Chapter 6

Light seeped in slowly under eyelids heavy and sore. Will groaned and raised an arm to shield himself from the brightness that threatened to burn out his corneas. Images were blurry, blending together in a haze of blue and white, but the noxious scent of rubbing alcohol and the steady cadence of an EKG machine quickly put an end to any lingering doubts about his current location. He was in the infirmary, again…'fantastic'. To top it off, he didn't even remember how he'd gotten there in the first place.

Will's skull was throbbing and he closed his eyes in an attempt to stave off the accompanying wave of nausea. An uneasy feeling started to creep up on him. It felt like he was forgetting something important, but what? God, even his thoughts were foggy. He barely registered the sound of a familiar voice infiltrating the chasm of his murky mind until a warm hand touched his. All of a sudden the memories came flooding back.

"Oh my God! Magnus!" The cracking of his own voice surprised him slightly. His throat was sore from dehydration.

Will sprung up from the bed, swinging his legs over the side. He was stopped mid-journey, however, when the world's largest ice cream headache suddenly plowed into him like a Mack truck. He bellowed in pain, clutching the sides of his head as he started to pitch forward on the edge of the gurney.

"Will!" Helen's warm hands seized his shoulders to keep him from falling as he swayed.

"Mag - nus?" He sputtered out between breaths.

"It's alright, Will." She soothed. "Take it easy. You've got quite the nasty bump on your head."

Will continued to hold his head and hissed in pain as exploring fingers came into contact with the offending goose egg.

"Yeah, I can tell." He grated out sardonically.

Helen's right hand let go of Will's shoulder and began rubbing gentle circles across his back as he attempted to calm down his breathing. After minute or two he seemed to find his equilibrium again and she lifted his chin to shine a pen light into his eyes.

"Pupils are equal and reactive." She announced.

"Great." He grumbled as Helen's deft fingers continued to poke and prod him. "So how long was I out this time?"

"It's been a little over an hour. I was starting to become quite worried."

"Oh come on, I've been clinically dead before, this is nothing." He said nonchalantly, trying to lighten the mood. Of course, this failed miserably and Magnus shot him a withering glare as she slapped an ice pack into his hands.

"Alright, want to tell me what happened?" Will sighed heavily, dreading hearing the inevitably embarrassing explanation behind his recent trip to la la land. Magnus recognized the expression on his face and barely managed to suppress a smirk.

"Apparently, our new friend felt you were in dire need of a flying lesson."

Will cringed at her words. He was so adorable when he was embarrassed.

"How considerate of him."

"I managed to shoot it with a tranquilizer dart just as it was starting to take off with you in his claws but..."

"But…?"

"Well, it took a moment for the drugs to take full effect and he managed to lift you up at least a good ten feet or so before… dropping you."

This time it was Magnus who winced at her own words. She suddenly found the floor very interesting when he tried to meet her gaze. Will smiled at the sheepish gesture.

"Oh, so it's your fault the giant beast dropped me on my head." Magnus's head snapped back up.

"Would you have preferred I just let it fly off with you?" She blurted out defensively.

"No. I get it, Magnus. You just wanted to strip me of my hero title because you wanted it for yourself." He said with mock hurt.

She slapped him playfully across his arm and heaved an exasperated sigh. Will chuckled at this, throbbing head be damned. He knew it was mean, but couldn't help but relish the opportunity to tease her. She was so adorable when she was angry. Scratch that, she was adorable when she was a certain type of angry. You really did not want to be on the receiving end of her rage…ever. Helen Magnus definitely had a way about her, a way that could reduce even the strongest of men into quivering piles of goo.

"Hey, there's no need to get violent Magnus. If you wanted it, you only had to ask. I would have shared." His smile grew even wider as she narrowed her eyes at him.

"You know, Dr. Zimmerman, I should like to point out that most intelligent men in your position would recognize the danger in antagonizing a woman in possession of such a large assortment of sharp implements."

He instantly turned on the puppy dog eyes and shot her an incredulous 'who me?' look. Helen became even more visibly irritated as she tried to suppress her smile. Will couldn't help but notice how her chest heaved in the most attractive way when she was mad at him. She huffed out a breath as she opened her mouth, about to hit him with another witty retort, he was sure, but he cut her off before she could even start.

"Alright, point taken." Will put up his hands in surrender and sobered his expression.

He was too tired to continue this repartee in any sort of intelligent manner anyway. He didn't even have enough energy to chastise himself for staring at Magnus's chest.

"Please, continue."

