Chapter Four

Peter could hear someone calling his name, but he could barely move for some reason. His head and right shoulder were throbbing in rhythm with his rapid heartbeat. He turned his head a tiny bit and heard his name whispered with what sounded like a foreign accent.

The sound chilled his heart as it repeated itself. "Peeeeterrrr."

"Who's there?" Peter whispered back.

"Hommme... hommme... hommme... Peeeeterrrr... "

"What?"

Peter attempted to rise and a flame of agony sparked to life from the throbbing he'd felt earlier. Someone or something was pressing into his aching shoulder, and then the pleading whisper was much closer.

"Hommme... Peeeeterrrr... hommme... "

The pressure continued until Peter screamed, which promptly woke him up from the nightmare. The room was darkened, so it was either early evening or morning and there was someone standing beside his bed.

He tried to focus on the figure. For a moment, he saw the ghostly image of one of the demons from back at Marilyn's – one of the demons who had tried to grab him back when he'd inadvertently opened the gateway to hell.

Peter struck out in self-defense and rolled away from the figure, falling out of the bed. He hit the cold floor hard. The jarring impact caused his shoulder to throb more violently. The impact brought dizziness and nausea with it, but he didn't have time for that. He had to get away from that thing trying to take him back to hell.

"Peter!"

From somewhere nearby, he heard Jody call his name, though she sounded in pain. Maybe the demon was after her, too. He put one hand up to the bed and pulled himself up to peer over the top. At first, he couldn't see her, and then he saw the top of her blonde head as she got to her feet.

"Jody! Be careful! Something's in here!" he shouted in a loud whisper.

She was holding her cheek as she shook her head, coming around to his side of the bed. "Nobody's here, Peter. You were having a nightmare."

"No, I saw it. I heard it. I felt it," he said in a hoarse whisper as his surge of adrenaline rapidly dwindled.

He collapsed against the bed, pulling at the blankets to help keep him upright. Unfortunately, they followed him to the floor. Jody caught him before he hit the floor for the second time, holding him in her arms as she knelt beside him.

"Oh, partner, we've got to get you back into bed."

She brushed his sweaty hair from his forehead and stared at him in deep concern. "Are you strong enough to do that or do I need to call the nurse for help?"

Even with the dim lighting, Peter could see a nasty redness on her cheek. He blinked, trying to clear the confusion from his memory. He knew what he'd seen. He was sure of it. But Jody wouldn't lie to him.

He reached up and touched her cheek lightly. Even that light contact was enough to make Jody flinch.

"Damn, did I do that?" he asked.

She squeezed her eyes shut for a second and that was all Peter needed to see to know the answer. He tensed with realization, but the movement inflamed his shoulder even more.

"Peter," she said softly, bringing her fingers to his cheek, "It was an accident. You were dreaming."

"Dammit, Jody, I'm sick to death of all the accidents happening around me today! It's got to be some kind of world record!"

"Let's talk about this once we have you back in bed."

He nodded and got to his feet, surprised by the overall level of weakness crippling his system. But the escalating pain in his shoulder was almost enough to make him forget about his headache. Almost, but not quite.

Only with Jody's help was he able to crawl back into bed. She quickly covered him with the sheet and blankets, then leaned close to him as he shivered with residual cold.

"How are you doing?"

He held his shoulder, as if that would ease the biting pain. He stiffened suddenly as he tried to recall the events of the day. "Wh–what happened? How did I get here?"

Jody's forehead creased with worry. "You don't remember?"

Peter shook his head, and then regretted the movement. "No, I remember leaving Kermit's office... then it's a blank."

"Your computer exploded. The blast threw you into the wall."

Peter had some vague recollection and he looked to Jody. "How long have I been here?"

She looked at her watch. "About five hours. You've got a gazillion stitches on your shoulder. That's what took them the longest in ER, because they were worried about infection that was setting in. Your doctor was just here. He wants to keep you overnight for observation for the concussion and signs of infection."

She glanced around and began to reach for the cord to the lamp over his bed. "I can't believe how early it gets dark now. How about let's turn on some lights. Close your eyes."

