OUR BOND

Quiet Weeks

Third Person POV

Noel's eyes fluttered open to a soft hum in the air - that quiet, sterile kind of silence that only belonged to hospitals or mansions pretending to be one.

Her body felt like it had been hit by a truck. Every muscle ached, her head pounded and her mouth tasted like she hadn't spoken in days. She groaned softly and moved a hand up to her temple trying to soothe the pounding in her skull - but her fingers brushed against something else.

She turned her head slightly. An IV line trailed from the back of it, taped down neatly to her skin.

For a second she just stared.

And then it all came crashing back - Dani. The gunfire. Cyrus bleeding out in her arms. Her own scream echoing through the chaos.

Her heart kicked hard in her chest.

"Cyrus" she breathed, her voice barely there.

In a rush of panic, she yanked the IV needle out. The sting barely registered. She pushed herself upright, ignoring the dizziness clawing at the edges of her vision, and swung her legs off the bed.

Her bare foot hit the floor first - the right one, fine. Then the left.

The pain that tore through her leg nearly sent her blacking out again.

A strangled cry escaped her as her knee buckled, sending her collapsing to the ground. She hit the floor with a dull thud, her hand clutching at her thigh as she hissed through her teeth. When she looked down she saw the thick bandages, wrapping two parts of her leg and the slow, dark bloom of red spreading through them.

That's when she remembered, she'd been shot.

The door burst open.

"Noel?" Luca's voice hit the air before his figure did. He froze when he saw her on the floor. "What the hell are you doing down there?"

Noel looked up at him with the most unimpressed expression she could master through the pain. "Oh, you know. Thought the floor missed me."

Luca blinked, then laughed - the tension melting from his face as he dropped to his knees beside her. He didn't even bother to lift her yet, just as there crossed legged on the floor next to her.

"Welcome back, idiot" he said with a grin, pulling her into a hug.

Noel winced a little but couldn't help smiling, "Okay, okay-" she patted his arm three times, "you're gonna make my ribs file a complaint"

Luca leaned back, still grinning. "You scared the hell out of everyone, girl"

"Girl, I didn't mean too" Noel said then the reason of her falling off the bed hit her like a wave.

"Where's Cyrus?" she blurted.

Luca's smile faltered - just a fraction. "He's -" he glanced down hiding his face.

Noel's pulse picked up. "Luca?" she whispered softly.

Luca sighed, then looked back up at her, his face easing. "He's next door"

Noel's heart dropped, then jumped right up. "You scared me, you ass" she said, smacking his arm.

"Ow! Okay that's payback for making me think I lost you for good"

"Wait -" she blinked. "How long was I out?"

"A week" he said casually, like it was nothing.

"A week?" she repeated, jaw dropping.

He nodded, "You lost a lot of blood. Stefan said your body just needed time to reboot"

Noel pressed a hand to her temple again, exhaling. "Great. I'm a damn system update"