Chasing Fate (Sentinel & Guide)

Chapter 40

[[Typed on my phone, not edited. Sorry for any mistakes. Thank you for reading. Comments and votes are greatly appreciated]]
Fate did not struggle, knowing it was useless against the restraints keeping her secured to the bed. Her chest was cold, as was her right thigh and neck and toes. She knew these were the only parts of her exposed to the chilly air of the ICU. 

Vaguely she could hear voices, but everything was muddled beyond the constant humming in her skull. The ventilation let cold air in between the nodes and contact patches gelled to her now-bald head. No light made it through. This was a dampening helmet. She may as well have been in deep space. All she could hear was the hum of the disruptor adjusting to nullify the emotions she was projecting. A cold feeling in her  right arm meant the IV was delivering more painkillers and dampeners to adjust for her being awake. She wouldn't be conscious for long. 

That was for the best. 

A soft beep in the helmet signaled that someoen was approaching. Perhaps it was time for the feeding tube or changing bandages. She was unsure of time in this extreme isolation. 

There was some movement and her bedpan was moved away. She couldn't muster the energy to be embarrassed as the nurse efficiently managed her sponge bath, though she was still quite cold. She wished her mouth worked, so she could ask for a blanket. Even blinking felt like a monumental task as the sedatives and dampeners began to take effect. 

The helmet blocked out light and reduced her ability to project, but nothing but strong dampeners could reduce her ability ot feel the emotions of others. The shock and worry she'd faced when she had dragged her barely conscious body into the gas station however long ago had knocked her out entirely. She woke up in this bed, wrapped up like a mummy, head shaved and helmet clamped tight.  

Now she was here for who knows how long. She had no idea how long it would take for her injuries to heal. No one had spoken to her about prognosis. Was this a hospice? What hospital was she in?

Time was distorted. It could have been hours or it could have been days before she felt the effects of the IV weakening. There were several signatures in the room. 

Doctors? No, not all of them had the composure of clinical detachment. Two had the upset stomach feeling of indignant rage. Not against her, but against her state. Sentinels then. She could feel them focusing, trying to identify her. Beside them were their guides, trying to suppress their own pity to ground their bondmates. Beyond them, in the hallway were the stoic signatures that could only belong to fresh faced police officers.  

The helmet came off, taken away by the nurse and Fate blinked her eyes. As her vision cleared she regarded the most powerful and uncontrolled emotion projecting in the room. Curiosity. Her vision was bluring and started to clear.  

The face on that man was one that seemed terribly familiar, if only for the fact that he had a nose broken into almost a right angle. 

Her vision began to swim and darken again before she could really clear her mind and get a good look.

The next time she  opened her eyes, she saw the crown moulding of Jack's bedroom. She moved to sit up, which dropped his heavy arm from where it was resting on her waist. He jolted awake in turn, a spike of alarm and then calm as he realized there was no actual danger. He turned from where he'd been face-first in the pillow to blink up at her. He moved his arm to check his fitness watch, then pointedly put it back across her lap.  4:43 AM, not even a full three hours since she went to sleep. 

"It's still early," he grumbled behind mussed hair. Fate had a mouthful of excuses, but they all fell short as Jack petulantly let his pushiness win out. Obeidiently she laid back down (This time in her preferred side-sleep position) and allowed him to pull her blanket back up. He didn't say another word as he plopped his head back down, closed eyes facing the door just-in-case of intruders.  

As she drifted off a second time she noticed that the pillow felt different. Softer than the sheets and a different color than Jack's. Satin, for her hair. 

How thoughtful.

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Right on schedule Jack is woken by the annoying buzzing of the alarm on his wrist. The smart watch is adjusted for sentinel use, so it doesn't bother Fate, who has the blankets rolled up beneath her like a dragon's horde of cotton and polyfill. He made a mental note that if he wanted blankets in the future he'd need to put some extra in the linen closet. 

From her heartbeat and breathing he knew she was still pretty deeply asleep. He carefully climbed out of bed and went to shower, this time remembering to take his clothes with him. His hair went back into a bun and he was brushing his teeth when he sensed Fate waking up. 

Fate woke up to a very uncomfortable feeling. It had been tickling at her for a few minutes, dragging her out of the pleasant nothingness of sleep. The first thing she noticed when she regained consciousness  was a general feeling of anxiety that surprisingly, wasn't her own. 

Jack was jiggling his knee as he brushed his teeth, a nervous tick that she hadn't seen before in the two weeks they'd been together. Despite the nerves he finished brushing and composed himself before he came out. He was wearing stained cargo pants and a shirt that had seen better days, the name of a band faded across the chest. His tattoos went down to his elbow on the left and peeked out of  the drooping collar. 

 Dressed down like this, he looked like any average young guy his age making a run to the corner store. It was the most casual she'd ever seen him. With a baseball cap he'd be basically incognito.

He went to grab a pair of no-nonsense hiking boots and sat on the bed to put them on. Fate moved so that she was sitting beside him. 

"Is there...something going on?" she started nervously. 

Jack nodded,"It's a police case. We need to make our way to Rhetson Creek to help the forensic crew."

To Jack's surprise, he didn't even feel a single beat of apprehension or surprise from Fate. Even though she generally closed her emotions to him these days, surprise always seemed to come through. Then again, sentinel and guide pairs' main function in society was to help with things like this. 
 
"I'd hoped we wouldn't have to tackle this too early on, but here we are, day two," Jack sighed, "The location we're going is a bit off the path. Do you have good hiking boots packed?" 

Fate nodded. 

Jack smiled but it didn't quite reach his eyes, "Perhaps we'll try actually hiking with them another time."

"I'll go get ready then." 

Jack nodded, seeming to gather his thoughts before standing, "I'm gonna get my dad caught up. He's still acting SAP after all."