Repercussions

Chapter 15

Simon watched Ciara and the dog sleeping on the bed for a moment longer, then turned to leave. He shut the door behind himself, and walked back down the hallway. He had made sure to put her room next to his own, just in case she needed him. Needed him. Well, shit. Someone actually needed him. He never thought that would actually happen. That someone would be dependent on him. He wasn't quite sure how he felt about that. Btu he wasn't going to dwell on that right now. He had other matters to deal with.

He walked back to the room he had left Sark and Nikolai in, glancing up at them as he walked in. They were still in the same position, both standing by the bed Sydney was lying on. Both of them were shirtless, Sark was glaring at Nikolai, who was ignoring him and watching Sydney. Simon sighed, catching their attention.

"Hey, Si." Nikolai spoke. Simon ignored him and walked over to Sydney. She was splayed over the bed, her damp hair spread over her chest and neck. He moved her hair to the side, checking her pulse. Slow and steady. She wasn't waking up anytime soon. He grabbed a blanket off the end of the bed and covered her with it. He turned back to Sark and Nikolai, raising an eyebrow.

"Someone care to explain why it looks like you three are having a pajama party and Syd here is unconscious?" Nikolai shrugged and flopped down onto a nearby chair. Simon turned his gaze to Sark.

"She shot me with a tranquilizer earlier; I woke up tied to a chair. She questioned me, then Nikolai interrupted, and he…" Sark let out a deep breath, gritting his teeth, "injected her with a sedative." Simon nodded.

"Anything else?"

"When she came earlier, she was covered in blood. Not her own. She doesn't have any wounds." Sark said. Simon nodded again.

"I'll run a check, see if anyone's been killed around here tonight."

"I think she did it with a knife." Sark ran a hand through his hair. "I'm going to go shower." He turned to Nikolai, who raised his hands.

"I'm leaving." Nikolai nodded to Simon, and left. Simon turned back to Sark, watching him.

"You okay, Jul?" Simon spoke softly. Sark nodded, watching Sydney. Simon stood and headed for the door.

"Simon." He stopped, turning back to Sark. "How did it go?" Simon shrugged.

"Fine, I guess. I…I need some sleep. I'll talk to you in the morning." He turned to leave again, then stopped. "Oh… you don't mind dogs, right, Jul?" He was greeted by silence, and with a smirk on his face, he left the room.

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Sark had deliberated what to do with Sydney for quite a while, finally deciding to let her be. He wasn't going to lock her up, or tie her down. He had a feeling that would piss her off immensely, but he also had a feeling that once she saw their new house guest, she just might revert back to her old self. He had left her on the bed in his room, and taken the one across the hall. Sydney wouldn't be waking up for a long time, so he wanted to get all the rest he could before then.

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Nikolai had gone back to his bed and slept for a few hours before getting up again. It was seven in the morning, and he finally decided sleeping wasn't an option. He had rolled out of bed and made his way to the kitchen. His thoughts drifted to last night, and he almost smirked. Sydney was going to be pissed when she woke up, and he almost didn't want to be there. Almost. He chuckled, running a hand down his chest. Yeah, she was going to be pissed.

He opened the fridge and rummaged around in it, looking for something edible. He spotted a six-pack of beer in the back, but he resisted the urge to take it. He wasn't an alcoholic, or at least, he wasn't going to continue being one if he had been. His father had been, and there was no way Nikolai was going to be like his father. He grabbed the orange juice and shut the door, only to jump back a foot in shock at the sight that greeted him.

"Hi, I'm Ciara. What's your name?" A smiling dark haired little girl was staring up at him. She had on bright purple pajamas and fuzzy slippers. She looked just like Simon with her dark hair and eyes. "Are you Uncle Niky? Daddy said that you had weird hair. So you must be him." She continued to smile. "Are you having breakfast? Can I eat too? We can make pancakes! I used to make them with my mommy all the time. They taste really good. Did you know that you're half-naked? My mommy said that I can't walk around like that 'cause I'm a girl, but boys can. I don't think it's very fair—"

"Whoa, stop!" Nikolai finally spoke. Ciara stopped talking, and stared at him. He stared back. This little girl was…he opened the orange juice container and took a swig from it. He really needed a drink…no. No drinks. He could deal with this…it was just a little girl. How much trouble could she be?

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A lot of trouble, as it turns out. All she did was talk. Talk about anything and everything. Nikolai sighed, glancing at her sitting next to him. He had finally agreed to make pancakes after she had talked about them for ten minutes straight. They had made a mess. There was flour everywhere, including on them. Dirty bowls covered the kitchen countertops; a pan was on the stove, the remains of a few pancakes still on it. A plate sitting on the table where they were now was piled high with pancakes, all various shapes and sizes.

