Hey everyone! Surprise! I got the next chapter out and you didn't have to wait months! :D I really appreciate those of you that have stuck with this story despite its long wait time. I hope the story is living up to your expectations. Especially since I have no clue where this is heading, lol.. I'm making it up as I go :D
Please forgive all the mistakes. I do not have a beta and I wrote this in between my RL and (amazingly) all today.
Enjoy!
M
Hank woke to a soft bed. He could instantly tell by how it cushioned every part of him that he wasn't in the guesthouse. His bed felt slightly different. Less like it was made out of clouds and more like it was made out of foam. At first he was confused as to where he was but after a few minutes of stretching his mind, he remembered everything that had happened the previous night with Ivan and Boris. He could briefly remember something about Divya and Evan and Boris being injured but that part of the night was fuzzy and it hurt Hank's head to think about.
Shifting a little, Hank took stock of himself. The headache alone told him that he had a concussion. Albeit, not a bad one but one nonetheless. He raised his hand to feel the back of his head the source of the pain seemed to be located but stopped with a hiss when his right wrist sent a spike of pain through his arm.
Okay, Hank reasoned, I guess I reinjured it.. Again.
Using his other arm, Hank gingerly touched the knot on the back of his head and then moved on to his stomach. Thankfully, breathing wasn't that hard which meant that Ivan hadn't landed any good blows to his ribs but it did hurt if he inhaled too deeply meaning that the behemoth of a man must have kicked him rather hard in his stomach, near his diaphragm. Hank vaguely remembered something to that effect but he'd been too dazed from the blow to the back of the head to truly register much.
Moving on, Hank let his arms lay by his sides, using his legs this time to make sure that they were alright. He wasn't able to stifle a cry when he moved his right leg. Pain radiated from his knee, sending sonar pulses of it throughout his leg.
"Hank? Are you alright?" Boris' voice came through the closed oak door. Even with the heavy door deadening most sound, Boris sounded concerned and within seconds the man himself entered the room. His arm was wrapped around his stomach, with his hand cradling his side and pain dulled the beautiful color in his hazel eyes but the creases in his forehead despite his well-controlled expression had no problem showing Hank that he was worried.
"Yeah, Boris, I'm fine," Hank lied, offering up as bright a smile as he could. "I moved wrong, that's all."
Boris nodded to show that he had heard. "Perhaps I should call Ms. Katdare back," he suggested. "It appears that you could use some more pain relief."
Hank had begun shaking his head before Boris had even finished speaking. "That's not necessary Boris. I'm fine."
"Judging from the cry that I heard from downstairs, I'm going to disagree with that," Divya countered, stepping into the room and joining the pair.
Great! Hank silently grumbled. Hank had never been one to appreciate all the attention on himself – that was Evan's shtick – so having two people solely focused on how he's doing was just not something Hank was enjoying. As far as Hank was concerned he was fine. Yes, he hurt. Yes, he has a hard time moving right now. But he was fine nonetheless.
"I'm guessing that you're fully feeling your injuries," Divya summarized as she came over to examine him.
A penlight first thing in the morning was not something that anybody liked to wake up to. And while Hank had had a good ten, maybe twenty, minutes in between waking up and being examined, it was still unpleasant. Pain bore into his skull like a jackhammer breaking concrete as the light shone into his eyes, making him flinch and close them as quickly as he could.
Divya said nothing as she put the light away, gently felt the lump on his head, and then moved down to his hand.
Hank tried to stifle any sign of pain as she went through her examine but it was hard. His head ached and therefore his patience was wearing thin. When she'd rotated his w rist, Hank hadn't been able to stop the way his body had tensed in reaction to the pain the movement had caused. Nor had he been able to hide a wince when he'd inhaled sharply and his bruised stomach had protested against it.
Still saying nothing, Divya moved to check his stomach and then down to his knee when she was apparently satisfied with his torso. She was as gentle as she could have been as she unwrapped the bandage but even the slightest touch near his patella caused sharp, intense pain to sweep through the joint. Divya frowned as she took note of this but she didn't comment as she proceeded to inspect the injury.
Hank's eyes followed hers and he focused on the swollen, bruised mess that was supposed to be his knee. A wide array of colors had begun to show, most never really ending at a certain point but all surrounding his kneecap. The swelling was severe enough to hint at what Hank's medical side had already thought of the moment he'd registered sensitivity to touch. However, knowing that Divya had no doubt already come to the same conclusion, he kept quiet, doing his best to control his breathing – and the pain – instead.
