She got the call and she didn’t know what to do. Michael Hunter was critically injured. Multiple breaks in both arms and a lot of damage to his face was what Tedward had passed on. She should go to Bellevue where they had him laid up. She knew she should.

But... what if he died?

Ranger, in her experience, avoided the hospital at all costs. He’d had her help him with a field stitch, he had saline and all manner of medical paraphernalia, he had otc painkillers he liked to call ‘grunt candy.’ Michael wasn’t a guy she expected to see in the hospital. Ever. Not with the way she’d seen him move lightning fast.

If he was there…

If it really was that bad…

He needed someone. Not just someone to hold his hand while he healed and help scratch under his cast. Anyone could do that. No, what Michael needed was for someone to find out how and why it happened. And then, from that to make sure that it didn’t happen again. That was the thought that spurned Noel to action more than hearts and flowers. Vengeance. Michael needed someone to avenge him.

Noel packed some things he might want from his apartment into a duffle, left a quick voicemail for Tempest, and she was gone.

It was worse than she’d imagined. Was it even really him under there? Noel assessed the man who was propped up with his arms in traction and tried to reconcile that this was supposed to be the Ranger she knew. It just didn’t add up. It just didn’t.

“I know it looks bad now--” Noel jumped from where she’d been idling near the doorway and made room for a nurse to bustle past. “--but a lot of it is bruising and swelling. Promise.”

Noel watched the woman work, not sure what she was doing exactly. She cheerfully announced her actions before she did them, but beyond the vitals checking it was all above Noel’s paygrade. Untucking, feeling, tucking, moving, replacing, etcetera. The memory mutant briefly considered making room for some medical knowledge. It might come to that, but for now she needed to stay who she was to get things done. Medical training took years. Noel did not have years to spare. Not if she wanted to keep her martial training.

”So. Just how bad is it?”

“The damage was mostly contained to his upper body, face, and arms. The most worrisome part is that he lost consciousness after so many hits to his head. At first doctors were concerned that they’d have to induce a barb coma to try to preserve brain function, but the swelling in his brain has already gone down and he’s already breathing on his own again.”

Breathing on his own again meant at one point, he hadn’t been. Noel swallowed hard still paralyzed at the doorway. He was breathing now. That was the important part.

”Sounds like he’s on the mend.” She felt so relieved. It must have come through in her voice.

“Yes. The danger, for the most part, has passed. We’re still monitoring that swelling, but everything looks quite promising. If you have some photos, that will help with facial reconstruction once surgery opens up.”

Noel felt as if she’d been sucker punched. From where she stood, she hadn’t noticed how very little she could see of Michael’s face. She took a few steps into the room and set his duffle on the lone guest chair.

”Uhm. Yeah. I have a picture on my phone. Does it need to be printed or something?” Her body answered while her mind tried to put the pieces together.

She could see the outline of his legs beneath the sheets. Could she recognize the outlines of his leg? She liked to think so, but the reality of the situation was that, no, she couldn’t. His torso was too big. His arms were up in suspension and his head lolled under more gauze than she really thought should be necessary.

Noel touched his leg through the sheet.

Of course, there were no pants in the hospital. Just a flap-happy gown that could make the most sanguine man look fragile. The thought made her brow unknit, but smiles were still too far off.

“I’ll ask about the photo.”

Hospitals weren’t great places. They were too bright and smelled like chemicals in a way that triggered some primal part of Noel’s gut. She hated it. She hated this. She hated that he was here and that by extension she needed to be here.

She hated it worse that Michael was gone.

While he was out for surgery, she did the best she could. She tacked one of his many Texas flags on the wall where he’d be most likely to see it, she left his boots on the guest chair next to the bed, she brought his pillow from his bed because it didn’t smell like whatever neck ruffling scent permeated the halls. It smelled like him, and scent was one of the most important triggers for memory.

For now, while his bed and body were out, Noel had his pillow and she wrapped herself around it while waiting in the waiting area.

She didn’t have a chance to figure out who’dunnit.

On one hand, Noel could kiss him. She could see what he saw. She could identify the assailant better than he could, probably, considering her clear and unbiased… well, at least she was somewhat detached from the situation. Unbiased was going a bit too far.

