Kirk
Kirk drove completely expressionless down the main highway. He'd had this car for a while and no cops had pulled him over, so he guessed it was alright.
Glancing in the mirror, he pulled off the highway and down into a few side streets. There weren't many cars around, so he decided to floor it. See what his baby could do. A grin grew on his face as he exceeded the limit and made it double.
Suddenly, he caught sight of another car up ahead. But it was too late. He was going too fast.
Screeching the tyres, he attempted to serve around it. But there was a car coming in the other direction...
Crash. Head on.
Even when it was over, Kirk flinched. He slowly opened one eye, and then the other. He couldn't see anything, as the hood had buckled up in front of the windscreen. Steam was coming out either side.
"Oh man..."
He ran his fingertips over his gelled-up mohawk, and opened the car door and got out. The other car was a lot bigger than his small one, but was still totalled. Both front windscreens were smashed, and there wasn't much left of either motor. As for the driver of the other car...
"Holy..."
Kirk covered his mouth with his hand, before realizing he needed to do something. The driver was slumped over the steering wheel, unconscious.
"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit..." Kirk cursed, rushing over.
He opened the guy's door, but hesitated before sitting him up. There was a small gash on his forehead - the car's airbags obviously failing to stop him hitting his head on the wheel and knocking himself out.
"Oh shit."
"Is he ok?!" came a cry from behind.
Kirk spun around, hitting his head on the door. Rubbing it, he noticed the car he'd tried to overtake had turned around and come back. The passenger - a woman - had come to investigate.
"I... I don't know. Do you have a phone?!"
"Yes."
"Call an ambulance!"
The woman pulled out her cell phone and dialed. Kirk turned back to the driver.
"Oh shit."
He reached across the man's chest, unbuckling his seat belt. He wasn't sure if he should move the guy or not. It was at this point he thought the driver looked familiar, but he couldn't place him.
"They're on their way," came the woman's voice soon after.
"Thanks alot."
She nodded, and came closer.
"Is he breathing?"
"I bloody well hope so."
Kirk paused for a moment, eyes on his chest. He was breathing. He sighed with relief. He'd never killed anyone before, and he certainly wasn't going to start now.
It was a few moments before the woman saw the driver's face.
"Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed, "isn't that..."
Kirk spun around to face her.
"Taylor Hanson?"
Kirk turned back to him, and stared at him for a moment.
"Oh shit."
Mouse
Mouse sat in the sun outside the coffee shop, eyes closed and head tilted back to feel the warmth on her face. She'd ditched the policy of trying to look like a nobody, and the cats had helped her a *lot* on that side of things. Something to do with Bastet's claim, or so they said. Whatever. They bought her stuff that the Hansons really couldn't afford to. Like an apartment, clothes, computer, credit cards...list went on. And Sabre had set her up a whole life in the computer system. She had papers now. She had an existence according to all the offical records now. Fafnir was lying by her feet contentedly, and then his head came up, tension rippling through his body. What?
Taylor... Mouse sat up as his worried tone filled her head.
*What*?
Blood, and flames. We better go! Mouse was already rising to her feet and grabbing her jacket as he took off. Their feet pounded the pavement as Fafnir unerringly headed to where he could sense Taylor. As they grew closer, his nose filled with the scent of blood, Taylor's blood but only a little, pain, fear, and the hot acrid smell of cars. He ran faster, and then the two skidded around a corner to see the accident scene.
"Taylor!" Mouse flew to the car she recognised as Taylor's and all the animals in the vicinity started to howl. Fafnir's lamenting tones filled the air as the pair ran towards the car. Mouse knocked this guy that was standing in front of the door to the side as she reached the car. "Taylor, sweetie," she ran her hands over his face as she babbled frantically, and then she turned, face white with rage to face the guy who was trying to sneak off.
He's the other driver. Fafnir confirmed, hackles rising and feral snarl reverberating through his chest.
