I took some deep breaths and closed my eyes. I felt Bren’s hand on my back making gentle circles as he tried to calm me. I opened my eyes again when I heard Fuchsia speak, she calmly said, “Jax is my patient so I must request that I be allowed to be present during all of his examinations and any decisions regarding his care and treatment must be authorized by me.”

General Morgan huffed and leaned back as he eyed Fuchsia with a razor sharp glare. “I should say no because of everything that has taken place, but….”He paused and looked at me and then said, “I have a feeling that you will be more cooperative if I agree to her request. Am I correct?”

I didn’t like what was going to happen, but if it was going to happen I wanted Fuchsia with me . I nodded and said, “yes sir!”

He squinted his eyes and looked back at Fuchsia and said, “I will allow you to be present with him during all examinations and I will have you included in any care and treatment decisions.”

Fuchsia’s eyes widened as she was about to ask something, but before she could speak General Morgan sharply said, “I can have your request denied and simply hold you and the others at my facility until this all has been resolved. Is that what you want?”

Fuchsia looked at me and then started to argue with General Morgan. I stood up quickly with Nix. Exasperated by the way things were going and afraid that Fuchsia was about piss General Morgan off more than he already was. I raised my voice over Fuchsia’s and said, “No! We will do as you say Sir.” My head throbbed and I staggered a bit before dropping Nix on the floor. I turned quickly on my heels, I had to get away. I started down the hallway as sweat ran down my back. General Morgan’s voice echoed behind me, “We are not done talking yet!”

I heard feet behind me and then a whoosh of air as Bren slid in front of me. “Are you ok?,” he asked.

I leaned forward and pulled at his shirt with my hands as I mumbled, “Why do I feel like I am going from one Devil’s Den to another?”

General Morgan sounded like he was headed my way, his voice closer this time, “I said we are not done talking yet. I need to talk with you about your father”

I released Bren’s shirt and rolled back on my feet. I spun around and felt a rage I had not felt before and yelled, “You want to talk about a man I have no memories of except fragments of him on the day he died. He was Liam’s father and Liam died on that day with his father. What little memories I have in this life have been mostly hell. So please feel free to carry on this conversation with Fuchsia who does have memories of Dr. Collins. I am going to the bedroom and I don’t want to be bothered.”

I turned back around and realized Bren was staring at me. His mossy green human eye glistened as it tried to discern my actions. The other eye was glowing in the lowly lit hallway. The light pulsated and seemed strangely soporific. Bren shifted out of my way like he was going to leave and I grabbed his sleeve and pulled him behind me.

I could feel his arm pull back, resisting slightly as he said, “I thought you wanted to be alone.”

I spoke quietly so only he could hear me, “I don’t want you to leave me.”

I felt his hand grip my wrist and I released his shirt and he slid his hand into mine. We continued down the hallway towards the darkened bedroom. The bedroom door was cracked and the darkness seemed to billow out unwelcomingly. I pushed the door open and walked in but several flashes of light made me flinch. I immediately felt Bren’s hand on my shoulder and a reassuring squeeze to remind me I wasn’t alone. I heard him push the door shut behind us and I turned to face him.

He stared at me for a minute before saying, “Do you want to talk?”

I lowered my gaze towards the floor and said, “There isn’t anything to talk about. This is the safest option that we have.”

He stood up straight and the silence made me look up at him. He stared silently at me for a moment and I felt worried. Then he reached forward and brushed hairs behind my ear and placed a hand on the side of my face and said, “I know you don’t like the idea of seeing any more doctors but I think it will be good for you. General Morgan seems to be a good person and I think he has your best interests in mind.”

I pushed away from him and walked over to the bed. I flopped down onto my back and covered my face.

Bren sat down on the edge of the bed and said, “Jax, don’t be mad at me. You have been through a lot and you need to talk to someone.”

I pulled my hands away from my face and said, “I’m not mad at you and I know you are right but that doesn’t make this any easier.”

Bren fell back onto the bed beside me, “I am going to stay with you as much as they will let me, I promise.”

He rolled over and looked at me when I didn’t respond. I felt overwhelmed by everything that was happening and I didn’t even know what to say to him. He leaned closer and I felt his warm breath on my face. My anxiety started to lessen as I felt his warm lips on mine. He pulled back and smiled at me as I sucked in air because I forgot to breathe. He was so close I could smell his clothing saturated in cloves. I rolled away not because of his smell but because I was reminded of my need to shower. I sat up and scooted off the bed.

Bren sat up and grabbed my arm and said, “What is wrong?”

I turned around and leaned over and kissed him and said, “I haven't bathed in a long time and I have a feeling if I don’t do it now I won’t have a chance to.”

Bren called after me, “You know it's storming right. Maybe you should wait.”

I laughed and said, “After everything that should be the least of my worries don’t you think.”

I walked to the bathroom and turned the light on. It was quiet, dim, and cold. A shiver ran up my spine. I leaned back out of the bathroom door and saw Bren still sitting on the bed. I cleared my throat and said, “Do you want to join me?”

Bren stood up and walked over to me and pushed me gently into the

bathroom and shut the door behind us.