"Here," she said, digging through her bag and pulling out a syringe. She swiftly inserted it into the crook of Hank's right arm, her thumb gently rubbing small circles over the muscles of his forearm as she worked. "This will help the pain for the time being. I want to get a closer look at your hand, wrist and knee and this will help make those procedures easier on you as well."
She left without saying another word, giving Boris an acknowledging nod as she went.
Hank looked over at Boris, frowning when he took in the German's hunched posture.
"You could have had Divya give you something for the pain as well," he commented, making his tone sound like the lecture he'd been wanting to give ever since the man had walked in in pain.
Boris smiled, obviously appreciating Hank's concern. "I'll be alright," he assured, settling into the armchair enough to make himself more comfortable.
"Now who's the liar?" Hank returned, not believing anything Boris was saying for a minute.
"Worry about yourself, Hank," Boris answered not unkindly.
Though the words were meant to sound as a lecture of their own, somehow Hank could tell that that was not how they were supposed to be taken. They almost sounded to Hank as though Boris was merely saying, 'I'm more worried about you at the moment.'
The two men were quiet after that. Boris' gaze was focused on Hank and Hank alone but Hank barely noticed the attention as he tried to sift through the past couple of years with Boris to see if there had been anything in their interactions that he may have missed. The way in which the other man had been treating him lately had begun to make Hank believe that he felt something more than friendship for Hank and if that was the case Hank needed to decide how he felt about that.
Boris was an attractive man; Hank had not trouble admitting that to himself. He was regal, conducted himself with composure and poise, and carried himself with the kind of self-assurance that drew people to him rather than put them off. His bone structure was a perfect balance of noticeable but calm. His features weren't too prominent but they were prominent enough to be noticed and appreciated. His accent was beautiful. The way words rolled off his tongue with ease – whether they be in English, German, French, or anything else that Boris spoke – made Hank want to hang around and listen even if he couldn't understand a single word.
And yet, Hank had always fallen for women. Did this mean that he was against taking a man for a partner? Hank wasn't sure. And that was what Hank had to work out before he said anything to Boris.
Divya entered pushing the portable x-ray through the wide door. Either Boris had an elevator – which was something that Hank wouldn't put past the castle – or Divya had made Boris' security help get it up the stairs – which Hank wouldn't put past her. Hank was willing to bet on the elevator as he doubted that even Boris' well-muscled security could get the machine up the stairs. Either way, it was here in his room, ready to expose the weaknesses in his bones.
"Boris, you don't have to stay for this," Hank said, sure that he was keeping the nobleman from an important meeting of one topic or another.
Boris cocked his head to the side, the motion barely noticeable to anyone else other than Hank who had spent so much time studying the man before him for signs of his genetic illness coming forth. Hank could sense that Boris didn't want to leave, but he also couldn't come up with a reason for his presence to remain and so he was trying to come up with one during his silence.
Deciding that having Boris around wasn't at all a bad thing as it would give Divya time to examine him as well, Hank said, "Although, if you don't mind waiting until she's done, Divya could give you something for the pain."
The look Boris gave Hank could only be described as an eye roll. His eyes barely moved upwards, but they had headed that way before they closed completely as he sighed and so that was what Hank had took it to be.
Divya's head snapped up at the mention of her name and she focused on Boris. After giving a rather pronounced eye roll herself, she walked over to the medical bag that she'd brought with her after grabbing the portable x-ray and pulled out another instant ice pack. She activated it and handed it to him.
"Here," she said, her voice even. "You should have done that before you started moving around."
Boris took the ice pack with another sigh and nodded to show that he'd heard her. "How is Hank?"
"'Hank' is right here and I'm fine," Hank answered, a little annoyed that Boris was trying to talk about him like he wasn't there.
"Yes, I can see that you are there, Hank, but while you say that you are fine, I do not believe you and so I am asking Ms. Katdare because she will more than likely tell me the truth," Boris answered, lecturing Hank in return for constantly insisting that he was fine when it was obvious that he wasn't.
"As I said last night, he'll be fine," Divya answered, moving back over to Hank and taking images of his hand and wrist. After looking at the results, she moved the machine down to Hank's knee and repeated the process.
"I was referring to the reason for why x-rays are necessary," Boris clarified, watching her carefulness with Hank like a hawk eyeing prey.
