A/N
Set during one of my favourite episodes, 'Fragments'. A little bit of insight as to what was going on in Henry's head towards the end.
As always I don't own Sanctuary, and as always, I hope you enjoy.
"You did this? You made this happen?" Henry crossed the room without really thinking about what he was doing. He pushed as much venom into his tone as possible. "This is Rachel!"
Gerald smirked and shook his head. "You're such an idiot Henry." He turned his back, his tone a little softer. "I wasn't trying to kill Rachel." Henry knew it was coming, but the admittance was like a sucker punch to the gut. "I was trying to kill you."
There was the sound of metal on metal and Henry's eyes flashed to the knife that Gerald gripped tightly in his left hand. "Oh man, don't."
Gerald stared at him with a gleam of sick excitement in his eyes. "Come on Henry, let's see your real face huh?" Henry tried to back away, holding his hands up in surrender. Gerald lunged forward, knife outstretched.
Stab.
Pain-red-hot-kill-pain-betrayal-Rachel-Gerald-KILL!
Henry gasped, clutching at his wound. The world was beginning to come into sharper focus, and he felt his eyes flash sickly yellow. He shuddered, trying to fold into himself, wincing as the beast clawed at his control.
"It's alright buddy..." Gerald's voice was soothing, "Let it come!"
Slice.
Burning-blood-red-pain-knife-fight-let go.
Henry stumbled to the left, knocking over a tray and faintly registering the sound of shattering glass as it hit the floor. His body was shifting; ready to make the change. His mind was resisting; desperate to hold onto his humanity. They were are war with each other, and Henry had no idea which side would win. It was so hard to focus, so hard to keep the wolf at bay when he was in so much pain, when he was hurting so much.
His canines sharpened and his sense of smell suddenly got sharper. He roared, but he couldn't tell whether it was the wolf's excitement or his panic that stemmed the sound.
"Come on Henry – turn! One of us is checking out and if you stay human it'll be you!"
The wolf's sense of self-preservation jumped at Gerald's words. It wanted to fight, tear, rip, kill. It was the stronger one, it was more than this pathetic human daring to challenge him. Gerald wanted a fight – the wolf was more than happy to oblige.
But Henry refused to kill his friend. That was obviously what Gerald wanted, what the wolf wanted, and it was getting harder and harder to hold on to that tiny strand of human thought that told him this was wrong.
"Don't do this." Henry begged, his voice more guttural than it had ever been. He shook his head, trying to stop Gerald, trying to clear his thoughts; he didn't quite know.
"COME ON!" Gerald screamed, coming at him with the knife again.
"Gerald!" Suddenly Doctor Magnus was there with her gun and the wolf panicked. There was now a bigger threat than Gerald in the room, and it wasn't sure who he should be attacking. The bloodlust was getting harder and harder to fight back. The wolf wanted blood – and a part of Henry's human self did too.
"That is enough! Drop it!" Doctor Magnus ordered, the gun aimed squarely at Gerald's chest. Henry smelt the Big Guy come in after her and was flooded with the feeling of safety that they both gave him. Things would be okay, Doctor Magnus would fix it.
"Look at her..." Gerald murmured, "I don't wanna' live when she's gone." He turned his attention back to Henry, staring him down with those dark, accusing eyes. The wolf tore at the surface again, and Henry choked out another sob. "But you'd take care of that wouldn't you buddy boy?" He hissed. "I mess you up just a little bit you'd take care of it – you'd take care of me wouldn't you?"
"Stop." Henry begged, the only coherent word he could form. His vocal chords were half turned and his brain was relying on instinct rather than rational thought. His teeth tore at his lips and he wrapped his arms around his stomach, trying to hold in the monster that was ready to leap out of him.
"Then you'd have to live with it!" Gerald roared.
"Gerald," Doctor Magnus said, her voice quick and urgent, "Think logically. You do not want to take this action."
Gerald slashed out at him again. "Come on, freak!"
With that one word, that one simple insult, Henry snapped. His body convulsed and he began to change, so quickly it was impossible to stop it. He was going to tear Gerald to shreds, going to rip his head clean off his shoulders and make him pay for what he had done.
Death-kill-rip-tear-destroy-kill-KILL!
But then he heard a different sound. A racing heart, the frantic pulse of the machine monitoring it. The change stopped, both Henry and the wolf hesitating. That sound – Rachel was in danger! He couldn't put her in any more by transforming, he had to stay human. Had to stay human...
Stay... human...
"She's crashing again!" Doctor Magnus cried, going to her. The Big Guy took advantage of Gerald's distraction and ripped him away from Henry, locking him in his bear-like grip. Henry moaned, his body in so much pain he didn't know where to begin. He was assaulted by senses and feelings and thoughts, but he kept his eyes on Rachel. She was one of his closest friends, and he was dangerously close to losing her. The wolf understood the simple, blinding pain of that.
She convulsed on the hospital bed, but Doctor Magnus was ready with a needle. She injected something into her arm.
"Doc," Henry groaned, his voice thankfully missing the guttural undertone, "is she-"
He heard her heart slow, saving itself. Saving her.
"She's stabilising." Doctor Magnus said, handing him a life-line.
Henry and Kate rushed in. Henry didn't look at them.
"You okay?" Will asked urgently.
Henry's chest rose and fell rapidly, his breathing urgent; like somehow he could keep himself human just by breathing. He focused on it, like he always had when he'd needed something to hold on to.
"No." He managed, his voice thick with tears. The room swam and dimmed before his eyes. Inside him, the wolf whined uneasily, right before everything went black.
