Baine
Baine came away slowly, he opened his eyes and frowned as he tried to figure out where he was an why his body ached as it did.
“Hey, bout time you joined us again.”
He wanted to say something sarcastic back at his friend, but words failed him as flashes of what happened came back to him. The cells, the memories, the other prisoners, being carried and cradled as meaningless words were whispered in his ear, calming him. The feeling of being enveloped in a pair of strong arms, feeling safe.
“Leave my patient alone. He needs a minute to catch back up and reorient himself to where he’s at and what happened.”
Baine frowned as he saw a man move to sit beside him on the edge of the couch he was laying on. “We’ve not been formally introduced. My name is Dr Sebastian. Most people just call me Doc though.”
“Uh...hi doc.” Baine said slowly.
“Do you remember what happened?”
“I went in to let the kid out, but then….” He trailed off unsure of how to explain things. “How did I get in here?”
Daegan laughed, “That would be Soren. He carried you in here. He just left a minute ago actually.”
“Seriously?” Baine grumbled.
“What’s that face for?” Doc asked in confusion. “You have something against the man?”
“Not at all, but from what I hear, at least half the town wants their bodies against him. Mine was and I don’t even get to remember it. I don’t believe he exists. I swear this is some mass delusion that the whole town has bought into or they are all punking me and I'm the butt of some long running joke.”
“No, he exists I promise you. But let’s get back to the more important part. Why he had to carry you in the first place. How long has this been going on?”
Baine sighed, “that was the first time to that extreme. I’ve been having nightmares, not sleeping much either. That’s the first time I’ve had a reaction like that though.”
Doc nodded, “Have you told anyone about your nightmares? Does your Alpha know how hard you are struggling? That’s what a pack is for, you know. To help you. They are your family, you don’t have to do this alone. Let them in and they will stand beside, behind and in front of you.”
“You a head doc?”
“Yes and no. I’ve been around a long time. I may not have gone to school for it, but I know my way around mental illness and people suffering with a lot of the same things you are. It’s not easy to open up and let others in, the stigma is still very strong, but you should never be ashamed of what you feel. You survived something most people can’t even comprehend. You saw things before and after your time in that cage that have left a permanent scar on your soul. Am I right?”
Baine nodded and glanced up to Daegan as they shared a look. Doc was right even before he’d been locked in that cage, he’d seen and been a part of some things that had left him hurting, raw, and exposed. But he’d always had his best friend there beside him, he’d walked through the same hell he had. They’d been together fighting. This time he was alone, and he wasn’t sure he would or could get past it. Every time he closed his eyes he heard her taunts, their screams, felt the cold draft that was always there in the cave.
He’d learned over the last few months some of the things that would trigger him, but he hadn’t considered the cells would be one of them. He wasn’t sure how he could avoid something that was going to be a part of his life as lead deputy to the Sheriff’s office of Seaside.
All of a sudden, he recalled the wave of calm that had enveloped him moments before he was picked up. He’d never felt such peace, it was as if everything had been blocked. For a few minutes, he’d felt like he was in a bubble, protected and safe. What had that been about? How had it happened and how could he get it back?
“What’s that look?” Doc asked curiously.
“Yesterday and then again this morning. Out of nowhere I felt something, I don’t know how to describe it, but it was like being wrapped in a warm blanket of love and protection. Everything faded except that. Yesterday, it was enough to keep me grounded and here. Today it eased it enough that I was able to push it all away. Then I felt someone pick me up and then it was total blackness.”
“Hhmmm.” Doc said slowly as he shared a look with Daegan, one that Baine couldn’t interpret. It was almost as if they were communicating without talking. That didn’t make sense to him though since Doc wasn't part of their pack and therefore shouldn’t have that ability.
“You think you can keep him away from the cells for a while until he’s ready to face them?” Doc asked Daegan. “As long as he avoids things that will send him spiraling until he’s had time to work through them, he should be fine.” Doc patted Baine on his leg, “You want to talk, just come find me. I’ll be around. But promise me no matter what you’ll let someone know if this happens again. We can’t help if we don’t know.”
Baine didn’t say anything, he didn’t want to make a promise he wasn’t sure he could keep. He watched as Doc stood and left the office, leaving him alone with his best friend. Daegans eyes expressed what he wouldn’t say. Baine closed his eyes to block out the pain and sadness he saw there. “I’ll be fine. I swear I wasn’t hiding anything from you. That was the first time I’ve ever had that happen like that. I wouldn’t lie to you, you know that. I’m doing my best to work through things, but I don’t want to bombard you when you’re dealing with your own issues. I swear if things get bad or this happens again I’ll let you know right away, even if it means interrupting you and Sypher during sexy time. Okay?”
“Yeah, come on. Let’s get out of here. Everyone knows how to contact me if something comes up.”
Baine climbed to his feet as exhaustion settled on his shoulders like a heavy shaw. He knew sleep would be the last thing he could do right now though. The demons were out and they wanted to play.
“You up to having dinner with Sypher and I in a bit? There’s someone we want you to meet. If you’re too tired we can postpone though. No pressure.”
He wanted to laugh in relief at the offer. “No, dinner sounds great. Honestly, I don’t want to sleep and being alone right now, might not be the smartest of ideas. I need time to banish the demons back to their cells. Staying busy will help me accomplish that faster than anything. If I have time to think, then they have time to take over again.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t realize sooner how bad things were for you. I guess I just thought since we’ve always been able to push through and block it all before, that you could do that again. But I don’t know what all you went through, I can’t compare it to jobs we did in the past and that was my mistake.”
“Don’t brother. This isn’t on you. I didn’t let you in, you couldn't have known. Let’s see if Sypher is busy and if not let’s just go fly for a few hours until it’s time for dinner. I need the escape that being up there brings me.”