One night of passion fell into another, another and another until Micah and Sandra had developed some type of routine. They started out in hotel rooms and transitioned to Sandra's small apartment. They both respected that each had a busy schedule and couldn't always be at each other's beck and call but there were a few nights where Micah and Sandra had a chance to dine and wine together. Tonight, was one of those fortunate nights.

Sandra had noticed that most of the times that Micah had to disappear for a medical emergency, it was due to a number calling. The secretive nature of his phone calls would've been alarming if Sandra didn't catch him answering one day. There was always the same guy on the other side of the phone call, a contact called R. She never had the guts to ask about it because she didn't want to spoil the current spell she was under.

This is just casual.

As casual as you could call fireworks.

Micah held their food in one hand and Sandra's hand in the other. Sandra had just finished her shift, so it was late in the evening. The ambience of the city never failed to shelter them from the reality that they hadn't faced. All that mattered was that they were together and more importantly, happy. The bubble of bliss didn't last long. The couple was a block away from Sandra's apartment when a lone man came out from an alleyway.

"Give me your wallet!" The mugger demanded, waving a blade around. He threw the knife between his hands, showing his ability of wielding the blade.

"No, I don't think I will," Micah replied. He wasn't threatened by a man with a knife. He had fought wars with his bare hands and survived. This man was nothing.

"Micah! Stop arguing." The large blade glinted under the moonlight, reminding Sandra of the imminent threat. This wasn't the time to play hero. The danger was right in front of him but apparently, he couldn't see past his ego.

"Listen to the pretty lady, also I want your watch." The longer the mugger stood waiting, the more items caught his eye. Sandra listened and started to unbuckle her watch. It wasn't a pricey piece, as it held fake diamonds around the face. She wouldn't miss it.

He didn't want Sandra to lose anything. He was here to protect her. Micah grabbed the mugger by his collar and whispered something. A word in greek. Everyone who lived in the darkness long enough knew what it meant. 

The promise of death.

"No! It won't happen. I won't let him find me," the mugger refused and with those parting words he stabbed Micah. However, it was too late. He had the mark of death. Micah would hunt him down soon enough. He had his scent memorised.

There was no escape from a Lykos.

Sandra gasped. Her emotions swirled in the pit of her stomach. She didn't know where to start. Actually, she did. She supressed her scream as Micah's shirt started to turn red. The adrenaline rush must be forcing Micah to feel fine. She had seen this before when she had been called to A&E.

"We need to get you to a hospital," Sandra gently suggested. If he argued with a mugger over his wallet, then she didn't doubt that he would start arguing with her with his own demands. His wounded pride would leave him with a literal wound if she didn't get his medical attention soon.

"No, I will stitch myself when we get home, it's a minor lacerate," Micah replied. Sandra didn't know that a simple stab wound would be healed by the morning. Micah always carried supplies with him. He needed to stitch himself up and get Sandra sworn into secrecy if he wanted to keep going with her.

"Micah, I don't think you understand. You have been stabbed. We need to get medical attention. You're going to need a blood transfusion. You're losing blood too quickly," she reasoned. As a doctor, Micah knew what exactly a human would need right now but that wasn't the same as what he needed. A bottle of alcohol, needle and thread would do.

"Either you take me to my car and let me stitch myself up or I will disappear from your life." Micah dropped an ultimation. He knew there was only to ways this night would go. The importance of his identity was at stake and no one was going to be a threat to his family. He applied pressure to his side.

"Fine, we will go to your car and we will stitch you up," Sandra answered. There wasn't much to think about. She needed to keep him alive until she got a chance to call for help. Sandra wrapped her arm around to help him walk, but he didn't seem to need any help. However, she knew at any stage that Micah could faint for the blood lose. There was a chance that a vital organ could've been hit but she couldn't tell much as she hadn't inspected the wound.

Micah didn't let Sandra out of his sight, knowing that she was eager to call someone. The last thing he needed were more witnesses. The mugger was going to end up dead in a few days anyway. Everyone who lived in the shadows knew the warning that Rafael had issued. It was the first time that Micah had used it in a long time.

