Giftless

Chapter 27

When you started to wake, the first thing you recognized was Loki's voice. He must've sensed that you were beginning to stir, as that was when he started to speak. "Stay calm, darling. You're safe," he soothed, his voice gentle and calming.

You recognized his voice and forced your eyes open to look at him. Even that was too much effort. You were exhausted. What came after exhausted? That's where you were. Drained, body and soul.

You finally looked around and recognized that you were in the infirmary.

Why were you in the infirmary? Why were you the one in the bed? Why was your head on fire? You felt like someone had dumped acid through your brain. And it was so loud, like everyone was chattering. Except that there was no one around. You felt so raw and bruised. "Loki?" you asked, hoarsely, your voice weak, like you'd been screaming all night from nightmares. Why was every moment so hard? You moved to sit up and he had to come help you and prop you up against the pillows. "What happened? Why are we here?" you managed to get the words out. You knew it was bad, though, for you to feel as awful as you did.

How the hell had you ended up in the infirmary?

You almost never ended up here.

Loki hesitated, but finally answered. "You were drugged at the party last night." His tone was soft, gentle, a healer's gentle croon. "Healer Julia told me that your memories might be affected this morning. They will return soon. It is a side-effect of the drug," he waited for you to nod, to acknowledge and verify for him that you had understood his words. You nodded for him, though it made your head hurt even worse. Gods, how could your head hurt even worse? "How are you feeling?" he was being overly cautious.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong

You couldn't lie to him, especially when you were obviously in such back shape. "Like someone poured acid through my brain," you admitted softly.

He gave you a tiny, wan smile. "That is a fairly apt description,"

"Loki, what happened?" you asked, truly concerned now. He was never like this. Even during the worst things that happened to him, he made jokes and made light of the situation. But whatever had happened to you had him shaken. You felt the stress and worry scraping painfully against the raw nerves in your brain. Items around the bed started floating on their own.

"Darling, I know that it is difficult, but you must remain calm. I will tell you what happened, but know that it was terrible. Before I begin, I have to warn you..." he hesitated. You took his hand for comfort. He gave you a real smile then.

"Tell me," you bid him. All you wanted was to crawl off of this damn hospital bed and into his arms. You couldn't do that. You were here for a reason and needed to stay in the bed.

You then decided you didn't care. You weren't hooked up to any machines or anything. If the infirmary staff didn't like it, they could just get over it. You managed to crawl out of the bed, despite Loki's protests. When he figured out what you wanted, he helped pull you onto his lap and wrapped his arms around you to hold you there safely. You laid your head on his shoulder and felt you could finally relax. "Tell me, Loki," you bid him again now that you were safe in his arms.

"What happened last night...blasted open your powers. That is why you are feeling like your mind was scrubbed with acid. Any small emotion is enough to set them off today. It will take awhile for the part of your mind that handles control of your powers to heal. I cannot help either," he added before you could ask him to fix it. "Today your have to be extra careful. Any use of your powers will be quite painful," he explained gently, keeping his voice that careful healer's croon.