Lilly's Torment(8)

"We've been in here for over eight hours, Lilly." He pointed to the  clock. "She's likely done the autopsy and into write up just waiting on  results. Get her out of the morgue and up to the captain's office, if  you can. I'll stay out of the way and keep my mouth shut. But she can't  keep hiding out down there during work hours."                       
       
           



       

"Oh, well crap." How the hell had she lost time like that? What the hell  had she done? "All right, so I will go and get Briar and pull her up to  the captain's office, and then we will figure things out from there,  right? Hopefully she will have something to add to this whole mystery."

"Pretty much what I said." He grinned at her. "I think we need to feed  you, you seem to get a little lost when undernourished." Taking her arm,  Artaxias grabbed the reports and led her toward the elevator. "I'll get  you to the morgue floor and then you're on your own. I'll dig you up a  snack for when you get to the captain's office."

"How could you know me that well?" She had only just met them, how could  he know her that well? She did. When she didn't eat she did become more  than a little scattered, and she began to question everything that she  had done or been doing.

"It was a good guess since you seemed to be having issues focusing.  Plus, I can smell the change in your blood chemistry." He shrugged. "You  need to eat so your blood sugars and chemistry balance out. I will find  you something good to eat. Do you have any allergies I need to know  about?"

"I'm diabetic. I have an insulin pump that I have to use if I get too  low. I take shots nightly," she confessed. "Type one, so I'm totally  screwed for the rest of my life," she muttered, laughing lightly. "Even  with all of the advancements that have come from the fall of the Veil, a  cure for diabetes is something that is yet to be found."

"Mmm," he hummed softly. At the morgue floor he stepped between the  doors to keep them open. Handing her one copy of the file, he said, "Go  and talk to Briar. Don't be too long, Lilly. You need to eat something  nutritious, and I'll ensure you have it."

"Thank you." She gave his hand a squeeze and moved into the ME office.  "Hi there, Doctor." Lilly made sure that she spoke before truly entering  the room where Briar was currently standing. "Have you filed the report  with the office yet?"

"The autopsy yes, but I'm still waiting on the trace evidence, and of  course, your report. Which I'm guessing you have there?" She held out a  hand. When Lilly didn't pass it over, Briar frowned. "Was there  something else, Agent Webb?"

Lilly looked down at the folder in her hand and frowned. "Have you ever  felt as if you have been in the same place and are doing the same thing  over again but don't recall the first time?" Something was … well,  something was off. She wasn't sure what it was, but there was something  that wasn't sitting right with her.

"I work in a morgue, Agent Webb, I do the same thing over and over all  the time." Briar gave her a peeved expression before she let out a  breath. Rubbing her hands over her face, she dropped them. "What do you  mean?"

"I-" Lilly started and stopped, a frown on her lips as she moved closer  to what was left of the body. "I don't know." She knew this body, knew  this man. How? How did she know him? She had. "I feel as if I have been  to this man's autopsy before." If the men didn't think she was losing it  before, they were sure to think she had now. "The case that I was  talking about involving humans who tried to mimic Luhpynes. I-" She  rubbed at the back of her neck, a pain throbbing there and making her  feel sick to her stomach. "I'm missing something." It was like there was  a blank wall up in her mind. She couldn't seem to penetrate the fog,  and the harder she tried to recall, the more her head hurt. Lilly  continued to stare at the man, not even feeling the nosebleed that began  from her trying to force memories that were seemingly hidden from her.

"Lilly!" Briar was right at her side with a tissue. "You haven't eaten  recently, have you?" she said, grabbing her arm. Pulling her away from  the table, she pushed her into a chair, tipped her head back a little,  and pressed the tissues to her nose. "Hold that there," she ordered  before moving to her phone. Dialing, she kept her eyes on Lilly. "You  need to come down to the morgue, something's wrong with Lilly."

Lilly continued to look at the body and shook her head. "No, I haven't  eaten recently but-" She felt a sharp pain in her mind, the fog closing  more firmly over her memories and making her wince in pain. "Not that,"  she whispered. "I dunno what, but not that."

"Lilly look away from the body," Briar said, squeezing a hand to her  shoulder. "You need to look away now. Stop whatever it is you are doing,  please!"

The door crashed open and Artaxias came right in toward her. He cupped  her cheeks and kissed her, dragging her up into his arms as he stuck his  tongue into her mouth. He sucked hard, his teeth lightly scraping her  inner lip as his hands slid around her body.

Lilly's arms wrapped around Artaxias and she found herself kissing him  back, melting into him until the one and only thing she focused on was  him. Forgotten was the body. Literally, it was as if she couldn't recall  why she was where she was. When they parted, she licked her lips and  smiled up at him, "Wow. What a kiss. I think that you should do that  more often." She then looked around, frowning. "How? Huh?" She had no  clue how she had gotten into the morgue, or why Briar was looking at her  as if she had grown two heads.                       
       
           



       

"Come on, little mate, you need a meal and we're going to talk. I hate  to ask, doc, but would you mind going with her to the cafeteria? I kind  of left the captain hanging when I raced down here," he said quietly.  His hand stroked up and down Lilly's back slowly as he held her close to  him.

Briar frowned as she watched how gentle this man was with Lilly. The  Agent was clearly not exactly as hardy as Lacey Rose was, but the care  that the Vamphyre used in attending to her was unique. "Sure, I will  take her and ensure that she eats. If I recall from her file, she's  diabetic? Type one?"

Ax nodded, "That's what she told me, too," he said quietly. Hugging  Lilly close, he pressed his face into her hair. "Go with Briar, babe.  Eat something and I'll come and find you in a little while. I need to  finish my meeting with the captain, but I won't be long."

"All right." Lilly frowned. How the hell had she wound up in the morgue?  Damn, she was starting to miss time again. Not good. At all. "We will  be in the cafeteria." She didn't turn to face the body on the slab,  Briar's body blocking her too well. "And maybe then you can tell me why I  was in the morgue?" What the hell was going on?

"We'll talk when I come to find you, little mate," he promised softly.  His finger traced over her cheek and he pressed a kiss to her forehead.  "Stay with Briar until I come to get you, please?" His words were soft  and a request, no demand in his tone.

"You betcha." Reaching out a shaky hand when Artaxias moved from her,  she grabbed his hand in hers, "You will explain, right?" She was losing  her mind, that had to be it. She was losing her ever-damn-loving mind  and this was all a dream. She was in some padded cell somewhere, that  had to be it.

"If I can, absolutely," he whispered, lifting her hand. Pressing a kiss  to her fingers, he smiled. "Whatever this is, I will be with you,  Lilly." He looked to Briar, "Can you check her blood sugar, too? She was  acting a little off in the lab before I brought her down here."

Briar nodded. "Can and will do. Go. The captain will likely have your  balls for a trophy, but I didn't know who else to call. I have insulin  should she need it, too." She added, "Now get the hell out of here so  that she and I can go and have a nice lunch."

He nodded and looked to Lilly. Another kiss to her fingers and he let  her go before heading out the door again. He even paused in the doorway  to look at her for a long moment. Then he was gone once more.

Lilly looked at Briar and sighed. "I think that I'm losing my mind." A  confession, pure and simple. "I'm losing time again. This is just is not  good. I swear I do not recall coming down here, and earlier, Artaxias  said that we had been in my lab for hours. I think that I need to make a  call." Back to DC, back to the docs that had treated her the last time  this happened.