a friend in need

Who: Ian and Shoshannah
Where: the Drake
When: late

Dutch had left Ian, unconscious and in a pool of his own blood at the entrance to the alley way. As expect a cop passed by and found him just as he woke up from the last hit to the head he took. The officer called an ambulance and before too long Ian was trucked off to the hospital, but quickly patched up.

It was late, but not too unreasonable by the time the taxi dropped him off at the Drake again. The doctors had wanted him to stay the night, but that was the last thing Ian needed. Instead he just took the pack of ice he was handed for his swelling face and called a cab. The kick to his head had left him with a cut just past his hair line of his temple. It hadn't been deep enough for stitches, but it had bled like hell. The whip from the pistol left another gash across his cheekbone, this one had needed stitches. Both his eyes were blackening and the punch to the jaw had left him with a split lip which had swollen up quite nicely.

Stumbling out of the taxi he'd pushed his way past the doorman, ignoring the gasp at the sight of his undone tie, dirty suit and bloodied shirt. What he wanted was to go to bed and sleep for days, but he had things to do. Importantly a call to his cousin was in order. She could take care of what had happened, she had to. It was family.

Shoshannah had positioned herself at the loveseat that was quickly becoming her favorite in the lobby. She had a book in her hands, something she was allowed to borrow from work and was absently reading it, deciding to take the lack of sleepiness she felt as a blessing. She was turning a page when she glanced up and saw Ian in a state that she had never seen him in before. In an instant, she was up and hurrying to his side, worry lacing her voice. "Ian, my god, what happened? Are you all right?" It seemed like a stupid question, a really stupid question, but she had to ask.

Ian had his eyes on the door to his office, trying to focus through the pain and the few painkillers he'd let them give him to make it to the office. "Shannah," he greeted her, smiling though while it normally would have been a sweet smile, with the busted lip and the still lurking bloody tinge to his teeth it looked more grizzly than handsome. "Just a bad night," he told her though he was wincing slightly as he turned to her, reaching for her shoulder. That was the understatement of the century.

She moved closer to him, to offer the shoulder he reached for, and frowned. "Ian.." A bad night? "What happened?" Carefully, she moved, trying to brace him up with the arm she wrapped around his middle. Luckily she had her heels on or she'd be too short to do much good. "Ian, you should really sit down. Do you need help getting to your apartment?" She figured he might not want to sit down out in the lobby. He'd probably get no peace at all out there.

Ian couldn't help but wince again as she wrapped her arm around his waist, letting it fall right where he'd been punched in the side. Still, he couldn't help but be pleased that she was there, shifting into place next to him. Her offer gave him a new direction and for the moment his own revenge could wait, there was another game to play. "Help to my apartment would be great, you're sure it won't be trouble?" Ian settled his arm around her shoulder holding on her gently enough but putting a little pressure on her, so she felt like she was helping.

"Of course it's no trouble! Ian, please, after all you've done for me..the least I could do is help you to your apartment. Which way is it?" She tried to give him a warm smile, but really she was worried. What had happened to him? It was all she could think about. Was he really all right? Did he need to go to the hospital? Judging by the state of his face, though, with the medical tape and gauze over what she could only assume were stitches, it seemed as though he had been. "You're sure you don't need to go back to the hospital?" It was one of the few things Shoshannah wasn't as naive about. Her father had supplies like these lying around the house all the time. She could tell when someone had been to the hospital or not. "It's a Tuesday, my father's on call tonight." He won't like being woken up or called down to the hospital, but if Ian needed the help then she'd make the call.

"Elevator," he nodded, leading the way towards the elevator. Ian's meager apartment was on the floor above the lobby. "Already been there. Talked to your father actually. They'd called him in for something or another already and he happened upon me. I think I owe him one, he helped me convince them that I didn't need to stay overnight." Once they reached the elevator he pushed hard on the button then opened the door. The wasn't an operator this late at night, which worked fine for Ian. He was quite fine with the little bit of privacy.

Shoshannah wasn't sure if she was happy with that or not. Ian looked..well..like he probably should have stayed in the hospital for the night. "Why didn't you stay?" She still didn't know what happened, but if he was this hurt, she had to consider the possibility that he was more than just this hurt. She stepped with him into the elevator, letting him handle the buttons and instead providing as much support as she could.

