machines again.
“No.”
“What? Oh, it won’t take long.”
“The answer is still no. I’m tired of being poked and prodded today. Go get another trained monkey if you want to run more tests.” Jade pulled the towel away from her nose, patting it back and checking for new blood. It appeared to be slowing. She swiped at her nose a few more times and then sniffed, tentatively certain it was done bleeding. In response to the lingering spike of pain throbbing in tune with her heart, she pressed the heel of her hand against the bridge of her nose.
“Does your head hurt?” Dr. Gellar asked.
Jade gave her a ‘well duh’ look. “Like someone stuck a fork in it.”
“I really wish you’d let me run some more tests. I don’t know what using magic is doing to your brain. I’ve never had a witch have a reaction like this before.” Gellar looked over a Paris, uncertainty obvious on the sharp lines of her face.
“I said no more tests today,” Jade repeated hotly.
It didn’t matter what Paris said or didn’t say. She didn’t miss the slight shake of his head that Paris gave Gellar, nor Gellar’s dejected shoulder slump. Gellar stepped away for a moment and came back with a bottle of water. Jade took the cold bottle and pressed it against her forehead. She saw a medical laundry basket and tossed her bloody towel in it from where she stood.
“Okay,” she said finally. “What’s next?”
“You can take a few more minutes.”
Jade glared at him, her headache making her more churlish than usual. “I don’t need a few minutes.”
“It’s been a long day. How about I take you to where you’ll be living and we’ll call it a night?”
That sounded like a fantastic idea to her. She was tired, she felt gritty and worn thin after the testing and whatever the hell had just happened. A hot shower, maybe some food and some sleep sounded awesome.
Gellar handed her a card and she took it with numb fingers. “I want you to call if your headache gets worse or you have any other problems,” she said, stepping into Jade’s space and placing a hand on her shoulder. Jade looked down at the doctor’s hand and then up at her face. Gellar pulled her hand away quickly.
Paris held out a hand to gesture her out of the medical unit and Jade kept a wide berth around it as she moved. She got the impression that he would corral her by placing a hand on her lower back if she let him get close enough but he made no move to get closer and she didn’t have to dodge out of the way of his touch.
He led her back down the long hallway to the stairs and didn’t say anything when she took them slowly, leaning on the railing. She could feel his eyes on her the entire way, though, and his presence hovering close by. There weren’t as many people about as there had been before but she still felt numerous eyes on her as she made her way back downstairs.
Paris stopped by Henri’s empty desk and she heard him say something low and quiet in a language she didn’t understand. A desk-drawer slid open and there was an envelope with her name sitting on top. Paris opened it, dumped out the keys inside and then slid the drawer shut. He murmured again and she heard the soft ‘snick’ of a lock sliding into place.
His car was still outside, parked right in front of the Covenstead and she wondered if he had some kind of special permission to park there as the leader or if it just didn’t matter. She was so tired, her mind bounced from unimportant question to inane details like how she didn’t even know where the closest grocery store was.
There was more room in the car than before and she noted that all of Callie’s bags were gone, leaving only her luggage in the back seat and presumably Paris’ bags in the trunk. She wanted to root around in her carry-on for a sweater, as a chill settled in on her shoulders - but she couldn't be bothered.
Whether he was feeling cold as well or noticed that she was, Jade wasn’t sure, but Paris
“No.”
“What? Oh, it won’t take long.”
“The answer is still no. I’m tired of being poked and prodded today. Go get another trained monkey if you want to run more tests.” Jade pulled the towel away from her nose, patting it back and checking for new blood. It appeared to be slowing. She swiped at her nose a few more times and then sniffed, tentatively certain it was done bleeding. In response to the lingering spike of pain throbbing in tune with her heart, she pressed the heel of her hand against the bridge of her nose.
“Does your head hurt?” Dr. Gellar asked.
Jade gave her a ‘well duh’ look. “Like someone stuck a fork in it.”
“I really wish you’d let me run some more tests. I don’t know what using magic is doing to your brain. I’ve never had a witch have a reaction like this before.” Gellar looked over a Paris, uncertainty obvious on the sharp lines of her face.
“I said no more tests today,” Jade repeated hotly.
It didn’t matter what Paris said or didn’t say. She didn’t miss the slight shake of his head that Paris gave Gellar, nor Gellar’s dejected shoulder slump. Gellar stepped away for a moment and came back with a bottle of water. Jade took the cold bottle and pressed it against her forehead. She saw a medical laundry basket and tossed her bloody towel in it from where she stood.
“Okay,” she said finally. “What’s next?”
“You can take a few more minutes.”
Jade glared at him, her headache making her more churlish than usual. “I don’t need a few minutes.”
“It’s been a long day. How about I take you to where you’ll be living and we’ll call it a night?”
That sounded like a fantastic idea to her. She was tired, she felt gritty and worn thin after the testing and whatever the hell had just happened. A hot shower, maybe some food and some sleep sounded awesome.
Gellar handed her a card and she took it with numb fingers. “I want you to call if your headache gets worse or you have any other problems,” she said, stepping into Jade’s space and placing a hand on her shoulder. Jade looked down at the doctor’s hand and then up at her face. Gellar pulled her hand away quickly.
Paris held out a hand to gesture her out of the medical unit and Jade kept a wide berth around it as she moved. She got the impression that he would corral her by placing a hand on her lower back if she let him get close enough but he made no move to get closer and she didn’t have to dodge out of the way of his touch.
He led her back down the long hallway to the stairs and didn’t say anything when she took them slowly, leaning on the railing. She could feel his eyes on her the entire way, though, and his presence hovering close by. There weren’t as many people about as there had been before but she still felt numerous eyes on her as she made her way back downstairs.
Paris stopped by Henri’s empty desk and she heard him say something low and quiet in a language she didn’t understand. A desk-drawer slid open and there was an envelope with her name sitting on top. Paris opened it, dumped out the keys inside and then slid the drawer shut. He murmured again and she heard the soft ‘snick’ of a lock sliding into place.
His car was still outside, parked right in front of the Covenstead and she wondered if he had some kind of special permission to park there as the leader or if it just didn’t matter. She was so tired, her mind bounced from unimportant question to inane details like how she didn’t even know where the closest grocery store was.
There was more room in the car than before and she noted that all of Callie’s bags were gone, leaving only her luggage in the back seat and presumably Paris’ bags in the trunk. She wanted to root around in her carry-on for a sweater, as a chill settled in on her shoulders - but she couldn't be bothered.
Whether he was feeling cold as well or noticed that she was, Jade wasn’t sure, but Paris
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