One year, but the pain is the same (Morry)

[Lexine Sullivan]

To say Lexi was a little creeped out was an understatement. The way he had smiled at her before licking his thumb had been alright but as soon as it was pressed against her lips she had to question his sanity. What the hell was he doing? This was a complete invasion of her personal space! But as the rough skin ran over her own smooth lips she couldn't help the little flutter of her eyes as she tried to keep herself from moaning slightly. She succeeded but only just....she had never felt like this before and she was pretty sure she didn't like it. Really. She totally didn't!

Of course when he stuck the digit in his mouth straight after she felt nothing but revulsion. So the only reason he had 'helped her' was to get a taste of her blood? How sick were these people! And she had cried in front of him!

She was disgusted. Very very disgusted. With herself mainly...she had allowed him to touch her and he had done this! She felt rather violated and was glad she hadn't really allowed herself to get close to him. She wasn't sure she could ever look at him as human now- she had started to, ever so slightly but there was no amount of comfort in the world that could make her forget that he was a supernatural creature who would much rather be eating her than being kind. Was he grooming her in some way? Try and make her trust him only to end up on the lunch table at the end of the night?

Despite being usually good at keeping her face straight she couldn't hide her disgust and she even moved away from him slightly, not willing to be near him after such a thing! And to think she had been -slightly- aroused at being touched in such an intimate way. She had always known men were selfish bastards who will run away as soon as they had done with her but she couldn't bear to think about what his kind of people did to girls like her! She shuddered at the very thought. She was happy staying a virgin until the day she died if it meant she avoided such people.

“You should take off that dress,”

Ok so she was not modest in the least but even she couldn't help but look at him in horror. What the hell? What kind of girl did he think she was? Did he think she was the kind of girl to give blood and her body to people like him? She had spent the better part of the last year trying to hunt down the people who had caused her so much pain! The very thought that he might think her like that was enough to make her feel sick to her stomach.

“I mean, the couch is getting sorta damp and…”

Oh no. He wasn't making it any better. All she heard was him trying to dig himself out of the hole he had made for himself. She switched off from anything else he was saying to her and this time moved away from him completely, getting up from the sofa and moving to one of the chairs, picking up one of the discarded blankets as she did so. There was no way in hell she was staying by him.

Curling up into a tight ball she draped the thinner material over her as tightly as she could and shivered slightly. It wasn't as warm as the duvet and not nearly as comfortable as when she had been leaning on him but she wasn't going to sit next to him any longer. If she could she would have thrown him out but even she knew she couldn't do that! She wasn't strong enough to throw someone his size about and he would kill her before she tried. Now more than ever she wished had brought her Sai with her...how the hell was she supposed to defend herself when she felt like crap and up against someone with more power in their pinky than she had in half her body.

"Stay the hell away from me." She should have just kept up with her threat from the hospital...she should have run away when she had the chance- surely he couldn't have tracked her down in this weather? All these should haves were driving her mad but as long as he stayed well away from her she would be alright.

She was just glad she hadn't been attracted to him. Really. She hadn't been.

[Morrison Whelan]

Morrison’s face flushed with heat and he quickly looked down and away, now afraid to look at Lexi. He was so embarrassed with himself, ashamed, almost disgusted, angry... The girl’s eyes were still on him, he could feel her gaze, hot on his cheek, her judging him. Fuck her, her damn racism. He didn’t chose to be a wolf, to be attracted to blood and flesh the way he was. Sure, what he’d done was more than weird, touching her lips that way, but he hadn’t missed that look that had spread over her face for a brief second. Part of the feelings she directed toward him had to be for herself as well, that she should be attracted to such a man as him, but she could just stop engaging him like this. It was her own fault.

Now, his comment about her dress had been inappropriate, stupid. Yet she hadn’t had to react to it like that! She stared at him liked he’d suggested that they should go ahead have sex right there on the floor. That was not what he wanted, no, not at all. She could have just ignored him and scooted over, away from him, something that wouldn’t make him feel like a complete and utter bastard.

It was all even worse now that he was keeping this secret from her, her illness. After the day she’d had and the day she was continuing to have, he imagined that the news of cancer would be enough to send her over the edge. It was a painful thing to keep to himself, but he would until the appropriate time. Of course, he’d have to tell Jeena as soon as possible, though she couldn’t do anything. Lexine needed to go to the doctor on her own; otherwise she’d never complete treatment. That damn, poor, cute girl… He desperately wanted to help her, yet he couldn’t, she just wouldn’t let him, throwing up every wall of defense she could to keep him out of her life. He felt the urge to scream or cry, do something wild.

And all he did was sit there, silent, staring at the cushion beside him.

"Stay the hell away from me."

Morrison glanced up only slightly at this, catching a look at her before looking down at his knees. She’d told him pretty much the same thing at the hospital and that she’d kill him if she ever saw him again and, well, he wasn’t dead right now so that meant she had to hold him in some regard. Unfortunately, he had probably ruined any inkling of trust she had had in him and didn’t know if he could gain it back. He would have tried to tonight, but they were both too tired to be rational, not that he thought either could be rational in a more awake state of mind. Then there was the priest still in the room, asleep as he was, the wolf was afraid to try anything around him. If they’d been alone somewhere, he might have tried to hold her, though he was sure she would retaliate if he did.

Instead, he contented himself with ignoring her, lying down on the couch then rolling over so his face was hidden in the cushions. Disregarding the duvet, he did nothing to cover himself back up, far too hot with it off and sure that it would make him feel worse if he pulled it all the way over his chest, especially with his jacket still on. After a short while, he found that even the coat was too warm and he sat up to wrestle it off before draping it over the back of the sofa then dropping back into the cushions, his back turned to Mercy.

