Manhattan - St. Luke's Hospital
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| Siobhan Donovan | Harper Donovan | Robert Knight | Phaedra Delaney |
"I've seen enough of the inside of a hospital room for a very long time." Siobhan is lying on her back on the hospital bed, staring up at the patternless ceiling. She's wearing a t-shirt and a comfortable pair of sweat pants and the television is on a low hum of a local sports station because she got tired of cartoons and news channels and didn't wish to be educated by the history channel.
She's been here hours. She's been poked and prodded, had blood drawn and peed in several cups. A full workup means exactly that, and it also means she gets to spend the night here while they wait for test results. Just in case they need to "redo them."
Her father must have forgotten that she grew up around medicine. She knows that actually means in case they find something freakish. Given that she's craving and drinking blood? Wouldn't be surprising.
~
"I think we all have," Harper tells her. He's the one that ran back to their place to grab her something more comfortable. As long as she was with her father, he knew she was safe and that she could spare him a little while.
"You do realize that everything is going to be fine, right?" He's fairly certain that she is fine physically. Magically? Metaphysically? Maybe not.
"Doctor Robert is the best. He'll figure it all out for you." Taking her hand, he gives it a light squeeze, and drags the chair a little closer to the bed. "Who's winning?"
~
Shifting on the bed, Siobhan rolls over onto her side to look at her husband. "I drank blood, Harper. On what world is that okay?" She is trying to stay calm and not freak out about it, but she's glad he wasn't there when she had the drink. She's embarrassed that Jenna was there. Siobhan can still recall how good it tasted and how she barely resisted the urge to lick the glass or stick her fingers inside of it when it was empty.
Even more confusing is how she felt immediately afterward. Her ankle felt better. Not just better. Stronger. Healed like it should have been and she felt energized.
"It's just background noise." She squeezes his hand in return, then reaches for the bed controls to raise the mattress. "I love my father but this may be a little out of field…"
~
"On the world in which I can read minds, and you can use magic," Harper tells her. "We know they did something to you when they took you. This is very obviously one of those things. Unless you've developed an extremely weird case of pica."
He waits for her to get comfortable, and he quietly tells her, "At least this explains the strange cravings for nearly uncooked meat."
~
The way he quips the words so easily gives Siobhan pause. Then she smiles and giggles softly, raising his hand to her lips. "I love you so much." Harper's offbeat timing and words were exactly what she needs at this moment.
"Yes, obviously it is."
Beat.
"It does. I am glad to have that figured out." It doesn't change anything, but it's one less bit of puzzling information.
~
The smile, the giggle, that's what he needed to hear. He hates when she's worried, because then Harper has to worry too. There's no point in worrying until they know what's up.
"Love you too, Flutterbee. Though I really do wish you knew the score. I made a wager with a guy at work and I really don't want to lose," he teases.
"Me too." No, it doesn't change a thing. However, it may stop her from trying to drink a raw steak in the future. "Look at it this way, at least now you can drink a Bloody Mary for breakfast and not have to worry about it."
~
Siobhan gives an exasperated eye roll. "Hang around and listen, I'm sure they'll announce the score again." She knows he's teasing and she's playing along.
Swinging her legs over the side of the bed she sits up. Siobhan isn't confined to bed. It's the place she happens to be right now. She kicks her legs for a few seconds, then slides down off the bed to her feet. Another step takes her to Harper's lap and she doesn't even think twice before she straddles him.
Wrapping her arms around his neck, Siobhan points out. "You do know that Bloody Marys aren't made with real blood?"
~
Harper pretends to look shocked, and aghast at what she's doing. "Mrs. Donovan! I think you're supposed to stay in that bed…"
They both know that she's not forced to stay there. It's just a place for her to relax while they wait for test results. Otherwise, they'd be sitting out in the waiting room which is hardly as private.
"Of course I do. I'm just trying to make you laugh again, Flutterbee. You're very stressed out and worried right now."
~
"I can't help it." Siobhan sighs, leaning forward and resting her cheek on his shoulder. She breathes softly against the side of his neck. "I don't like not knowing what's wrong with me. Or if it's permanent or something that can fixed medically or magically."
