[b][center][h2]Paige Kennedy[/h2][/center][/b]

There were suddenly [i]a lot[/i] of people showing up outside of Paige’s room and the corridor was getting crowded. Regular police were out front, a State Trooper and a Marshal were standing guard outside her room adding themselves to the regular, hectic movements of a busy hospital wing. She didn’t really like all the attention and was somewhat embarrassed, but she knew the drill and had been in their shoes before. Her Chief Deputy and her partner, Xi, were also outside talking. Both had been on assignment and rushed over. Milo was looking increasingly impatient and she knew him well enough to know that he wanted to do something, [i]immediately[/i], and that it was itching at him like a piece of metal slag he couldn’t get out of his skin. “No, it’s fine,” She said turning her glance back to him as the nurse left and they were momentarily alone. She realized her use of the word ‘fine’, was not what he wanted to hear or would accept, but the nurse had started her on some painkillers for her head and she knew, to some extent, her thoughts weren’t all there. “This is what I do,” She said solemnly and looked at the people passing by the doorway echoing her words from Sunday.

The cardiac monitor beeped steadily with the sound of her heartbeat and the effects of the painkillers were beginning to make her feel like she was sinking into the bed. She could understand why people got addicted so easily as her nerves relaxed. The nurse would soon be coming back to take her for a round of tests with the doctor. Her thoughts drifted into what she said to him that day. [i]Who are you really, Paige?[/i] She thought about Ana and her old life back in Delta and she could feel the familiar fire in her soul burning distantly. She’d won again, just barely, but she’d done it. No high-noon, no trashtalk, just outright survival. There was never a thought of what could have happened only where she was going next. Milo had been right in a way that he didn’t know.

A slight commotion broke her trance and she looked up to find Sio standing in the doorway. She hoped she at least looked like a tough law officer to her younger friend instead of a beaten victim. “Hey, Van,” She said with a tired grin, “Don’t worry… I won.”

[@RoccanIronclad]