He started to stop her, but he wasn't fast enough. The fluorescent light bulb exploded above his head as she pulled on the switch. Using pure reflex, she bent over him, shielding him from the flying sparks.

"Damn," she muttered as she pulled back. "Are you all right?"

Peter looked to make sure she was okay before he met her gaze. "Jody, I haven't been all right all day long. Something tells me it's only going to get worse."

She pressed the button for the nurse and brushed her fingers across his forehead, keeping her face close to his, smiling wanly. "Geez, you sounded just like your father when you said that. At least, enough to give me the shivers."

The overhead lighting switched on without warning and Peter groaned from the unexpected burst of illumination, squeezing his eyes shut in self-protection. Jody pulled away.

When Peter opened his eyes again, he saw a nurse and a nurse's aide in the room.

"What happened here?" the nurse asked none too gently.

"The bed light exploded when I turned it on," Jody explained quickly.

The tall blonde nurse came over to the bed, and then turned back to the nurse's aide. "Call housekeeping."

Pivoting back to Peter, she glanced him over quickly, "Let's get you out of this bed and into the other one."

With the help of Jody and the nurse, Peter did as requested. They stopped for a moment to make sure he didn't have any glass on him before transferring to the other bed. The action left him breathless and his shoulder felt more and more like it was on fire.

"My name is Ingrid," the nurse said as she checked his pulse, respiration and pupil responses.

By then, two people from housekeeping had arrived and were silently working to clean up the broken glass. The nurse reached for the blood pressure cuff, asking him, "How do you feel?"

Before he could answer her, she shoved a thermometer in his mouth.

"Like I'm stuck in some terminal nightmare," he mumbled around the protruding device.

Finished with her exam, she chuckled and patted his arm. Peter liked the husky sound of her laughter as she said, "I often feel like that."

She checked her watch. "Your doctor ordered some medication for you. I'll call down to the pharmacy for the order. Once it's here, I'll be back."

Peter watched her leave. Jody squeezed the hand she was still holding. "You're awfully quiet, partner."

Peter turned to give Jody his full attention. "That's because I've got to leave here," he said quietly, glancing at the two housekeeping staff.

Jody's incredulous look normally would have made him laugh out loud, but nothing about their situation was funny. He tightened his grip on her hand and whispered, "Jody, I have to leave before more things start going screwy."

"Peter, you can't blame yourself – " she started, but the overhead lights flickered, then the power went out for a moment.

The two people from housekeeping looked up in surprise as they were just finishing remaking the other bed. The older man smiled at the two detectives as his coworker headed for the door. "Don't worry, the backup generator will kick in pretty fast."

Peter looked up at Jody in the meager light of early evening after watching the two people leave. "See, Jody, I have to leave now," he pleaded.

She sighed heavily and nodded before mumbling, "Tell me I'm not going to regret this in the morning."

"Wish I could, Jody, but I'm not sure when this roller coaster ride is gonna end," he answered her, then he gritted his teeth as she helped him out of bed.

oOoOoOoOo

Jody eased Peter out of the taxi and held onto him while she paid the driver through the open passenger window. "That's very kind of you to offer to help us inside, but we'll be fine. I only hope your car trouble improves."

She tightened her hold on Peter, being careful of his bandaged shoulder and looked up at him. He had his eyes closed, as if he was in pain or dizzy. Perhaps, it was a combination of both. His complexion was so pale that she worried she had made a big mistake in helping him to leave the hospital.

The taxi cab pulled away, backfiring several times before it began to pick up speed. In response, Peter gave an exhausted sigh of frustration.

The chill of the late October evening did nothing to improve his mood, even with Jody's jacket wrapped around his shoulders, and he began to shiver. He was still wearing his thin hospital gown, with its long ends tucked into his trousers, because he had no shirt or even his own jacket. They were still at the precinct.

Peter swayed slightly and Jody tightened her hold on him. "Come on, Peter, we better get inside. It's damned cold out here."

He nodded in acknowledgment, but he was barely with her. His injuries were demanding all of his attention, she noted with sadness. Either that or his nightmare was still haunting him. Her cheek throbbed with the cold, reminding her of the bruise he had inadvertently given her. As if she needed a reminder. Peter's guilty gaze was more than enough.

