and moved into the blizzard.

The young Doctor gave a cautious look towards the lofty werewolf who was standing on the other side of the car, a look of disdain falling onto his features as he wrestled with the wind to try and get the Mercedes door closed; it seemed that the look he gave her only made her more uneasy as she attempted to make her way through the snow storm, clinging onto the lapels of her coat as she went. It seemed this dangerous weather had literally come out of nowhere considering the pair of them had spent the majority of the day in town and she couldn't help feeling like a Sasquatch struggling to walk through the snow to catch a meal. But Stonehaven was in front of her, partly hidden by snow, but Riley could just about make out the building standing proudly as the snow spiralled and whirled in any and every direction.

Nick was stepping in behind her within seconds of getting the door closed, his features scrunched up into a grimace as the snow stung the skin of his cheeks. Riley just huddled closer within herself as she unobservantly watched Nicky stumbling through the snow and towards the door. She wasn't surprised that Antonio had engraved into his son the proper etiquette in regards to treating a lady right considering the pair of them were very important within the business industry. But, as Nick directed his sophisticated and old worldly attitudes towards her, the fluttering of her heart only grew more unbearable. Was this the way all of the other woman lucky enough to fall onto Nick's radar felt when he flirted and wooed her? Did he wow them with his sophistication in hopes of seducing them? Riley knew that yes was the answer to her questions, but as Nick held the door for her and placed his large and comfortingly warm hand to the bottom of her back she couldn't help but feel a little flustered regarding his affections. Blimey, she really was a girl.

However, the heat that was radiating within Stonehaven walls bombarded Riley's senses as she watched Nick closing the door behind them. Riley just flashed him a very small smile as she lifted her hand to her left wrists, hoping to hide the dried blood and the wounded state of her wrist. She really didn't want her family to know the fact she almost got carried off by whatever this creature was. The Doctor was suddenly flung from her thoughts when she heard the booming footsteps of her companions as they moved from the depths of the house.

"Oh thank god!" a familiar voice sounded behind her. Riley just spun around to face her companion and momentarily calmed her heart as she noticed Antonio's form barrelling through the large archway of the living room, grabbed at her hands and flung his arms around her in a bone crushing hug. The werewolf could only smile at his deep concern as her elder momentarily pulled back to look towards his son and then back to her again. "Hours Riley, we've been looking for hours. Are you okay?" Antonio boomed, his eyes flashing towards his son who was ungracefully ruffling his hair in hopes of dislodging the freezing flakes of snow from his hair. As Riley turned to follow Antonio's gaze a large smile overwhelmed her features for she had never seen Nick so dishevelled considering his coat was falling to pieces and now his usually immaculate hair was sodden and messy.

"A few bumps and bruises, nothing serious." Riley mentioned as she motioned towards the wrist she was holding, knowingly keeping the large bruise on her hip a secret considering her stomach and her pelvis had stopped her fall when she finally came back into contact with the trees and the ground. "I'm fine really." Riley breathed as she answered Antonio's incredulous look, her eyes fluttering closed as she tried to shift the conversation in hope of deterring any more questions pointed in her direction.

"She's a lot more resourceful than we believed." Nick smiled, as he placed his car keys onto the foyer table in front of him, careful to not knock any of the picture frames housed on the surface. After that he started pulling his jacket from his arms as he went to hang up his coat.

"I still think Jeremy should take a look at you, just in case." Antonio voiced with suspicious concern.

"I'm a Doctor Tonio, I can look after myself." Riley huffed and from a serious but pointed look provided by his son Antonio abruptly got the message.

"Where's Clay? He looked in pretty rough shape when I dropped him home?" Nicky expressed, hurriedly changing the subject as he stood behind Riley, sharing her concerned expression as the pair of them tried to gauge Antonio's expression.

"He's upstairs. Both Elena and Jeremy are with him in hopes of cleaning his wounds." Antonio started. "He's been here a while but I don't think Jeremy knows how to treat him. They need you're help." Antonio finished as the concern for his fellow pack mate visibly shone on his countenance as he took in the weary forms of his son and Riley.

"That's okay." Riley breathed before turning her attention towards Nick who had been resting his hands to his hips. "Would you be able to fetch some ice packs, my medical bags and the brown vile and ice-packs from my medicare fridge please?"

