Waiting, waiting, waiting.

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It was a miracle they hadn’t ended up in the hospital themselves, with the way Mack had driven. She had been able to hold it together well enough, just some yelling at Hunter so far. She didn’t know if she could once she saw Tatum however, the younger girl had quickly become the most important thing in her life. She couldn’t imagine living in a world without her; it tore at her heart every time she thought about it. Waking up to the redhead tucked safely at her side, their legs and arms entwined had become routine. What would she do if she had to wake up alone now? They had done so much work on the apartment already. She didn’t think she could move into the room she was decorating for them if Tatum didn’t make it. It would only remind her every day of what she had lost.

Not bothering to wait for Hunter she had run into the emergency rooms lobby to find Michi, nearly losing it once the girl told her what had happened. Now they were just waiting, Mack sitting silently chewing on her lip as the tv droned on in the background. Hunter had stayed with her while Michi had gone off to use the restroom and get warm drinks for everyone. No one else had arrived yet, and Mack was thankful for that. She didn’t want to be around anyone right now, Hunter excluded. She just wanted to see Tatum.

Letting out an angry growl, Mack stood up suddenly and turned to punch the wall behind them with as much force as she possibly could. She didn’t do well with these kinds of feelings, and anger was her only outlet. “Fuck!” She yelled, pummeling the wall again.

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Hunter had been sitting in a corner seat, legs folded and phone in her lap, absently texting Sera while the younger girl informed her that she and Leland were on the way. Mack would be happy to hear that, but as she looked up to inform her friend, she was just in time to see her friend putting her fist into the nearby wall. "Hey! Whoa!" Hunter cried, jumping out of her seat and moving over to where the shorter blonde was, catching her arm in midst of a punch and holding it. Michi had been very strict on telling her to make sure that they didn't get kicked out, this was an important time to behave, and Mack was getting some stares for the violence against inanimate objects.

"Don't be a cunt," she growled, glancing in the direction that Michi had gone to get their drinks. She could kill for that coffee right now, it was going to be a long ass night, even if she was going to have Eddie to keep her amused. Still, she was worried about her girlfriend as well as Mack's, she was unimpressed by the fact that the younger girl had gone ahead and lifted Tatum. It was a lot of weight to be throwing around when she was due in May, even with adrenaline probably working on her side. She didn't know for sure if she believed Michi that she was fine, and she was terrified that the stress and lifting would cause something horrible to happen to her girlfriend or their son. She was no doctor, but she wished someone who was would look at the other girl sooner.

To be quite honest, it was a little out of line she knew, but she was a little jealous that no one had taken the first move yet to make sure Michi was doing fine. Even if she said she was, Hunter was more than a bit pissed that no doctor had come forward to make sure. Pregnant girls weren't supposed to be hoisting ninety pounds of people into their cards in their third trimester. "You better get a hold on yourself, 'fore I put one on you. Everybody here got a lot on their mind," she grunted.

She was a bit sour about their night together being ruined as well, both with girlfriends and lives, it seemed like they never got to just hang out lately. Things were gone to shit now, the night was done, and she had a whole lot of worry and concern and feelings that she hated dealing with.

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Mack yanked her fist out of Hunter's grasp and glowered at the taller girl. It was unusual for the two of them to really express their feelings, but it was even more unusual for Hunter to respond like that when Mack needed her. She might have started a fight with her just to let the girl burn off some steam, but there was a lot more weight behind those words than just a play fight. Everything was going horribly down hill now though and Mack needed her best friend to be there for her. Hunter sounded genuinely angry however, and that only sent Mack over the edge more. Ever since Michi had gotten pregnant Hunter had suddenly become a wet blanket about everything. Between her lack of actual friend time and the events of tonight, Mack had a lot of pent up feelings.

Mack growled slightly, giving the taller girl a small shove. "Fuck you," she grumbled, plopping back down in her chair with her arms crossed. "My goddamn girlfriend might fucking die!" It was horrible, and deep down she knew it, but she was angry that Tatum was the one in the emergency room. It wasn't fair that Tatum had to go through so much, that they had to go through so many things to be together. She loved Hunter and Michi to death, but she was tired of them getting to have the picture perfect relationship, even despite all the bumps.

"Last I checked, you're girl was fine. So stop actin' like ya'll got so much god damn shit on your mind! Her life is going to be fucking changed forever!" Her voice grew steadily louder as she snapped at the other girl. "Our lives are going to be changed forever! Everything!" She was back on her feet now, getting in Hunter's face. "If she lives. I could lose her!"

