Unexpected Guest

The orderlies wheeled Naomi’s bed out of the ward just before dusk. The new room was on a quieter floor, tucked away at the end of a short corridor lined with pale blue doors and security.

The window faced the hospital gardens; soft, filtered light spilled across the polished floor. Damon walked beside the bed the entire way, hand on the rail as if sheer contact could protect her.

When they stopped in the new room he oversaw everything himself; the placement of the IV stand, the closing of the blinds, the numerous guards posted outside.

Reed had left an hour earlier, promising to return the next day. Now, at last, it was just Damon and Naomi.

She sat propped against the pillows, breathing slowly, a little colour back in her cheeks. Damon crouched to adjust the blanket at her feet.

“This one’s better,” he said quietly. “More private. Less noise.”

“Thank you for arranging it.” Her voice was still soft, still tired, but there was a flicker of warmth in her eyes. “You didn’t have to.”

“I did.”

He straightened, reached into his jacket and pulled out his phone. He had ordered Lewis to check the CCTV cameras and tell him who had gone into Naomi's room in his absence.

He didn't know why but he felt uneasy. Whoever visited Naomi would be an indication of what to do next or where to go.

Blank.

Lewis was yet to get back to him. He slid the phone back into his pocket. For a moment the room was still except for the muted beep of the heart monitor.

Naomi picked at a loose thread on the blanket. “Was that work? You know you can…”

“No.” His eyes never left her. “I'm not leaving you here alone. Work can wait.”

“Damon…”

A vibration buzzed in his jacket. He took the phone out again, glanced at the screen, and his stomach clenched.

Lewis had texted back. Visitor identified: Amanda.

For a heartbeat Damon just stared at the name, the letters swimming. Then the blood roared in his ears, hot and metallic. Amanda.

He lifted his gaze slowly to Naomi. “Why,” he asked, voice low and even, “didn’t you tell me Amanda stopped by?”

Naomi’s head snapped up. “What?”

“You heard me.” He set the phone on the bedside table, screen still glowing with Lewis’s message. “She came. While I was gone.”

Naomi’s lips parted. “I… what are you talking about? I…”

“Naomi…please. Don't lie to me.” he cut in softly. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Her eyes flicked to the door, then back to him. “Because…” She faltered, shoulders tightening. “Because I thought you’d overreact.”

He said nothing, just waited. The silence pressed against her until she looked down at her hands.

“Yes. Amanda stopped by.” Naomi said finally. “She didn’t do anything I promised. She just…” Her voice thinned. “She just said Clara knows something about my fall. And that I should be careful.”

Damon’s brows drew together. “Clara?”

“Yes.” Naomi glanced up quickly. “Amanda looked… different. Like she meant it. She hates me, you know that. But she didn’t sound like someone playing a game.”

Damon’s jaw ticked. “And you believed her?”

“I don’t know,” Naomi admitted. “But the way she said it… it scared me.”

He reached out and took her hand, thumb brushing over her knuckles. “You should have told me,” he said, softer now.

“I’m sorry.” She met his eyes briefly. “I didn’t want to start a war between you and Clara until I knew.”

Damon sighed, poor Naomi. If only she knew that ship already sank and drowned!

His reply died in his throat as a sharp knock rattled the door. Before he could answer it, the handle turned and the door swung open.

One of the guards stood there and right behind him was Soonie. Damon’s face turned cold.

He didn't know why but he didn't like the sight of that woman. At all.

“Sir, we have Ms Soonie here and she claims to be…”

Soonie shoved the guard away and stormed in. Dark circles framed her eyes like bruises. Her hair was a wind-blown halo, strands sticking to her damp cheeks. She wore a jacket she hadn’t bothered to zip, and her fists were clenched at her sides.

The second she saw Damon she marched in, voice already rising. “How the hell did you let this happen?”

“Soonie…” Naomi started, but Soonie’s fury rolled right over her.

“You’re supposed to be protecting her!” she snapped, jabbing a finger at Damon. “And she ends up in a hospital bed? Are you crazy?”

Damon rose slowly from his chair, face unreadable. “Lower your voice,” he said.

“No.” She planted herself between him and the bed, like a guard dog. “You don’t get to order me around. You don’t get to stand there all calm and collected while my best friend looks like she’s been through a war.”

Naomi tried again. “Soonie, please…”

“And you didn't have the decency to tell me she was hurt?! I had to find out on my own you sick weirdo! I'm her family! And you didn't bother to tell me?!”

Damon’s calm was a blade. “The only family of hers that I know is Reed. And he already stopped by.”

Naomi turned to him, stunned. “Damon!” She cautioned.

“You fucking asshole!” Soonie spat, her fury clearly out of control now.

“Soonie please…”

“I am more family to her than your sorry ass! Do you know what she's been through on her own? What she's over home and fought because you dumbass didn't think it was important to play the role of a husband for six years? Do you know she almost got…”

“ENOUGH!” Naomi snapped, her voice shaky. Her hands trembled slightly, eyes wide open in horror as she stared at Soonie.

“I didn't think it was important to inform you. Judging by how our last visit ended.” Damon adds.

“You smug…” She broke off, biting down on whatever word had been next. Her hands shook. “Get out. I’m not leaving her here with you. Not after this.”

Naomi reached out, fingers brushing Soonie’s sleeve. “Soonie, stop.”

Her friend turned, eyes wide with hurt. “Don’t you see? He’s the reason..”

“I want him to stay.” Naomi’s voice, though soft, cut through the room.

Soonie blinked. “What?”

Naomi’s hand slipped back to the blanket. “I want Damon here with me. I feel… safer with him.”

“But..”

“I know what you’re thinking,” Naomi said quietly. “But I need him. Please don’t fight. You're stressing me out.”

Soonie stared at her, stunned, as if Naomi had just spoken in another language. The anger drained from her face, leaving exhaustion. “Naomi…”

Damon didn’t move. He just watched, expression unreadable, while Naomi and Soonie locked eyes.

Finally Soonie straightened. “Fine,” she said hoarsely. “But I’m staying too. Someone has to look after you properly.”

“Suit yourself,” Damon said, tone even. “I’m here for my wife. I’m not leaving any time soon.”

That made Soonie’s head snap toward him. “Your wife? That sounds like poison coming out of your mouth!”

Naomi taps Soonie. “Please. It's enough.”

Soonie scoffed. She dragged a chair to the other side of the bed and dropped into it, arms folded tight across her chest.

Naomi reached across and squeezed her friend’s hand. “Thank you for coming,” she whispered.

Soonie’s eyes softened. “Always. I'm just glad you're okay.”

Damon stepped back to the window, phone in his hand again, thumb hovering over the screen. He didn't want her here…

Outside, night was falling, the hospital garden darkening under the streetlights. In the glass his reflection stared back at him, pale and sharp.

Damon thought about Amanda’s warning, about Clara’s evasions, about the man Patrick was hunting even now. He thought about Naomi’s thin smile when she’d said “nothing happened.”

His grip on the phone tightened until his knuckles whitened.

Behind him the two women sat in silence, one pale against the pillows, the other a storm barely contained. Damon didn’t turn. He just kept his eyes on the window and vowed, again, that no one would touch Naomi. Not ever. Not while he still breathed.

And even if it was Soonie, he wouldn't hesitate for a second.