Nine

Oliver opened his eyes and was immediately blinded by the light. His head throbbed and his back was sore in three different places. He could barely move his arm to shield his face.

I feel like I got hit by a bus... Oliver moaned, the sound strained in his throat. The world spun when he tried to move.

What...?

"I was wondering when you'd wake up," said Rei from somewhere around him. He couldn't pinpoint where she was, nor what sort of environment they were in. He just knew that he lay back on something hard and everything was bright. He finally mustered up enough strength to sling his arm over his face.

"Dear God..." Oliver huffed, his breath coming out in strangled gasps. When he spoke, it was only with a staggering amount of effort. "What... happened?"

"You passed out. Kind of. Actually, you went on a rampage. Or tried to. I caught up to you before you were too far, and good thing I did. I got a call from Gonzalez not too long ago telling me a Scourge is on the loose and to make sure that you were alive. You are awake, aren't you?"

Oliver squeezed his eyes shut before opening his left eye a sliver. He flinched.

"Yeah... I think so." Except I can't move much and I feel like I got run over. "I feel fucking terrible."

"I figured as much." Oliver heard Rei's footfalls as she approached. "It's a good thing I brought you here, huh?"

"What...?"

It dawned on Oliver that his apartment was never that bright. The curtains were always closed, no exceptions. Which meant either Rei had violated his lifestyle or she'd taken him somewhere else.

"Please tell me we're in my apartment," he muttered. It would've been better to hear that she'd decided to torture him over the possibility that the both of them were vulnerable.

"Unfortunately, no. We're at Sullivan's house."

Sully... "Since when did he have a skylight? It hurts, dammit. Agh..." Oliver managed to roll to his side and let out another moan. Stars danced behind his eyelids.

"He's not like us. He isn't affected by that big ball of radiation you stared into."

"You don't say." Fucking ghouls. "What time is it?"

"Noon. You've been out for about eleven hours."

"Makes sense. What did I do?"

He felt Rei grab his hand. "You don't remember?"

"No... should I?"

Rei made a noise. "No, I guess not. Though it'd be convenient. Honestly, you didn't do much. You ran off, knocked over some trashcans, scaled a building, and tried to set fire to someone's balcony plants. Why those plants specifically, I'll never know." She chuckled. "But the good news is no one was hurt... except for you. You kind of fell from three stories up."

"Damn. Sounds like it hurt."

"It did. You were out like a light after."

Oliver blinked several times, forcing himself to get used to the sunlight around him. He lay out on a bed covered in white sheets, a threadbare blanket pulled up to his waist. His toes stuck out from the bottom, chilled by the air conditioning that was blasting.

"I feel awful," he said after a moment.

"I know."

"Like I got dragged by my ankles across miles of gravel." Oliver massaged his temples and growled, giving Rei a sideways glance. "Why aren't you bothered?"

Rei shrugged and lifted a hand into the light. "I fed recently, I guess." Her skin looked translucent, all of her veins showing from beneath the surface. When she turned her hand this way and that, Oliver swore he could see her bones.

"At least you don't burn."

"Neither do you," Rei replied. Oliver dipped his head.

"Yes, there's that. Not that we're any the better for it." He stopped when he saw the scrapes on his skin. Dried blood had ran down his arms, stopping at his elbows. When he lifted the bedsheet, Oliver saw that his jeans were shredded, leaving his kneecaps in a similar state.

"Looks like I really messed myself up," he said.

"Yeah," Rei replied.

"And I don't remember any of it. Damn. Looks like I had fun."

"Or hurt yourself severely. But, you know..." Rei raked a hand through her hair and gave him a weak smile, elongated ears twitching. Before Oliver could protest, she leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder. The tip of one ear pressed into the hollow above his collarbone, but as uncomfortable as it was, Oliver didn't move her away. They sat like that until Arthur walked in.

"Hey-hey! He's alive!" Arthur crowed. He clapped his hands together with a loud smack and grinned to the both of them. "Good to see you, buddy."

Oliver shot him a glare over Rei's head. "Go to hell," he replied, gaze darting to the skylight above him. "You see this nonsense? I'm not roasting, but I'm sure as hell not comfortable."

Arthur flipped a hand in dismissal. "I'm sorry, Captain Emo, but unlike one demon –"

"Two." Oliver pointed to Rei.

"Right. Unlike one demon and a vampire—" Arthur's voice dripped with sarcasm. "Ghouls aren't weakened by sunlight. And honestly? You deserve it after letting yourself go nuts."

Rei raised her head. "And me? Do I deserve it for not being able to do anything?"

Arthur recoiled, nose scrunched. "Well... you did taze him. I can't fault you for that. It was your choice to come in here, though."

With the shake of her head, Rei looked back to Oliver. "Nonsense. Such nonsense." She sighed and tucked a midnight-colored strand of hair behind her ear, pausing along the way to adjust her glasses. "You're both idiots," she said. Pinching the cuff of Oliver's sleeve, she removed Oliver's arm from her shoulder and rolled out of bed.

"I'm not the one who verged on a murderous rampage."

Rei pushed up her glasses again. "Sully, that's a load of shit and you know it. He avoided killing anyone and... anyone affected wasn't harmed physically. They won't even remember his face. They're mortals... it's like seeing a ghost, as that's almost what it is we are." She looked to Oliver before turning back to Arthur. "He's – I mean, we – under an insane amount of stress. A Scourge is loose now, if what Gonzalez told me was correct. A murderer is about, able to possess supernatural and mortal alike."

She paused again to push up her glasses. When Arthur opened his mouth to respond, she looked back up. Arthur's teeth clicked when he closed his mouth again.

