MY IMMORTAL

Too Far

I woke in the stupid hospital again.  God, I hated this place. It was the middle of the night or very early morning. There was a shadow in front of me. I was groggy. "Niall, is that you?" I tried to say but my voice didn't work.

"No." He whispered.

"Harry?" I whispered in reply.

"Yes." His voice broke through the whisper slightly.  I had missed it so much. He was dressed like a doctor and looked rather imposing and impressive.

"Where have you been? I've missed you." I mumbled. I must have had some seriously hard-core medication in my system because I couldn't shake off the fog.

"I've been here Karus. As always." He moved closer.

"You have not been here. It's been months since I've seen you."

"Yes. Yet here I have been."

"Oh, you're speaking in riddles again.  I forgot you did that." I giggled a little. Whatever drugs they had me on they were good. He smiled his overwhelming smile again and my stomach flipped as if Niall were kissing me. His smile faded.

"Have you met Niall?" I asked.

"No. I have not had the pleasure." His tone was a little distant and his smile was gone.

"Smile for me.  I like your smile." I asked grinning up at him.

"I like yours too." He said and did exactly as I asked. A beautifully broad, white-toothed perfect smile.

"Wow, there it is. Awesome." I had no filter thanks to the drugs. Not that a filter was any use around him anyway. "So, how have you been, what have you been up too?" I wanted to catch up with him all at once.

"Cassie, I am pleased that you are happy to see me, but I am not here to simply visit you." He was serious again.

"Oh, then why..." I realised as soon as I started to ask.  He was here for one of his 'treatments'. "Oh no."

"I'm sorry. A slate tile split and penetrated your back.  It has damaged some muscle tissue rather badly. You may not regain full use of them if I don't treat it."

I found the thought of his treatments very sobering. "No Harry.  I don't want you to do that to me again."

"Cassie, stop." His tenor was foreboding. "You fail to recall I can hear your thoughts. I know why you do not wish me to perform the treatment.  It is not for fear of the pain that you object. It is for fear of the pain I may feel."

"I don't deny it," I responded feeling rather bold.

"I do not render these treatments casually or without cause.  I have been charged with your protection and I failed in that charge tonight. As I failed previously so any pain I may feel is well deserved."

"What!" He was insane. "What exactly could you have done tonight to 'protect' me?"

"More than you could conceive." He answered.

"Tell me, all these options that I couldn't conceive, do they involve permanent injury to people I care about?"

"Highly probable but no less than he deserved." He answered.

"Then they are not solutions protecting me really, are they? Any harm you inflict on those I care about would also harm me, therefore, you wouldn't really be protecting me. In fact, it could be argued that you would actually be responsible for injuring me." I took his silence to be his acquiescence.

"Ok then.  Now in the same vein if you were to do this treatment then it would be painful to you and that in turn would be hurtful to me."

He glared at me. "Don't push it."