On the other hand, Noel had given her word that she would try to give people, Haven members especially, the chance to opt-out of her using her powers. Michael had been one of those people who’d said no. Not only no, probably never. He had secrets that were capital S Secret, as in Top and about the government. It could be years or never before that information was declassified.

It could be years or never until she got to kiss her boyfriend unless she went against his wishes.

“Is Michael not coming in today?”

Tedward cringed. “Ohhh. Didn’t you hear?”

No. He had not. And no, Jude wasn’t going to just let the Ranger lay around and be hurt when he was supposed to sign off on this stuff last week.

Okay. If he was being honest with himself, it was more than that. Michael had been one of the few people to treat him like he wasn’t a dumb kid despite the fact that he was. He put trust in Jude and Jude had wanted to return that. More than just work, this job was what allowed him to support himself.

If Michael was gone, like, really out of commission… he wasn’t quite sure what the chain of command was. Who chose what jobs to take? Did they just… not take any? They had a steady income stream for the lower tier teams, but the guys who mowed through bullets every day needed to take those high risk, high reward jobs to fill in the wage gaps.

The military guys knew their old ranks and oriented themselves accordingly, but knowing the personalities and ego of the teams meant that wasn’t going to hold water if it came down to a pissing contest.

They really needed to establish a better org. chart and build in some redundancy for the functions Michael carried out. Unfortunately, some of what he did was “by feel.” How he determined what was good and what was a bust was a mystery. They needed the Ranger. They needed his laid back leadership and big fat arms as big as Christmas hams that could and would slap any backtalk into next week.

“Is anybody going to go visit him? Flowers? Balloons and whatever?”

“Uh. I guess. I’ll call around. Get a card or something.”

“Give me—” Jude glanced at a clock to gauge the traffic. Shouldn’t be too bad. “—maybe an hour. I’ll get him something better than a card.”

One hour later, Jude was out of breath and holding his power’s leash tighter than usual as he piled into one of the unmarked candy vans Black-Tac had in the garage. He caught a glimpse of gun beneath a suit jacket. Actually, now that he was looking, they were all dressed nicer than was typical of weekday.

“Are you seriously taking guns to the hospital?”

The best he got was a shrug for how much they cared and a mumbled excuse of the fact that they didn’t know why their boss had gotten jumped. It was in their training to be armed and ready to protect, Jude guessed. Nothing needed more protecting than a man who’d been knocked down so hard that he couldn’t pick himself up again.

Jude didn’t know anyone more than the special team and Blac-Tac site security by name. There were just too many of them, but everyone seemed to know that he was the office monkey they called in to for sick days. Maybe it was the lack of muscle mass.

His question seemed to make them all more conscious of how they were carrying. The gun Jude had spotted disappeared beneath a button up coat. The buttoning forced the man to hunch forward in order to keep the front straining button closed. It wasn’t fat. It was that so many muscles just weren’t meant for normal sized people clothing.

Jude rubbed his forehead in disgust. “Ughhhh. We look like the mob.”

“Or a funeral procession.”

“You look more like a dumb*ss to me.”

“If you make me split my jacket—”

The teen tuned them out and watched out the window until they rolled up to the hospital visitor parking garage. He didn’t want to use his powers in front of them which just meant he’d have to suffer through whatever sentiments they had. Heal the boss after, assuming it wasn’t too bad.

“Hey, kid! Didn’t you run off to go grab a card or something?”

Shooooooooot. He’d gotten one as cover and he’d set it down somewhere. Jude threw up his hands. “I forgot it. I meant to bring those forms for him to sign too. ****.”

Masculine laughter accompanied them through the hospital doors and on up to Ranger’s room.

Of course she was there. And of course the place was gussied up with splashes of Texas. If Michael was going to be here for as long as they thought, he would want to feel at home.

Jude didn’t plan on Michael being there long enough to enjoy it.

All the laughter that had carried the guys upstairs died down to sober and serious once they saw the man in question. He looked rough and that was being generous. He was all full of tubes and propped up with his arms held up off his body.

So. Yeah. It was pretty bad. Since he wasn’t yet awake, there wasn’t a heck of a lot they could do but leave their cards and balloons and well wishes.

They stood around awkwardly asking questions of Noel. What had happened. Who did it. Where was he. She didn’t know much for someone with the power to know things. Someone had found a balloon in the shape of a star (and, weirdly, a peach emoji?), but on this short of notice, there was no Texas.

