#elsewhere

*************

At the hospital, Jaymes eyes finally flutter open

To find Dag, holding his hand. "Hey Dad."

"Hey..." he gives a squeeze, weaker than it should be. "Sorry for goofing off"

"Hey. No apologies."

"You okay?" A beat "your mom, CJ?"

"Safe."

"Good" A groan "Not sure i understand while those punnks came in like that... didn't barely ask for money and they started firing"

"They were sent to kill you."

"They're dead."

"I know.. i killed em.." A grunt

"But it still does't make sense..."

"Leach."

"huh.. oh" realization "Well damnn. Now I wish you cut off both his hands"

"Wish I'd cut off his damn head, but here we are."

A grunt ("Yeah.") A beat "how long am I supposed to be here?"

"Couple days." Huff.

"Then we can get you by the fire. Way better."

"Much" A nod then "You need to get home. I'll be fine"

There is a tap at the door.

"Nuh-uh. I'm here." She looks at the door, tensing.

And... stands, grabbing Flyswatter as she does so.

The door cracks open.

"Cminn" A grunt

Frank opens the door more fully and enters.

Dagmar backs down when she sees Frank.

Yup. Jaymes sttill looks a mess, wires and tubes, but his fae mein is still there

Frank does a quick double-take as Dagmar disarms, but then looks back at Jaymes.

"You're awake."

"mmph, yeah." Jaymes nods

"Dagmar, are you well? Unhurt?"

as much as he can nod

"I'm fine."

A soft grunt at both reports. "The gunman doesn't remember much. A cantrip, no doubt."

"Gunman? I thought I killed my attackers" he has not been told yet of the guy with the silencer

"You did, at least one of them. How many were there?"

"I think two... not sure.." Mmm "Drugs have me feeling little painn but a bit fuzzy"

Grunt. ("He doesn't know.")

"Well, take it easy. You should be safe." and Dagmar gets an eyebrow.

"I think Dr. Lee will help us get you home safe to finish healing; for now, just rest up. We'll keep an eye on you, bring you what you need."

Symon, returning from a trip by the cafeteria, pauses in the doorway. Unsure about intruding.

"just make sure dagmar gets some rest, wife okay, son okay" Jaymes protests weakly

A little finger-wave at the sluagh.

He slides through the door. "You're awake... good."

Perhaps a bit intrusive, but Symon expends a bit of glamour... perhaps more than usual, to counteract the current banality of the room, and his eyes gleam with a greenish glow... looking over Jaymes to see if he can ken out any particular weakness, anything that may have been missed by a clinical mortal eye.

His father is good. That heart needs time to heal, but b esides that, it's on tthe right path too. Hell, you could heatherbalm him a few times and have him walk out of here

The gleam fades, and he gives a thumbs up to Dagmar. "Better than I expected. Get Ma or the Hearth in here, or even just a few cookies, and he can walk out. Well, not quite. They'll insist on pushing him out in a wheelchair - it's policy. Bet Dad can note on his chart that he's being transferred to avoid any questions."

"That'll be good. It's cold here."

"You should go then" Jaymes grunts "More banal in crowds than in this private room"

"I'm protecting you." Stubbornly.