Not for the first time since they’d been informally introduced, Angus found himself wishing that it wasn’t so ungentlemanly to punch a girl in the face for being stupid. Sighing a little, he shifted minutely in the stiff hospital chair and continued to stare down at Bindhi’s sleeping face. No, he amended silently, she’s not stupid. Oh, he knew she’d been drinking more than was strictly healthy, but he’d never suspected her of trying to off herself. Hell, he’d even thought that between himself and Cordelia that they’d convinced her to rope in the excessive boozing.

Apparently not.

The burly blonde shifted again, trying to keep from cursing as the unforgiving chair tried to put his a** to sleep. Green eyes wandered from Bindhi’s face to the arm she’d slashed. The ugly red scar was more than enough to put a lid on the anger he felt. So close. If Bindhi had been honest, and he’d no reason to think she wasn’t, it had been a very close thing indeed. He’d yet to meet the friends who’d found her and kept her hanging on. I’ll remedy that one of these days, he thought. He also rather thought that Cordelia would want to talk to them as well. If only because it was clear that someone they all cared about needed help and for this, a group effort was needed. And speaking of Cordelia, he would need to update her once he got to work tonight.

So now how do we go about getting you fixed, lass, he thought. She wasn’t stupid, but she was hurting deep down. And as ill-equipped as he was for dealing with such hurts, he still felt oddly honored that she’d called him and asked for his company. And he was determined to live up to whatever trust he’d somehow earned from her. The tiniest of smiles tugged at his lips at that thought. Apparently being decent enough to walk her home from the club without taking advantage of her drunkeness had earned him friendship points. And being big and strong enough to literally sit on her the one time she’d gotten riled and unreasonable and had tried to start a fight had earned him even more.

Angus groaned a little as he stood up and stretched, feeling his spine popping back into alignment. He’d have to head out soon. Which meant waking Bindhi up to say goodbye if she didn’t rouse herself. As fragile as she was, he thought that it’d do more harm than good to vanish on her while she was dozing. Now that he was standing, he began to pace the small room, letting his brain ramble where it would. Christmas was fast approaching… Maybe he could talk to Cordelia and see if she’d be willing to help him keep Bindhi company that day. Or if he ever met her other friends, maybe he could arrange a small get together? It was worth considering.

A quick glance at the room clock made him curse softly. He couldn’t dawdle any longer or he’d be late. Approaching the bed, he knelt and gently touched Bindhi’s hand.

“Time t’wake up, lass,” he murmured. “C’mon now. I want t’say goodbye properly.”

He watched her eyelids flutter as she slowly woke up enough to see who it was talking and smile sleepily up at him.

“Is it time for you to go,” she mumbled before scrubbing her eye with her knuckles. “Will you come back?”

“Aye t’both. I’ve a short shift t’night, so I’ll be back soon’s I can.”

Standing up, he smiled down at her before leaning over to brush his lips against her forehead.

“Be good now, lass. I’ll see y’soon enough.”

Giving her hand a last pat, he turned and headed for the door. He’d have to run to avoid being late, but in this case, it was worth it to bring a little comfort to a friend. And if he had his way, he’d be able to do a lot more once he had a chance to speak with some of the others who cared about Bindhi.