Once they were in he pushed the button for the next floor. "Didn't need to," he told her with another wince as he shifted away from the buttons. He probably should have stayed, but he had no interest in being the hospital any longer than he needed too. There was no need to attract unwanted attention. The elevator lurched, then started upwards and Ian tasted bile at the pain that ricochet through his body in its natural reaction to keep him standing. Perhaps he should have considered the full dose of pain medicine, but Ian wasn't a fan of losing his wits, even if it meant he could sleep easier. Despite all of it, Ian managed to give her another smile, close lipped, but less gruesome.

"Ian..." Shoshannah sighed. What could she do about it now other than try to convince him to go back to the place he'd just left? And really, he was here and if her father said that he could leave, then she might as well believe it. "Well, I think you're going to have to promise me something. To take one of your days off tomorrow. I don't know what happened to you but you really need to rest, no matter what. Doctor's daughter's orders."

Ian chuckled at that, instantly regretting he had. It hurt like fire running through him, but at least it helped distract him from the elevator lurching to a stop again. When the door were open he led them into the hall, starting towards the end of it where the door to his apartment was. "I think that can be arranged. The day off part."

"Good." She stepped out with him into the hallway, walking at the pace that he set. "Ian...Will you please tell me what happened?" She asked, glancing back up at him. "I'm worried. I've never seen you like this before..." In truth, she couldn't really imagine seeing him like this, but apparently she was, at this very moment.

If Ian wasn't hurting so much he really would just smile at this whole situation. It was almost perfect. In some way it made it worth it. "I got mugged," he explained softly. "Just bad luck." That wasn't it at all, but it was a reasonable excuse. He'd been targeted, given a message he needed to think harder on, but he didn't have the strength for it now. "And honestly I hope you never see me like this again. I'm not much of a fighter," Ian said, moving his hand at her shoulder in closer to brush her cheek lightly. "I didn't mean to make you worry. I didn't say anything because I didn't want you to worry."

"Mugged?" She echoed, as if the words didn't feel right. Ian had been mugged? But why? Why would someone want to mug Ian? He was one of the nicest people she'd met and here he was, beaten and bruised. It threw everything she considered right. This was far worse than her camera theft because Ian had been hurt. And in her mind, there was no good reason to hurt someone else. "Ian...I'm so sorry," She said, lamely. It was awkward, but she wasn't even sure what to think, let alone say.

"What are you apologizing for?" Ian asked as they finally reached his door. For a brief moment he leaned heavy on Shoshannah, half on purpose and half because he needed to to fish his keys out of his pocket. "It's not like you're the one who beat me up." Flipping to the right key he handed it to Shoshannah to open the door. "Just bad luck. They thought I'd have more money on me than I did."

She took it, nestling the book in her hands between her ribs and her arm in order to open the door for him. "Because you're hurt. You shouldn't be. It's not...It just doesn't make sense to me. Why would someone want to hurt you?" The whole concept of mugging someone was foreign to her, luckily, but seeing the aftereffects of it up close had her nauseated. Carefully, she opened the door and pushed it away to make way for both of them. Then, just as carefully, she helped him into his room and towards the bed.

"I think I might have been a bit of a jackass," he told her with a faint smirk when she led him into the apartment. "I wasn't too keen on being mugged and tried to put up a fight. Mostly I just got a few obnoxious comments in before he beat me silly. Stupid of me probably." Ian's place was small, not much larger than one of the nicer suites on the upper floors of the hotel. It had a meager sitting room, with a small loveseat and comfortable chair. Off to one side was his kitchenette and dinning area, all properly built for one. The bedroom was off to the right in another room, similar to a suite, though without the glamor. When they passed his sidebar that sat against the wall shared with the bedroom he did slow them to a stop, reaching for a glass in which he poured a healthy dose of whiskey. Drinking wasn't his favorite pastime, but he knew full well it would ease the pain and right now he needed that.

"There's no reason to hurt someone," She said, shaking her head. "This shouldn't have happened to you, to anyone." Frowning, she slowed with him. "Where do you want to go? The sofa, your chair, your bed?" She glanced at the glass in his hand and wondered if he should be drinking. She wondered if the hospital had given him anything for the pain and while she thought they might, she didn't say anything. She didn't know that they had or hadn't.

