Dark Stranger

Scott - Part 3

Case 1 - "Scott"

Did he just speak? "Scott?" I touched his arm again, shaking it slightly. "You awake in there Buddy?"

"Mm." He smiled as I touched him again and made that little hum noise that was pretty cute.

"Scott, Sco....ott." I said and my voice went up the second time I said it. Almost sing-song.

He made a frowny face. It was like he was struggling to open his eyes and needed a kick start to get there. This time I touched his face. There was no hesitation, as soon as my fingers met his skin, he opened his eyes. His eyes were clear, they focused on the ceiling of the room and then travelled to my face. I smiled at him and said "Hey, Scott!"

He smiled back and tried to speak. After clearing his throat and not having any luck, I offered him some water. "Take a small sip first off, OK?" I asked.

He nodded and tried again. "Who are you?"

That's right we haven't been introduced. I felt like I had known him for weeks and he didn't even know my name. "Hi Big Guy. My name is Zass."

He smiled, "Sassy."

"Nailed it!" I replied.

He chuckled, or tried to, it ended up being a coughing fit and I pressed the call button so the nurse would come and check him out. As she walked in and saw him with his eyes open, she smiled a really huge smile and said "Welcome back to the land of the living Mr. Hoying."

"Scott, please." He said and smiled back at her.

"I'll get Dr Temple. Are you staying Mr...?"

"It's Zass." Scott replied for me. The only time his eyes had lost contact with mine was when he smiled at the nurse. When she left the room he asked "Who are you?"

"No one important."

He shook his head in disagreement. "Don't lie to me."

I opened my eyes wide in surprise at his tone. No one spoke to me like that, even if they were right and I was being flippant.

His eyes opened just as wide and he made a 'Spill it' motion with his shoulders and head, then regretted it as the pain from his injuries woke up. I could feel his head start to throb and he closed his eyes again. I was off the hook. Cool. Or... maybe not. He clenched his jaw. Breathed out and then opened his eyes again. The expression in them just about set my pants on fire. And not from lying. Growl... total hottie alert. I almost smiled at him, but stopped just in time so he wouldn't see the reaction he'd caused.

Turning me on was one thing, seeing the evidence of that in my fangs descending would have been a total mood killer. I rubbed my forehead and pushed my bangs out of my eyes just in case my eyes had started to change too. How much to tell him? How much to reveal? I needed to give a plausible story and keep him close. I didn't know how much he remembered from the night he was shot, but I needed to keep myself in the loop because of the other things I'd seen when he showed them to me. I decided truth was the best policy in this case. After all I wasn't revealing anything about myself as yet.

"You already know my name is Zass." I began. At his nod I continued. "I was here at the hospital the night you were brought in. After I saw your injuries and heard what you were saying, I got curious. I'm a private detective. You might not remember, but you were saying some interesting things when you were unconscious. "Black eyes and burning ring any bells?"

"Yes, but I don't know why."

"It's OK Blondie, it'll come back to you, when it does you might need me around." I smiled at his expression. Typical cop face, not wanting anything to do with the private sector. "I specialize in the more unusual cases. The things that ordinarily your Department don't get a high solve rate with, Blue Blood."