Grey City Rhapsody

XX: I Fought the Law

White lights. Harsh, they sting her eyes as she opens them, raising a hand to shield her blown pupils. The painful pull of a needle and wires keeps her from doing so, and with little thought she simply utilizes her other hand. The steady beep of a machine confirms her location, but doesn't soothe her anxiety. Her heart beats a little faster, causing the machine to pick up speed, a staccato on the rise. With some degree of difficulty, she unclips the monitor and tries to climb over the bed rail to stop the blaring of the heart monitor, only for brownish hands to beat her to it.

Jordan returns to his seat, folding the newspaper neatly and stretching his arms. He doesn't ask questions, only looks over her and averts his gaze. His hand rests over another, Nick's, sleeping in the chair beside him.

"Doctor said you'll be fine," he told her. Ash figured he knew she was stubborn enough to wait for Nick to wake up and took the initiative. "Kennedy and Jackson found blood and broken glass at the Gunny Hotel, then they followed your trail to Zelda Jane's house."

He ground his teeth together, no longer avoid her hostile gaze. He looked as though he had something to say, or ask. His curiosity got the better of him.

"What were you doing there?" His finger tapped a short rhythm on his thigh.

She hesitated but decided she had tortured him enough. "Looking for answers."

His body became rigid. "Answers. To what?"

The two stared each other down for the eternity it to took Nick to wake up from the tension in the room. Instantly, he was at Ash's side, planting a kiss on her hairline. He asked a thousand questions at a mile a minute until Ash's head spun, only to be stopped when he felt Jordan's hand on his shoulder.

"We brought you a change of clothes," Nick said as Jordan offered her the plastic baggy.

Just as the clothes exchanged hands, two nurses and doctor came sprinting in, only to find nothing amiss. The nurses were dismissed, and the doctor Hailee Cho smoothed her sterile shirt over her bulging belly. She looked miffed and replugged the heart monitor to turn it off properly while scolding everyone present. She did, however, slide a glance over Ash. "Good to see you're still kicking, metaphorically speaking."

Only then did Ash's thigh throb dully, the feeling of static and numbness registered in her mind as her legs were immobilized. She peeked under the sheets and lift the bottom of her gown, thankful to still be wearing her underwear. Heavy duty stitches held the top of the puncture wound closed, red and raised skin around the opening. She wiggled her toes with massive difficulty, wincing as the dead static roared back at her. The muscles in her thigh only resulted in a quick, sharp pain that had her hissing through her teeth, but all in all, it was better than it had been before.

Dr. Cho removed the IV morphine drip from Ash's arm, handed over a prescription for pain medication to Nick--the closest--, and swept out of the room without another word. Probably avoiding me, Ash assumed. She asked Nick-- and only Nick-- if he would bring her a book, seeing as she was going to be stuck there all night. He apologized but offered to grab whatever she wanted and bring it back.

"Your pick", she replied, locking eyes to say "and I would like those papers Marty gave me."

"What papers," Jordan asked.

"Letters--" Ash lied quickly. Nick glowered at her, but she held firm. "--from when I was away. We talked the other day, and he didn't have the right address, but saved some in a computer file."

Jordan did not look like he believed her for a second and immediately offered to go with Nick. Less offered, and more took the keys from Nick's pocket before storming out of the room. Not that Ash minded much, it was getting too tense anyways. Nick gesticulated wildly around him, torn between scolding Ash and catching up with Jordan before he left him, and chose the latter.