UCLA Medical Center, CCU
In the corner of the waiting room, the television flickered soundlessly.
Occasionally, Nick practiced his lip reading. Alex's head weighed heavily on his
shoulder. He shifted his position and craned his neck for a peek at his watch... ten of
nine.
"Mr. Boyle," said a soft voice from the doorway.
Nick looked up. "Miss Lopez," he said. "Been to see Dr. Drake? How's she
doing."
"She'll be OK," Bethany replied. "She's a tough old bird.... How are you
doing? How's Dr. Rayne?" she asked pulling a chair closer to the former
SEAL.
"He's another tough old bird," Nick said, "but they're talking transplant."
"I'm sorry," said Bethany, glancing around nervously. "That's a bitch."
Nick nodded. "Sloan's gone with Rachel to get our stuff from the house," he
said, "if that's what you're worried about."
Covering a blush, the young Legacy member ducked her head to brush her
straight, black hair behind her ear.
A quick smile flitted across Nick's lips. He continued matter-of-factly,
"Sloan knows one of the UC regents.... They offered us the campus guest house.
The doctor said we can't see Derek until morning."
"But, if you can't see Dr. Rayne, why did you stay?" asked the Latina,
looking up to meet Nick's eyes.
"Alex... this is Alex Moreau," he said, nodding his head toward the sleeping
woman. "Alex wanted to stay, and I couldn't bring myself to leave," he confessed.
"Besides, it's not exactly a good time to be under the same roof with our Ruling
Precept."
"I know what you mean. Mr. Sloan terrifies me," Bethany admitted. "Every
time I see him I dash for the ladies' room, but I couldn't bring myself to leave
Amanda here alone either."
Nick nodded again. That was it... he didn't want Derek to be alone in this
cold, mechanical, antiseptic place... besides this was his job... to guard his
House and watch over its precept.
"Slone's a 'by-the-book,' 'take-no-prisoners'
kind of guy, but he likes a good fight. He tries to push you til you push back," he
explained, "then he pushes some more."
"He seems very concerned about Dr. Rayne," said Bethany. "I can't imagine
being around those two for more than five minutes."
"It can get tense," Nick affirmed, "but they go back a long way... lotta water
under that bridge."
< < + > >
In his dream, Kat sat beside him on the piano bench. He gently showed her
small hands how to stretch and move quickly enough to span an octave to make the
keys sound in unison... well, almost. It was good to have this tiny person seated
next to him... sharing his interest... needing his guidance and protection in ways no
adult ever could. "Relax... don't lock your wrist," he cautioned as he held
her hand to shape it to the correct position. He could feel her innocence and her
strength... and her power... so similar to his own sister's, but without the desire for
holy sustenance.
Suddenly, as he released her hand, Kat began to pound the piano keys in a
chaos of arrhythmia. She looked up at him and laughed, but the laugh became a
howl. Derek burst awake, unable to breathe... the anarchy that had once been the
steady cadence of his heartbeat threatened to burst through his chest. "Don't
panic," he told himself. "Don't listen to that machine. Focus on the pulse. Breathe...
don't gasp." He tried to turn inward, to calm the pounding maelstrom, as he had
always done, but to no avail.... It had a will of its own.
A nurse hurried in. "It's all right. I was dreaming," he tried to tell her as she
pulled the oxygen cannula from his nose and quickly replaced it with a breathing
mask. Through the slats of the Venetian blinds, he could see Nick standing, white-faced, with his arm around Alex... both tensely watching. He tried to smile to
reassure them.
"It's OK, Dr. Rayne," said the nurse as she swabbed his arm, then, with cool
efficiency, inserted a hypodermic needle into his vein. He never felt the prick. "Just
relax.... This'll help."
< < + > >
Within a circle of ever moving light, a ragged drumbeat throbbed a
discordant rhythm. A moaning chant became a howl, which became a growl. From
high above, round, silvery eyes watched as yellowed teeth tore into the plump,
furred carcass of a jackrabbit.
A soft murmur of ruffled feathers whispered through the blackness. Quickly
the watcher turned her head to preen a misplaced flight feather. Silently she opened
her wings and pushed away from her aerie. Downward she plummeted, stretching
out her long legs. Her talons raked her hungry rival, then sank into soft flesh. Up
and away, back to her perch to listen to the howling complaints of the hungry belly
below.
In the sphere of flickering light, her round eye turned to momentarily study
her eternal nemesis. With a chortle of contentment, she lowered her beak to tear
into the still warm flesh.
< < + > >
Pinewall Academy
Katherine Corrigan sat at the lunch table with her mid-morning snack before
her, but the granola bar and carton of milk lay unopened. With her chin propped on
her fists she stared up at the clear, blue sky. She hadn't slept in her own bed for two
nights and wouldn't again tonight. She wanted to go home... she wanted her own
bed.... She wanted her mom to call to tell her that Derek was OK. She had known
something bad was going to happen, but she hadn't been able to guess what... she
hadn't been able to understand the old "Cleopatra" woman.
"Penny for your thoughts," said a voice from behind. "You've been awfully
quiet this morning. Such a pretty day... daydream weather."
"Oh, hi, Mrs. Chang," said Kat. "Just watching the bird up there.... She's
watching over us." She pointed to a dark speck soaring high overhead.
The teacher shielded her eyes with her hand to search the sky. "Oh... I see
it," she said at last. "It flies like a hawk, but it's so big... must be an eagle that's
strayed farther south than usual.
"Are you OK?" she asked. "You're usually the first one with your hand up...
and I haven't seen it wave once today."
"I'm fine," Kat replied firmly as she turned her attention back to the eagle.
She felt its head turn as it looked down at her. In her mind, she saw a round, silvery
eye.
< < + > >
UCLA Medical Center, CCU
"I'll check with the nurse," said Rachel as she and Sloan entered UCLA's
Coronary Care Unit.
"Fine... I'll wake these two," replied the precept, pushing open the waiting
room door. Gently, he nudged Alex and Nick awake. "Rise and shine... it's past
ten," he said as Alex uncurled herself from the crook of Nick's arm. "Did you ever
manage to get Father Callaghan?" he asked.
"Ohhh," the former SEAL groaned. Slowly, he stretched and rotated his neck.
"No... the parish administrator said he's still out in the boonies delivering
medicine and stuff to their sister parish in Guatemala," said Alex. "God, my legs
don't want to straighten out," she complained, rubbing her foot, which was so far
asleep that it had no feeling at all.
"William," said Rachel, angrily tossing her coat in a corner chair as she
entered. "According to the nurse, Derek had an episode early this morning."
"An episode?... What's that supposed to mean?" the precept asked
brusquely. Whatever it was, he didn't like the sound of it.
"It means that it was pretty damned scary," said Nick. "The alarm at the
nurses' station went off around three. She rushed in there to give him a shot of
something and put an oxygen mask on him.... They were all in a bit of a panic for a
while."
"He couldn't breathe," Alex added, "and, judging from the sound of the
monitor, his heart went wild for a few minutes... fast and crazy." She hesitated,
unsure if she should reveal something that Derek would find so private. "I could
feel his fear," she finally said.
Sloan rounded on Nick. "And why didn't you call us?" he demanded.
"Nothing you could have done, and it was over pretty quick," the younger
man quietly replied.
"When we see him, there will be no 'bait-the-bear' games," Rachel
instructed, "Do you understand me, Mr. Sloan? Any increase in heart rate or blood
pressure could trigger another incident."