"The way I see it, he's got family issues." Rei pointed to Oliver. "You've got to deal with your wife who's... where is she now?"

Arthur glared at her.

"And I've got to babysit both of you dumbasses. Him to make sure no one dies and you to make sure you actually get your work done!" Her last words came out as a shriek and she raked a hand through her hair. Her canines poked out from between her lips. "Honestly, it's a miracle I haven't gone nuts around you two yet. I just... urgh!"

Oliver watched, stomach clenching, as Rei spun on her heel and sunk her fist into the wall. The drywall barely budged, even with her added strength. With one last look to the both of them, Rei growled again and stormed out of the room.

Oliver didn't speak until the beginnings of a headache made his temple throb.

"So..." He laced his fingers over his stomach and gave a low whistle, gaze downcast.

"So," Arthur replied. "That went well."

"Indeed." Oliver twiddled his thumbs and huffed. "Ya'know she'll come back."

"Maybe."

"Oh, she will." Oliver licked his lips and turned to the window on his left. "She always comes back."

#

Rei came back to see Oliver later that morning, her breath reeking of blood and some sort of alcohol that Oliver couldn't identify. When he greeted her, she just nodded before crawling into bed beside him and throwing his arm around her again.

"I fucking hate you," she grumbled with half-open eyes before burying her head in his side. Soon, the sound of her snores filled the guest room. Oliver rubbed her shoulder with the pad of his thumb, his fingers twitching.

I need a cigarette.

He shrugged off the thought as soon as he got it. Then he closed his eyes and napped as well. When he woke next, Rei was curled up on his lap, pointed ears exposed and her pants discarded to some corner of the room. Her shirt was bunched up around her ribcage. Oliver stared down at her unconscious form and smiled.

Arthur left for the office at just after two. Rei was still asleep and Oliver was beginning to nod off as well. Before he knew it, it was six in the evening. It was with heavy disdain that Oliver picked up his phone – with Rei's insistence, of course – and dialed the number for the office. The gruff voice on the other end told Oliver at once who had answered.

"Yullo. Gonzalez speaking."

Dammit. The last person I wanted to hear.

"Hey. It's Johnson."

"Oh, so the bastard's awake now is he?" On the other end of the line, Gabriel Gonzalez spat. "Good. Think you can finally do us a favor and show up?"

"Can't, Director. I'm in the middle of recovering."

Oliver heard Gonzalez's sharp intake of breath. "Sullivan did not notify me that you were sick..."

"Because I disappeared for two days. Himura can verify that I was in my apartment for the entire time, though, and that last night I almost went on a... shall we say, a rampage."

"...I'm not surprised, coming from you."

What's that supposed to mean? "Yeah, I guess not." Oliver wrinkled his nose. "But hey, we can't all be in the middle of a crisis, can we?"

"No." Gabriel sighed. "You can have the rest of the day off... But I expect you back in tomorrow morning, no excuses. Sullivan also made it apparent that you hadn't finished investigating the crime scene before you up and disappeared."

Dammit.

"Also, we're finished the list of suspects that you started. I sent it to my correspondent this morning.."

Shit. Lilith! "Uh, Director..." Oliver bit the nails on his free hand, pulse racing. "That's... that's another thing."

Beside him, Rei lifted her head and blinked up at him, eyes half-open. Her red irises looked almost black as she came to. With a yawn, she pointed to the phone in Oliver's hand.

"Yes?"

"Did Sullivan tell you about our investigation the other night?"

"He happened to mention a Magistrate member, if that's what you mean. Himura later affirmed this, as well as the Magistrate's assumptions. They are for the moment, however, unfounded. Until I have reason to believe that it really could be a supernatural, I'm going through with looking through the human suspects."

"But, Director—"

"Interestingly enough, your human sister's name is on the list. This could bode unwell for her. We'll see what the detectives have to say."

"Director—"

"I have to go now. Show up tomorrow morning, bright and early. I'd hate to have to write you up."

Rei pointed again to Oliver's phone. Oliver lifted a finger in response.

"Yes, Director. I will."

"Tell Himura to do the same. She didn't check in today."

"Yes, Director."

Oliver snapped his phone shut and lay back, slinging an arm over his face and huffing. He threw the phone aside and listened as it cracked against the floor.

I hope it broke. Fucking Gonzalez.

"I take it the phone call didn't go well?"

Oliver peeked at her from under his arm. She poised herself above him, her head at an angle and her hair matted at the back of her skull. Now fully awake, her ruby-red eyes glowed.

He shrugged. "I don't think so. His version of bitching me out is threatening to expel me in a calm and civilized manner. He talks to me in all things like he talks about the weather, in a flat and under-dramatic way. It gets irritating."

"Because dealing with you is boring to him, I would guess."

"You think my charming personality would make me interesting, at the least."

Rei shrugged. "You're only appealing to those you can stomach. Gonzalez is... Well, he's Gonzalez."

"Which is fancy-talk for he's a pain."

Rei shrugged again and rest her head on one hand. "You can be, too."

Oliver looked to the skylight above him. The clouds were turning pink around the edges. "You keep coming back," he pointed out. "I must be doing something right."

"I guess." She pushed herself up and crouched above him, all of her weight resting on her palms. Her arms shook with the effort. "But hey, there's plenty you're good at."

Oliver leaned forward and kissed her on the side of her mouth. "You'll have to help me think of things I'm good at, then."

"Mmm... I have a couple of ideas..." She pulled the blanket away and kissed him again. Oliver grabbed her by the forearms and rolled them over until he was the one on top. Rei giggled and looked up at him, reaching for his hands and lacing their fingers together.