Extraordinary Royalty

Chapter 5 -- Evangeline

The Doctor kept me two more nights for observation. He wanted to make sure that the poison had completely left my system and that I didn't have a reaction to the meds. Today I get to go home, well whatever that is for Shawn.

"You ready to go?" he asks. He has been trying so hard to be accommodating while still keeping his distance. After Elly left that day, he wouldn't come close to me. He had to pack me some close from my house and had no idea what to bring so I had Elly go back it for me. She knows me better and Shawn would not see my unmentionables. 

"Yah. I am ready to go. I just need a little help out of bed. The Doctor said that the affects from the poison should not be permanent, but to take it easy. One of the side affects is being lightheaded so, I have a hard time finding my footing.

"Hold on. I have an idea. Wait here." 

"I'm not going anywhere." He gives me a sly smile and walks out the room only to return five minutes later with a wheel chair.

"I am not an imbalid. I just need to use your arm as a balance beem." I grumble.

"The Doctor told you to take it easy. I am your caretaker and you will do what I tell you to do.  So, get in the chair." I roll my eyes, but do as I was told and get into the wheelchair. Shawn grins from ear to ear as if he has vanquished some viscous monster. 

"You did not win. I am just too tired to fight you."

"Well, either way. You are in the chair." He chuckles and rolls me out of the room. He takes me to the nurses station first so that I can turn in my discharge papers. Shawn's grip on my chair tightens and his back stiffens as someone approaches us. My vision is a little blurry from the meds so, I don't recognize who it is until they speak.

"Hey little lady. Trying to run away." Dylan reaches out to brush a piece of hair behind my ear, but Shawn's glare stops him in his tracks. Dylan looks from me to Shawn and back to me. 

"Hi, I don't believe we have met." Dylan holds out his hand waiting to shake Shawn's in introduction. Shawn just grunts in response.

"Shawn, Behave. This is Dylan. He is from work." I elbow Shawn to get his attention.

"Ok, well I came by to wish you a speedy recovery and tell you to whip yourself in shape because I am going to kick your but in finals week. I want to sweat a little." I give him a playful sneer and shove him to the side.

"You wish you could beat me. I have been ahead of you since before you could walk."

"Hahaha, that's not my fault. You have always been head strong. You're in the training center from dusk to dawn half the time."

"You just want someone to blame for your lack of hand eye coordination." He leans down and gives me a hug before walking away.

"What was that?" I ask Shawn sternly. Shawn breaks eye contact from Dylan's back goes back to pushing me to the car.

"Who is that?" he asks.

"I told you, his name is Dylan. We work together for the agency." 

"I don't like him." Shawn grumbles.

"You don't like him. You don't know him. How can you not like someone that you don't know?" I chastize. 

"I just don't like him." I turn in my chair to look into his eyes. Something is bothering him, but as soon as I see the emotion, he traps it away back into its lock box. 

"Dylan has been through his fair share of trauma and hell. He made it out on the other side. When we were newbies in the academy, we were assigned a detail. We were supposed to keep our distance and report back every hour. Dylan saw someone pull into the parking garage. We called, but he insisted on going in. I refused. Dylan wound going in before back up got there and was kidnapped. They tortured him for information in the most unimaginable ways. He has never been the same. That was the last time that I did not back Dylan in his decisions. He is the one person who knows who I am and where I come from. He is family. Do you know how hard it is to live a normal life?" Shawn winces at the last sentence. I can tell I have hit a nerve, but I am not done. When he doesn't respond, I continue my rant.

"That is what I thought. He is the only person who I can talk to and truly rely on. I trust my life in his hands. So, before you form opinions about my family, make sure you know who they are." I let out a huff and turn back around, slouching into the wheelchair. As much as we joke, Dylan knows I would give my  life to save his, and he would do the same. Dylan has saved me more times than I care to recount. Shawn stops in front of a big, white van. It looks like the vans we warn kids to stay away from. The back window in shattered in and the handle on the door is broken off. The rustic paint is peeling off revealing the shell of the car underneath. The black tires caked in mud, the rim dented in, and the taillights duck taped on. The scent of stale smoke and beer wafts out of the car. I wrinkle my nose. 

"There is no way I am getting in that car." 

"It is either this car or you can wheel your way 100 miles to the cabin. Given you know the address." he starts putting my bags into the back of the van. An older gentleman comes around the van and helps Shawn. He has sandy brown hair and a beard in need of a wash and a brush. His overalls are covered head to toe in mud, hay, and grass stains. He flashes me a smile and I swear I see bugs crawl through the ginormous gaps in between each of his stained teeth.

"Aren't you a Prince? Why can't you get a nicer car?" I ask already knowing the answer.

"Well, I don't want to draw attention to me. I am trying to be discrete. Now, put your arms around my shoulders." Shawn proceeds to pick me up and set me in the back of the car. When he is finished putting the rest of my stuff in the trunk, he climbs into the back seat and sits beside me. All of a sudden I am overwhelmed by sleep. My body becomes heavy and my eyes start to close. Shawn pulls me in and sets my head on his shoulder as I fall asleep. I welcome the relaxed feeling of being in his arms.