"Chocolate chip are my favorite." Ciara spoke, following Nikolai's lead and ripping a pancake in half before biting a piece off. Who needed plates? "My mommy made shapes and stuff when we made pancakes. But these are okay, too." Nikolai didn't say anything. He had finally figured out that he didn't need to. The girl loved to talk.

"Can I have some milk, please?" Ciara looked up from her pancakes and stared at him with a smile. Nikolai shook his head with a grin. The girl knew how to get what she wanted. He grabbed a glass from the shelf and poured the milk. She thanked him and took a sip. "Uncle Niky? How come you have that thing?" She pointed to his nipple ring, which was still visible. He hadn't bothered to put on a shirt, which he now regretted.

"That's…"

"That's nothing, babe." Simon walked into the room, looking tired and scruffy in a t-shirt and pants. Nikolai glanced behind him as a giant dog jogged in after Simon. "Niky here just likes to be different." Simon poured himself a glass of milk and sat down at the table next to Ciara, across from Nikolai. He glanced at Nikolai, giving him a dark smile as he bit into a pancake savagely. "Right, Niky?"

"Right." Nikolai cleared his throat, occupying himself with his orange juice. He had a feeling he was going to get a little talk from Simon later, and he wasn't going to like it.

"Nikolai!" Sark's voice shouted his name, and Nikolai couldn't help but start laughing, spitting his juice over the table. He coughed, trying not to choke, but kept laughing anyway. He knew exactly why Sark was yelling, and it was funny as hell. Simon directed a questioning look at him, but he just shrugged. Before Simon could speak, Sark came walking into the kitchen, looking extremely pissed. Simon opened his mouth to say something, but stopped, his mouth hanging open as he stared at Sark.

Sark was wearing a t-shirt with something written on it. Simon looked closer, trying to make out the words—

"Holy shit…" The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. He glanced quickly at Ciara. "I mean…" He looked back at Sark. He couldn't help it. He started to grin, and then he laughed. Written across Sark's chest was—Big Truck, Little Willy?

"Nikolai, you piece of—"

"Jul," Simon interrupted him, nodding towards Ciara. Sark stopped, glaring at Nikolai. He glanced at Simon. "Why didn't you just put on another shirt?"

"Because," Sark gave Nikolai, who was still laughing his ass off, another dark look. "Nikolai here took all my shirts, leaving," he glanced down with obviously distain at the shirt he was wearing, "this one."

"Well…" Simon pressed his lips together, trying to stop grinning. Nikolai was so immature, but it was still funny as hell, and he couldn't help it. "That is quite an… interesting shirt."

"Yeah, Jul." Nikolai finally spoke, "Do you find that it might be—"

"Complete shit, Niky?" Sark glared at him. "Why, yes, I do."

"What's a little Willy?" Ciara spoke up from her chair, her glass of milk still in her hands. A silence descended as everyone turned towards her. Simon stared.

"It… it's just… a..."

"A dog." Nikolai spoke. "It's a dog. You know, little Willy. He's a… little dog." Ciara nodded.

"Oh." She pointed to the giant dog lying on the floor next to Simon. "That's my dog. Her name's Casey." Nikolai nodded. The dog was enormous. Simon had dropped his head into his hands. Sark hand crossed his arms over his chest, covering the words. He turned to Ciara.

"Ciara." He spoke, giving her a small smile. "I'm—"

"Uncle Julian." Ciara supplied for him. He nodded, glancing at Simon. He coughed, unsure what else to say. He didn't normally talk to little girls. Actually, he never talked to little girls. What was he supposed to say? What did one say to little girls?

"Uncle Julian is having some personal problems right now." Nikolai spoke, smirking in Sark's direction.

"Like that lady who I saw earlier?" Another silence fell over the room. What was she—

"Shit." Sark swore before he could stop himself. He turned to Ciara. "When did you see this lady?" Ciara looked thoughtful.

"Before I came into the kitchen. I was walking down the hallway and she walked out of a room. She didn't look very happy." She smiled. "She said that I look like my Daddy." She glanced at Simon, who gave her a small grin. "And that she wasn't mad at him, just you two." She pointed to Sark and Nikolai. Nikolai snorted.

"Gee, I wonder why…" Nikolai glanced at Sark. He stood from the table, running a hand through his hair. "I think I'll go hunt the girl down." Sark made a move to interrupt, but Nikolai stopped him. "Bro, she's more pissed at you than me. I'll talk to her." Sark opened his mouth to object, but stopped. It was true. He nodded at Nikolai.

"Fine. But, Nikolai…" he gave his brother a dark look, "be good." Nikolai smirked.

"I'm always good."

TBC…