NEVER Talk To Strangers

~ 17 ~

"Are you okay, Mari?" Budo asked, sounding somewhat concerned. They'd been in the room with Dr Casey for a while now in silence. Mari was in thought, a sad expression on her face.
"I just..." She sighed sadly. "I don't know what I'll do if he dies like this," Mari confessed to him. She knew he had more answers than what he'd been able to tell her earlier, but thanks to Ayano he hadn't been able to answer her questions. Budo nodded his head understandingly.
"I know." He spoke kindly to her, seeing she looked a little off. "Here, sit down." He suggested, gently guiding her over to an armchair placed in the room.
"I'm okay, really." She insisted, gently pushing him away. "What happened at the graveyard took a lot out of me, that's all." She insisted. Budo didn't know Ayano had shot her, and part of her didn't want him finding out.
"What happened at the... Did Ayano hurt you?" He asked, getting slightly concerned. He knew what it was like to be in this state, that was while he was healing himself. He knew Dr Casey would never hurt her, but Ayano was a whole other story.
"It's not a big deal, my body healed itself just fine." She assured him, brushing it off. Budo frowned when he saw the dried blood on her shirt. She'd clearly been hurt, and how he hadn't noticed this before was beyond him.
"Did she shoot you?" He asked worriedly. Mari nodded her head slowly, trying to convince him that she was fine. She was anyway. "Why didn't you tell me?" He asked, slightly annoyed. He didn't like that she hid that from him, even though he hid lots of things from her.
"Calm down, you'll disturb Dr Casey!" Mari told him, looking over at him. She was worried about him and was desperate for him to recover.
"He should be disturbed! Getting shot is a huge deal!" He raised his voice as he spoke in an angry voice to her. She flinched, hating being shouted it. It scared her. He sighed when he saw he'd scared her, calming down instantly. "I'm sorry. Let's just go downstairs and get you something to eat before you pass out." He suggested, much calmer now. She nodded her head, not having much strength to argue back. He held on to her, supporting her as they went down to the kitchen.

"What do you want to eat?" Budo asked as they went into the kitchen. He gently let go, allowing her to lean on a counter for support if she needed it. She thought about what she wanted, remembering back.
"How about one of your famous grilled cheese sandwiches?" She suggested with a small smile on her face. He grinned and nodded his head, going to the fridge.
"Of course. Just relax, I'll take care of everything." He told her, beginning to make her food. She nodded her head slowly. It was going to be so hard to relax, knowing what state Dr Casey was in currently.
"Thanks for this." She said quietly, saving what little energy she had left. He nodded his head, continuing with what he was doing.
"I promised I'd take care of you." He smirked a little, handing her the now cooked grilled cheese. He continued making them for her as she continued eating them until she felt back to full strength. "Better?" He asked, laughing very softly. She nodded her head.
"Much better, thank you." She smiled. She felt a tad lethargic, but she assumed that was because she wasn't used to eating so much food. Budo nodded his head slowly, cleaning up in silence. He had a slightly annoyed and upset facial expression, something that confused and upset Mari. "What's wrong?" She asked, tilting her head slightly.
"I'm not doing a very good job of protecting you, am I?" He asked quietly, looking down. Her eyes widened in surprise. She'd never expected to hear him say that. "I mean, you went out that window... now you've been shot..." he sighed.
"I'm fine, Budo. Believe me." She insisted, getting up and going over to him. "You know better than anyone how this works." He nodded his head slowly, still looking down.
"Yeah, but I also know how much it hurts." He said, gently taking hold of her hands. She looked up into his grey eyes.
"I'll try not to get shot next time." She assured him. He shook his head, looking up into her eyes.
"No, there won't be a next time." He said firmly. He felt horrible about letting her get shot once, and like hell would he allow her to get shot a second time. "I'm going to get more security here. Dr Shuyona and his goons will never be able to get within a mile of you again." He promised.
"Do you really think that's necessary?" She asked. The naive side of her still thought Dr Shuyona would set her free and stop trying to get her, but of course, that part was horribly wrong. Budo nodded his head.
"You've seen what he'll do, he won't stop until he has you back." He said to her. She nodded her head, silencing the naive part of her. "I'll go make some calls for additional security. Why don't you go take a shower and change your clothes?" He suggested. Mari nodded and got up, heading to the bathroom.