Chapter 30: Precaution and hospital beds 1 (Jason and Jasmine)

Sorry for the lateish post guys, ended up with very little time to write and edit after last weeks exam. You guys are getting the next half of the chapter tomorrow, which might addd further justificiation to the smut tag on this story.

(Pov Jason)

Jason turned off the faucet and looked up into the bathroom mirror. He looked better than he had in weeks, finally regaining some of that fat and muscle that had slowly but surely dwindled away during his coma. That wasn't to say he looked normal; his bones were still far too visible for that.

Yet his recovery was going great. He could finally walk, not for long if he was completely unassisted. But he could walk, and as long as he had a walker, he could do so for a while. Which also meant that, for the first time in what was now months, at least from everyone else's perspective, he could actually go to the bathroom on his own. He didn't have to have that god… that catheter anymore. It made certain things, well, extremely uncomfortable. 

He turned around and grabbed hold of his walker and walked as quickly as his body would let him over to the door. The bathroom wasn't locked; the nurses had been rather adamant that he not lock it so they could easily reach him if he fell. He pushed open the door and started walking towards his bed, seeing his sister still sitting in one of the chairs by the window. 

She glanced up from her book, an ancient-looking thing, and gave him a careful smile. “Everything went ok in there?”

The question would have been awkward had it not been for the guilt she was so clearly trying, and miserably failing, to disguise. 

“Yes, Sophia, everything works as it should. I am a big boy again; I can pee on my own.” He couldn't stop the slight upward twitch of his lips. He was happy about that, after all; God only knew how little most people appreciated being able to pee on their own or walk. “What are you reading?”

She pursed her lips for a bit, looking at him with what felt almost like doubt, before she sighed quietly. “It's the history of witchcraft. It kinda glosses over the pre-late-1960s, since it's mostly about the kind of witchcraft that actually works. It's interesting, though, even if it mostly focuses on the mages and warlocks first. But they taught the first pact witches and theurgists, so that's fair enough.”  Excitement seeped into his sister's voice as she spoke.

Jason had to actively work to not let his smile grow too wide. It was good seeing Sophia being excited by something. The last few times she'd dropped by, it had been all doom and gloom. He got why she felt guilty, even if she shouldn't. Her excitement was infectious, at least when she deigned to share. And she seemed a lot more willing to do that now than before. Not that he knew much about any of it.

“Well, I am glad you're enjoying yourself.”

“Yeah, I am. Even if Rhea is a bit of a slave driver sometimes. Seriously, I get corrected on my etiquette every five minutes. I know it's really important, like Really important. But it gets exhausting.” She hesitated, then waved her hand dismissively. “It's fine; I didn't choose this because it's easy. I am just bitching to adapt.”

“Okay then. Well, I am glad you got your wish then.” He winced slightly as he sat down on his bed.

“Yeah… Thank you, Jason. I really mean it. This would have been impossible without you. You're the best-” Sophia was interrupted as an alarm on her phone went off. “Shit.” She fumbled with her phone for a moment before she managed to turn it off. “I am sorry, time's up. Gotta go.” Sophia frantically packed her stuff, stuffing her books carefully back into her backpack. Before she hurried towards the door. “See ya.” She uttered just as she was half out the door.

“Bye, Sophia. Good luck.” He barely managed to say before he lost sight of her. Hopefully she wouldn't be too quick on her way out, or the nurses would scold her for running in the hallway.

The room was oddly quiet after that; it hadn't been that quiet while he was awake since… he wasn't really sure. Probably not since he woke up. Someone was always there; mostly it was Jasmine. She spent every moment there, at least when she wasn't working or in meetings, and when she was gone, he had a bodyguard. Typically a younger Noctian or even his surgeon. When possible, it was Julie who did it. It was nice talking to her; Sam was supposedly doing great. Even if the kid was a little unsure about if they had moved again.

Now though, he was actually alone. Jasmine was just out in the hallway; she had decided that it was best for him and Sophia to get some time. It had been a good decision; he would have asked had she not decided on it on her own. She hadn't said that was why, but it was obvious that when you spend three hours getting a burrito from the store in the lobby, it isn't accidental. He had seen her wave her burrito in the door not that long after she left. Still, it was a little odd she hadn't come back in by now. 

Knock! Knock!

Jason looked up at the door. He wasn't really expecting any visitors, and yet there in the doorway to his room stood a person. A tall guy roughly his own age, at least so he guessed. He had quite frankly never seen anyone his own age dressed like that. The man wore nice leather shoes, khaki pants, and a brightly floral shirt. However, the standout piece was the bright blue sash tied around his waist. He carried a small bag in one hand.

The boy was smiling at him. “Hi! So you must be Jason, then.”

Jason's eyebrow slowly arched as he looked at the boy. “Hi? Yeah, I am, and you are…” His voice slowly drifted off as he noticed the bat earwrap the boy had on his left ear. The same piece of jewelry Jasmine had given him. The same one that identified a person as a thrall, at least to those in the know. 

