Feral Cats?

Who: Aiden and Delilah and a special guest phone appearance by Lee
When: late morning
Where: street, hospital

It wasn't a warm morning, but the air felt good around her as Delilah strolled down the sidewalk, her hand firmly on Alexi's harness. She'd had a busy night, but took a couple hours in the wee morning to actually get some rest of her own, and felt nicely refreshed. After a breakfast of eggs and grapefruit, she'd decided to stretch her legs some. And Alexi's legs too. So she was headed down to the market to perhaps pick up some fresh vegetables for a salad or something that evening. All in all, it felt like a perfectly normal day. ... except that something seemed to have her dog on edge. He was still walking obediantly, but would twist his head to look behind them and whine in his throat every so often. "What is it?" she asked him, totally oblivious to the small group of identical gray cats that were following her.

After having bought himself breakfast and filled up the gas tank in his car, Aiden was eager to return back to the motel to sleep for the rest of the day. It had been a long night, and the sun was bothering his eyes. As he sat at a stop light, his gaze was drawn to a young woman walking her dog...and the gray cats following closely behind. His eyes narrowed as the dog cowered from them, the woman seemingly oblivious, though she seemed to be able to tell her dog was bothered. Something about the scene kept his attention, and he continued to sit in his car and watch, even as the light turned green.

As Delilah stopped walking, really starting to be concerned with how Alexi was acting, the cats stopped as well. They were all intently focused on her, tails swishing in synchronized unison. The gray tabby in front growled low in it's throat and coiled it's legs underneath it. The three others behind it followed suit. The blind woman heard the noise and her head turned, a confused expression on her face. A millisecond later, all the cats lunged. Two went for Delilah herself, one leaping to latch on to her shoulder while the other went for the legs under her long skirt. The other half of the group went straight for the german shepard, who yiped just as Delilah let out a startled scream. Furry balls bearing sharp teeth and claws that immediately started to tear through clothing into her skin had not been what she expected.

The scene, to anyone else, might have been shocking, horrific even. To Aiden, it was nothing surprising, though cats? Not usually demonic hosts. Slamming his foot on the gas, he manuevered his car around and slammed on the brakes along the curb. He got out of his car and pulled the glock from his waistband, pulling the trigger to send a warning to the so-called cats. The woman shrieked and he realized the damage the cats were doing to her. Immediately he reached in and grabbed one by the back, flinging it off of her. It tried to pounce again but fell silent after he'd aimed his gun and fired. He didn't want to hurt the woman, or her dog, so he focused on getting the fucking animals off of her, taking care of them as quickly as he could without pause. One bit into his hand sharply, which only pissed him off more.

She'd dropped to her knees, having let go of Alexi's harness to instinctively hit at the biting, growling cat on her shoulder. At least she thought it was a cat. She really had no idea, and couldn't exactly think straight enough to try and gather clues. There was a hugely loud sound that she couldn't identify, then she felt the animal ripped away, taking some of her flesh with it, and screamed even louder. Delilah threw her hands over her red curls as the crash came again. Gunshots, she thought wildly. Someone was shooting at her. Through the yowling and Alexi's terrified barking and the gunfire, everything was painful confusion to the blind woman.

The dog was barking loudly, and the whining, and then barking again. He knew he had to get this finished quickly, before the woman was dead, or the cops showed up. Whichever came first. Kicking one of the cats away, he shot at it twice before it fell over. His hand hurt like a bitch, but he ignored it until the woman was all right. By the time he was finished, the walk was littered with blood, among other things, none of which fazed him. He slipped his gun back into his waistband and knelt beside the woman. He touched her tentatively. "Hey, are you all right?" Her dog was bleeding, as was she. "I should take you to a hospital."

Delilah was shaking like crazy, making scared keening noises that she wasn't even aware of. Alexi, definitely not trained to be a guard dog against the supernatural, cowered off to one side of her, whining and sniffing. Her head lifted as she was spoken to, one hand groping where he touched her to close around his wrist. She was trying very hard to get her bearings, but it wasn't working at all. The places she'd been injured were throbbing like nothing she'd ever felt before. "What was that?" she asked, voice edged with hysteria.

"Cats," Aiden said simply, though he'd known damn well they were much more than that. What, however, he had no idea. "You're hurt, come on." He helped her up, and instantly noted she was blind. Well, shit. "Let me take you to a hospital, all right?" He began to lead her to his car, still parked halfway up on the curb. "What's your name, love?"

She'd never ever known cats to do that. Delilah clutched at him, though she was trying not to. It was just something solid to hang on to, a voice to focus on, and he was saying something about a hospital and leading her somewhere. She went on shaky legs, still trying to process everything. Had he been the one with the gun? "Delilah," she answered the last question, because she knew that one. "M-my dog--" she twisted a little, trying to face where they were coming from. "Alexi!" she called, followed by a string of commanding Russian. The shepard followed in a hurry, tail tucked between his legs.

