Captivation

28: Everything

Everything (pronoun): all things; all the things of a group or class.

 

After two days of rest, and nothing but worry on the part of Jane, and Henry thought he won’t admit it, Peter gets up.

Jane looks like she could burst and Henry looks relieved.

“I’m alive!” Peter says as he stands up. Jane hurries out to get him food and water and anything else he could possibly need. Or not need.

I laugh. “Congratulations.”

Peter smiles and then pauses, and I see something mischievous in his eyes. “As payment for not dying on you, Doctor Madelyn, I think you owe me something.”

I roll my eyes. “I saved your life, what about payment for that?”

“It was your pleasure to save my life.” Peter says. I realize that this witty banter must be a family trait, because I see it in Henry too.

“Really?” I ask.

“Tell me how you got stabbed.” He says.

“Ah, no.” I tell him.

“Please! I didn’t die on you.” He says.

“Your condition wasn’t that bad.” I say.

Henry pokes my side and I jump. “Tell him, I want to know.”

I’m just glad Alina went home an hour ago, I don’t really need to tell her my business. “Fine.” I say.

I bring my knee up and hit Henry in the stomach, not hard enough to really hurt him, but hard enough to get him to crunch up. I grab him and pull him toward me. “Support me.” I tell him, and I throw myself over him, adjusting to the position I was in when I initially was stabbed. I place myself so I’m straddling him as he’s doubled over, and then I put on hand on the back of his neck and the other on his throat, near the vein that I can always feel a heart beat in.

“So this is how I was, right?” I say, and Griffin looks more than amused.

“Why?” Griffin asks.

“I was trying to complete a mission.” I tell him. “Anyway, I had a knife in this hand,” I shake my hand near the neck vein. “And I was telling him what he was going to do, the information I needed, right?” I look at Peter who looks like he’s finally realizing that I’m serious. “And he had a knife in his boot that I didn’t expect, so he lifted his hand…” I pause. “Lift your hand.” I tell Henry. He lifts it. “Now mock stab me in the thigh.”

Henry laughs but pretends to stab me anyway.

“And then I fell off and I had to kick the guy in the head until he was knocked out and then I had to rip my clothes to stop the bleeding, it was a mess really, and I was only nineteen then. It was not one of my finest moments.” I pause.

“Nineteen?” Peter says.

“Finest moments?” Griffin says.

I look at the ground and I’m about to jump down when Henry asks, “Do you need help?”

“You’re a little taller than I expected.” I tell him.

“Ah,” Henry says, and crouches down so I can get off of his back. He reaches his hands back to steady me, and it makes my stomach flutter, but I don’t know why.

“You’re serious?” Peter says.

“Yes.” I nod my head. “Tell them how we met.” I tell Henry.