He was bitter towards her, that she couldn’t take him for more than some murderous creature, and yet he held so much concern and pity for her, that she’d had a shitty start to life and that it hadn’t gotten any better. Over all of this though, he wanted to sleep, sure that he would be able to think more clearly in the morning. He knew that sleep wouldn’t come easy, not with everything on his mind, so he had to think of something else, someone else, Lexi needed to be off his brain.

Knowing just what would do that, Morrison reached up into his jacket pocket to pull out Meadhbh’s tags, a soft and familiar clinking comforting him slightly as he held them up to his chest. He missed the woman deeply, painfully, but thinking of her was better than wondering what was going on with the girl who sat across from him, slowly dying without even knowing it. And he often fell asleep thinking of his friend, so it wouldn’t be much different now, he should be able to sleep alright at least, even if the couch was feeling uncomfortable now. However, after a few minutes, he felt no sleepier than before, if anything, he was more awake, but he didn’t move a muscle.

[Lexine Sullivan]

Lexi tried her best to ignore the man sitting barely a few paces away from her. She couldn't bear to look at him let alone think of him but for some reason her mind kept floating back to little things he had done over the evening and she hated herself for it.

And yet, she couldn't help her tongue peeping out of her mouth and running over her lips slightly. She could still taste him. The appendage snapped back into her mouth at the thought and she considered getting up and trying to get some water and soap so she could wash her mouth out! She was disgusted with herself for even allowing herself to do it but she couldn't help but remember the shiver of pleasure that had run through her when he had touched her. What was wrong with her?

Her eyes flicked to look at him and was more than relieved to see that he had moved so that his back was to her. That meant he couldn't see her looking at him. She was grateful for it as she wasn't sure how she would react to him moving towards her or staring back. Keeping her eyes on him she lifted her hand and lightly trailed her fingertips over the flesh. How was she supposed to take this? The touch itself had been...interesting but when he had taken her blood into her mouth everything within her screamed to get away and get away fast.

Maybe she had been a little hard on him. Even she had to admit that her reaction might have been over the top but could you blame her? All her life she had been beneath people like him and when they had ruined her brother she had found they thought themselves like Gods. And then this idiot came along and challenged everything she stood for! How was she meant to take it?

Her fingers moved to curl into a fist as she coughed once more and with a groan closed her eyes and tilted her head back until it hit the back of the chair. She felt like crap and she didn't feel like she was getting any better but she hoped that it was just because of the rain soaking her through from before. She couldn't afford to get sick any more than she was...if Bert found out he would think of all sorts of things and then she would be banned from the garage! Not to mention he would sit in front of her door to stop her from going out and getting her fix or getting to the fights. Men.

She shifted once again, trying to get comfortable but failing completely. There wasn't really enough room for her on this chair and he was right, her dress was still kind of damp but she wasn't going to take it off. If he was that worried about her well being he would have to try and do it himself...if he was lucky enough to get that close to her anyway. Another cough and her body doubled in on itself as her body shook. Ow. It was starting to really hurt...and the tang of blood was soon in her mouth once again but not because of a bitten lip.

Maybe she should consider a doctor....

Another cough and she couldn't help the whimper that escaped her as her right hand moved to clutch at her chest, fingers curling into the still damp fabric of her dress. She had to do something about this cough! She made a mental note to pick up some medicine before going to work in the morning. She also needed to get food before that as well since she hadn't eaten at all today and wasn't likely to get anything until tomorrow.

Why had she come? Why hadn't she just refused the invitation to come inside? This whole mess could have been avoided and Father Timothy would never have had to go back outside to lock up meaning he wouldn't be passed out cold in the other chair! luckily he was just sleeping it off now but it could have been worse.

[Morrison Whelan]

This was getting to be absolutely pointless. Morrison couldn’t fall asleep no matter how hard he wanted to, there simply to much on his mind and this sofa was starting to feel lumpy. He slowly flipped onto his back and stared at the ceiling, still holding the necklace to his chest. He knew that Lexi was staring at him, but he didn’t look over at her, afraid of the look that was in her own eyes. For the moment, he would stay silent and gaze at the dry wall over his head, trying to coax himself to sleep.

His eyes had begun to close and his body finally, completely relaxing, when Mercy suddenly had a coughing fit, making him jump slightly and look over at her. The faintest smell of blood hit him and he frowned. She was just getting worse and worse and getting all drenched earlier hadn’t helped in the slightest, it would have hurt her more than anything, and she had to feel absolutely terrible; coughing hard enough to spit up blood had to be painful. If he’d had any of Iivan’s painkillers on him right now, he would have given them too her, but since the other wolf was healing so fast, he’d stopped carrying them around with him.

As the girl coughed again, Morrison rolled onto his feet, placing the chain around his neck at the same time. He had the thought to pick up one of the candles, but he knew he would be able to see perfectly fine in the rest of the house and they were providing a little bit of heat for the two humans in the room. Without a word or a look at Mercy, he walked out of the room into the kitchen where he found a clean glass sitting next to sink, obviously set up to dry. He filled it over half way with water then went back to the living room to hand it over to the girl.

“You can take the couch again if you want,” he whispered to her, supposing that he should make up for scaring her off of the sofa and out from under the duvet, which he hadn’t been using anyway.

The wolf then grabbed up his jacket and pulled it on, not caring how weird this would make him look, paired with the flannel pajama pants. Before sitting down again, he went over to the priest. The man was sleeping now, not merely unconscious. His breath was deeper now and he’d warmed up well, though he didn’t have a fever, which was really good. He just hoped that he could keep sleeping into the late morning so his body could concentrate on healing itself without him worrying over what he thought he’d have to do that day.