"I am going to bloody kill you and feed you to my wolf." Mouse snapped her head around as she heard an ambulance's sirens approaching. "And don't you dare skip out, mister. That's my boyfriend, and I will track you down." Taylor's eyelids fluttered and Fafnir whined. "Fafnir will help me. Don't run, because then there wont be witnesses when I catch you. You can thank her for you continued existence," Mouse said icily and jerked her head in the direction of the female bystander. "Fafnir, gaurd. He moves, you have my permission to bite him." The wmoan gasped, but Mouse ignored her. She was so angry right now. The animal sounds rose in pitch.
Kirk and Taylor
Kirk gulped. He'd never been one for animals, and a snarling wolf facing him was certainly something new.
He looked up as the ambulance came tearing down the street. Hopefully the girl would nick off with the Hanson in the van and leave him be. Before the freaking cops got their hands on him. That was the last thing he needed, with what he was trying to do.
The ambulance screeched to a halt nearby, just as Taylor groaned and began to sit up. He squinted a little, not registering what was happening at first. Then he remembered.
"Oh man..."
He looked in the rear vision mirror, spotting the gash on his forehead. He touch it with his fingertips, flinching at the pain. Blood was now running down his face. Then he turned his attention to outside.
There was an ambulance, and officer with a stretcher, some other lady he didn't recognize, a punk bailed up by a wolf, and...
"Mouse?"
Mouse
"Yeah, sweetie?" Mouse sniffed back tears, and then turned her head to glare at the punk. "Don't you dare move. He won't be the only thing tracking you. Every single animal on the face of this earth will be after your blood." Fafnir took a step forward and bared his teeth. "I really, really mean it." Fafnir barked to emphasize her point, and then more dogs appeared in the street. Birds watched from the trees, silent now as Mouse focused. The gleam of cats eyes watched from the shadows. She turned back to Taylor, satisfied that the guy couldn't get away.
I hope he runs. Fafnir growled, and the other animals made vicious noises of agreement, even the birds.
"I said, leave him be unless he runs," Mouse snapped, reining them in slightly. "Taylor, you're bleeding. The ambulance is here now, but really, really try not to go asleep. You've probably got concussion, bruised ribs..." Mouse frowned in anxiety. "And I don't care how much of a hurry you're in, mate," she threw back over her shoulder. "You were speeding, you hit someone, so you can deal with the consequences, I don't care how important whatever you're worrying about is to you."
Kirk and Taylor
Kirk frowned a little, not understanding what she meant. Nothing was worrying him at the moment... except the snarling wolf in front of him. Oh, and that... but how would she know?
The two ambulance officers rushed over and moved Mouse out of the way.
"Sir?" the female officer began.
Taylor looked up at her, his vision slightly blurry.
"Yeah?"
The woman frowned, and glanced at the male officer. He looked into the car.
"Can you step out of the vehicle, or do you need help?" he asked.
"I can..." Taylor began, but didn't finish.
He moved his legs out the door, and slowly stood. As soon as he was on his feet, he fell backwards, dizzy. The officers caught him.
"We'll need to get you on the stretcher, sir," the woman insisted.
Taylor just nodded, before they lowered him onto the stretcher. Then the male officer began to wheel him to the back of the ambulance.
"Stay with me..." he kept repeating.
The female officer turned to the three bystanders.
"The ambulance can only take two people to the hospital," he said, looking between Mouse, Kirk, and the woman.
"Oh I'm not with them," the woman said immediately, "I simply called you. I'll stay and call for a tow truck."
The officer nodded, and looked between Mouse and Kirk.
Mouse
Mouse thought for a moment, then nodded descively. "He's with us." She gestured to the ounk guy with her chin, and walked over to Fafnir's side. "Disagree with me, and he'll bite you. Wolves go for the softer parts of their prey first, so..." she trailed away suggestively, her voice a low, angry whisper. "And he may not be the first thing to strike." She made a movement with her hand, and the birds in the trees around shrieked then fell silent again. "Eyes. How would you like to be blind?" She knelt beside Fafnir. You won't be able to come with us.
