Jason wasn't sure how he'd ended up in the hospital, assuming that's where he was. It was a pretty good bet, considering the first thing that hit his senses when he started to come to was the sterile smell of bleach and disinfectant mingled. He heard himself groan quietly as he pried one eye open, feeling like he'd just gone ten rounds with a heavy-weight champ, but it was actually an improvement over how he'd been feeling just before everything had gone black.
His memory was foggy at first, though he vaguely recalled being chased through the streets of New York by a bunch of thugs who were taking pot shots at them as they tried to make their escape through a portal he only half believed in. He hadn't been alone in his escape. Beth had been with him, as well as her parents, with Jason taking the rear. There had been a sort of explosion as the portal opened, like a rip in the fabric of time and space. Something had ripped into his back setting his flesh on fire, something Jason knew could have only been a bullet. And then he was falling, as if from a great height, falling and falling through time and space, watching as his life seemed to pass before his eyes, but it wasn't the life he'd always known, but another lifetime both familiar and unfamiliar, or so it seemed. None of it seemed to make any sense to his still foggy, groggy brain as he struggled to fight his way back from the dark depths of unconsciousness.
As far as Beth was concerned, Jason had had it easy. He'd lost consciousness shortly after a tiny woman with anger management issues had taken over protecting them all, and aside from a brief moment of lucidity during the healing - which still confused her - he'd been out of it ever since. He hadn't had to deal with Rhy'Din in all its weird and wacky wonder; he hadn't had to be introduced to Old Man Granger, or a Vampire Slayer, or a whole host of family members she had no real conception of. He hadn't had to sit and talk with Rufus about the strange experience of passing through the portal, and be told by a father who hadn't been around until two days ago that he had a soul mate. Worse of all, he hadn't had to sit next to a hospital bed and be patient, waiting for the moment when he woke up. When Jason finally did decide to rejoin the world of the waking, Beth was asleep in the chair by the bed, her bare feet up on the blankets beside him, and a magazine called Nexus Weekly open on her chest.
A pair of bare feet came into view as his bleary vision started to clear, and he wondered if they were his, but that didn't make sense. They were far too feminine looking, and he didn't paint his toenails. He pried the other eye open, blinking a few times to clear his vision, before following the very feminine pair of legs that were attached to those feet to the woman who was sitting in a chair beside him. Bethany. He opened his mouth to say her name but nothing came out but a croak, his mouth feeling as dry as cotton.
For a nurse, she wasn't very responsive to a patient waking up, but then, she hadn't been sleeping very much while he'd been in the hospital. For one thing, she'd been sharing a house with her parents, and though she loved them, she'd found herself wishing for soundproofing, or at least earplugs, more than once. For another, she was anxious about him, far more anxious than she should have been. Her logic and experience told her it was just a shoulder injury, she knew he'd been magically healed, and yet something deep inside her was terrified that she was losing him. Again. So though Jason was awake, Bethany didn't respond to the croak of his attempt to speak to her, sleeping fitfully within arms reach of the man she loved more than life itself.
He stilled for a moment when he realized she was asleep, watching her quietly as his wits slowly returned. It seemed they had given himself something for the pain, but there wasn't much pain left but a dull ache and a feeling of lethargy and confusion. He furrowed his brows as he studied her, feeling a strange sense of d"j" vu wash over him, as if he had dreamed all of this before. Or something like it. He winced as his snatches of memory flashed through his mind, almost like a dream, but far too real.
Under his scrutiny, the signs of her sleepless nights were obvious to observant eyes. But more than that ....the signs of her worry were there, too; the reach of her hand toward him, the way her body was angled in his direction, the way her expression was less than peaceful. As he winced, she did, too, her head jerking a little as her sleeping frown deepened, and suddenly her eyes flew open, lips parted to drag in a gasping breath as she woke from her nightmare. Her gaze shot to Jason's face, wide-eyed and scared, and as suddenly as she'd woken, the fear faded away as relief washed over her. "You're awake." Way to state the obvious, Beth. Dropping her feet from the bed, she rose to pour him a glass of water from the jug on the nightstand, kneeling next to him to gently ease him into a sitting position. "Here ....small sips until the doc says otherwise."
He thought he saw fear on her face, as if something had startled her awake, but it faded too quickly for him to be sure. He didn't bother to argue as she offered him water, not realizing how thirsty he was until she was helping him to sit and take a few sips. He drank slowly, the water soothing his dry mouth and throat. He wasn't sure how long he'd been out, but it was long enough, it seemed, from the concern on her face. He felt confused, disoriented, remembering some of what happened, but not enough to make sense of it all. The part that confused him the most was the visions he'd experienced as he'd come through the portal, but they weren't just visions. They were more like memories. "What..." he started, his voice gravelly and slow. "How long?"
She didn't let him drink for long, just enough to wet his mouth and throat, setting the glass aside to help him settle into a more comfortable sitting position against stacked pillows. "About two days, give or take," she answered the vague question, experienced enough to know what he wanted explained. "You're all healed up, though. Seems like magic really is real here." Reluctantly, she eased away, pulling her chair closer to the bed. "How do you feel?"