Divya didn't answer right away. She was too preoccupied with the images that had showed up on her tablet. After she'd finished with those, however, she let out a breath, placed the tablet on a nearby side table and answered. "I suspected worse damage done to them than I had first diagnosed and I was right. He has a couple hairline Boxer's Fracture from a punch that he'd thrown, another hairline fracture in his wrist from the same punch and yet another fracture in his patella."
Both physicians turned towards Boris to gage whether he understood what all she'd said and upon seeing that he had, Divya moved on.
"The Boxer's Fracture isn't too severe so we'll just tape the fingers and let them heal on their own. I'm going to put the same brace on your wrist that I'd had before because I at least know that you'll take care of the wrist with it rather than a less encumber-some one." She gave Hank a look that said there'd be a lecture if he messed with said brace before she told him he could and then she continued. "The patellar fracture isn't bad, meaning no surgery will be required to fix it, but it will take a while to heal and it will keep you off your feet for at least the first few weeks."
With that said, she left to go and grab the needed items to help Hank heal – meaning the wrist brace and the knee brace.
"I am sorry that Ivan has caused you so much trouble," Boris apologized once she'd left. Whether the word 'trouble' could be supplemented for pain or damage, Hank couldn't tell but he figured it could.
Either way, Boris' remorse was genuine and he appreciated it.
"It's alright," Hank forgave. He would have liked to say that it wasn't Boris' fault but there was a bit of it to go to Boris. Obviously the older man had known the temper that Ivan had and he also knew what Ivan could do when angered. Merely believing that if you were under Boris' employ that meant that you would do everything he asked was naïve and that was something that Boris wasn't.
"Can I ask you something?" Hank asked as a question occurred to him.
"Of course," Boris granted, shifting slightly so that he could give Hank his full attention while still remaining comfortable.
"Why did you insist that Ivan and I meet? I mean, you're a smart guy, Boris. You must have noticed how hostile Ivan was towards Americans. So what made you assume that he would not only tolerate my presence but also apologize?"
Hank winced, hating how selfish those questions sounded. It wasn't that he was mad that he'd been put into the position he was currently in, but he believed that he had a right know Boris' reasoning behind the whole affair.
Boris bowed his head, more than likely hiding his emotions from Hank as much as he could. The action alone told Hank that the older man felt badly for the way he'd handled things but guilt alone wasn't going to appease Hank's curiosity.
"I am truly sorry for that, Hank," Boris began, once again tripping over Hank's name in the way he was used to doing. "I had hoped that he would choose to remain within my employ rather than out of it."
"And what does leaving your employ mean exactly?" Hank asked, remembering that he'd never really gotten much of an answer the night before.
"Suffice it to say that it is a tedious process and it is generally better to remain employed here," Boris replied, remaining vague in his answer.
"Uh-huh," Hank replied, making it sound like everything made sense when it purposely didn't. He opened his mouth to say more but that was when Divya walked back in, oblivious to the fact that she could be interrupting a conversation.
"So," she said as she began to tape Hank's fingers together. Hank watched as she briefly shifted her gaze over to Boris before returning back to his hand and what she was doing. "What happened last night?" At Hank's eye raise – Divya wasn't usually one to pry after Hank had already said that he'd explain later – she added, "Evan has been rambling non-stop to whomever he's been on the phone with about it, not to mention he's been asking me every time I go back down there."
"Yeah, who has Evan been talking to?" Hank asked, his curiosity shifted and piqued. He winced when she secured the brace around his wrist. The tightness would help the swelling that had slightly increased from last night but it had been painful to apply.
"I'm not sure," Divya answered, fastening the straps of the brace and then moving to grab the brace for his knee.
The brace itself was nothing to write home about. It was a long one. Black. And it would merely wrap around his leg, providing support for his knee whenever he started to actually bear weight on it. Until then it was only there to keep the knee immobilized while it healed.
"Alright, this may hurt a bit," she warned as she lifted leg off the pillow and straightened it out. As swiftly as the professional that she was, she applied the brace, ignoring Hank when he let out a growl of pain and then his breath quickened. She placed his leg back on top of the pillows, elevating the leg.
"Okay, so try to remain relatively still and get some rest," she instructed, bustling about for a bit to gather all that she'd need to take with her. She placed a bottle of pills onto the side table. "Take those every four hours or as needed for pain."