"Of course. I'll meet you up there." Nick replied with a nod of his head and a sad smile on his features as he headed towards the corridor that lead towards the kitchen while Antonio hurriedly excused himself when he noticed Karl's beckoning form from within the living room. The young Doctor simply heaved in a large lungful of air, as if to prepare herself for what she was about to face as she began to climb the stairs and towards Clayton who would be anything but happy to see her.

0-0-0

Had she been an intruder she had no doubt she would have been jumped by the pack; the stairs were creaking and protesting as the old wood of the twisted stairway struggled to take her weight. She could see the blue wallpapered walls were adjourned with expensive paintings that were either bought or painted by her alpha, but as she turned left at the top of the stairs she was well aware of the movements taking place within Clayton and Elena's bedroom.

She nervously padded towards the door, raised her hand and knocked gently a few times. The inhabitants of the room stopped their talking as they watched Riley uneasily walking into the room, her hair dripping from the melted snow as she placed a very weak smile onto her features.

Elena was seated by Clayton's bedside near the hearth. Her alpha was trifling about by the wall that had become inundated with all her supplies and medical apparatus that she would need to aid in her old friends healing. She knew now that Nick was probably searching high and low for her medical bag considering the pair of them had been unaware of Jeremy's hindsight and brought it up already.

Riley watched as Jeremy gently dabbed at the grotesque scratches that dominated Clayton's left shoulder. As she grew closer she could see that Clayton's left arm was uselessly resting on his thigh, his face blank as he tried to hide the pain that was evidently shining within his eyes. It was also in that moment that she realised Elena was lovingly clinging onto his hand, her fingers absentmindedly running up and down his arm gently as her fingers felt for the warm, hairy skin of his arms; Riley knew that she was trying to alleviate the pain and the only way she thought she could do that was by being with him.

But as the young Doctor came to Clayton's bedside she was finally able to get a good look at Clayton's condition. His usually flushed cheeks were pale and gaunt, his chest was heaving as the pain from his shoulder ricochet into his chest and Riley was able to notice the sheen of sweat that was trailing over his body. There was no denying that Clayton was undergoing the first stages of poisoning, the same poison that she suffered with no less.

"How are you feeling?" Riley questioned as she came to a full stop at the top of Clayton's bed, a small smile on her lips as she ran her fingers through her fringe in hopes of getting it away from her features.

"What do you think?" Clayton snapped, the gruffness of his voice seeming to exhaust him.

"Right, sorry, stupid question." Riley replied with an awkward and nervous exhale of air. Elena simply smiled towards her friend before she turned towards the fire to gaze at the warm flickering flames of the log fire. It seemed she had far too much on her mind to reprimand her husband. Riley just turned towards Jeremy whose normally impassive expression seemed to be faltering as he ushered Riley towards the window.

The young Doctor headed towards the table that held her supplies. Bloodied clothes, bowls of red water and strewn bandages were dominating the table as Riley felt Jeremy's hand resting on her forearm, his eyes staring directly into hers as he prepared to bring her up to speed.

"I've managed to stop the bleeding, but Clay has lost all feeling in his arm." Jeremy whispered, his eyes gazing deeply into hers, her grey eyes fluttering as she studied her expression.

"Paralysis?"

"It seems that way."

"It could be the poison." Riley uttered quietly as she glanced back towards Clayton who was gazing into nothing. It was happening again. The event that was her nightmare was repeating itself but this time she was on the other end. This time she was the healer instead of the patient and for the first time in her life that terrified her. Back then she was only a teenager; a teenager in complete agony she could barely remember her own name so how the hell was she to remember the treatment she received from the doctors?

Images flashed behind her eyes of the doctors poking and prodding as they scrapped tissue samples from her body. Her rational mind clouded by the sheer agony her body suffered as she withered and pulsated under the bright lights of surgery or in her private bay. For once, she could have done with the support of her family, for their serene beings to calm her when her temper would flare or the pain would become unbearable. Much to her dismay she had been on her own. Now she had the constant reminder of unappealing wounds that littered her back. But if she did nothing Clay would die, that was assured and if she let the man die she knew she would never be able to forgive herself. Deep down she knew that Elena herself would personally throw her from the pack and never let her back.

But through the haze of this turmoil she was hoping that the vial she had Nick collecting may help to treat whatever poison this was. She had been spending many evenings sitting in front of her microscopes in hopes of finding some sort of correlation to snake, spider or lizard venom but she was still coming up empty. And now it was one of her family that was suffering at the hands of this creature.

