Waking up - somewhere else...

Cold fire curls around the tip of your spine, and you’re awake.

The lights are blinding, at first, and you groan, twisting your head away. There’s a sudden blur of movement in your peripheral vision, and an extremely familiar voice calls, ‘he’s awake!’

…The fuck am I?

It takes a moment for the memories to rush back in – leaving Emma’s hotel, the shortcut – the mugger – fighting for your life, at least till you kicked the knife away – but…

We won that fight, didn’t we?

‘Easy,’ a firm, older, male voice cautions, and there’s a steadying hand on your arm. ‘Just take it easy, all right? You’re going to be fine. Just lie still.’

You’ve been in too many hospital beds after getting your ass kicked too many times to bother disagreeing with a doctor, and this one sounds like a decent guy. Letting your muscles relax, you sink into the pillows, waiting for your eyes to recover.

It doesn’t take long before the blurry white shapes in front of you resolve into a fluorescent light, then a bunch of machines, then…

Emma.

‘Hey,’ she breathes, stroking a cool hand over your cheek. ‘You okay? You awake?’