Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ A Matter Of Choice ❯ Dealing With The Consequences ( Chapter 32 )

Dealing With The Consequences

 

Tegan woke to find her body a throbbing mass of pain. She opened her eyes slowly, the dawn light breaking gently through the curtains. She saw the hospital blanket that lay over her and remembered what she had done the previous night. So much for the bloody morphine! She sat up slowly, every movement sending fresh waves of pain through her, then shuffled her way to the bathroom. She turned on the tap to run herself a bath, hoping to find some relief in the warm water. Shuffling back into the bedroom she picked up the first pair of pyjamas out of the drawer and her biggest softest towel. When the water had run to her satisfaction, she slid gingerly into the warm water, slowly with much effort, sitting up to avoid wetting the strapping at her left shoulder.

 

As she soaked the warmth in the water started to wake her up properly. The pain her body began to feel more focused, centralising around her wounds. She had stitches down her left side where she had surgery to pin her ribs together. She had fresh stitches in her right side where the chest drain had been. She removed the dressings on these wounds and gently bathed them, easing the dried blood away, the colour swirling and diluting in the water. She watched the swirls of colour bitterly thinking how such a sight was commonplace for her. She left the wounds to soak away the build-up of matter that always came with such wounds. She would redress them after her bath. Then she would look at the mess that Rachel had made of her throat.

 

As she lay there in the warmth she thought of Torin and the tentative truce that had been made between them. Something about him bothered her, but she couldn't put her finger on it. He and Demetriov had been lovers once, but yet he showed no great loyalty to him. It just didn't seem right. The fact that they acted more like friends than enemies rang alarm bells too. In fact ever since she had first laid eyes on him his behaviour towards her had been very odd. He had been protective of her from the start, though his motives were difficult to define. The night of Stuart's death… well he had been there in a way that perhaps… perhaps it would have been Michael's place to comfort her like that had the situation not been so surreal, forcing her to break her ties to him.

 

Michael, it wasn't the first time that she had thought of him, nor would it probably be the last. She missed him more than words could express. No, perhaps it was time to be honest here. She missed what he gave her, the connection, having someone there for you, someone to hold, to give comfort… in more ways than one. She sighed feeling the crushing loneliness that was her companion more and more often these days. While she craved companionship, and Hell, a girl had needs you know, she had not been with another since the day she left him. How could she? There was no time, and to attempt to have a relationship with someone would be putting them in mortal danger. She was pretty sure that Demetriov would not hesitate to use someone against her. That and one night stands were not her style, would make her feel dirty and cheap. Also not wise when someone was hunting you.

 

Which brought her back to Torin. She was starting to suspect that his motives for protecting her ran along similar lines to Demetriov's for wanting to turn her. She was beginning to wonder if she was at the centre of some strange tug of war, with the two battling for her heart, though the two have very different ways of going about it. She shuddered at the way Demetriov made his intentions plane, disgusting her. Then there was gentle Torin. Could she really contemplate such a thing? He was a vampire after all. While he no longer killed everyday, it was what he was; a killer. Though she was starting to worry about her own reaction to him. She was not keeping nearly enough distance between them. There was only one thing for it. He said that he looked forward to the day they fought, well perhaps it was time she hunted him down.

 

Her decision made, she lay there in her thoughts and closed her eyes, before she knew it she was drifting a little. She jumped suddenly as she started to slide into the bath, the sudden jolt making the pain flare again. She had obviously dozed off for a minute. Slowly and painfully she pulled herself out of the bath. She dried herself gingerly before she dropped the towel. She pulled on her pyjama bottoms then opened her extensive medicine cabinet. She looked around her. She was getting low, she would have to go and restock things, but not until she had caught up on some sleep. Damn, she felt so tired, but she had barely been awake an hour. Gently she redressed her chest wounds, and then peeled back the dressing at her throat.

 

She couldn't believe the state of it. Even with the surgeon's careful stitching it looked like a mass of minced meat. She sighed before starting the lengthy process of cleaning it out and dressing it once more. Very carefully she pulled on her pyjama top; her left shoulder really didn't like being moved at all. She got out her stash of painkillers and gulped a couple back, noticing that she had finished the bottle. Well that could be dealt with later. With that she crawled back into bed and fell immediately asleep.

