Chapter 27: Waking and Worry

I come awake with a violent jerk. The inevitable racing of my heart blocks a lot of the sound coming from around me. The bustling of a few nurses catches my attention, and I deign to look where I am. The hospital? What happened? My nose crinkles as the horrid smell of antisceptic and other, cleaner scents pervaids my senses.

I shake my head and frown. I sit up and reach for the nearest person in scrubs. "Hey, what am I doing here?"

She clucks her tongue. "You don't remember, love? Your friend over there had a nasty run in with some toxins. It's a good thing her Aura's strong enough, or she wouldn't have made it."

Friend? Who? I turn to where the woman was looking and see Summer concked out in a bed. She what? So, that wasn't just some horrible nightmare? God damn. "Oh."

She shakes her head. "You don't remember?"

I scoff. "I was just hoping that it was just some horrible nightmare. I guess we never were that lucky." I bite my lip, worry coming over me. "So, she'll be okay?"

The nurse smiles faintly. "She seems like a fighter. I'm certain she'll come around soon."

A sigh of relief escapes me. "Thank the gods."

The nurse pats my hand, where my grip had stayed firm throughout our entire conversation, no matter how small it was. I blush a bit and let her go. "You should rest a bit, dear. There's no sense in letting this get to you, especially after that spell you had."

I blink. Spell. Right. I fainted, didn't I? I can't do anything right. I let her see a small smile, even though I felt like I should be glaring at her. "Rest. Sure." The nurse gives a final nod before shooing the rest of the staff out and dimming the lights.

My gaze drifts to Summer. It's light outside. I can see the tiny bits of sunshine through the drapes. This means that we've been in here all night. I can just imagine what the guys are going to say when they find out. I should have checked the wine first or inspected the staff before placing reservations. Someone as politically popular as Summer is now is a target for all sorts of reasons. I should have known!

I ball my hand into a fist and hit the mattress. It's not overly hard, but it does make a satisfying smack. A fire burns behind my eyes that I'm sure would have a large number of people running from me at a glance. I will find the filth that did this, and they'll certain wish that they had never looked twice at my Summer. For right now, though, it's best for me to do as the nurse suggested. Sleep couldn't hurt right now. I mean, we are in a hospital. What could possibly happen?

I'd been staring at her for hours by the time her eyelids flutter open. I smile at her, making sure that that is the very first thing she sees. "Hey. How was your nap?"

She rolls her eyes after a few seconds. "I don't think that actually counts, Ray."

I scoff. "Sure it does. There was a bed involved, and you were totally out of it. Totally counts." I just let all of the relief and love flow out of me. I brush the hair from her face again. "You really had me worried there, for a few."

She blinks in confusion. "A few what?"

I place my forehead to hers. "Days, babe. It's been four days. I was starting to worry you'd never wake up." Four days of constant vigilance after that quick nap I had after waking up that first day. I realized that asking what could possibly happen would invite so much trouble, especially with our luck. It was impossible to just let that go. Anybody could walk in here dressed like a nurse and insert a needle into her arm to get rid of her, and I'd never know. That was the worst case scenario I could think of. Anything else I might have been able to handle, from ninjas to strangers with weapons charging in through doors, windows or vents. I can fight off those kind of attackers, but the nurse would have caught me at a disadvantage.

Her voice is strained as she speaks. "Four?"

"Yeah." I sigh and kiss her forehead.

She shakes her head as I pull away. "Well, shit. We totally missed our appointment with the council."

I frown at that. "I don't give a shit at this point. I don't think you should even do this anymore." I let every bit of aggravation and anger at the council and the dick that poisoned her shine through my words.

Summer places her hand over mine. "That's quitter talk, Ray. I wouldn't have thought that you could quit anything."

I growl at the prospect. "No, this in't quitting, Sum." I shake my head vehemently. "They almost killed you. They drew a line, and I'm not going to just sit back and let that happen again!"

"What could possibly take me our of the crosshares here, Raven? I've already got a target painted on me. So what if I get out of this bullshit? They'll want to be rid of me just in case I want to jump back in. You do realize this, don't you?" Her words make me take a deep breath, trying to calm myself.

I close my eyes. "I can't lose you, Summer."

She cups my face. "You won't have to. Let me just finish this, and we can be done with it. Isvold will understand. I'm sure he's gone through much more than we have to get to where The Fang is. Some people just aren't made for social reformation." She places a kiss on the corner of my mouth and lays back down. "After I get this law signed, which I would have yesterday, we can settle on Patch and call our lives domestic. You know, aside from the occassional Hunt and all."

I smile at her. "Domestic?" It sounds too… not us to ever let slip from her lips.

She shrugs. "Marriage, kids, maybe teaching. It seems kinda mundane, but I'd be happy as long as you stayed by me forever."

I tilt my head slightly to side, teasingly. "Is that a proposal?"

She rolls her eyes. "Where's my cloak?"

What? This brings me up short. "What does that have to do with anything?"

She thumps my forehead, making me yelp more in surprise than pain. "Just bring it to me. I see it over there." She gestures to the other side of the room.

I rub the spot she hit me. "Fine, fine. I'l get your cloak, though what you need it for right now is totally beyond me."

I walk the short distance to the garmet and pick it up before chucking it at her. She catches it effortlessly. Her hand starts to roam over the fabric, making me kind of question her sanity at this moment. What is she even doing? She stops at some point before flipping the edge over and yelling, "Ah ha!"

I shake my head and frown. "What?"

She smiles while keeping her hand in the cloak for some reason. "Just come here." She takes a deep breath and pulls out a small, velvet covered box. "I was going to do this properly after the wine at that restaraunt, but damn it, things just never go as we plan."

"You just keep coming way too close to death for comfort too many times." I furrow my brows as I stare at that box. It couldn't be, could it?

"Regardless." She smiles again, wider this time. She takes my hand in hers and places the box gently on my palm. "Open it."

I worry my lip as I tentatively open the lid. As soon as it's up all the way, I read the text taped on the underside. 'My dearest Raven, will you be mine?' I start to tear up and look at her. "Are you being serious?"

She feigns hurt. "You think I could joke at a moment like this?"

I smirk at her. "Yes."

"Yes to which question?"

I quirk an eyebrow and tap my chin in mock thought. "Both. Both is good." I carefully take the ring out of its container and slip it on before giving her a kiss.

"So, yes?"

Her hopeful expression makes me roll my eyes. "Yes." I inspect my hand rather curiously. "Though, your delivery needs a bit of works." I make sure to smile to let her know that I'm just teasing, but that pout she gives me is utterly adorable. I really couldn't stand it if I had lost her.

A/N: I really don't understand how this one kinda just flowed from my dream last night. One minute, I'm dreaming about spaghetti and peanut butter (not mixed together, guys), and the next, this was just there. It was strange because the proposal actually came from Summer's PoV in the dream, but I switched it to Raven's for the story. I really didn't want to change an entire dynamic for something so trivial. All over the weirdness.

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