Dr. Darnel eyed Thorne with the same intense blue eyes as Cress's, but his weren't mesmerizing like hers. Instead, his were full of an intense scrutiny that Thorne was afraid was meant for him alone. He gulped as the doctor examined his injured hand and winced at every little bit of movement.

Thorne felt Cress slip her hand into his uninjured one and give him a reassuring squeeze. He instantly thought that she had magical healing powers because he felt a warmth wash over him and his body went numb except for the rapid beating of his heart. The pounding was so intense that he could hardly hear Dr. Darnel speak.

"I want to get some x-rays to see the full extent of the fractures. You'll more than likely have to wear a splint for six weeks, but you're going to be fine Mr. Thorne."

"Th-thank you, sir," Thorne replied, glad that there wasn't going to be any permanent damage.

Dr. Darnel rolled back in his wheeled stool and comm'd one of the nurses before turning back to Thorne.

"Fateen will come get you for your x-rays," he said. Turning to Cress, he added, "And Crescent will stay here so we can have a little chat."

Cress squeaked as she let go of Thorne's hand. "Yes, Papa."

Someone knocked on the door to the examination room and a young woman wearing scrubs stepped in to lead Thorne away. He glanced back at Cress before the door closed on him but she didn't meet his eyes.

The x-rays were painless and only took five minutes, but when he was done, Fateen didn't lead Thorne back to his original examination room. Instead, he was led to one further down the hall and as he sat on the table, paper crinkling underneath him, he wondered how much trouble Cress was going to be in. He ran his uninjured hand down his face and wondered how much trouble he was going to be in.

He had never gotten so much as a tardy note before and now he was suspended for a whole week. The thought of it made him shake and he was racking his brain to see who he could call or email to get class assignments from. The truth was, he didn't have anyone he could call, and he resigned himself to emailing all of his teachers. He felt pathetic.

Suddenly feeling lightheaded, Thorne lay down on the examination table, but let his eyes roam the room. Thorne was impressed to see how fancy Dr. Darnel's offices were. There were granite countertops in each examination room, and plush carpet in the corridors. The waiting room was fitted with leather lounge chairs and throw pillows. The examination rooms even had soft spa-like music piped in through the speakers in the ceiling.

Thorne almost drifted to sleep when a knock on the door announced the arrival of Dr. Darnel with Thorne's x-rays in his hands. He clipped them to the light panel on the wall and pointed out the jagged lines on the x-rays of Thorne's fingers, indicating where his fractures were.

"You're lucky it was a clean break," Dr. Darnel said, eyeing him, "but tell me Mr. Thorne, how does a young man like you get caught in a brawl and how does my daughter get involved?"

Thorne hesitated. He didn't want to tell anyone what had happened, especially Cress's father, but he also didn't want Dr. Darnel to think he was some sort of hooligan who got into trouble all the time. He wanted Dr. Darnel to like him, to be impressed with him, but he knew all of those hopes had flown out the window. What would the doctor think of Thorne if the first time they met was because Thorne had gotten into a fist fight?

Dr. Darnel busied himself with pulling supplies out of various drawers and cupboards. Thorne had hoped that the doctor had forgotten about his question, but when he turned around to face Thorne, those piercing blue eyes met his and Thorne felt queasy. What could he possibly say to Dr. Darnel to ease the situation? If he refused to tell him what happened, the doctor would think he was insubordinate. If Thorne confessed the real reason why he had punched Julian … no, he didn't think he could bring himself to tell Cress's dad what Julian had said about her. He could have gone a lifetime without hearing it himself.

Dr. Darnel didn't wait for Thorne's answer before sitting down on the wheeled stool and beginning his ministrations on Thorne's hand. He grimaced a few times when his fingers shifted under the doctor's touch, but remained silent otherwise. The doctor was just as quiet as Thorne and he could almost hear a ringing in his ear because of the dense silence. He had not realized the music streaming into the examination room had stopped, but figured the doctor had turned it off when he entered the room.

"You know," Dr. Darnel said suddenly, making Thorne jump and wince from the movement. "Getting into fist fights isn't exactly a habit that nice young men should form."

Thorne could feel the heat rising up his neck as Dr. Darnel shifted his gaze from Thorne's hand to look him squarely in the eyes before returning to his task.

"But, sometimes we have to do what we have to do to protect a pretty girl." Dr. Darnel snipped the end of tape hanging from Thorne's splinted fingers and gathered up his supplies.

Thorne wondered how the doctor knew. Did Cress know?

"And sometimes you break your fingers while the pretty girl protects herself," Thorne mumbled. He bit his lip, not realizing he had spoken out loud.

Dr. Darnel chuckled as he scribbled something onto a pad and Thorne's shoulders sagged with relief.

"Here's a prescription for some pain killers if you feel the need to take them. Cress can take you home now." He pressed a fresh ice pack into Thorne's hand. "For your eye."

"Th-thank you, sir," Thorne said as he stood up. Maybe he was in too much pain before, or he had been too nervous when he'd been sitting next to Cress in front of her father, but now that he was looking at Dr. Darnel standing in front of him, he noticed that the doctor couldn't have been much taller than Cress herself. Thorne was impressed that such a small man could be so intimidating to him, but then again Cress terrified him too and she was a tiny girl.