I know. The wolf licked her face, eyes still trained on the guy. He's hybrid.
Interesting. Mouse looked the guy over again, then took her necklace off her neck, giving it to the wolf. Take that to the Hansons. Make them come to the hospital. She patted his neck, and then stood. "Well?"
Kirk
Kirk frowned.
"I'm not going to the hospital..." he shook his head, recieveing a growl from Fafnir, "nuh ah. No way. You've stuffed me up more than enough already."
He hesitated, looking up at the birds.
"And what the hell have you done to the animals?"
"We need to go people!" the ambulance officer rushed, as he partner yelled out for her, "it's now or never. We have to go!"
Mouse
"I listen to them, and they listen to me. C'mon!" Mouse grabbed his arm, and as he tensed, shocked him with a little fear. "We're coming!" She dragged the guy over to the ambulance and when he hesitated again, sent a stronger dose of fear at him. He weakened enough that she could push him into the ambulance. As the officer slammed the door shut, she saw Fafnir take off. She took Taylor's hand into her own and concentrated on sending soothing feelings to him as her eyelids slid shut. "You know, glaring at me really isn't helping any," she commented, eyes still closed. "Tay, I sent Fafnir to go get your parents, alright? And you probably shouldn't go to sleep. Sleep and concussion don't mix, sweetie. Believe me, I know."
Taylor and Kirk
"You know from what?" Taylor croaked with a smile.
He squeezed her hand a little, then brought it to his mouth to his her.
"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. I'll be fine."
"What's your name sir?" the officer asked as the woman got in and began to take off.
"Umm..." he hesitated with a frown, "Taylor Hanson, that's it. Jordan Taylor."
The officer scribbled something onto a clip board.
Kirk rubbed his face and sat in the corner of the ambulance. He glanced at the girl, but avoided eye contact. She'd done something to him back there, and to the animals... Well to be honest it wouldn't surprise him if she was alien. He knew too many aliens already. What was it called when they controlled emotions? Empathy or telepathy, one or the other.
He groaned and buried his face in his arms. Man, he'd really screwed up big this time. He thought he was getting closer to the guy he was searching for and then this had to happen. He almost kills someone. And not just anyone, some major pop star. Great.
Fiddling with one of the many rings on his fingers, he quickly duplicated it and moved the second onto another finger. No one noticed. He touched his hair to make sure it was still spiked up. He'd have to colour it later. He was sick of black with silver streaks already.
Mouse
"Hard upbringing, remember? Not everyone has the good fortune to be brought up to be a pop star," Mouse said teasingly. "Had my share of cracked skulls. Good thing it's so hard." She leant down and put her hand on his forehead, taking in some of his residual pain, and then sat back up with a gasp. Ow. "And you, stop being so fidgety," she said crossly. Man, that guy was so edgy. She ran her hand over her head, making her hair scruff up more. At times like this, she really wished she was a telepath instead of an empath. The ambulance officer was distracted, so she slid over so she could whisper to him. "I don't know who you are, but my wolf pegged you as hybrid. I think you know what I'm talking about."
"Are you alright, miss?" The officer asked as he looked up from Taylor.
"I'm fine, thanks. Just make sure my guy gets to the hospital in one piece, please," Mouse said semi-seriously.
"Can do, miss, can do," the guy said cheerfully. "Just concussion and a few cracked ribs. This won't even need stitches."
"Thank God." Mouse raised her eyes to the ceiling, and then glared at the punk guy. "That does not get you off the hook. We're aliens, me and him. Why are you in Tulsa? I'm empath. And you are?"
Kirk
Kirk stared at her curiously for a moment. Ok, so she WAS alien...
"I'm... hybrid," he said softly so the officer couldn't hear, "I thought you were an empath. No offence, but I hate any powers that can meddle with the mind. It's a personal thing."
He cracked his knuckles.