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When Sera received Michi's text, she had just started to settle into bed for the night. She'd been propped up against her headboard, trying to get through her Arithmancy assignment but she'd mostly just been dozing off. Buzzing next to her bed from her phone brought her to though, she definitely hadn't expected it to be Michi, and certainly not from the hospital. She had honestly been expecting Jenny, telling her good night or something. Reading the text though, she jumped up quickly, pacing briefly and looking a bit lost. "Keys!" she decided, grabbing the her keys from the top of her desk. She didn't bother to change, just throwing on a sweater over her pajamas.

Her first thought, at least until she got Michi's second text, had been that something was wrong with the baby. Tatum getting hurt had been the very last thing she had was expecting to hear, and by a wolf. Just a wolf. Something about it didn't sit right with her, but her real concern was still getting to the hospital. Michi had said it was bad, and frankly she didn't know what she would do if something happened to Tatum, especially before she got there to be with her.

They may not have got along all of the time, but she was still her sister, they weren't exactly the type of people who would tell each other often but she loved her. Most of the time lately, Tatum felt like the only family she had left. She had her mother, of course, but she couldn't help but feel a little bit like Madeline still sided with her father, even if not outwardly. She hadn't exactly fought to get Tatum back in the house. She just couldn't lose her sister, she knew she was younger but she couldn't help but feel responsible for the other girl.

She doubted she could have done anything to stop it, what happened to Tatum, not just the attack but everything. Tatum was her responsibility now, they were kind of each others responsibility. Tatum might disagree, but now more than ever with them both out on their own, Sera felt they needed to look after each other. Their parents still needed to know though, of course they did, even if her father was pissed. Wouldn't he still want to know if one of his children was injured? She was still his daughter.

Immediately after leaving her room, Sera called Leland, already on her way to the parking lot. She doubted she'd be able to drive herself, not with the way she was shaking, she was still a novice driver as it was. She basically told the older boy to apparate and meet her at the campus parking lot as fast as he possibly could, and continued on her way there. He'd probably have to bring Eddie, she felt sort of bad for probably waking them up, but there would be plenty of people at the hospital to take turns looking after her, and the little girl was always a good distraction for Hunter anyway. They had very similar mentalities.

She began to cross the parking lot, trying to ignore the mess of what she was sure had to be her sister's blood on the ground near some other cars. There was a lot of it, more than she had ever seen, and she felt her stomach turning as she kept walking as fast as she could. She was crying almost uncontrollably by the time she met up with Leland, it had been a miracle that he had been able to understand her on the phone at all, and she was crying much worse now. But there he was, she knew she could count on him.

Still sobbing, she tossed her keys over to him and took Eddie, helping to buckle her into the booster seat in her backseat. It was lucky there was still one in there from the last time that they had gone into town together. She tried to get herself under control, not wanting to upset the little girl, but she didn't think this would be the last crying that she'd have to see tonight. Things were bleak. Getting into the passenger seat, she sniffled. "Just hurry," she told Le. "Speed if you have to, just.. I don't care, just get there."

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Eddie had been in bed for a while now and Leland had just gotten to sleep himself with a wand core manual laying open on his chest when the phone rang. He almost rolled over on the couch and ignored it but seeing the caller ID he thought twice and answered. He had barely understood Sera but from what he got was that she needed him and that Tatum was in trouble. The phone call woke him up with a jolt, his hair was standing on end, he felt guilt creeping into his stomach like it was somehow his fault.

Quickly he ran through the apartment to get Eddie. He knew Sera would understand he couldn't leave her there by herself and at the very least kids were a comfort when the world was going to shit. He picked her up gently and held her close to his chest. "We have to go visit Auntie Sera okay baby," he cooed as she started fussing.

"Daddy," she whined. "Moosey..."

"I'll bring Moosey too," he grabbed the Moose out of her crib. Then apparated to the school parking lot. He walked toward Sera's car to wait for her, the faster they got there the better, he was only waiting a few moments before he spotted her. While she was buckling Sera into the booster seat he got the car started and buckled in. As soon as Sera was buckled he took off, driving faster than he ever would with Eddie in the car, but he knew it was important that they get there.

He reached over and took her hand, a small comfort. "I'm gonna get you there," he said gently as the sped down the nearly empty road toward the hospital. It was the only reassuring thing he could stomach to say. "What happened?" he braved to ask after a few minutes.

