A Hospital Waiting Area, Bristol, Monday

[bitten_notshy]

Jack had been in and out of Mitchell's hospital room all morning. It hadn't been doing the slightest bit of good from what he could tell, and had the unwanted side effect of making him feel like he was intruding on something between George and Mitchell. By late morning, he wandered off to get something to eat and send a few emails begging off on his schoolwork.

He thought about calling Emma. He knew he should call Emma, that he'd be blindingly furious if she didn't tell him were the situation reversed. But some tiny part of him was sick of dashing from crisis to crisis with her. It wasn't as if she could help, anyhow, he rationalized. He didn't think Mitchell even realized she knew he was a vampire. Calling her could wait.

So he put off that call, and made another one. He dreaded ruining someone's day this way, but Kate would have even more reason to be angry if she wasn't told than Emma would.

As the phone rang, he had a sudden fear that Kate would say what he had been telling himself: That he should have, somehow, done more. That he could have stopped this all if he'd been a little less stupid.

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[vanillajello]

Kate was having the most relaxed day she'd had in a while. She'd woken up without the jumpy, edgy feeling that had been a constant companion for an entire week. Things seemed to be looking up on a few fronts.

So really, she should have started feeling ominous the very second she picked up her buzzing phone and saw who was calling. But no.

"Jaaack," she drawled, sounding fairly content about everything. "What up?"

[bitten_notshy]

Jack bit his lip, hating this part.

"I'm in Bristol," he began. "Mitchell's in hospital. I thought you'd want to know."

... not much for starting a conversation gently, this one.

[vanillajello]

No, not really. So yeah. There went that whole thing about having a relaxing day.

A stunned "what?" was all she could get out of her mouth.

[bitten_notshy]

"Herrick shoved a bloody stake in him and he didn't die and now they're pumping blood into him and it's doing no good, and George is all but acting like a grieving widow," Jack hissed.

A porter looked at him quizzically, and he leaned back. "Sorry. Yesterday was not a good day."

[vanillajello]

"What?" Kate, you already said that. "Who the fuck is Herrick?"

If she'd heard the name before, it wasn't coming to her now. Too busy dealing with... everthing else Jack had just said.

[bitten_notshy]

"His" -- dammit, what was the term Kate would understand? The one that came to Jack's mind first was as hard to explain as courtesan -- "the one who turned him. He was trying to take over the world." Said dryly, with an awareness of what a cliche it was.

"Mitchell turned against it, and they caught him off-guard."

[vanillajello]

Kate had been exposed to enough vampire fiction in prior to the arrival of actual vampires in her life, so she could've maybe been able to grasp several different terms. But how he chose to put it was the easiest one.

And not what really caught her attention about what he said.

"Guess he doesn't think they're so much better than us anymore," Kate muttered, half under her breath. Louder, she said, "So... Is it really as bad as you made it sound?"

[bitten_notshy]

A huff. "I'm calling you from a hospital. How bad do you think it'd have to be for him to be in one?" Jack pointed out. (Apparently it was always a good time to quibble with Kate.)

Though that wasn't what had his attention, really. "What's that about him thinking they're better than us?"

[vanillajello]

"Only the fact that the last two times I've talked to him pretty much all I've gotten is that humans are selfish assholes," Kate told him, dryly. "And don't get bitchy at me for asking a question."

The situation was not easy. But quibbling was.

[bitten_notshy]

"I hadn't talked to him in a bit," Jack explained as he tried and failed to remember exactly how long it had been. "That would explain why he went as far as he did with Herrick, though. He gets angry at them and comes to us, then he gets angry at us and goes to them."

Jack did not say he thought this was childish. He also did not tell Kate not to ask stupid questions if she didn't want him to get bitchy. But both thoughts were there.

"I just wish I could have done something so it hadn't ended here."

[vanillajello]

Kate rolled her eyes. Too bad that wasn't audible, but her tone may have carried some of it. "Newsflash, Jack," she said, "Mitchell does what the fuck Mitchell wants to, and there's not a whole lot you or I can do about it."

[bitten_notshy]

"Not that part," Jack said dismissively, which was as good as acknowledging she was right. "George and Annie and I went into the headquarters to find him. If we'd gotten rid of Herrick then, he wouldn't have been around to hurt Mitchell later. I'm sure there would have been a way to do it if I'd planned more."

Because everything in the world was entirely the fault of one 18-year-old boy.Jack had truly dizzying skills at blaming himself.

[vanillajello]

"Would you ike me to call you self-centered?" Kate wondered, going back to sounding dry. "Or just dumb?" Because really. He was putting too much weight on his own shoulders, making himself a bigger player than he was.

She sighed, and when she continued her tone was gentler. "It's not your fault Mitchell's in the hospital, Jack."

[bitten_notshy]

"Dumb helps more, actually." And there was Jack's sense of humor. Somewhere. Somewhere very, very deep, right next to the relieved realization no one was going to yell at him for this. "It's complicated. But -- all right."

He could have at least told Mitchell not to answer the fucking door without looking.

"They're letting visitors see him." Which wasn't an invitation, since invitations weren't his to give, but it wasn't not one, either.

[vanillajello]

Kate didn't really need an invitation, either, but it was nice to get something quite wasn't one, anyway. "I'll call Portalocity," she said. "I'll probably be there sometime in the afternoon."

Classes be damned.

[bitten_notshy]

"Thank you," Jack said gratefully. "He's awake, mostly, and I'm sure he'll be pleased to see you. Besides, I could use a back-up in the normal human corner."

Which, if he thought of it, was another reason he hadn't called Emma.

"There's a whole long story about Annie, too, but that might be hers to tell."

[vanillajello]

Kate couldn't help but be a bit dubious about Mitchell wanting to see her since they hadn't exactly parted on the best of terms, but she didn't say anything about it. It didn't matter, she was going anyway.

"Yeah, the normal human tag team," she snorted quietlky instead. "Maybe Annie'll tell me."

That, at least, sounded like a potentially good thing.

[bitten_notshy]

"I hope she does. It was" -- he managed not to say terrifying -- "completely amazing," Jack answered. "She got rid of Owen."

Which was more than he'd meant to say for 'not his story,' but it seemed like some good news was needed.

"Anyhow, so I'll see you in a bit?"

[vanillajello]

"Go Annie," Kate said, and actually did sound both impressed and glad to have heard something positive. Then she nodded. "See you soon. Later."

She ended the call only to immediately make one to Portalocity. She had a portal to catch.