#soft? soft

It didn’t even occur to Erin that she had been the one contacted by the hospital until she was nearly there. At some point, probably after the accident at the warehouse, Marley had made her an emergency contact. Her brain rattled too fiercely in her skull to let that thought do anything but settle at the top of her consciousness. There’d been an accident. The woman on the other line had vaguely explained more but she only half heard it on her way out the door. Marley was in the hospital. She was stable, she remembered the woman saying, and while that did offer some comfort, another anxiety was dredging up her insides. Under no circumstance should Marley Stryder be in a hospital right now.

“Why is the blood blue?”

“Couldn’t say. I’ve never seen anything like it. When she wakes up, we’ll take some tests--”

Erin whizzed by the small group of doctors circling the nurse’s station, noses buried in files. Marley’s files. Her feet moved faster, so focused that she nearly missed her room entirely. Her heart dropped and her legs grew heavy after a moment. She was stable, she reminded herself. It looked worse than it was. Probably. “Marley,” she whispered, closing the door behind her. Her throat tightened as she drew closer and she had to clear it to speak again. “Marley, hey--can you hear me? It’s Erin,” she whispered louder, retaining it’s softness even as she touched a gentle hand to her hair, brushing it away from her eyes so she could get a better look at the bruise beneath it. She swallowed hard. “You’ve got to wake up. We have to go.”

The last thing Marley remembered was blue sky. It must’ve been a nice day out. A voice whispered to her through the haze of beeps and whirrs. When her eyes opened, she was staring at Erin. What was Erin doing here? Wasn’t she supposed to be at work? This wasn’t the precinct. She tried to sit up, brushing Erin’s hand away, but fell back immediately as she cringed in pain. “Oh, shit,” she hissed, grasping her ribs. “Oh, fuck...what-- where am I?” She’d lost time again. She couldn’t remember what happened. She needed to remember. Why was that thought familiar? “What-- is this the hospital?” She wheezed and her head throbbed and when she touched it, pain spiked. The world shifted once, fog filled, eerie-- then the hospital room was back. She blinked, looking at Erin. There were voices outside. “Shit…” her face paled in realization. “Help me up. Get-- get this stupid IV out of my arm.” 

Guilt washed over Erin, rushing her like this felt wrong, and there were a thousand questions she wanted to ask. How the hell did this happen? Was she okay? Where did it hurt? There wasn’t time for that. “Stay still,” she murmured, carefully slipping the needle out of her before unplugging the machines she’d been hooked up to altogether. “Can you walk?” she asked instead of the dozen other ones she wanted to, gingerly helping her as much as she could. Guess she didn’t have a choice, huh? Her eyes were glued to the bandage on her head, dreading the worst. She’d had the brief foresight to grab some clothes before she left--just a t-shirt and sweatpants--for this exact reason. Her clothes were nowhere in sight, likely damaged or cut off in the ambulance on the way over. “Do you need help?” She asked, grabbing her medical file. Some of the words she recognized, but the others she had a feeling Queenie would better understand. She unclipped the files and put the whole thing into her bag. 

“Yeah, yeah, of course I can--” but Marley was proven wrong when her feet slipped underneath her and she felt her legs wobble. “Fuck.” What had happened? She couldn’t remember. She needed to remember. A flash of something behind her eyes. A tree. Several trees. A voice from a speaker. She grabbed her head again. “Just-- lemme lean on you.” She looked around the room, too, for her belongings. Keys and wallet on the table in the corner, but no clothes. No gun. No badge. Had someone taken them? She leaned hard against Erin, squeezing her ribs painfully. “Fuck, how are we gonna get by the doctors?” She glanced at Erin with a look of worry, annoyance, then down to the clothes she was holding out to her now. “Right..” she grabbed the pants and tugged them on, before reaching down to try and pull the gown off. She groaned in pain as she pulled it from her torso, breathing heavily. At least she still had a bra on. “They better now have...cut my jacket…” she grumbled. It was also nowhere in the room. She waved Erin over. “Help me get this hoodie on.” 

Erin’s attention jumped to Marley again, her little groans of pain searing through her. “We’ll get you a new jacket,” she tried to lightly tease over the worry in her voice. Winced at the bruising along her ribcage. Matched up with the broken ribs she saw noted in her file. “Take it slow, here,” she murmured, doing as much of the work as she could in pulling the hoodie over her. Slow but not too slow. She glanced at the door, knowing they only had a few more minutes at max before someone would be checking in. Marley was moving slow though. Too slow. She took the liberty of helping her get her shoes on while she was at it. “Uh, just--wait here. One second,” she nodded at her once she was about ready to go. She slipped out of the room quickly, closing the door behind her. An alarm went off--code something or other--and the doctors’ and nurses' attentions were all scrambling down the hall to assist. Erin poked her head back in, reaching for Marley’s hand. “Time to go,” she hurried her, pulling her along gingerly out of the room and opposite of the hall.