She just looked back towards the werewolf who was sinking into the large bed, his pale complexion, horrific wounds and numerous bandages and bruises that littered his body were only a few ailments her friend had been through. Internally his body was fighting an even greater battle. It seemed Jeremy understood her turmoil as he rested his hand to her shoulder to bring her attention back towards him.

"Riley?" Jeremy voiced gently as he grasped hold of her hand to try and shake her from her haunted memories.

"After my attack I lost all feeling in my legs. Doctors assumed it was due to bruising of my spinal vertebrae, some even speculated that they had been knocked out of alignment but after several x-rays and other tests the doctors were only able to find severe muscle bruising and nothing regarding my spine. After a few days the doctors came to the conclusion that the evasive poison in my blood stream must have been the reason." Riley uttered as she disclosed a little more information regarding her recovery. "A hypothesis was quickly proven when the feeling in my legs started to come back when the doctors finally found a medical solution that was inhibiting the poison. I believe Clayton maybe going through the same thing."

"And do you have any ideas in how to stop it?" Jeremy questioned, but before Riley was even able to answer another knock to the door pulled each of them from their thoughts. Nick was moving into the room, his shirt sticking to his shoulders as the melting snow from his hair had fallen onto his shirt. Riley just headed towards him as the pair of them met halfway.

"I have what you asked for, but I was unable to find your medical bag." Nick voiced as he tried to pass over the ice-packs and the vial in his hands.

"My mistake." Riley started as she took the brown bottle from Nicky. "Jeremy already collected my supplies and made a start." She finished as she motioned towards the desk in which Jeremy was standing in front of.

"So what do you need this for?" Nick frowned as he motioned towards the freezing gels in his hand. Riley's answer was to simply throw a towel at him.

"The ice pack is for your jaw. It should help with the swelling and the bruising." Riley countered as she tugged on a pair of latex gloves, grabbed a large supply of gauze and carried the bottle of liquid towards Clay's bedside. When she felt the mattress dipping under her weight she looked up towards Nick who was shooting her his thanks with his eyes as he perched to the edge of the table with the ice pack pressed to his jaw, a small wince taking hold of his expression before he stayed out of the way.

"I'm hoping this will help with your fever." Riley said as she picked up the gauze and tipped the tip of the bottle to the cotton.

"It's not the fever I'm worried about." Clayton breathed heavily. Riley just rested her hand to his shoulder before dabbing the wound with her pad. She should have expected a resounding yelp and a shove but as she clung onto Clayton's arm the scowl that he gave her was answered with one of her own. The doctor within her really wasn't going to take a no for an answer.

"If you'd just stay still this wouldn't hurt so much." Riley growled as she placed the gauze back to the open wound. Clayton just glared before wincing again.

"Well if you hadn't been following the damn thing we wouldn't be in this mess."

"And if you had arrived on time we could have tracked it together."

"Well you should try letting people in a little more to detail your plans."

"And you should learn to control your temper." Riley resounded just as fiercely as Clayton tried to answer with a comeback of his own. Luckily for Riley he did not have the energy to quarrel with her. "But I will thank you for your protection if it's all the same." Riley finished as she continued to work. As she lifted her eyes to locate the bottle once again she could see an affectionate smile pressed to Nick's lips as he continued to cradle his jaw while Elena smiled lovingly towards the pair of them.

"Why the fuck does this hurt so much? What is in that thing? Acid?" Clayton grumbled painfully as Riley continued to clean at the wound.

"It's a universal anti-venom."

"A universal what?"

"I have friends in high placed Clayton." Riley started with a smile. "I have a friend who runs a lab at the Royal Veterinary College in London. Along with his team he's been trying to synthesis an anti-venom that treats all sorts of poisons. Luckily for us he's a vampire and gave me a vial in hopes of testing it out on werewolves. Said it might even work better on us considering we're half animal. I guess we're going to find out."

"So I'm a test subject?"

"It's been tested on humans and it works pretty well. It's just never been tested on wolves before."

"So I am a lab rat?"

"Yes Clayton, yes you are." Riley uttered sarcastically. "But you're a very beautiful one. Nothing you're going to say is going to stop me from using this."

"Yes there is. I ain't taking that shit."

"You will or the poison that I found in the dead girls back, the poison that I was riddled with and the poison now swimming in your blood will kill you."

"Then can you just hurry the hell up? This is fucking killing me."

