[h2]Esme Stirling[/h2]

Esme gave a weak smile in return to Sam’s words. “You’re welcome.” she managed to say as he passed her. Before moving to the bedside, she walked over to the table to get the kit that was still sitting there from earlier. She reached out with shaky hands and placed them on the kit. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and slowly released it. [i]Come on Esme. Get a hold of yourself.[/i] she told herself. [i]You are stronger than this. Don’t let this gift or curse get the better of you.[/i] 

Opening her eyes, she picked up the kit, along with her tweezers, that had been left there, and went back over to the bed. She sat everything on the bedside table before taking a hold of Annabeth’s hand and sitting down on the bed. “Don’t you worry Annabeth. I’ll have you patched up in no time.” she told her warmly. Esme then set Annabeth’s hand down on the bed and got everything she needed ready, like preparing the needle and thread and bandages she would need. Once done, she scooted closer to take care of the wounds, but paused for a moment. 

She took Annabeth’s hand and placed it on her left arm. “Don’t be afraid to squeeze if you need to.” she told her. She then set to cleaning up the wounds so she could see exactly what she was working with. Esme tried not to shudder or wince when she saw the true damage. Taking a breath, she patted Annabeth’s hand to signal she was going to begin stitching her up. The weak smile that was on her lips faded. Her features took on a look of concentration, and it was clear she was taking great care in what she was doing and trying to not cause too much pain. 

She had stitched up plenty of wounds in the past, some of them almost as bad as this one, but not as deep. It took her a bit of time to stitch up the first wound. “One down, one to go.” she whispered. She leaned up a moment to stretch out her back, then used the back of her wrist to wipe her forehead. Before setting to work on the other, she looked at Annabeth and inwardly sighed, knowing how much pain she was in. She then did something she hadn’t done for anyone in a long time. 

Esme moved the needle and thread to her left hand so she could place her right hand on top of Annabeth’s, which rested on her arm. Esme closed her eyes and began to heal Annbabeth’s wounds, but not physically. She was drawing her pain into herself, or at least as much as she could. She held back the gasp and cries of pain that tried to escape her as she felt the pain consume her. Esme opened her eyes once more and set to work on the other wound.