"Let's go to the bathroom," Micah suggested, dropping the takeaway bag on the counter. He didn't want to mess her place up with his blood. He allowed Sandra to guide him to her bathroom, even though he didn't need her help. When he opened his bag, that they had grabbed from his car before they came upstairs, he found just what he needed.

"Micah..." Sandra watched him open a bottle of Russian vodka. The last thing she needed was him to add alcohol to his blood stream.

"Sandra, relax, I have done this before," he tried to reassure her. He wanted to take a short swig, but by the sound of Sandra's heartbeat, she would be ready to knock him out and drag him to the closest hospital.

"I doubt it was on yourself." Sandra watched him clean his wounds with the alcohol and cotton without flinching from the burning sensation. The wound was on the right side.

"It was on myself." Micah sterilised the needle by dipping it in the bottle of vodka. He pushed the thread through the eye of the needle in one go. He had one this a million times before, no exaggeration. Rafael was always calling him for the strangest of injuries in his mafia business.

"Why can't we just go to the hospital?" Sandra was starting to get desperate. She was considering knocking him out and dragging him them. The only problem was that Micah seemed to be functional well.

"Because of reasons." Micah couldn't tell Sandra any of his secrets now. There was always tomorrow for that. He didn't want to contaminate her just yet.

"I would like to know these reasons when I have to deal with the police on my doorstep tomorrow because you've dropped dead in the middle of the day," Sandra pointed out. She was going to need to have her story straight when she finally got him to a hospital. The last thing she needed was to be suspended due to a mugging gone bad.

"I won't be dead," Micah promised. He started stitching up his wound.

"You don't know that!" Sandra was at wits end. This man was completely stubborn. Maybe this was the sign she needed to get out.

"Sandra, I'm not like you," Micah explained. That made no sense to a woman who believed in science and facts.

"I see," Sandra replied. The blood loss was making Micah think he was some sort of superman apparently or perhaps he thought he was a better doctor than her, so he was way more qualified to apparently treat himself. Little did she know how true her sarcastic thoughts were.

"No, you don't but tomorrow you will." Micah couldn't exactly shift to show her his secret right now. Not only was he injured, she was also not exactly in a calm frame of mind. He didn't think it would come to this yet there was no other way if he still wanted to see her.

Tainting her with the darkness.

"Micah, don't speak in riddles." Sandra was fed up.

"How about this, you stay up all night and then assess my wound tomorrow and if it's bad then you can take me to a hospital," he compromised confidently. The wound would be a faint pink line in a few hours, and he would be alright. It did help he was in peak shape and condition so it would speed up his healing process.

"Fine." Sandra gave in, she knew better than to do so but as soon as the blood loss got to him, she would take him. It was only a matter of time, as stitches weren't going to keep him together.

Sandra on the desk chair she had bought for the purpose of studying and allowed Micah to take the bed. Micah had got rid of his blood-stained clothes and changed into a spare set of slacks he had in his bag.

"You can always come lie next to me, I won't sleep," Micah suggested, pealing back the corner of the duvet. It was not like they hadn't shared a bed before.

"Sure." Sandra was tired. She had a long day at the hospital and was supposed to have a relaxing evening with Micah that had promptly turned in a nightmare. The night wasn't over yet, and she needed to make sure he was going to survive.

"So, we are to one-word responses?" Micah sat up. He still had energy despite the incident. It took more than a simple stab wound to keep him down.

"Micah, I don't want to argue any longer. I need to stay awake for you," Sandra firmly replied. If she climbed into bed, she knew the warmth would lull her to sleep and she didn't need that right now.

"Of course," he agreed, lying back down. She was right, now wasn't the time to argue. Now was the time to wait and he could play the waiting game for eternity. Turns out, Micah didn't have to wait too long as Sandra's body gave into fatigue. He climbed out of bed, tied her hair in a silk scarf, the way she alway did and gently picked her uo to put her in bed. She didn't need to suffer discomfort on his behalf.

Tonight, might just be the last peaceful night's sleep for her.

~*~

Please seek medical advice if you get stabbed.