unexpected

John was reading over the latest progress reports from Vincent's doctor. He was going to make it, thank whatever gods might listen. He would be slow to recover and it would not be an easy recovery. Kiara had done a lot of damage, and it would be a slow process to reverse. Thank god for Arabella's blood or he might not have made it. He felt her hands run over his shoulders, as become her habit. He smiled, noticing that since their talk the other night, she had been much quieter. As he read the last of the letter, he saw something drop onto the paper. The red stain that spread out on the paper surprised him. Was Arabella crying? He looked back at her but she was not. She looked at him, concern in her face.

"Are you all right, Jonathan? Your nose is bleeding."

"It is? That's strange."

He brought his fingertips to the cool moisture he felt forming above his lips and his fingertips came away coated with blood. He pulled back from the desk and stared at his fingers for a moment. He leaned his head back, trying to think of the last time he had gotten one of these. It had been a few days ago, during his workout. He had just thought he pushed himself too far. He had been testing the limits of his new-found speed. He told Arabella to call his specialist and get him on the video chat. While he waited for her to do it, he kept his head back, trying to get the blood to stop flowing. These damn nosebleeds were coming far to often now, there had to be a reason. Hopefully the doctor will have answers for him.

Quinn dabbed at his face, cleaning the remaining blood up as the doctor's face came up on the screen. He explained the problem, and the frequency of the nosebleeds. After asking the standard questions, the doctor began looking through some papers in front of him. After comparing several of them, he took off his glasses and looked in the screen somberly.

"Mr. Quinn. I am sorry but the news I can give you is not good. I was just comparing the sample results from the last few vials we have received from your man, Vincent, and the vials you sent us yesterday."

"Yes, don't worry, I want to know what is going on."

"Yes, of course. There is no simple way to explain this but I will go slowly and I hope at least having answers can give you a bit of peace. Your blood samples have been displaying a pattern of necrosis for some time, which I had simply attributed to coagulation during transit. Unfortunately this last sample confirms what we had concerns of. Mr. Quinn, there is not gentle way to say this. Your own blood is slowly killing you. I've never seen anything quite like it. The nosebleeds will become more frequent, and then there will be more severe symptoms as well. Most likely body pains that will feel a lot like stomach cramps, and eventually disorientation. I am sorry to say that we have no idea what is causing it, and no way to treat it. I am truly sorry, Sir."


He felt Arabella's hands clench in his shirt as the doctor spoke. He had suspected as much. This change was going to be the death of him. So be it, but if he was going to die, he was going to make sure that bitch, Kiara, went before he did.

"Thank you for your bluntness, Doctor. I appreciate it. I will keep sending samples as I can until..."

"Thank you Mr. Quinn. We do appreciate it and maybe we will stumble across something that will help."

The doctor's image blacked out and he leaned back, thinking about what he needed to do. Arabella laid her head on his chest.

"I can't lose you now, Jonathan. I just can't. We'll figure something out, right? You'll beat this."

"I guess we will have to wait and see, Ari. I need to be alone, and I'm sure Cassia would love to have some company. Why don't you go spend some time with her. She was saying she wanted you to meet her family. It is still early. Take a guard with you and go visit them. Getting out of the house will do you good."

She kissed his forehead and nodded, leaving quietly to talk to her donor. He waited until she was gone and turned down the lights. He did not want her to see him like this. He wanted her to remember him strong and vital. He felt the tears he had been holding back begin to fall as he held his ribs, wincing at the pain. He was farther along than the doctor knew, but at least he now knew what was going on. The Treatment was finally going to be the end of him. He needed to focus and make sure things were set up for Arabella. As soon as his head cleared, he would begin.