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When Leland reached over and took Sera's hand, she turned to her friend offering just a weak smile. It really was calming, even if she could still feel herself shaking. She just couldn't stop thinking about her sister, but mostly all the blood she'd seen in the parking lot. Tatum didn't even technically weigh enough to be allowed to give blood at the blood bank, let alone lose that much of it. She couldn't shake the sinking feeling in her stomach, or the nausea that was still accompanying it.

"Tatum was attacked.. just by a wolf, Michi said," Sera began with, sniffling a bit when she first spoke. "They don't just do that, do they? It must have been something else, right Le? Did you see all the blood back there?" She lowered her voice down a bit, so Eddie couldn't hear from the backseat, if she was even paying attention.

Sera really hadn't realized how fast they were driving until they finally passed another lone car on the street. She jumped a bit as they passed it, squeezing Leland's hand. "Maybe slow down just a bit.. i-it's just really dark and no one else needs to get hurt tonight." She tried to her best to smile looking over at him. "Seriously thanks though, I don't know what I'd do without you right now. I owe you so much."

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It was still dark outside, probably another hour or so before the sun would actually come up, when Tatum woke up, sitting bolt upright in a rather uncomfortable hospital chair. Whatever room she was in, it smelled way too clean and sanitized and just.. medical. She might have been in pre-med, but she liked to think no one enjoyed that hospital smell that always hung around. There was a faint steady beeping, and some other noises from machines around the room, distracting her.

What had she been dreaming out? She couldn't put her finger on it. When she began to look around the room, however, the redhead quickly realized that she had to still be dreaming, or something else was wrong. She felt fine, never better. But she wasn't the only Tatum in the room. Lying in the bed in the middle, hooked up to all of those annoying machines, was a much more haggard version of herself.

She was glad that of body experiences seemed to be painless, because she looked like shit in that bed, like she had a much rougher night. Which was true, of course, as she began to remember everything that went on the previous evening. The wolf, coming to the hospital..

Tatum reached out a hand as she stepped closer to her own bedside, tentatively trying to poke at one of the bandages on her own face. She jumped a little when her hand just kept going, slipping through herself like water. "H-Holy shit," she managed to get out. "I-I'm dead, I'm actually.. I-I'm done," she decided.

What other explanation was there!? Who else could stand outside their own body and put their hands through things. Turning, she tried to pick up a glass of juice from the side table, her hand going right through that too. Her eyes widened, and she tried to turn to face her body again, when she noticed another slightly more familiar figure standing across from her, on the other side of the bed. Now she was sure that she was dead. "F-Frankie?" she managed to sputter out.

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Frankie had been doing her usual daily activities around the afterlife when it was all rudely interrupted by someone calling her name. When Tatum had started losing that much blood she had called for her, and she wasn't about to ignore her and had decided to check it out. Which she had been doing most of the night, just flitting in and out and watching the red head with curiosity.

"Not quite dead" she remarked quietly, cigarette dangling from her fingers as usual and she puzzled a little, her eyes not leaving the Tatum in the bed. "My guess is an out of both experience. You might be close though" she said a little hopefully as she stooped to peer in the unconscious girl's face.

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It had to be some kind of dream or hallucination or something, but she couldn't deny the distinct skip in her pulse when Frankie spoke to her. Assuming she even still had a pulse at that point. She wasn't exactly relieved by the other girl's words, and she had to stop herself staring, turning to examine herself as well.

She wasn't looking forward to waking up, if this was how she looked. She was tore up, no doubt about that. "I-If I'm not dead t-then," she hesitated for a moment, glancing at the brunette before looking away, attempting just to prod at her own unconscious face again instead. "W-Why did you come?"

There were about a hundred more questions she wanted to ask, things she needed to say, especially since if Frankie was right and she wasn't officially dead, she didn't know how much time she was going to have here in this sort of dream world. But, just like when she had been alive, Tatum struggled to find the right words, any words, to express herself. "S-Sorry. And s-stuff," she settled on simply.

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He had already been to the hospital once this morning and then back to campus for his brief conversation with the headmaster before coming back to the hospital. He was worried this time that more people would be awake, that he would have to finally face Mack. They had just started hanging out, she was the only one who knew his secret beside family and the headmaster. He hated to loose their friendship before they really even had a chance to enjoy it but he was sure she would never forgive him for this.

