Many thanks to Cee for the edits and suggestions.
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Jim didn't even notice the vicious downdraft as the helicopter they'd just exited took off; his attention was on his guide. He'd cradled Blair ever since they'd been airlifted from the forest. Now all his senses were telling him that his guide's barriers were dangerously low and they needed to bond now. His guide was clinging to him; Jim stroked Blair's back as he followed barely heard directions from the people that surrounded him. All the noise and light and activity were a distant blur compared to the sharp focus of the needs of his guide.
"Sentinel Ellison. I'm aware you need to be alone but we just need…"
Jim heard the growl that came from within his chest and then quieted as a hand patted his chest.
He heard Blair say shakily, "I'm okay, Doc. I…had some good care while I was …Please, just give us some time?"
Jim looked up hopefully at the doctor who stood at the entrance to the room he'd been directed to.
The doctor didn’t say anything to Blair but looked at Jim. "His vitals, Sentinel?"
Jim appreciated the businesslike tone of the doctor. He answered after a confirmatory scan, "Stable."
"There's a head injury. Have you checked his pupils?"
Jim stroked Blair's back possessively. "Reactive and equal."
The doctor noted these down and then asked hesitantly, "Any other injuries? The wound on his head, we need to check it …"
Blair answered quickly before Jim could react, "No other injuries. The wound on my head was dressed twice."
The doctor raised his eyebrows in surprise but insisted, "If the wound isn’t treated properly, it may get infected and scar."
Jim pulled back on the tape holding the small dressing in place and looked at the wound with one hand while keeping the physical link by holding onto Blair. He took a quick look and then put the dressing back in place. He glared at the doctor and reported, "No infection. Wound looks good for another few hours or so."
The doctor noted this down and then looked up and said, "There's a call bell by the wall." Then he paused, "I'm sure you both know the head injury instruction sheet very well. There's another factor you both need to be aware of." Both sentinel and guide looked expectantly at the doctor. "The other guides have told us they've been dampened. Is that the situation with you, Blair?"
Blair glanced at Jim and then nodded.
The doctor directed his attention to Jim. "You'll also need to watch out for the signs of withdrawal."
"Which are?" Jim demanded impatiently.
" The drugs block neural pathways preventing a full bond from occurring, even while the guide's need to bond increases. Most guides describe it as frustrating and somewhat painful, but there really is no way to alleviate the symptoms." The doctor hesitated, and then added. "The need to bond often becomes overwhelming, and often the sentinel chooses to restrain the guide until bonding is complete." The doctor added hurriedly, "For the guide's own good of course."
"Well, gee, thanks for the good news," Blair commented tiredly.
The doctor didn’t react to Blair's sarcastic comment and just turned to face Jim, "Sentinel, if your guide needs anything, anything at all, just use the bell or open the door. Someone will be right along to assist you." The doctor waited for Jim's nod of dismissal before he walked out of the room, shutting the door firmly behind him.
Jim listened for a moment and once he was satisfied all that he could hear was the quiet hum of white noise generators, he turned his focus back to Blair and said, "Let's get you onto the bed."
Blair shook his head gently. "Bathroom first. I need a shower and some fresh clothes. I must stink." He pushed away out of Jim's hold and took one step towards the bathroom door. Suddenly, he was looking at the carpet.
"C'mon, Chief."
Blair didn’t fight as Jim pulled him up and took him across to the bed. He let out an appreciative sigh as he lay back against the soft, clean pillows. He murmured, "That feels good."
Jim sat down on the edge of the bed. "I bet it does. How's the head?"
Blair squeezed his eyes shut and then opened them again. "Like someone hit me over the back of it with a gun. Hurts like crazy." Blair watched Jim carefully.
Jim raised his eyebrows and said, "What?"
"Aren’t you going to ask me what happened?" Blair asked.
Jim shook his head gently. "Not yet; later." He grinned slightly and then his expression grew serious. "Later, I'll be able to yell at you for doing whatever you were doing when I came down the stairs."