"Delilah," Aiden repeated, helping her to the side of his car and opening the passenger door, easing her into the seat. "That's a pretty name." The bites looked pretty bad, and if they hurt as much as the one in his palm, he knew she was in pain. The dog jumped into the backseat and he slammed the door, hurrying around to the other side and starting the engine. "Your dog is in the backseat," Aiden said, thankful he had seen the hospital on his drive earlier. "Is there anyone I can call for you?"

She reached over and behind her seat for Alexi, and was slightly comforted when he whined and licked her hand. Her mind was racing, trying to catch up to current events. She'd been attacked, supposedly by cats, and then ... saved? And was being taken to the hospital. By a man with an accent -- was that Irish? -- and a loud car. "N-no, not ... that I can think of. ... are you hurt?" she asked, turning her face to him. It was pointing only slightly off-course.

"I'm fine," Aiden told her, trying to keep his tires from squealing as he sped through the streets, thankful to be avoiding the police. His hand did hurt, but he'd suffered through worse wounds before. All he needed was some disinfectant and tylenol. "Just a scratch. How are you feeling?" he asked, looking down at the bite marks on her legs and shoulder. Her dog was laying down now, breathing heavily. He hoped someone in the hospital could take a look, because he had no clue where the nearest vet was.

Delilah could tell she was bleeding. And there was something additionally wrong, because the wounds hurt much more than any cat-inflicted wounds had ever hurt in the past. So she wasn't really sure how to answer him. "Dizzy," she told him, one hand extending to brace herself against the dashboard. "Confused. In pain. I believe they're ... infected -- or ... or the animals were rabid maybe ... I'm not sure, but. They were cats? Who are you?" She hadn't really meant that to come out the way it sounded. "I apologize sir, what's your name?"

"They were cats," he confirmed again, thankful when the hospital came into view. "They might have been rabid," he said, shooting her a glance. Sure they had been rabid, but perhaps in a sense that wasn't quite human. They had been stalking her like prey, almost, and had seemed larger than your average house cat. He was curious now, as to what they had seen in her to make her a target. Glancing her way again, he noticed she was much more pale than what was natural. "My name is Aiden Quinlan. We're almost there if you can hang on for a few more seconds, all right?"

She wasn't at all fond of hospitals, as people in the general medical profession were some of the worst about treating blind people as though they were incapable of anything, but she wasn't about to argue. She probably did need a hospital. Delilah filed his name away, positive now that he carried an Irish accent. She nodded that yes, she could hang on for a few more seconds. God, how her shoulder throbbed.

Aiden sped his car into the hospital parking lot, uncaring that he had parked in a handicap spot. Killing the engine, he got out of the car and rounded the hood to yank open the passenger side. He reached in and helped her out, catching her when she stumbled, obviously weakened. So he picked her up, and shut the door with his foot, carrying her toward the entrance to the emergency room. "Where's your vet?" he asked her as he carried her. "If you give me an address, I'll take your dog there next."

Delilah made a faint noise of protest as she was picked up. It was chivalrous, yes, it just made her much more wary of where she was being taken. Still, her arms went around his neck and she held on. She felt a thin thread of panic at the suggestion that this stranger -- even though he'd rescued her -- take her Alexi anywhere away. "I will call him from inside," she said, really trying not to sound as frightened as she felt. She wasn't going to give him directions until she'd confirmed with Lee Endleigh that he could see the animal immediately, and to let him know to expect Aiden bringing him.

"If you're able to call him, call him, but if you can't, give me his name and I'll call him for you," Aiden replied, walking into the emergency room and cautiously setting Delilah on her feet, keeping a hold of her arm. "She was attacked by some rabid cats," he explained in a commanding tone. "She needs to be looked at now." The nurse was up from the desk instantly and headed off to get a doctor. Aiden led her to a chair and helped her ease into it. The blood was crusting on his palm, and he made sure to keep it hidden for when the doctor came out. "What's your vets name?" he asked again. "I can take your dog, if they can't see him, I'll bring him back here."

Delilah was grateful to sit down. Once it was free, she stuck her hand into one of the deep pockets at the side of her skirt. She never went anywhere without her phone, and she was very glad to wrap her fingers around it. "His name is Lee Endleigh," she told Aiden. "Let me call him, it's Sunday ... I have his home number ..." She flipped the phone open and spoke into it very clearly. "Lee, home," she said. It started to ring and Delilah put it to her ear, catching her bottom lip between her teeth.