With a sigh of exhaustion, Morrison dropped into the one unoccupied chair and leaned back in it, letting his chin fall forward onto his chest as he stared at the floor from under his eyelashes. He wished that Lexi would fall asleep already, since he couldn’t let himself drift off until he felt he didn’t have watch over anyone anymore. He also wished that didn’t have to feel so obligated to look after people all the time, but he couldn’t do that so easily, not when he felt that he had to use his years and years and years of experience to help people. He sure hated being old sometimes. Not that he ever felt old, which surprised him at times, but he was glad for it, that he wasn’t all crazy and senile. Okay, maybe he was a bit crazy, in a good way of course.

[Lexine Sullivan]

Lexi hadn't watched as Morrison moved away from the sofa or when he moved into the kitchen so when a glass of water was thrust beneath her nose she was slightly surprised. What was this for? Or better yet why was he getting her water? She didn't think too much on it thanks to her throat being so sore and she took the glass silently and watched as he moved to the priest and then back to the other chair.

She took a sip and winced as the cold liquid touched the back of her sore throat. Eugh. This was really starting to become a problem but it didn't matter, she could live with a bit of pain and she would get over this at some point- afterall, a cold didn't kill anyone these days thanks to nice medicines. Another sip and she was thankful for it as it began to soothe the pain instead of make it worse. she hadn't realised she was so thirsty and it was with surprise that she realised she had already had half of the water in the glass by the time she pulled away from it. She moved forwards, slipping off the chair so she could put the glass on the coaster that lay on the table.

Having done that she reached up and ran the back of her hand over her mouth before checking it for any blood that may have leaked but was glad to find none- she didn't really want the man to try and get any more than he had already! It was just so very very wrong! She knew they had to eat like her but really, did they actually need blood and flesh or was it some kind of sick and morbid thing? She felt bile rising just at the thought of it. She was glad she was human...the very thought of trying to understand the love they had for such things made her sick to the stomach.

Sighing she began to move back up onto the chair and the small warmth of the blanket when she began to think of other things. Like, what time was it? It had to be getting on in the evening by now and she hoped that Bert hadn't decided to see if she were home (well, she did in some way since she didn't want the cats to starve but still...). She was also hungry and she doubted the priest had much in and anything he had had in his fridge or freezer wouldn't be any good by now. She ignored the slight rumble of her stomach. She could survive a few hours without food.

It was as she was just getting under the blanket that another flash of lightening lit the room up causing her to jump once again. She would be glad when this weather went away! She was fed up with the rain and whilst she much preferred it over warm weather she just wanted to get home and it was preventing her from doing so. She wanted a nice warm shower and her bed! Instead she was stuck here until further notice...she hoped the phone lines were working in the morning and that the weather hadn't brought them down along with the electricity. She would have to run down to the public phone box and use that to call the doctor but then again there was always that one who lived a few streets away- was he even there anymore? It had been such a long time since she had felt the need for a doctor she couldn't remember where he was these days! Bugger it.

She wrapped the blanket around her body and glared into the dark corner opposite her. Why had she come today? What had possessed her to be the dutiful grieving daughter and come to this place? She could have just left it, or come earlier in the day! But no, she had to come when the place was meant to be empty so she could avoid everyone and here she was stuck here with these two! One of them had known her forever and the other thought he had the right to know her....she cursed her God once again.

Her eyes moved from the dark corner to the side so she could look at Morrison once again. Why did she feel the need to keep looking at him? She hated the man! She hated that he wanted to help her. Hated that his friend had tried to kill her. Hated that he tasted her blood and that he would help the priest at the same time. But most of all she hated that she looked at him and her blood felt like it would rush to her face, tinging her cheeks pink with a blush. That when she looked at him she didn't automatically think of him as the monster he was but as a very attractive man who caught her eye...

No. She hated him very much but it was because of how she felt that caused her to be so bitter. How could one man make her hate herself more than she already did? It shouldn't be possible for there to be more hate in her! But there was the all too well known feeling and there was the man who inspired it.

Gah!

[Morrison Whelan]

For a short time, Morrison kept a watch on Lexi, staring at from under his half lidded eyes so that she wouldn’t notice it. He was glad to see that she had drained quite a bit of the water he’d given her before putting it down, knowing that it would help her throat a little bit and hoping that it would help her to not feel so hungry since he could hear her stomach growling every once and a while even from where he was sitting. He would have gotten up to get her food, but he didn’t know if she would appreciated being waited on like that and he couldn’t be sure that the priest anything that was ‘real’ food anyway. He figured that she could go a few more hours without eating though, it wasn’t as if she were complaining about it and the biscuits were still on the coffee table if she really wanted something.

Turning his head to the side, resting his cheek on the back of the soft chair, he closed his eyes. He could feel the beginnings of hunger himself, but he could sleep on it, even as much as he would have enjoyed a nice steak or the like. That small taste of blood had stirred in him the want for more, yet when he remembered the taste of her blood, those thoughts went completely out of his head. Her blood hadn’t smelled too bad, a little sickly, but more along the lines of a harmless virus than anything else. Only, it tasted terrible, like it was rotting in her still living veins. It was hard not to tell her about it, to quell her fears of him eating her and to convince her to see a doctor, yet he managed to stay quite.

Wondering what the time was, having not checked since the clouds had made the sun go dark, the wolf lazily pulled his phone out of his jacket pocket. 10:39, no signal. He could have called Jeena about the priest, but he supposed that was out of the question now, though he was surprised that the signal was out; the storm must be that bad. And as for the time, well, it made him feel absolutely drained. He usually went to bed around 10, so it was starting to feel really late to him. His body was under the impression that he had to get up for work in the morning and suddenly he was ready to just curl up and drift off for the next eight hours.

