FicWad

"Miss Lemmings?"

Ava cracked her eyes, watching the stranger approach her bed. He was tall and slightly balding, but most importantly, he was wearing that white jacket that stated is position in the hospital. Sighing, she pulled herself into more of a sitting position as he pulled her chart from its plastic holder.

"How are you feeling today?"

She gave him a half smile, hoping she looked better than she felt. Otherwise she probably looked like shit. "Um, fine. A little groggy, maybe." She lied.

"That's to be expected." He ran his finger down the length of the page, and then flipped through the next couple very briefly in sequential order. "You had four black widow spider bites."

"What? I thought there were only three."

He shook his head. "No. Four." He gave her a serious glance. "You are very lucky to be alive." He flipped back to a specific page and stared at it a moment. "It is extremely rare for a person to receive a black widow bite at all. Usually these spiders are not aggressive unless provoked; but four bites... I've never seen anything like it."

She really didn't know how she was supposed to react to that knowledge. Happy? Surprised? Glad to be alive? It was strange, but she honestly didn't feel any of those things. Mostly she just felt tired.

"You were first given a calcium gluconate injection in the ambulance to counteract the toxins in your blood system and bolster levels of calcium salts. Once you were admitted you were given a higher dosage of the black widow antiserum. Now, normally a bite on a young human, such as yourself would fair well with just the calcium gluconate, but with the number of bites we had to take extra precautions. The way the poison works is it affects your nervous system, slowly shutting it down; for a few hours you were hooked up to a respirator to help you breathe. After the toxins began to dissipate you were taken off the machine, clearly able to breathe on your own again."

Ava stared at him blankly, taking in everything he said, but it really didn't register. "So when can I go home?"

He laughed. "Soon. We'll need to get a final blood analysis, but everything looks okay. If there are no problems you should be out by this afternoon."

"Right." She said blankly. Ava didn't need to stay in the hospital any longer than necessary. She was already going to owe Matthew so much money- those lab tests were never cheap.

"So just rest up. I'll send a nurse in here for the tests and you'll be out in no time." He told her cheerfully.

She grinned, letting him know she wouldn't argue with his orders as he made his way out toward the door. Doctors in these places never stayed long. In and out and on to the next.

Once he was gone, Ava glanced around the room looking for something to keep her entertained but found nothing that fit that description other than the twenty-inch television hanging from the wall. She really didn't watch much daytime TV for the fact that it was all pretty much crap, but even that was better than staring out the window for hours on end.

Reluctantly she began flipping through the channels. Golf. Soaps. Children's programming. Out of those three, she knew she would be watching Sesame Street along with the little kiddies, but surprisingly she landed on a random music show that just happened to be playing Fall Out Boy's new music video. Smiling at the humor of the video- as well as the lead singer- she sat back and scooted snugly under her covers. Even when Patrick wasn't around he still possessed that ability to make her happy. He was just that gifted.

And he was probably as pissed as hell that she just left him on the phone the way she did. Hadn't she just told him she was bitten and then hung up? Yeah, she was pretty sure that's what happened. She sighed, dreading this conversation and looked around the room for her belongings. Hopefully someone thought ahead enough to bring her a few things at least. Immediately she spotted her green duffel bag slung over the arm of her chair and pulled it roughly onto her bed. Clothes and toiletries, but no cell phone. Of course.

Not that she would be allowed to use one in the hospital, even though that had never really stopped her in the past.

Chewing on her bottom lip she glared at her bedside phone. She could call him that way; use a service so nothing would show up on her hospital bill, but then he would get charged for the call and she didn't want to do that to him again. Following the directions spelled out on the phone she placed her call, letting Matthew take the check for this one.

She should have expected it, but the first words out of his mouth were not happy ones. "What the hell happened to you?" His voice was a low whisper, which immediately made her think of things not very appropriate for someone supposedly sick and in the hospital. "You call to tell me that you've had some sort of spider infestation and then you hang up?"

"I was bitten! I freaked out!" She argued.

"Still, you should have called me after you dealt with it. Not the next day."

Ava rolled her eyes. "I am still dealing with it."

"What?"

"I got sent to the emergency room."

Pause. "You're in the hospital?"

"Yes. Apparently black widow bites are not something to take lightly." She waited for him to say something else, but when nothing came she rambled on to fill up the silence. "I was bitten four times. I guess I was lucky though because there were hundreds in my apartment. But their bite is poisonous and it does something to make it hard to breathe and move so when I called you I had just started having those problems. I ended up passing out in the ambulance right after that and I've been in and out over the past... day, I guess. I really just woke up about twenty minutes ago."

Silence. Her heartbeat quickened. Was he really going to be mad at her for that? "Patrick?"

"Give me a minute." His tone was harsh- more so than usual, making Ava wince.

