"Well, Mr. Eldon, I have to say you're a lucky one. The bullet just grazed you,” the doctor flipped through the papers on his clipboard,” No organs damaged, a fractured rip, and a few stitches is all you're suffering. You're free to go any time tomorrow, we'd like to keep you for a few tests, just to make sure you're all right, and then you're done,” he tucked the clipboard under his arm.
"Does that mean we can come in now?" McKale poked his head inside the door, Hush and Sakay perched on his shoulders. Shar and Cy were snuggled in the small space between the doorway and McKale, staring expectantly at Jeffrey, lying rather stilly and silently in the hospital bed.
The doctor rolled his eyes,” I don't understand why you're even bothering to ask,” he stretched his arm out, shooing them into the room.
They quickly scrambled toward the bed, McKale calling dibs in the bedside chair, Cy clambering up over the covers to flop herself on Jeffrey's (good) side. Shar paused beside the other side of the bed, reaching across the mattress to take Jeffrey's hand.
"Was it terrible, Jeffrey, old thing?" McKale eyed the doctor,” I don't trust those doctor blokes."
Jeffrey smiled and shook his head,” Not at all, sir. And he was nothing if not charming and polite."
"Ah, good then. No poking around in odd places?"
"Not at all, sir."
"Didn't ask anything uncomfortable?" this one came from Cy,"Or unexpected?"
"Most certainly not, Cy."
"Can we see your stitches?" Sakay and Hush piped up in unison.
"No, no,” Jeffrey shook his head a little, smiling calmly,"I think we'll save that particular pleasantry for another day."
Shar felt Jeffrey's hand tighten around his.
.:I'll get rid of them.:.
.:You don't need to put it quite like that, Mr. Tah...and, perhaps not yet. But, yes, please. We need to talk.:.
.:I know:.
Their idle chatter continued for quite some time, with the doctor and nurses passing in and out of the room. Eventually the sunlight streaming through the window turned a darker shade of gold, dim and hardly noticeable with the brighter fluorescent hospital lights. One of the nurses popped her head into the room, shot a warm smile and the group, and slipped on inside.
She cleared her throat, drawing their attention to her,” I’m sorry, but visiting hours are over. I, umm, we'll I'm going to have to send you home. I'm sorry."
Shar caught the hesitance immediately and wrote her down as a new girl. Perfect.
"Oh, but...dash it all, we can't just leave Jeffrey here alone!" McKale exclaimed, rising to his feet, Jeffrey's hand clasped between both of his own.
"Well,” the nurse chewed her lips,” Perhaps one of you could stay, I'm sure there's no harm in that-"
McKale squirmed, eyeing the hatchlings. There was no possible way he'd be able to stay, being the only able bodied adult left to watch them. Letting out a resigned sigh he shook his head,” No, no, if we really must leave,” and he looked up at the nurse pleadingly as he said this,” Then we'll all go, what?"
"I'll stay."
McKale flicked his gaze toward Shar. He frowned a little,” Well, no, I think it might be best if-"
"Sir? I would appreciate the company. Mr. Tah is my bond, after all."
"Oh, well,” he gnawed at his lip. Normally, he'd turn to Jeffrey for help with Difficult Decisions.
"Sir?"
"Oh, very well, Jeffrey."
"I'm staying too!" Cy piped up from the bed,” Right?" She turned toward the nurse.
"Umm, well,” the nurse shifted uncomfortably,” I suppose there's noth-."
"No, Cy, I think it best if you return home with McKale and the twins."
"Keep us company, darling,” said Sakay (or was it Hush?)
"Honestly, we're much better company than Mr. Butler..."
"...and tall, dark and silent, over there."
Jeffrey smiled, reaching a hand out to stroke her neck,” Someone must keep them out of trouble, Cy."
Cy furrowed her brow, contemplating that for a moment. Finally, she gave a nod, puffing out her chest,” I’ll do my best!"
"Thank-you, Cy."
"Right-ho, then, Jeffrey. I suppose we're off,"McKale chanced a glance at the nurse.
She nodded.
"Right,"McKale lifted his chin a little, squaring his shoulders,"Toodle-pip, Jeffrey. We'll pick you up tomorrow, then?"