With a tired sigh, Morrison turned slightly on his side, lifting his arm to shrug his jacket closer around himself and give himself a bit more warmth. He tucked his nose into his shoulder and tried his best to hide his face in the darkness between his arm and the back of the chair. There wasn’t much light coming from the candles anymore, most of them having gone out from drowning their flame in their own wax, but the random flashes of lightning outside were a little bit disrupting. However, he was too tired to care about that after a few more minutes as he sunk deeper into the arm chair and slowly fell asleep. He was soon snoring softly, his chin dropping once more onto his chest and his arms relaxing down by his sides. It hadn’t occurred to him that Mercy might try anything on him while he slept, like strangling him, so that had made it easy to fall asleep. It would just be nice if she didn’t end up doing anything of the like, and hopefully the cold wouldn’t wake him either, unless Lexi was feeling kind and only placed a blanket over him, not that anyone would expect her to.

[Lexine Sullivan]

Lexi wasn't in the least bit tired now she had been coughing. It was rather annoying actually since her mind knew that she had to sleep but her body clock was telling her it was still early and she didn't have to crash anytime soon. Of course, it wouldn't be long before she did fall asleep thanks to the lack of nicotine keeping her alert. She needed a fag dammit! Why hadn't she brought something with her?

As she sat cursing her rotten luck she barely even noticed the male falling asleep in the other chair and it was only when the last few candles started to flicker and begin to die that she looked up and paid attention. Huh. He must have been bushed...She slowly got to her feet, wrapping the blanket around her as she did so and moved softly across the room, thankful for her light tread. She paused by the chair before taking one of the nearly dead candles and making her way to the kitchen.

A few minutes later she had located the candles and brought several through back into the sitting room, lighting only one another since the flashes of lightening were doing more than enough to light everything up. Also, she didn't want to waste them since she was using the things without permission. Placing the now lit candle onto the table she bit her lip and looked between the two sleeping males, wondering what the hell she was going to do now and reached for one of the small biscuits. Sitting back on her heels she nibbled at the treat, savouring the sugary goodness until it was finished but didn't have another since she wasn't really that hungry anymore.

She finally made her mind up after looking back to Morrison more than the once. Getting back onto her feet she moved silently towards the sleeping man and looked down at him, her face a mixture of emotions. There was so many different things she could do to him right now...the main being how she could dispose of him...There were plenty of knives in the kitchen or she could smother him...by the time he woke up it would be too late.

Or...she looked at him with different eyes, her face softening ever so slightly as she bent down closer to him, her nose brushing slightly into his hair breathing in his scent before pulling back sharply. what the hell was she doing?

"Moron," She breathed out, making sure it didn't come out in a loud curse causing him to wake. What was she doing? Did she want herself killed? She took a step back before pausing and once again stared at him.

Damn it all to hell. No matter how hard she tried she just couldn't forget the lessons her mother had caught her about being polite even to strangers and that you should help them if they needed it. Of course her mother had ended up dead because of that but the thought was there and with a heavy sigh she pulled the blanket from her own shoulders and, ignoring the sudden shiver as the cold attacked her, spread it over his body making sure his legs and as much of his torso was covered. He might not have needed the duvet but she wasn't about to let him freeze (no matter how much she really, really hated him right now).

As she pulled back away from him, she couldn't stop herself from reaching out and lightly trailing her fingers over his cheek. He was really very handsome.... But old.

Her fingers pulled back quickly and she made her way to her chair once again, pulling the duvet off the sofa on the way since she was really very cold.

Settling down she forced her eyes to close and her body to relax. She must stop thinking too much into things! Maybe he will kill her in her sleep and she won't have to worry about anything anymore but she needed rest and that was what she was going to have!

Finally, and with great effort, her body relaxed and she eventually dropped off into a semi deep sleep, her chest rising and falling and her mouth ever so slightly parted.

[Morrison Whelan]

Morrison was the first to wake in the morning. It wasn’t actually light out when he did open his eyes, but he was too awake to go back to sleep. However, he didn’t want to move and so he sat in place, staying still and relaxed and breathing shallow, quite breaths. He was surprised to be warm, sure that the house had been almost freezing last night, yet when he moved his arms, he realized why that was. He had a blanket draped over him now. Slightly surprised by this, he opened his eyes and sat up a little straighter, lifting his head to look down at himself. He knew he hadn’t fallen asleep with this blanket even around him, so how did it get there? This was also the same blanket that Lexi had been using. He blinked softly and looked up to see that the girl was sleeping soundly in a chair, the duvet wrapped tightly around her body.

His heart melted a little bit, seeing how kind this had been of her. And she looked so damn cute when she slept, with her head tilted to the side so that her hair fell over her face and her mouth falling open ever so slightly. He watched her for a short while, observing the way she moved in her sleep, how deep her breathing was. He was glad that she wasn’t still coughing and that her face looked healthy and pink even in the faint dawn light.

Feeling warm and awake and hungry, Morrison finally moved to get out of the chair. As quietly as he could, which was near silent even on such heavy feet, he got up and placed the blanket in his seat before moving over to the chair Lexi sat in and picking up his clothes that he’d laid out next to it. He took a second to look at her, making sure she was doing as well as he thought and sort of enjoying how calm she was now, he didn’t even have to deal with her glaring at him. Granting himself a soft smile, he went off upstairs to find the bathroom where he got himself dressed again.

With his clothes all straightened out and warming up against his skin, he folded up the priest’s pajama pants then brought them to the man’s room where he placed them on the bed, not sure where they would be put away. Glad to be back in his usual clothes, finding them even warmer than the blanket he’d been under, he was able to go back into the front room without tensing up against the cold. The candles, he noticed, had all gone out, meaning that they hadn’t managed to catch anything on fire. Everything was perfectly calm now, cold, but calm…

Supposing that it would be a few hours until either of the humans would wake up, he decided that he could pass the time by cleaning up. He picked up all of the candles from the coffee table, the match book, and plate of biscuits, which we able to balance on top of the candles. In the kitchen, he put all of the candles and the matches back and put the plate down on the counter. Before moving back to the living room, he grabbed himself two of the cookies, stuffing one into his mouth as he walked. When he got home, he promised himself he’d have a nice, hot, long bath, and that he’d have plenty of bacon with his breakfast.