It was odd really. Ava was past caring that she had been bitten when she should really be the one getting mad over this entire incident. Not Patrick. He was only affected by default and right now he was being much too over dramatic for Ava's taste. He seriously needed to let it go.

Only she knew better than to tell him that.

She was simply getting used to these dramatic events. It probably wasn't exactly healthy on her part to be desensitized, but she was having a difficult time coping with it in any other way. If she got concerned or worried, then she'd just end up making herself sick. That was something she needed to avoid.

Ava twisted her thumbs in circles, letting the rhythm keep her entertained while Patrick collected himself. He was most likely trying to formulate a sensitive yet knowledgeable response to her information. She didn't really know how to go about helping him do this so she just kept her mouth shut.

"Your apartment was filled with spiders?" He finally asked.

"Yes."

"Care to elaborate?" His voice sounded strained. Even though Ava appreciated the effort he was taking to be kind and rational- or whatever he was trying to accomplish- she wished he would just get it out. She had always dealt best with people who ranted and raved- not those who kept everything bottled in.

"They were just... everywhere." She tried to explain, picturing the room again with an involuntary chill. "There were a bunch of open boxes on my coffee table, so that's probably how they got in."

"So someone put them there?"

"Of course. I don't just live in a spider-ridden neighborhood, Patrick."

"Someone's still trying to kill you, then." It wasn't a question. He stated it as a fact and she didn't have any logical argument against it. In fact, it was the best she could come up with, herself. She just didn't understand /why/.

"I guess."

He was silent for another moment. "How can you be taking this so calmly?"

She shrugged then remembered he couldn't see that over the phone. "I wasn't at first. Not right after the spiders. But now... I don't know. I'm getting used to these things happening to me I guess. I'm becoming immune. If I didn't, I suppose my nerves would be in a constant state of shock."

He let out a breath. "Ava, you say it so casually. It's unnatural. Here I am practically shaking I'm so mad and you're all, 'oh, I almost died, thanks' without even caring"

"I told you. I care. I mean, I'm glad I'm not /dead/! I just can't spend eternity stressing over it."

"You're going to be the death of me." He muttered, but not necessarily unhappily. "Do they have any leads as to who might be behind these attacks?"

"Not that I know of. I just gave my statement and left yesterday. No one has brought any news yet."

"Where are you going to live?"

She frowned. Ava hadn't really thought that far ahead. "I suppose in my apartment. All the spiders will have been taken out by then." Even as she said it, chills shot down her spine. It was going to be torture walking back into that apartment. She was going to have to clean everything from top to bottom before she could live freely in there.

"I don't think you should go back there."

"Where else am I going to go?" She shot back defensively.

"A hotel, with a friend, I don't know. Anywhere but there. Someone wants you dead and you're giving them a nice easy shot by living there all alone."

"I can't just move, Patrick."

"Yes you can. It isn't a difficult process."

"Maybe for you/! It's your job to constantly pick up and move, but my whole life is in that apartment. /Wendy's things are there. I need that familiarity."

Even though she knew Wendy was dead, there was a part of her that wouldn't give up the notion that maybe somewhere down the line someone was wrong. Wendy was going to show up back at their apartment one day as if nothing had happened. And what if Ava wasn't there because she had been too scared to stay? What would happen then?

"Sometimes," Patrick started, "it's smarter to do what's safest and not what makes you the most comfortable."

She shook her head. "No. I'm not going to be scared away from my home."

He gave a dry laugh. "Well, you probably should be."

Ava didn't like where this conversation was going and had no intention of staying there. "Well, I need to get off this phone. I'm charging up the bill, I'm sure."

"And Matthew is paying for it?" Patrick growled.

"Probably."

"I don't like it, Ava. I'm trying my best to understand this connection the two of you seem to share, but all I'm really getting is a bad feeling."

Ava groaned. "You're paranoid."

"Am I?"

"Yes. Completely."

"Well, maybe I have good reason. You've almost been killed three times now..."

"Three times? You mean two?"

"I'm counting the explosion and shooting as two separate instances." He explained quickly. "But Matthew seems a little odd to me."

"His girlfriend just died! Wouldn't you act a little odd too if you were in his shoes?"

"Without a doubt I'd be devastated, but I would most definitely not already be going after other girls."

Ava didn't like what he was implying. "What do you mean by /that/?"

"It's whatever you want it to mean." He shot back. Her sweet Patrick had a bit of latent attitude built up somewhere, just now starting to show itself. Ava didn't really know how to deal with it.

"Listen," Ava tried to be rational, "I'll move back to my apartment, but the instant something feels out of place I'll run like crazy."

He seemed to be thinking it over. "How far into your apartment did you get before you realized it was crawling with spiders?"

Ava sucked in a breath. Wow, he hit below the belt. "Not fair, Patrick."

He made a 'tisk' noise. "How far, Ava?"

