Brendan collapsed onto the floor, struggling to breathe. The late afternoon sunlight gave off enough illumination to make out Trevor’s furious face as the other man strode toward him. He whimpered, pain flooding his brain and nerves. He spat out blood, flinching away from Trevor’s gentle touch.
“Hey, I got you,” Trevor said in a soothing voice. “I’m here.”
“Cops,” Brendan slurred.
“I know. I saw them leaving the apartment. I knocked them out in the hall.”
Strong arms gathered him close and Brendan was lifted into the air. He couldn’t tell if it was Trevor’s telekinesis or if the other man was just that strong. Brendan blinked, suddenly finding himself stretched out on his bed with Trevor leaning over him. One warm hand gently cradled his face and he couldn’t stop himself from turning into the touch.
“Are you with me?”
“Yes.” Brendan blinked slowly, swollen fingers twitching against the duvet. “Did you bring fajitas?”
Trevor blinked before ducking his head. He let out a soft, disbelieving laugh. “No. No, I didn’t. Missed the delivery by a couple of seconds when I got your call.”
Brendan’s eyes drifted shut. “Owe me fajitas.”
Trevor gently stroked his cheek. “Yeah. That dinner date is definitely happening as soon as you’re safe.”
Brendan lost time after that, drifting in and out. Voices came and went but the one constant was Trevor. Brendan surfaced from the pain when a female voice he didn’t recognize started talking with an authority he couldn’t ignore.
“At least you let them live, Trevor. The broken jaws aren’t helpful for getting information out of them.”
“You’re a telepath. Read their minds, Katie.”
Brendan blinked slowly, turning his aching head to stare at the tall, beautiful blonde woman dressed in a cobalt blue ball gown standing in his bedroom. Behind her, guarding the door, was a dangerous-looking man in a tuxedo to whom everyone was giving a wide berth.
“Why’s a princess in my room?” Brendan slurred. “‘S’not Halloween yet.”
The man in the tuxedo covered his laugh with a cough. The woman looked at him, the expression on her face reminding Brendan of his mother when she was preparing to rip some poor rookie cop a new one. Then it faded into something gentler.
“Hey, there,” she said quietly. “I’m Katie, one of Trevor’s old teammates. I’m going to take care of the men who attacked you while Trevor here takes you to a hospital.”
“I’m taking Brendan to Medical instead of a civilian hospital,” Trevor said, crouching into view. Brendan’s vision was a little blurry from a hit to the head, but even he could make out the fury in Trevor’s eyes.
“Need to stop meeting like this,” Brendan muttered.
Trevor cracked a smile and touched his aching shoulder. “The paramedics are finally here. I’m going to ride with you to base.”
Brendan closed his eyes. “Okay.”
He didn’t remember much of getting put on a hovergurney and escorted out of his apartment, nor the ride to wherever he was going. All Brendan knew was that everything hurt, and he couldn’t think clearly enough to answer the questions the paramedics asked him. Brendan had the vague thought that all his old patients must’ve hated him because he wouldn’t leave them alone when they were in pain.
The only constant was Trevor. Every time Brendan opened his eyes, Trevor was there, ready with a touch or a look, letting him know he wasn’t alone. Knowing that helped keep the panic at bay, especially when he was brought into an emergency room manned by people in scrubs and military-type uniforms.
Brendan let the chatter wash over him, keeping his eyes closed and holding onto Trevor’s hand. Warm fingers touched his forehead and the pain—stopped. The cessation was so sudden and unexpected that he gasped, eyes snapping open.
An African-American woman in a white coat stood by his hovergurney, kind brown eyes staring down at him. “Hello, Brendan. I’m Dr. Gracie Gold. You’ve got a lot of injuries we need to catalogue before I can heal them.”
“They don’t hurt,” Brendan said, sounding confused.
Movement to his left made Brendan turn his head, blinking at where Trevor stood close by.
“Gracie here is a metahuman with the power to heal others. She looked after me and my team every time we came off the field. You’re in good hands,” Trevor promised.
“She’s better than painkillers.”
Dr. Gold laughed. “Maybe. I’m going to stop touching you now, and we’re going to give you some of those painkillers before we start the exam.”