0-0-0

Riley was quiet as she picked at the food that had been left over at dinner; her fingers taking the toppings from the pizza bread in front of her as she absentmindedly ate her food in silence at the same time as trying to bind her wrist. It seemed she was only eating out of duty rather than pleasure considering the food was already turning hard and was freezing cold. She had no time to enjoy her dinner; she had far too much to do. As it was she had to take routine checks of Clayton's observations in hopes of the anti-venom aiding his body in combating the poison within his body. She also now had the dutiful task of trying to synthesise more for future use and to also build up an understanding in how the poison worked.

After a few bites, she pushed her food away and stared at the vivid smears of blood on her wrist. The nightmares always seem to catch up to you, she thought. For years she had built her barriers, to become immune to the emotions that came with facing this creature, to be strong and detached enough to fight it and live with the consequences. She knew how to play the part, to keep herself hidden and how to fake her feelings regarding this situation, but still those faces stayed with you. The faces of the dead; today she had almost become one herself.

The Doctor just looked down towards her wrist, the open wounds beginning to scab over as she attempted to clean away the dried blood that had resided on her skin for far to long. But this cold weather was making her a little uncomfortable; whenever it was chilly her back always seemed to seize up. A punishing reminder of the horrific attack that had resulted in her mutilated back and the last day she thought she would see. Her wounds were aching now, but she knew it wasn't because of the temperature but because of what she had lived through today.

She was tempted to call Sophie, needing to compartmentalize the events of the day and distract herself from the events here at Stonehaven. However, when she looked towards the clock on the counter to her left she realised it was far too late to ring her. Unbeknown to her, she realised she had a deep desire to talk to her; she wanted to hear about what was happening in London, she wanted to know about her patients, she wanted to discuss with Sophie regarding the trivial actions she had completed over the last week since their last phone call. Riley was desperate to keep her connections with her own 'human' life and she was freaking out about when she was next to face some sort of normality.

But, she couldn't shake the feeling that Sophie's ability of living a relatively happy human life was the one thing that made them strangers; she breathed a different air, she worried for infinitesimal problems and she did not have to worry about when the next attack on her life might arrive.

So she sat listening to the sounds of the forest that surrounded Stonehaven, which seemed to emphasise the serene stillness of the kitchen. She looked down towards the bowl of water, the gauze pads and the bandages in front of her and she realised she really needed to get her wrist bound before someone came to disturb her. Riley knew that that would be highly unlikely considering Elena was vigilantly staying at Clayton's side, Antonio and Jeremy had retired for the evening and she didn't really know what Nick or Karl were up too.

Nevertheless, Riley let out a frustrated sigh as she placed the gauze into the warm water, rung out any excess liquid and gently placed it to her broken skin to try and remove the dried blood from her skin. The Doctor just winced when she pressed to hard to her tender skin and inwardly cursed as the blood on her gauze stained the water red with blood. The floorboards creaked out in the hallways, and Riley's heart momentarily plummeted when a man with massive shoulders stepped into the room. Karl entered the kitchen, unaware of Riley taking over the table as he clicked on the kettle and went about preparing a hot brew. It was when he turned around towards the fridge to retrieve the milk that he finally noticed her, jumping a little in the process.

"Riley." Karl stated emotionlessly and out of respect.

"Karl." Riley answered, each of them acknowledging the other as Riley continued to deal with her wrist, finally have the ability to somehow wrap it sensibly and not spark too much concern from Karl; not like she was expecting any either.

"How is Clay? You spent a great deal of time with him after you got back?" Karl asked, genuine concern shining within his eyes as he reached for the sugar and pilled a large teaspoon into his mug before stirring it as he came to sit in one of the chairs in front of Riley. It seemed he missed the uncomfortable expression visible on the Doctors features as she conversed with a man she hated being alone with.

"He's resting; which at this moment in time is probably the best thing for him." Riley expressed as she covered her wrist from view, hoping to readjust the folded material when he finally decided to leave her.

"And the prognosis?" He questioned again, his mug lifted to his lips as he took a large gulp while awaiting her response. Riley simply narrowed her eyes towards him, trying to see if he had a hidden motive. When she found none she just let out the air she didn't realise she was holding and spoke over towards him.

"I'm hopeful." She started "The universal anti-venom seems to be helping to nullify the effects the poison had on Clayton's arm and just as I left he had started to move his fingers again. But I need to take a sample of his blood to look under the microscope to make sure everything is working as it should."