This was certainly not helping her case one bit. "Not that far..."

"Ava..."

She groaned. "Just a few feet..."

"A few feet."

"Fine, like, thirty feet or something, I don't know. I normally don't immediately turn my light on in my apartment as soon as I enter, but I can guarantee that I won't be making that mistake again."

He sighed, giving her a one word answer. "Right."

What was that supposed to mean? She frowned at the elastic cord she had absentmindedly been twisting in her hands, not knowing how to respond to that. This relationship- whatever they were- was strained. It wasn't just distance that separated them, but everything else that made them so different. She couldn't imagine what it must be like for Patrick, to have almost everything but still unable to protect someone he cared about. She wasn't stupid enough to believe that he was only sticking around because of a hero complex. They had to have /something/.

Still... it wasn't easy, being so far apart and still in the beginning stages of learning about one another. Ava had to wonder if she was doing the right thing by bringing him into this entire mess. It had to be dangerous, and her motives were purely selfish in nature. She liked having him to talk to. But if someone was really trying to kill her, shouldn't he try to be as far away from her as possible?

Patrick muttered something she couldn't understand before speaking clearly. "Honey, I'm sorry, I just... Why don't you come up and stay with us for a while?"

"That's insane." The idea actually made her laugh.

"I'm serious. The buss is always moving, so it'll be hard for this psycho to find you, and we have plenty of security..."

"No way." She felt her smile spread across her face. Even though she knew there was no possibility she was going to share a buss with a bunch of boys, it was still a little flattering for Patrick to invite her.

"Come on. We always have room for one more."

"I don't think so."

"Don't make me beg, Ava."

She shivered, her mind wondering inappropriate places again. "Trick..."

He made a strange noise. "I don't think you've ever called me that before."

She felt her blood rush to her face, immediately embarrassed. "Oh, I'm sorry; I thought that's what a lot of people called you..."

"They do." He cut her off. "I've just never heard you call me anything other than 'Patrick'. It was new for me; everyone seems to have a nickname. But 'Trick' works, too." He added quickly.

"Well, then /Patrick/..." Ava started.

"Trick is /fine/. You sound cute saying it."

She felt her cheeks flame even more than before and she was so glad he couldn't see her. "Whatever. I'm not going to go stay with you. I'll be absolutely fine on my own." She reassured him.

"Nothing I can say will change your mind?"

"Nope. Nothing."

He must have realized defeat and accepted it as gracefully as any proud person can manage. "And you'll consider getting some kind of alarm system?"

She laughed. "Oh, yes. Spending lots of cash on a spiffy alarm system is number one on my to-do list."

"Seriously, Ava, consider it."

"Right." Back to the one-word sentences.








*









Ava had finally been released from the hospital around three in the afternoon. Quickly, she began tossing her things into her duffel bag, seriously contemplating whether or not to check the bathroom for free toiletries as if it were a hotel. In the end she decided that sort of action would be tacky in a place of healing.

She stuffed her last sock in with a triumphant pat, and then bent over to check under her bed for anything that might have fallen beneath its cotton clutches. Nothing. Pushing herself up on her knees, she leaned against her nightstand. She really wasn't going to miss this place, but knowing there were no spiders around was actually somewhat of a comfort. Before she stepped one foot across her threshold she was definitely going to have to do some major psyching-up. She was confident she wouldn't let the idea of the spiders get to her.

Standing slowly, she lost her balance, instinctually reaching out to the first thing that her hand came to- the bedside lamp. Jerking the unbolted object toward her, she only managed to take it down with her as she hit the tile floor with a definite smack. Groaning she pulled herself once again into a standing position, trying to walk off the pain that was now shooting from her hip to her knee, all the while clutching that porcelain lamp upside-down to her chest. Ava had no idea how she managed to fall and hurt half the bones in her body, but not even crack the breakable material of the light.

Giggling to herself she held it away from her, about to set it back in its rightful place when she noticed something odd. On the very bottom of the lamp there was a little tick black sticker. Ava blinked a few times before jabbing her thumbnail under the sticky side and prying it away from the porcelain. It came away fairly easily.

Ava held the tiny piece of plastic in her palm, flipping it over but still coming to only one conclusion: it was a bug. Someone was trying to spy on her.

___________________________________________

So, I have these professors who have this crazy idea that while in college, you entire life needs to be based solely around jumping through their hoops (What the hell?). Anyway, it's my last semester, so I've had all these degree plans, etc. that have had to be turned in... yes, I know that's not a good excuse, but it has been a stress none the less. Then mix that with all my law, Russian, and psych classes and you have yourself a busy little bee. And by default, completely bipolar characters from writing at so many different times. So sorry it has taken me so long to update, and after such a long wait I feel like it should have been a more exciting chapter... anyway, enough about that. Let me know what you think!