Marley was semi-relieved when Erin took the liberty of sliding her shoes on for her. She hadn’t looked forward to bending down like that, knowing the pain in ribs. Erin really was trying her best to cover up her worry and move them along, but Marley made a mental note to point that out later. When they were far, far away from the hospital. She moved as fast as she could, leaning into Erin and clutching her ribs. As they limped down the hallway, Marley reached up and pulled the bandages from her head. She couldn’t look like a patient, they could catch on. Dumped the bloody remains in a trashcan. She hoped no one checked that trash. She didn’t need more people knowing about her blue blood. “How’d you know?” she asked once they were away from the room and nearing the front doors. “That I was here?”

Erin didn’t let go of her or even slow down until they were stepping outside of the hospital doors. She gave her a small smile. “I’m your emergency contact,” she stated matter of factly, leading her through the parking lot. There were no eyes on them, no one following them. They’d made it out and were pulling out once Erin had managed to toss her into the car. Quiet for a few moments, though her hand had found Marley’s again, her throat too tight to express herself properly but the squeeze of her hand did it for her. They weren’t out of the woods yet. “What happened?” She finally asked, glancing over quickly, turning down the road that led back to the funeral home. 

When had they gotten to the car? Marley remembered windows passing by, the bright sunlight as they slunk through the shadows. That must’ve been the parking lot. She rubbed her eyes again, wincing at the pain. Touched her brow. It must’ve been bruised. “Don’t get smug,” she grumbled, leaning back in the chair. When she opened them again, her vision flickered. There was a steering wheel in front of her. The sound of tires screeching. She’d lost control of her body, her hands. The sound of Erin’s voice brought her back and she blinked, dazed. “I--” she started, stopped. She knew but she didn’t. What had happened? “I think I...crashed my car.” That would make sense, wouldn’t it? The pain in her ribs, the bruise on her head. “I was talking to someone. I don’t remember who.”

“You think?” Blurted out of Erin’s mouth before she could stop herself. “Did you--” she started, glancing over at her, mindful enough to calm her tone. “Did you have another one? A seizure?” She asked, concern filling her voice. She should have thought about that. Should have better prepared them both. The ride back was short, the hospital only a street over, and she was pulling into the driveway before she could ask more questions. She had so many more. A heavy breath left her and she was hopping out and over to Marley’s side of the car before she could even open the door. “You’re staying here tonight. No arguments,” she told her plainly. Worry crept back up her throat. Marley’s doctor was going to love this. She’d call her as soon as she had the other woman settled and comfortable. “Come on. We’re not fleeing out of a building anymore. Easy does it. As slow as you need,” she nodded. “I’ve got you.”

“I don’t know,” Marley snapped back, putting her head in her hands. It was beginning to burn, ache, like a migraine. She shook her head. “I-- I can’t remember. I did hit my head, after all.” Again. She needed to stop doing that. They pulled up to the house and Marley pressed her palms into her eyes while she waited for Erin to open the door, letting her help her out of the car, basically falling into her grasp as she did so. “Nice bedside manner,” she teased quietly, “much more improved since the last time.” Not that she really wanted to think about that. Last time had been stitches in her face. At least this time, she didn’t have to do that. As she watched her feet, they seemed to swirl with fog. You shouldn’t be here. Her head snapped up. “Did-- did you hear that?” 

No matter how often Marley joked about it, those comments about her head never ceased to make Erin’s body tense. She’d humor her, knowing it was one of the best ways the other woman knew how to cope. Not today. “I’m aware,” she shot back with barely concern-fueled annoyance. Still, she clutched her tightly, guiding her towards the front door. Narrowed her eyes, grumbling. “My bedside manner is fine. You’re just annoying.” Suddenly though, Marley was on alert, and considering everything about this town, she stopped in her tracks. Quiet as she listened for something. Nothing but the usually small town buzzing in the background. The chirp of birds, cars driving past the house, the wind rustling through the trees. “No?” She said after a moment, raising a brow at her. “Hear what?” She narrowed her eyes. “You’re not hearing a ringing, are you? Because if you are, your doctor’s going to need to know. I’ll tell her even if you won’t.”

