[The Infirmary] Heal or Die

[Rei]

80 Vhalar 716

Rei was swamped at The Infirmary. There had been a market accident, a bar brawl or two, and a mild epidemic of a respiratory disease in the Dust Quarter. The Lightning Knights had just left with several people from the bar brawl that had been patched up by some of the healers. She must have sewn at least thirty stitches in just one of them. One was incapacitated and was taking up residence in one of the beds in the Ward. It would be a while before the man would be able to pay his debt to society. She had removed all the wood splinters she could find. Apparently someone had beaten him with a barstool.

Her lips were creased into a frown. A group of men had come in carrying a limp body. He had been stuck in the gut with something- it was hard to tell what from this far away. His friends had stuffed a bunch of cloths on his abdomen that had soaked up some of the blood, though it was dripping onto the floor. She wasn’t even quite sure how he was still alive. “Bring him over here!” The men brought him over and set him down on an empty bed. Rei took one look at him and knew she could do nothing to save this man. “I’m very sorry. There’s nothing I can do.”

The men were angry, it was very apparent. But she had not expected one of them to come forward, knife drawn, and pull her back, pressing the blade against her throat. “You’re going to try, and you better try your hardest. Your life depends on it.” He had shoved her away, towards the bed, the knife extended to prick at her back. With shaking hands, she had gotten some tools, bandages, and plenty of needle and thread. “You two watch the door, make sure no one goes in or out. You two go get that friend of hers.”

Rei’s eyes widened. What other poor soul were they dragging into this? She quickly drizzled some antiseptic over her hands, feeling the press of the blade against her back. She removed the cloth stopping his bleeding and it started to flow. Her fingers quickly sunk into his abdomen, feeling around for the source of the bleed. He had tears in most of his major organs there. An assistant heated an iron and she stuck it inside the unconscious man, cauterizing the bleed. The blood flow lessened for that. The assistant dabbed a fresh cloth into the wound, mopping up blood so that Rei could see what she was doing. A side glance was spared at the two barring the doors. They were armed and shoving people away from the doors.

Suddenly, the doors opened and two of the burly men shoved a man forward. Rei briefly looked up, then did a double take. “Patrick?” How in the world did he get dragged into this? “I’m so sorry.” Her hands had stopped working. She felt the jab of the tip of the blade into her back. “Get back to work missy. His life depends on it too. Unless you want both of you to die, you’re gonna patch him up.” Her jaw tightened as she grabbed the needle and thread, starting to blindly work on sewing up whatever she was touching that was split open. Her skin grew pale as the thought passed through her mind that she couldn’t possibly save this man.

[Patrick]

Patrick hadn't been quite aware of what had occurred because for one he was on his way to work, but the sudden force of something blunt knocked him out cold before he could even reach the Hound. Sure enough he could hear voices drowned in a low dull ringing as the back of his head throbbed achingly. He was... on the ground for the most part. Footsteps were heard as he started to stir and when he felt hands grab him by the arms, he instinctively struggled to try and break free from their grasp. It was a futile effort of course as he hadn't any strength or ability to get free, as they merely drug him into another room where others were still talking. The ringing had started to fade out now and he thought he could hear a woman's voice, somebody who sounded familiar although he didn't want to guess who.

Sure enough though he had a great enough chance of being right, because no matter how much he didn't want to guess, he soon did hear Rei say his name as others threatened her. His vision was still in a blur as he could only see the shapes and figures, a feminine silhouette stood before a bed of a sort while others were around her. Rei was in danger and he had to do something, lest she and he both were destined to be made to suffer at the hands of these crooks. "Rei! Don't worry 'bout me" He reassured her with hopes that she wouldn't be in any greater danger than he was, though something told me their leader had her at worse angle than he could see for the moment.

"Shut it!" One of his captors demanded as he felt another harsh force slam against the side of his head, a sharp pain induced into his skull created another dull ring as he felt throbs of pain. He merely grunted and ground his teeth as he tried to avoid looking forward, his head hung low as his eyes watched the floor instead of them. He had to do something to get her out of this, he couldn't just remain captive here while they threatened her. Wendell? Where was Wendell? Did he know this was happening? Did they capture him too? He hadn't heard any sign of the man being here, chances were he were elsewhere if he was in fact caught. He hoped to the Fates that wasn't the case, because at this moment in time they needed someone. A hero. Wendell's chance in this wasn't certain but there could be a possibility but- Shit! What was Patrick thinking! Wendell doesn't need to be here for this, no he needed to be aware of the situation, to hopefully be able to round up some of the knights and mount a rescue.