Ian frowned a little. Normally he was slow to correct Shoshannah when she was blatantly ignorant and naive of how the world worked, but in this instant he didn't see any point in sugar coating what had happened to him. "That'll be the first thing you learn about the world," he said, tone of sadness in his voice. "Very rarely does what should happen to someone actually happen to them." He took a long gulp of the strong alcohol, relishing the burn in his throat. "Bed would be best," he decided, taking a step forward towards the bedroom.

It still wasn't fair. She hated seeing Ian like this, she would hate seeing anyone like this. Frowning, she started walking with him again, getting to the bed and carefully detangling from him for a minute to place her book on the ground. Then she was back at his side. "Still, for no reason...It's just senseless. I don't understand it. Ready?" She asked after a moment, not willing to hurt him more by helping him move when he wasn't ready.

"Like I said, I was probably being a royal pain in the ass. I wasn't eager to have my wallet taken. I should have just given it up." Not that his attacker had actually wanted his money. Ian's mind went back to that alley for a moment, thinking of the lumbering form, the gruff voice. He'd passed out not long after he'd made his passive accusation. No good memory of if he'd guessed the right person. It wasn't much of matter anyway. There were other ways to find out. "Ready."

"Ok..One, two, three..." She said, giving him a count down before she shifted, trying to lower him down onto the edge of the bed so that he could take it from there. For now, she might need to let it drop, as much as she didn't want to. Ian was hurt, and not just passively hurt but badly hurt from the sights of it, and maybe she should give up on the whole unfairness conversation. Right now, she wasn't sure it was helping, even though it was completely confusing her.

Ian fell to a sitting position on the bed with a grunt, but managed to not spill his drink while he was at it. Once he was seated he took another long pull on the glass, finishing it off and setting it aside before he reached for his tie, tugging it the rest of the way off, and discarding it on the floor. Next he settled in on his shirt and suit jacket, not eager on spending any extra time in his bloodied clothes. He didn't have issues with the buttons of the shirt, but pulling it off behind him proved to be too much and he looked up at Shoshannah for help.

And it was something like that that made Shoshannah a little leery. Helping Ian undress crossed over into an odd territory for her, but the more she thought about it, the less it did. Or the more she rationalized it. He was hurt, really badly. From here, she could see the darkening at his sides. And he was a friend. Could she really expect him to fend for himself now? She had to hope that she wasn't crossing Angelo, because she didn't want to be. At all. Angelo would understand, wouldn't he? Ian was hurt. She was careful when she moved, helping him slip the shirt off before looking away, evidently for a place to put the shirt and jacket even though it was half that and half a need not to look at Ian shirtless. "Where can I find another shirt for you?"

It wasn't lost on Ian the way she looked away and then was more than eager to find him another shirt. As far as Ian was concerned he was undressed and he was content for now. His pants would need to go as well, but he guessed if Shoshannah couldn't handle him without a shirt, then she certainly might lose her head with him in just his underwear. It was tempting to see what sort of reaction she'd actually have but instead he focused on watching her react to his current wardrobe situation. Reaching out to take his clothes from her, he made sure he caught her hand as well, silver cross around his neck swinging forward as he leaned into her, knowing that when she turned her face would be close to his. Sure the Angelo character was in the picture and obviously commandeered most of her attention, but that didn't mean Ian couldn't continue to play his games.

And she did turn as a reaction to him taking her hand, but when she did she was far, far too close to him for her comfort. She didn't like this situation and was not going to sit around and just stare at him until he moved away. "Ian, I'll get you another shirt if you tell me where they are...Or I can get you another drink.." Anything to get out of where she was right now. Anything to put some space in between them. Anything for her to know that she wasn't too close to a shirtless man that wasn't Angelo.

He watched her eyes closely, spotting the panic in them. He let his gaze on her linger for just a second longer before actually pulling his clothes out of her hand, leaning back to discard them on the floor and at the same time giving her the space she seemed to crave. They were ruined anyway. "Top drawer," he finally said, pointing towards the dresser behind her. "Should be an undershirt in there."