She presses a soft, sweet affectionate kiss to the side of his throat. "I'm glad I have you."
Beat.
"You're not worried about your sister working for a vampire? Or that I wandered into a vampire's lair earlier today?" Siobhan changes the subject. "I know that you've had to have known. At least as long as Chris has."
Said vampire is in the next room with Brooke and can probably hear their conversation. However, Siobhan hopes he has more interesting things to do than eavesdrop.
~
Harper has known for a while, and he exhales slowly. His hand moves over her back, and he looks up at her with a half-smile and a shrug.
"There's not very much I can do about it. Besides which, you were safe there." The telepath did check with the Priory, and while he was told that Kieran Collins was dangerous, visiting his home wouldn't do any harm to Siobhan.
"A lair, hmm? Did he have treasure oozing out all over the place? Maidens chained to the wall?" Winking at her, he quietly says, "I think that it was more of an Upper East Side penthouse than a lair, right?"
~
"Treasure oozing? No, but I'm sure half that artwork there wasn't knock offs or replicas, unless they were like original replicas by the original artists. That would be treasure, if not of the oozing sort." It makes sense when she stops to think about it. If you're going to live a few hundred years, cold cash currency and commodities go up and down with inflation. Big war or government collapse and your money is worthless. Art, however, is always valuable. You just have to have an eye for the good stuff and know when to snatch it up.
She giggles softly. It's not full bodied, but it's there. "No chained maidens, either. But I think he wouldn't need to chain them to keep them." He may be a vampire and Siobhan may still worry about Brooke being with him, but the man is hot.
She sighs. "I worry about Brooke. She's an adult, blah blah, yadda yadda, I know but … vampire. Hot or not."
~
"So do my parents, though perhaps not the older artists. Even so, they have enough original pieces that the same could be said for them." Maybe not as valuable as what she's insinuating, but it's enough.
"So it was an old world money in the Upper East Side type of penthouse? I don't know if I'd call that a lair," he teases with a grin.
"I know you are. You could talk to someone at the Priory, perhaps? I know Rory would love to come over some time. We could invite him for dinner, and you could pose all your worries and questions to him?"
~
"You know what I mean," Siobhan gives him a light swat to his shoulder. "I don't think Sam and Karen have an original Rembrandts that they picked up from his late sister after she died or some such."
The witch sticks her tongue out at her husband. "Maybe not a lair, then. A very nice UES penthouse. Your grandmother would live in a place like that."
"Could we?" Siobhan latches onto the idea easily. She'd really feel more comfortable about Brooke's situation if she had a little more insight into vampires. "I could prepare my pot roast, and you two could really catch up, too." Beat. "I may as well learn about vampires if I'm going to turn into a mini-vamp." She's teasing, but there's a part of her that's worried about that.
~
"Likely," Harper says with a laugh. "He does live in one of the better buildings on the UES."
His hand glides over her back again, and he gives her a nod. "Sure. I can give him a call. I bet he's getting sick of eating out. Hell, I don't even know if he's got his own place, or he's just been crashing at the Priory House."
He frowns as he pauses.
"I don't think you're turning into a mini-vamp."
~
"Better buildings? That's an understatement," Siobhan snorts. "That has to be one of the top buildings. I wouldn't be surprised if he could buy the place."
She smiles slightly. "You're assuming he can't cook. Plenty of people are handy with a can opener and a microwave."
With another sigh, Siobhan rubs her cheek against his. She likes the after shadow short scruff that he's wearing now, and it's at the right length where it isn't itchy or scratchy. Her lips press to his cheek and linger there for a moment. "What if this can't be fixed? What if I'm going to want blood the rest of my life? What if I need it?"
~
"You mean assuming he doesn't already own it?" Harper isn't a fool. If he were in that position, he'd buy the building and ensure he had people he trusted working there.
"A can opener and a microwave is not cooking. Believe me, I lived like that for years." He could make simple meals, but often there wasn't time for anything more than Ramen Noodles, or Spaghetti-O's.
"Then you'll need it. How would that be any worse than needing a medication every day for the rest of your life?"
