When Souls Collide

"Shut it, Jaz or I'll shut it for you," Marcus growled, with more irritation in his voice than he meant to show. Jaz's playfulness with Tabby rubbed Marcus's possessive streak the wrong way and he had to stifle the urge to drive his fist into the face of one of his closest friends.

Get a grip! He yelled at himself. He's only fooling around. You don't need to get your alpha male shit up in his face for Christ sake! Thankfully, Tabby hadn't taken notice of his gruff comment and was still smiling absentmindedly at Jaz.

She really wasn't even seeing him, her mind was too busy debating which option she'd prefer, to pay Marcus or Jaz any attention. She pondered and weighed her options, realizing that the stubborn look on Marcus' handsome face meant that she really didn't have any in the first place. She finally decided that if he was going to make her go, she'd rather go with someone who wasn't a total stranger to her.

Her decision had nothing to do with her desire to spend more time with Marcus.

Nope. None at all.

"You," she finally said, honestly too tired to protest any longer. "I'll go with you." She wilted as her head started throbbing in earnest. She felt like there was an entire road crew inside there, jack hammering her skull into jigsaw puzzle pieces. She almost whimpered from the pounding pain and hoped that maybe they'd give her something to make it stop when she got to the hospital. Suddenly feeling insecure, she turned to Petra, guilt squirming uncomfortably in her gut for what she was about to ask, when she saw how tired her friend looked.

"Will you come with me?" she whispered, hating that she was nervous about leaving with Marcus.

"You couldn't stop me, sweetie," Petra said, giving her another hug. She stood up and offered Tabby her hand. "C'mon, let's go harass us some cute ER doctors!"

"Over my dead body," Diego growled playfully, wanting to smack his mischievous submissive on her pert little ass, but didn't want to upset Tabby.

Petra pouted prettily at him. "Spoil sport," she huffed.

"Watch it, pet. You know how much I love helping you adjust that bratty attitude."

Petra brightened noticeably, getting excited at what Tabby thought should have been a threat. Petra fluttered her long eye lashes at Diego coyly. "Promise?"

"Ugh, come on Tabby." Marcus helped her off the sofa and ushered her to the front door, with Jaz and Cooper following closely behind.

"We'd better go before Diego hauls her away like a caveman. Hey, you two coming...?" Cooper smirked, leaving the innuendo hanging in the air. Petra collapsed into fits of giggles, while Diego glowered at her, trying to keep a stern expression on lips that were trying hard not to curve up into a smile. Tabby grabbed her purse and let herself be led out of the apartment surrounded by an entourage of big bodies.

When they got out to the parking lot, Marcus dug his keys out of his pocket and tossed them to Diego who caught them like he had been waiting for them to come sailing through the air to him.

"You drive, I want to sit in back and keep an eye on her. I don't like her colour." Marcus said quietly as Petra helped Tabby into the back seat of his monster SUV.

"Cooper, you and Jaz head to the station and get the ball rolling on finding that asshole who assaulted her. If you need anything else from Tabby, you can call my cell."

"You got it, Sarge. We'll let you know what we find out." Cooper called back with a wave and climbed into a red pickup truck with Jaz.

The ride to the hospital took twenty minutes and Tabby began to doze five minutes into the trip. Lulled to sleep by the warmth of Petra's body cushioning her on one side and Marcus's comforting bulk on the other, she didn't stand a chance of staying awake. Every few minutes, Marcus' voice and a gentle shaking would rouse her, but it was getting harder and harder for her to wake up. She was so exhausted that it felt like she had to claw her way through wet cement every time he tried to force her to wake.

By the time they reached the hospital, Tabby had lost the battle and was snoring quietly on Marcus' lap, her tiny hand gripping his huge one in a way that soothed the possessive beast raging inside him.

Petra watched as the quiet Master stroked Tabby's hair in a way the belied the percolating violence she had seen in his eyes earlier. Something was happening between her friend and the big man and Petra had the strangest feeling that she was witnessing something beautiful and fragile being born. Somehow, Tabby had managed to captivate the reserved Master in a way that neither had realized, nor expected.