"I'm a duplicator. Name's Steel. And I'm looking for someone in Tulsa, not that I wasn't born here," he frowned, "people just don't get it. Just because I only have the damn car and no place to stay or anything doesn't mean I'm an outsider. I'm all Tulsa. I know all the back streets."
He glared at the inside of the van, then glanced at Taylor and looked away.
Slowly, he reached a finger over to her hand - a finger with three rings on. He mentally selected one with a red jewel inside, and duplicted it onto her finger.
Mouse
Mouse looked uncomfortable at his reference to her using her powers on him. "Sorry. There's been a few bad scares lately." Then she noticed the ring. "And, wow!" The ambulance officer looked at her, and she hunched her shoulders in an instintive response, head looking down and away as she projected soothing and non-threatening vibes. The guy shrugged and turned back to his work. "I mean, wow," she whispered. "I really should know better about messing with people's minds, but if you were involved with this guy, we had to know. He's not nice, rather scary even if he has been defanged, slightly." Mouse rubbed her hand tiredly over her face. "I've been chanelling the wolf too much. I'm all grrr, attack now and ask questions later. Sorry. Again. I still can't believe I basically dragged you into the ambulance," she moaned into her hands. "Much too much empathing with the wolf. So gonna go and bond with a solitary, non-violent non-pack animal next time."
Kirk
Kirk frowned a little and stared up at her in confusion.
"What guy are you talking about?" he asked, the confused expression still on his face.
"And I'm just... I just think that a person's mind is the only place they can go to get away from the world as it is. It's not any good if people can intrude and ruin it for you. Although that goes more for telepaths than, um, empaths," he admitted, "I hope I'm making sense."
Mouse
"Does. Still sorry about it though," Mouse said softly. "The guy's name is the Spider. Well, that's what YIRAAS calls him anyway. He's basically one of the worst criminals they've ever had to deal with, and a while back he tried to do some stuff to the Hansons. So, I'm kinda edgy cos I don't like him anyway, on account of what he did to me, and cos he threatens what I consider to be my only family besides my animals." Her expression softened slightly as she thought about what she termed her 'pack'. "If you're looking for someone, I'd be glad to help. I'm still looking for some people myself, maybe we can cut a deal?" Mouse raised an eyebrow and tilted her head to the side as she looked at him.
Kirk
"Sorry but... I don't think you can help me find who I'm looking for," he glanced up at her and looked down at his hands, "all I know about the guy I'm searching for is that he's turning twenty sometime this year and that he has blue eyes."
He hesitated, watching the officer and Taylor.
"I'm hoping he's still in Tulsa. I kinda... I guess you could say I'm responsible for him being alive today, so I'm pretty desperate to find him... or his twin. I guess I'm just hoping that when I find him it'll 'click' and I'll just know."
He fiddled with another ring.
"...And I'll just know that it's him."
Mouse
"Ah, one of *those* things." Mouse nodded; eyes a bit distant. "Same with me and the Spider, but that's a story you really don't want to hear. I'd like to help though, if I can. I've been lucky; a few weeks ago, I was on the streets myself. Still think I'll end up back there. You need a hand, most animals know where to find me. At least in Tulsa." She grinned at him, and then looked at Taylor. "Still angry at you about the whole putting my boyfriend into this situattion, but I kinda stuffed around with you as well, so fairly even."
Kirk
"I'm not particularly fond of animals," Kirk shuddered, "and I definately can't say enough sorrys to make up for what I've done in my lifetime. At least I haven't killed anyone. And I don't intend to start."
It was about then that the ambulance pulled into the hospital, and the male officer began to get the stretcher ready to move Taylor.
As they pulle dup, the driver got out to open the doors. Kirk jumped out before they rolled the stretcher out, and began to take Taylor inside.
"If you two would go through that door, you can see your friend once he's been cleared," the woman indicated a door to a waiting area nearby, before shutting the back doors of the ambulance and getting in to move it.
Kirk looked to Mouse for confirmation.