The boy winked at him. “I am Richard Jones; it's nice to finally meet you jason.” He gestured towards the chair that sat next to the bed. “May I?”

“Yeah, of course.” Jason hesitated as he watched the boy walk over and sit down next to him. “I am sorry. I wasn't really expecting any more visitors.”

Richard waved off his apology. “That's part of the point, unfortunately.  You see, normally the clans aren't fond of no one checking up on their thralls. The clan elders get twitchy when no one other than the noctian someone is bound to spends that much time around them. So I have been sent to check up on you.” He opened the bag, pulling out a small chocolate bun, before angling it toward Jason. “You want one?”

Ok, that sounds bad. Had something new happened? Did Jasmine do something?

“Thanks.” Jason took a bun, then returned to the topic at hand. “Do you guys suspect Jasmine of doing something?”

Richard laughed at that, the sound almost giggly. As if he was trying to suppress it and failing miserably. “God, no. No one suspects her of anything. It's just a precaution, and I am here to give you a short intro to how stuff works for us thralls. And as a thrall is immune to the compulsion of anyone but the noctian they are bound to, we often do these types of check-ups on each other. This is more them just wanting me to drop by and see how you're doing. No one actually thinks Jasmine has turned your brain to mush.”

“Oh.” Jason's shoulders sank back down at that. “So this just happens every now and then?”

“Sure does, buddy. And since I was the closest agewise, I got the job of checking up on you.” He drew a breath and sat up straighter. “So Jason, how is Jasmine treating you? And how are you feeling in general?”

“Wouldn't I just lie if she was using some sort of mind control?” If the issue was the compulsion thing she could do, then that seemed like it could get in the way of an honest answer, didn't it? She had said she couldn't do it for long, and there were supposedly limits, but who knew if there wasn't some niche use case.

Richard deflated slightly at his question being dodged. “Well, it's a concern, just not the main one. We will teach you how to do it later on, but you can easily spot the few long-term things the compulsion thingy can do. Mostly it's memory repression, but that's really easy to spot once you know what to look for. Making you lie on a specific topic or keep a secret just isn't doable long term.”

“Okay then. I guess things are going about as well as you can expect after getting shot.” He took the first bit out of the, surprisingly still warm, bun. The taste of soft bread and chocolate filled his mouth, and he had to stop himself from moaning in delight.

“Good, right? There's this fantastic bakery just four blocks south of here. I haven't dropped by much in the last few years, but their buns are amazing. Figured you might need a break from vending machine snacks and hospital food.” Richard smirked slightly as he took another bite.

He wasn't wrong; the little snack/gas-station drug-store-like place in the lobby had decent snacks, but nothing like this. The hospital food was also far better than any other he had tried. Not that he had tried many over the years.

“It's fantastic.” 

“I knew you'd like it.” Richard said, smiling mostly to himself.

—-----------------------

(Pov Jasmine)

The warm sensation spread through her chest as she sipped the coffee. The warmth of the coffee itself was part of it, but mostly it was the healthy amount of human blood added to it. 

“Thanks again, Linda.” She said as she took another sip. 

“No problem. Your mother asked me to bring it. Supposedly you keep forgetting to eat. Well, feed at least.” Linda said as she sat next to her in the waiting area.

“Yeah, I tend to get pretty preoccupied with stuff.” She said sheepishly, glancing down the hallway at the door that led to Jason's room. 

He would probably be fine. Richard was a nice enough guy. He certainly wasnt the type to push too hard early on. If Jason didn't want to answer, he would simply circle back to it after doing something odd. Still, it would have been nice being there.

“I am sure you do. Can't say I am all that different myself. But my particularly energetic husband keeps me reminded that I need to eat. Particularly that I need to eat him.” She smirked at herself at that. “No, you can't go down there.”

Jasmine sighed. “I know. He'll be fine.”

“I know how you feel.” She said.

That certainly wasnt surprising. Her relationship with Jason had started off well enough. Richard and Linda relationship had started off complicated. Though that was years ago.

“So you heard the news yet?” Linda said as she sipped her cup.

That was worrying. It was rare for someone like Linda, who quite frankly spent most of her time on the front, or behind the feds' part of it, to know any piece of news before she did. Had her mother, or one of the other matrons, said something. It wouldn't be surprising if her mother had said something; Linda was practically her sister, hell, her mother turned Linda a decade and a half ago. 

She set her Styrofoam cup down on the table. “No one has mentioned anything. Why? What did you hear?”

Linda looked her over, her eyebrow raised. “I won't spoil the fun then. Let's just say when you get your new post, there is a chance you get more front-line duty than you originally expected. Your fiancé will have to handle a lot of the clan's interests in Fairvern for a short while.”

Well shit