XXV

The doctor has walked into the room only to find his vice holding a young woman in his arms, that looked worse for wear. He had hesitated at first as if to ask for permission from Luka, and when he had received it,  he had approached the pair. The old man had known minute his hand had touched her forehead, just what it was ailing the young woman.

For he could tell by her temperature, knowledge that had come from decades long of experience, that she was suffering from a fever. He had stood back up in silence again as he tried to find the right words as to not offend the young man before him.  Seeing this,  Mike had halted his pacing and with a scowl he questioned,

"What is it, doc? " and the doctor had nervously cleared his throat

"I need her to be laid down on the bed,  because I can't fully examine her whilst she lay in your arms" Luka's eyes shot to his,  a scowl of his own marring his face, alas, he had made to stand up again with intent to try and put her to bed again. Except she still had refused to let go of him with trembles, however,  seeing her reaction,

"I can administer a sedative to calm her down,  it will also dull the pain she might be feeling right now" the doctor had suggested. Luka had seemingly thought of it for but a second before he gave the old man a nod.

Although he hadn't liked the notion of breaching her privacy as as such,  he wasn't ready to let Bella out of his sight even if it was just for a second. Therefore,  he had turned a caregiver for the young woman, he had bathed her, with respect, only to dress her in a pair of his boxers and shirt and tucked her in on his bed.

He had catered to the rise and falls of her temperature as she battled with what seemed to be most troubling to her. Care she had felt while she dozed in and out,  from the warmth of the blanket over her, to the softness beneath her and to the towel that dabbed her forehead every now and then.

Luka found that he could easily name the past three nights, the most longest he had ever had,  because the doctor had informed him of just how severe her case was, he had been riddled with the anxiety of something possibly going wrong. However he would come to be glad when she began coming to.

Bella groaned when she gained her consciousness, her body felt like led and her head wasn't being kind on her. She felt drained,  however, her situation caught up to her a second late, only to cause the fast beating of her heart when she realised she was no longer confined,  nor chained to a wall in a windowless basement. No longer was she cold,  and although her body ached,  it wasn't something terrible.

Opening her eyes in confusion, light slightly burned her eyes for a few seconds before the blurry vision faded to reveal a grey tall ceiling that had small lights implanted within it, only to have a chandelier in the middle as well. She noticed it was day when she turned her head to the side to see the black window curtains wide open. She closed her eyes and let out a sigh for a moment, only to appreciate the mattress beneath her, a stark contrast to what she had had to endure for the last weeks.

She wondered then what had happened to lend her where she was. Feeling the warmth that had enclosed her hand for hours now,  she flexed her fingers within its grasp only to hear someone groan out. Feeling incapable of sitting up,  she turned her head only to be met with a sight she would have never expected.

There he sat up only to stiffen when his silver pools clashed with her own eyes, only to widen at the fact that she was fully awake. She hissed when he squeezed her hand a tad bit too hard and he was quick to shoot his eyes at their hands and he reduced the tightness of his hand. Bella slowly released her hand from his, wondering why on earth he was there,  just where was she exactly?

"Hi" he awkwardly started only to clear his throat "Uhh, do you need some water, maybe you need the bathroom, food,  anything? " he rambled out the questions, something that seemed uncharacteristic for him and she simply scowled at him in confusion. She merely stared at him and he felt uncertain for but a second before he seemed to make up his mind.

She watched the man reach for his phone and made a phone call asking for something that had never been her favorite...soup, worst of all,  chicken soup. Although she barely showed her disgust, she moved in attempt to actually sit up and she found that although her body felt tired, she could move, except gingerly so. Luka was quick to adjust her pillows, only to shove a big one behind her just so she could be more comfortable.

She found that she was yet to figure out how she felt with seeing the man,  and have him be so attentive to her. The man she would have thought would be the bad guy in her story,  yet his actions were proving to be the opposite. She refused to think of the basement and Deacon just yet,  choosing to enjoy the silence of her mind for a little while longer.

It wasn't long before there was a knock on the door,  and Luka stood up to answer it. She took in his room then, a theme of blacks and Grey's and she strangely found comfort in the gloomy shades. Luka walked back to the bed, a bowl in his hand,  he sat on the vacant side of the bed, one leg dangling off the bed and the other bent before him.

"The doctor said fluids are the best for curing a cold, medicine too of course, but you've gotta eat first" he informed,  scooping some soup on the spoon, he held it up to her lips

"Now open up" and she remained immobile,  eyes blankly on him for there was no way she would eat that soup,  or was it drink,  she didn't care and he sat back and frowned

"Okay. I see.  You don't want to talk to me,  I get it, that's fine. But what I'm not gonna do,  is watch you starve more than you already are. Now be a good girl and open up" he chastised, his tone stern as if he were talking to a child and when he saw her make no move to change her behavior, he contonued

"You really don't want to test me right now piccola, eat up" he tried to coax through intimidation. She could only think as she watched him, of how easy he was to frustrate, she found it weirdly amusing watching him fuss over a little thing as eating. Luka let out a sigh and got his phone again,  this time however,  what he said elicited a reaction from her. As he spoke on the phone, he saw her eyes widen only for them to glare at him.

She knew he was speaking to a doctor minute he made queries on feeding tubes and she couldn't believe his gall.

"Just hang on a minute, doc," he said,  seeing her expression,  he resisted the urge to smirk, and he added "now will you eat?". She didn't know whether he was truly serious or not, however,  she was certain she didn't fancy being fed through a tube,  for the notion of it sounded painful. She finally relented and made a move to take the quaint bowl from his hand, only for him to manoeuvre it away, making her frown in confusion.