Eventually there was nothing left to say, but there was still work to be done. Just ‘cause the boss was laying down on the job didn’t mean the rest of them could.

“You comin’ back, kid?”

“Nah. I have something I need to say to Michael’s lady.”

Glances were exchanged. Some from the lady in question.

“I’ll be nice!” Jude insisted.

After careful consideration, Noel had spent the night at the hospital just in case he woke up. She ran back to Haven twice and it was a hell of a drive even when she wasn't driving. Every moment away she'd been paranoid that her phone would ring and the nurses would say she'd missed him, he'd died. Or, worse, that he'd woken up in a panic and no one had been there for him.

She showered, she took the dogs out, she took care of all the things that the world dared to to when it really should have stopped and waited until he was better.

Noel had been on the phone with Haven security when some of Michael's crew from Blackforest Tactical swung by. The security team was getting a new CLASS training program. She and Ranger had tossed the idea back and forth and realized that being gone was not great for their furniture when there were puppies with too much energy. Ranger had yet to implement it, but considering the circumstances Noel took advantage of her position as Michael's MyFace official girlfriend to get it done.

Now, she didn't have to leave for the puppies every few hours. She just had to manage the few odd visitors and... wait.

The last Black-Tac employee met her eyes with a question in his own before he closed the door to Michael's hospital room with Noel and Jude as the only awake inhabitants. Did she think the kid was a threat? Not really. Emotionally, maybe. Teenagers were weird.

"What's up?" Noel crossed her arms and inspected the kid. Michael's office monkey didn't like her. He'd told her briefly why. Something about the fact that she was a homewrecker, which sounded pretty damn unlikely in Noel's book. But he believed it. So, as far as truths went, it didn't matter what Noel thought. It was true to him and so long as he thought so, he'd hold that grudge.

Jude, for his part, seemed to be weighing her with his gaze.

"What?" She dropped her crossed arms.

"I want to know what happened to him."

Oh. "No."

"You haven't...?" Jude waffled his hand and Noel waited with the patience of a snake for him to finish that sentence. "You know. You didn't check? What if it was a hit? Or-or if--"

"I'm gonna stop you right there." Noel sighed and was glad to stop the speculation before it got off the ground. She'd been 'round and 'round in her head enough times that the whole thing made her feel tired.
"I told him I wouldn't. So I won't. End of story."

"But this is an emergency."

"Does he look like he's in danger to you?" She gestured grandly in the amazing Ranger log's direction and he looked.

"We don't know that."

"And we don't not know that." Which had sounded better in her head before she said it. Noel made a frustrated inarticulate sound. "I'm not compromising the trust I've built because of 'if's and 'maybe's" And saying it outloud made her realize that all the doubt she'd felt about that was easily squashed when she put it into perspective.

"And if you're not the one to get the information...?"

Wait. What? Noel was confused. "What are you asking?"

"I have a way to see, but I'm not any good at it. And there's... side effects."

"Like...?"

"Healing."

"Why are you talking to me?" She went and steered him over to the bedside.

"No. I'm- I'm not practiced and he's really hurt." It was Jude's turn to cut Noel off as she'd opened her mouth and started to make a sound. "No. I'm not saying I won't, I'm just saying I want to know who did this. And it's going to take a lot of energy so I don't know how much I can do. Plus, don't hospitals have policy or something?"

"Those are excuses. What do you need? A chair?" She could go get a chair.

"This is why I didn't want to tell you!" He complained as she brought over a chair, but he did sit. "I was pretty sure you weren't going to leave me alone with him if I asked. Look. Stop! Just stop whatever it is you're doing."

Since Noel was not sure what she was doing beside still leaning against the chair behind him, she stopped.

"I need you to... I don't know. Keep a look out, I guess. I'll try to say out loud what I see. Don't let a doctor see or, I guess... I just... have to trust you on this. Okay?"

"Yeah. No. Of course." She popped a chair under the door handle and called it as good a lock as they were going to get. "Don't pop a vein or whatever, but any healing you give is gonna cut down on how long he has to stay." Obviously. Ugh. Why did she say the obvious?

"Right." Jude peeled back the covers and Noel both hovered and tried not to hover. She saw him place his hand against Michael's skin and almost immediately he cringed.

"He- ah. It's a shape changer. No. Wait." Jude's eyes were open, but obviously weren't looking at the here and now. Noel wondered if she looked like that. She watched him, entranced as he winced in sympathy of something. Was healing happening? Noel couldn't tell.