Cress's eyes lit up when Thorne stepped into the waiting room. He pocketed the prescription that Dr. Darnel had given him and held the ice pack awkwardly in his hand. Cress stood up as he walked towards her and he held up his hand to show off her dad's handiwork.

"Aww. Too bad you didn't get a cast. I could have signed it." She winked. "My dad says I can take you home, if you need a ride."

"Yeah, that would be great. Thanks."

Cress saluted him before pushing the door open and they stepped into the sunshine.


The car ride to Thorne's house made him just as nervous as the ride to Dr. Darnel's office. He found himself grasping his own seatbelt more than once to make sure he was securely buckled in. Even so, when he looked over at Cress, Thorne couldn't help but smile at her undivided attention to the road. Thorne fiddled with the radio until he landed on the classical station. Only then did Cress's eyes stray towards him. She looked at him incredulously and laughed when she saw the earnestness on his face.

"What? I like Wagner," Thorne said, as the trombones to "Ride of the Valkyries" came out through Cress's speakers.

Cress threw her head back in laughter and grinned at him. "I like Bugs Bunny."

Thorne chuckled and they listened to Wagner as Cress drove him home.

Ten minutes later, Cress pulled in front of Thorne's house. He looked at it, dreading the thought of telling his parents about his broken fingers and the suspension. He thanked Cress for the ride home before unbuckling his seatbelt and turning to open the door.

"Thorne?" There was an uneasiness to Cress's voice that Thorne had never heard before.

He sank back into his seat. "Yeah?"

"What happened this morning?"

Thorne gulped as Cress's eyes bored into his. "Nothing."

Cress scrunched up her nose and she would have looked adorable if it weren't for the electricity buzzing behind those eyes.

Thorne sighed. "Julian came to talk to me. He was really upset that you broke up with him. He—he thought it was my fault."

Cress snorted, unable to hide a laugh. "What an idiot. I mean Julian—not you, obviously."

Thorne nodded.

"But you punched him."

Thorne nodded again. "He—uh—insulted your—virtue." Thorne fiddled with the ice pack in his hand.

Cress let out a hearty laugh and slapped her steering wheel. "If we're going to beat up everyone who does that, we'd be suspended until graduation."

Thorne was surprised to see her being so cavalier about the whole situation. It made his heart ache to think that this wasn't the first time someone had said something nasty about her and who was there to defend her all those other times? He hoped that Wolf had beaten every one of those naysayers to a pulp, but seeing her reaction to Julian, maybe Cress fought her own battles. Then again, the fact that she was so unperturbed by it made him realize that she probably just let people say whatever they wanted to say.

"Doesn't it bother you?" Thorne asked, a tinge of despair in his voice.

"Does it bother you?"

"Yes," Thorne replied immediately, "I would fight anyone to defend your honor." He bit his lip, thinking he had sounded too eager; said too much.

Cress looked at him for what felt like an eternity until she finally tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled. "Me too."

Thorne couldn't help but feel a spike in his body temperature at her smile. This one was one he had never experienced before. This one seemed almost shy. He began to wonder if she meant she would fight someone to protect her own honor or his. After all, she had fought someone for him and the thought of it made his stomach flutter. He tilted his head back against the headrest. He wanted to tell her it didn't matter what Julian or anyone said, that he loved her no matter what and he didn't believe any of it was true anyway. He didn't care, even if it were true. She was the most amazing girl he'd ever met and the events of today only cemented his feelings. But how could he say those things to her? Especially now. He couldn't even defend her honor without needing to be rescued himself. He wasn't a hero and people who weren't heroes didn't get the girl.

"I should get going," Thorne said, finally looking at Cress. "I have to go email all my teachers for class assignments."

"Oh! Don't worry about it. Scarlet and Cinder are taking care of it."

Thorne looked at her, confused, and she laughed. The sound reminded him of that day at the lake when he had shown her The Rampion—a tinkle of amusement—and Thorne's pulse quickened to know he could make her laugh like that.

"They have to get my assignments for me anyway so they're getting yours too. I can email you tonight if you want. Or … we can meet at the library tomorrow and work on them together?"

Thorne had not realized he was staring at her until she shifted uneasily.

"Or not—no big deal."

"I—I'd like that," he finally replied.

A broad smile spread across Cress's face and Thorne was surprised to see relief in her eyes. "Great! I'll text you tonight—except—er—I don't have your number."

Before Thorne could react, she grabbed his hand and a pen that was sticking out from one of the cup holders between them. She scribbled her phone number onto his bare skin. "Okay, now you can text me."

Thorne looked at the writing on the back of his hand and nodded. "Th—thanks for taking me to the doctor and giving me a ride home," he said, getting out of the car.

"Anytime. Thanks for defending my honor."

Thorne grinned. The tingling in his hand that he had gotten when Cress was holding it lingered and he felt bold. "Anytime."


AN: This chapter is dedicated for someone special who is pretty much responsible for this fic being posted and being an actual thing. Thank you and I hope you like it.