Mouse
"Fine." She nodded briefly and set off towards the door, every line in her screaming tension. She looked back over her shoulder. "Coming? We are so not done yet, Steel." She set off again, breath starting to come in uneven pants. God, she wished she had at least one of her animals with her. Hospitals were so not her favourite places to be. Even if it wasn't her this time. She could sense him follow her, and she just kept blindly walking into the waiting room, curled up on a chair and stuck her hands over her eyes, screwing her eyes shut. No good. All the pain/sorrow/fear/anger/anguish beat, beat, beat at her. She cracked an eye open to look at Steel as he sat beside her. "Bad place. Bad associations. Bad vibes." She concentrated on withdrawing all her senses, managing marginally well. Mouse fought back the urge to scream.
Kirk
"Now you know why I didn't want to come here. Too much tension. EVen a non-empath can feel it," he screwed up his face, glad they were in an isolated part of the waiting area so they could talk openly.
A few people gave him odd stares as they walked past.
"Damn I hate public places. Give me the streets anyday," he cursed.
Leaning back, he put his feet up on the small table in front of them, the chain for his wallet falling from his pocket and making a noise against the seat.
It was just over an hour before they heard anything. A nurse came into waiting room, spoke to the registrar, and she nodded to Mouse and Kirk.
"You can go and see him now."
"Follow me," the nurse indicated down the hall.
Mouse
Fafnir padded in and went straight to Mouse, ptting her necklace back in her hands. They're coming. They're all very worried. She slid the necklace back over her head, rainbow gem sparkling.
Yeah, well, they're not the only ones. You'll need to stay outside. alright? Mouse knelt beside her wolf and breathed in his scent as she placed her arms around his neck, grounding herself for the ordeal she knew was ahead. See ya in a few. She got up and he loped outside, flashing her a grin at the door.
He's strong, your mate. He'll be fine, Mouse.
Not my mate, Fafnir. I've gotta go. Mouse turned back to the nurse who was waiting impatiently.
"Animals are not allowed inside hospital premises."
"That's why I told him to wait outside," Mouse said briefly as she started off down the corridor. "Which room?" The nurse hurried after her, heels clicking on the clean linoleum floors. "Coming?" She threw back over her shoulder, and felt Steel walk after the two of them.
"He's in here." The woman opened the door and Mouse slipped inside.
"Hey, Tay. Fafnir went and got your parents, so they should be here soon, and I think the hospital called them anyway, and I'm babbling so I'll stop now." Mouse took a breath. "How are you feeling?" She sat in the chair next to his hospital bed, eyes wide with worry. "That's Steel. He's kinda alien too. Hybrid. Looking for someone, but he can tell you about that himself, if he wants too." Mouse spared a glance at the uncomfortable looking punk, and then refocused on Taylor. "Anyway, he's not with the Spider, which is what I was really worried about. I know you guys think he's gone, but he's supremely vindictive. He will be back."
Kirk and Taylor
"Tell Fafnir thanks," Taylor said slowly, smiling as he took her hand.
He regarded Kirk with interest.
"Hybrid, huh? We seem to be meeting a lot of them them lately," he chuckled, slowly trying to sit up.
He moved the pillows behind him making it easier, then flinched at the pain in his chest.
"Damn ribs."
"Yeah, I'm a hybrid," Kirk spoke up suddenly, "duplicator."
"Sorry?"
"Duplicator."
Taylor glanced at Mouse, confused.
Kirk rolled his eyes, and looked around. He spotted Mouse's necklace. He made his way over to her, touched the pendant, then quickly caught it's duplicate as it fell from his hand. Taylor's eyes widened.
"Ok, now I get it. And where did Mouse find you?"
"Mouse? That's a weird name."