"It's a girl. Brown hair. She's maybe kinda asian?" Jude's voice was sounding reedy. Noel looked between Michael and his paper pusher. He was looking downright queasy, actually.

"I think that's enough of that." Noel tugged his hand back by Jude's sleeve and the boy didn't fight. He didn't move his hand either. He did manage to whine.

"That's not enough to ID her."

Noel put her lips against his and gave him a good lick.

"Eugh. Gross."

Immediately she saw the beginning of the fight, the purse, the face changer... and the woman "Now it is." Her fists balled as she watched the incomplete memory again and again for clues.

Ranger had faint impressions of his time in the hospital. While he wasn’t fully conscious he knew that Noel had been there and that he’d been in surgery a few times. He had heard Noel talking but didn’t know what she said or who she spoke with. It was like what had happened around him had trickled down into his dreams losing definition as it tried to take shape in his injured brain.

When he did finally wake up it was a return to a world of pain, or rather the moon of the world of pain. Everything still hurt but it was not as bad. Morphine drip? Whatever it was, he was in markedly less pain than he had been before he lost consciousness.

“Eugh. Gross.”

“Now it is.”

Was that Noel and Jude? Ranger tried to open his eyes, they felt like they had lead ballast. After what felt like an eternity he managed to crack one of his eyes open.

Jude sat in a chair beside Ranger and Noel stood her fists balled up and bearing a look of determination. A Texas flag was on the wall. Noel most likely hung that. He smiled. Rather, he tried to smile but instead his face just twitched slightly underneath his bandages. He could also see his arms were in traction. It took him a moment, but the memory came to him. The woman had broken his arms.

The woman. He’d tried to help an old lady and the woman had jumped in to help the criminal. She had wiped the floor with him.

He tried to speak. His throat rasped before it finally cooperated and produced noises that could be understood as speech. ”Did anyone get the plate number off that truck?” He joked weakly. His throat was sore, it was clear he’d previously been intubated.

A sound like heavy rocks scraping against one another brought Noel out of the memory and looking at an incapacitated Ranger. That girl was tiny by comparison. Noel would bet his neck was at least the size of her thigh. Maybe more.

So... how? How did she do it? And why the heck had it gone so far?

> ”Did anyone get the plate number off that truck?”

Noel couldn't keep the fire of her anger stoked when he said things like that. She ended up shaking her head and leveling a finger at Michael. "Don't go anywhere."

She was digging in her pockets before she disappeared out the doorway.

---

Jude would never understand women.

"I know it was a girl, Michael." As much as he wanted to just lean back and take a nap, instead Jude leaned over to grab a water for his boss since it sounded like the man had gargled sand. Jude was even kind enough to realize that he had to hold it and the straw. Because. Y'know. Hands. Jude's weren't that steady, but he tried. A for effort.

"Healing works better, I guess, 'cause I get to see how the things got broken."

Jude stopped to let that sink in. He didn't mind letting people think he was a healer. It was a non-combatant power and it made him more valuable, more worth protecting if it came down to it. Plus, DocProf's power wasn't half bad.

"Boots is being useless so I figured we'd resurrect you and figure it out on the way. Nobody really knows what happened, but I don't have great stamina for healing. Only got part of the way through" Jude set the glass down and then let himself melt back into his chair.

"I figured you wouldn't mind getting better faster, but feel free to stop me if I'm wrong."

The door opened and Noel returned with a few vending machine snacks: a blue sports drink ('cause blue is the best, obvs.), a sandwich, and protein bar. She stuffed all those things into Jude's hands and then grabbed the arms of his chair and hoisted.

Jude was torn between bobbling his gift of food and clinging to the chair for dear life. It was awkward because he and the chair were bulky, but she managed to deposit him and the chair outside the hospital room door and abruptly shut him out.

---

Now Jude could eat and recover in peace and Noel could do what she'd wanted to do since she first saw Michael.

She shucked her shoes and carefully edged over Michael's legs, afraid to touch him as she crawled up the hospital bed. She held plank so they were nose to nose and eye to eye, but not actually touching. He couldn't move his arms anyway, but she really, really didn't want to hurt him. And she really really just wanted to be close.

That's how it always was for them. Close. Almost. Never actually.