This is what love at first sight looks like, Petra mused, a subtle smile on her face. A warm sense of amazement filled her heart and she had to turn and look out the window to hide the wetness that had sprung up in eyes. Her sense of wonder dulled as reality dumped on her glowing ember of hope. How damaged was her friend going to be once the initial shock of her attack wears off? Would she even be able to accept Marcus? Petra had a funny feeling that Marcus wasn't going to go away easily if her friend proved to be emotionally unable to accept him in her life; he had the look of a man who was holding something precious and unexpected like a treasure he'd dug up from under an X in the sand. Unfortunately, this gift came in the form of a traumatized young woman who may not want to have anything to do with him.

The "train wreck" potential worried Petra. At the rate that Tabby and Marcus were hurtling towards each other, the collision was either going to be spectacularly beautiful or a disaster of epic proportions.

Petra put her hand on Marcus' bicep and squeezed it lightly. "Sir?" She spoke quietly, glancing at the back of her own Master's head as he drove them through city streets that were just beginning to fill with the early morning commute.

Marcus cocked a dark eyebrow and murmured, "Hmmm," in response.

"Promise me that you'll be careful."

"Pardon?" Marcus blinked his tired eyes in confusion, not sure what Petra was trying to get at.

"With Tabby." She looked at her sleeping friend and the purple bruising on her face, it stabbed Petra in the gut. "She's so strong...always fighting, you know? Even when she's breaking inside, you'd never know it. This is the first time I've ever seen her so vulnerable and so fragile. Promise me that you'll handle her with care."

"Petra, I'm not..." he trailed off, Tabby had let out a soft sigh and the sound had immediately distracted him. Petra gave his arm another gentle squeeze.

"Whatever you do, or don't do, just remember that she's more fragile than she'll ever let on, okay?" Marcus could only nod, though in truth, he'd barely heard her. His attention was focused on the sleeping woman in his lap and the overwhelming sense to protect what his beast was screaming was already his.

Diego pulled in to the ER's emergency parking area and Marcus climbed out first then reached back in, undid Tabby's seatbelt and pulled her carefully into his arms. She grumbled quietly at being jostled but didn't wake as Marcus cradled her body to his chest and entered the sliding door of the ER. She still didn't wake as the triage nurse directed them to an exam room and he placed her carefully on the bed. What finally did roused her was the heated confrontation between Marcus and the ER nurse. She was trying to insist that Marcus leave Tabby and return to the waiting room. He was refusing, vehemently, and the nurse wasn't backing down.

Tabby woke with a head that was thick with grogginess and pain, only to find Marcus standing toe to toe with a nurse who was glaring up at him like a pit bull defending its territory. Tabby opened her eyes too quickly and it proved to be a bad mistake, the bright lights felt like razor blades slicing into her eyeballs and driving spikes into her brain, making her feel sick and nauseous. She groaned weakly, squeezing her smarting eyes tightly closed but unable to deal with the throbbing agony in her head.

Marcus was the first to notice that she was awake and left the nurse with her mouth hanging agape. Tabby felt him return to her side, he picked up her hand and began caressing the back with the roughened pad of this thumb. The pain subsided slightly at his touch but surged back and she moaned weakly.

"Tabby, you're at the hospital. How are you feeling?"

Tabby swallowed and tried to open her eyes again, they stung and watered, making her blink rapidly. Marcus did not like the haze of confusion her saw in those green eyes.

"Hurts...too bright," she slurred sleepily. Tabby tried to make her voice work but her tongue seemed to have swelled up and had stuck itself to the roof of her dry mouth, the small amount of movement had her choking back the sour taste of bile as her queasy stomach rolled alarmingly.

A older doctor entered the cubicle with a different nurse who was carrying a camera. "How's our patient doing?" he asked, giving Tabby a friendly smile. The first nurse gave him a quick update on her condition and then turned to leave, though not before giving Marcus a look of pure irritation.

"Hello Tabitha," the doctor said. "I'm Dr. Jackson, I'll be taking care of you this morning. I see that you've had a pretty rotten night so far. Except for your headache, are you in any other pain?"

Tabby grimaced, furrows of pain appearing on her forehead, "Just my head...and maybe my cheek."

"I can give you some Tylenol for that headache but it looks like you may be suffering from a concussion so I can't give you anything stronger, I'm afraid. Do you remember if you lost consciousness when you hit your head?"