Right now though, right at this moment... it was just him and her with these thugs, and she had to do their bidding lest the consequences be dire. "You will watch!" His other captor hissed lowly in his ear as a hard tug pulled his head higher, his eyes forced to watch as Rei worked as his vision slowly cleared to at last reveal finer detail. He could taste the trace of iron in his mouth but he remained silent, hard breaths heavily sounded from his nostrils as he struggled a couple more times. Finally when a dagger was drawn to his neck he remained still, eyes hopeful that Rei could do what they asked. Never before had he felt so weak, so powerless to do anything in his entire life. Here he was unable to do a thing to defend the woman he loved, and both their lives hanged in the balance as she had to work. Could she save this man's life? Patrick didn't know but he encouraged her, mentally cheered her on as he remained optimistic of her abilities. He had to... less he lose hope altogether.

[Rei]

Patrick had that look of people who had been knocked too far in the head whether it was on purpose or by accident. His eyes were hazy and glassed over. He told her not to worry about him but how could she not? He had been dragged in here off the street, obviously forcibly taken from wherever he was or wherever he was going. There was another noise and out of the corner of her eye she saw a hand smash into his head again. “Please stop it!” She pleaded, not wanting to see him hurt again. The knife pricked the skin of her back as he jabbed it at her. “Shut it and work!”

Wendell. Where was Wendell? He was the one she spent the most time with, why hadn’t they gotten him off the streets? Wouldn’t he have been perceived as the more enticing motivation? Of course she was thanking all the Immortals right now that Wendell seemed to be safe, for now. For whatever reason he hadn’t been pulled into this. She wasn’t sure she could have done it if she had been faced with that. She was having a hard enough time as it was.

Her attention was grabbed by the hiss of one of the thugs that was wrenching back Pat’s head and making him watch the gruesome scene. There was the glint of metal as a dagger came to his throat. She wanted to scream, but instead her lips trembled as she held back a sob. Her fingers shook and she nearly stabbed her own flesh while she was trying to carefully stitch the split organ. She snapped the thread before moving her fingers to another organ, feeling the split in the flesh there. It felt like his gut.

The needle speared the flesh and worked quickly, her nervous eyes flitting back and forth between his chest and the gaping wound in his abdomen. His breaths were getting slower and shallow. He was dying and she didn’t have much time to do something- what exactly she didn’t know. There was no possibility she could save this man short of divine intervention. She snapped the thread again, feeling his insides growing colder by the second. Soon his heat would leave his body along with his life. Her breaths came in trembles as she was more aware of the blade at her back.

Suddenly the man’s chest stopped moving, his lips ceasing to have breaths pass them. His flesh had gone pale as he had lost a lot of blood. Her lips creased together as the man behind her became aware of what was happening. “Do something!” He shouted at her but she was frozen. There was nothing she could do. “I’m sorry,” she stammered, cut off as the door burst open and the Lightning Knights came pouring in, blades drawn. There was the sickening squelch of steel into flesh as Rei became aware of a sharp pain in her lower right back. It was heated there and wet as blood seeped to her clothes, staining the plain white dress.

The man who had been gripping her shoulder was pried away by the knights who forced the blade from his hand. It dropped with a clang to the floor and Rei fell against the bed, against the man who was now a corpse. She could feel her body slipping into shock, a chill spreading through her limbs. There was a clamor as the Head Surgeon made her way through the chaos towards the fallen Rei.

[Patrick]

No matter how much he wanted to he couldn't look away from it all, oh by the Immortals he couldn't even do it at this point because... because... Look at her! He was so horrified, so scared not because of what could happen to him, but because of what might happen to her. He wanted to save her, get her out of here as quick as he could. He wanted to stop all this, to at least shut his eyes and open them once more, and find that all this that was happening was nothing more than a bad dream. This had to be it. A very bad dream. His eyes began to water and he tried not to give a low growl, his evident concern for her the very reason why they marked him easy to grab. These bastards knew about her! They knew more than enough to guess who had ties, this wasn't just a hostage situation but an act of desperation. Why would they know about her? Why would they want this man saved so badly? There had to be answers to this, answers that he needed if he were to understand why they'd gone to such lengths.