"That was not such a bad ride as you said it would be," Ichirou said contentedly as he hopped out of Sam's old truck with a box full of breakfast pastries and a few coffees. He figured it would be a small comfort to those still in the waiting room.

Sam grinned at the headmaster and headed toward the hospital with him silently. An eerie quiet had spread over the entire place like the city itself was still in a sleepy daze. As they got closer, Sam spotted the familiar blonde locks. His chest felt cold but he forced himself to keep walking forward. "I'll see you inside headmaster," he said to Ichirou.

Ichirou nodded and skipped along, humming to himself while Sam meandered quietly toward Mack. He didn't even know what to say, sorry would never be enough, it didn't even cover how he felt. So he just stood there; devastated, lost, angry with himself, and scared.

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When Mack saw Sam pull up, she glared daggers at the boy. This was all his fault. He had as good as betrayed her, and she wasn't about to let it slide. She blew out a plume of smoke and stared at him as he stood in front of her.

"You've got a lot of nerve showing up here," she snapped, her glare narrowing. "What the fuck do you want, murderer?"

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It stung like hell. "I aint a murderer," he mumbled. Though she seemed to be the only one willing to admit it was his fault aside from him. "I needed to know that she was okay," he wanted to tell her that he had already been there but he was sure that would only get him hit faster... fuck it... maybe that's what he wanted.

"I had to be the one to tell her... so I came early when everyone was asleep. An'... an' you might not want me around her anymore but I gotta get her through this. I aint gonna let her go through this alone."

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People can finally start visiting.

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He knew when he woke up curled in a ball on top of a huge desk in the room at the bottom of King's Hall covered in blood that something was wrong. It didn't take much long than a shower and a change to hear the rampant gossip spreading around campus. A monster had attacked Tatum Donnelly. He had attacked Tatum Donnelly. Without another thought he was in the truck and driving to the hospital. He knew it was where he would find her. He had to see her, to know that she was still alive. It nearly killed him when he walked into the hospital with that sinking feeling in his stomach. He had been here all too often.

He recognized everyone in the waiting room but they were mostly passed out, it was still early in the morning. He snuck past them all, he knew he would have hell to deal with later, at least Mack would want to beat the shit out of him. For now he just needed to see Tatum, he needed to know she was going to survive. Coming to her room he opened the door slowly and peeked in.

He crumpled at the sight of her. "Oh Tate," he could feel warm tears pricking his eyes as he stepped closer. He crawled into the small hospital bed with her and he gently wrapped his arms around her. "Tatum please tell me you're okay."

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Tatum had been having a dream, one which she could only vaguely recall the players in, when Sam crawled up into the bed with her. It had been a long night, an even longer one after surgery, and between the drugs and the shock of everything that had gone on, she was more than a little groggy and hazy as she came around. It was the first time she had opened her eyes, that she could remember, since arriving in the waiting room with Michi the night before. Her last memory was only of the bright white lights, and of healers rushing over to take her out of Michi's arms, and how bad everything hurt.

Everything that had gone on, with the wolf and the drive to the hospital, seemed like a faded blur. She remembered screaming, trying to fight back, and how bad everything hurt. She was still sore and things, but the drugs and potions they had her on had to be good, because it was nothing in comparison to the hot pain she recalled from the night before. Pain was one of the few things that she remembered clearly. Speaking to Michi had been a haze, and she wasn't even sure if she had spoken to the healers, she had been way too phased out by the time they got to her.

She wasn't in her room, that much was clear, and it was only a matter of seconds that she blinked a few times and realized where she was. Blur or not, the last night was clear, but.. why someone was in bed with her now wasn't so clear. She didn't know who she had been expecting, but she weakly turned her head to the side and was rather surprised to see Sam holding onto her. Her throat felt incredibly raw, but she tried her best to speak up. "I-I've been better man," she managed to get out, hoarsely.

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Her brawl with Hunter had gotten her all worked up. How dare Hunter try to make this somehow Tatums fault? Sure, the girl shouldn't have been running around alone in the middle of the night, but did Hunter really have to blow up at her like that? It was just put Mack more on edge. When they were finally allowed in to see Tatum, Mack hesitated. The girl was alive, that much was for sure. Their lives were about to be turned upside down though, and Mackenzie was afraid she wouldn't be able to handle it. She was going to kill Sam when she found him.