The image of Jerry's gloating face swam before Tabby's eyes, the flashback so powerful that she whimpered and started to scrabble away. Marcus' hands were on her shoulders in a second, pining her to the bed to keep her from rolling off. "Easy, Tabby. You're safe, no one's going to hurt you."

Tabby's chest felt like someone was sitting on top on it. Her heart raced and her lungs felt so tight that it was like they'd been super glued together. She couldn't seem to get enough oxygen with the massive weight pressing down on her. Marcus kept trying to calm her down but she barely heard his voice through the sound of Jerry's taunting threats echoing in her mind.

"You wouldn't want me to knock you out and tie you up now would you? Be a good little whore and lie still."

Something was being pulled over her face and her anxiety spiked, she fought blindly as hands grabbed at hers, holding her down. A sharp sting in her arm and a moment later, all the strength went out of her body as her muscles relaxed and her vision went blurry. A mask was pulled over her mouth and nose and cool air hissed into it; voices got muffled, sounding like they were coming from a long way away and sleep tugged at her to follow it into a place of oblivion. She vaguely heard the doctor's voice and didn't really care to listen anyway; she was drifting on a cloud of delightful numbness that made her feel like she was floating cocooned in warm water.

"I have to examine her and check for evidence of rape. Then we'll need to take some photos of her injuries for the police report. Once that's done, I want to get a CT of her head and cheek to rule out any bleeding or fractures." He turned to Marcus, "I think we're just dealing with a mild to moderate concussion but need the scan to make sure that there isn't something more serious going on with her brain. The sedative I gave her with keep her calm but it would be best if you gave her some privacy during the exam. Someone will come get you as soon as she comes back from X-ray."

Marcus nodded and his wavy visage appeared in Tabby's vision, she blinked and squinted at him but couldn't get his image to stop blurring and moving. All the movement was making her feel queasy so she closed her eyes and returned to the pleasant, floaty place the drug had taken her. She felt his body heat grow closer as he leaned over and placed a light kiss on her forehead. She carefully cracked open an eye and gave him a quizzical look. He saw her peeking out from under her long eyelashes and he smiled, "I'll be just outside if you need me, Tabby."

"P-p-petra. Where's Pet-petra?" she slurred, sounding drunk. The nurse said something to someone on the other side of the curtain and Petra soon appeared beside her and folded her hand around Tabby's.

"Sir, you need to leave so that she can be examined," the nurse insisted to a glowering Marcus.

"It's okay," Petra said, worried that he was going to argue with the nurse again. She knew what was coming and had a feeling that Tabby didn't want a male audience for the exam. "Go, I'll stay with her." The reluctance in his face as he extricated his hand from Tabby's pulled at Petra's heartstrings. "She's going to be okay, Sir. I'll come get you as soon as it's done. I promise."

Gratitude flashed in the blue-green depths of his eyes and he gave her a curt nod. "Don't leave her alone, Petra."

"I wouldn't dream of it, Mas-, uhm, I mean, Sir." Petra glanced quickly at Tabby, hoping that she hadn't caught Petra's slip. She'd almost called him "Master" in public and felt sick at her slip of the tongue. Luckily for her, the nurse was too busy bustling around Tabby and Tabby had closed her eyes again, her forehead creased in pain. Only Marcus had heard, but didn't seem to care, all his attention was focused on Tabby. He gave her a tired, worried nod and grudgingly left the exam cubicle.

Tabby felt like she was trapped in a nightmare. Hands touched her and her mind swam with terror. She closed her eyes, squeezing Petra's hand tight and wincing with every click of the camera, praying for it to be over. The doctor was professional and the nurse was compassionate and efficient but to Tabby, it was felt like she was being violated all over again. Somewhere in the disjointed thoughts swirling in the drugged stupor that her mind was trapped in, Tabby knew that the exam was necessary.

Knowing did not make it any easier to bear.

Tears slid down the side of her head and dripped off her ears when the nurse lowered the sheet and lifted the hospital gown that someone had changed her into. She felt exposed and embarrassed, clenching her jaws together to keep from screaming as hands manipulated her breasts and the camera clicked, documenting her injuries. Her legs were lifted into stirrups and the camera clicked. The doctor performed a quick internal exam and then ran a comb through her pubic hair. And the camera clicked.

Tabby flinched with each of the electronic shutter sounds the camera made.