None were present though, these men were all brutish thugs from the looks of them. Scarred and definitely harsh with their methods, and Rei who was forced to operate under these conditions and there was so.... By the Fates... there was so much blood even when she continued to work. How could anybody hope to lose that much blood and survive? No. No he had to hope for the best! He had to believe she could do it, their lives depended on it at this rate unless... The knights had to be on there way, he was betting on that much at least. He struggled once more with another low growl after he felt a yank on his scalp, a nasty and harsh reminder to the fact his life was still at their mercy just as well. The cold edge of steel on his flesh did nothing to intimidate him however, even when he felt that edge softly cut at the surface of his flesh. He could feel a small trickle of warmth ooze from where the tip of the dagger pricked into his skin, the irritating sensation of pain ignored as he watched her work continue. So much blood. His stomach felt twisted and knotted within like he wanted to get sick, he'd never seen so much of it at once and it somehow just kept pouring.

Then the act of saving a life seemed to lessen, the body started to grow pale as Rei then froze. The man was dying that much was certain, and when everything came crashing down all hope suddenly became lost. Patrick felt his heart drop as his eyes widened in horror, his struggle resumed with no regards to the danger it could accost his own life with. "NO!" He screamed as the leader took the dagger he'd threatened her with and plunged it into her lower back, his keepers quick to jerk him back down each time he used a leg to try and push off the floor. "Rei!!" His call was followed by the thunder of the doors behind him, suddenly free from the restraints of their hands as they were immediately occupied by the Knights that stormed the infirmary. He ran as hard as he could and as fast as he could to at least try and get to her, a shove past the leader as he left that bastard for the knights to handle momentarily. It was either him or Rei that he would've ran to first, and right now the only thing his world seemed to center on was her falling body.

Blood had already started to soak her dress and he ran up to her, quick to catch her before collapsed on the floor. Her body was limp and already chill to the touch, a soft layer of sweat broken on her forehead as he knelt down to ease her onto the floor. "Rei! Rei listen t' me! You'll be okay Rei! Hold on!" He pleaded desperately with tears flushing from his eyes, the head surgeon finally next to her as a few others nudged for him to move. He refused but with the reinforcement of a knight he finally pulled away, her blood fresh on his hands and shirt as he watched them operate to try and save her life. "I love you..." He whispered quietly as he prayed that they would succeed. "Please don't die."

[Rei]

The distinct feel of pain completely took over her body, spreading from her lower right back all the way out to her fingers and toes. Everything hurt and she would have given anything for release right now. It was so close- right there. Her vision was spotting, the sight of the corpse that had just been a man lying right there in front of her, the pulse of flowing blood stopped because his heart had stopped. Her hands were still covered in warm blood as she grasped at the side of the bed, her knees and legs giving out in weakness.

There was the metallic taste of blood in her mouth, and a bit bubbled over her lip. She thought through the pain she could feel a man’s arms around her and hear a man’s voice. Was it Patrick? It had to be Patrick. Wendell wasn’t here. The voice was frantic, screaming. She wanted to tell him to calm down but the words wouldn’t form themselves- couldn’t form themselves in the chaos. Her body was growing cold on the inside, a shiver running down her spine that only increased her pain. Then Patrick’s voice was soft- a whisper. She couldn’t make out the words. Then she couldn’t see or hear anything at all. Only blackness.

Layla had finally gotten Patrick away from Rei with the aid of many other people. Several assistants had come with her and she immediately started shouting out orders. First was a call for a cauterizing iron. As Layla mopped up the blood and was able to probe into the wound, she could see that a pulsing artery had been knicked and was spewing out blood. The iron hissed against the flesh as it burnt it closed. Rei simply lay there limp as a dishrag through the whole process. At best she was in shock, at worst her body was failing.

Layla soon became covered in Rei’s blood, there was a pool beneath her body sprawled out on the floor. “I think he missed her organs.” She was mostly musing out loud. Bringing over tools and needle and thread, it took over a hundred stitches to close to the knife wound properly from inside out. When it was sewn up, they wrapped her in bandages and stripped her of her bloodied dress, given her a ragged gown to cover her form. Rei was gently moved off the floor to a clean and available bed. Layla left and Doctor Helvin came over. He was looking her over, assessing her. They wrapped her in warm blankets to help her warm up again.

