Authors Notes: I was asked earlier today on Tumblr if there was a way to watch Pimpernel Smith on the net. As a matter of fact I saw it on Netflix first :D.

In a Heartbeat

Chapter 2

Breathless

Freshly bathed and put into one of Horatio's shirts. It drifted down to the floor as she sat down in the chair looking out the window. It looked like it was going to be one of those really cold nights. She was really glad the Professor was going to let her stay there that night. He had stepped out for a moment to grab some more tobacco from a corner store. Said corner store was probably farther then he actually said cause he had been gone for about an hour now maybe more. She didn't mind. She was to tired and sat down in the chair looking around the room.

Donny's eyes locked on the bag on the bed that his shirt had came out of. She slowly looked around as if there were people hiding inside the room, and walked over to the bag. She opened it up and looked within. There were two pairs of pants, another shirt, eww underwear...something she hoped she'd never see again was those underwear...the socks. His personal bag was inside the bathroom. She zipped the bag up and put it on the floor just in time to see the door open wide.

Donny turned around just in time to see the Professor walk into the room and close the door. He turned and leaned against the door. "That was close..." He said stepping into the light, blood soaking his shirt, two tears left on his shirt, and his tie was missing.

"Professor!" She ran forward touching the wounds. She lead him over to the bed and helped him to lay down. "Who did this to ya huh? Whose butt do I gotta kick?" She said as un afraid as she could which didn't work to much.

"Oh don't you go getting yourself hurt on my account. It was just a few Nazi soldiers. Thought they could one up me...bested they were." He said and lay back on the bed and jumped when she pulled back his shirt to look at the wounds. they were just small gashes, probably from glass, or worse...bullets grazing him.

"What did you do to piss them off so bad." Donny asked and looked around at the Professor whose eyes were closed and he was breathing fast. "Who are you Professor...your not telling me everything." She said and ran into the bathroom for some towels and hot water.

The sun hurt his eyes as he opened them and looked around the room. He looked down to see his shirt was laying beside him and his wounds were cleaned and dressed. He turned to see the little girl sleeping curled up in a little ball on the outside of the covers. She must have fell asleep watching over him. He looked at his knuckles, he hadn't gotten them scraped from fighting, oh no he hated to fight. He wouldn't punch anyone...they were stepped on. They were covered now with cloth...he had suddenly realized just where she got so much fabric from...her cloths...she had washed her shirt and tore it into strips. They now decorated his body in lazy dark pink or faded maroon...he didn't know which.

He sat up gingerly trying not to open the wounds on his hip or chest. He pulled on his shirt and began to button it up and walk into the bathroom. It was a mess...bloody water was still in the sink, the soap was nearly gone, and there went any clean towels. Now how was he suppose to soak up all the water that was on the floor. Oh well it couldn't be helped, she was after all just a child trying to save someone from death...or rather he wasn't dieing at all, but he was sure that he did scare her a bit.

Horatio pulled the plug in the sink and walked back into the bedroom where he walked over to the little girl who was now sitting up and looking around the room confused for a little while. Horatio had done that before waking up not realizing he had went to bed in a totally different place then the room your so much use to.

"Sleep well?" He asked only for her to stand up and rush over to him and pull up his shirt and moved the bandage out of the way and sighed looking up at him.

"You okay?" She asked simply only to hold her head and sit back down on the bed. She had stood up to fast. Her own wounds were still hurting her. Horatio was used to this sort of punishment. He had been saving Jewish people from the Nazi's for a year and a half now. He hopes it won't last to much longer, people in England were starting to suspect and the boys on his team had long since graduated. It was just him now. He prefured it that way since he only had to worry about himself only.

"What happened last night?" She asked and jumped when she felt his hand on her forehead.

"Now don't worry about me, I was just jumped. Stay in bed, you've got a bit of a fever alright?" He asked and walked out the door and looked at the woman who was cleaning rooms. "My child is still sleeping in there, terrible fever I'm afraid can you skip the cleaning today and just give me a few towels?" He asked. the woman nodded and looked in the room to see the girl who was half asleep.

"Oh poor child. I'll bring some medication for the fever later on alright?" She asked. Horatio thought that best so nodded and continued on to go fetch some breakfast for the child.

When he returned he saw the girl sitting in a huff on a seat near the window. Her hair was soaking wet but french braided in pig tails, and a dress with proper shoes.

"What were you thinking? Leaving me alone with a woman who can't have kids? She talked my ear off about her husband not being able to have kids...now she's talking about adopting me...I'm not a girly girly...I want pants, giving me dirt any day...is it wrong to climb trees...I wanna go dig up stuff with you today...can we?" She asked changing the subject completely. "My hands are to clean!" She said and looked down at the food in the bags.

"I think you have a bit more recovery to do child. You just got over having a fever, and whats so wrong for someone who wants a kid to adopt you?" He asked and she looked down at the floor. She was silent for a moment.

"I'm not a stray dog that will jump up and ask to be owned by anyone whose looking...I'd like a say so in who my parents are...I just didn't feel her. I don't think she's for me." She said and looked up at the Professor who nodded his head.

"Fair enough. What is your ideal parent?" He asked and watched her let loose the braids and put her hair up in a tight pony tail.

"I donno...I guess I'll know when I see them." She said and shrugged. "Or...him...or her..." She said and looked down at the dress then at the shirt she shredded...she didn't have a choice. "The maid took your shirt to be washed." She said and looked down at the plate.

"Whats the matter you not hungry? With how much you ate last night I can see why." He said and pulled out some coffee for himself and an orange juice for her.

"Oh its not that at all." She said and started to cut up the pancakes. "Its just...I donno why...but what happened to you last night bothers me." She said and pored some syrup onto her pancakes.