Pathline (31 page)

"I'm here anyway, you may as well use me.  Is it okay for me to just lift her?"

The nurse nodded.
"
Y
es, just move her slowly
.
"

Malik walked around the bed while the nurse pulled back her blankets. 

She sighed.
"I'm not used to feeling so helpless."

Malik placed his arms underneat
h her knees and behind her back.
"
Y
ou're allowed"
h
e said as he lifted her easily.  He gently placed her into the wheelchair. 

"This is going to take a couple of hours, why don't you go grab something to eat in the meantime?"
T
he nurse said to him as they wheeled her out of the room.

He nodded.
"
O
kay, you know where to find me if anything comes up."

The tests weren't difficult per say, but she found herself worn out after each attempt.  The visual and speech tests went well enough, and she found that every time something seemed to momentarily stump her, when she was able to get past it her mind felt clearer than it had before.  The challenges were helping.  She found that her body still
had
its use, but getting it all to function properly was an ordeal. 
She
discovered
that with help she could stand and eventually take a few steps.  By the end of it she felt ready to pass out for a few days, but she fought back the urge to slip back into the haze. 

Malik was waiting for her in the room when they brought her back.  "How'd it go?"
H
e asked.

"Good"
t
he nurse said.
"
B
ut she pushed herself to exhaustion
.
"

He looked worried
.

"I'm fine" Rune said.  She made an attempt to pull herself up from the chair.

Both
Malik and the nurse rushed over.

"Stubborn, isn't she?" T
he nurse said to him as he caught her before she collapsed and carried her to the bed. 

"Yes, very, but seeing as that's probably the trait that kept her alive I can't be to
o upset by it"
h
e responded.

"Yes
.
"
The nurse nodded.
"
Y
ou're probably right about that
.
"
S
he turned to look at Rune.
"
Y
ou take it easy for the rest of the day, get some rest.  I'll have someone bring you something to
eat;
your body's been relying on IV's to sustain it, which don't do much for your strength."

They both thanked her as she turned to leave.  Rune felt her eyelids heavy and fought to keep her eyes open, the haze creeping up around her.

Marcus notic
ed.
"Hey, why don't you get some sleep, I'll have them hold the food for later
.
"

She felt herself slipping, felt the darkness
following close behind the haze.
"I
don't want to get lost again"
s
he mumbled as her eyes closed despite her best efforts.

"I won't let you get lost, not ever again"
t
he voice promised.

When she woke again the light in the room was dim
and the view out the window was dark.  Marcus was once again asleep on the chair to her left, resting his head on her bed.  She sat up and ran her fingers through his hair slowly, watching him sleep.  She remembered what the nurse had said about him refusing to go home and rest. 
Poor thing indeed
. 

"Why me?" S
he whispered as she continued to stroke his head.  "You could have had any number of other women, and I'm sure someone else wouldn't cause you so much strife."

"Probably not
.
"

She jumped at his voice.

"
B
ut you're the one I want, so here we are."  He smiled as he sat up and met her glance. 

She shook her head and gave him
a small smi
le.
"
S
orry I woke you, why do you spend the night here anyway?  You're not exactly built to sleep in such a small space."

He stood up and stretched, cracking his back.  "I'll sleep at home when I can take you with me, but don't change the subject
.
"  He slipped a hand around the nape of her neck and pulled her into a deep kiss.  He ended it slowly, his lips lingering over hers as he said, "
B
ecause no one else has ever made me feel this way, because no one else can drive me crazy the way you do, and because I cannot imagine any future without you
.
"

Rune placed one hand
over his chest, over his heart.
"
Y
ou're the only one who could have pulled me back from the darkness
.
"
S
he leaned her head on his chest
.
"
T
his is the only place I've ever felt truly safe
.
"

He wrapped his arms around her and she felt him bury his nose in her hair, inhaling deep.  "I love you."

"I love you too, come up.
"
S
he mov
ed over to make room on the bed.
"
I
t's not very roomy, but it's got to be better than that chair
.
" 

He sat on the edge of the bed and she
rested
her head back on his chest, molding her body to his as he lay back into the bed.  They fell asleep soon after.

There was a quick rap at the door and an attendant stuck her head into the room and looked around.  When she spotted them both on the bed she seemed taken aback.

"
U
m... sorry, I was just checking to see if
she was up for some breakfast" s
he said to Malik.

They sat up and Malik got off the bed yawning. 

"Yes, please, that would be great" Rune answered.

Malik smiled at her.
"
H
ungry?"

"Starving" Rune said, as the attendant pulled a tray out of her cart and set it on Rune's table.  "Thank you."

