Little

Chapter 19

Back in the operating room, Stephen was relaxed on the table as Christine stitched up his stab wound. She'd seen everything, including Stephen in his astral form. Now she was mildly concerned.

"After all this time," Christine said. "You just show up here, flying out of your body?"

"Yeah, I know. I missed you too, by the way," Stephen quipped. "I wrote a bunch of emails, but you never responded."

Christine didn't look up. "Yeah, saw your letter you left taped on my door," she said. "But still, why would I respond?" 

Stephen knew she had a lot of reasons to say that. "Christine, I am so, so sorry," he said. "For all of it. And you were right. I treated you so horribly and you deserved so much more." He started to sit up, but groaned as the pain overcame him.

"Stop," Christine said, trying to lay him back down. " You... you're clearly in shock,"she added. "I mean, what even is happening? Where have you been?"

"Well," Stephen said, now fully sitting up. "After Western medicine failed me, I went East, and ended up in Kathmandu."

"Kathmandu?" Christine said  with disbelief. "With Peter?"

"Yeah," Stephen said. "He went with me."

"Where is he now?" Christine asked.

As soon as she asked, the door opened, and Peter walked in, holding a half-eaten cookie. Upon seeing, Stephen, Peter grinned and ran towards him, dropping the cookie in the process of doing so. "Stephen!" he squealed. 

"Yes, I'm okay," Stephen said. Peter ran up towards him and tried jumping into his arms, but was too short to do so. Instead, Stephen lifted him up. Peter wrapped him in a hug, being careful to not agitate the stab wound. Stephen ruffled his fluffy brown hair. "I'm still here," he told Peter. 

He looked up to see Christine looking at him expectantly, probably waiting to hear the end of the story of why he went to Kathmandu.

"I went to a place called Kamar-Taj," Stephen continued. "And I talked to someone called the Ancient One, and..."

Christine interrupted him. "So you joined a cult?" 

"No, I didn't," Stephen said. "Not exactly," he amended. "I mean, they did teach me to tap into powers that I never even knew existed."

"Yeah, that sounds like a cult," Christine said.

"It's not a cult," Stephen protested.

"Well, that's what a cultist would say," Christine said.

Stephen sighed and gave up. He started to stand, but nearly fell over.

"Wait, Stephen..." Christine said. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm late for a cult meeting," Stephen joked. Peter laughed.

They walked out of the operating theatre. Nobody really paid attention to Stephen, or inquired as to why he was wearing robes.

"Where are you going?" Christine asked.

 Stephen hesitated. Should he tell her about the sorcerers or not?

"Just tell me the truth?" Christine prodded again.

"Well," Stephen started. "A powerful sorcerer, who gave himself over to an ancient entity who can bend the very laws of physics, tried very hard to kill me, but I left him chained up in Greenwich Village, and the quickest way back there is through a dimensional gateway that I opened up in the mop closet."

He was pretty sure he'd just proven himself as a psychopath by saying that, but Christine seemed to think it was a joke. "Okay. Don't tell me," she said.

He opened the door to the mop closet he'd stumbled out of, and showed Christine the portal he'd created. Her mouth dropped open in surprise.

He set down Peter through the portal, back at the Sanctum. 

"Wait!" Peter said. He jumped back down through the portal, gave Christine a quick hug, then clambered back up through the portal.

"I really do have to go," he told Christine. He gave her one last quick smile before the portal closed.

The Cloak was still hovering over the Zealot's dead body. Stephen bent down to check for a pulse, just to make sure.

There was none.

"Is he..." Peter asked, pointing at the body.

Stephen nodded dejectedly. Sure, he was an enemy, but Stephen was still a doctor. And according to the Hippocratic Oath, he was supposed to do no harm. And he'd just broken that oath.

He felt something grab his hand. Peter's tiny hand held his big hand. Stephen smiled down at him. At least someone knew how he felt and was trying to help him.

Stephen grabbed the Cloak from behind him, and tossed it over his shoulder, until it landed on him. At the last second, though, it again ruffled Peter's hair and he giggled even louder.

Stephen half-sighed and half-smiled. 

He walked with Peter to find Mordo and Wong.