Now munching on his second biscuits, Morrison took a seat on the sofa so that he could easily keep an eye on the priest on Lexi, wondering who would wake up first. He hadn’t bothered to check on the old man’s vitals, able to hear his breathing and his heart beat in the now silent morning, the storm having worn itself to a mere drizzle of rain. It was so peaceful… He could have fallen asleep again, but he wouldn’t, knowing he would have to get home in a few hours and wanting to make sure that these two would be fine before he left them.

[Lexine Sullivan]

It was with a small gasp that Lexi jerked awake sometime in the early morning and she blearily looked about her trying to work out where she was since she most certainly was not in her nice warm bed back at home. It only took a moment to remember where she was and she was sitting upright in the chair and looking about her. Well, he hadn't killed her then. That was a good sign...maybe.

Not noticing Morrison on the sofa she gave a small yawn and stretched herself out, grimacing as she straightened out the cricks caused by sleeping in such a position all night before she ran her fingers through her tousled hair- or tried to anyway. It was at that moment she noticed the male and, yawning once again, got to her feet and stretched once again, allowing her lithe body to get rid of the cramp that may settle in. Eugh. She felt horrible! She didn't need to look down to notice her clothes were rumbled and she didn't dare think about what her hair looked like!

"Mornin'" She mumbled as she made her way towards the stairs, hoping that the hot water would be working now so she could at least have a quick wash before the priest woke up.

It was only an after thought that she picked up a towel on the way to the bathroom and making her way inside ran the hot water tap, sticking her hand under the cold liquid until it turned hot and she gave a small relieved smile. Oh thank God! She could have a quick shower! Draping the towel over the side of the bath she quickly stripped and turned the shower on and left it while she went about her other business, finding a spare toothbrush hidden behind a load of cleaning things in the cupboard. Before getting into the shower she hung her dress up and hoped the steam would at least get rid of some of the wrinkles. Climbing under the hot spray was blissful and she sagged against the wall, allowing the water to run over her. This was just wonderful! She hoped the priest wouldn't wake up as she was in here of course since she expected him to want to use his own bathroom.

Which was why ten minutes later she was washed and feeling so much better as she climbed back out, turning the water flow off and grabbing the towel to rub herself down. She would probably have another when she got home since she hadn't really been able to clean herself as well as she liked but it was more than enough to get her smelling fresh and the steam had helped get rid of the worst wrinkles in her clothes. She would have killed for clean underwear but there wasn't much she could do about that and besides, she didn't really have to go far to the garage so it wasn't like she had to hang around in them all day.

Once she was dry enough to pull her clothes on she dressed and made her way back down, toweling her hair as she went, cursing that she was going to have bloody curly hair again once it dried... she would have to get the straighteners on it later. Or at least once she knew she could leave the priest alone.

It was that thought that made her stop in the hallway at the telephone and eying it for a moment or two before she picked it up and listened for the dial tone. Oh good. It was working! Now all she had to do was remember the number...

It took one or two goes before she finally dialled the right one and she was awarded with the sleepy voice of the elderly doctor. As soon as she had said that the priest had been caught in the rain he had already promised to be there in the next half an hour and she hung up. She figured the two men had been around this place forever since even she remembered being treated by this doctor when she had been younger and the priest had always been the same.

"The doctor will be here soon," She announced in way of a greeting as she moved back into the sitting room, crouching by the priest as she looked over him. He looked alright now. Not too pale or anything but then again what did she know? Ah crud. She should have called Bert as well and she mentally flinched at the thought...he was going to kill her! This was twice now she had just vanished without a note or some such and if he found out Morrison was here as well would probably not take it too well- he had been less than impressed with the wolf than she had been!

Damn. She was going to be in so much trouble!

[Morrison Whelan]

Morrison was watching Lexine before she was even fully awake, that familiar increase in breathing rate catching his attention as he’d just been staring at the wall, slightly spacing out. Staring over the girl, he leaned forward in his seat so his elbows rested on his knees. When she woke quite abruptly, he smiled softly, amused by the look on her face. Waking up somewhere unfamiliar was unnerving, even if you’d been there the previous day, your body just never seemed to clue into the situation.

And her clothes and hair were such a mess, rumpled up by her shifting in her sleep and helped along by the neglect it had received the day before. She didn’t look bad though, not at all, and he couldn’t help but appreciate her as she stood, stretching her arms above her head. For a human, he supposed she had a nice body, a sick one, but still strong, and she wasn’t a twig, which was always fun to look at.

Blinking softly, the wolf turned his eyes away from her just as she noticed that he was awake. "Mornin'" He was confused for a moment when he thought she’d said his name, but that didn’t make any sense what-so-ever. “Good morning,” he said softly, a hand reaching up to ruffle his hair. It occurred to him then that he would look a bit of a mess himself, his hair and beard all scruffy and his clothes wrinkled up. He would have to deal until he got home though, since he didn’t want to use anymore of the priest’s things, and he was sure that the way he looked wasn’t offending anyone.

After Mercy had left the room, Morrison leaned back into the couch, hands resting on his thighs, not sure what to do. He couldn’t go anywhere, of course he couldn’t, promising himself that he’d be there until he was sure the priest and the girl were alright. And now he was good as alone in the room, with the old human still asleep. Hearing the rush of water through the walls as the shower was turned on, he felt the urge to go up and join the girl, mostly so he could get washed, honestly; showering with someone else was just a way to conserve water. He also enjoyed the snuggling, but that was beside the point.