He furrowed his brows at her at the mention of healing and magic. While he definitely felt a little achy and tired, he sure didn't feel like a bullet had ripped through his shoulder only two days ago. "Where..." he started his next question, his voice slowly returning. A hospital obviously, but where was here?
His memory was foggy at first, though he vaguely recalled being chased through the streets of New York by a bunch of thugs who were taking pot shots at them as they tried to make their escape through a portal he only half believed in. He hadn't been alone in his escape. Beth had been with him, as well as her parents, with Jason taking the rear. There had been a sort of explosion as the portal opened, like a rip in the fabric of time and space. Something had ripped into his back setting his flesh on fire, something Jason knew could have only been a bullet. And then he was falling, as if from a great height, falling and falling through time and space, watching as his life seemed to pass before his eyes, but it wasn't the life he'd always known, but another lifetime both familiar and unfamiliar, or so it seemed. None of it seemed to make any sense to his still foggy, groggy brain as he struggled to fight his way back from the dark depths of unconsciousness.
As far as Beth was concerned, Jason had had it easy. He'd lost consciousness shortly after a tiny woman with anger management issues had taken over protecting them all, and aside from a brief moment of lucidity during the healing - which still confused her - he'd been out of it ever since. He hadn't had to deal with Rhy'Din in all its weird and wacky wonder; he hadn't had to be introduced to Old Man Granger, or a Vampire Slayer, or a whole host of family members she had no real conception of. He hadn't had to sit and talk with Rufus about the strange experience of passing through the portal, and be told by a father who hadn't been around until two days ago that he had a soul mate. Worse of all, he hadn't had to sit next to a hospital bed and be patient, waiting for the moment when he woke up. When Jason finally did decide to rejoin the world of the waking, Beth was asleep in the chair by the bed, her bare feet up on the blankets beside him, and a magazine called Nexus Weekly open on her chest.
A pair of bare feet came into view as his bleary vision started to clear, and he wondered if they were his, but that didn't make sense. They were far too feminine looking, and he didn't paint his toenails. He pried the other eye open, blinking a few times to clear his vision, before following the very feminine pair of legs that were attached to those feet to the woman who was sitting in a chair beside him. Bethany. He opened his mouth to say her name but nothing came out but a croak, his mouth feeling as dry as cotton.
For a nurse, she wasn't very responsive to a patient waking up, but then, she hadn't been sleeping very much while he'd been in the hospital. For one thing, she'd been sharing a house with her parents, and though she loved them, she'd found herself wishing for soundproofing, or at least earplugs, more than once. For another, she was anxious about him, far more anxious than she should have been. Her logic and experience told her it was just a shoulder injury, she knew he'd been magically healed, and yet something deep inside her was terrified that she was losing him. Again. So though Jason was awake, Bethany didn't respond to the croak of his attempt to speak to her, sleeping fitfully within arms reach of the man she loved more than life itself.
He stilled for a moment when he realized she was asleep, watching her quietly as his wits slowly returned. It seemed they had given himself something for the pain, but there wasn't much pain left but a dull ache and a feeling of lethargy and confusion. He furrowed his brows as he studied her, feeling a strange sense of d"j" vu wash over him, as if he had dreamed all of this before. Or something like it. He winced as his snatches of memory flashed through his mind, almost like a dream, but far too real.
Under his scrutiny, the signs of her sleepless nights were obvious to observant eyes. But more than that ....the signs of her worry were there, too; the reach of her hand toward him, the way her body was angled in his direction, the way her expression was less than peaceful. As he winced, she did, too, her head jerking a little as her sleeping frown deepened, and suddenly her eyes flew open, lips parted to drag in a gasping breath as she woke from her nightmare. Her gaze shot to Jason's face, wide-eyed and scared, and as suddenly as she'd woken, the fear faded away as relief washed over her. "You're awake." Way to state the obvious, Beth. Dropping her feet from the bed, she rose to pour him a glass of water from the jug on the nightstand, kneeling next to him to gently ease him into a sitting position. "Here ....small sips until the doc says otherwise."
He thought he saw fear on her face, as if something had startled her awake, but it faded too quickly for him to be sure. He didn't bother to argue as she offered him water, not realizing how thirsty he was until she was helping him to sit and take a few sips. He drank slowly, the water soothing his dry mouth and throat. He wasn't sure how long he'd been out, but it was long enough, it seemed, from the concern on her face. He felt confused, disoriented, remembering some of what happened, but not enough to make sense of it all. The part that confused him the most was the visions he'd experienced as he'd come through the portal, but they weren't just visions. They were more like memories. "What..." he started, his voice gravelly and slow. "How long?"
She didn't let him drink for long, just enough to wet his mouth and throat, setting the glass aside to help him settle into a more comfortable sitting position against stacked pillows. "About two days, give or take," she answered the vague question, experienced enough to know what he wanted explained. "You're all healed up, though. Seems like magic really is real here." Reluctantly, she eased away, pulling her chair closer to the bed. "How do you feel?"
He furrowed his brows at her at the mention of healing and magic. While he definitely felt a little achy and tired, he sure didn't feel like a bullet had ripped through his shoulder only two days ago. "Where..." he started his next question, his voice slowly returning. A hospital obviously, but where was here?