She entered the room before she could let herself chicken out, and lost it when she saw her girlfriend laying all bandaged up on the hospital bed. She looked pale, more so than usual, and she looked so fragile just laying there. Mack quickly crossed the room to Tatum's side, tears in her eyes as she gripped her girlfriends hand. Her Tatum, her poor little Tatum, she should have protected her. She should have never let her out of her sight. Kneeling down, Mack rested her forehead against Tatum's hand, crying quietly. She didn't want everyone else to see her like this, but she couldn't keep herself together any longer.

"You scared me so badly T," she whispered kissing the younger girl's hand softly. "I thought I was going to lose you."

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Tatum had pretty much fallen back asleep as soon as Sam had snuck in to see her at the crack of dawn, and the boy's words were still sinking into her brain. He had attacked her, and he was a werewolf. They were werewolves now, the two of them. She was going to be like this, unfortunately, for the rest of her life. It was less scary, to not be in it alone, but it only helped her so much. She had definitely cried a little once he was gone, and she had gotten a moment to herself, letting that get her back to sleep.

She had been having another dream, this one about her mother instead of Frankie, but she didn't really remember what was happening when suddenly Mack was there. Her eyes opening slowly, she squinted at the blonde girl leaning over her and kissing her hand, and she gave her fingers a weak little wiggling.

"I'm p-pretty tough," she whispered, her voice no less hoarse than it had been just a couple of hours ago. She felt like shit, and she was still exhausted, especially after one of the healers had been in not long ago to give her another dose of pain-killing potion. She wanted to fall back asleep, but she wanted to see Mack as well. "W-What can I say?"

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Waiting had not really been easy for Sera. She had cried, paced the room, cried some more, texted Jenny, smoked half a pack of cigarettes, spoke to the healers every chance she got. She even went to the hospital owlery and sent an owl home, mostly to her mother but she had her hopes that her father would show up as well. Surely even he wasn't that awful of a person, Tatum was his daughter, and he would want to know, right? She knew that her mother would. She could only imagine her reaction if she found out later and hadn't been told.

She hated to joke with her sister's condition still as it was, but Madeline would probably kill both of them. She was always still asking and worrying about Tatum, after all, even if the redhead didn't believe it. She hadn't heard back from either of her parents yet, but assumed that her mother would show up once she got word. Her father too, hopefully, even if she didn't think Tatum was remotely ready to forgive him for everything. If he even bothered to show up at all, maybe this as sad as it was, would be what he needed to see how wrong he had been about pushing them away.

This was his last chance really, as she saw it. If he couldn't look past his stupid out-dated beliefs and be there for his daughter when she needed him, when they both needed him, then that was it. There would be no second chances for forgiveness later, no going back on any of it. If he didn't show his face at some point in this hospital, he was dead to her.

Sera had only been in to visit Tatum for a few minutes so far, after she had gotten out of surgery, but at that point she had still been unconscious. Before she woke up, the hospital had tried to keep anyone who wasn't family out of the room, just to give her some rest time before she was smothered with other visitors. Sera had been expecting to have to put up a fight to get Mack in with her, expecting them to claim that she wasn't technically family, but everyone actually seemed surprisingly understanding of everything. It was a good thing, really, she didn't think she had enough energy right now to fight with anyone. She had already yelled at Hunter a few times.

Waiting a bit before she went back into Tatum's room as she began to wake up, giving Mack a chance to get some alone time with her first. Once the room was empty, she peeked in to see if Tatum had dozed off again. If she did, she would just come back later, rest was very important for her sister right now. Surgery had gone well, from what she had heard, but still needed time for her body to heal up and get better, and that wasn't happening without rest. Seeing Tatum's eyes at least partially open, she hurried over to the other girl's bedside, leaning down and kissing her sister's forehead.

"How are you doing, sis?" she managed, choking up the moment she spoke. Tatum was cleaned up considerably, compared to how Michi had described finding her, but it was still all hard to take in. Whatever had gotten her definitely hadn't gone easy on her. "I'm sorry I give you such a hard time," she got out, just barely. "You scared me."

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People coming into the room and waking her up was becoming a routine, and Tatum supposed that she ought to just get used to it. She wasn't the most popular girl at school, but even with just her small circle of friends and family, they were keeping her busy. Sam and Mack had been in already, and neither conversation had left her feeling very good, between Sam's news about her attack and her bickering with Mackenzie. She was alive though, just incredibly sore and groggy, as Sera made her way into her room.

