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Mississauga Hospital; Toronto, Canada
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Snow fell blanketing the ground in a thin layer of white. It brightened the night reflecting artificial light in the crowded parking lot. Individuals and small groups hurried to and from the entrance motivated by below freezing temperatures. Sirens from different ambulances roared through the quiet.

Henry Fitzroy stroke toward the front entrance barely aware of the cold. It hadn't affected him in centuries. One of the many advantages of his immortality.

Navigating the crowd to the elevator annoyed him. He could hear Vicki's voice scolding him. Somehow in the relatively short time he knew her, she became his conscience. Part of her charm and ongoing aggravation. And the only reason he would tolerate the inconvenience.

Unfamiliar with the hospital layout, Henry didn't immediately see her room number. He smiled, approaching a nurse named Olivia. She smiled, lighting up her eyes. Her heartbeat increased. The obvious attraction meant someone appreciated him at least.

"Victoria Nelson's room."

Olivia looked apologetic. "I need to look her up."

"She's intense and asks questions like a cop."

The nurse nodded. "While insisting on being discharged."

"Yes." Henry wondered when he started viewing stubborn as an endearing quality.

She turned and led down the hall. "The doctor wants her to stay another night."

Not unless he tied her to the bed. When the obvious innuendo didn't immediately come to mind, Henry knew he needed less stress. With his editor satisfied and a few paintings sold, he could focus on it. Except he hesitated to complete arrangements with Augustus. Henry justified it by telling himself the town was no longer safe for a new master. Not with Astaroth walking around in a priest's body. But nowhere was truly safe.

Olivia stopped near Vicki's room. "My shift ends in a couple hours."

"Another night." Henry smiled.

Disappointed, the nurse walked away. He couldn't even appreciate the view.

Annoyed with himself, he walked through the door. Vicki sat on the edge of the bed wearing the clothes she was brought in wearing. The smell of blood grabbed his attention. She had a bandaged forehead, abrasions and a wrist brace. What stood out was the vulnerability. Something scared her.
She stood with a grimace and turned away from the waiting wheelchair. He knew better than to argue with her. Instead he walked over and guided her into it. Her lack of argument worried him.

"Where's your coat?"

"The police took it."

Why? Henry wanted to ask. If she knew, she would have told him. Instead he slipped his own coat off and carefully set it over her.

"I need to go to my office," Vicki said quietly as he maneuvered the wheelchair out of the room.

He leaned in and whispered in her ear. "Home and bed."

"The office, please."

What happened? When she called, she told him she had a problem on an investigation and was taken to the hospital. Until she texted a room number, he thought she was in the ER. It took an Internet search to find out she was found unconscious the previous day in Marie Curtis Park. A former police officer on bad terms with the department was news. Combined with the complete lack of details and a lot of people were asking questions online.
Adding to it, Vicki didn't complain when he insisted she wait inside while he get the car. With the snow, it would have been easier to carry her than push the chair.
The silence was starting to worry him as he helped her into the car. Henry waited until he was in the driver's seat and the heat was on before asking the big question. "What happened?"
"I don't know." Vicki sounded weak and scared.
The demon was came to mind again. "Why were you in the park?" Henry couldn't think of any reason she would go there. It was a less then ideal meeting place with the wind coming off Lake Ontario.
She focused on her hands. "I don't know."
It explain why she wanted to go to her office. She would have something about her investigation there. With Coreen unable to work as she recovered from possession, it required more than a phone call to get details. But her body language and quiet made Henry wonder. Both were out of character.
Henry drove. "What do you remember?"
A few minutes passed. "An angel. Standing on Etobicoke Creek." Vicki rubbed the tattooed demon marks on her wrists, dislodging her brace. She grimaced without realizing she was hurting herself.
At the next light, Henry reached over and gently grabbed her hand. "Describe the angel."
Vicki stared out the passenger window as the light turned and he started driving again. "Beautiful. He glowed white with a gold aura." She sounded awed and disturbed.
What worried Henry was he had no idea what the creature was. He heard angel stories over the years. Even believed a few. Most were the result of intoxication or mental issues. Some resulted from near-death experiences. The later might explain her reaction. Or she misinterpreted a vivid hallucination as an NDE.
"Did he speak?"
"No." Vicki's tone said she wished he had.

Vicki's Office
Vicki Nelson noticed the broken door down the hall. Even with the added visual problems. From the damage, she suspected a mundane explanation. Henry would have knocked the door in or ripped it off it's hinges. He opened it with one hand while keeping the other around her waist.
She hated weakness. Her eyes destroyed her career with the police department. Whatever happened in the park cost her a day in the hospital and the ability to get herself home. Even if she didn't want to admit it, she knew she was in trouble. The memory problems were worse than the sprained wrist and bruises down her right side.
The damage said someone was looking for something and angry they didn't find it. Broken furniture, strewn papers. They ever punched holes in the walls.
"I need to call 999." Vicki wished she could call Mike. She spoke to him two hours before calling Henry. As a condition of avoiding suspension, and internal review, she was off-limits. "You need to go." Not that she wanted him to. She had no illusions she could defend herself.
"I will remain nearby."
She nodded, removing her cell phone from her pocket. The tone of the conversation as she identified herself said her standings with the police department was worse than she already thought. There had to be a flag on her name, number or address. "It's probably connected to being attacked at Curtis Park yesterday."
The operator said officers would be there as soon as possible and not to touch anything until then. Were you trying to be offensive, Vicki wondered. The call ended leaving her wondering how long it would take.
Unable to stand indefinitely, she sat on the hallway floor outside the door. With her injuries it took effort. Afterward she wondered if she would be able to stand.
Pride was the least of her worries. She had no idea what happened to her or why. She vaguely remembered meeting someone at Lakeview Library a couple hours before she was found at the park. Except she had nothing scheduled. After what happened with Coreen, and Henry and Mike after, a few days off seemed like a good idea. It suggested someone contacted her with something urgent. Or she was following a lead on Astaroth.
Neither possibility explained being in a frozen over park between the Lake and Creek. Or who found her. The officer that interviewed her, after she regained consciousness in the emergency room, found the anonymous 999 call suspicious. He suspected she was involved in something but gave her no indication of what.
An hour into her wait, everything hurt. Vicki was wondering if she should have stayed in the hospital when Henry approached. He offered a hand up. Reluctantly she accepted.
"What?"
He kept his voice low. "Two officers on their way up. They think you staged the break-in."