"I already know this, Divya," Hank reminded.
"I know that you know that, but I wasn't sure if Boris did and since I trust Boris with your pain management more than I trust you, I was saying it for his benefit."
"Thank you, Ms. Katdare. I'm sure we will be alright while you're gone," Boris supplied, taking the bottle and pocketing it into his jacket.
"If you need to, feel free to call Evan," Divya added as though it were an afterthought.
"Divya, I'll be fine. I don't need to be babysat like a kindergartener who stayed home sick from school."
"Well excuse me, but I beg to differ," Divya argued. "I know you, Hank. You don't take care of yourself very well and right now, taking care of yourself and getting rest is the only thing that will help you heal and get you back your independence which I know you crave."
She pulled her ginormous back onto her shoulder and leaned down to give Hank a pat on the shoulder. She looked up and across Hank to Boris and said, "Call me if you need anything."
And with that she left, leaving Hank and Boris to their own devices.
Edward Lawson walked up to the front door of Shadow Pond. Evan had called last night to say that Henry was hurt. Of course, Evan hadn't been told what had happened but as far as Eddie was concerned, that wasn't important. What was important was making sure that Henry was alright with his own eyes and so, he'd told Newburg that he'd be back later and he'd come over to the castle as soon as he could.
He knocked, just now looking for a doorbell to use instead. He stepped back and fidgeted, wondering what to do with himself while he waited for someone to answer the door.
At last the door opened and a stuffy looking butler stood before him.
"Can I help you?" he asked, looking about as though wondering how Eddie had gotten in in the first place.
"Yeah, I'm here to see Hank," Eddie announced, putting on his best smile so as to soften the other man slightly. It didn't work. He remained exactly where he was, looking like he didn't plan on moving at all. "Evan told me that he was staying here and not down at the guesthouse."
"A moment," the butler said before closing the door and leaving Eddie exactly where he was.
Eddie paced, more than a little annoyed that he hadn't been led straight to his son. What? Did they guy have to check with Hank first? No, Hank wouldn't do that to him.. would he?
The door opened again and a different man stood before him this time.
"What can I do for you Mr. Lawson?"
The slight but determinable accent told Eddie exactly who stood before him – Boris Kuester von Jurgens-Ratenicz. The man was impressively dressed in a light grey suit, baby blue shirt and light grey tie. Eddie thought he could detect a slight hunch in the man's posture but given that he'd never met the man before, he couldn't be sure.
"Yes, hi, I'm Eddie R. Lawson, I'm here to see Hank." Eddie held out his hand for the other man to shake but instead of actually doing it, Boris looked down at the hand as though it were poison and remained where he was. When he remained silent, as though waiting for Eddie to explain more. Was it not good enough of a reason that he wanted to see his injured son?
When Eddie didn't give any further reason because he didn't believe he needed to, Boris finally answered.
"Unfortunately, Doctor Lawson is not available to receive visitors at the moment."
"Oh, is he now?" Eddie answered disbelievingly. "And does Doctor Lawson also know that I'm here?"
"Yes, actually," the other man answered, not at all sounding offended by Eddie's tone. "He was awake when Dieter came in but since then he has fallen asleep which, according to Ms. Katdare, is best for him right now."
"And did this much needed rest happen to be medically induced?" Eddie returned, not really trusting the man before him with his son. From what he heard from Evan, Boris was an enigma and not in a good way. He was secretive and distrustful. He played things close to the vest and he often did whatever he deemed to be necessary, to hell with the consequences to others. It seemed to Eddie that if Boris wanted to keep him from seeing his son for any reason, or from entering the house, he wouldn't hesitate to drug Hank in order to be able to say that he was asleep.
Boris smiled at him, not really answering him but giving Eddie the only answer he needed.
"Oh I see," Eddie answered and stepping away from the door. "You know what? I think I'm going to go down and talk to Evan about getting Henry removed from here."
"That is your prerogative, Mr. Lawson, but I assure you that the younger Lawson will not go with you."
Eddie opened his mouth, his lips forming an 'o', though he didn't voice the word itself. He nodded, processing what to say next.
"Well, I suppose we shall see."
Boris kept the smile on his face, appearing more mocking than friendly. It infuriated Eddie to see and so he turned and started walking down towards the guesthouse where he knew Evan was. He'd get Henry out of that house and back to where his family could look after him – that was for sure.
TBC