Receiving a kiss on the forehead from her little sister was the last thing she expected, and she had been half dozing, perking up a little as the brunette spoke to her. "Oh s-sick, cooties.. get the f-fuck outta here," she coughed, very slowly propping herself up on her pillows and reaching up to press a hand against her forehead. She noticed Sera choking up, and she felt a little bad, feeling her own eyes welling up a little despite herself. She had a feeling this hospital stay was definitely going to bring it's share of visitors and it's share of crying.

She was touched, honestly, that the younger girl was so upset. They were never especially close, or at least they were never a pair known for admitting how close they really were, but she was very happy to see her sister there. She was the only family Tatum had left at this point, and they had to do sappy things like be around for each other, especially in the worst of times. This was the worst Tatum could remember ever feeling, so it was about right.

"H-How much do I look like s-shit?" she asked, looking up at Sera and managing a rather weak smile. Tatum was taken back slightly by the brunette's apology, and she balked softly. "If y-you.. weren't a hardass, I'd b-be freaked out. It's y-your job," she muttered. "I didn't mean to s-scare anybody.. b-but everybody keeps s-saying that."

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Immediately after receiving Sera's owl, Madeline tried calling Mick at work. He wasn't answering his phone, but dispatch could usually track him down when she needed him. She couldn't exactly send out an owl to locate his police car. She was just about to the hospital when he did finally phone her back, and as if trying to answer the stupid muggle phone she was forced to carry around wasn't bad enough, she was absolutely taken back by his words in response to what she told him.

"She made her choice, Madeline. I told her that if she's with that girl then she's dead to me," he'd told her. She was completely shocked and appalled that he would even have the audacity to say that in a situation like this, in a situation when his daughter very well could be dying. She had simply hung up on him, she didn't really know what to say to that. They were their children, and regardless of what he thought, she was going to be there for Tatum, for both her and Sera.

In shock more than anything, she had to keep going. He wasn't the man she thought she had married, she never imagined he could be so cold or heartless, and nothing could really make up for it. One thing was that the girls could no longer live in their own home, not that she ever once for a second agreed with that either but they were both adults who spent most of their time away at school anyway, but this was a different story. This could literally be a matter of life and death and he couldn't even come just to make sure she was okay.

It was, frankly, unforgivable in Madeline's opinion. She couldn't forgive him, and she doubted either of the girls would either, they had no reason to. He had already let them down as a father, this was just too far to come back from. She would figure out what she was going to do about him once Tatum was stable, that was what mattered most right then. Checking in, and seeing that she was doing all right. But something was going to be done, she couldn't just go home and act like nothing was wrong. He was leaving, or she was.

Part of her realized that she should have done something, or left, a long time ago. Back when he had kicked Tatum out, but she loved him. Now though, it was quite a bit harder to love him, his true colors were showing clearer and she wasn't sure she still could. That brief phone conversation may very well have ended their seventeen year marriage. She hoped he was happy with himself, he had now effectively pushed away his entire family with his prejudice. He really had no one left, she really doubted that Rath would want anything to do with him either after this. His wife and all of his children were now alienated by his actions.

She rushed her way into the hospital, insisting to be brought to where Tatum's room was immediately. Upstairs in the waiting room, she ran briefly into Sera, grabbing her in a hug as soon as she saw her. She didn't have to deal with this alone, and neither did Tatum, and from now on she had every intention to be the mother that they needed, even if Mick couldn't be the father that they deserved. She had made a promise to Tatum's mother, Claire had been a good friend to her, and she was sure as hell keeping it.

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"Sera, how's she doing?" she asked, still not letting her younger daughter go. "Can you take me to her room to see her, please?"

After that, she would need to speak to the healer involved in Tatum's case. Sera would tell her what she could, but she needed to get all of the details, and she had to know exactly what they were dealing with. If Tatum needed to be looked after when she was released, she was taking her home, whether her father liked it or not.

"Sure, mom. It's just a few doors down this way," Sera finally agreed as she pulled back from her mother's hug but took her arm instead leading the way door towards Tatum's room. She was more than a little glad to see her, especially after she had been in to speak with Tatum earlier. Sera was still just trying to take it all in. Tatum wasn't just going to heal up and walk away from this day, she'd have to deal with this for the rest of her life. Her mother and sister had never exactly been the closest, she wasn't sure if Tatum would even bother to breach the subject of telling Madeline at all, as important and life-altering as it all was.