With a sigh, the wolf tilted his head and shut his eyes, knowing that he could wait like this for a while. However, it didn’t seem that he’d have to wait in complete boredom as his phone went off, vibrating in his jacket against his hip. Slightly lethargic, Morrison pulled the cell out of his pocket and flipped it open before pressing it to his ear. “Yeah?” he mumbled, not having bothered to check the number before picking up.

He suddenly sat up straighter, surprised to hear Iivan’s voice on the other end, sounding annoyed and…was he worried? So that he wouldn’t make too much noise and wake the priest up against his body’s will, he got up and moved into the kitchen.

“Hey Iivan,” he said, glad to hear a friendly voice.

”Where are you?” the man sounded accusing, but upset.

“Dealing with Mercy,” he said, supposing this was a good enough explanation.

The other wolf began to complain about Morry and his ‘helping people thing’ and how he shouldn’t be spending his time on something that was so useless, but he was cut off.

“I’m going to be back in a few hours,” he said, “don’t worry. You won’t have to suffer the loneliness much longer.”

Iivan grumbled something about irresponsible friends, yet Morrison could tell there was smile on his face, sure that he couldn’t be mad at his friend forever, especially if tried to bring humor into the situation. Hearing the shower switch off, he quickly bid Iivan goodbye then tucked his phone away. Walking back into the sitting room, he saw Lexi making her way down the stairs, damp hair hanging even limper than before against her back.

"The doctor will be here soon,"

The wolf smiled over at her, nodding a little, and tucked his hands into his jeans’ pockets, watching her move over to the priest to check on him.

“You sure you’re okay with getting to work on your own?” he asked, moving over so he stood a few feet away from her and Timothy. “I can drive you if you need. It’s no trouble, it’s not like I have anything to do tomorrow.” Again, he smiled, though it was a slightly unsure expression. He was actually quite positive that Lexine would reject his offer, but at least it was worth a shot, wasn’t it?

[Lexine Sullivan]

“You sure you’re okay with getting to work on your own?”[e /i]

Lexi got back to her feet, running her hand through her still wet hair before she turned back to the male and gave a small, uninterested shrug.

"I don't live far..." Yeah, and it wasn't like she had to go very far from there to get to work what with living right over the top of the garage. Besides she was going to be late for work anyway so she might as well just 'call in sick'- Bert would scream but what was she going to do? She couldn't just leave the priest here without making sure everything was alright! She figured Bert would be happy that she was taking an interest in someone other than herself and he knew the man as well so that would work in her favour.

"You don't need to hang about." And...she really didn't want to be around him anymore! The man did weird things to her and he didn't even have to touch her! She was already fed up with the way he made her blush- she hadn't blushed since she was a kid! After everything she had been through in her life finding anything that could shock her was pretty impressive...not to mention pretty impossible. Except this man. He seemed perfectly capable of making her uncomfortable and he didn't even need to try! Bah.

Anything else she may have said or thought was stopped at the knock of the door and with a start she jumped back to reality and made her way to the door, and upon opening it came face to face with the doctor. Jeez. He got here quick! Surely she had only come off the phone not long ago? It didn't seem like it had been too long and yet here he was...maybe he had rushed over? It wasn't like he had had to come far.

"Ah, Miss Sullivan," He greeted her as he stepped inside, medical bag in hand, "Where is the patient then?"

She stepped back and allowed the man to enter, gesturing to the sitting room and he moved past her and into the room.

She didn't miss the look he gave her though. Like everyone else in this bloody neighbourhood he assumed her to be the bad seed. Which was proved further at his comment. "I wouldn't have thought this was the place you came to." Had it come from anyone else it might have been an innocent comment but there was no hiding the sarcasm in his voice, nor the horrible bite of someone who was talking to someone below his station. Yeah. He sure knew her well...bastard.

Lexi felt her hackles rise and she scowled at his back as he moved further into the room and watched as he crouched down next to the chair. She also hadn't missed the look he had given to Morrison as he did so and for some reason that really annoyed her. How dare he assume such things! Everyone else had assumed she and the man were sleeping together or whatever but he had been the only one to assume that she was sleeping with him for money (Bert didn't count as he was just protective).

Great. As soon as the man left it would be all around that she had been sleeping with a stranger under the roof of a priest! They would probably say she had tried to seduce Father Timothy as well or that she had been the reason he was out cold! Her scowl deepened. She was well aware of how everyone thought of her- whore, drug addict and dealer, bad seed in general- but this was one of those few times it really bothered her. She had forgotten why she didn't see this man but she bloody well remembered now.

"I'll get tea." She bit out, forcing herself not to show her anger in her voice, glad he wasn't paying attention to her before she turned on her heel and made her way into the kitchen where she promptly emptied the kettle and made ready to get a pot ready.

It was only after she set a cup down too hard on the work top causing it to shatter into several pieces that she realised how pissed off she was. "Shit!" She swore under her breath as she brought her hand up to her face so she could inspect the cut. It didn't look too bad but it still hurt! At least it looked clean and she turned to the tap and stuck her hand under the water with a small wince.

Ow.

[Morrison Whelan]

Of course she didn’t want a ride, but he was just being kind. He had to wonder how far it really was to wherever she was going, though he supposed it didn’t matter much, since he couldn’t do much in the way of convincing her to take his offer when she seemed rather set on getting away from him. Unfortunately for her, she would have to suffer his company just a little bit longer, at least until she was ready to leave herself. He knew that wouldn’t be until the priest was declared as being totally healthy, and that wouldn’t happen until the doctor she had called showed up. Her telling him that he didn’t have to ‘hang around’ didn’t do much in the way of goading him to leave either, if anything, it made him want to stay more, just to be difficult and see if it would make the girl squirm.