~
Siobhan blinks. She hadn't thought about that. It is entirely possible that Kieran does already own the building. Maybe under a false name or a holdings company. That would be the smart thing to do.
She wrinkles her nose and nuzzles the side of his neck. "Now you have me to take care of your meals properly." At least until they hire a proper chef, which they should do soon as she'll be back in the studio eight hours per day.
"It wouldn't bother you?"
~
"I know you didn't think about it, but it's what I would do if I were potentially living forever, yeah?" Harper shifts her just a little and sets one hand to he backside.
"We'll look into a chef soon. Personal chef… we'll only need them for one meal a day, so even if they only came in on the weekends and cooked five meals at a time and froze them, it wouldn't be too bad."
Beat.
"I'd worry about you, but as long as you weren't suddenly gnawing on my arm while you slept? No, it wouldn't bother me."
~
"Are you getting a little fresh with me, Mr. Donovan?" Siobhan teases. She knows that he isn't, but the playful teasing is a distraction.
"I can pack cute little lunches for you to take to the office some days?" This time she's only partly teasing. She does feel a little domestic, and she likes the idea of doing little 'wifely' sorts of things for them.
Beat.
"But you like it when I nibble here …" Siobhan swirls her tongue around his pulse and teases it with her teeth, playing.
~
"No, I'm shifting you about so that you don't want to get too fresh when your father could walk back in here at any moment," Harper tells her, the tips of his ears pinking a little.
"You can even bring me lunch at the office if you wanted to. It might… cause some tension, but I am not a sorcerer, and they can just get over who my wife is if they want to keep me there."
~
Siobhan giggles against his skin. She can sense that he's a little embarrassed, and it amuses her that she can embarrass him just a little. "I promise, I had no intentions of getting fresh." Beat. "Though when I come home tomorrow, all bets are off."
It's an intriguing idea, bringing him lunch at the office. Siobhan actually likes it. Mainly because it feeds into her little impishness that she sometimes has. She could come in as the perfect UES little wife, dressed to the nines and shock the hell out of every sorcerer who looks at her. "I could do that …"
Placing another little kiss on the side of his neck, Siobhan inhales his scent. He always smells good to her, but tonight he smells better than usual. He always smells crisp, like the first scent after a strong rain, and it's mingled now with something a little richer and sweeter. "You smell good."
~
"Is your dad keeping you here overnight?"
Harper will stay at the hospital then, or see if Jenna doesn't mind doing it since he's got work in the morning. As long as he gets a little sleep, he should be okay to go in from the hospital, but just in case he wants a backup plan.
"You could. I wouldn't mind taking time to have lunch with you."
Giving her backside a pinch, he tells her, "Stop trying to nibble on me."
~
"Probably," Siobhan lifts her head and meets his gaze again. "He's in 'doctor mode' right now, but you know that deep down under it all, he's worrying." Siobhan knows her father well.
She strokes the back of her hand across his cheek. "You don't have to stay, you know? I know you have work in the morning. I'm sure Jenna or Ariel wouldn't mind coming and having a slumber party with me."
Squeaking, she tucks her backside in a bit. "I was just enjoying how you smell. I like how you smell."
~
"He's a father, of course he's worrying." Harper would worry too if his daughter had something magically screwed up with her by strangers doing god only knows what. He's worried as-is about his wife, but he knows that there's no worry greater than that of a parent.
"I'm staying until you kick me out."
Grinning, he says, "Yes, well, you were smelling something stronger than my bodywash."
~
"I think in a few years we owe him a few chubby cheeked grandkids to make up for all the worry, stress and gray hairs I've given him lately," Siobhan proposes with a playful grin. "Not to forget all the worry and stress I piled on him in high school."
Siobhan rubs her nose against his. "You know, I might never kick you out."
Tilting her head, she considers. "It's just what I can smell. I don't know what it is. I've never smelled it before, I don't think, but it's just nice. It doesn't mean I was going to nibble on you."
~
"Whenever you're ready, Flutterbee." Harper knows it would be silly to rush into it, having kids. They need to get settled together in the house, and set aside money appropriately for their future security first.
