Demons (An AU Nathan Gardner Story)

Chapter 18 - Her Caregiver

"New," Sydney whispered as Nathan opened the passenger door of his new SUV.

A slight smile crossed his tired face. "Yeah, I picked it up today and...you know what? It really doesn't matter. It got you here faster and safer than the Chrysler ever would have." He opened the passenger side door. "You ready?" Sydney nodded and Nathan helped her out of the wheelchair and into the front seat. She winced a few times, but they were successful. Nathan shut the door and turned to Beth, hugging her. "Thank you."

Beth smiled against his shoulder, knowing that this was the right thing for Sydney. "You're welcome. I'll see you in the morning, but you have my personal number if you need anything." Nathan let go and she turned, taking the wheelchair back inside the hospital.

Once buckled into the driver's side, Nathan couldn't stop a question from leaving his lips. "Syd, I have to ask: there's nobody else that you'd feel..." He hated that he doubted himself. "...more comfortable with?"

Sydney's eyes were cast down to her feet. The roses that Nathan picked out for her were there, slightly battered and a little frozen. They had flown to the floor in his hurry to the hospital. "For...me?" she questioned.

Nathan felt himself blush. "Yeah. Silly, huh?"

She smiled for the first time, her face aching terribly as she did so. "No." She leaned her head against the headrest. "Nobody else...you...don't mind?"

"Mind?" He ran his thumb down her unbruised cheek. "Let's get you more comfortable, hm?" He started the car and made their way to his house. Once there, he carried her from the garage to the living room, gently placing her on the couch. He armed the house alarm and knelt down on the floor next to her.

Sydney looked at him, her bottom lip beginning to tremble. "Sorry..."

"Sydney no..."

"You're stuck...it's Christmas..."

"Shh," he interrupted, taking her hand. "I'm far from stuck, okay?" He saw her shiver and could have kicked himself for not asking Burt to grab some clothes for her as well. She was in scrubs from the hospital, thin and oversized. "Do you want to go to bed?"

"No...I..." It was clear that she was still a little disorientated. "Don't know?"

"C'mere, honey." He helped her shift so she could stretch out on the couch, a large accent pillow working perfectly to keep her neck relaxed. He covered her with a thick fleece blanket, Susan's favorite when she was camped out here, then kissed her forehead. "Better?"

A tear fell from her eye, stinging a scrape on her cheek. "Much." She closed her eyes and Nathan understood that she needed to rest. He stayed on the floor beside her until he knew she was asleep, then got up to take care of a few things.

He went through the extensive amount of text messages and missed calls on his phone. Arlen mostly, but Joe had left several irate messages asking why he didn't show at the faculty party. He'd deal with that mess in the morning - or late afternoon - tomorrow. He decided to call Arlen and the conversation was one of the most troubling either of them ever experienced. Finding a flight was proving difficult and there was an ice storm making departure impossible for the airlines that did have them. Nathan assured him that Sydney would remain in his care for as long as need be; Arlen's gratitude to Nathan caused them both to cry once more.

After hanging up the phone and checking to see if Sydney was still asleep, he took his laptop into the kitchen and...

"Dad?" Susan poked him in the shoulder. "You've so gotta be kidding me...Dad!"

Nathan jumped, bumping the laptop and turning the screen back on. "What the hell?"

"Ew, what the hell?" On the screen was a picture of a battered woman, she didn't see the text underneath. "Are you watching torture porn or something?"