“You there, boy. You know her?” He was speaking to Patrick as he doled out a milky substance into a wooden cup. “Stay with her while we attend to the others. She went into shock. It could be bits, breaks, even trials before she comes to, but when she does she will need milk of the poppy. I’m leaving it with you here.” The old man looked down at the young woman he had come to know as one of his most dedicated healers. “She’s such a good woman, so kind and very gifted. I hate that it was her.” With a sigh, he gave Patrick a pat on the shoulder. “I’ll send someone by to come check on your head. You’ve had a few good knocks.”

[Patrick]

His capacity to remain back continued to be tested over and over again as he watched the medics helped Rei, with his back turned towards the group as they operated to save her life, he remained rested on his knees determined to force himself in remaining where he was. He could hear the sound of flesh sizzling when they cauterized the wound, his turned stomach almost went into a heave as he covered his ears and closed his eyes. He... was a coward. Completely useless and unable to do a single thing, even at at time like this when there was so much tension... so much pressure weighted on his shoulders that he couldn't think to bear it.

It was almost the same as when he first discovered Dominek had been killed.

He felt the fear of loss and the anxiety of what to expect, the chances in which she could very well slip... she could die and he knew this. He had reason to believe she could and had reason to believe she won't, but the test of faith never seemed to be one of his strongest qualities. Still he yearned to know she would survive, to hear that she would awaken or at least live to see another day. Wendell still wasn't here. Where was he when she needed him, when they needed him most of all. He felt bitter and rage all at once, as well as regret for being so helpless. He was pathetic, just like Wendell had called him before. He... he... needed a drink. He needed to drink until this was only a nightmare, so that he could awaken and find this horrid reality to be gone. Done. Eyes frantically searched for something, anything that could do as his need for alcohol.

Nothing. He needed it now and there was nothing, he felt himself on a verge of a breakdown he couldn't delay. "I think he missed her organs." The words echoed aloud in a sense that alerted him of a different outcome, a possibility that he thought might've dwindled now a fighting chance. Rei will live through this! His thirst was nothing but mere habit and though he needed a drink, he didn't dare lose himself to its call now of all times when Rei... Rei would be alright after all of this, and sure enough after much of the operation had nearly passed he worked hard to mentally overcome his desire for alcohol. He didn't need it, he needed her. That's all he needed right now was her, and finally he was able to look over his shoulder, to watch as they finished patching her lifeless body and cleaned up shortly afterwards. They'd saved her. Hopefully. As he wouldn't dare leave her side Patrick had been allowed to remain, and given a portable wash basin to clean the blood off from his hands.

"Aye." He answered the doctor in a raspy tone. "I know her." He was instructed to remain beside her for the time being, to give to her whatever it was the doctor had left for when she would awaken. "I'll give it t' her. I promise." He also promised, though silently, that he wasn't going to let her out of his sight. Not for a while anyways. He didn't dare risk it after what had happened today, "I'll be fine... thanks anyways." He finished as he didn't wish to be bothered with a doctor, not when there were others who needed help more than he. Still it didn't seem to matter as someone came anyway, examined his head injuries to determine whether or not he might've had a concussion. He was so tired at that point, ready to sleep even when his eyes still remained on Rei. After he'd been cleaned and patched up with bandages around his head and on the cut of his neck, Patrick finally was left alone to watch her while the others did their work within the clinic. Rather sincerely he took one of her hands into his, rubbed both of his thumbs on it affectionately as a means of comfort.

Whether it worked for her was something he didn't know, he just knew that shortly afterwards his eyes grew heavy. Finally after he rested his head down on the mattress, sleep took over as he fell into a light and wary nap that alerted him when sounds and movement were heard. Breaks had to pass while he heard the others in the clinic continue their efforts to help the others, and then finally he felt it within his hands. Movement. Rei's own hand seemed to twitch for a moment and when he looked to see her, she still remained still as though it were a figment of his imagination. But no... she was waking up. He knew that had to be true, a caring and affectionate hand placed on her cheek as he looked over to the cup that remained for her. "Rei?" His voice was a soft but still rough whisper, hopeful that she awaken upon hearing him call her name. He waited to see if she'd awaken before he grabbed the cup, ready to provide it to her when she finally seem to come around.

