Milk And Cardamom | S. Brown ✔

[45]

The line on the heart rate monitor had sped up but the change was gradual such that no one noticed it at first. Rose was sitting in the same place she had been earlier, her eyes flickering towards the glass wall that showed the unconscious form of her brother.

Beside her was Steph, no longer in her suit, foot impatiently tapping the floor as she could feel the silver eye focus on her as well every now and then.

Rose was curious about the blonde girl sitting beside her and the connection she had to Luke but hadn't made any attempt to mend the conversation gap between them. Steph didn't do so either, her concern divided between Luke and Tim.

They had still not found anything about Tim nor Deathstroke. The vigilantes had searched the hideout and its neighboring area multiple times, investigated the best they could yet there was no trace. Almost as if the Earth had gobbled up the two instead.

But then all of a sudden, Rose stood up, her eye focused on the heart rate monitor that had sped up violently. She turned to face her, "he's waking up. But before you step in there, keep this in mind. He won't be the Lucas you knew, he will be violent... Chaotic... Don't expect him to not hurt you because there's a great chance he might not be able to recognize you either."

"I understand," Steph nodded, green eyes flickering in concern, "I can handle it."

The silver eye softened slightly because to Rose, she was just a normal girl who had no idea of the danger she could be in. She didn't know that Steph was indeed the vigilant Spoiler so she expected her to be in need of her help.

"I am not letting you go in alone though," she remarked as Steph's hand reached out towards the handle at the glass door, "I'll see to it if anything goes wrong."

"Thank you," Steph nodded and opened the door.

Cautiously, the two approached him and saw that his eyes were open, staring at the ceiling blankly. His heart rate was much faster than normal and he took in air in sharp jagged breaths. But other than that, he was still, contrary to the speeding line at the monitor.

To Rose, the stillness was more worrisome than an outburst because she didn't know what to expect next in the current situation. If he lashed out, she would have to subdue him and was prepared for that.

But seeing him so dangerously still and silent was something she had not expected. And whenever she could not expect what was about to happen, she felt it as a weakness and knew it could cause trouble later on.

Over the years she had lost her precognitive abilities but her instincts still warned her if something was about to go askew. And right then her instincts were giving her the same warning.

"Luke?" Steph called out to him gently and his head tilted towards her slightly but the complete lack of expression on his face made her unnerved as well.

There was something clearly wrong with him as there was no indication that he had recognized her at all.

"Step back," Rose warned her in a low tone but the warning was too late as Luke's hand shot up, closing on to Steph's throat tightly.

He had stood up in a flash, yanking off the IV and the monitor attached to him. Hazel burned through green as his fingers tightened, his tall figure towering over her intimidatingly.

Rose tried to free Steph from his grip but it was proving to be difficult so she called Oracle through the communicator Nightwing had given her, asking her to send him for help.

Luke's eyes had a wild look in them, no different from a captive who could do anything to gain his freedom and to whom every person around him was an enemy. He was in a frenzied state, a mixture of both fear and danger.

And yet peeking from behind that crazed look in his eyes was something else altogether, a faint sense of recognition as his grip loosened slightly at last, eyes flickering towards the reddened fingerprints etched on the clear white skin and a shudder raked through his body.

Steph noticed that so instead of pulling apart, she gently cupped his face in her palms, making him look in her eyes, "Luke, calm down. You're safe here. We are your friends, we are not going to hurt you."

Nightwing had stepped in as well and would have gone to help Steph immediately but Rose stopped him from approaching the two, knowing that it was a precarious moment and anything could go wrong by even the slightest of interference.

He had let go of Steph and slight shivering took hold of him, hazel eyes widening in alarm as realization dawned upon his features. And though he backed off as if scared of what he had done, Steph reached out again, hands gently closing onto his arms.

He pulled apart roughly and his voice shook as he spoke, "leave me, Steph... Get out of here or else you'll get hurt much worse..."

"It's not your fault," she tried to reassure him, "none of this is your fault."

"It is my fault..." He had turned away from her, hands clutching his throbbing head, "I hurt you... I..."

"Stop blaming yourself or I swear I will leave and you will never see me again," she threatened and he froze, but then her voice softened as she turned him towards herself once again, "Luke, you yourself said that if you could, you would never ever distance yourself from me. Then why are you pulling apart now?"

"I also said I didn't want you to ever get hurt due to me... Yet now... Now I've hurt you myself..."

He refused to look up at her and the pain on his face churned her heart. "I know what you've been through and are unstable at the moment. I understand. And I want you to know that I'm going to be with you and make sure you recover."

His eyes focused on her at last, painful hazel taking in those beautiful features he thought he would never lay eyes on again, "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."

Her fingers caressed his face, brushing past the hollow of his cheekbone and gently entangled in his deep brown hair, "don't be." She made him sit back on the bed, her hands cupping his face as she captured his lips with her own. Her forehead rested against his as she briefly pulled apart, fingers caressing his cheek, "I love you, Luke. I'm not going to leave you for anything."

He let her make him lie down on the bed, didn't object either as she carefully reinjected the IV into his arm. Then pulling a chair closer to his bed, she sat down beside him. Her fingers ran through his hair soothingly, voice low as she talked to him in a reassuring tone.

Rose and Nightwing had stepped out, realizing that they were not needed there anymore. Steph had managed to calm him down and if nothing else went wrong, Luke would get better eventually.

But their worries had not yet ended because there was still no knowing of where Tim was at the moment, nor of the fact whether he was even alive or not.

***