Inspired by "The Rogue Couple" by: Broken Crystal Heart, instead of sending Shay alone to the precursor site in Lisbon, Hope was assigned to go with him for assurance of success. They both traveled to Lisbon and witnessed the devastating earthquake...
"Uggh." Shay groaned. Feeling sunlight shining down on his face, he painfully turned to see it coming from a window. With that catching his attention, he looked around, his surroundings showed him he was in a bedroom with red-colored walls. Removing the bed sheets draped over him, he saw his torso and body wrapped with bandages over his wounds. With curiosity overtaking him to find out where he is, he slowly began to get out of the bed. But any form of pressure still brought on pain from his bandaged injuries. After finally managing to sit up, he looked over to see a mirror on his left. His reflection showed his hair grow longer and was now sporting a scruffy-looking beard. "Jesus, how long was I out to be looking like this? But more importantly, how did I even survive a fall like that" Shay asked, bewildered as to how much time had passed. Slowly standing up, he began walking carefully to the window. Again, every step felt like a mile, seeing as he hasn't been on his feet in a while. After a bit of slow steps and groans of pain and soreness, he reached the bright window, to see the busy street of a city, but he knows he's somewhere in the colonies, but where is a mystery, but a familiar sense made a guess. "That building looks like one I saw when I was last in...New York?! How the bloody hell did I wash up in New York?!" While these questions raced through his mind, another concern came up immediately. Looking around, against grasping on his wounded torso in pain from the sharp turn, seeing Hope was nowhere in the room. "Oh my god, Hope! Where is she?!" He asked himself with great sense of worry if she survived that fall with him or not.
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Soon, the sound of a door opening snaps him out of these thoughts. He turned to see an elderly couple coming through the door, a woman with short greying brown hair in a dress and bonnet and a man with short white hair and beard in a collard tan shirt, brown trousers and vest with a green neck tie. "Huh, good to see you're feeling better." The man said with a definite Irish accent to his voice. Shay remembered picking up voices even around his comatose state, somewhat remembering one name. "..Thank you,...Mister. Finnegan was it?" he asked to be sure if he was correct. The man having a disgruntled look just facepalmed. "Oh sweet mother Mary. Have we taken in the village idiot?" he asked, in a disappointed tone that worried Shay a bit. "Barry!" the woman retorted, before turning to Shay with a kind look that seemed almost motherly. "Remember Shay, I'm Cassidy and this is..." "Barry!" Barry exclaimed with his hands on his hips. "You've been ill for weeks." "I hate to have been a burden." Shay responded, wanting to be civil with his caretakers. "See, he's a civilized fellow." Cassidy said to Barry as she went to fix the bed sheets. "Aye for a clumsy deckhand. Probably fell off his ship half-drunk." Barry retorted, seeming to have taken a poor first impression of Shay. "BARRY!" Cassidy yelled to her husband, stopping what she was doing. "He's right." Shay said quickly, not wanting to be the subject to start an argument. Soon his early concern returned to thought and turned to Cassidy. "Um, pardon me Cassidy. If I may ask, was there a woman with me? Brown hair, and brown eyes in a dark pinkish dress?" Shay asked, hoping by chance if he survived, Hope was here too. "Of course. Hope right? Well, she's asleep in the room down the hall. Poor dear caught a fever this morning and was quite weak as a newborn. She woke up a week before you about now. She's helped me with caring for you and tending to your injuries. She's a wonderful girl, one I would've loved as a daughter." Cassidy told Shay with a smile. Shay smiled lightly, relieved that Hope was safe and alive. "I still don't understand how a sweet girl like her got mixed up in such a mess with an idiot like you." Barry said from where he was. Cassidy just sighed as she continued to fix the room. Shay lowered his head a bit in shame, knowing that Barry was right in a way, he and her got in this mess together, he never wanted to drag her into this, but he then remembered she shared that choice with him. "May I see her if that is possible?" he asked. "Of course Shay, just be careful and quiet. She's still recovering from the fever this morning. Nodding his head and thanking her, Shay began making his way out of the room.