Blair grimaced and then sighed as his head protested the movement. "Easy Chief, easy. It's gonna hurt for a while."
Blair closed his eyes and reached out for Jim. "I… " Blair rubbed a hand over his head and then grimaced again. He pushed himself upwards and said, "You gotta let me get that shower, Jim. I… it wasn't exactly a Hilton. I must have lots of smells on me…"
Jim took a deep breath and then let it out. He spent a few seconds filtering the smells present on his guide and relaxed slightly. Although the scent of the other sentinel and guide and others were on his guide, the scents were vague enough to reassure him that they hadn’t been in too close contact. Once he'd finished the task, he looked down at his guide, friend and soul mate; Blair was grimy. After a few moments of further pondering he said, "Wait here, Chief, and I'll see what I can do."
"Okay, not as if I'm going anywhere," Blair murmured.
Blair relaxed back into the soft pillows and closed his eyes, dimly aware of sounds of movement in the background. Suddenly a hand touched the bottom of his shirt. Blair's eyes snapped open and he started to rise. "No!"
"Easy, Chief, easy." Jim gently pushed on Blair's shoulders. "It’s just me and no one else." Jim waited patiently for Blair's gaze to focus on him and then he explained, "You won’t stand up long enough in the shower, and I don’t want to get your wound wet. I'll give you a wash in the bed and get you dressed in some clean clothes."
Blair processed what his friend was saying and then asked, "You, umm, done this before?"
Jim shook his head and before Blair could suggest getting a nurse, he simply stated, "My guide."
Despite his pain, Blair nodded and reached out to touch Jim. "Your guide."
Jim relaxed, "You up to taking your shirt off?"
@@@@
Hunter flashed his badge impatiently at the GDP security that blocked his way through the entrance of the Sentinel floor. "Cascade PD. I have a prisoner that needs medical attention."
The GDP officer shook his head and started to open his mouth when the doors opened and Rafe stepped through. "Captain Hunter, you're expected."
Hunter paid both junior officers no more attention as he stalked through the doors and onto the Sentinel floor. He glanced around, noting with satisfaction the uniformed cops deployed along the hallway and at the windows and the emergency exits and the very obvious absence of any GDP officers. Hunter noted with interest that there were several rooms that were blocked with white noise generators. All of these rooms had their own individual guard posted outside. A moan from the gurney behind him brought Hunter back to his immediate task. He grabbed a passing nurse and said, "I need a doctor and a room. I have a prisoner that needs medical attention."
The nurse pointed in the direction of an empty room. "You can use that room. I think Doctor Wyatt has just finished examining the Senior Prime. " She tried to peer around Hunter at the gurney. "On second thoughts, one of the interns might be free…"
"Dr. Wyatt will be just perfect," Hunter said tightly. Without waiting for the nurse's reaction, he turned and followed the paramedics as they manoeuvred the gurney into the room. Once the paramedics left, Hunter leaned over the woman and checked that she hadn’t managed to loosen the handcuff that he'd used to restrain her once the paramedics had strapped up her right arm. Although she was silent and her swollen eyes looked shut, Hunter could sense her terror. He reached out to touch her.
"Captain Hunter?"
Hunter straightened up and turned around. The doctor was standing at the doorway to the room. "My prisoner needs some attention."
The doctor stepped into the room and said coldly, "So the nurse told me." The doctor reached for a pair of gloves from the dispenser by the door and approached the gurney. He raised his eyebrows slightly when he saw that the prisoner was female but didn’t say anything to Hunter who stepped back and leaned against the wall.
As Wyatt began to absently work up Meggie's vital signs, Hunter asked, "What's the situation?"
Wyatt hesitated for a second and then said, "The Senior Guide Prime has a head wound, probable concussion, but his sentinel reports no other injuries. The other guides are uninjured but dampened still."
"Still?" Hunter queried.