Mouse
"Like 'Steel'" she made air quote marks, "isn't. It's my street tag. My other name's Jane. Jane Hall. And I found him standing next to the car accident. He's the other driver. And yes, I know," Mouse said quickly as she raised a hand to forestall the inevitable comments. "Very stupid of me. Kind of blinded by pack rage at the time. And we did need to know if it was personal, or just accidental. But I think it was more or less accidental. Speeding is bad. Learn this before you get behind the wheel of a car again," Mouse shot at Steel.
Kirk and Taylor
"Street tag?" Kirk looked her over, "you certainly don't look like a street rat."
"You're the other driver?" Taylor frowned up at him.
"Yeah. Wrong place, wrong time," he stole a glance at Mouse, "and yes, it was an accident. i was trynig to avoid plowing into the car in front of me."
He scratched his head.
"Instead I ended up totalling the car of a pop star. So not my day, I tell you. And I don't give a shit if people say it's wrong. Like I give a crap about the law."
Taylor glanced at Mouse.
"Mouse said you were looking for someone," he began again after a moment's silence.
"Yeah. But that's none of your business."
Taylor held his hands up in surrender.
"Ok it's not. Just seeing if I could help."
"Well you can't."
It was then that Kirk noticed Taylor had blue eyes. He stood stock still for a moment, an interested look on his face. It made Taylor feel uneasy.
"What?"
"How old are you?"
"Why?" Taylor glanced at Mouse, confused.
"How old are you?"
"Nineteen. Twenty next month. If I live that long... It was a joke!" he amended, seeing the look on Kirk's face.
Kirk felt his heart skip a beat. He hadn't even heard the last thing Taylor had said.
"Do you have a twin brother by any chance?" he frowned.
"No, I don't," Taylor shook his head.
Kirk cursed to himself and turned away. Man, that was close.
Mouse
"I don't look like a street rat cos I got lucky and got out of them," Mouse snapped, seething. "And that was only a few weeks ago. So, don't even!" She got up out of her chair, eyes spitting sparks. "I don't care about the law either, as long as I can stay well clear of it. So, not really caring about anything illegal you're doing. But," she raised a finger, "you hurt someone I care about. That is bad. Very bad, considering how much time I spend communing with a wolf. The traits start to rub off after a while. Someone offers to help you, and you just blow them off? And this guy you're looking for, I hope you find him. I do. But that does not give you the license to be rude, *punk*." She raised her head and stared him in the eyes, suddenly feeling very wolf like. "You're fine. He's hurt. And you're being an ass!" She threw her hands up in frustration. "So wishing I had Sab and Nyx to back me up."
Kirk and Taylor
"I wasn't going off at anyone!" Kirk exclaimed, then stopped himself.
"And you're boyfriend's fine. Geez. It's not like I meant for this to happen."
Taylor frowned slightly, having noticed his personality change.
"You think I have something to do with the person you're looking for?" he asked solomnly.
"No."
"I don't believe you."
"Look," Kirk flared up, "I thought you might have, all right? But you're not. Close, but no. The only thing I know about this guy is that he's twenty this year and has blue eyes..."
"That's not alot to go from."
"I know already!"
Taylor hesitated, closing his eyes. He couldn't stand the pain in his chest and the huge headache.
"Is he alien?"
"Yeah. And so's his older brother. I screwed up, that's how I know."
"How? Reveal your power?"
"It was about nineteen years ago! I don't remember!" he rubbed his face, "but I need to find this guy. I'm responsible for him being alive. I'll... I have to go."
With that, Kirk began to leave.
Mouse
"Don't. I'm sorry." Mouse reached out and put a hand on his arm. "I'm stressed, alright? I tend to react badly when I'm stressed." Not even thinking about it, she started to feed him calming vibes, calming herself down at the same time. "If you're responsilbe for him being alive, is that a bad thing? Is that why you're looking for him?"
Taylor and Kirk
Kirk sighed, scratching his head and turned back to her.
"I don't know if it's bad or not. I... I just wanted to see if I could duplicate living things, so I experimented with a baby in a park. I was only seven or eight. Who knows?"
He scratched his arm uncomfortably.
