Mafia

11 Damon: After the Gallery Part 2

Emma and Roxy were there to meet us when we stepped off the elevator.

"Over here," Emma said, "Lay her down." I gently laid Lupin down on what only a few hours ago was the dining room table. In times like this, the dining room doubled as an in-house ER.

"Move." Emma shoved me out of the way. She and Roxy were all business, and I didn't mind one bit. Roxy put her fingers to Lupin's neck.

"How much blood did she lose?" Roxy asked.

"I don't know," I said truthfully, "A lot." Emma turned her attention to me, Tony, and Steve, eyeing the blood on all of our clothes.

"You guys hurt?" We all shook our heads.

"Good," she said, "Get out."

Tony and Steve left the dining room with no argument. As I looked at Lupin's pale figure laying on the table, I couldn't move. I couldn't help but feel responsible. The only reason she was out there where that guy could get to her was because I scared her. If she hadn't run off, then she wouldn't be hurt.

"Damon." Emma pushed me towards the dining room door, pulling me out of my thoughts. I felt at least two sets of hands grab my arms and try to pull me back. I could tell that the hands belonged to Tony and Steve.

I looked Emma in the eye. I knew that she could see how I was feeling. We'd always been close, so when she nodded, I knew she was telling me that she and Roxy would do everything they could. With that in mind, I let Tony and Steve lead me out of the dining room.

I don't know about Tony and Steve, but the only reason I was willing to leave Lupin's side was the fact that Emma is my sister, and I know that she and Roxy are the best ER doctors in the city.

I didn't know what to do with myself. Normally, when Emma and Roxy are working on someone, I'm upset, but it's nothing that can't be contained. This time, Tony and Steve had to literally drag me out of the room. I didn't want to leave Lupin in there, especially since I felt responsible. I sat down on the couch and put my head in my hands, barely able to keep myself from punching the wall.

"Damon." I lifted my head. Tony and Steve were looking at me with worried expressions on their faces.

"You know it's not your fault, right?" Tony asked. I shook my head.

"Yes," I said, "it is."

"You didn't attack her," Steve said.

"No," I agreed, "but if I hadn't scared her, then she wouldn't have been out there!"

"What are you talking about?" Tony asked. I filled them in on mine and Lupin's conversation at the gallery. I even told them how she flinched and ran off when I got too close. The three of us were silent for a while.

"Why?" Tony finally asked, breaking the heavy silence, "Why would she react like that?" I shook my head.

"Did she think you were gonna hit her?" Steve suggested. Tony and I both looked at Steve. I was shocked, and I could tell that Tony was too.

"Think about it," Steve said, "Roxy tells me stories all the time about women who come into the ER and act exactly like that."

"What does that have to do with Lupin?" I asked.

"Those women," Steve continued, "most of them have been abused...or worse." I looked at the floor, thinking through everything Steve just said. I couldn't argue with him. It made sense. I'd heard the same stories from Emma, and abuse would explain all those subtle scars that covered her body. If those were the ones I could see, I couldn't imagine the ones she might be hiding with clothes or makeup.

I couldn't stop the image of Lupin cowering in a corner while some shadowy figure beat the shit out of her out of my head. The more I saw it, the angrier I got. Every muscle in my body tensed and my hands balled into fists so tight that my knuckles turned white.

"What do you think, Damon?" Tony asked, pulling me from my thoughts. I forced myself to unclench my fists and take a breath, trying to get a handle on my anger.

"It makes sense," I said, "but we can't be sure. Not until we talk to her."

"Guys."

All three of us jumped to our feet and turned around. Emma was standing in the doorway to the dining room, wiping her hands with a towel.

"Is she okay?" I asked, terrified of the answer.

"She lost a lot of blood," Emma said, "but yeah. She'll be fine." I let out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding. I felt a huge weight being lifted off of my shoulders.

"What happened?" Emma asked. We filled her in on everything that went down at the gallery and in the alley. By the time we were done, Emma looked like she was mad enough to take on an entire army. And win. She might be my younger sister, but I swear, she's absolutely terrifying. Especially when she's mad, and right now, she was absolutely livid.

"You guys better find out who did this!" she yelled, "Because when I get my hands on him, he's gonna regret ever being born!" Steve and Tony took a very large step back. They'd both been on the receiving end of her wrath, and it did not end well for either of them.

"Em," I said, "What's wrong with her?" Emma turned to me.

"I'll tell you what's wrong," Emma said, "What's wrong is the fact that that bastard sliced open her forearm and all but dislocated her knee! That doesn't even count the cuts on her palms from where she must've grabbed the knife." Emma deflated.

"If you guys hadn't been there," Emma shook her head, "let's just leave it at, it could've been a lot worse." For a while, we all stood there in silence, absorbing the gravity of Emma's words.

"She'll be okay?" I asked. Emma nodded.

"Yeah," she said, putting a hand on my shoulder, "She'll be fine."

"Can I see her?" Emma shook her head.

"Roxy and I gave her something for the pain, so she'll be out for a while," she explained, "Besides,"—Emma smiled.—"you stink." I couldn't help but give her a small smile.

"Go," Emma said, "Get cleaned up, grab something to eat, and take a nap. She'll still be out by the time you're done."

"But—"

"But nothing," Emma said, "After they change, Tony and Steve will help me and Roxy get her set up in one of the guest rooms with the vitals monitor and an IV." I sighed. As usual, Emma was right. I looked at Steve and Tony.

"She had a bag at the gallery," I said, "did either of you grab it from the alley?" They both shook their heads. I stood up.

"Once you're done helping the girls," I said, "Tony, grab some men and go back to the alley. See if you can find her bad, ID, or anything that might lead to the bastard that attacked her. Steve, get one of your hackers to find out everything about her, and I mean everything." They both nodded. I turned back to Emma.

"You'll tell me when she wakes up?" I asked.

"Of course," she said, "Now go."

Reluctantly, I did as I was told.