Helen let out a deep sigh and shook her head slightly willing herself back into doctor mode. She'd make sure to get back at him later. Now was no time to let him get a rise out of her. 'Damn the cheeky bugger and his adorable face!'

"Henry and Kate arrived just as the abnormal proceeded to pass out on the floor. The two of them restrained the creature and gave it another dose of tranquilizers as I went to check on you."

"You weren't able to finish the search." He supplied knowingly.

"No. You needed immediate medical attention. Down one team member, there was no way we'd have made it out in time. I just hope to God that what we found was all there was to find."

Will, forgetting momentarily about his injury, sullenly nodded his head in agreement only to be greeted by a strong wave of pain. He started to pitch forward again and grabbed onto Helen's shoulders to steady himself. There was that nauseous feeling again. 'Ok, no more sudden head movements.' He would never be able to live down the shame of barfing all over his boss.

"Okay, you need to lie back down. I will not have you collapsing on the floor and hitting your head all over again."

Will tried to protest that he was fine but Magnus would not be swayed. Still feeling a little off-balance he squeezed his eyes shut and kept his grip tight on Helen's shoulders as she helped him lay back on the gurney. He let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding when the soft pillow gently took on the weight of his head. Anymore protests died on his lips as he let his body melt into the mattress beneath him. He would never admit it to Magnus, but it was quite a relief not to have to support his own frame at the moment. Without realizing it, a soft moan escaped his lips.

"Um, Will?" He opened his eyes to see her slightly amused face hovering over him.

Will hadn't realized that he was still holding onto Magnus until he felt her hands grip his wrists. "Oh. Uh, sorry about that."

As he released his hands from around her shoulders, Will's gaze flicked over her wrists. He could just make out the very edges of the deep purple blotches hiding beneath the cuffs of her lab coat as she pulled her hands away.

"Magnus, are you okay?" A look of confusion crossed her face for a moment as he spoke. "I mean, that Gargoyle thing did totally manhandle you. He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"I'm perfectly fine, Will." She assured him. "Nothing a little aspirin and an ice pack won't cure."

Will continued to study her as she calmly walked over to the head of his gurney and raised it up into a sitting position.

"Are you sure? I mean, those look like some nasty bruises on your wrists. Maybe you should have them x-rayed."

"I am a doctor, Will. Trust me, I'd know if they were fractured." She said in that no-nonsense tone that let Will know the issue was not open for further discussion.

An awkward silence enveloped the room as Helen looked over Will's chart and recorded his most recent vitals. Will bit the bullet and cleared his throat attempting to break the ice again.

"So, uh…how's the abnormal?" he stammered out rather lamely.

This seemed to dissipate the tension considerably and Helen's stance loosened a bit as she met his gaze.

"Ah, well, the Gargoyle, for lack of a better term, is currently resting comfortably in his new, high-security habitat in the SHU."

This news seemed to visibly relax the psychologist.

"Have you ever come across anything similar before?" Will asked curiously.

"Actually, his features are similar to that of quite a few different species of abnormal, but there are very unique properties to his physiology that I have never come across before. It really is an amazing creature, especially his ability to harden the texture of his skin during periods of hibernation. My theory is that the creature's outer layer of skin becomes petrified and acts as a cocoon keeping the body safe from predators while it hibernates in an open environment."

Will smiled inwardly at the lively expression in her wide, blue eyes. He loved to watch her explain one of her new discoveries almost as much as he loved to watch her out in the field on a mission.

"It seems like the perfect survival mechanism to blend in amongst the modern world." He added.

"Indeed, but how this trait evolved in nature is a somewhat perplexing."

Will's brow furrowed at her observation. He wasn't sure he liked the sound of that.

"Are you suggesting that someone may have engineered this creature? Like the Cabal?"

"It's certainly possible, but I don't know enough about the creature yet to arrive at any conclusions. I'm not even sure what sort of living conditions it is going to require in its habitat."

"Well, you could always just stick him out on a ledge somewhere by the North tower. He'd fit right in with the architecture, no one would be the wiser."

This earned a genuine smile from Magnus and a small laugh.

"Hmm. Tempting as that sounds, I shudder to think what kind of mischief it would get itself into every time it came out of hibernation."

"Yeah, I can just see it now. Baby snatched from carriage by Gargoyle, story at eleven."

Will and Helen exchanged tired, but genuine smiles with one another. Concussion or no concussion, Will felt oddly at peace in the light of her smile. As far as he was concerned, a late-night talk with Magnus could cure just about anything.