The doctor looked up from his notes and nodded absently. "Yes. From the chemical analysis of the drug found in the dead guide and what the others are reporting, we know that it’s a long acting dampener." The doctor looked at Hunter and shrugged, "It's all right; they'll be okay. It’s one of the drugs that the GDP uses if a guide is reluctant to bond, doesn't have any long lasting effects; they'll be over it in twenty four hours or so. The GDP commander is still being assessed by my colleagues. He may have to go to the OR to have his shoulder wound explored. He's a very lucky man."
"Why?"
The doctor ignored him for a moment as he silently prised open one of Meggie's eyes and shone a pen light into her eye. Hunter winced as she flinched and the acrid stink of her fear increased several notches.
The doctor wrote something down on his notepad and then answered Hunter's question. "He had very good medical care at some point. His wound was cleaned and packed very well. Plus he was given some sort of plasma expander to stop him going into shock. Very good care; he could have died." Hunter grunted. "I was focused on the Senior Primes so I don’t know much about the man that came in with them. They were calling for the neurological specialists to see him. " The doctor broke off his explanation to examine the strapped up arm. "That looks broken. We'll need an x-ray before I'll release her." He moved across to the wall, picked up the phone, dialled, and spoke into it briefly. When he returned, he withdrew a plastic stick from a pocket. Looking at Hunter, he said, "Just need to test her reflexes. Do you mind keeping her legs straight for me?"
Hunter glanced at Meggie and saw that her good hand was tightly grasping the side of the gurney. He absently patted her shoulder and said, "Once he's finished, the doctor will give you something for the pain."
Wyatt had already rolled up Meggie's jeans to mid calf and had started to remove her socks so he just grunted an acknowledgement of Hunter's promise. Hunter moved to the bottom of the gurney and waited for the doctor to direct him.
Wyatt pulled off a muddy sock and then stopped. He murmured, "What the…" Putting the plastic stick back in his pocket, Wyatt ran his fingers down the sole of one foot and then taking the other sock off ran his fingers down the other foot.
Hunter grabbed hold of Meggie's legs when she tried to squirm out of range of the doctor's hands. He could hear her heart rate just about double and her breathing became full of short panting gasps. Turning back to the doctor, he asked, "What is it?"
Wyatt looked up at Hunter. "The soles of her feet are covered with scars."
Hunter frowned. "Let me have a look." Wyatt moved out of the way. Hunter moved round and took a brief look. He moved over to the glove dispenser and snapped a pair on. He pulled a stool over to the end of the gurney and sat down. Ignoring the sounds of distress coming from Meggie, he explored each white scar in detail. "That's a cigarette burn, so is that." He ran his finger along a thin white line that ran the length of the sole of one foot. "Probably a knife cut." Hunter heard the nurse come in but paid no heed to her or the whispering that followed her entrance as he continued his careful examination of the scars.
"Captain?" Hunter turned away from his examination and looked at the doctor. Wyatt continued, "I'm needed out on the floor. One of the guides that was brought in earlier…" Wyatt was quick to add, "not the Senior Prime."
Hunter relaxed imperceptibly. He stood up and took his gloves off. "I'll need someone in here to do a full medical examination on my prisoner. Photographs. Oh, and of course she'll need some treatment."
Wyatt glanced at Meggie who was still tense and had her good eye shut. He nodded. "I'll make sure someone is sent in straightaway." Wyatt moved out of the room and shut the door behind him.
Hunter moved to the head of the gurney and said tonelessly, "In my experience, there are only two reasons why someone would do that: information or punishment." He waited until he saw her swallow and then went on. "My guess would be that it was for something you did rather than for what you knew. Correct?" There was an almost imperceptible nod. "I guess you learned your lesson, right?" Another nod. Hunter reached for his handcuff keys and unlocked the cuffs. He warned, "Remember, I know exactly how those scars were caused." He sighed internally when she stayed in the same rigid position. He was about to ask her name when the door banged open. Hunter turned to face the intruder.
"Hi, I'm Doctor Goodchild. You must be Captain Hunter? Dr. Wyatt sent me in to examine your patient." Without waiting for Hunter's acknowledgement, the young intern picked up Meggie's chart from the end of the gurney and began to read it, absently tapping his pen against it. At length the doctor said, "So you want a full medical exam with all injuries to be documented?"