And, even in the time she'd been wanting to, she still didn't know what to say.

"Hey." Noel leaned her forehead gently against his. The best she could do. "I'm going to take care of this. So you get better okay?"

Ranger was up and then Noel was out the door. She told him not to go anywhere before she shot off. He would have said something back but his throat was limiting his jokes per minute. After she had left Jude said that he knew it was a girl.

How did Jude know what had happened? Had someone recorded it and put it on ViewTube or had Noel picked up the memory while he was unconscious? While Ranger wondered at this Jude held out some water and a straw for him.

Bless that kid.

Jude’s hands weren’t steady and it took Ranger a moment of fishing for the end of the straw with his lips as it moved around before he could snag it and drink. It was both awful and wonderful. His throat hurt every time he swallowed but it was moistening everything so it hurt less in general.

"Healing works better, I guess, 'cause I get to see how the things got broken."

Jude could heal? And he got to see what happened while he did it? That answered the question of how he knew what happened. And it made Ranger glad he hadn’t voiced his question of if Noel had lifted the memory. It isn’t trusting to worry someone did a thing you asked them not to.

Ranger’s mind also kicked into gear exploring possibilities having a healer on the payroll could have. Have him stay at Blac-Tac and ship him out when injuries occurred in the field or in the shoot house, send him on missions but have him hang back in a vehicle in case of an injury, or some other option that meant workers comp would never be something anyone needed.

Mentally exploring possibilities of how Jude could be an incredible asset beyond what he already had become didn’t stop Ranger from narrowing his eyes at Jude when he said Noel was being useless. He had no idea whether she was or not, but coming from Jude it was clearly meant to be a slight regardless of if it was a statement of fact. He was in no condition to say anything about it at the moment though. Raising his voice was impossible at the moment and Jude had gone out of his way to start healing Ranger. Maybe his face could convey his displeasure. If enough could be seen through the wrappings.

”Faster I’m out of here,” Ranger wiggled his fingers to indicate specifically the traction and generally the hospital, ”the better.” His voice came out a little better now that he’d had some water. He felt less like the actor from Owl-Sir Begins must have felt after a day of filming.

The door opened and Ranger looked from Jude to the door to see who it was. Thankfully from where he was he could move his eyes to see the door, otherwise this would be hell for him. You have to be able to see who is coming and going.

It was Noel returning with an armload of food and drink. She offloaded it all onto Jude before she picked him up by the chair he was sitting in and dropped him off outside the room. Ranger laughed at the absurdity of it. Well, a chuckle. He started to laugh but quelled it when it hurt.

When Jude was set outside and the door shut, Noel carefully climbed over him on the hospital bed. She face floated above his, almost touching. There was a time he had made sure that he met her eyes as a sign of trust, now he did it without a thought to what she could do with eye contact. In that moment all he wanted was to touch her, to hold her, to kiss her. Things he couldn’t do. Mostly because of the traction...

There had to be some way he could kiss her. Someday.

“Hey” Noel said and leaned her forehead against his. Ranger was glad she was there with him. Not just in that moment, but from the little things around the room it was clear she had been there most of the time he had been out. Who else would have brought a flag, his boots, and a pillow?

”Howdy.” He answered.

“I’m going to take care of this. So you get better okay?”

Take care of this? He wasn’t quite sure what that meant. Maybe it was the morphine, Ranger was slowly putting together what that meant.”Y’ mean… The woman?” Was Noel thinking of hunting her down? ”Y’re gunna take care of her?” Affecting tone while you sound like you gargled asphalt was difficult. He had meant it to sound questioning to the extent that he didn’t think it was something she need do. Instead it was toneless where someone could read anything into it.

He was awake, but only just. Whatever cocktail of feel good was in his IV was both a blessing and a curse, now. He slurred like he was out of it.

Noel lowered herself slowly to give him time to adjust and kept his eyes in sight for as long as she could. One flinch, one hesitation and she'd stop, but he didn't say stop, so she didn't.

She was afraid to squeeze him too hard and yet she wanted to crush him all over again. It felt more like him with the words coming out of his face, but until he was up and out and ambulatory, it just wasn’t right. Noel settled for burying her face against the hospital smock at his shoulder so she could smell him, his skin, his scent. Even if it was disguised with hospital. She kept her hands on either side of him so that it wasn't her full weight against him. If she weren't sure that a nurse would walk in at any moment, she would have shucked her pants along with her shoes.