"I think," Harper tells her quietly, "That you're smelling the blood under the skin. You're probably getting hungry again. Did you want to call your dad in, see if he can get you an IV drip going?"
~
"Oh." Siobhan has a brief moment of being weirded out by that, even if Harper isn't. She knows that she's obviously reacting to scents more strongly and has a more keen sense of smell. Smelling the blood in a glass of wine is one thing, but it's a little weird to be smelling it under her husband's skin.
"Yes, let's do that, before I try to gnaw at your arm, I think." Siobhan is trying to be light about it, and keep Harper's levity.
~
"It's alright, Siobhan. I'm glad I smell good." Harper brushes his hand up her back, and then quickly stands with her. Twisting, he sets her down on the bed and brushes a light kiss across her lips.
"I won't be gone long. I think your father is just down the hall, and if not, I'll just let the nurses know we're looking for him, alright?"
~
"Alright." Siobhan links her fingers through his, giving his hand a tight squeeze before he exits the room. The moment he's gone, she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. Inhaling and exhaling through her mouth and nose, repeating the soothing mantra she and Karen worked on so that she stays calm when alone. She didn't remember it earlier today, but given the circumstances, she thinks she gets a pass on that.
When she's settled, she picks up her phone and fires off a quick text to Jenna and then one to Ariel. Harper does have work in the morning and she's not in such dire straits that he can't go home and sleep in their bed. She's just worried enough that she won't let him leave until one of them arrives.
~
"You'll be fine, Flutterbee." Harper knows that she's still nervous about being alone, but he also knows that Robert is aware of that as well, and that nurses will come if there's so much as a sound that's unusual in that room. Robert might not have said as much, but the telepath does hear these things.
It's not far from the room to the nurses station, and he stops there first to ask where Siobhan's father is. Once he's pointed in the right direction, he heads that way to find the man.
~
Robert is standing inside an empty office, quietly conferring with a young, pretty brunette doctor. The medical tablet is open, and he's tapping his finger across the screen, flipping back and forth between screens.
Harper will pick up bits of conversation about blood counts, vitamin counts and white cell levels, all of which have the sense of being normal, and not out of the ordinary.
~
Phaedra's only been at the hospital for the last four weeks after passing the intern exam in order to get in. She could have taken the one at Mount Sinai, but the less prestigious hospital appealed to her more. Less cutthroat politics, and pressing other interns out of the loop just to finish up her learning.
"That's because it's not out of the ordinary," the young woman tells her mentor.
Glancing toward the door, she adds, "Someone's approaching." It's the blip she gets when she can feel another mind closing in. She hasn't honed that skill yet to the point where she can know who it is, but she can tell when they're coming toward her.
~
"Siobhan's getting hungry," Harper tells Robert, clearing his throat. He's not at all sure what the younger doctor knows about the situation, but he doesn't want to delve into it just yet.
She can smell blood under the skin. Do you think she needs an IV drip?
"Also, would it be possible to get a cot in her room if you're keeping her overnight for observation?"
~
"Then we look at it from the other angle," Robert sighs. He's starting to feel a shade frustrated, on the professional level. Personally, he has to compartmentalize. Worrying about his daughter won't help find a solution. He doesn't spell out what the other angle is. He obviously identified Phaedra's witch heritage from the first day, and has been surprised by how easy it is to work with her.
He looks up at her words, glancing out toward the hall and then relaxes when he's sees his son-in-law. "Hungry? Or hungry?" It's puzzling to have a patient who wants blood, and near as the tests can tell, it's not an odd form of pica.
I'm not sure an IV drip will help, but it's no harm in trying. I'll get one of the nurses to start one. It's still unusual to 'talk' to Harper this way, but he understands the young man's erring to the side of privacy.
"Harper, this is Dr. Delaney. Her specialty is immunology. Dr. Delaney, my son-in-law, Harper Donovan."
Beat.
"You can speak freely around her, Harper. She's well versed in the less conventional aspects of the cases and with Siobhan and Brooke's special abilities." Robert is speaking carefully because though they're apart from others, there is no privacy spell in place.
