Chapter Seventeen
Peter felt very relaxed as he fell through the air then felt something grabbing onto him and the low sounds of wings flapping filled his ears. He had closed his eyes and his nose and face felt broken in a million pieces but he didn't care. If whatever was holding him was an angel then he would be healed by some blonde with big breasts and wings. If it was some sort of demon, he had the feeling having a broken nose and a busted up face was the least of his problems. The sound grew softer when he felt himself drifting downward and felt the hard wood under his hands.
"Peter?" Cassandra's voice asked as he felt soft fingers moving through his hair and he slowly opened his eyes. Everything was blurry as he blinked his eyes slowly when he heard the sound of running and something was poking him in the side. "Peter, please, answer me!"
"'assy?" he asked then realized that he sounded funny and slightly smiled.
"Oh fuck!" Charlie's voice said as Peter tried to focus his eyes but the black spots were growing larger and Peter closed his eyes, drifting off into the darkness.
A soft beeping filled his head as Peter started waking up and felt the softness of the blanket that was covering him. His face hurt and he was breathing through his mouth but he didn't feel like opening his eyes. It was nice in the darkness and he wanted to go back when he felt soft lips on his forehead and slowly moved his fingers.
"Hey there, Sleepy Head," Cassandra's voice said somewhere far away and Peter's mind quickly rushed toward her voice. The inside of his eyelids became a bright tan then a white light appeared and he balled his hands into fists.
"AH!" he said while he tried to turn away from the light then heard Cassandra's voice softly hushing him and felt her stroking his hair. "No, leaf me 'lone!"
"Sh, it's alright," she said softly as he blinked his eyes a few times and her smiling face appeared after his eyes focused. "There you are."
"I'm nae dead?" he asked softly as she shook his head and kissed his lips.
"No, you are alive."
"M'nobe hurfs," he said as she nodded her head and barely touched her lips to the tip of his nose. The nurse had left the room as Cassandra carefully climbed onto the bed and snuggled next to Peter, being careful of the wires. She placed her head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her and she gently stroked his nipple through the thin material of the hospital gown. "How ba' is it?"
"How bad is your nose?" she asked and he painfully nodded his head. "It's broken in two places. Luckily none of the bones went into your skull or they would have pierced your brain. The doctor said that it will be straight when the swelling goes down but you're going to have to breath through your mouth. Your right cheek also had to be repaired and you're missing three upper back teeth."
"Oh fuff!" he said as she smiled and lightly pinched his nipple between her finger and thumb, causing tiny sparks of pain and pleasure to move through him. "Uh, as mush as I wou' loff tae, I'm nae in da mood."
"I could fix it for you," she said and he arched his eyebrows up.
"You're da' good, eh?" he asked as she nodded her head and he looked over at the heart monitor. "Um, gonna hur'?"
"Yeah, it's going to hurt," she said as he rolled his eyes and kissed the top of her head.
"Home," he said then closed his eyes and she listened to him slowly drift back to sleep while tears rolled down her cheeks.
The doctor had released Peter the following morning as Jane and Cassandra held onto him and led him into the bedroom. Charlie was standing next to the bed as Peter slightly smiled at him and saw Cross sitting on the headboard. Peter had tried to figure out how he didn't end up splattered on the ground as Jane helped him sit on the edge of the bed and she took his sneakers off his feet, placing the sneakers on the floor. Cassandra had told the management that Peter had hurt himself while trying a new trick in the penthouse and promised that he would be able to do the show the next night. Peter wasn't sure how that would be possible after he had seen what he looked like and he looked down at Jane and she smiled up at him.
"If's nae funny," he said in a grumpy tone as she patted his leg then stood up and helped him stand up. Peter's eyes were nearly swollen shut and the skin around his eyes and nose were bruised and swollen. There were several scabs on his upper lip and his right cheek was three different shades of purple. He had a plaster on his cheek and nose and he wondered how they could look at him.
"I know," Jane said softly as she looked at Charlie and nodded her head toward the door. Charlie patted Peter's shoulder as Jane and Charlie left the room and she closed the door. Cassandra walked closer when she brushed the hair out of his eyes then started unbuttoning the blue shirt he was wearing and slid her fingers through the soft chest hair, He titled his head to one side as she moved closer and carefully kissed his lips. It stung a bit as he wrapped his arms around her and she placed her hands on his chest, feeling his heart thumping against her fingers. Moving back, she helped him get undressed then she walked to the bed and moved the bedding back.