"Indeed, sir."
"Does this mean we have to go back in the car?" Cy squinted, wrinkling her nose a little.
"Oh!" Sakay and Hush exclaimed in unison.
"That's rather rummy, isn't it?"
"Yes, Hush, I certainly think so."
The twins shot a glance at Jeffrey, grinning,” Perhaps we'll see you a bit earlier than tomorrow, aye?" They wiggled their feathery eyebrows at him.
McKale started toward the door with them, Cy scampering after him.
"I'm not that bad of a driver!"
"Oh no, certainly not..."
"...I'm sure anyone would have hit that cat..."
"...waltzing about the middle of the street like that..."
"...of course, most people would have hit it when it was on the street..."
"...and not after it had reached the sidewalk..."
"...but it could've happened to anyone..."
"...really."
"Oh, hush!"
"Yes? What is it, love?"
"You two are horrible!"
"We love you too, Hun."
Cy rolled her eyes.
.:.:.::.:.:.
The nurse left shortly after McKale and the hatchlings, checking a few things with Jeffrey first and fiddling around with the charts and things, but she did, eventually, leave, flicking the lights off and shutting the door behind her as she went.
Shar and Jeffrey were left in silence for some time before either one of them spoke.
"Something has been bothering me, Shar. Concerning you're first...idea on how to remove Bishop from the apartment."
Shar lifted his head from the mattress and locked eyes with Jeffrey, bright and blue amid the thick blackness of the room. He cocked his head a little, flicking back his ears.
"How did you know what Bishop was going to suggest?"
Shar licked his lips and rested his head on Jeffrey's (good) side,” I...felt what you were doing in the room. Not literally, heavens no, but...through your thoughts. They were quite...unprotected. I'm sorry."
Jeffrey frowned, but said nothing.
"I assumed from that, that Bishop would prefer sharing a room with you, and he had some natural curiosity about McKale's gender, so the logical deduction is that-."
"Being Erich Emmanuel Bishop, he'd want to...compromise both of us."
Shar nodded,” And from that I assumed we could use the same tactics as we did with Yaidom."
"You don't..."Jeffrey started, staring up at the ceiling,” You certainly didn't...What did you..."
"Nothing...explicit. I...stopped attempting to intrude as soon as I realized..."
"Yes, well..." Jeffrey cleared his throat, reaching his hand down to grasp Shar's,"And what of today's events?"
"I believe we need to find out what Winquist is doing with the people he's been searching for."
"And how Bishop knew of Winquist's interest in him."
"And why he didn't shoot McKale or Winquist, who were much easier, and much more logical, targets."
"Indeed, Mr. Tah. Indeed."
"You are....all right, right?"
Jeffrey smiled, reaching his other hand across his chest to stroke Shar's hair,” I’m fine, Shar."
Shar nodded and clambered up on to the bed, curling himself around Jeffrey,” Just making sure."
.:.:.::.:.:.
"You only swerved off the road twice!"
"We're quite proud of you, love."
"You deserve some sort of medal."
"Didn't we run over something rosette-y?"
"Oh! I think we did!"
"One minute, love..."
"...we're going to go check the tires for a blue ribbon."
"Oh, shush, I told you, Jeffrey's usually the one who takes the wheel. I'm a little out of practice, that's all."McKale grinned, plucking the pair from his shoulders and setting them on the floor beside Cy. He straightened up again and glanced at the clock. "Oh, rum! It's past midnight!" He shooed the trio of hatchlings towards the stairs,"Way passed midnight, off to bed with all of you!"
The hatchlings allowed themselves to be herded off toward the stairs, but paused as soon as they reached them.
"One problem, love..."
"...we don't know where we're sleeping..."
"...Jeffrey wouldn't tell us."
Cy shifted uneasily, glancing down at her paws,” And I...don't want to sleep alone." Loathe admitting it, she didn't. Having spent every night so far with Jeffrey, Shar, or both of them, Cy dreaded the thought of being forced into a strange house, and a strange bed, without either one of them.
"Ah, right-ho, then. You'll all just have to sleep with me, then, won't you?"
The three bobbed their heads and began the trek up the stairs.
"S'alright, darling,” Hush (or was it Sakay?) whispered to Cy.