Beat.
"I'll see about getting you that cot, too."
~
"Mr. Donovan." Giving the young man a brief nod, she frowns. He's got to be younger than she is, but maybe not by too much. It's still odd for her to be called 'Doctor' too.
"It's unconventional, but I can definitely look into it. It wouldn't hurt to get a second opinion." The second opinion being her grandmother's, though from what she could sense from the other patient it is definitely fae magic that is causing the issue.
"The IV won't help, as I'm fairly certain that it is meant to be ingested. It won't harm her but allow me to run a few additional tests on the blood samples."
It's poor showing to be listening in on a private conversation, but Phaedra wants make it clear that ingestion seems to be the quickest way for them to receive the blood.
~
"Dr. Delany." Harper gives her a nod of his own, then turns back to Robert with another.
He's surprised when the conversation he was having with his father-in-law in his head is heard, but he passes it off as being nothing.
For now.
"She's hungry. I think now that her body realizes what it was missing, she's more attuned to it."
~
"Do both," Robert instructs. "Reach out to your contact for a second opinion and run the tests on the blood samples. I'd like to give a clean sample to Miss Bishop as well." He knows that Brooke might not like it, but he did reveal to Phaedra that she's been satisfying her need by receiving blood from her vampire boyfriend. It falls under doctor-patient confidentiality, and it's needed information to make certain their diagnoses are correct.
Robert rubs his forehead. "I think we'd know better what we were looking at medically, if they'd both come clean and we couldn't have gotten a baseline reading." It's not out of the question that he might not request that both Siobhan and Brooke 'dry out' for a few days so they can get just that sort of reason. He'll hold off though to see what Bryn comes up with and if Phaedra can get any information from her contact.
It doesn't register that she commented on a telepathic conversation. Robert is too deeply immersed in his medical mystery.
"Let's go talk to Siobhan," Robert says. He's spoken with Brooke and gathered all the medical data he could, which wasn't a lot. Again, he does think the witch might need to be 'dry' for anything to be successful. Siobhan's 'satiation' for lack of a better word, is much more recent and he may be able to delve a bit into what she's been experiencing.
And hasn't been sharing.
"As soon as we're certain the samples are clean, we'll get them to her," Robert assures Harper. He may be in professional mode, but patient or daughter, Robert cares and wants her comfortable and happy.
~
"I'll have information from the contact first thing in the morning." Phaedra would actually be able to get it sooner, but an intern's hours don't allow for much downtime to wander the Undercity. She knows how to get to her grandmother at any time, though, so talking to her shouldn't be an issue.
"We can take another test from Miss Bishop at that time, as whatever has been in her system should have run its course by then. I would suggest not feeding her until at least that time too, just to ensure that there won't be changes in her blood."
There's a quick check of her pager. She's on Robert's service today, but these aren't his only patients, and she needs to ensure that someone else doesn't need taking care of.
"After we speak with her, I can head down to the bank. We'd be nipping less than if there was a trauma or a surgery to contend with."
~
"She's likely making calls," Harper tells Robert with a frown. "You know she won't want to stay alone. If I might make a suggestion? Have Brooke and Shiv moved into the same room. Neither of them really wants to be alone right now, and it'll clear up a room for anyone else coming in."
There's a nod given to Doctor Knight at that, and he knows that Robert is trying to compartmentalize. Which is hard to do when you've got a medical (magical?) mystery, and a scared child in the next room.
"Thank you, Dr. Delaney."
Robert checks his watch. "Let's give them both a light meal right now and that'll carry them through a fast tonight. No blood for either of them and we'll do another draw in the morning. That will give us a fasting baseline and will let the small amount of blood Mrs. Donovan ingested work its way out of her system. She clearly needs it, so we'll dose her immediately after the morning bloodwork." He makes notes on the tablet as he speaks, though his attitude and mannerisms are very much in professional medical mode.
"I'm not sure overnight is going to be enough to clean Miss Bishop's system, but I'll talk to her about it. Depending on what she's ingesting, she'll need a minimum of twenty-four hours."
