Welcome to Gaia! ::

Okay, so, the worst part about living in a dormitory was the nightmares. But the second-worst part is it didn't matter who was in the hospital, you could not leave the dormitory until six in the morning. The third worst part was that she was a Zodiac so she had to go find someone to keep an eye on the Princess while she ran off to the hospital to see with her own eyes if her brother was all right.

Jude was there too. She had forgotten to mention that to Hero. Should she have mentioned that? Elke didn't know. She didn't care to think about it as she ran down a hallway in Destiny City Memorial Hospital, checking ward numbers. Elke had just looked at the on-duty nurse for the floor, big olive-green watery eyes convincing them that she did, in fact, have business there. She was a lethal weapon of adorability. It wasn't that one, or that one--oh! There it was.

Elke smiled at Dad and Pop, tried not to look too anxious as they patted her on the head and she told them to have a good day and that was an order all right she could only take so much drama per diem. Then she ran down the ward to Gray's bed, because it only took a glance to see that Jude was asleep, and really she wanted to see Grayson first. He was her brother, much more so than the other Zodiacs. When Elke pictured the world, Grayson was foremost in it.

She stood for a minute at his bedside, cheeks flushed from running up all the flights of stairs, just staring. Then, in a tone that might have been ferocious if she'd been a little more fearsome, she whispered: "You're the dumbest brother ever." Elke kissed Grayson gently on the forehead, then sat in the chair, back straight and eyes wide. "Are you okay?"

Dumb question. He was in the hospital. But she had to ask it anyway.

No one had come to visit Jude, and that was just the way he liked it. Barnaby hadn't been informed yet, and he had no one else apart from Hero who would have bothered. Hero was the reason he'd all but woken up demanding to switch rooms. Pulled out his IV, made a huge scene and done whatever it took to get his way.

He and Leo needed to plan some lie together. Telling her they'd gotten their a** kicked wasn't going to happen. Period.

The doctors worried these two youngsters were in some kind of cult. Jude had the word ZODIAC carved across his back, and the tattoo of a ram below that. Hard enough evidence. But, he also had his Colts and prayer symbol tattoos, which was the reason for the mass head scratching going on.

This kid was a Christian cultist football fan born within the Aries symbol, they were saying.

He refused to give them a name, and curtly told them he wouldn't pay them a dime anyway. It was their fault for dragging in strangers, those "money-hungry dogs of the system". (Nothing but good things to say about the hospital staff, as you can see.)

Truly Destiny City's medical facilities housed only the finest workers if he had not only been allowed to stay, but moved to his requested location. Under supervision. The nurses had their suspicions, but most of them were laid to rest with the arrival of Grayson's parents. Since neither of them had told them to get that other guy out of their sons room, they figured it was safe to assume they were either friends and not rival gang members who had tried to kill each other and swept up some innocent girl in the crossfire.

Jude's imagination was most active when he was troubled, so it would be more odd if he didn't have a number of vivid, animated dreams.

"Fourteen-one my foot up your a**, Caldwell," the unconscious teenager grumbled, swinging one arm like he'd actually hit something and nearly falling out of his bed in the process.

Grayson didn't do well when he was being fretted over. He was used to being the one to take care of others, when he could. The one to worry, because there wasn't much else he could do. More than anything, he wanted to make that terrible look leave Elke's face, wanted to make her smile and laugh. If he could have pulled off all of his bandages to reveal immaculate skin, he would have. Even if she would have been angry for him tricking her, he would have done it. Because angry was better than worried.

Much, much better than worried.

If he'd been able to, he would have squeezed her hand back. He tried, a little, but his fingers didn't want to cooperate over the thick bandaging, so he gave up. Instead, he just spoke to her in his calm, quiet voice, trying to let at least one thing be normal while he sat up in bed, hooked up to machines, wrapped like a mummy.

"It was too late to call you. I know you need sleep," he added easily, half his mouth quirking in a smile. The half that wouldn't disturb the scratches on his cheek. "And it all happened fast. I promise, Elke, I didn't not call you when things got bad, I just... didn't have time."

And he lapsed into a silence, not really wanting to talk about it more. It would upset her, and it would upset him. The misadventures from the night before were going to upset him for a long time; he had a feeling Jude's half-drowned image would haunt his nightmares, joining the lifeless husk that had belong to the man Uranophane had attacked.

But this time, things had turned out all right. They had all gotten away.

Barely.

His voice was a little distant, a sure sign that Grayson was going on autopilot as he said, "Jim Caldwell is Head Coach of the Indianapolis Colts." His eyes drifted to Jude, tracing his sleeping form, awakening a terrible guilt inside him once again.

Leo!

The guilt would linger as well, along with the knowledge that, if not for Dani...

If not for Dani, then --

It didn't bear thinking about.

Oh. All right, that made sense, she supposed. You couldn't ignore a battle to call someone who probably couldn't be there in time to make a difference, anyway. Unfortunately, it took most of the wind out of her lecturing sails. She didn't even get to make the effort of remaining in English, boo.

Well, when Jude got up, she'd be able to fix that. Elke stood up to take off her coat, thinking: Classes start at eight thirty. I have an hour. Breakfast could be put aside today, she figured. Every day until Grayson got to go home. And then she'd just start hanging out after school, maybe. Crystal let you do that, they weren't like Hillworth which she understood was very strict.

"Oh, football," said Elke, who only remembered that one team because Grayson was crazy for them. The distant tone she knew, but it still worried her; she took one hand off his arm to gently touch his nearest shoulder. "Grayson, what's--"

She turned in her chair to look at Jude, expression clearly that of What, Captain? The way he'd said it did not alleviate the worry. But Hero was fine, of course she was, she had been in her room when Elke had left. Clearly everything was okay, and she scooted--with three loud scraping noises--the chair around so she could see him easily, too.