A sudden knock on the door made Morrison blink and he looked up as Lexi made her way to the front to let whoever it was in.

“Ah, Miss Sullivan, where is the patient then?”

The wolf smiled softly to himself. Such formality! Calling the girl Miss and she looked an absolute mess, not to mention that she didn’t seem that polite herself, though that could just be because he hadn’t seen her in any situation that demanded civility, since he surely didn’t. If anything, his presence encouraged a person to go a bit mad, a bit wild, and he did enjoy that at times. Right now, however, he would appreciate the calm and someone reasonable to talk to, someone that hadn’t already judged him and wasn’t keen on hating him with everything they had.

Apparently he wouldn’t find that today.

"I wouldn't have thought this was the place you came to."

The tone in the humans voice was so biting that even Morrison took offense to it, a soft frown spreading over his lips. Only, he wiped the look off once the doctor turned his eyes to him, regarding the other man with a slight, welcoming smile. The glare he received in return felt like a slap in the face and it was difficult for the wolf to keep himself from growling. Goddamn this man! How was it even possible for him to think he had the right to judge the other man before he’d even had a chance to open his mouth? What did he think he knew that would put that look on his face in the first place?

Morrison hazarded a look over at Mercy and was surprised to see quite the same feelings he had written all over her lips and eyes. Clearly, she’d dealt with this man’s passive aggressive insults before, then why did she feel the need to bring him back into her life? He should have just stepped in last night and called up Jeena when he’d had the chance, she might not be close by, but she was a hell of a lot kinder and not nearly as judgmental. He still wasn’t sure what this doctor was so disgusted about, though he could guess that he was thinking the two of them hooked up, and right there in a priest’s home. What an idiot, that was terrible thing to think. Lexi didn’t even seem the type to him; she got all flustered when she barely got close to him.

"I'll get tea."

Gritting his teeth, he watched the girl walk out of the room and to the kitchen. He didn’t want to be left alone with this… freak, but he thought it would be a bit creepy to follow after the human, since it didn’t take two people to make a pot of tea. As long as the doctor didn’t look at him again, he supposed he would be alright and he could keep his anger to himself, he’d just bottle it up and vent at Iivan later. However, he was soon given as excuse to leave the room as he heard a loud crash from the kitchen as Mercy dropped or hit something.

“I’ll go check what that was,” he said a bit lamely, not thinking the other man would even care. Without a look at the doctor, he quickly trotted to the kitchen to find Lexi standing at the sink washing off her hand. It was a little while before the smell of blood hit him, but once it did, he sighed and shook his head. “You should be more careful,” he smirked softly, walking up to her and leaning against the counter a few feet away.

For a second he was quiet and then he said, unable to keep his comments to himself. “That guy’s an asshole,” He looked over at the girl, frowning the slightest bit. “I should have seen if Jeena could have come, she may not really like you, but at least she’d be… nice.” With a sigh, Morrison rubbed his forehead then tilted his head back. He’d be glad to get out of here…

[Lexine Sullivan]

“You should be more careful,”

Lexi turned slightly so look at the male as he entered the room. Well, that was rather stating the obvious wasn't it? But it wasn't like she had gone out of her way to smash the cup (and boy was she glad that she hadn't broken any good china)...it had only happened because she had been so damn pissed off. How dare the doctor assume such things about her! He had no right but she guessed she ought to be used to it by now, he wasn't the first and he wasn't going to be the last- she expected no less from idiotic people who judged her because of how she looked.

Ok. So she was just as bad but hey, in her defence the wolf was a wolf and as such was pretty darn scary and his mate certainly had not helped her with her prejudice against them. Nor did he come to think of it thanks to his little stunt with the blood...she really hoped he didn't try it again now that her hand had a nice gash in it. Ew. She really hoped not.

“That guy’s an asshole,”

Again, an understatement. Also not a good way to introduce anyone. She had known from the start that she was going to be treated like a second class citizen but she had thought the doctor would be polite to Morrison at least- the wolf looked like a respectable person after all. She was disappointed but not shocked. Like she had told herself earlier it was really hard to shock her these days.

"Yeah," She agreed as she turned the tap off and grabbing some kitchen towel so she could pat dry the wound, biting back a grimace as she did so- no matter how many wounds she got it never got any easier...she really didn't like blood, especially when it was her own. Not that she was much better when it came to other people's...actually she was usually the reason why they were bleeding which never did settle well with her.

"I'm used to it," Another shrug and she moved towards the table and sat down, clenching a clean piece of towel in her hand to soak up any blood or water that might be left. Hmm, it kinda stung but there wasn't much she could do about that, she could live with it until she got home and with it not being deep it wouldn't be much of a problem. Except it stinging like hell.

A minute or so later she pulled the towel away from her hand and inspected the cut before deciding that it would be fine and flexed her fingers just to make sure she wasn't about to bleed everywhere again before standing up and starting to clear her mess away. It was only as she was doing this that she realised he had been talking about his friend and how he should have called her over.

Hah. Somehow she really doubted the woman would be pleased to see her again and Morrison confirmed her suspicions by saying that she might not 'really like' her. Not many people did but it didn't bother her as much as it should...she was far too used to being alone and what not that she didn't always notice she was pretty much stuck by herself for the most part. Well, it was that or she was taking far too many drugs to care. Which reminded her she still really needed a fag and that the sooner this was over the sooner she could get back to her miserable existence.

She watched as he rubbed his arms and tilted her head slightly, glad her hair was drying, despite it curling terribly as it did so. "Why don't you just go?" It wasn't said as rude as the words made out, she was genuinely curious as to why he didn't just get a move on and leave when he was so obviously uncomfortable being around the two humans. She guessed he was out of his comfort zone as much as she was when it came to things like this.

Must be the monster in them.