[Rei]

In the blackness of her unconsciousness, she thought she could vaguely sense her surroundings. She wanted to wake up, but her body wasn’t ready. There was the feeling of skin against her hand, she thought. Or maybe it was a dream? Her mind drifted to more pleasant thoughts, remembering the many times Wendell had touched her hand. Finally, her mind slipped into a dream state and it dreamt of the shadow of the ruggedly handsome man touching her body and cradling her face. He was comforting her and slowly her breathing deepened to signal that she was resting.

After many breaks, her fingers twitched in subtle first movements. Then her hand twitched and she tried to curl her fingers, her mind struggling to emerge from the haze of being both asleep and unconscious. Abruptly the sensation of extreme and unrelenting pain struck her body, her face scrunching up. She became aware of the hand on her face as silent tears pricked her eyes, streaking down her cheeks and falling over his hand. Her eyes fluttered as she thought she heard her name. Or was it another dream? But the pain was very real, there was no denying that.

Rei’s breathing became shallow and ragged, even the slight movement of her abdomen sent lightning pain through her body. A rough gasp escaped her lips, her vision slowly coming into focus. Patrick was hovering near her bed. The sounds followed turning from fuzzy to sharp and clear. There was the familiar rumble of activity in the Infirmary, alerting her to where she was. It suddenly came back to her, the events of earlier that day. With achingly slow movements, her hand came to feel the soft bump of bandages around her waist. Her voice was raspy with soft sobs, a combination of the memories and the pain.

Footsteps rung in her ear and she heard the familiar and comforting voice of Doctor Halvin. “Rei? Give her the milk, son.” She wet her lips as she felt the brim of the wooden cup pressed against her mouth. Taking slow sips, she drained the cup dry. It was only minutes, though it seemed much longer, before it started to ease her blinding pain. Her vision blurred with her tears. Her head tilted to the side of her bed, able to make out Patrick’s face. “Hurts,” she rasped. The milk set a haze over her mind and the pain, though it was still there, became bearable.

She struggled, her hands pressed against the bed as she tried to push herself up. Doctor Halvin caught her shoulder and held her against the bed. “Don’t sit up. You have been badly injured. You will split open your stitches.” There was a call across the room for the Doctor. “Keep her in bed, she can have more of that in a few breaks.” When he edged away, Rei flexed her fingers to brush against Patrick’s hand. “Water, please.” She managed to be polite even in her state. “Are you alright?”

[Patrick]

As he watched her nearly writhe in her bed from the pain she must've felt Patrick's eyes fell sullen with concern, hopeful that she might very well awaken to comprehend that he were there to help her, to provide her with this milk shit they talked about to ease her suffering. Sure enough when Rei came to with the oversimplification of the word hurt, he forced a soft smile to her with hopes that she needn't be hurting for long. Shortly after she'd consumed the white substance from the mug he offered he watched as it worked its effect, her muscles finally at an ease as she seemed to start moving a little. She almost attempted to lean up and just as the doctor beckoned for her to remain rested, Patrick had almost done the same had he not been beaten to the punch of course. She literally took a dagger to the back, barely surviving minus the fact her vitals were fortunately missed.

Still no Wendell either, by now he would've showed; or so Patrick assumed anyways. It wasn't going to matter much longer anyways, as he would tell the man what went down later when they saw each other. He was sure that he might be a little late at this point, but granted he'd been a victim of circumstance he was sure Rose would understand. "Thanks doc." He responded towards the instruction he'd been given, wary eyes still on Rei as he felt her fingers brush over his hand. To feel that soft delicate touch she had, the warmth that resided there now compared to how cold she was before... It almost brought a tear to the surface of his eye, as he listened closely to her next request. She needed water. Something that was nearby in the pitcher, his own wooden cup empty from the drink he'd had earlier while he watched her rest. "Yeah sure, gimme a trill." He leaned over and grabbed the pitcher to pour water into the cup, leaving it a third of the way filled before he finally rested the pitcher back down. "I'm fine, just a lil' shook up is all." He reassured her as he slid a hand under her head, a gentle lift allowed her lips to reach the cup as he tucked it over enough to help provide her with a sip.