Lee's hand was halfway to the surgery's phone before he realized it was his cell phone ringing, he glance over at Mina and Gus, then picked the small device up off the desk and put it to his ear.

Then he remembered to accept the call, punched the key, and put it back. "Lee Endleigh's phone," he said, getting a sinking feeling that this most definitely was one of his clients with a weekend emergency. Not many of them had his cell number, and those that did needed it very much.

"Lee," she said with obvious relief. "It's Delilah Pasternak, so sorry to bother you on the weekend." The familiar voice seemed to put her a little bit back on her equilibrium, but she still wasn't quite sure how to phrase what had happened to her. "Would it be at all possible for you to see Alexi? I fear he's been injured. Myself as well, but ... " Delilah trailed off, the fingers of one hand clenching nervously in her skirt.

Blue eyes squeezed closed as Lee put all his concentration on Delilah's soft voice. Delilah's blindness meant Alexi was one of the most crucial patients of his to keep in good health, both of them needed it very much.

"Of course, Delilah," he said immediately. "Can you get him to me? Are you someplace safe, being taken care of?" It would be so like the quiet young woman to call the vet for Alexi before calling an ambulance for herself - though he was hoping it couldn't be that bad if she could still call him on the phone.

"Yes," she assured him on both counts. "A ... very nice gentleman named Aiden came to my rescue, he's volunteered to bring Alexi to you. We are at the hospital now. Will you call me when he arrives, Lee? I would appreciate it very much." The man knew, after all, what the dog meant to her. Good working dogs were not only worth their weight in gold, they were often the best friends of their owners, and Alexi was no exception. She would feel worlds better trusting her animal to a stranger if she knew she'd have some confirmation that she trusted when they arrived at the vet's.

"Sure, I'll call you as soon as he gets here. And we'll take good care of him, Delilah. Can you give me an idea of what happened so I can prepare things?" Lee was thinking of the mess in the surgical area, the dead cat in the biohazard box, the autopsy and the call to the CDC. Good grief...

"Oh," she said faintly. She really didn't want to sound insane, but ... at least there was someone else there to back up her story. "We were attacked by cats. Several of them. I believe they were feral, they were unprovoked and very vicious," she hastened to add. It still made zero sense to her, but ... there was no arguing the fact that she was scratched to hell.

On the other end of the line, Lee's eyes opened wide. Cats. More than one. He couldn't ask Delilah for a physical description, but an uprovoked attack of this sort on a woman with a perfectly capable dog was a dangerous thing to hear about. But he didn't let his concern for that colour his voice too much. "Okay, thanks, Delilah. The man, Aiden, bringing over Alexi - did he get a look at any of the cats?" He'd need to know if they bore behavioural resemblances to the dead one in his surgery, and where they'd attacked. Most especially if Alexi had killed or injured any of them. Details he didn't want to press Delilah for.

"Oh yes," she said. Her voice was still faint. It was a combination of a slow dizziness that was sneaking up on her and the fact that she didn't want to announce in the middle of the ER waiting room that the man with her had shot and killed the cats. "I'm sure he can fill you in when he gets there. I will give him directions and send him over. Thank you so much, Lee."

"You're welcome, Delilah. It's why you've got my number, right?" he answered, trying to put her a little at ease. "You take it easy and do what the doctors tell you, okay? Alexi will be with us and we'll do our best."

"I will do my best," she assured him with a faint smile. "I await your call." She closed her phone and leaned against the plastic back of the chair, one pale hand moving to her forehead. She didn't feel well at all. "He can see Alexi," she said quietly to Aiden.

"I'll take him over," Aiden promised her. He looked up to see the nurse signaling them in. Taking her hand, he helped her up and slipped his arm around her waist. "They'll see you now. What's your vet's name and what street is he on?"

Delilah leaned on Aiden, grateful for the help. She was beyond trying to keep her dignity about her. "His name is Lee Endleigh," she answered. She told him the name of the establishment and where it was, even giving relatively thorough directions from where they were. "I appreciate your help, Mr. Quinlan, very much." Please don't hurt my dog. She squeezed his hand as she was passed off to the nurse.

Aiden watched as the nurse led Delilah back and he took off his hat to run his hand through his hair. He wasn't sure how he'd ended up here, in this situation, but he'd made a promise to the woman, and he wasn't about to let her dog die in the back of his car. Sighing, Aiden left the emergency room and got behind the wheel, glancing over the seat, thankful to see the dog was still breathing, albeit a bit heavily. He reached back and patted the dog on the side before he turned over the engine and took off toward the vet's office. He'd drop off the dog, let the vet deal, and take off. Hopefully the woman, Delilah, would be all right. If his hand was stinging like a bitch now, he could only imagine what her wounds were doing to her.