Jamie placed himself protectively between the restrained tyrant and the nursing staff as the man continued to rant and thrash about in the bed like a dervish. He tugged manically on the straps holding his wrists in place to no avail. The strange, otherworldly nursery rhymes echoed down the hall as he screamed, eyes fixated on Jamie.

The grey-haired man glared at David over the rim of his glasses, arms crossed over his chest. In his heart, Jamie knew that this behavior was not merely some psychological mind game concocted for the former warlord's amusement. Staring at David's feral expression, he noticed something odd.

Normally hazel eyes were now glowing an eerie, topaz blue as they stared aggressively.

"Put the fox in the box, weigh it down rocks, throw him the river, now he starts to shiver!" he snarled, leaning as far forward as he could manage.

Jamie felt icy tendrils of fear sweep through his flesh listening to the demented poetry. He jumped when the nurse put her hand on his shoulder.

"Jamie, do these rhymes mean anything to you? No one can figure out where they come from," she asked, her eyes not leaving the angry man on the bed. "The verbal and physical aggression aren't new, but they've gotten worse ever since…"

David jerked forward again and spat in the direction of the aides.

"Tie a rope around his tail, watch him bite and wail! Big black eyes watch the skies," he cackled wildly. "Tears of blood as he dies."

Jamie frowned, thinking. As Red, he couldn't recall ever seeing or hearing this level of insanity from Drakkon. The man obviously had more than one mental health issue, but screaming crazy rhymes wasn't something he was known to do. He sighed heavily.

"No, I've never heard him say anything like this," he admitted. "David's always had a nasty temper and bad attitude. He wasn't against using his fists either. From what I know, he has a long history of psychiatric problems and suffered severe abuse from his parents."

The former Ranger was sure that the vitriol and the celestial animals was connected but decided to keep that information to himself for now. If he tried to explain that story, then he risked having to go down the Drakkon/Red rabbit hole. That was something he had no desire to hash out and burden these already overwhelmed people with.

David had gradually ceased his kicking and struggling though he still appeared infatuated with the man standing near his bed.

"Detrahe vulpinam in sanguine et dolore!" he snarled in a raspy whisper.

The nurse leaned close to Jamie as she trembled in fear.

"What did he just say?" she breathed.

At that moment, David gave a terrific yank with all his strength, dislodging the bed frame and freeing one wrist. He snagged a handful of Jamie's sweat damp black shirt and jerked sharply, tearing the fabric and causing the man to pitch forward into his lap. Leaning down into Jamie's face, he growled deep in his throat.

"Non potes me fallere, Vulpecula!"

Tearing David's fingers from the tattered shirt, Jamie scrambled wildly, falling back onto the floor as the aids rushed to restrain the still waving arm. He laughed darkly as the medication began to take effect, his eyes lolling back and collapsing onto his pillows.

"What the hell was that?" he stuttered, fearful that the unexpected altercation might trigger his rage.

The nurse knelt to help him to his feet; Jamie carefully moved away to avoid being touched in case he lost control of himself.

"Are you alright?" she gasped.

Swallowing nervously, Jamie nodded, backing towards the door, his eyes not leaving the quieting man. The aides checked to ensure that David was securely restrained and resting.

"Come on. Let's head up to the nurse's station and talk a moment," the nurse said, motioning for Jamie to follow her out of the room.

Heart still hammering painfully, Jamie followed her down the tiled hallway away from the tyrant. He took several deep calming breaths as he walked, trying to steady himself. The woman pulled out a chair when the pair reached the desk and waved Jamie to have a seat.

"Well, that escalated quickly," she remarked, trying to sound light.

She took a long sip of her coffee situated under the counter's ledge. Jamie rested his forearms on his knees, hands fidgeting with the torn material of his t shirt. One foot shook as he tried to keep from bouncing.

The nurse replaced her mug on the desk and turned to face the other man.

"Forgive me for asking, but it seems like you probably have firsthand knowledge about David's temperament. He was violent with you, wasn't he?" she asked, gently patting his arm.

Jamie averted his eyes to the floor and gave a sad smile.

"Let's just say, I'm not surprised at what he did in there," he offered. "Is that girl alright? I didn't even see her leave the room."

The nurse nodded.

"One of the others took her to be evaluated in the emergency room. I don't know how we are going to continue handling him if this behavior continues to get worse," she commented.