Click. Click. Click.

She was never going to be able to take a photo without remembering the sound that that camera made, it was now burned into her memory, stored right beside the awful "f" word.

She was shaking so hard it rattled her bones, even though the sedative helped to keep her calm, she was very aware of what was happening under the sheet. If it hadn't been for Petra's comforting presence, Tabby would have had a complete nervous breakdown while she was prodded and photographed.

"She needs a break," Petra spoke up. "Are you almost done? I don't think she can take much more of this." Tabby had never loved Petra as much as she did in that moment, grateful when the doctor stood up and removed his rubber gloves.

"We're done here. You're doing well Tabby," he said, turning to speak to the nurse.

"How are you doing, sweetie?" Petra brushed a lock of hair away from Tabby's damp forehead and wiped her tears away. Tabby just closed her eyes, wanting to beg Petra to just take her home. She almost did too, except a porter appeared and Petra was ushered out to go sit in the waiting room.

Marcus heard Petra coming into the waiting area and spun on his heel to face her. She looked exhausted and stressed and it made his protective instincts roar to life. "What it is? Did something happen? Why did you leave her?" He stalked towards her, worry for Tabby making him bark questions as if he was interrogating a suspect. She ignored him and sat down beside Diego, folding herself tiredly into his waiting arms.

"Petra, answer me," Marcus demanded, his hands flexing into fists of frustration.

"Easy, Sarge. Can't you see she's wiped?" Diego cautioned, not willing to allow his best friend to harass his partner. "Now sit down before that nurse comes back with a elephant gun and tranqs your miserable ass."

Petra yawned. "She's fine, Sir. The exam and pictures were hard on her but she got through it like a real trooper. They're just taking her up for the scan now. The doctor said that someone will be down to talk to us as soon as it's done." She yawned again and stretched out across the cushioned bench, resting her head on Diego's lap. She could see the lines of worry on Marcus' face and the dark look in his eyes and took pity on him. "She got through it, Sir. The worst is over, you can stop worrying now."

Marcus harrumphed and resumed pacing. Back and forth he went, distracting himself from his confusing feelings by constantly checking his phone for messages from Jaz or Cooper. So far, there hadn't been any word from either of them and that was just another irritation to add to his worries.

The rest of his anxious brain was focused on Tabitha. He couldn't understand the connection he had with Tabby, the fierce possessiveness that flared every time he was close to her or the way his skin itched being separated from her now. He felt like a junkie jonsing hard for a fix and his drug was a woman he barely knew.

It was crazy.

Stupid.

Impossible.

All the above and more. The way he felt though, was undeniable; something was happening - had happened - the moment he'd laid eyes on her and he was never going to be the same again.

It was as if he had been sleepwalking throughout his entire life, then Tabby happened into his life and suddenly he was wide awake. Painfully, wide awake...and all his senses had tuned themselves to Tabitha. Her beautiful, jade green eyes and perfect little body had woken something in him that had lain dormant and whatever it was that had taken notice, was refusing to go back to sleep again. There was a primal part of his psyche that had woken up with a fierce will of its own and it had announced its needs very, very clearly to Marcus.

It wanted Tabby...in every possible way.

Hell, Marcus wanted her too, if he was being completely honest with himself. Every fiber of his being sang when his hands were on her skin, in a way that he had never experienced with any of the women in his past...including the one he was going to marry. He craved her and couldn't stop himself from wondering how it would feel once his cock was inside her. If the connection was this electric from just casual touches, it would be fucking mind blowing once they were skin to skin in a carnal way.

He shook his head and scrubbed at his face. Exhaustion was making him stupid. What the hell was he thinking? Lusting after some poor girl who had just been attacked? What kind of asshole did that make him? Shit. He should just go before he made a colossal asshat of himself, because the longer he hung around her, the more likely it was that he was going to do something incredibly stupid.

He knew that the right thing to do would have been to leave, let Diego and Petra handle Tabby and just go home to bed for a few hours. His beast howled in outrage at that idea, clawing at his chest with a pressure so intense that Marcus couldn't take a breath. His feet wouldn't move, muscles refusing to take that first step that would take him out of the hospital and away from Tabby.

He should leave. Go, and forget the beautiful angel he longed to take home and keep for himself.