 

* * * * *

 

Days later, Torin watched in the shadows eagerly. He was waiting to see if Tegan would leave the apartment. He didn't know why, but he just had to know that she was okay. That and she amused him, intrigued him even. It wasn't too long before his patience was rewarded. She emerged hunched, her left arm wrapped round her body, and headed for the busy precinct. He followed noticing with a pang of regret, how she was a shade of her former self. She had dressed in loose clothes with a scarf wound loosely round her neck. Trying to hide her injuries no doubt.

 

She walked up to the ATM and drew out a big handful of dollars. Then she walked into drugstore after drugstore coming out with carrier bags every time. By the time she had ten she had either decided she had had enough, or that she had bought all the supplies she needed. She turned back towards the apartment, stopping in one last store, a liquor store. Torin smiled. He could hardly blame her. Every now and then we all need oblivion. He watched her until she disappeared inside her apartment building once more. He wondered why he felt he needed to do this, but shrugged the thought off, and went to hunt.

 

* * * * *

 

The next couple of weeks were a stream of takeaway meals and sleep. She slept almost all day and all night, her body taking the chance to heal, thought its efforts left her exhausted. Her dreams were filled with images, some of the fight, some of Torin, and others of the hospital. She often woke up in a sweat, nightmares of Rachel's near victory plaguing her. All in all it was a long few weeks. Even as she found herself regaining her strength and her energy, she knew she wasn't up to much, and was soon very bored with the current state of television. She found some solace in books and online, trying to keep her mind active at least while her body healed. She slipped into a routine for the sake of not going mad.

 

It continued till one night, about a month later, she woke up and she wasn't in pain. She wasn't tired anymore. She took off all of her dressings and looked at her wounds. They were almost fully healed and more than ready for the stitches to come out. She undertook that uncomfortable task first. She had to grit her teeth as she first cut them, before pulling them out, leaving a stinging heat in their place. She found herself hissing against a flash of pain more than once when one was particularly hard to remove. The last one removed she rubbed antiseptic salve into the wound sites, not wanting them to get infected later.

 

That done she looked at the wounds. Red scar tissue remained the testament to the horrific injuries of that night. She started to test her left shoulder. She could move it fully without any complaint. She removed the strapping and stretched; it felt good. She felt along her collarbone and felt the lump where the bone had fused together once more. With a sigh she stretched her whole body out, revelling in the feeling of strength and normality after the weeks of convalescence. She smiled with satisfaction; at last she was ready to train once again.

 

* * * * *

 

Demetriov sat reading the paper. The hype had all died down after Tegan's disappearance, only a comment was appearing in the papers now, but still that didn't stop him from following the story. He was only vaguely aware of footsteps approaching so engrossed in his reading. Torin smiled at Demetriov's look of concentration and settled himself by the fire. Obviously having finished his article, Demetriov looked up and acknowledged Torin's presence

 

“I wonder how Tegan is getting on.” Demetriov mused.

 

“Alright, or so it would seem.” He replied in an offhand manner.

 

“What makes you say that?” Demetriov folded his paper away.

 

“I've…how shall I put it, been keeping an eye on her.” He said with a smirk, a little gleam entering his emerald eyes as he spoke.

 

“I see.” Demetriov smiled, resisting the urge to smirk himself. “Do go on, what has our little madam been getting up to?”

 

“She went to a gym tonight, she's starting to train again.” Demetriov nodded in satisfaction. Things were going as he had hoped.

 

“How does she seem?”

 

“She looks well.” Torin replied brightly. “To look at her, when she has her hair up all you can see is the red scar at her throat. Other than that, I'm not sure you can tell.” Torin seemed far away through his account.

 

“We shall not have long, before she is after us once again.” Demetriov said with a small smile that went unnoticed by his companion.

 

“And after this, who knows what she is capable of.” Torin mused coming back to himself.

 

“Indeed. We have all assumed that she cannot do this. Maybe, if she had not been a vampire's daughter things would have been very different.”