"Get in bed," she said as he barely smiled and swaggered to the bed, sat down then slid his long legs under the sheets. He was naked as she looked at his body and stroked the soft chest hairs, making him look down at his chest.
"You li'e touchin' that, don' you?" he asked as she leaned down and did little kisses on his chest. He watched as she moved the bedding up and he sat up, placing the pillow against his back. She walked to the bathroom as he reached up and Cross hopped onto his wrist. Looking at Cross, Peter saw something in the falcon's eyes and Peter frowned and blinked his eyes. Cassandra came out with a towel, a slightly wet flannel and a box of tissues when she placed them on the bed then sat on his legs, looking at him.
"Are you ready?" she asked as he looked at her and nodded his head. Cassandra gently removed the plaster from his nose and cheek as she looked at the stitches and bruised flesh when she felt her heart hurting and she got off the bed, walking to the dresser and opened her purse. She had brought a few things from the house as she walked back to the bed with four, black glass jars and he looked at the jars. "Ok, like I said, this is going to hurt a bit."
"Juff do it," he said as she nodded and opened the first jar. She tapped the jar when three human teeth tumbled into her hand and he looked at the teeth then at her. "A'e dose mine?"
"Yes," she said with a nod of her head when she placed on the rubber gloves she had also taken out of her purse and she saw the look in his eyes. "I "borrowed" them from the hospital."
"Ah," he said as she smiled then opened his mouth and picked up one of the teeth. Peter winced when he felt pain roaring through his skull then felt his gums opening up and she slid the tooth into the hole. She placed the other two teeth back in his mouth then gently closed his mouth and kissed the tears dribbling down his cheeks. She sadly smiled at him when he reached over and stroked her cheek. He lightly coughed after she opened the second jar and he looked at what was in the jar. Several, black leeches wiggled in the water as he looked at her and tried to widen his eyes. "No."
"It's to take the swelling and bruising away," she said and he arched an eyebrow. "Come on. They used to do this all the time. It doesn't really hurt. Don't look at me like that. My grandmother used them on me when I was a kid and whacked my face with a door."
"Fi'e," he said as she helped him lay down on his back and she sat next to him, watching him close his eyes. Taking the first leech out of the jar, she placed the leech on his cheek and felt him tense up a bit. He seemed to relax a few minutes later while she watched the leeches growing fatter and the bruising on Peter's face started fading. After removing the leeches, she opened the third and fourth jars as she dipped her fingers into the white cream and coughed. The white cream smelled like sour milk and rotten eggs as she gently coated his face with the white cream and he half opened his eyes.
"Just lie still. I know it stinks, but it's going to work," she whispered as he rolled his eyes then closed them and she placed more of the white cream on his face. She wiped her fingers off then picked up the fourth jar. The black cream stunk of rotten fish and piss as she placed some of the black cream on his face and his eyes snapped open.
"Dat smells li'e pish!" he said as she hushed him and he closed his eyes, wondering if she really knew what she was doing. After finishing applying the creams and wiping her fingers off, she kissed his forehead and he opened his eyes.
"All done," she said as he felt his face growing warm and numb and he slowly blinked his eyes. He started feeling sleepy and she hushed him, brushing the hair from his eyes. "It's alright. You're supposed to feel sleepy. Don't fight it. Go to sleep and we'll talk later."
"Don' go," he whispered as he started sinking into the darkness and she kissed his hair. After cleaning up and placing Cross on the back of the chair near the door, Cassandra walked to the bed and sat down. Kicking her shoes off, she snuggled closer as she placed her hand on his chest over his heart and he slowly placed his hand on top of her hand. She sweetly kissed his ear as he puffed air out of his mouth and drifted off to sleep. Cassandra watched him sleep when she placed her head on his shoulder and tears gently trickled down her cheeks. It was then that she realized how close she came to losing him and she kissed his earlobe, making him smile. She didn't know why Jean-Phillipe was after them but she swore that he would pay for what he had done to Peter and a low growl bubbled up from her throat.