The journey to Hope's room felt like a while for Shay. Every movement added pressure to his healing wounds. But he eventually reached his destination. Remembering what Cassidy had told him, he carefully opened the door and quietly entered the room. In the room slightly similar to his, on the bed was Hope, with her body covered in thick blankets and her head above, red and flushed from the fever and a wet towel on her head. Shay was slightly entranced at the sight of seeing Hope so peacefully asleep, but was all relieved to see her alive and in one piece. Pulling up a chair, he sat at the side of the bed to be next to her sleeping form. Taking a finger on his right hand, he slowly and carefully caresses her cheek lightly. He also took to notice that the mark left by Achilles was slightly now invisible. 'Seems healing and make-up are doing their jobs well.' Shay thought with an amusing smile. It was surprising to see how make-up could easily change one's appearance. Now able to see how she's able to attract the eyes of adoration from men and envy of women all the same. Soon, Shay would find himself pulled from his thoughts and stopping his caressing as he saw Hope beginning to stir a bit. She then turned herself onto a new position while appearing to be muttering something and moved her head more into the pillow, which brought a smile and slight laughter to Shay. "Well Hope, never thought I see the day I found your secret habit of being a deep sleeper." Shay mumbled to himself. But apparently, this line was enough to pull Hope out of her dream and she turned her head, slightly awake to see Shay. "...S..Shay?" she said tired and weak. Almost think she was dreaming seeing Shay finally awake from his coma. "Tell me if I'm still dreaming if I'm seeing you right now." with that, her voice cracked a bit, feeling thirsty. She tried to get up, but struggled. Seeing this, Shay helped her up into a sitting position and handed her the cup of water on the nightstand and watched as she drank slowly.
After she finished drinking, she turned to face Shay. "Feeling better?" Shay asked her. "Yes, I'm ok. What about you? You were in a coma for weeks, I was worried you wouldn't wake up." Hope softly said as she leaned and rested her head on Shay's shoulder. "I'm fine, Hope. Besides, I'm not the one lying in their sick bed all red and tired." He responded, joking a bit. "Please, only the china is fine." She joked back, laughing and lightly slapping his chest. They remained in this position for a bit of time, before Hope leaned into his chest and a wave of overwhelming emotion that she had been holding back for some time since she woke up and was watching over an unconscious Shay suddenly washed over and a few silent sobs began escaping from her. Even though Shay only faintly heard her sobbing, what alerted him to her sadness was the wetness he was feeling on his chest that he could only assume were tears coming from Hope. This of course was new to Shay, as he and every other assassin had never seen Hope displayed such emotions like this. But doing the only thing he could do at the moment, he held her in a close and tight embrace and began to rub her back in an attempt to soothe her. "..Don't you ever scare me like that again...I thought you would never wake up and die..." Hope managed to say through the hiccups of her sobs breaking the long silence. Shay could only nod and tell her "I'm sorry Hope. I won't frighten you again like this." Holding her close, and resting his chin on her head, the pair stayed like this for another long while, neither wanting to let go.
After some time, Hope began to calm down and allowed Shay to release her. Taking time to recollect herself from that emotional episode and taking another look at Shay, taking deeper notice of his rather scruffy looking appearance. "Shay, I know this may be not the time to say this. But you definitely need a shower and a shave. You look like a barbarian with that face and getup." She said poking at Shay with a sly smile while wiping the remaining tears from her face. Shay only sighs and shakes his head at the remark she made, brushing it off. Still feeling slightly groggy from only just awakening recently and remembering about Hope's sickness, turned to her and gave her a straight face with a slight frown to reinforce his next words. "Well Miss. Jensen, you need to rest now if you want to get better. So drink the tea Cassidy made for you and go back to sleep. This is an order, not a request." Turning to the side and picking up the cup of special medicine tea left for Hope by Cassidy and looked back to her. Hope only looked back at him with a pout on her face. "Yes father." She responded childishly and sarcastically. But took the tea from Shay and drank it without another word. Once finished, Shay took the cup and placed it back on the nightstand and helped Hope lay back down on the bed. He then watched as she went back to sleep peacefully and let the medicine tea do its work. He turned a bit to realize they were still holding hands. But what surprised him was how her small hands still felt soft even after her training as an assassin and her being his senior within the brotherhood. He decided to leave that thought for another time. He then stood up and moved to put the chair back in its proper place before returning to his room to also get some more rest.
AN: Hello readers, here's chapter 4 of their recovery and awakening in New York. Again I do not own the images used here. All rights reserved to respective owners. And to those expecting the fight with the gangsters, that will come in the next chapter. Until then, hope you're enjoying the story so far. Thank you, and may the force be with you.