"You're
welcome;
it's good to finally see you up
.
" 

The woman moved the table over so that it rested over Rune's lap then left the room to continue her rounds.

Rune looked up
at Marcus.
"
W
hat about you?"

"I'll go down and grab something from the cafeteria later, you go ahead and eat."

Rune took the cover off of her tray; it contained a couple of small pancakes, two strips of bacon and hash browns with a small cup of orange juice on the side. 

She chuckled.  "Yeah, I don't think these portions would work for you."  She ate a strip bacon
and one of
the pancakes in a few mouthfuls.
"
A
lthough I am impressed at the quality of the food, isn't hospital food supposed to be bad?"

Marcus
laughed.  "You might be a little biased since you haven't eaten anything in a while, but being a VIP patient at an agency hospital does have its perks
.
"

She looked up at that.
"I'm a VIP patient?"

"Well you
are
the agencies top Wanderer, so there's that.  Plus, you know, you also happen to be
Malik's wife
" H
e said, with a smirk.

She rolled her eyes and broke out laughing.  "Of course, what was I thinking?  In
that
case, then this food really isn't up to par after all.  I really should have my own personal chef here, being that I'm
Malik's wife
and all."

Marcus rolled his eyes at her.
"
J
ust shut up and eat"
H
e said, laughing.

She finished everything on her tray.  She felt a lot better after that.  Marcus headed down to the cafeteria to grab some breakfast while the nurse came in and checked on Rune's progress. 
He brought his
food up with him and they spent
the next hour joking about what other ridiculous perks someone of her 'celebrity level' might demand.  They were both still laughing when the doctor walked into the room. 

He gave her a strained smile.
"
G
ood to see you're in such good spirits this morning."

Rune returned his smile, but sobered up, she'd spent years reading peoples body language and the doctor looked like he was bearing bad news. 

Malik looked between them and picked up on it.  "What's going on?  Did you get the results back from the tests?"

The doctor nodded and sighed, coming to stand next to Rune.  "Your cognitive and neuro tests were good, which is pretty obvious by your current alertness, you definitely managed to fight your way back.  Your physical
tests are
promising, everything seems to be in working order, there's just an overall weakness.  I believe that it may mostly resolve itself as you progress, and I've ordered physical therapy to help you along, but there is a chance you'll
n
ever be quite as strong as you were before this."

Rune nodded, waiting. 

Malik frowned.
"
W
ould it be inhibiting?"

The doctor shook his head an
d turned his attention to Malik.
"
It shouldn't be.
S
he should still be able to function fully, she'll probably find that she tires quicker than before and that she can't exert as much strength as she used to, it will be an adjustment no doubt but
it shouldn't pose a problem."  H
e turned back to look at Rune and hesitated.

"So what's the third news?" Rune asked.

Malik looked at the doctor
.
"
T
hese sound like decent results, all things considered.  So she may be weaker physically than she was, well it's a good thing she's married to a Defender, I'm strong enough for the both of us, we'll deal.  Did you find something else in the results
?
"

The doctor looked
down at the chart in his hands.
"
I
t's more what we didn't find.  I ran these tests over just to be certain there
wasn’t a
mistake.  Rune's results fell into the normal ranges."

"
Well isn't that a good thing?" A
sked Malik.

"Her neuro scans, her blood work, all within normal range... as in 90 percentile normal.  She's not testing like a super. 
I went back over all the tests and exams she's had since she was brought in, and then I pulled her agency medical records to compare.  The contrast is unmistakable.  There's absolutely no sign of her super ability in any of her post attack results.  I'm sorry Rune, I really am, but it appears that the shock of taking a Charger hi
t
of that caliber burned out your super ability."  He took a moment to let them absorb the news.

Rune thought about it, felt inside herself for confirmation.  He was right of course, she couldn't feel it anymore, that pull, that click that signaled her ability to wander, it was nowhere inside her.  Malik turned to look at her, his fac
e serious, eyes full of concern...
and something else. 
Pity?
  She met his gaze, was about to say something when she remembered the doctor was still there.

"Rationally, it makes sense, something had to give.  You're very lucky you survived at all.  I've seen supers loose their abilities due to prolonged illnesses,
the body has to prioritize its resources and super abilities are technically non-essential, though it usually happens more gradually in the case of illness.  Your body did what it needed to survive, and frankly you're doing a lot better than I could have imagined when they first brought you in.  I hope you focus on that.  I'll leave you two to talk."

They sat in silence for a while, then something occurred to Rune and she laughed. 
Marcus
looked at her and frowned. 

"I guess you won't have to worry about being linked to a Wanderer anymore"
S
he said.