Catalyst (31 page)

             
"You still love me?" she sniffled again.

             
"Of course I love you, sweetie. Everything's alright," I told her just as the doctor came in. "Doctor's here so you'll feel better soon."

             
"Whoa," he said as he looked at her. "We have a seriously dehydrated woman. What happened?"

             
"She's just been sick for days. Throwing up and stuff."

             
He leaned his head out the door and told someone to
come and
start an IV.
He came back and I was surprised he didn't try to take her from me. He moved his rolling stool over to us and started with her pulse, then her eyes and tongue.

             
"She's very dehydrated," he said again then motioned me up as he stepped back. "Come and lay her on the table. You don't have to let go," he said quickly, "just lay her down so we can get some fluids in her. Then we'll see what's making her so sick."

             
A different
nurse came as I got up and smiled at me warmly. She hummed as she did the IV and it was a little unnerving
,
but oddly comforting. Marissa didn't let my arm go. I knew in her mind it was Jeff's arm. She needed
it
so I let her use me. Poor girl was sick out of her mind.

             
"Uuuhg," Marissa
groaned as the nurse worked her phlebo
tomy on her
. "Baby, it hurts
."

             
"It's ok," I told her. "A few more minutes and you're
gonna be good as new
."

             
She eased me down
to her
slowly and pressed her face into my neck again. I imagined she did this often with Jeff. I smiled at that sly dog. Taming Marissa had been a feat, I
was certain, but if anyone could do it, it was Jeff.
She kissed my jaw and murmured something into my skin.

             
"What, babe?" I asked quietly.

             
"Please don't hate me," she said and kissed my jaw again. "Please," she begged.
"I need you. I love you..
."

             
I was beginning to wonder what she was going on about. She was genuinely worried. This wasn't just about her incoherent babble anymore. She was really scared that Jeff was going to find out s
omething. Was she really sick, l
ike with a disease or something and hadn't told him?

             
"I could never hate you. What are you so worried about?"

             
"I…I…" she tried
,
but stopped. I knew it was her own doing not the sleep she was pretending to be in. Hmmm.

             
"There," the nurse chimed cheerily
and thumped a couple bags hooked up to her IV line
. "All done."

             
"I'll check on you in few minutes," the doctor said as they both left. I nodded and looked back at Marissa.

             
I ru
bbed her hair and was relieved when she sighed, the tightness in her body and shoulders releasing. Her grip lessoned too and I knew she was already feeling a little better.

             
I stayed right there
for a while
and thought about how different she felt from Lillian. Lillian's hair was fluffy and soft with its curls.
Marissa's was straight as it could be, a thick, black curtain. Her bangs were stuck to her forehead a little from sweat. A cold sweat.

             
"Right as rain yet?" I asked.

             
"Not yet, but better," she answered and rolled to her side. She glanced up at me and I knew that she knew who I was this time. She squeezed my arm and looked a little chagrinned. "Thanks, Cain." She cleared her throat a couple times. "That wasn't Jeff with me in here earlier, was it?"
             

             
"Nope," I replied and grinned.

             
"I'm sorry," she said and laughed sadly. "I was half out of my mind. I didn't mean to kiss you."

             
"Not a problem."

             
"I'm sorry, really. Just forget everything I said and did, ok?"

             
"Not likely, but it'll be ou
r
secret," I whispered.

             
"Thanks," she whispered back and closed her eyes.
"I hate feeling like this."

             
"Yeah…about that. What's going on with you?"

             
"Nothing. I just hate being sick."

             
"Yeah, but why are you sick? Jeff thinks it's because of what you did to Margo."

             
"It's not," she insisted.

             
"Well then what is it?"

             
"
Nothing. It's ok. Thank you for coming in with me. And staying with me."

             
"Go on, say it," I told her in humor and moved my hand in a 'go ahead' motion.

             
"Am I supposed to say that you're awesome or something?"
             

             
"That'll do."

             
She laughed and shook her head.

             
"You are awesome. Thank you. Don’t tell Jeff I kissed you or he'll cut your head off in your sleep."

             
"No problem there," I dragged out in agreement.
"
That Keeper has a
mean
streak
as long as the Mississippi
."

             
"A protective streak," she corrected and smiled. "It's so strange. I always thought I wasn’t into the Alpha male type.
I hated to be told what to do or…whatever, but with Jeff, it's different. He makes me feel safe and fragile even though I'm not really either of those things anymore.
"

             
"No, you're not but, you should be. That's the whole point." I thought about Lillian. "You all should be safe and home and cozy." I smiled so that I wouldn't grimace at her with my thoughts. "But then you and old Jeffy wouldn’t be bungalow buddies, now would you?"

