To Die For

Words of Comfort

Lucille's eyelids peeled open, greeted by the unnatural heaviness of his body, his limbs tensed and stiff. A dull, throbbing pain pinched at his ribcage and lower stomach, making him grimace. He then tried to sit up, when a hand jerked out to thrust him back onto the sofa, causing spikes of hot pain to spike up in the brunet's chest. Lucille cried out in agony, blinking back tears as the pain flared further to life, and he curled himself into a tight ball, not wanting to come face to face with Victor. However, to his surprise, it was Noah who he saw standing above him, looking awfully worried.

"Oh—I'm sorry!" The man reached a hand out to ruffle his hair, then thought better of it and set it at his side, taking a seat in one of the nearby living room chairs and biting his lip. "I didn't mean to hurt you, but it's best if you stay like that for now. It would have been bad for you to sit up. You... were stabbed by glass." He shifted about uncomfortably, a look of sympathy in his eyes. "Luci, nobody was going to hurt you. You didn't need to run, darling."

The man on the couch remained wordless, only pulled the soft, silky blanket covering his small frame tighter around him, a false sense of safety enveloping his body.

Noah pulled his chair closer and heaved out a sigh. "In any case, the boys are going to be away for another half hour, or so. I was invited, but I thought it was best if there was someone to keep watch here rather than lock you in the bedroom with a sticky note telling you we'd be back later." He reached out to the blanket, giving it a light tug. "Vaughn had to take Victor out; the poor boy was worried sick about you, and after seeing all that blood he was in a state," he said, waiting patiently for a few moments to see if his talking would provoke any sort of response.

Lucille hesitantly allowed the blanket to be pulled away from him, fixing Noah with a wary gaze. In response, Noah offered him a friendly smile and chuckled.

"I won't push your boundaries, Lucille. But if you'll let me change out your bandages, we could try and find something fun for us to do, if you want? How does that sound?"

Lucille hesitated, then nodded, and the vampire gently eased either of his arms beneath Lucille's legs and back to lift him upward. He was scared; terrified, even, but allowed himself to be carried into the bathroom, the floor still slightly sticky and smelling strongly of bleach. "D-did this happen to you?" He asked quietly, noticing as Noah flinched at his question while lowering him down onto the side of the tub to sit. "You're not going to answer me, are you?"

Noah pressed his lips into a thin line, then reached into the cabinets under the sink and pulled out the first-aid kit where he kept his medical supplies. He slowly cut through the bandages around Lucille's upper body with a small pair of scissors from inside, then seemed to hesitate at the sight of the wound before shaking his head and pulling out a fresh roll, snapping himself out of a daze.

"When I turned, I found Vaughn. I owe a lot to him and Torrey. They're my family, and I love them with everything I have. You're family too now." He stopped for a moment, then met Lucille's eyes. "He didn't keep me inside of a house, Luci. In fact, I wasn't his responsibility, and he wanted me out as soon as possible. But he took care of me, and... unfortunately for him, he fell in love with me." The man smiled warmly. "He was always there for me, Luci. He never laid a wrongful hand anywhere."

The teen shook his head. "I'm not family, Mister Callahan," he murmured, averting his gaze to the hastily stitched up wounds at his side. A hand patted his head, and Lucille laughed weakly. "This? All of this is sick."

A sigh, and Noah helped a reluctant Lucille into a more upright position, then began to wrap fresh bandages around his bare chest. "I don't expect you to understand." He grinned wryly and ran a hand through his hair to push it from his face, weaving the end of the bandage strip through the other layers and giving them a soft pat. "Now," Noah began, "I would appreciate it, Lucille, if you would let us explain ourselves to you before jumping out another window." The vampire glanced upward to meet his eyes. "You didn't give us any time to chat over a nice dinner yesterday, let alone lunch after you passed out from the shock and blood loss." He bit his lip. "You really had us worried, Lucille. You're lucky I have my own medical supplies here; I had to perform a blood transfusion."