"I just... I've been searching for the kid for about ten years and I haven't found him yet. When I said I screwed up... the kid was an alien, but something happened when I duplicated him, and the clone got his brother's power. I don't even remember what the hell it is."
He hesitated.
"I think I've told you more than I should," he raised his eyebrows.
Then he turned and left the room, making his way down the hallway.
Taylor coughed.
"I... ok. I though he meant he had a son," he frowned, "well... wow."
Mouse
"Wow is right. Do ya reckon I should send the word out that he's to be tracked without being alerted? Your father will want to talk to him for sure." Mouse rubbed her hand uneasily; she'd got a lot of confused emotions from the guy.
Taylor
Taylor nodded slowly.
"I guess he's never going to make the same mistake again," he raised his eyebrows, "but keeping an eye on him would be a good idea. I hate to think we can't help him in some way."
He looked over at her, leaning back, flinching at the pain, before reaching for her hand. Taking it, he kissed the back of it.
"They want to keep me in overnight for observation," he groaned with a grin, "hospital food. Oh joy."
Mouse
"Tell me about it." Mouse rolled her eyes. "It's the same all over. Always bad. I wish I could stay, but they'll probably kick me out." Mouse sighed unhappily. "You'll be fine though. Just bored."
Taylor
"I'll be missing you," he smiled, kissing her hand again, "and I bet they won't let me sleep either. I'll be dog tired for the next few days."
He chuckled.
"Oh man that hurts," he groaned, his chest hurting when he laughed.
But the smile didn't leave his face. He was just happy that Mouse was there.
"But yeah, keep an eye on 'Steel'," he prompted, "might do to keep hold of him. That duplication power seems pretty cool."
Zac
"Taylor!" Diana said, stepping into the room. "Taylor are you okay, honey?"
Close behind her was Zac. He gave Taylor a cheeky grin before saying:
"Oh gee, Taylor, I know that the idea of facing the fans again scares you, but that's no reason to collide with another car," he teased.
"For your information Zac, it wasn't my fault," Taylor raised his eyebrows, wagging a finger at him, "some punk guy named 'Steel' overtook a car at top speed and slammed right into me."
Then he looked towards Diana.
"I'm fine Mom. Just... concussed and cracked ribs. Which hurt like hell," he flinched, "makes it hard to laugh. And they won't let me fall asleep in case I slip into a coma."
He rolled his eyes sarcastically.
"Where's Dad?"
"Your father stayed home, but he will come later," Diana replied, petting his face.
Taylor flinched as she touched near the gash.
Zac
"Careful Mom, his brains might fall out. Y'know, what he has left of them," Zac teased.
Mouse
Mouse had retreated to a corner to let Taylor's family near him. She was having a hard enough time coping with the far away emotions, let alone the up and close and personal ones here. "Don't, Zac. Please. Hospitals are bad enough for empaths as it is, and I really don't have good memories associtated with them anyway." She hugged her arms about herself, head down and eyes closed as she struggled to shut her senses down, at least a little.
"Calm down, Jane. Just concentrate on the idea of a shield being around you, like a bubble, covering all of you and keeping everything else away." Mouse felt herself begin to calm down as Diana talked to her, a soothing hand on her arm and matching emotions blanketing her raw sensabilities.
"Thanks." Mouse raised her head again as she got control over herself again.
"Any time, dear," Diana said softly. "You haven't had much training. I've been rather amiss."
"No, no, you've all been just perfect," Mouse hastened to reassure her. "Just, that guy and the crash, and everything. I'm fine now. Really."
Taylor
Taylor kept an eye on his girlfriend, worried for her.
Maybe if she spent more time with his mother she could learn alot more about empathy, and how to control it. They seemed to get on well, so that wasn't a problem.
"They want to keep me under observation tonight," he said to his mother and Zac, "make sure I don't run off anywhere I guess."
He chuckled a little, flinching again.
"That's fine. Your father can come and get you tomorrow."
Taylor just nodded.