He helped her drink as much as she required and when she finished he replaced the cup back where he left it, his hands gently squeezed around her own hand once more as he looked to her. His eyes were tired still and there appeared to be slight bags under his eyes, a shy of a soft smile found in the corner of his lips as he looked upon her face once again. He felt at ease seeing her awake now, reassured that his previous words from earlier weren't a far cry on Fate's ears before. She'd nearly died in front of him, and he couldn't do a damn thing. What would Wendell have to say about that? What would he do if he learned Patrick couldn't in fact save her, that she actually did die right there and left him alone in this world? Again where was Wendell? The question didn't feel right to him as he didn't feel right being here now, his own personal feelings overcome with the fact Rei loved Wendell instead. "You gave me one right scare, ya know. How am I gonna face Wendell later when I have t' tell him what happened?" He posed as he slowly started to withdraw his hands, unsure that his affection was acceptable by her at this point.

[Rei]

Rei turned her gaze up to Patrick who was sitting there with an odd smile on his face. It was forced- she could tell. After all, there wasn’t much to smile about. She was confined in this bed with bandages around her waist and what felt like stitches. Now that her vision had cleared, she could see that he had bandages on his neck and head. Apparently he had gotten scuffed up in the ordeal. It must have been after she got the blade plunged in her back, because she didn’t remember seeing him hurt more than a few knocks on the head.

She watched him pour out some fresh, cool water into a cup. His touch was gentle as he slipped his hand beneath her hand, gently lifting it up and pressing the cup to her lips. She drank the water, it driving the bitter flavor of the poppy milk from her mouth. Rei took more than she probably should have, nearly choking in her eagerness to get it down. Letting her head fall back down to her pillow, a soft sigh escaping her lips. If she was going to be stuck here, she would have to find something productive to do- at least whatever she could do with the haze of poppy milk.

There was a gentle squeeze on her hand, and she looked down to see him grasping her hand. He commented on Wendell, asking what he was supposed to tell the man. She would have laughed but it would have brought serious pain to her wound. “You’re seeing him later? Just tell him what happened. It’s not like it was your fault. You didn’t stab me in the back.” Her eyes turned glassy as the milk began to take its full affect over her mind. His hand withdrew from hers, making her wonder what was on his mind and if it was the thought of Wendell that caused him to pull away.

“I should probably rest. I’ll be fine here, there’s plenty of people to take care of me. Just… do me a favor and tell him.” Rei had to believe that he didn’t know what happened or he would have been here himself. Surely he would have. “Come back later if you want. I’m sorry you go brought into this. And thank you.. for staying.” She let her eyes drift from him and across the room where there were several other patients lying in the room. Her eyes fluttered as she struggled to stay awake.

[Patrick]

His mention of Wendell did just as he expected when it came to Rei, her statement on telling him what happened shushed softly as her eyes glossed over afterwards. "I know; I meant everythin' that happened entirely." He responded as he patted her hand gently once more, his withdrawal final as he watched her eyes begin to flutter. From the looks of it she was starting to fall back into a state of rest, something that he deemed vital if she were to have a much more successful recovery. "Aye," He nodded as he watched her eyelids slowly falter, "aye I'll tell him. Don't worry 'bout what happened, ye just rest and get to feelin' better." He suggested as he slowly rose from the chair, his neck in a stiff lock from his lean and earlier nap. He watched her then as she slipped away into a sleep he felt sure would be deep, something she wouldn't wake up from for a while until the pain in her back would bother her again. He wanted to stay with her, he really did, but he had a task to handle if he were to keep his word.

Finally convinced she'd fallen completely asleep he leaned forward once more, a soft kiss placed on her forehead as he hung his head for a moment. He didn't know if she could hear him or not, but to him it made little difference anymore. "I love you." He finalized those words as they became carved within his heart of stone, a soft stroke of his fingers flowed through her hair as he finally straightened out once more. According to the knights that remained there the men were nothing more than ruffians, lowlifes from the Dust Quarter with little or no connections to anything big. He doubted that to be true, but his suspicion would invoke nothing at this rate. With events like this and the murder earlier this season he couldn't compare the two, either way with no legitimate connection he was put back to square one again. Thus he moved on to head out and return to his current obligation, Madame Rose of course wouldn't like that her prospective pupil had taken a few bangs to the head, but that news compared little to what he had to share to Wendell when the time came... only it never did.

Later that evening nobody knew where Wendell was, Sugar had checked at his place only to find it empty. With the story about Rei and a quick run to her place, Patrick never found him waiting there for her either. Overall the day quickly spiraled into an out of control mess, and sure enough when nobody could determine where Wendell was, Madame Rose took it upon herself to cut Patrick a little bit of slack for the evening. He was sent home with the instruction to gain rest, while she would do a bit of digging herself to see just where her golden boy had truly wound up.