Yesterdays Gone (A Highlander FanFic)

Highlander: Yesterdays Gone ~ Part 2 "Siege"

Up in his suite, Martin wasted no time in turning on the shower, setting the spray to a comforting massage and locking the temperature so that it would not rise too high. The room had been made up and the towels where thick and fresh. There was a clean, soft white robe hanging on the hook too. Morgan didn’t resist as he drew her into the tiled refuge and helped her off with the ruined coat. “You’ll feel better once you’ve cleaned up” he promised. “I’ll arrange some fresh clothes while you’re showering. So just... you know... call if you need something”. He offered the younger woman a kindly smile, hoping to reassure her and slipped out.

Almost without conscious thought, Morgan kicked off her boots and peeled off her Jeans, frowning slightly as she saw the dried blood on them. She stripped off her sweater and shirt and hung them up, scratching fussedly under her hairline as she did so. Her eyes widened in fear and confusion when she lowered her palm to find it sticky with congealing blood. There was a hole in her favourite shirt, she realised.... the rich royal blue turned black around it... and there was another hole with more black staining....and another! She dropped it and grabbed something else. The cardigan she had worn last night also looked like it had been dipped in blood. Morgan looked down at herself. Her undergarments were soaked in dried blood. She removed them and tried to rub the stains off her skin to see the wounds. So much blood, it wouldn’t wipe off. She lunged into the shower. Instantly, the water ran red and frantically she scrubbed at her chest and belly. There was more blood than she had ever seen, but there was no trace of a wound. The shock and horror of the last night’s events began to sink in and Morgan fell to her knees. She curled into a foetal position under the hot spray and began to sob so hard that her body shook.

Martin could only hope that the cries would not attract the attention of the hotel’s staff and other guests. He muttered a fervent prayer that Morgan’s weeping would not develop into full on screams and picked up the phone, pressing 0 for the concierge. A few moments of conversation and the man on the other end of the line had promised to arrange for some ladies gym clothing to be sent up to the suite Penwarden occupied. He thanked him and put the phone down. The next problem was food. He knew from experience that Morgan must be ravenous by now. It had to have been at least a day since she had eaten. Take that together with the shock and trauma of the onset of her Immortality, she was in need of a damn good meal. It was at this point that Martin fell afoul of his own good intentions. He would have liked to have clothes and food both waiting when she was ready for them, but since he had no idea what she ate, the best he could offer for now was the room service menu. After a bellhop brought a pile of polythene wrapped clothing to the room, Martin laid it down on the dresser with the menu on top. There was nothing else he could do. He turned the kettle on and settled down to wait with his cup of Earl Grey.

Over an hour passed whilst Penwarden pondered the day’s events over his teacup. He could not in good conscience leave the city and the young Immortal. It was at this time that she would be most vulnerable to the ruthlessness of a head hunter.However, something of a dilemma had presented itself and he was unsure which course of action would be the most prudent.He had had students before of course... she was not the first whom he had taken under his wing, however he had never had to break the news before and he had certainly NEVER had a female protégé. The Cornishman did not know what to do. Morgan Doyle was in shock. She had died violently, that much was obvious. Could the police gossip be accurate? Did she know the face of her murderer? He sighed heavily. There was nothing for it. He had to earn her trust, summon up the courage somehow and try to explain what had happened.