In Which The Stars Align And So A Meeting Occurs
Macy hurried from shadow to shadow, her thin shawl drawn low over her arms and the package she was cradling. She crept up the stairs, and tapped on the door. It opened a crack, then wider when Nick saw it was her. "Come in, quick."
Macy licked dry lips. "How bad?"
Nick's features were pale and drawn. Instead of answering, he pointed to the bed drawn up to the fire, the best source of light on a moonless night like this.
Kevin was laid out on the bed, wincing, feet curling and uncurling as he fought the urge to flinch away from where Joe and Gerard were working around his arm. "Gerard," Macy said softly, not wanting to startle him. "I bought everything you asked for."
Gerard near snatched them out of her arms, but she didn't take offense - for Gerard, this was a good sign, he would fight for every last chance for his patient.
Macy withdrew to the other side of the room, where the rest of the family waited and watched, out of the way.
She nearly missed the golden blonde sitting on the floor, knees drawn up as she hugged Frankie to her side.
Macy nudged Nick and nodded towards the blonde. "That's Greta," he whispered. "I thought you knew her?"
Macy blinked in surprise. When Kevin had let slip the name of his weapon's manufacturer, Macy has pictured an old woman, perhaps the widow of an engineer, not this pretty slip of a girl barely older than she was.
Greta had turned her face to them at the sound of her name. "It's my fault," she whispered, looking to Nick like she wanted absolution. "The new grappler...I should have tested the mechanism more, should have made him wait..."
Macy snorted before she could censor herself. "Kevin Jonas, exercise patience and caution?"
Greta managed a weak smile, but her eyes were full of fear for the man by the fire.
Macy shrugged to herself and dropped to the floor on the other side of Frankie, completing the circuit of arms around him. "I'm Macy," she introduced herself. "And trust me, I know how stubborn Kevin is, and I know how good Gerard is. He'll be fine."
And Greta nodded like maybe she wanted to believe her.