Gods and Monsters

Heartbeat

Ramsey sat with her head in her hands. Turns out, Will had been the only survivor from the slaughter. While the redhead was glad her friend survived (albeit in critical condition) she couldn't shake the memory of Kirk's anguished cry while he held a limp Tina in his arms. She shivered as the sound continued to resonate through her skull. She'd never be able to shake that moment away. Never look at Kirk without seeing the loss and emptiness in his eyes.

Would my death cause him anguish, she caught herself wondering, does he wish I had died instead of Tina?

Shaking her head, she glanced up to check the steadily beeping heart monitor. Will's charred skin had been covered by bandages (expertly applied by Kirk) yet his left eye was left exposed.

"Will," Ramsey sighed, leaning towards her old friend, "I don't know if you can hear me, but I'm really hoping you can."

Will's chest slowly rose and fell with each breath.

"We could really use you now. Kirk and I especially," taking a shaky breath, she continued with the beginning of tears in her eyes, "I'm so sorry, Will. We couldn't save her. We tried, but...but we couldn't..."

She paused to wipe her eyes before reaching out to gently grab Will's hand. Falling into a crushing silence, Ramsey jumped as the med bay door hissed open. Turning, she wasn't at all surprised to find Kirk lingering in the doorway.

"Thought I might find you in here."

"Kirk."

The vampire sighed as he walked slowly towards her. Releasing Will's hand, she stood up to meet him.

"Kirk, I'm so sorry."

"What were you thinking Rams," he asked, his voice betraying the sob he fought to contain, "you could have been killed last night! I can't...I can't lose you too."

Glancing up, Ramsey frowned as his goggles seemed to glare back. Reaching up, she pulled the edge of the fabric away from his face. Kirk's eyebrows raised in surprise, but he made no move to stop her. As the rest of the mask was pulled off, Ramsey found herself swimming in his crimson eyes.

Setting his mask at the foot of Will's bed, she sighed and lifted her hands to lay them on his cheeks. He gazed back in surprise as her bottom lip quivered when she attempted to control her tears.

Sighing, he reached out and pulled her into his chest. She returned the hug gratefully.

"I'm so sorry, Kirk," she sobbed, "I tried to save her."

"I know you did."

"She's gone, Kirk," Ramsey continued to sob, feeling her legs give way from under her, "Tina's gone."

Catching his friend, Kirk guided her back to her chair and set her down. Kneeling beside her, he said nothing as he glanced over at Will. His friend continued to breath steadily, the heart monitor chiming out a steady rhythm. He found himself wondering how the League found themselves in this situation. Someone had gone to quite the trouble to frame each member, but who?

"Where's Superman and Bekka?"

"Superman went to see Luthor and Bekka's around here somewhere."

Ramsey scowled, "What does he hope to get from that asshole?"

"Information about Project Fair Play."

Ramsey shook her head. Ever since Luthor got away with warping her designs into weapons, she refused to believe anything that poured from the bastard's mouth.

"I know how you feel about him, Rams, but we're running out of options."

"I know," she sighed, sinking lower into her seat, "it's just that Lex really rubs me the wrong way."

"But if he can give us even the smallest clue as to who's behind all this, isn't it worth it?"

"I suppose."

More silence as the heart monitor continued it's steady rhythm. 

"Hey Rams," she glanced up at him, noticing a small smile playing on his lips, "remember when Tina and Will went on their first date? They were so nervous that they made us tag along with them."

Ramsey smiled as she nodded, "That's how you and I met. Will took us all to that bowling alley."

"And Tina's fingers slipped-"

"And the bowling ball flew backwards-"

"And broke the pop machine," they finished together with a laugh, Kirk smiling as he continued, "we ended up working the rest of the night to pay for the damages."

Ramsey nodded again as she fell silent. Kirk watched her in surprise as she frowned.

"You were very important to her, you know," she said softly, reaching over to gently grab Will's hand again, "every time we sat up in our dorm, you were all she talked about. She'd tell me of something funny you said that day or how your projects were coming along."

Kirk's eyebrows raised even higher, noticing a look of anguish flicker across his friend's eyes.

"To be honest, I was jealous of Tina for such a long time."

"What? Why?"

"She knew you better then I could ever hope to," the redhead sighed, standing up to turn away from him, "everything I knew about you I learned through her. I learned of your kindness, your gentle nature, your intelligence, your smile, your eyes," she paused, reached up to grip her arms, "I was always too shy to talk to you myself. And I guess I loathed how easy it was for Tina to bond with you."

"...Rams?"

"Kirk, I....I've always...."

"Yes?"

Suddenly, an alarm began blaring throughout the tower along with Superman's voice over Kirk's comlink.

"Kirk! Bekka! Luthor's dead," Ramsey whipped around, horror in her eyes, "President Waller has initiated Project Fair Play. The military are on their way here. Rams, I want you to monitor the security systems."

"Got it," the redhead nodded, sending one last solemn look towards Will's bed, "keep me posted."

Kirk watched as she turned and sprinted out of the room, wondering just what it was she had been trying to tell him.