John stood back, and watched as a young doctor set both of Helen's legs. The groans issued from his ex-fiancé made him wince. He fought against the urge to kill the doctor for causing Helen such pain, but he knew that it had to happen. He stood, with his back to the wall, even after the doctor set the casts and left.
"John—" She glanced over at him, her eyes drooping from the morphine she was receiving through the IV.
He stepped forward. "It appears that they will keep you here, at least for a while."
"I do want you to take me home."
"I can't do that, Helen. We do not have anyone in your staff who are adequate doctors." He gently caressed her cheek with the back of his hand as he looked deep into her blue eyes.
"John—" Her eyes closed, and sleep overtook her.
His eyes softened as he watched her sleep. He retreated deep into the depths of his mind to a time when he would spend hours watching Helen sleep. It was a few moments before he pulled himself back into the present. He stole himself away from the only woman he would ever love, and teleported into his hotel room.
He walked across the room to his door, and stopped there for a few moments before gathering the courage to go find his daughter. He did not have to go far, as she was standing in the hall, arguing with Henry.
"Where's Mommy and Daddy?" Ashley demanded, stomping her foot.
"I don't—" Henry jumped back a few feet. "Druitt!"
"Daddy!" The young child leapt into her father. When he lifted her up, she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, and buried her face into the crook of his neck.
John glanced up at Henry. "Where is old William?"
"Uh—he went to take a shower," answered Henry.
"Tell him what happened when he gets out."
"Daddy, where's Mommy?"
"I'll take you to her." He closed his eyes, and teleported back to the hospital.
"Daddy?" Ashley squeaked when they rematerialized in the empty corridor behind Helen's room.
"Ashley, your mother was hurt while we were out," John explained slowly. "She's probably resting, so I want you to be on your best behavior."
She pushed against her father, and fell back when he lost his grip. She landed on her feet, winced in pain, and ran toward the closest room. "Mommy!" she cried when she saw Helen asleep on the hospital bed, both legs in casts.
Helen's eyes snapped open at the sound of her daughter's voice. "Ashley?" She looked down to see her young daughter. She wrapped her arms around the child when she clambered onto the bed with her.
"Helen?" John stopped at the doorway. He seemed unsure if it would be appropriate to enter the room.
She looked up at him. Her face remained blank, though her eyes told John all he needed to know about her condition. "I'll be alright, John." Her voice was strained with weariness. She looked down at her left hand to see that she had been connected to an IV, and the doctors probably had her on morphine (at least that was her most educated guess) based off how lucid her thoughts were. She absentmindedly scratched her daughter's scalp, lightly.
John stood there, keeping watch like a sentry. He barely stirred when he heard Will and Henry arguing behind him as they approached.
"Why'd you let her do that?" Will demanded. "You should have forced her to keep back."
"Will, dude, you know as well as I do that she doesn't listen to any of us," replied Henry in an irritable tone. "Well—maybe The Flash," he amended as he came up behind John.
"The Flash?" Will's eyebrows shot up. "Seriously? You refer to Druitt as The Flash?"
"Hey—I can think of worse things to call crazy there." Henry waved an arm at John as if to prove a point.
John turned around to face them when he noticed that Helen had lost consciousness, and Ashley had fallen asleep too. "I suggest that you keep your voices down, Mr. Foss, Mr. Zimmerman." He towered over them in a threatening manner.
"What happened? Henry only told me that something went wrong with the mission."
"Helen broke both legs, and I suspect some ribs as well," informed John. "She was quite insistent on working things out with words rather than taking care of the problem in the best way possible."
"And you didn't stop her?"
"Believe me, I would have. She ran off before I could do anything, and if I had gotten her away in time, it could have endangered the entire mission."
Will released a long breath that he had been holding. He focused heavily on calming his nerves. "What about Ashley? How's she taking all this?"
"She's curled up next to Helen now, sleeping."
"YOU!" screeched a familiar female voice.
Everyone on that floor of the hospital turned to look at the crazed woman. Will turned around to face the mother of the boy from the pool. Henry jumped back behind John. Helen and Ashley both jumped awake. Helen automatically held Ashley to her in a bone crushing hold.
"WHERE THE BLOODY HELL IS THAT MONSTER?"
"Do we know you?" John asked, stepping forward to shield Will and Henry. He loomed over the woman.
"GET OUT OF MY WAY!"
"Ma'am, I'm going to ask that you be quiet," said a security guard softly as he came forward with his hand on the holster holding his pistol.
"THAT MAN"S CHILD IS THE REASON MY LITTLE NIAMSON IS IN SURGERY!" The woman pointed her finger at Will.
"Surely you must be mistaken," said John. "The accused has no children."
The woman then locked eyes with Ashley. "THAT GIRL IS A MONSTER! SHE HURT MY POOR SON!"
Ashley buried her face in the crook of Helen's neck. "Mommy, she scares me," she cried shakily.
"It's alright, Ashley," Helen whispered.
"That girl happens to be my daughter." John's expression darkened with rage. "If you've got a problem, you'd best explain it to me, otherwise, I heavily suggest that you focus on your own child's well-being."
The woman looked offended by John's words. She marched away, shoving past the security guard on her way.
"Are you alright, sir?" the guard asked John.
"I am quite alright. I suggest that you keep an eye on that woman." John turned his attention to Will as soon as the security guard walked away. "Now, I am interested in hearing what that was all about."
"As am I," added Helen.
Will's face went from pale to sickly white. He looked from John, to Helen and Ashley, and back to John before walking into the room and sitting next to Helen. Henry and John followed him.
"Alright—after you guys left for Scotland, I took Ashley to the pool to try and teach her how to swim," he explained slowly. "Needless to say, it did not go well. I let her play for a while on the shallow end. Then the woman's son went over, and teased Ashley. I tried to stop it, but he just held her under the water until her survival instinct kicked in, and she went super abnormal on him." He looked up when he finished recounting the details.
John looked torn between staying and leaving to have a "word" with the boy's mother. Henry appeared to be struggling to control himself, and stop from shifting. Ashley had renewed terror in her amber eyes. Her claws were half extended. Helen held Ashley still closer.
"It's alright, Ashley," she whispered soothingly. "You're not in trouble."
"But I did something bad."
"No one here blames you. You had every right to be terrified."
A/N: Sorry if this chapter isn't as good as the rest. I typed it while on painkillers. Thank you to all my faithful reviewers. You have all made me more willing to get these chapters out there. I've got most of the main plot planned. If you want to see certain abnormals, please let me know, so that I can do research.