The night was long and somewhere during the time that Misty was waiting for Angel to wake up, she fell asleep. She didn't realize it until she awoke with the morning rays shining on her eyes from the window across the room, briefly blinding her. Misty took a deep breath in, sleep still heavy on her mind. She stretched but her breath caught in her throat when she heard someone groan beside her. She looked to her left to see Angel's eyes screwed tight in a grimace, her pink lips pulled into a deep frown.
Misty sat up quickly and brushed stray hairs out of Angel's face, "Angel? Baby, can ya hear me? Are ya awake?" She asked, keeping her voice low.
Another groan came from the small blonde but her eyes remained shut. She tried to take a deep breath in but was stopped short by the pain in her side. Her left hand slowly moved from its place on the bed, above the sheets covering her torso, and she attempted to feel where the pain was emanating from.
"Nuh uh, Lil Bird." Misty said, her voice thick with tears, "Ya don't wanna be doin' that now." A shaky smile made its way onto Misty's face and she grabbed her sister's hand in her own. She was awake, she made it through the night.
"Mitsy...?" Angel croaked, her voice small like a child's.
She gave a teary laugh and nodded her head frantically, "Yes, yes, it's me, Angel. I'm here." She continued to brush her hair with her free hand.
Finally, Angel's blue eyes squinted open. The rays from the window shining directly on them, giving them a striking and vivid color, like the bright waves on a tropical beach. Her vision was blurry and her eyes were dry; her body was sore, the worst pain coming from her shoulder and side. Her mind was foggy and she couldn't remember how she got here. "What the hell happened?" She asked, her glossy eyes looking at Misty's disheveled state.
"Ya don't remember?" She asked, receiving a shake of her little sister's head in response. "Ya were shot last night. Ya lost a lotta blood but Zoe, Myrtle and I took care of ya. How are ya feelin' by the way? Are ya in a lotta pain?" Misty asked, concerned.
Angel made a mental note to thank the witches who helped her in her time of need. "Uhh... yeah. My side kinda hurts." She closed her eyes again, the sunshine causing a small headache to form. She was having a hard time catching her breath, the pain preventing her from doing so.
Misty nodded and rose from the bed, leaning down to place a gentle kiss on her sister's forehead. She moved into the bathroom, Angel heard the faucet running briefly before Misty reemerged into the room. In one hand she had a glass full of water, in the other she had a wet washcloth. She carefully helped Angel sit up, her back resting against the headboard. She brought the sheets down to her hips, exposing her torso. Her chest was covered in her bra, which was now bloodstained and bandages were wrapped around her waist and her right shoulder. Misty was careful to remove both sets of bandages before taking the washcloth and gently dabbing the areas clean from the topical medicine they had applied the night before. The stitches looked good, the wounds showing no signs of infection which relieved the older Day sister. She handed Angel the glass, giving her a chance to soothe her parched throat as she went to her bag across the room on her own bed and pulled out a mason jar full of familiar mud.
"So, I guess Myrtle and Cordelia added somethin' to the mud for pain relief. I'm not too sure how well it works but I guess we'll find out, huh?" Misty said, looking at her sister. Angel definitely looked better compared to last night but she was still a bit of a wreck. Her hair was tangled and parts of it were encrusted with dried blood. Her skin was still a shade too pale and her eyes were sunken, dark half moons resting beneath them. And most importantly, she looked scared, miserable even. She just simply sat there, staring at her lap.
Misty placed the jar on the bedside table and gently took the glass from her sister's shaky grasp. She pulled the sheets the rest of the way down the bed, "Come on, Lil' Bird. I think maybe a nice bath will help ya feel better. Then we can put the mud on and ya can rest some more." She suggested, bringing a comforting hand to brush her sister's hair through her fingers.
Angel glanced up at the older blonde and gave a weak nod. Misty carefully led her sister into the bathroom and sat her on the toilet as she prepared the bath. The clawfoot tub quickly filled with lukewarm water, Misty afraid that too high of a temperature would just cause the small blonde more discomfort. Angel stood, turning her back to her sister and slowly slipped her bloody denim shorts off her legs, her underwear following suit. She raised her good arm back to unclasp her bra, but even moving like that caused a pain to rip through her side and shoulder. She groaned and heavily leaned against the sink. She didn't want to ask for help with this, she huffed in irritation and pain.
Misty placed a gentle hand along her lower back, "Do ya need some help?" She asked.
Angel shamefully nodded in response, tears gathering in her eyes. Misty was careful to remove the bloodstained undergarment and led her sister to the full bathtub. Angel slowly lowered herself in, submerging a majority of her body in the water that smelled of lavender. She was quick to hide her breasts and her private area as best as she could.
"I'm gonna go grab some fresh clothes for ya, okay?" Misty asked, brushing hair away from Angel's neck. She mutely nodded and Misty left the room.
