ANCHOR｡ DIEGO HARGREEVES

15.

FIFTEEN; NOT SUPER CONVINCING

"You really expect me to believe you had the flu?" Sisco said as he approached Sabrina at the end of the day. She was sitting at the front desk, not having moved much in the past few hours. She couldn't, it was far too painful following all the walking around she did with Klaus that afternoon. It was worth it, but didn't have the greatest payoff in the end. "Wait, your shift finished an hour ago, kid."

Sabrina looked up at him with involuntarily watery eyes, the feeling in her legs that of pure agony. Sisco frowned and walked up to her, so she reached out, allowing the older man to pull her into his chest. The reception was practically empty except for a young man who'd fallen asleep waiting for his friend to be released, which meant there weren't many consequences in her getting upset.

She almost burst into tears upon the physical contact, her shoulders shaking as pain surged through her. Sisco tensed a little as she began to break down, so he held her tightly, though very confused. "Honey, what's wrong?"

Sabrina choked a little as she tried to form a response. She didn't want to tell him what had happened, it would be like telling a parent she broke something valuable, in this case it was a promise. She didn't want to face his disappointment. "I screwed up."

Sisco pulled away and used the pad of his thumb to wipe away her stray tears, before he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. His voice was soft and compassionate, but despite this, anxiety still flooded Sabrina's senses. "What happened?"

Sabrina's eyes trailed down to her legs. They were covered by a pair of basketball shorts so that she didn't overheat, though she didn't exactly appear professional. She hesitated, before pulling the ends up to reveal her large bandages. "I got shot, Sisco. I was stupid and did exactly what you told me not to do. I tried to be a hero."

Sisco squeezed his eyes shut, before he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Sabrina started to tremble again and she then began to properly weep. God, it had been forever since she'd released this much pent up emotion, and she was a relatively emotional person. Perhaps it was because she was facing someone who knew her better than she knew herself. Even Alicia wasn't as good at reading her, and Diego was only just getting the hang of it.

"I'm so sorry," she sobbed into his shirt, wetting the material. Sisco shushed her and rocked her back and forth. "I'm so sorry."

"Come on, let's get you out of here," the man said softly, helping pull her to her feet. Sabrina gasped as the pressure returned to her legs, and she gripped the detective at her side like her life depended on it. "You need to be at home, resting."

"I don't wanna go back home," she mumbled, shaking her head. It was the first she'd admitted it, and there was so much truth in it that removed a weight off her shoulders. She'd just been agreeing and listening to Alicia and Diego, but in truth, she'd felt like a prisoner in her apartment. Everyone was taking Gary for walks, going to the store, working; everyone except her. "I've been at home for a week straight. I just want to cry and eat candy."

"I'll pick you up some chocolate on the way out," Sisco assured her with ease, helping out of the reception and through the precinct. "And if you don't want to go home, you can either come back to our house or I can drop you at the hospital. Unless there's anywhere else you can think of."

Sabrina paused, before squeezing her eyes shut. She couldn't go to Diego, he'd get annoyed at her for going back to work so soon, same as Alicia. She pursed her lips, before admitting something she never wanted to say. "I know somewhere I can go."

★☆

"Sabrina, what a lovely surprise," Grace answered the door, though her expression was rather confused. Sabrina was leaned against the concrete pillars of the Umbrella Academy porch, forcing a smile as she looked up at the blonde woman. "Is everything alright?"

Sabrina glanced back and saw Sisco's car drive off, as he now knew she was fine. She had assured him in the car ride over that she knew what she was doing, and that she'd be taken care of. She hoped so, at least. Maybe it was overconfidence, or just plain hope. "It's my legs. I need your help, Grace. Please."

Grace glanced down at her lower limbs, which had grown incredibly pale in colour. Her posture straightened up a little bit, and she cleared her throat. "I see. Come in, dear. I'll need to inform Master Hargreeves of your arrival this time, I'm afraid."

Sabrina inhaled, before nodding in defeat. She didn't expect any less. "Yeah, go ahead."

Grace reached out to support her as the woman collapsed a little, trying to suppress a cry of pain. Grace had a strange strength about her, as she was able to hold Sabrina up with ease. "It's alright. Let's get you sorted out."

"Thank you," Sabrina sniffled a little, wiping away tears from her cheeks. "I really appreciate it."

Grace smiled softly in response as they moved through the foyer, before they came across Pogo, who trudged into the room with his walking stick. He looked far more surprised to see the injured woman, and he furrowed his eyebrows in shock. "Miss Nilsson?"

"Hey, Pogo," Sabrina tried her best to nod, but she was in far too much agony now. "How's it going?"

Grace and Pogo shared a brief look, and the ape bowed his head. "I'll speak with Master Hargreeves."

Within minutes, Sabrina was laid across an operation table, injected with a anaesthetic to subdue the aching across her being. She was unconscious, and that was probably for the best, seeing as Reginald Hargreeves was inspecting her unhealed wounds and prodding at the muscles inside her leg.

Grace stood at attention at his side, watching as he began to demand tools to fix her stitches and shouted ingredients for another healing agent. He was concentrated and actually paying attention to something other than his grand plans, which was unusual for him in the current time period. He was frantic and full of anxiety as he had been for the past few months, but he couldn't control his interest in this newfound experiment that had wandered past him.

"She stays here for the week," Reginald muttered, noting how she had irritated the restorative muscles and likely wouldn't get any better with activity. "Keep her asleep so she doesn't get any ideas. Grace, collect blood samples everyday to track her progress. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," Grace nodded, though her eyes flickered back to Sabrina's unconscious body. "Should I alert her family?"

Reginald turned up his nose. "No one is to know that she is under our care, do you understand? If people find out what she is capable of, they will want to take her away and use her power for evil. This woman has no clue what she is destined for."

Grace fell silent and bowed her head, lacing her hands together as Reginald stormed out of the room, throwing his gloves and apron on the workbench. She sighed softly and took a step towards Sabrina, resting her hand on her shoulder. 

Sabrina looked at peace, yet she had no idea what was in store.

★☆

i'd written a cute ass fluffy thing for diego and brie but then i was like ah fuck i need drama so here we are

there isn't much i have to say about this chapter except huh wow and #fuckreggielives

that's about it from me, hopefully there'll be another update soon!!!

xx