 

“I'm certain of it. She wouldn't have lasted five minutes. She would have been lucky to get a kill at all.”

 

“I agree old friend.”

 

“A simple mistake.” Torin voiced the thought.

 

Demetriov's heart skipped a beat. Did Torin suspect the truth?

 

“I wouldn't say it was a mistake, just an unusual twist of fate. You know how rarely a girl has been born into her family. Imagine if she had been a boy child. I think we would have been up against an adversary the like of which we have never seen before.”

 

Torin thought about this for a moment.

 

“But she is unlike any other hunter that has been before her. And it isn't just the fact she is a woman. There is something about her that is entirely unique. She is possibly the most formidable opponent we have ever faced. ”

 

“I agree; she is so much more intelligent than the others have been.”

 

“I believe the saying goes the brains and the brawn.”

 

The comment made Demetriov laugh.

 

“So true. I wouldn't have thought of it myself, but it is so true. Unusual that because of her genes she has both.”

 

“But that is why she is so dangerous Demetriov. The young ones have underestimated her so much. And if we are honest, so have we. You are the oldest of us all but I think even you have underestimated her capabilities.”

 

Demetriov sighed.

 

“Indeed old friend, she has grown stronger than we could have imagined. Who would have thought it? The night we took Stuart she seemed so weak and helpless, despite his training. Who knew that she would turn around and become as strong as she has? After all, she has managed to survive something her predecessors would not.”

 

Torin remembered the night they had ambushed Stuart night. He remembered her cries as he held her back while Demetriov killed her uncle. He remembered how her anguish had pierced him to the heart. He remembered her pain and how she had fought against him, and the feeling of hidden strength inside of her. He remembered the shame, and how he had wanted to hold her close and soothe that pain away. He could barely stand to see the young girl suffer. She was innocent, she had done none of them any harm, and how they had hurt her. And yet to look at her now, but they had to take some responsibility for what she had become.

 

“I think we are to blame.” He stated to Demetriov.

 

“For what?” Demetriov was bemused.

 

“For her taking up this role; it was a reaction to Stuart's death. Had we done it when Stuart was alone I don't think his death would have affected her so. After all, he had been preparing her for it. Then perhaps we would not find ourselves with a dwindling number of companions.” He stated pointedly, laying the blame out before him.

 

They sat in silence for a while, Demetriov looking away, trying not to show the annoyance that he suddenly felt. Torin had hit a nerve, but Demetriov decided it was better this way. This way was so much more interesting.

 

“Be that as it may.” He stated, breaking the silence. “What's done is done. She seems to be making the best of it, and so should we.”

 

With that he rose out of his chair, deciding that this discussion was over. Torin on the other hand was not happy to leave it at that.

 

“So that is it then. I wonder, how much longer are you going to wait before you start your hunt? How many more will have to die?” He asked with a certain amount of venom in his tone.

 

Demetriov turned to him, eyes narrowed in irritation. The fact that Torin would actually question his judgement irked him.

 

“I will make my move when I choose to Torin and you know that. I believe she deserves the chance to get back on her feet, so I shall give her some time naturally.”

 

Torin snorted in reply. “In other words you want her fighting fit, and want to face her at full strength.”

 

Demetriov smiled narrowly. “Indeed.” He replied evenly. “It would be an insult to her to attack her when she is weakened after this.”

 

“Oh don't play all noble Demetriov.” Torin sneered. “You just want the hunt to be as exciting as possible. She's nothing but a plaything to you isn't she?”

 

It was Demetriov's turn to sneer. “Don't you dare judge me Torin, you have no idea what she is to me. Now I think you have involved yourself with this matter far too much. I don't know what happened between you and her when I sent you to watch her, but I suggest that it comes to an end and now!”

 

With that he turned on his heel and stormed out. Torin meanwhile turned his gaze to the fire. He had the feeling that sometime soon Tegan was going to be in a lot of trouble.

 

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Author's notes:

Whee, she's up about and ready to go. So next time she faces Torin… oh what an interesting situation that promises to be.