"I'll take care of her." She confirmed. Whatever that meant, she'd do it. No doubt she'd already done worse. "Police have zilch and they’re just too busy with this rip thing. I’m not letting this fall through the cracks."

Did she have to say it? Did he need to know how pathetic she’d been while he was out? She’d put practically everything aside to be here when he hadn’t even been awake. A waste of time, but… she didn’t want him to wake up like she had. New place. No one on his side.

Nah. He didn’t want to hear that.

He had a dangerous job. This could happen again. Noel telling Ranger not to get himself hurt again because she’d been worried was stupid. She gave him one last squeeze and sat back on his legs. Those weren’t hurt. He could deal for a minute.

"I— I’m—." She was having a hard time articulating anything that wasn’t just dumb. I thought you were going to die? I don’t like seeing you like this?

"I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, but I won’t do anything too stupid." Good enough.

Noel lowered herself onto Ranger, her face at his shoulder. It was clear she was driving weight down her arms to not crush him. Which was good, even with the healing Jude had given him there was still some discomfort. Any more weight would have become painful. He couldn’t wrap her up in his arms, but Ranger still smiled to himself. He couldn’t imagine waking up here in the hospital, broken, with no one there.

"I'll take care of her. Police have zilch and they’re just too busy with this rip thing. I’m not letting this fall through the cracks."

The police didn’t have anything. How did Noel Know…? Right, the scanner. Ranger was aware that his brain was clouded by the morphine. He soldiered on through the fog. Was she going to fill in for the police? They had their hands full with the rip. Even the Xmen had shown in force at the rip.

His brain had latched onto the idea of the police and he thought she was going to hunt the woman down for the police. ”She thought I...The purse snatcher, she thought it was me.” The woman thought she was doing the right thing. ”Tried t’ explain it.”

Ranger closed his eyes. He was tired and having Noel there made it feel almost normal. The small noises of the machine that dispensed morphine next to him notwithstanding

When Noel sat up on his legs Ranger opened his eyes again and looked up at her. She struggled to say something.

"I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, but I won’t do anything too stupid."

Forgetting he was in traction, Ranger tried to move his arm to take Noel’s hand. Yeah, Jude needed to get him healed up sooner.

”Be careful” He said before realizing that he was asking to do something he had failed at. He smiled at her, he was the one he tried to play the hero and got hit by an unknown. Noel knew what she was getting into.

He relaxed his head back against the bed. ”I love you.” he said as his eyes seemed to glaze over. Jude had burned much of the morphine from Ranger when he healed him. The machine had just kept on pumping though.

> ”Be careful”

That's what she'd said, wasn't it? Noel disentangled herself and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. He probably wasn't even going to remember this. She'd leave him a note... Or. Maybe that sounded too much like leaving behind evidence of premeditated somethingsomething? She had all kinds of premeditation going on in her head. She just hadn't settled on the right one yet. If the girl had beat Ranger to a pulp up close, maybe range was the way to go. Surely no one at BlackTac would stop her if it was for the boss' revenge.

Noel started to slip her shoes back on, but stopped when Michael spoke.

> ”I love you.”

She smiled. Who wouldn't?

"Yeah." Noel leaned back over and pressed a kiss against one of his facial bandages. "I'd love me too if I was on a morphine drip." But for now, she certainly wouldn't hold it against him no matter how much the idea felt wrong. Loving NOel was like loving a beach. High tide, low tide, shifting sands... She would definitely try not to come back changed, but between this personal business and the mission she'd agreed to on Haven's behalf, there was a very real possibility that Noel would be different the next time they met. And, for the first time, she was afraid that might matter.

When you get out give me a call text. Don't be too lonely. ~N

She had some notes to make, a trail to find, and a long range rifle to acquire. Ranger would be fine... right?

When Noel opened the hospital door, Jude appeared to be delighting in blocking the way of a nurse.

"—elevated heart rate and if you do not let me—!" She Noticed Noel and switched tactics. "Ma'am. Is there a reason why I should not be allowed into this room?"

"He was awake for a second there." Noel shrugged and stood aside as the woman picked up the chair that Jude had vacated and set it inside.

That surprised the woman. "That can't be right."