"And if it isn't?"

"Then I'll have to come up with something miraculous." Riley breathed, looking away from Karl as she tried to hide her emotions from him, not wanting him to see the fear that what he just said was her biggest worry regarding Clayton's treatment.

"Surely you know what the Doctors treated you with?"

"Its not that simple."

"Not that simple? You're a Doctor, you know how to treat things like this!"

"Sure, tell me what poison it is and I'll sure as hell find the antidote." Riley countered, her features emotionless as she tried to remain as impassive as she could.

"You can't do that?"

"Karl have you even been paying attention? We don't know what creature is hunting us and we don't even know what poison this is? For all we know it could be completely new and there is no known antidote. I'm doing the best I can with the resources I have available to me. I'll be looking over Clayton's blood in the morning in hopes of the antidote working. If not ill have to try and identify the poison and any overlapping characteristics from others. If that is everything, I'd like to get some sleep."

"Sorry, that was my mistake." Karl muttered causing Riley to stop in her tracks as she frowned towards him in bewilderment. She was certain he just apologised to her. "How are you?"

"Excuse me?" Riley voiced as she hung over her chair, her hand on the edge of the table while the other was holding onto the back of the chair as she glanced towards her elder.

"I asked how you were?" He mentioned again with a smile, a smile that only grew when Riley moved back into her chair.

"I'm fine."

"That wrist looks anything but fine." Karl pushed as he placed his steaming mug back to the wooden tabletop.

"If that's all." Riley said as she once again moved onto her feet as she began packing away her supplies, her eyes never contacting with Karl's as she tried to get herself away from the conversation that had become more than uncomfortable.

"Despite what you might think of me, I really do admire you Riley." Karl implored as his eyes bore deeply into Riley's, his large paws cradling his large mug of coffee in his hands as Riley finally managed to look up towards him, her eyes hard and emotionless as she struggled to comprehend what Karl was trying to tell her.

"I'll believe that when I see it."

"Are you really that blind that you don't recognize a compliment when one is given to you?" Karl huffed as Riley continued to move her supplies back towards the bookcase in which it was housed.

"Don't take this the wrong way Karl, but growing up I was never one to receive compliments, especially from men who take pleasure in seeing me fail."

"I don't want to see you fail. I want you to realise you're full potential."

"And the incessant, sometimes hurtful comments is your way of encouraging me?"

"Yes."

"Then you can see my confusion."

"I've seen a difference in you Riley." Karl stated, getting to his feet as he tried to stop Riley from leaving, his hand curling around Riley's uninjured wrist and refused to let her go until she heard what he wanted to say. "You're more confident, stronger. You're excelling under the pressure, coming up with clear battle plans and uncovering the information others would overlook."

"Some would say that's just the scientist in me." Riley said as she glanced down towards the wrist he was still clinging onto.

"I don't care. You've impressed me this last week and I'm seeing the woman you really are."

"Let go of my wrist Karl."

"Surely you know you could do better?"

"What are you implying?" Riley snapped, her eyes narrow as she forced her hand from his grip, taking a cautious step away from him as Karl kept gaining on her.

"Nick Sorrentino is hardly a man a woman of you stature would fall for."

"And you know what kind of man I deserve?"

"Of course I do." Karl said with a smile, understanding that he had finally backed Riley into a corner. He watched as the younger werewolf fluttered her eyes in hopes of finding some way of escape; even now she impressed him.

"You gunna tell me I should fall for a man like you?" Riley countered quickly ducking out of his way so she was standing behind him.

"I could give you a great deal more than Nick could ever imagine."

"I think I can make up my own mind thank you." Riley uttered before bolting from the room. She ran down the small corridor, her mind focused on escaping to the safety of her bedroom. However, she did not fail to notice the echoing footsteps of Karl as she accidently bumped into Nick who was rounding from the archway of the living room.

"You alright?" Nick asked her gently, a large frown on his features as he took in the bewildered, but a little panicked expression overwhelming Riley's features. It was in that moment that Karl came into view. Nick took in the look riley pointed in Karl's direction before excusing herself and running into her bedroom. Nick however just stared at Riley's door, his mouth hanging open in surprise as he turned towards Karl who was also training his attention from Riley's bedroom towards Nick.

"What on earth was that all about?"

"Beats me." Karl voiced before he too excused himself and headed to bed leaving Nick standing completely alone and rather confused.