Hunter, irritated at the noise, hissed, "And treated. Make sure all your documentation is correct and ample; this is an ongoing investigation."
Goodchild nodded. "Gotcha. This connected with the craziness that's going on out there tonight?"
Hunter non-committingly said, "You could say that."
Goodchild snapped on a pair of gloves and then picked up the phone. "Just need to get a nurse along to assist me." He spoke into the phone and then put it down. "The nurse will be right along."
Hunter, not wanting to get in the way of the medical staff, retreated to the corner of the room that was nearest Meggie.
Goodchild moved to peer at the monitors and noted a few readings down on the chart while he waited. "It’s crazy out there tonight. Had to happen on the first week of the new rotation for us interns. If I haven’t stared down one of those Prima Donna sentinels by the end of tonight I'll be surprised. You can see them all standing out there in the hallway, sniffing and acting all big and mighty. Apparently Ellison wouldn’t let Wyatt look at his guide. Who do they think they are? Hospital procedures are for a reason, you know."
Hunter gritted his teeth and ignored the chatter as much as he could.
Goodchild leaned over and manipulated Meggie's right arm, completely ignoring the gasps of pain that she vocalised. Goodchild placed it back down on her chest. "Definitely broken."
Hunter drawled, "You don’t say." He glanced over to where she lay and saw that she was looking at him. "Don’t you think it would be a good idea to give her something for the pain?"
Goodchild looked up from the chart. "Analgesia? When the nurse comes. They've been stretched tonight; the sentinels have been fussing around the guides."
"This is a hospital."
Goodchild checked Meggie's pupils with a small flashlight. Not looking up at Hunter, he flippantly said, "If you wanted quicker service, Captain, why didn’t you take your prisoner to the emergency room?"
Hunter was around the gurney in a flash and had the doctor up against the wall. He leaned into the doctor and took a long sniff. Hunter smiled at the terrified expression on the doctor's face. "Us Prima Donna sentinels never forget a face or a smell, Doctor. The reason why this woman and I are here is that we're both sentinels. You can smell him too can’t you?"
The voice was dry and cracked and shaky but Meggie clearly said, "Yes."
Hunter smiled. "Be nice to her or else you may just head off to your car after a shift and find you’re being followed."
Goodchild licked his lips. Just then the nurse came through the door. Goodchild straightened himself up and said, "I need Pethidine and some Stemetil, Nurse."
Hunter stood back and remarked, "That's better."
@@@@
Maisie knew she was at the right place. The growing crowd of police and GDP officers and TV crews milling around the hospital entrance a few yards away from her shadowy corner told her that. All she needed to do now was get inside. As she pondered what to do, an emergency exit opened up close to her and two orderlies stepped out. Maisie moved further back into the shadows.
One of the orderlies produced a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and said, "Glad I'm not on the S floor tonight." He offered his companion a cigarette and all conversation stopped while they both lit up.
After a few puffs, the conversation continued. "Yeah. Sentinels are bad enough to deal with normally." The orderly chuckled, "You know Goodchild?"
"That intern who thinks he's God?"
"Yeah, well, I've just heard that he got reamed out by that Hunter guy."
The second orderly laughed, "Couldn’t have happened to a nicer doc. That sweet young thing of a guide he's got around?"
The first orderly shrugged. "How should I know? Annie in Pharmacy told me, said she'd just come down from the floor. What's she like then, this guide?"
The orderly smiled wolfishly, "Blonde, slim and all innocent looking. I was on the floor when they bonded. She was handcuffed. Bet she ain't so innocent now; that Hunter's one mean son of a bitch."
The first orderly chuckled and threw the stub of his cigarette to the ground and looked at his watch. "We've got time for another."
"Why don’t we have a look at what's happening over there?"
Maisie waited until the two orderlies had moved off towards the crowd that was milling around the entrance before emerging from the shadows. For a moment she stood still, and then her mind made up, slipped into the hospital through the open emergency exit.
TBC
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