             
"Nope, we sure wouldn't," she agreed and then laughed at something she was thinking about. "I would still be a skirt suit wearing school counselor and still hoping that idiot Football coach was going to ask me out one day." She giggled. "I was such a sap.
And now I'm an even bigger sap about Jeff, I think. He's just my…whole world.
That's
crazy
,
right?"

             
"Not crazy." I
flexed my fingers that were still on her scalp. "Not crazy at all."

             
We sat in companionable silence and waited for the Doctor to return. It
didn't take long, and he was accompanied by the nurse.
"And how are we feeling now?"

             
"So much better. In fact, I think I'm ready to go,"
Marissa said and sat up slowly
,
but the nurse held her down as she readied to take her blood.

             
"Whoa, hold it
,
hotshot. We haven't even looked you over yet."

             
"I'm ok, really." S
he hissed and winced as the needle eased into her skin.
"
Just had a bad couple of days, that's all."

             
"Still-"

             
She pulled her arm away from the nurse who sputtered about having only half a tube
,
but Marissa was done. There'd be no getting it from her now.

             
"I came in with free will and I'm going out with it too," she argued
.
I could hav
e argued with her about that,
but figured the situation didn't really call for it. Plus, she was k
ind of right. We needed to high-
tail it. "I feel so much better.
Thank you.
"

             
"How's our friend
?
" I asked before he could start in on her.

             
"He's fine. Arm was a clean break.
Though I'm confused about how it could have happened. He said you were…fighting Lighters?"

             
I choked and Marissa gasped. What the hell, Billings?

             
"Did you give him something?"
I asked.

             
"Of course. He was groaning and complaining about the pain and wouldn't even let my nurse look at him hardly. When she went to take his blood he threw a fit, so I gave him a
slight
sedative-"

             
"Ah," I said like I knew what I was talking about. "He gets really loopy. We were actually sparring is how it happened. We're both in the enforcers and he was hurt at an impromptu training session." I leaned forward and whispered loudly. "He runs off at the mouth a lot. He had it coming."

             
"I see," he said and went to the door. "Well, his arm is set and h
e should be fine. As far as you, Marissa," he said looking at her chart, "I can't make you stay
,
but I really wish you would, for some tests."

             
"I appreciate it, but I'm fine now. We really should go," she told him and took my hand, leaving me no choice but to help her so we could go.

             
"Ok, then. Drink lots of fluids when you get home and rest." Marissa nodded and as the doctor left he stopped in the hall. "Ah, here are some of your recruits I believe,
" he said to someone.
I stiffened. This wouldn't be good, I knew it. Sure enough, a frigging Lighter came to stand by him in the hall.
I squeezed Marissa's arm to remind her to be calm.
His face hardened as he looked at Marissa, then at me. He smiled a fake congeniality as the doctor asked him about something they must've been discussing earlier.

             
How stupid was I to think we'd actually get through this unscathed?
Jeff was going to kill me.

             
"So, I'
ll see you at the facility tomorrow for physicals. Goodnight," the doctor said and took his leave.

             
"Goodnight, doctor," the Lighter said evenly, his eyes locked on us. "Well, well. What have we here?"

             
"Just a little fever. She was dehydrated
,
but feeling much better now," I said and tried not to look any different. "And our friend broke his arm. It's been a long night," I said and helped Marissa across the room. The hall would be better than being cornered in a little room.

             
"Not so fast. She doesn't look so good. I think she should stay here for tonight," he said slowly. Crap. He was trying to compel me.
"Take her back to the bed and lay her down. I think you both should stay."
He'd know I was immune if I didn’t obey him.

             
Double crap.

             
"Uh…" I looked at Mari
ssa and hoped she'd forgive me for what I was about to do. "Sorry, chief, that's a no-go." I threw Marissa behind me to the bed and rammed the Lighter into the wall behind him. He put up a go
o
d fight, I
'll
tell you
the God's honest truth
. He kicked my feet out from under me and when I was flat on my back he tried to take my head off with his big booted foot. I moved just in time
and glared at him.

             
He kept at me, not giving me any time to regroup. I felt my eye pound and sting under his fist more than once
,
but I couldn't stop. I looked around for something to stake him with.

             
Then a
n
idea shot into my head like the lightning I wished would shoot from his chest.