"We'll protect you."
"Oh, shut-up."
The twins giggled to each other.
.:.:.::.:.:.
It wasn't fair. It dashed well was not fair!
McKale lay awake amid a tangle of blankets, night clothes, and hatchlings, all of whom were happily sleeping (the dragons that is, not the blankets and night clothes), while McKale was barely able to restrain himself from tossing and turning to the thoughts currently swimming about the old bean.
Really, though, it wasn't fair at all, by Jove!
Upon returning home McKale had suspected things to go back to normal. Jeffrey would play the perfect valet, McKale would fiddle about with his watch (which Shar had returned to him on the shuttlecraft, and was now tucked safely in McKale's bedside drawer), and the dragons would...
Well, McKale wasn't really sure how the dragons would fit in. But he certainly hadn't thought they'd keep him from Jeffrey. He certainly hadn't expected to have to share him with anyone.
.:You jealous, love?:.
McKale jumped a little, willing himself not to sit up or shout. "Who's that?" he whispered, lifting his head and squinting his eyes in attempt to peer around the room.
.:Us, love. Hush and Sakay.:.
"What? How?"
Giggling erupted beside him, and two pairs of blue eyes peeked out of the darkness.
.:Honestly, love, you've bonded us.:.
.:We can read your mind!:.
.:Well, not really. But any of those surface thoughts are fair game:.
.:'course, you can do it too, love:.
McKale scrunched up his face and tried it.
.:Is this...right?:.
.:Perfect, love:.
.:Now back to the matter at hand:.
.:You're jealous:.
.:I am not!:.
.:No?:. one set of blue eyes flickered toward the other .:We could be wrong, you know:.
.:Having never experienced jealousy ourselves:.
.:After all, what to we have to be jealous of?:.
.:Being, as we are, the most perfect perfect-things there can be:.
.:I feel rather bad for all those other poor blokes, actually. Don't you Hush?:.
.:Oh yes, quite, Sakay, not being nearly as perfect as us, and all that:.
.:Hush? Sakay?:.
.:Oh! Right-ho, McKale!:.
.:Anyway, we think you're jealous:.
.:And being as perfect as we are, we certainly can't be wrong:.
.:So, what's this with that Jeffrey chappy:.
.:We thought he was your butler:.
"He is!" McKale clapped his hands over his mouth. .:I mean, he is, rather:.
.:Of course:.
.:We don't doubt that:.
.:But coves -:.
.:Or beazles!:.
.:Aren't usually jealous over others for the company of their butlers:.
McKale sighed, snuggling down under the covers. Hush and Sakay clambered up over him, resting themselves side by side on his chest.
.:It's just that I've never had to share him before, dash it all! He was all mine. I mean, he'd go out, certainly, and he has his own chums and all that, but...:.
.:He was always at your beck and call and you could have a spot of the old Jeffrey any time you liked, aye love?:.
.:And you think it should be you sitting beside his hospital bed, not that purple chap? What's his name, Sakay?:.
.:Sh- something or other:.
.:...:.
The twins erupted into giggles again.
.:Anyway:. one of them continued .:You just need to take your mind of him for a little while:.
.:Pass the time a bit, what?:.
.:He'll only be gone a day...:.
.:Oh, pish-posh, love. You're not getting any sleep:.
.:And we're through with that too...:.
.:..all rested up...:.
.:..and ready for adventure:.
"Adventure?" McKale whispered,” You don't mean..."
"O' course we do."
"Why not? The sooner you're done with that list of yours..."
"...the sooner you get to use the watch without any worries at all."
McKale thumbed his chin, brow furrowed and lips pursed,” What about, Cy?"
"I'm in."
The trio jumped, startled, and twisted their heads around to see a pair of glowing green eyes staring back at them.
"How long have you been away, darling?"
Cy cleared her throat with a cough," 'Who's there?'."
McKale flushed, ducking his head.
"Right-ho, then, darling,” the twins grinned at her.
"What say you, love?"
McKale sucked in a breath, gnawing his lip. Finally, he tossed his hands up and pushed the bedcovers back, reaching into the dresser drawer for his watch and note.
"Dash it all, why not! Let's do it."