[Morrison Whelan]

Morrison was surprisingly glad that Mercy was being this… civil to him. He supposed that part of it was the fact that he wasn’t saying anything that would incite any anger in her, instead, he was saying something which they both seemed to agree on. It was a welcome change, after he’d come to realize that more than half the things that came out of his mouth these days was so poorly thought out and insulting.

At Lexi’s saying that she was used to the doctor’s attitude, he couldn’t help but smile slightly, though he was able to keep his mouth shut. If she was so used to it, then why would she react so bitterly? He knew from first hand experience that after a while, you became immune to the things people always said about you and eventually, you could force yourself to sneer or laugh with them, making them pretty uncomfortable and shutting them up in the process. Therefore, he found it amusing that the girl was still so sensitive yet sad that she clearly hadn’t done much to try and change the man’s opinion of her. He supposed that it was part of her not wanting to get to know people thing she had going on.

The wolf turned his eyes down when Mercy had pulled the towel away from her cut, noting that it wasn’t that deep, though he was slightly put off by the smell of the blood coming from it. That scent wasn’t getting any better, but at least it wasn’t getting any worse, not that fast. If it had been, he would have dragged her off to a hospital right then, even if she put everything she had into fighting him off. At least he was sure that he’d have to wait a lot longer before that was necessary, so he let himself relax a little on that subject. He only kept it in his mind to tell Jeena about it, and to tell Iivan later as well, to see if he could make the other wolf guilty over wanting to eat a young woman with cancer.

”Why don’t you just go?”

Glancing over at Lexi, Morrison gave her a slightly questioning look. He thought it strange that she would ask this without sounding rude at all, not to say that he didn’t enjoy her curious tone either. Maybe he was finally starting to rub off on her in a friendly way.

“I’m not sure,” he said after a moment, “I guess I sort of feel guilty.” He shrugged a little, looking to the girl and turning so he was facing her from the front, not just the side. “If I hadn’t stopped you yesterday, we probably wouldn’t be here right now.”

Well, he knew they wouldn’t be here at the moment. Mercy had seemed on the verge of leaving when he’d caught her and that had given the priest the time to spot them and invite them inside. Then Timothy wouldn’t have had to go outside after looking after the two and Morrison would still be sleeping at the moment, drooling on his pillow and his blankets all wrapped around one leg because he’d been thrashing about in his sleep. That thought made his brain want to shut his body down and go to sleep since it did sound so wonderfully comfortable, but he wouldn’t let himself. He had too much to do today to take a nap.

“Are you sure that hand’ll be alright?” he asked, eyes shifting down to her cut again. “Without a bandage that is, it looks like it stings.” He wasn’t so much concerned for the pain that the wound might be causing Lexine, he just didn’t want to have to smell that blood anymore, it was making it hard to keep his mouth shut about what he knew. However, if there was no smell of blood, then he’d probably forget about the whole thing.

[Lexine Sullivan]

“If I hadn’t stopped you yesterday, we probably wouldn’t be here right now.”

Well, that was true. If he hadn't come over to her last night she would never have hung around long enough for the Priest to see her, let alone get her to come inside a place she had been avoiding for so long. She blamed Morrison entirely for the whole painful process of being 'forgiven' and for making her cry like a child in his arms and that was another thing she needed to add to reasons for hating him. No. If he had left her to her pain then everything about the last few hours would be different and it was hours she could never get back.

As he mentioned her hand and bandages she looked at the wound before looking back up and shrugging. It wasn't like it really bothered her and quite frankly she had had worst cuts than this in her lifetime so apart from a stinging sensation every time she moved her wrist it didn't affect her in any way. But then again, she forgot that as a wolf he craved blood (just like vampires...filth!) and it was probably driving him up the wall. Had she been a more cruel person or even more awake she would have gleefully left the wound wide open but since she didn't really want to fight anyone until she had had a proper nights sleep she guessed she would just have to keep the peace for a little while longer.

Which was why she headed back to the sitting room where the doctor was kneeling next to the still sleeping priest. She looked from one to the other before bending down slightly and peered into the open bag the man had brought with him. Aha. There was a nice clean bandage...She stooped, took it and was back in the kitchen before you could shout 'thief'.

She mentally dared Morrison to say anything about what she had done as she opened up the plastic wrapping keeping the white material sterile and began to wrap it around her hand expertly, showing that this was not the first patch up job she had had to do on herself (and it was most certainly not going to be the last!). It had been a long time since she had stolen anything but she hadn't lost the touch at all! It was like riding a bike really...one didn't forget. It was a useful skill to have in this world so it paid to remember.

And besides, the doctor was a bastard and deserved to be robbed blind since as a private doctor did a lot of pilfering himself charging such expensive fees.

She fasted the bandage just as the doctor appeared in the doorway and she half turned her body towards him but not really paying him much mind at all.

"He is awake and fine," The man stated as he looked between the two, his eyes landing on the white bandage that was around the girl's hand. Why did he suspect that when he got back to the surgery he would be short one bandage in his bag? Not that he could accuse her of such a thing in a priests house mind you...but he knew she had done it dammit!

"I'll send the bill to your guardian and you can see him now." He looked at his watch, "I must be going." He didn't hang around for them to say anything else, turning on his heel and making his own way out of the house.

Lexi made her way into the sitting room and crouched down next to the now awake Father Timothy who looked upon her with a smile on his lips.

"Good morning," She kept her voice soft, not sure how he would take to loud noises seeing how he had managed to sleep through the thunder storm that night. "Would you like some tea?"

He thought for all of a moment before nodding, "Yes, I think that would be wonderful...John didn't say I couldn't and it would keep me warm."

"Alright, I'll be a moment."

She stood and moved into the kitchen where she made the fresh pot of tea and placed everything onto the tray from the night before. Then she looked at Morrison.

"You really don't need to stay."