As soon as the bathroom door closed, Angel allowed the tears to fall from her eyes. While sitting up in bed, Angel had remembered everything from the previous night. The anxiety, the aura, the gunshots, the pain, and the fear. The final two were so overwhelming to her senses she gained tunnel vision and a one-track mind. All she wanted last night was Misty's comfort and she didn't make it in time. Sure, it was reassuring to wake up with Misty by her side but while she experienced all of that, she was alone. Alone during, arguably, the most traumatizing experience of her life. She always had Misty by her side and the one time she really needed her, she was alone.
She continued to silently cry, careful to keep her breathing under control so as to not cause any more pain to shoot through her body-physical pain anyway. Misty opened the door and slipped in, frowning when she saw her sister crying. She placed the clean clothes on the toilet and knelt near the side of the tub.
"What's wrong, Angel?" She asked gently. She didn't know if it was the pain or something else.
"I-I..." She hiccupped.
"Shh, shh." Misty said, rubbing her hand gently up and down Angel's back, wary of her wound. "Take your time. I'll be here." She proceeded to help her sister bathe, cleaning her hair of the blood until it was nothing but a shiny, healthy, platinum blonde. She cleaned any other dirty spots, left behind in last night's haste to just save Angel's life. Misty's presence and care was calming to Angel, the tears drying up until she was simply left sniffling and occasionally wiping her nose of any snot.
"Ready now?" Misty probed gently, eager to hear what made her little sister cry in the tub.
"Can we talk about it after, please?" She whispered. Misty had bathed her when she was younger but that was years ago and she felt a little uncomfortable that she was now nude in front of her. But unfortunately, due to her condition, she couldn't do it on her own. Misty paid no mind to it, or course. She had figured Angel was going to need her help when she offered.
Sensing her sister's discomfort she nodded, "Of course. Let's get ya up and out."
Angel carefully stood after pulling the plug on the drain and Misty wrapped a soft, white towel around her. She helped dry her as best as she could, assisted in getting Angel's bra on, clasping it for her before leaving her sister to dress the lower half of her body. She pulled on her underwear and noticed that the lounge shorts and shirt weren't hers. She decided to ask about it later and finished, letting Misty help her put on her shirt. Her hair was then wrapped up in the towel and left to dry that way.
The two made it back into the room, Misty applying the new pain-relieving mud before putting on fresh bandages. She also gave Angel some Tylenol given to her by Cordelia. Misty wasn't fond of man-made medicine like this but she would put it aside, so long as it took away her sister's pain.
Angel laid back and patted the empty side, encouraging her sister to join her. Misty did so and turned her body to face Angel, waiting for her to say what was on her mind.
Angel lazily blinked, she was exhausted now. The warm bath helped to soothe her sore muscles and the combination of the healing mud and aspirin was dulling her pain until it was nothing but an ache. She sighed heavily before speaking, her eyes closed.
"When everything happened last night... I was just so scared. I thought I was gonna die and the only thing that kept running through my mind was, 'Get to Misty, I need Misty.'" She paused, taking a shaky breath. "I was just so scared, Misty." She began to cry again. "I tried to make it back to the house, but I couldn't do it." She had felt so weak and so terrified; she didn't know if the gunmen was going to make his way back and finish the job.
Misty frowned, raising her hand to wipe away the tears running down her Lil' Bird's face. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there for ya, Angel. I wish this didn't happen to ya. Ya had a right to be scared, something like this is scary, no matter who ya are." She kissed her sister's cheek and brought herself as closely as she could, tightly gripping her sister's left hand. "But I'm here now. I ain't never leaving ya, ya hear me? I will always be by your side." She promised.
Angel nodded in acknowledgement, "Misty... the man who shot me..." She started. She turned her head to make eye contact with her, "He was the same one that came to our house out in the swamp. It was the same, nasty, dark aura. He's the one who did this to me. We aren't safe here." Angel said seriously, her eyes wide with panic.
Misty couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was this man really after them, specifically? Did he follow them? What if it was one of those men who wrongfully dragged Misty to be burned at the stake? What if they somehow knew she didn't remain dead? What if, what if, what if...
She didn't want to panic Angel any further so she simply sent her a small, albeit uneasy, smile. "Don't worry, Angel. That man is gone and I doubt he'll be comin' back. We're in a house full of gifted witches, this is the safest place for us right now. Just rest." She told her, she rubbed her thumb over Angel's knuckles in hope of providing physical comfort. "Rest up. I know ya tired. I'll be here when ya wake up."
Angel hesitantly nodded and faced the ceiling once more, closing her eyes. She focused on the feeling of Misty's thumb on her hand and her calm breathing beside her. Her exhaustion took over quickly and it wasn't long before Angel was asleep, her own breath deep and even.
Misty was concerned with all the possibilities this new information presented. She wasn't sure what to do. But she did know one thing. She would be bringing this all of this to Cordelia's attention, surely the blonde leader would know what to do.