They entered the elevator and Jody punched the button for the seventh floor. The elevator started, and then shuddered. Both of them stared wide-eyed at each other and held their breath until the car hesitantly resumed its upward motion.

"Maybe we should have taken the stairs," Jody whispered, her voice still heavy with fear.

Peter closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the interior of the elevator car, releasing a long sigh. He rubbed his shoulder absently, and then shook his head. "There's no way I'd make it up all those flights, Jody. No way. Not now. Not in the shape I'm in."

Even his voice sounded exhausted and she wondered just how badly he was hurting. Peter had always been a fighter, but there was something muting his fighting spirit and she wanted to know exactly what that was. But she could wait until she got him settled. He needed to eat and he needed to rest. Somewhere in fulfilling those needs, she'd find what was going on with him.

The elevator had just passed the fourth floor when the car shuddered again. This time, the overhead lights flickered, too. She tightened her grip on him at the same time he tightened his on her.

Without warning, Peter screamed, "CUT IT OUT!"

The shout startled her and she jumped, but whatever was going on stopped and the elevator continued without further incident. Peter leaned down and pressed his lips to the top of her head. "I'm sorry. I should have warned you, but this is really pissing me off."

Jody pulled away enough to see his eyes and asked, "Peter, what is this?"

Peter's expressions always told her what was going on inside of him and this time was no exception. A blend of fear, anger, and frustration wisped across his pale features.

"I – I wish to hell I knew, Jody. I really do."

"Peter, what makes you think you'll be any safer here than you were at the hospital? It seems whatever this thing is that's affecting the power and machinery around you is actually following you."

Unmasked guilt flooded his gaze and he looked away. She was grateful he had turned from her, because she couldn't have handled his remorse a second longer. He wiped a hand across his mouth, and then whispered, "Leaving the hospital wasn't to help me, Jody. It was to keep the hospital and its patients safe from harm."

She put a hand to his chin and turned his face towards hers. "Harm? What kind of harm are you talking about?"

The elevator doors opened, but the car was only partially at their floor. It was a good four feet lower than it should have been. "Ah, crap," Peter cursed as he stared at the door.

Jody pulled him towards the opening, rising on her tiptoes to get a good view of the hallway. "I'm not spending another moment longer in this thing than I have to," she said firmly.

"Injured first," she said as she nudged him forward.

Peter backed away, gesturing with one hand. "You go first."

When Jody started to protest, he cut her off, "Look, I'm not getting out of here without help. You climb out first, then help pull me out."

Jody stared at him tightlipped, then put her hands on the carpeting of the seventh floor, pulling herself up. Peter helped as much as possible, but it seemed the slightest movement sent spasms of fire through his shoulder.

In a moment, she was leaning down with outstretched hands. "Okay, let's do it. This situation is giving me the creeps."

Peter extended his good arm, reaching to find purchase on the floor above him. Jody locked her hands around his forearm and he jumped to get as high up as he could before they had to start pulling and climbing to complete the process. He groaned aloud as they worked, but eventually he was lying on the hallway, breathing hard.

The elevator doors slammed shut without warning a moment later. Jody caught his eye and shook her head. "That was too damned close."

He nodded back as she helped him to his feet. They had taken a few steps when she glanced up at him. Her worry for him grew as she felt him swaying heavily, and then saw his feet were barely keeping up with hers as they stumbled along.

"Jody," he whispered, and then fell silent.

He didn't have to say another word, she knew from experience he was about to pass out on her. She took his keys from his hand and hurried to unlock the door while supporting him against the wall with her body. They barely made it into the bedroom when he slumped forward.

She strained against his dead weight, dragging him over to the bed and then laid him down as gently as possible. She removed his shoes and pulled a comforter over him. Afraid to turn on any lights for fear of potential explosions from the mystical power surges surrounding Peter, she climbed on to the other side of the bed and sat in silence.

She watched over him, praying that the dawn would bring an end to the day's madness, but deep down, she had a sick feeling the madness was only just beginning.

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