There had been no warning. One minute Becky had been admiring some antiques and the next she'd felt extreme heat and force. Something warm glowed in her pocket as fire spread all around her, not touching her but still close enough to scare . There had been a flash of light and pain. Bits of glass had flown up around her and she'd hit her head on the floor. After that she had surrendered to the dark and lost consciousness.
When she woke up she saw herself staring at the ceiling. It was blurry, but as her vision clarified she saw that Dave was staring down at her. He looked relieved. Becky wanted to explain what had happened to her, but her breath was coming with extreme difficulty. She decided to bring up the topic again later.
"Can you understand me?" asked Dave, "Just blink twice for yes."
She did so and heard him sigh.
"At least there's no concussion," said Balthazar, "That just leaves the rib and the lung to deal with."
Taking in her surroundings she found that her head was on Dave's knee, propped up. His hand was on her forehead in a soothing motion. Balthazar sat next to him, kneeling over her. His hands were inches above her rib cage. His ring began to glow before emanating a purple light. And the pain, the pain was unbearable.
She gave a small cry. Her body twisted and she felt Dave shift. Her breath was guttural, choked. Balthazar winced.
"Your rib broke and punctured your lung," Dave said from above her, "He's trying to heal it but it won't work if you keep moving. It's just going to get deeper and deeper in there and he won't be able to close up the tissue. Do you hear me?"
Becky nodded, tears streaming down her face. The light started up again, as did the pain. She bit her lip and tasted her own blood. Apparently Dave noticed because one of his hands reached down and grabbed hers. Grateful Becky took it and gripped it tightly. There was something secure about his hand. If she was in a little less pain then she would have regretted the way her fingernails dug into his flesh. As it was she didn't notice it at all.
"It's going to be okay Becky," he assured her, "It's going to be fine."
There was a cracking noise and Becky couldn't help arching her spine. It felt like a bone was breaking in reverse. Balthazar jerked his hands back momentarily and the light stopped. The hand that gripped hers was hot and pulsing. Dave's other hand was sweaty on her forehead and she saw him swallow. That couldn't be good.
She opened her mouth again but her breath was still guttural. Dave swallowed again.
"He has to heal the lung tissue now," said Dave, "He's got the rib healed and it won't cause any more damage. But he has to deal with the lung now. You're almost done."
Although outwardly she was quiet inwardly she wanted to scream. She wanted to cry and beg him to stop it, she'd be fine with it healing naturally. However, she knew it was too serious to leave. Instead she gripped his hand again and nodded. Balthazar's hands moved back into position and the next thing she knew the light came back. With it came the pain and a new sensation that something was burning its way from her lungs to her lips.
At long last the purple light faded and Balthazar withdrew his hands. Sweat had appeared on his forehead and he raised his arm to wipe it off.
"You're body's going to be very weak for a while. I wouldn't advise you going straight home," said Balthazar, "Not to mention Horvath knows who you are now. We're going to have to take care of him before we can assure your safety."
Severely shaken Becky nodded. There wasn't much else she could do.
"We'll talk about this more in the morning," said Balthazar, getting up and brushing himself off, "For tonight you're sleeping here. There's just my room and Dave's old one so-"
"I'll sleep on the couch," Dave interrupted.
Balthazar nodded in approval.
"I trust you can get her there," he said.
"Yeah, sure," Dave said.
He put one arm behind her back and the other behind her knees. She wanted to help him push up but she found that there wasn't much strength in her arms. Somehow Dave managed to pick her up and carry her gently up the stairs. He kicked open the door to what must have been his old room.
Drawings littered the walls, each one increasing in size and sophistication. There were a few more doodles on the windows. She would have given them a more intense scrutinization but he had already laid her down on his rather large bed. It smelt unaired but after lying on the hard floor in pain it was heaven.
"If you need anything just uh, give me a call," he said.
She swallowed.
"Well," said Becky, "I'm having trouble moving so if you could take off my shoes for me…"
"Oh, yeah, of course," Dave sputtered.
He sat himself down on the edge of the bed and began untying her shoes. One by one they fell to the floor, along with her socks. While he was doing this Becky managed to sit herself up enough to take off her jacket. With it went her gloves and scarf. If she was going to have to sleep in her daytime clothes then she'd try to make herself as comfortable as possible.
"Anything else?" he asked.
"The comforter," Becky said, "I can't move with a lot of coordination so I can't quite get under it."
"Again, duh," said Dave, smacking his forehead.
With a few maneuvers she found herself underneath the duvet. Dave smiled nervously. "Anything else obvious that I missed?"
She bit her lip, aggravating the cut she had given herself there earlier.
"Stay with me?" she asked.
His eyes grew wide.
"Just…I know it's silly but…I just want to be near someone and…" she trailed off.
Her next words came as whisper.
"You just make me feel safe is all."
Without another word he quietly slipped into bed next to her. She shifted her body so that it was a little nearer to him. It made it easier for her arms to wind around his neck. In turn he pulled her closer and kissed her on the forehead. Becky rested there, bundled by both his arms and the duvet. It felt wonderful.