Witness Protection ✔

Sleeping Beauty

Darius POV

The dark sky was growing lighter and lighter, announcing the sun's arrival in advance. Cassius's tired eyes flickered from the window back to her face. The worry in his heart had grown exponentially until it felt like he was ready to burst.

Suddenly, from the corner of his eyes, her hand moved so slightly he wasn't sure if it'd been real or just some sleep-deprived delusion. He moved closer and studied her face for a bit, it looked the same. Peaceful and unmoving.

He was getting ready to get back to his chair when her eyes twitched. His heart pounded in his chest, he couldn't believe it. She was finally waking up.

Taking her small hand in his large one he whispered, "Nat. Nat, wake up."

Her eyelashes fluttered but she didn't wake up quite yet, prompting him to try again.

"Nat, please wake up."

The hand he held grasped his tighter, and he knew the moment was finally there. When her eyes finally opened they were glassy and unfocused. He knew this would probably be a good moment to call a nurse, but he didn't want to let go.

"Look at me," he whispered. He wasn't sure why, maybe he didn't want to startle her with his speaking voice.

She blinked once, twice, before slowly lifting her eyes to his. Relief flooded his senses and he couldn't help but smile.

A passing nurse paused in the doorway before taking off again, presumably to get the doctor.

Cassius gave her a few moments before gently helping her sit upright before the doctor arrived. She yawned and rubbed her eyes, but didn't say anything.

The man who walked in a few moments later wasn't the same doctor as before, this one was in his late 40s and had a friendly face.

"The sleeping beauty has awoken," the man smiled at her as he grabbed her chart. He fished the pen from his pocket and started scribbling away.

Glancing back to Nathalia Cassius noticed a confused look on her face while she looked around the room, her eyebrows slightly furrowing. When the doctor clicked his pen her eyes shot up and she made eye contact with Cassius again. But as soon as their eyes locked she looked away again with a slight blush, her gaze stopping to rest on her hands.

"I will ask you a few questions if that's alright with you. No pressure, it doesn't matter if you don't know the answer, just tell me, alright?"

Nathalia nodded, not lifting her eyes. She had started to nervously fidget with her hands, something she only did when they'd just met.

"So let's start off easy, what is your name?"

She looked up at the man but didn't answer. She blankly blinked a few before looking down again, this time hiding behind a curtain of her own hair. It took Cassius a few moments to realize she wasn't just ignoring the man. She was embarrassed.

Embarrassed because she didn't know the answer.

"That's fine," the doctor continued, "here's what we'll do. I'll give the two of you some time to catch up and then I'll come back to run my tests, hm? Does that sound alright to you?"

She shyly peered up to Cassius but quickly looked away again before nodding. With a pat on his back and a sympathetic smile, Cassius was left alone with Nathalia.

She couldn't remember her own name. That meant she'd lost her memory.

The doctor seemed to have expected this, but Cassius hadn't. He just hoped the doctor's light tone meant it wasn't anything serious. He'd have to ask him about it before they left.