He reaches out and claps Harper on the shoulder. "I want Siobhan healthy and happy too, Harper, but I need to find out what's going on." Which is why he's going to hold off with administering more blood to Siobhan at this moment. He also gets to tell a vampire to not offer any to Brooke, which should be a fun argument.
"I was going to put that order in, but thank you for suggesting it, Harper. Great minds think alike?" He looks back to Phaedra, "Put in the orders for the morning blood draw, and I'll make sure the dinner and fasting order reaches the nurses station." Robert takes a moment to look down at his pager. He's not on call, but he's the head of the trauma team and frequently called in as a consult even when he's not on rotation. His pager is quiet, so he nods to his son-in-law. "Let me take care of these things and I'll meet you in Siobhan's room?"
"Dr. Delaney if you'll meet us there when you're done?"
~
"Of course, Dr. Knight."
Phaedra has her own little notepad where she's jotting things down. It isn't necessary, because she has an excellent memory for such things. It's more just habit from school, and the necessity of keeping up appearances in the 'normal' world.
"I'll see to the paperwork, and ensure that Mr. Collins won't be hindering the testing, and then meet you in Mrs. Donovan's room."
~
"As far as I'm concerned, she's healthy. Happy on the other hand…" Harper knows that his wife is worried, and that's what's got him a lot more concerned that he might normally be.
"Apparently we do, sir. Is there anything I can do? If not, I'll head back to the room now, after stopping to get her a bottle of sweet tea."
Siobhan has been texting with Jenna and Ariel, sometimes giving a quick glance at the door. She knows that Harper will be back, but she can't help but fidget and worry her teeth over her lips a bit.
Harper hasn't been gone that long, but he knows that Siobhan will be worried when she's in there on her own. He stops long enough to grab her a soda from the machine, and brings it in to her.
"Hey, Flutterbee. Sorry I kept you waiting so long."
Beat.
"Your father will be here shortly, and I think he's going to move Brooke in with you."
~
The witch brightens when her husband returns. Signing off her phone, she holds a hand out to him, beckoning him closer. "Then you won't need to stay and watch over me, and no one is going to have to camp out here tonight."
"I love that you would do it, but you do have work tomorrow."
It doesn't take long for Robert to make the arrangements with the nurses station or to stop in and tell Brooke the plan of moving her into a room with Siobhan. The witch-sorcerer hybrid is agreeable, though he senses that Collins isn't. He leaves the pair to discuss it, though it's only the patient's decision and the move will happen anyway.
Stepping into Siobhan's room, Robert smiles at the couple. "How's New York's prima ballerina holding up?"
~
"Just fine," Harper says, moving toward the chair by the bed again. Handing Siobhan the soda, he grins. "I'll stay as late as I can regardless. At least until you fall asleep, Flutterbee."
Beat.
"And I'm just a phone call away if you want me back here, or need to talk to me, alright?"
Siobhan rolls her eyes at her father's words. "You know that I'm not a prima ballerina, Daddy." Still, she does smile at him, taking a sip from the can of soda. She reaches out with her free hand to take Harper's and gives it a squeeze. "I know you are. And you know I'll call if I need to right?"
Looking between the two most important men in her life, Siobhan asks, "What's the verdict?"
~
"Let me ask you a few questions first," Robert says. He doesn't sit, but rather stands comfortably at the foot of the bed, with the tablet in one arm. "How long have you been having odd cravings that you noticed? Have they been getting stronger? Anything else you've noticed? A change in eating habits or sleeping habits? Anything you might have noticed as well Harper, please."
~
"At least since we went to California," Harper tells Robert, giving his wife's hand a squeeze. "She ordered a rare steak after a nightmare one night early in the vacation." He doesn't know if it was before that, because she never mentioned anything.
"I do know that you'll call, but I'll worry about you regardless. I will feel better with Brooke in here with you." Especially if the other witch-hybrid has her vampire boyfriend with her.
~
Siobhan shifts a bit on the bed and takes a long drink from the can of soda. Her gaze slides past her father's and her husband's to fixate on some point on the far wall. "It was before California. I'd been having odd cravings since we came back from the Hamptons."
