The phone started ringing at around 3am, but by the time Marlin managed to get it into his sleep-filled head that the phone was indeed ringing it had rung off and he dismissed it as someone having dialled the wrong number.

He was therefore not happy when the freaking thing started up again 5 minutes later. Staring at it blearily, he reluctantly picked up the handset noting that from the call ID that the number belonged to Steve.

"Marlin here," his voice was the grouchy sound of the sleep-deprived. "Steve it's 3am in the morning" well hey it was close enough. "So it better be good."

And then Steve spoke.

"What?!" Marlin found himself clinging onto the phone in his hand with a white-knuckled grasp, but seriously for a moment he thought that Steve had just said Chloe was in hospital.

And then as Steve repeated himself Marlin found himself suddenly wide awake.

Numbly he found himself agreeing to meet Steve at the hospital and just as numbly got ready to do so.

Steve hadn't given him many details, just Chloe had been attacked, they were currently at the hospital and that he’d called her parents. And him.

Marlin still wasn’t quite sure he could believe it, after all Steve and Chloe had come over and helped decorate Fancy A Change for the pre-Halloween sale just the other day and the three of them had later had shared a meal of pizza together during the Eclipse Viewing party - heck he could still remember the music from the nearby live band - some sort of jazz number.

With the same feeling of numbness Marlin picked up his car keys (even if it hadn’t been three-something in the morning, this was definitely not a journey for walking on foot), vaguely remembering at the last minute to scoop up his cell phone and wallet before making the drive over to the hospital.

He’d picked up on some coffee on the way, but Steve had been the only one in the hospital waiting room when he got there, his face pale and wan, looking as worried as Marlin felt and although he’d taken the coffee he made no move to drink it, his blue eyes staring at the steaming liquid almost blankly as he spoke.

Marlin had sipped some of his own coffee as he listened to his friend speak, the other explaining that Chloe’s parents were with her which explained their absence from the waiting room and then Steve went on to tell him what had happened.

"Wait hang on," he interrupted as Steve revealed the identity of Chloe’s attacker. "Are you sure about that."

Only to feel a chill go up his spine as Steve didn't even snap at him, but instead nodded and repeated dully "Chloe’s attacker looked just like her, right down to that daffodil barrette she likes to wear."

-- 481 words --