He hung up the phone and proceeded to make an attempt at feeding her again, and when she pursed her lips and frowned at him,  he nodded his head as if to say 'open up'

"Punishment" he informed. Her heart automatically clenched then, refusing to acknowledge the memories that followed, she gulped only to realise how dry her throat was,  alas, she opened up her lips and he glided the spoon of the cozy warmth into her mouth. She tried to resist her reaction, however,  minute the liquid touched her lips and slithered down her throat, she gagged, only to force herself to swallow it.

"What,  you don't like it?" Luka questioned with a frown,  certain that it wasn't the soup that was the problem,  being that the Genovese chef was stellar. She shook her head and for some reason her eyes misted over. She couldn't understand why.

"It's important that you eat liquids Bella. Cause quite frankly,  your stomach won't be able to handle anything else right now. Can you try and bear at least half of it?" the man questioned,  and although she really didn't like the chicken soup, she reluctantly nodded.

And he fed her only to stop when she refused to eat anymore no matter how much he tried to coax her. She couldn't take anymore after six spoons and she made her limit known.  The man before her gave in with a sigh, only to reach for pills she was supposedly meant to take and she thought,  life truly was out to get her, simply to keep her more miserable than she was. She had questions and a lot of them but she couldn't bring herself to voice them out.

"Piccola" Luka started,  and she raised her head to look at the man that had settled back on his chair, his elbows on the bed and his chin rested on his folded hands.

"We need to have a talk" he said and she knew what he meant. And she still refused to think about it. Before she could shake her head,  there was a knock on his doors and he sighed and stood up to open the door.

She saw an old man walk in with his greying hairs and kind beady eyes. He smiled at her when he realised she was awake and was looking at him. However, she kept a straight face that turned serious when her eyes fell on what looked to be tubes in a translucent package. Her eyes rose from it to Luka, who was hyper aware of her every movement that he knew what she thought when her gaze landed on him. Nodding he said

"Yes,  I was serious. Piccola,  you're nothing but skin and bones" she didn't like how he looked at her then,  how it made her feel vulnerable as she lowered her head as if in shame, only for her eyes to fall on her hand that was wrapped in a bandage.

For there was something about the look in his eyes that was familiar, like he was familiar, something she couldn't comprehend for they had never met before in a time to a point she would feel as she did. Like there was something about him she couldn't put a finger on, that although he was the son of the man that robbed her of everything,  practically her enemy, the part of her that felt it found it light and comforting. She shook her head off as if to rid off the ridiculous thoughts swarming in her mind.

Only,  she tensed up minute she felt a hand on her,  and she rose her head up only to be met with kind emotion. Yet that didn't eliviate her tension for she really didn't like being touched.

"It's okay dear. I won't do anything to you. Just relax okay,  I just need to check your vitals and I'll be done before you know it" he reassured as he placed his medical bag on the side of the bed. 

Luka remained standing a feet away as he looked on as the doctor got to work. The old man took out a thermometer first, and she resisted the urge to clench her lips shut,  however,  she cooperated, ignoring the thoughts of how many mouths it had been shoved in before her. She was in no way a germophobe, however...

He took her blood pressure next,  only to hear just how erratic her heart beat was. Offering what he seemed a kinds smile,  he said

"Can you relax for me, little miss?" as she watched the cold stethoscope on her chest. The doc shot Luka a look

"It's okay, Bella. I'm here" he tried to reassure,  successfully getting her attention when he used her name again.

She found that it sounded weird from him, and she chalked it up to that perhaps she had gotten used to him addressing her otherwise since she had met him. Alas,  she kept her eyes locked on his and she tried to distract herself with thoughts of just how light silver they seemed under the bright day light that shone through into the room. Only for her to notice the darkness that lay beneath them and she couldn't help but frown for she found the eye bags misplaced. Then she thought just how the stubble suited him, how strong his nose looked and how messy his hair was.

"Take one deep breath for me" she followed the doctor's instructions until he was satisfied and began packing away his equipment. She took the lollipop he held out to her wondering if whether she should be amused or offended, however, that didn't keep her from immediately unwrapping it. She watched as the old man stopped right by the door and Luka stood too close as they spoke in hushed tones.

She frowned then, feeling annoyed with the fact that despite her being a sound adult, they felt the need to discuss her as if she wasn't there or she couldn't understand what the doctor would come to say. Still frowning, she ignored Luka's smile when he turned her way. Only to have him chuckle when he took in her expression which he somehow could read to the point she wondered just how transparent she had come to be.

"Think you can stop with the looks now? The doctor said you'll improve in the coming days, and if you're a good girl, I might actually get you out of this room rather than condemning you to eternal bed rest." he informed walking her way until he leaned on his hands on the bed till his face was before hers. Only for him to grab onto the lollipop stick that was between her lips, an action that put her off guard that she failed to clamp on the candy before he could deprive her off of it. Dangling it before her eyes he said

"Till then, no candy for you" he instructed,  shoving it into his mouth. Her shock tuned into a pout which turned into her scrunching her nose up at his action, considerimg he seemed unbothered by the fact that it had been in her mouth a second before. He smiled then and swaggered to the bathroom saying he would take a shower. One well deserved for he hadn't had knee in a day or two.

Talking could wait for his mind was busy as a beehive in season and so was hers. Still trying to make sense of why Bella had captured his attention from the beginning, he was coming to realise that the attraction went beyond her having been like a challenge to him. She reminded him of someone,  someone he had failed to protect before, someone he had lost.

Or perhaps someone he thought he had lost...