Grayke? What was that?

"Hi, Jude," she said. She was still confused, looking between her fellow Zodiacs like they were keeping secrets. Which they were. "Are you okay? I'm glad you're awake." Saying she'd been worried would not help with Jude. He was not that nice, not really. (He had a shotgun.)

Jude was considering plotting revenge against the no-nonsense nurse who kept snatching his cigarettes away no matter how many packs he 'snuck' in. (Okay, it had only been two and he hadn't had to do much to get them here, but the point was she kept taking them!)

Pillow tossed to the side, he looked all around and under his bed before finally surrendering to the truth: his smokes were gone; stolen when he was sleeping! "I can't believe she took them again!" he whined like a put out child. A child who smoked, apparently.

He came to close to asking Elke why all women in the world were out to get him, but Grayson interrupted that train of thought.

"I'm fine."

"Good." Some things would have to wait until Elke had gone, but he was too worked up to shut up. That was Jude for you. "Any day I'm not in a trash bag like a dead cat is a good day, Elke." It was supposed to be humor, but try as he might (and he did try), he'd never been that great with using laughter as medicine.

"Honey." It was said with alarm, and more feeling than Grayson had said anything else thus far that day; he actually sat up a bit more, wincing as he did, and reached for her. It tugged on his IV cable, and he looked distressed an annoyed that he was unable to reach for her the way he wanted to.

Even if it hurt, he wanted to give her a hug.

"Don't cry, sweetheart." Grayson rarely used pet names. He was all about nicknames, though Elke could really not be shortened to anything else, but tears made him panic. He was male, he was a very typical male in the respect that he liked football and he shouted at the television and his sister's tears could blow a hole straight through any reserves he had.

He was obviously, unashamedly open when it came to Elke. When it came to Elke about anything except for things he though would hurt her, anyway.

"Jude didn't mean it, Elke." His voice was soft, soothing. Grayson again. "He's on pain medication, and it's making him a little bit unsteady."

He hoped Jude didn't argue, but he didn't dare shoot him a look to ask him to comply. "We're both all right, by the grace of God."

He wasn't religious, but Pop was, and those had been his words when he'd leaned over only a few moments earlier and kissed his son goodbye for the day.

"So cheer up, Elke." He reached for her, bandaged hand looking a little pitiful on its own. "How am I supposed to smile if you don't?"

She wanted to stop crying. Grayson had to lay down and rest and he wasn't doing that, but--it just--she'd been so worried and Elke failed being stoic in the same way that cars failed to hold up when they ran into walls. Life just sucked for her right then.

"O-okay," she sniffled, wiping her eyes. They were all right, even if they were in the hospital, and Jude was all crazy anyway, and. She just did not need to be crying right then. It was not a good time.

Still, it took a little bit for her to really stop. God really was graceful. Grayson wasn't comatose and they, both of her fellow Zodiacs, were both okay. She didn't have to cry. Deep breaths. Elke smiled a watery smile and took his hand again, squeezed it gently and said, "Okay," again.

Then, pressing his hand to her cheek--Grayson was okay, he was right there, he was all right and he would not be leaving or dying or anything--she looked back to Jude.

"What happened to you guys," she asked; "Was it the red-haired guy?"

Probably not. No one had mentioned anything about splinters...

"They were youma," Jude provided, then back-tracked once he ran over what she'd said a second time. "Red-haired guy? With the sword?!" Elke didn't even need to confirm it for him to be absolutely certain they were referring to the same person. It didn't take a genius (luckily, since he wasn't one) to realize if she knew who Obsidian was, it meant she had, at some point, met Obsidian.

Oh, Hell no.

Heeeellll no.

He'd just pushed that guy out of his mind and he was going around picking on the Zodiac girls?!

"I'll kill him this time!" the least intelligent among the raged. He got out of bed and stormed over to the door, opening it and-- "What are you doing here?"

'You' was a little girl, six at most, in a hospital gown clutching the fabric and starring up at him, wide-eyed. As much as he'd needed to speak with Grayson, the hours before he'd woken up were so boring, and he couldn't force himself to sit in one spot that long.

Shockingly, he'd not only managed to visit the children's ward without making any of them cry, he actually had one that liked him enough to show up here.

"Robin Hood, I told them you were Robin Hood like you said, and they didn't believe me! And--and Bobby said I was liar! He said that his dad is a police man and that the Senshi are bad guys!" The girl was nearing hysterics, and God help him if he had to deal with another weeping session. (God also help him when Aries found out he was being so intentionally careless with his identity.)

"What? That's ridiculous! We'll fix this right now." If anyone else in the room had anything to say, he was ignoring them completely. The henshin pen had been stuffed under his pillow alongside his cigarettes. At least the nurse had been 'kind' enough to leave the former behind--after staring at it for five minutes trying to figure out what it was.

He snatched it and called: "Sagittarius Zodiac Power, Make-up!"

One stupid move and one light show later, Sagittarius stood with most of his wounds now hidden beneath his fuku, flipping his hair and striking a pose that, while heroic, was just plain weird when he was the one doing it. "Senshi are warriors of love and justice!"

'Love and justice'? Really?

"We'll go down there right now and--"

--And wow, this was not a good idea.

OhGodroomspinning.

Sagittarius couldn't even finish that sentence before he fell backwards, the henshin abandoning him like he was some newborn on prom night in a dumpster. The moron on the floor out cold was just the normal, every day Jude again.

Smooth. Real smooth.

"I'll get the nurse!" the girl squeaked, dashing out into the hall and SCREAMING: "HELP ROBIN HOOD IS DYING!"