Change of Plans : arkhams_dr

[questionorigin]

Duela slumped down onto the couch after hanging up the phone. It'd taken some doing, but she'd moved their flight and adjusted their hotel stay. "Ten o'clock flight tomorrow night. We'll need to leave about five," she told the man sitting there. She'd given him a bag of ice and a towel as soon as they'd gotten home

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[arkhams_dr]

He could hear her speaking, but replying was more difficult than he'd imagined. After a few moments, he managed, "I think one of my ribs might be cracked. I was hoping it was only bruised."

[questionorigin]

She touched his hair, closing her eyes briefly. "I'm sorry," she whispered when she opened them.

[arkhams_dr]

"Don't apologize," he rasped, seizing her hand. The head injury must be more severe than he thought, as well. His thoughts were chaotic, hard to place. "I should have killed them both, years ago, taken you from them."

[questionorigin]

"Shhh, you don't mean that," Duela said quietly. She told herself she was right. He didn't mean it... he couldn't. Her other hand touched the back of his. "You should lie down again."

[questionorigin]

Duela let him sleep, busying herself with packing for the both of them. She wanted to leave as soon as possible. Really, if she'd been able? She'd have gotten them on a flight out of Gotham tonight. Her father's conduct... God, she couldn't believe it. She'd thought he could at least manage to be civil.

After a couple hours, she went back downstairs, peeking into the living room, where she'd left Jonathan to sleep, not having wanted to try taking him up the stairs with as badly as he'd been shaken up. She wouldn't wake him if he was sleeping, but she wanted to check on him.

[arkhams_dr]

Crane was awake - feverish, but awake. He'd thrashed the bedding into a twisted wreck, but now he lay there, still except for his eyes darting side-to-side, unfocused.

It was a delayed response from the chamber, he was sure of it. Some kind of accelerated healing - he'd tried this sort of thing before, many times, with no success. It was working, or seemed to be, but the side effects included a raging fever. Most probably, any serious use of the Chamber would need multiple immersements; Crane could imagine a chemical reaction that would stay potent at this level for repeated uses.

[questionorigin]

Duela slipped into the room, sure he was still asleep, intending to straighten the sheets as best she could without waking him. When she saw his eyes opened, she touched his cheek and felt the heat. Damn. That couldn't be good...

"Can I get you something to drink?" she asked, trying to sound less concerned than she was. He never wanted her to worry, so she was trying to sound like she wasn't.

[arkhams_dr]

"No. Yes. Don't leave..." He reached for her hand again, then dropped it. "Yes, water. Water would be good."