Beat.
"I even took a pregnancy test." She knows that her father is here in a medical capacity, and she's a married woman, but she still feels a little like a naughty teenager confessing to the pregnancy test. No, she didn't mention that to Harper, but the test was negative. "I figured it was just the whole iron-vitamin defiency thing after that."
Beat.
"Meat cravings mostly," Siobhan continues because she knows her father will ask.
"Additiona cravings for red meat," Robert notes. He doesn't put it in her chart because he knows that whatever is going on with his daughter is metaphysical and/or magical in nature. "How have you been feeling, Siobhan? Tired? Energetic? Lethargic?" He gives her a gentle smile, "You know the drill, Flutterbee."
~
"Her ankle wasn't healing as properly as it should have until…" He glances at Siobhan, then back to Robert. "Today when she had the blood." Harper frowns, giving Siobhan's hand a squeeze.
"Why didn't you say something before, Flutterbee?"
~
"Because, like I said, I thought it was just part of the vitamin deficiency and my body was still trying to recover," Siobhan explains with a shrug. She twists and sets the soda can on the table by the bed, lacing her fingers through Harper's. "It didn't seem like such a big deal."
Looking between the two again, she sighs and reluctantly admits. "I didn't want everyone making a fuss and worrying about me. I have another check up coming up in a few days, and I was going to mention the cravings then." She figures they'd just increase her vitamins or give her an infusion.
"It's healed," Siobhan says, wiggling her ankle. "I can tell that it's healed. It feels stronger. I feel stronger and less tired and just … I feel better. The best I've felt since …" The hybrid trails off with a shrug. They'll know what she's referring to.
~
"Siobhan,you should have said something to someoen. You know that these aren't things you tackle on your own." It's as close as Robert will come to chastising her right now. He wants to make certain he has all the pertinent medical facts. "And your magic? How's your magic been?"
~
"Everything is a big deal, Siobhan. I know you want to face the world on your own, but we're a partnership… if you're not feeling well… please tell me?" He gives her hand another squeeze, wanting her to know that he's not upset with her. Harper just wants to keep his wife safe and happy. Things he can't do if she's hiding things.
"You're right though. It was a good idea to mention the cravings at your checkup. I likely would've told you the same thing anyhow."
~
"I didn't want you to worry about me anymore than you have been with the nightmares," Siobhan confesses. She glances over at her father. "I didn't want either of you to worry about me. I figured it would pass." Honestly, she's had enough of people worrying about her, and if she could alleviate some of it, that's what she wanted to do. "If I'd thought it was serious, I swear I would have said something." Harper will feel the truth and sincerity in her words.
She sighs again and shrugs. "I don't know about my magic. I haven't tried to cast a lot, except on my ankle when dancing. It feels about the same, I just tire out more easily."
"You can make that choice when you have the medical degree," Robert says. He fixes her with a stern look. "That's your doctor talking and not your father. Your doctor is disappointed. Your father is going to defer to your husband."
~
"As your husband, I get a free pass on worrying. It's part of my job," Harper tells her quite seriously. "In sickness and health," he says. "It's part of our vows, so you should be telling me. Even if you think it's nothing. I can normally read you pretty well."
They all know what that means.
"But you've obviously been hiding that from me. I know you don't want me to worry. Only, I'm more worried now than I might have been."
~
"Harper, I mean it. If I'd thought it was serious or something like this, I would have said something," Siobhan speaks quietly, but there is a hint of pleading in her voice. "I really didn't think it was anything major that wouldn't keep until a doctor's appointment. I wasn't going out of my way to hide it from you. I wasn't dwelling on it is all." Meaning if Harper was around, she wasn't thinking about it because it wasn't a priority to think about.
That's not to say that she wouldn't have tried to hide it from him otherwise, but in this case she didn't.
"I'm going to check with the nurses and see where we are on getting that move initiated," Robert says. He briefly goes over the plan of fasting and testing in the morning, then leaves the couple alone together. He'll need to check in with Dawna soon anyway. His wife is being patient, but he knows she's worried and she'll want to know his medical take on things.
