"Dean!"
Lys awoke with a start.
Looking around, Lys realised she was no longer at home, but in what seemed to be the same room that she was in when she first regained consciousness.
The machine monitoring her vitals beeped and blinked rapidly as her vitals fluctuated.
An alarm sounded at the nearby nurses' station as robots entered the room, scanning for any signs of danger. They buzzed about, before flashing green and retreating.
Lys took deep breaths, trying to calm her racing heart while observing the robots bustling about.
She should be back in the hospital, and that would mean that the hostage incident was over.
And if everything was over, it means everyone should be saved and is alright no?
Nope. What if this was the Tomorrow Project's Hospital?
What if she was captured again?
*BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! *
The machine reminded her that her heart rate was racing again, and the robots flashed red, re-scanning the room. One moved next to her bed, and a red line appeared, scanning the bed and her in it.
A soft swoosh sounded as a doctor walked into the room, accompanied by Dean.
"You okay, squirt?"
Lys looked at him, unshed tears in her eyes, and nodded.
"It's okay now, and you're alright." He patted her head in a calming motion. "Let the doctor do a check?"
She nodded again and looked at the doctor.
The doctor asked her some questions about exhaustion and the events preceding it. But Lys shook her head and didn't reply. She did not understand what had happened after that last gunshot and why she was out longer than the rest of the guests at the party.
Heck, she didn't even understand why she would have been exhausted. Wasn't she just staring down the barrel of that gun? And then everything turned black? And then she was back in the hospital again?
Her poor parents. They must have panicked since she was unconscious for yet another long(ish) period of time, didn't they?
Why was this always happening to her?
Was her life meant to be always half in and out of the hospital? Wasn't the technology supposed to be advanced? Why was she constantly out of it then?
At this point, it would be more cost-efficient to build a hospital within their mansion no?
Completing her checkup, the doctor and the robots filed out of the ward, leaving Dean in the room with her.
"Penny for your thoughts?" He poured a cup of water and handed it to her.
She shook her head out of the jumbled mess her thoughts had wandered into. "My parents?" She asked, before taking a sip.
"On the way. I am stationed here while your family went to clean up the mess."
"Mess? Even the twins? How long have I been unconscious? Also, what do you mean stationed?"
"Yes, squirt, a mess." Dean shook his head slightly. "This was an incident that the Tomorrow Project was involved in, not to mention most of the guests were high profile people of the Empire. What did you expect?
"Did you also forget what status your family has?" He lightly tapped his knuckles on her head, causing her to squirm and avoid his hand.
"Nooooo… But…"
"Your parents also have to sort out the debris at your house. I'll let them tell you more later. Your brothers are in the midst of the investigation into the attack; therefore, they are not here. Your father has drafted me into one of his units, so he got me to stay here so that you would see someone familiar when you woke up.
"I have informed them that you have awakened, they should be coming by to meet you shortly." Dean smiled as he answered her questions one by one.
"Mmmhmm…" She nodded with comprehension as she delved back into her mind, sipping water from the cup.
Dean smiled as he shook his head and continued to observe the charge under his care who had yet again drifted off. She was always so amusing with her actions and thoughts… Almost like she didn't belong in this era.
Too naïve to be an adult, but her behaviour was adult-like. Too young to be that confused by technology, yet seemingly proficient at understanding what was left unsaid. She was full of contradictions, that made her enjoyable to observe. Maybe his current position would not be as bad as he had thought.
Though, according to the grapevine, she was a different person from the one 30 years ago. That one was just a mischievous prankster, or was that all on the urging of her brothers?
His comms let out a beep, and he turned to look at the notification.
"Look happy squirt. Your parents are here." Dean poked her cheek as he turned to the door that was sliding open.
"Lys!" Grace Ng cried out as she opened her arms to hug her daughter. She lifted one arm, then another, forcing her daughter to stand up and turn around, observing her movements and figure worriedly. "Good, you're alright." She turned to her husband and hugged him.
"She's alright."
"And she'll stay that way," Ian reassured her as he smiled at his daughter. "So, how was your nap?"
###
A madness raced through his mind, consuming all his thoughts.
Those eyes...
So captivating. Her emotions were showing through with every thought she had.
The rage. The joy. The confusion that was marred by fear, then the comprehension and understanding. And the tears…
Good god, the tears…
It was too addictive…
But it was too soon. She had faced way too many incidents in such a short period that her family would cocoon her and hide her away from him…
He would have to lessen the number of attempts on her… for now.
It wouldn't be that hard. After so many failed attempts they would have to regroup. And he could take the time to increase his collection while keeping an eye on her at all times.
Her eyes always was the best colour.
It's alright, he would always be nearby…