At that moment, one of the other aides that had been in the room approached the pair at the nurse's station.

"He's out. Snoozing like a little lamb now," she said bluntly, rolling her eyes. "And he'll end up sleeping like a baby."

She locked eyes with Jamie and raised a brow at him.

"Jamie, right?" she asked, putting her hands on her ample hips.

The man could only nod hesitantly as the other woman scrutinized him thoughtfully. Then the aid gave him a quick, reassuring smile and laughed.

"Well, Jamie, thanks for the help in there. That was some impressive strength you had," she complimented. "Want a job?"

"Katie," the nurse admonished with a small grin.

The man straightened in the plastic chair and managed a chuckle.

"No, thank you," he answered, running a hand through his hair.

The woman glanced back down the darkened hallway and then back at Jamie.

"Don't be surprised when he comes up here tomorrow morning screaming abuse," she advised Jamie. "He never seems to remember going off the rails like this. In his mind, we're the abusive monsters."

Jamie looked confused.

"He doesn't have any memory of acting like this?"

Katie shook her head briskly.

"Nope. I believe it too. He's never shy about owning up to being a jerk. Like the issue with the sunroom that he started last week? He said it wasn't his problem."

Now, Jamie frowned.

"What issue?"

Katie rolled her eyes again.

"Well, His Majesty doesn't want anyone else to be able to go in there. He's laid claim to it and if any of these other folks try to go in, he runs them right out," she explained. "David hasn't been physically aggressive about it, but you know, that mouth of his…"

She trailed off, waving a hand.

"I swear he acts like a spoiled cat the way he sits in there and hisses if someone tries to go in," she added.

That's weird, Jamie mused.

The adrenaline spiking his system had started to fizzle out and he felt like he'd been run over. Morning was going to come soon enough and he still had the tasks with all the animals to get through before returning. He fought back a yawn that didn't go unnoticed by the two women.

"Hey, I'll walk Jamie out," Katie offered to the nurse. "I'm sure he could use some rest after wrestling Hannibal Lector in there."

The other woman nodded and smiled at Jamie.

"So you are coming back in the morning? David acted like he didn't believe you."

Jamie snorted at the thought the tyrant was telling other people he was the liar. Not to mention, he was running around telling people that they had been in a relationship.

Fucking asshole, he seethed.

"Yeah," he sighed wearily.

What the fuck have I gotten myself into, he muttered. But it was imperative he find out about the threat that David mentioned. A threat that Jamie believed was not a made up excuse to draw him here. David also hadn't told him what happened to his coin either. The Black Dragon power couldn't be allowed to circulate in the community.

He pulled himself to his feet and followed Katie to the stairwell by the elevators. Katie was quiet until she got the other man behind the closed door.

"That was Latin, you know," she said conspiratorially to Jamie. "I may not look like I know anything about fancy stuff like that, but David was definitely speaking in Latin."

Jamie paused on the staircase.

"David doesn't speak Latin," he stated. "The whole time I've known him, he's never spoken in another language or even alluded to knowing one."

Katie nodded, like she wasn't shocked.

"I figured he only spoke English and Swear," she joked, looking at Jamie.

The man's lips twitched slightly despite the situation.

"There's a smile. Thought you could use one of those too," she teased.

As they started down the stairs again, Jamie glanced over at the shorter woman.

"What did David say? When he was hissing Latin at me?" he asked.

Katie cleared her throat before replying.

"Some nonsense, nursery rhyme shit but dark. He said 'Drown the little fox in blood and sorrow' and 'You cannot outwit me, little fox'," she answered. "Vulpes is Latin for fox. He's screamed that word before during one of his fits, but everyone else thought he was just talking word salad bullshit."

Jamie shivered, remembering the look on David's face as he'd snarled those phrases.

They reached the first floor, Katie holding the stairwell door open.

"You're brave coming back to see that one," she commented.

"Not brave, just foolish," he responded, smiling slightly.

Reaching the glass entry doors, Katie paused, crossing her arms over her chest like a mother hen.

"You're such a sweetheart, Jamie. How in the hell did you end up with that prissy cat?" she lightly scolded.

Jamie glanced back at her face and spread his arms.

"He didn't give me a choice," he answered with a slight smile.

Katie shook her head and turned to go back to her shift, not realizing that the other man wasn't making a joke.