Marley furrowed her brow. “Not a ringing,” she mumbled, leaning back against Erin as they started back up towards the house. She really wanted to sit down. Turns out getting in a car accident made you tired. She slumped for a moment before readjusting herself. “No. It was…” But Erin was looking at her in concern again and Marley had no idea what to say to her. She couldn’t just tell her she’d heard a voice, that would make her more worried and that was the last thing she wanted. “Nothing. Must just be...my head.” She put her hand back up to the bruise that was surely sprouting-- she’d need to look at that later-- and breathed in deep. “Can we please just get inside? I really need to sit down.” Whatever was going on with her, she’d have to figure that out later. It had to do with whatever she saw in that place, whatever that place was. She had to know. She had to figure it out. She had to go back.

“Don’t like the sound of that either,” Erin mumbled, watching her warily for a few moments. She wasn’t sure exactly what to look for when it came to concussions or otherwise--she didn’t remember seeing that mentioned in her chart--but her eyes were glued on her nonetheless. “Yeah,” she answered more softly, letting go of her only to unlock the front door as quickly as she could. “Come on,” she said, ushering her inside, an arm firmly around her waist as she led her up the stairs. Like if she let go again, for even a moment, she’d break. Which was silly, and not true. Marley was one of the strongest people she knew. That gash along her forehead was glaring at her, reminding her how truly fragile she could be. When she finally settled her upstairs and helped her into her bed, her fussing continued. “What did you hear? And, uh--water? Are you hungry? What do you need?”

“And you think I do?” Marley mumbled. If her head didn’t hurt so much, she would’ve rolled her eyes. But as it turned out, it hurt just to move her head, or her eyes. She stayed standing-- barely-- as Erin opened the door and ushered her inside. She leaned gratefully back onto her as they made their way up the stairs and Marley collapsed into the bed. Her head was killing her. “I didn’t hear anything. Maybe that’s the problem,” she muttered back, rubbing her head. “Ice would be nice. My head is killing me.” She didn’t see the way Erin was looking at her, that deep concern that made her brow furrow and her eyes wrinkle. Marley had noticed it so many times before, but she didn’t notice it now, as her vision blurred and she felt a pounding behind her eyes. “Erin--” she said suddenly, sitting up enough to at least see her. Reached out for her hand to stop her before she left. “I-- thank you,” was all she managed to get out.

Fuck. The second Erin left this room, she calling Dr. Lin-King. “But you did hear something.” That’s why she stopped. That’s why she asked. But Erin didn’t push, not with the pained look on Marley’s face. They’d figure it out. They’d call the doctor and get her fixed and that dread building in her gut would go away. This could all be fixed. She would be fine. She had to be fine. “Ice, yeah,” she nodded, jumping into action. Stopped only when Marley tugged her back and her heart leapt again like something else had happened. She seemed almost surprised by her words, nodding her head, taking a second to sit on the side of the bed and squeeze her hand back. “You’re going to be just fine, okay?” She gave a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes, but she meant what she said. Felt like there was more, like the words were getting jammed in her throat and her brain. She just smiled a little wider, shaking her head. “Do you need anything else?” She said instead. 

Something felt off. Not bad, just off. Aside from her head. Marley blinked in mild confusion, but let the thought rest. Her body was growing too tired. She chuckled and gave a shrug. “Yeah, seems to be the uh...theme.” She was right, though. Probably. Maybe. Definitely. Marley would just bounce back like she always did, and then everything would be fine. Right? There was a feeling in her gut that seemed to be trying to refute that notion, but she ignored it. Like she always did. Her eyes fell to their hands when Erin squeezed hers and she wondered when she’d grabbed Erin’s hand. She barely remembered reaching out to stop her. Her head was spinning again and she covered her eyes with her free hand, scrubbing her palm across them. “Sorry. No, just-- just ice. And sleep, I guess. Think I can just go to sleep and wake up fine? That’s how it works, right?” Even though she knew it wasn’t. That wasn’t at all how it worked. A girl could hope.

Erin nodded with an air of confidence she didn’t actually have. “That’s absolutely how it works,” she insisted, funneling all of the positive thoughts, whether they were denial or otherwise. Her eyes jumped to the cut on her forehead again, raising a hand to gently brush the hair from her face. Blue blood was starting to weep from it again, likely from the exertion of leaving the hospital. From one wound to another, she briefly glanced along the long healed claw marks marring her skin, before even more briefly finding her eyes. “I’ll see if we can’t clean that up a little bit too,” she added, pulling her hand away when it lingered. That tightness in her chest hadn’t loosened even a little since she took that call but there was a small comfort having her here, safe--as safe and secure as she could be outside of a hospital. “Just don’t think too hard. I know I’m not technically a doctor but I’m pretty sure that’ll make it worse,” she teased lightly, rising up slowly from the bed so as not to jostle her further. “Maybe don’t sleep until Dr. Lin-King can look at your head though. Just to be sure?”