"Oh. I don't know. I think you'll find he'll heal faster that you expect." Noel eyed Jude who had moved into looking entirely too self-satisfied.

"You said he isn't a healer!" The nurse was now frantically checking under bandages and gauging Michael's heal rate. No doubt some things about his medical treatment would have to change now.

"Not last time I checked. Jude?" Noel motioned with her head to the door and they stepped into the hall and away from the nurse.

"I know, I know. I'll be careful with him." Jude tried to head off whatever she'd been about to say.

"You think the hospital would work with you? Sort-of a combined treatment plan?"

She could see the answer in his face before he said it out loud.

"I don't think that's a good idea." He sighed.

"I think it's a great idea for Michael."

"And if they want me to visit the cancer ward? The whole hospital?"

"You don't want to?"

"This is not my-" He seemed to catch himself and changed the direction of how he was talking. "This isn't my strong suit. I've mostly handled the small stuff. Little cuts. At most a broken bone. Michael's going to be more than I can handle in a day. If I have to be careful of his pins or whatever human healing they've got going on, it'll be slower."

"But still faster than normal."

"Yeah. Mos def."

"So you'll stay with him?"

"I mean, not a night or whatever, but I'll probably stop by at least once a day. I've got papers for him to sign that're no good if his hands don't work."

Noel waffled on the idea of making Jude stay, but she didn't really have anything to make it happen beside the threat of a knuckle sandwich and that seemed a bit over the top for someone who was already helping.

"He'll be fine." Jude assure her. "Go straight up murder a chick."

The nurse edged between them and shot Jude a dirty look.

"Kidding!"

"Okay. I guess... call me if something changes or if you see the girl conveniently drop her name and social security number during the fight."

"Can do, boss' girlfriend."

Noel rolled her eyes by way of a goodbye.

Noel didn’t love herself. She admitted as much after kissing his bandages. Her loving herself was conditional on morphine. That was a shame, and Ranger would have told her so but talking was hard. He made some noise instead. It seemed an appropriate noise .

As Noel went to leave the room he waved his… He couldn’t move his arm. It took him a moment to remember it was in traction. He wiggled his fingers and said, ”Da svidahnia.”

Looking around the room, Ranger spotted his boots. ”How’d those get here. I left them at home.” He started chuckling. ”They must’ve walked themselves here. Good boots.” He said a little too loudly. Then in a conspiratorial tone he spoke to the boots, ”Noel’s gunna see t’ the woman. She might need yall.”

He checked the door. It was shut but you never know when someone could be listening. He spoke to the boots again, but in Arabic. All boots spoke Arabic, everyone knew that. <I think she's going to steal the woman's morphine. Help her.>

The boot's did not respond, they were not untrained. They would maintain their silent cover.

Ranger lay his head back down. Everything would be fine. Between Noel and his boots the woman would be well cared for.

They say that cocaine is a hell of a drug, but morphine seemed to be wrecking Michael Hunter just fine. Jude stayed for a bit, feeling obligated since Boots had basically passed on her babysitting duties to him. He dozed fitfully for a while, feeling cruddy and wrung-out until he realized that he could be feeling cruddy at home in his bed. He wasn't about to charge his hospital hours like they were work, so he may as well go home. Jude scribbled on the back of Boot's note.

BRB - Jude

And then went home to make some soup or something.

---

He ended up sleeping over 14 hours. His ringing cell phone drug him up out of whatever stupor he was in and after he told Tedward where the keys to that one cabinet were hiding, Jude rolled over to scroll through his 5 missed calls and 1 text. Bless Ghost for texting instead of calling, but it was way later than he'd meant to be at work. The copycat scrambled to get himself presentable and rushed to Blac-Tac to help put out the fires that had sprung up while the boss was laying down on the job.

By the time the end of the day rolled around, Jude scraped together dinner and passed out again without even visiting the hospital.

---

Jude stopped by the Mansion to settle up his powers and then stopped in to see Michael before work on the next day. It was sort of on the way, considering. Out of the way if he'd come from home. While Jude didn't feel like he was bursting with energy, he figured it wouldn't kill him to give the Ranger another boost to get him the heck out of there.

"How's he doing?" He buttered up the nurses with a gift of Astraldollars coffee and biscotti purchased on his way in. They answered his questions gladly after that. Once he was sure that he wouldn't be healing Michael into a worse situation, he went in and put his hand on Michael's shoulder.