She paused just outside her sister's door, tugging back on her mom's arm a bit before actually letting Madeline push it open. "There's something I think you should know first, mom. I don't know if she'll tell you or not.. but well, it was a werewolf. Tatum was attacked by a werewolf. She's going to be a.." She stopped, unable to finish, just looking quite sadly up at her mother.

Madeline looked down at her youngest, wrapping both arms around her once more and pulling her in against herself. "It's okay, honey. It'll be okay. We're going to handle this together, as a family," she assured her. Waiting just a moment,she pushed open Tatum's door but turned back to Sera once again. "Seraphim, would you please go down to the owlery and send word to your brother? I'm afraid I haven't been able to get in touch with him yet.."

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Rath hadn't been feeling right all night, there was this awful feeling in his stomach that something wasn't right. The owl from Sera was enough to have his head reeling. He wasn't thinking right, he didn't even know what time it was, he was just reacting on autopilot. The only thing he managed to take was the small back pack off the hostel floor and he started running. He was surrounded by muggles and it was hard to find a quiet, empty place where he could apparate. He didn't know if he could even concentrate, he figured he would get splinched but that didn't matter. He needed to get to Tatum, he needed to be with his family. He couldn't imagine a world without his twin, he didn't want to.

The world was a blur as he turned and watched everything pass by. He normally closed his eyes when he apparated to avoid the sick feeling but he couldn't. It was a miracle he landed at the hospital unharmed. There was nothing that would stop him as he walked through the hospital and straight toward Tatum's room. The sick feeling that had been nagging him all day hit him full force when he pushed open the door. His chest felt tight and oppressive like it might betray him at any minute.

She looked like hell, broken and tiny in that hospital bed. He walked over slowly and put a hand to her forehead. Rath wasn't sure if it was because his hands were cold or if she was burning up. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Tate," his voice was strained, tight. "You gotta wake up baby sis so I can tell you about the rad threesomes I've been having in Paris," he couldn't help but crack a smile as he sat on and took her hand in his.

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When Tatum had been getting attacked by the wolf the night before, she had screamed for everyone imaginable and no one had come. Lying there, she hadn't been able to keep herself from pondering if her life had been worth anything, if anyone even cared. In the scheme of things, she was only a tiny spark, and probably no one would notice if that spark happened to get smothered out. But if the steady string of visitors to her room was any indication, then maybe people did care. Sera had cried, Mack had cried, and her step-mother had actually came, even if her dad hadn't. People cared, for what it was worth.

With so many people passing in and out though, it was all becoming a blurred mess to Tatum, who was mostly still extremely drugged and extremely groggy. She couldn't shake the dream about Frankie she had earlier, the one Sam woke her up from.

She couldn't remember many exact quotes, but she knew the gist, the longer she was awake, the more clear it became. She was a coward, she had promised Frankie ages ago that she would be with her, no matter what, that she would follow her. Today, she had even tried it. She had been ready to go, just let it all go, and leave with the spirit of her girlfriend past. She was ashamed, but she had been ready. Frankie had asked, and she could never say no. It had all seemed so real. She had closed her eyes in the dream, waiting to go with the brunette. But instead of the afterlife, where she was still convinced drugs were free and you could butt your smoke out anywhere, she had woken up to her own hospital room instead.

Tatum had fallen asleep twice since then, and Frankie's spirit or whatever it had been, had yet to return. She would have been lying if she said she weren't disappointed. She was trying to usher herself off to a nap, in fact, when Rath arrived. He had been another person that she hadn't expected to see. She hadn't seen him since December, but even so. It was their birthday in a few days, attack or not, so she guessed she should have been expecting him.

"G-Gross," she croaked back, moving over a little to make way as he came and joined her at her bedside. "I don't w-wanna.. talk about your d-dick, I'm a-already dying, let me go in p-peace," she half-joked.

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"Never! I plan on harassing the hell out of you to my very last breath. That's what big brothers are for anyways," he smirked. Yes, they were twins, that was an established fact, but he always clung to the fact that he was born first making him five minutes older therefore five minutes wiser.

He snorted at her response. "And here I was thinking I was the rebel bad ass, running around Europe and shit," he shook his head. "Next time you want to out-do me make sure it's not so extreme," he joked.

It was a relief in itself just to hear her voice, to hear that she was still joking or at least she better be. "I promise no more dick news though as long as you promise to stop trying to wrestle giant, dangerous creatures of the night. Got a deal?"

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