Tiny Wings - Lucifer Morningstar

Chapter Eleven - Doctor Linda's Diagnosis

The next morning, Rayna woke up to see Lucifer had big-spooned her, his arms wrapped tightly around her middle. She smiled, releasing a content sigh.
Carefully, the Heretic moved his arms and slipped out of the bed to go and make coffee.
Almost at the bar, she felt a tight, nauseating sensation rip through her lower abdomen, causing her to buckle over, grabbing the nearest bar stool for stability as she gripped her stomach tightly, letting out a small groan.
"Rayna, darling? What is it?" Lucifer's voice sounded behind her.
"I'm not sure..." She winced as another wave hit her.
She fell to her knees with a gasp.
Lucifer ran over immediately, gently touching her shoulders.
"What's wrong, my love?" Worry dripped from his voice as a third wave hit, stronger this time.
Before Rayna could answer, she gagged, coughed and spluttered before projectile vomiting blood.
"Oh my... Rayna!" Lucifer shouted – the last thing she heard before she passed out.

When the Heretic awoke, she was laying on the bed, wearing only one of Lucifer's black shirts and her underwear.
Her head felt fuzzy and her vision was blurred at first, but when it settled itself, she saw Lucifer sat at her side, gripping her hand for dear life. Behind him was a blonde woman who appeared to be in her mid to late forties, looking a mixture of confused and concerned.
"What happened?" Rayna managed only a croaky whisper.
"You passed out, darling." Lucifer replied softly.
"Who's this?" Rayna gestured to the blonde woman as she attempted to sit up, eventually getting help from the Devil.
"This is Doctor Linda. She's here to help." Lucifer told her.
"Hi Rayna." The Doctor's voice was soft and sweet, like fresh honeycomb. "I'm Doctor Martin. I'll be honest, I'm not the right kind of doctor for this situation, I'm a Psychiatrist, but I went to med school, so I'm gunna do my best. Lucifer's already filled me in on your... Unique nature."
"Thank you Doctor Martin, but I doubt they taught you much about healing sick Vampires." Rayna gave a weak half smile.
"No, but you have the same anatomy, so it wasn't too difficult to diagnose. May I speak to you alone?" The Doctor asked, taking a step or two towards the bed.
"Sure." Rayna nodded, spying two glasses on the bedside table – one filled with water and the other blood. She picked up the water and sipped it as she looked back up at Lucifer. "I'll be okay." She whispered.
He gave her a small smile and a nod, then went to go a sit on the couch after pouring himself a Whiskey.
"Have you had any taste changes recently? Anything you'd normally eat, drink or do that your mind is repulsed by now?" Linda asked, sitting where Lucifer had done previously.
"Well, the smell of the Scotch Lucifer just poured is making me want to puke again, if that's what you mean." Rayna curled her lip up in disgust.
"Right, okay." Linda nodded, looking around to find something for her to vomit in.
Eventually, she found a trash can, so went over to pick it up and placed it in Rayna's lap.
"I haven't even been able to drink any over the past few days. I thought it was just a phase. I've had a few in the past thousand years." The Heretic shrugged.
"Maybe..." The Doctor thought aloud. "Any vomiting or stomach cramps before this morning?"
Rayna shook her head. "No, nothing."
"Anything else you can think of that sounds a little out of the ordinary?" Linda placed her hands on her thighs.
"No, I don't think so." Rayna shook her head.
"Right. I'm going to pop out for a few minutes. I'll get Lucifer in here again and I'll be right back, okay?"
"Yeah, okay." Rayna was a little confused, but didn't have the energy to press.
Soon enough, Lucifer was back to sitting on the edge of the bed - opting to leave his whiskey in the other room, as per the Doctor's orders – and it was just the two of them again.
"You have no idea how worried I was when you collapsed." Lucifer sighed, lifting her hand to his lips to place a gentle kiss on her soft skin.
"You weren't the only one. Between the puking blood and collapsing, I could've sworn there must've been a piece of that damned piano still stuck by my heart, but I'd feel it, so it couldn't be so." Rayna huffed, replacing her glass of water for the glass of blood.
"Your wound wouldn't have healed if that were the case." Lucifer agreed.
"No."

A few minutes later, Doctor Linda had returned with a small paper bag and was shooing Lucifer out of the room again.
"Am I right in thinking that Vampires don't pee?" She asked in a hushed tone. Rayna shook her head. "That's what I thought. So I went to the hospital and called in a favour."
With that, she pulled out a hypodermic needle and syringe.
"What on Earth are you going to do with that?" Rayna raised an eyebrow, feeling a lot better after a few mouthfuls of blood.
"Don't worry. I'm just going to take some blood and analyse it. I'll do everything myself so there's no prying eyes. Hold out your arm for me?"
Rayna complied, lifting the shirt sleeve nearest the Doctor.
After the blood was taken, Linda informed Lucifer and Rayna that she would be back in an hour, then left again.

Less than half an hour later, Lucifer received a call.
He re-entered his bedroom, a worried look decorating his face.
"What is it?" Rayna asked, furrowing her eyebrows.
"I need to go, something urgent's come up. Will you be alright on your own 'till Doctor Linda gets back?"
"Yeah, of course. Anything I can help with?" The Heretic was clearly concerned.
Lucifer thought for a second. "I don't think so... I'll get back to you."
He walked over and gave her a swift kiss on the forehead and then left.
After a couple of hours, Linda returned, finding Rayna had gotten dressed and was now sitting on the couch, iced tea in hand.
"Well?" Rayna asked, standing to greet her new friend.
"You may want to sit back down for this..."
The Heretic attempted to decipher Linda's facial expression. A mixture of worry, confusion and something else. But she complied and returned to her previous sitting position as the Doctor came and sat next to her.
"What is it, Doctor Martin?" Rayna frowned.
"I'm not really sure how to..." The Doctor simply couldn't find the words. "I did every test I could on your blood. It's not an STD, it's not some sort of illness or disorder, you're not physically sick that I can tell, but..."
Doctor Martin paused, finding the words.
Instead, Rayna took her hand, using the physical touch to her advantage; as Vampires had the ability to see into the minds of Humans and Vampires alike.
What Rayna found shocked her to her core.
"But... That's impossible..." She breathed, moving to stand but losing her balance slightly, taking a few staggered steps back as the glass of iced tea fell to the floor and shattered.
She held her stomach in shock.
"What did you see?" Linda asked, trying to piece together what had just happened.
"It can't be..." Salty tears pricked in the Heretic's eyes, but she used all of her power to hold them back. "I need to go."
With that, she collected her belongings and Vamp sped to the elevator, not giving Linda a chance to process what had just happened.

Rayna walked aimlessly through the busy daytimeLA streets, her mind rushing in too many different directions at once.
She didn't know what to do or who to call.
For the first time in centuries, Rayna felt entirely lost and alone.