Riley had never really been scared of heights. That is, not until she was plummeting down six thousand feet into the Grand Canyon. The window she had fell from disappeared, and Riley had time to think a few choice words before completely panicking.

The wind whistled by her as she fell. Her stomach lurched as she looked down at the canyon floor, miles below. She tried to open  a portal underneath her, but frantically realized that probably wasn't the best idea. Even if it worked, hitting anything at the speed she was falling would kill her.

Her brain desperately ran through all the spells she knew. She was running out of time. The Amulet suddenly flashed hot, grabbing her attention. Riley closed her eyes, focusing on channeling the magic into something helpful.

Riley's fall slowed, a sort of pressure keeping her upright. The pressure grew, and she hovered in the air. She was standing upright, floating. With a little bit of concentration, Riley moved up towards the lip of the canyon.

Well... This is new, Riley thought sardonically.

<>

"Riley!" Strange yelled. He surged forward, pushing past Mordo to watch her fall. Just as he was about to jump after her, the scene in front of him changed. A peaceful meadow was in front of him now, it's warm sunlight disgustingly perfect. Mordo, his hand still on the magic dial in front of him, chuckled darkly.

"Good luck saving her now, Strange," Mordo sneered.

Strange's hand was clamped to his side, trying his hardest to close the wound that was still leaking blood onto the floor. He turned to Mordo, his eye's burning with rage.

"Leave, now. While you still can," Strange growled.

Mordo seemed like he was going to laugh, but the look in Strange's eyes was harder than he expected. Mordo turned on his heel and left, leaving the bloody scene behind him. Strange's legs gave out under him. He slid down the wall and sat. His head lolled to the side and looked out into the meadow.

He wondered if Riley had found a way to save herself, or if she was already dead. The pounding pain in his side dimmed to more of an itch. His eyes fluttered closed, and for once in his life, he prayed.

<>

When Riley's feet hit the ground, she felt like throwing up. She scrambled away from the edge of the canyon. With a trembling hand, she felt in her pocket for her sling ring. There it is, she audibly sighed in relief. She slipped in on her fingers, raising her arms and creating a portal.

Riley stepped back into the ruined hallway back at the sanctum. The floorboards creaked under her weight as she moved to the end of the hallway. Her shoes slipped a little in a dark puddle, and she realized in belated shock it was blood.

She followed the brownish smears of blood down the hallway, finally reaching who they had come from. Strange lay against the wall, his eyes shut. Riley practically ran to him, pressing her fingers gently on the side of his neck to feel for a pulse.

It was there, faint, but there. Riley needed to act quickly. She softly hit the side of his face, "Strange, please, tell me where to go."

He groaned in pain, furrowing his brow. "Christine," he sputtered, "Christine."

For the second time that day, she began to open a portal.

"Take me to Christine," she whispered to her Amulet, "Please."

She leaned over and quickly gathered Strange up in her arms. He was much heavier than she expected.

"Come on, Strange," she muttered, "You could at least help a little."

The weight on her lifted somewhat, and she looked over to see his red cape supporting him.

"Um, thanks," she said quietly.

The trio walked through the portal and straight into the busy E.R. at New York Hospital. A gurney wheeled by them, and Riley gathered Strange up tighter in her arms. She stumbled over to the nurses station, "Christine?"

No one answered, they were all doing paperwork or on the computer.

"Where's Christine?" she asked again, anger tainting her voice. Strange's blood began to soak through the side of her shirt. Her Amulet sang with her anger, begging to be used.

"Damn it!" she yelled, "Where is Christine?"

Finally, the nurses looked up, eyes wide. They took in the oddly dressed pair, dripping blood on their pristine floors. The nurses all pointed down the hallway, towards the break room.

"Thank you," Riley snarled.

She drug Strange's limp body down the hallway and into the break room. With a thud, she laid him on an empty table. The other woman in the room looked up, astonishment coating her face.

"Christine, I take it?" Riley asked. The woman nodded, her eyes resting on Strange and never leaving him.

"We need your help."

<>

It had been a while since Christine had taken Strange into surgery. At least an hour, maybe more. Riley paced in the waiting room. She was making the other people nervous, with her blood soaked hair and restless feet. Riley didn't really care though, she wanted this to be over. She wanted news.

Like a jinx, Christine appeared. She didn't seem upset or worried, which made Riley sigh in relief.

"How is he?" Riley asked. She hovered uncertainly a few feet away from Christine, like she was scared of getting too close.

"Fine," Christine answered, "A few days of bed rest, painkillers, and he'll be right as rain."

Riley gave a sigh of relief, finally sitting down in a squeaky plastic chair. She immediately stood again, "Can I see him?"

Christine's face was a mixture of curiosity and resentfulness, "Sure, just let me go see if he's ready for visitors."

Christine turned the corner and walked towards his room. Riley waited a moment before following behind her, planning on waiting in the hallway. Through the crack in the door, Riley could see Strange laying in the hospital bed. Christine was sitting next to him at the foot of the bed.

"Do you want to see her?" Christine asked, her voice seemed a tad too hopeful for a negative answer.

"Yes, I do," Strange replied.

Christine stood, her face was clearly upset.

"It's not like that, Chrissy," Strange pleaded, "She's just my apprentice. Like, a student!"

Riley's stomach dropped. Before things could get worse, she pushed open the door. Strange smiled as she walked in. He looked ridiculous in his sanctum clothes, laying in a hospital bed. Riley walked over to him, careful to stay out of arms length. Christine watched them both closely as she busied herself about the room.

Riley's fingers brushed against the Amulet, "You wouldn't believe what saved me, Strange."

He wasn't paying any attention.  His eyes were locked on Christine, never leaving her busy form. The room was quiet for a minute as Riley waited for any sort of acknowledgement from Strange. Her jaw clenched as the time ticked by. Enough, she thought angrily to herself, I'm going home.

"I'm gonna go ahead and go home," Riley muttered, backing even farther away from the hospital bed.

Strange finally paid attention to her, "So soon?"

Riley gave him a hollow half-grin. "You seem busy," she lied.

Strange watched her as she quickly walked from the room, her hands shaking almost as badly as his always did. In the hallway, he heard the soft shushing sound of a portal opening and closing. Christine still busied herself around the room, checking the IV drip.

"Christine."

She looked over at Strange, who was pulling out his IV.

"I can't stay," he muttered.

Christine  helped him out of bed, startling when his cape reattached itself to him. She backed away from him, taking in his mystic appearance.

"Gotta save the universe?" she questioned.

Strange thought about Mordo, and how he was stealing magic from mystics. He thought about his house that was in ruins. He thought about who was in his house, right now, with dark hair and a powerful Amulet.

"Something like that," he answered.

Christine leaned forward, standing on her tiptoes to give him a kiss goodbye. He coughed awkwardly, stepping backwards. Christine's face flamed red with a mixture of embarrassment and anger.

"Like a student, huh?" she said bitterly.

"It's not like that," Strange defended.

"Sure, Steven, and the sky isn't blue," she turned on her heel and left the room, marching down the hallway.

A/N

yep yep yep ok yep

ship name: Striley?

i'm that lame i made a ship name for my own OC wow sorry guys hope you enjoyed this

you know the drill -Lady_Loki_00