Great, an undershirt. Sounded wonderful. She took her hand away when he removed his and headed straight toward the drawer when he pointed her that way, opening it and picking the first undershirt she saw. She brought it back to him and held it out carefully. "I'll get you some water too, ok? You should drink more than just liquor." She felt a little better when she had the space between them but now she was feeling odd again, still too close to him without his shirt on.

Ian took the shirt when she handed it over, making short order of pulling it on, despite how difficult it was. There was no use in continuing to make her nervous, not when it wasn't the good type of nervous. His intent was there, subtle enough that she could read into it if she wanted it and shrug it off if she didn't want it. The idea was to draw her in, not push her away. "Should be a glass on the nightstand," as he winced while tugging the shirt down over his ribcage. "You can fill it up in the bathroom," he nodded towards another door while he leaned down to try and pull his shoes off. Finding that with the damaged torso he couldn't reach his feet he settled for just shuffling them off with his foot stuck to the heel of one and vice versa.

She took the chance and grabbed the glass, heading towards the bathroom to fill it up, and consequently stare at herself in the mirror. She hadn't done anything wrong. She could see Angelo's face now, smiling at her and telling her she was fretting over nothing. So she gave herself a minute to let that thought sink in before coming back to him, holding the glass out. "What else can I help you with?" Once her hands were free, she knelt down by the side of the bed and picked up her book, handing it over to him also. "It's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, if you want something to read while you're resting up...Or I'd be happy to go get you another book from work tomorrow."

Ian couldn't help but watch her retreat into the bathroom. Under his breath he counted slowly until she returned, knowing that she'd lingered there for a moment or two longer than she needed to. When she was back at the edge of the bed he took the book from her and took her hand again. "You're too good to me, you know that right Shannah?" His face appeared honest, despite the bruises really starting to deepen.

"Ian..." Shoshannah frowned a little. She didn't like the bruises starting on his face, she didn't like that he'd found himself in this situation at all. "You're my friend, Ian. If anyone here is too good to the other, it's you. You've put me up in a really nice room here for no money, just because you're so kind. This is nothing compared to what you've already done for me." She gripped his hand a little, smiling. "You should really get some rest, Ian. Do you want me to stay? In case you need anything?" Of course, she'd stay in the living room if that was the case, on the sofa. She was short enough that it wouldn't be uncomfortable as a bed.

"This is putting up with me at my worst now, I hardly think it compares," he said, but he still managed a weak smile. With his other hand he brushed his fingers along her cheek gently, a faint touch but still just as intimate as that night he'd first gotten her set up in her room. "You know I want you to stay, but I know you shouldn't. It wouldn't be right." Ian's tone implied that if she stayed he had no intention of her sleeping on the sofa, as if it wasn't an option.

Shoshannah was not as all right with this touch as she had been that first day. She stared at him for a moment before reaching up and taking his hand, holding it instead of letting him touch her cheek. "Ian, really, you should get some rest." She felt really, really odd and wanted very much to be back in her room, where it wouldn't seem like Ian was suggesting things she didn't want. The way he was looking at her...Shoshannah wasn't ok with it, but she was trying to chalk it up to something else, maybe he'd gotten hit in the head too hard? Except that she was remembering how sad he'd looked when she first mentioned Angelo to him and was tying it together with the way he was looking now...The answer she was getting didn't settle her nerves any. "You'll be ok here, won't you? You'll get rest and call in from work tomorrow? I can stop by and check on you..."

Ian nodded, looking tired, and finally feeling it. He wouldn't be at work in the morning. Not looking like this. He'd take advantage of his injuries to get some sympathy from needed parties while he worked on deciding how to take out his revenge. "I'll be fine. You should go," he said sounding a little hurt at it and dropping his gaze from hers, his acting still flawless despite his pain.

Shoshannah felt really, very awkward. She did need to leave. Ian was looking sad at the fact, but if with the way he'd been looking at her before? She needed to leave. Carefully, she patted his hands once and then placed them down on the bed, giving him a gentle smile despite how awkward she felt. "Sleep tight, Ian. I'll be by to check on you tomorrow, ok?"

"Thanks again," he told her as he shifted farther onto the bed, pulling his feet up and leaning back into the pillows. "And Shannah, I'm sorry." Ian's voice sounded slightly ashamed, concerned for putting her in such a situation when in fact it was the exact position he wanted her in. Let her go home to her trash and think of him instead.

Shannah shook her head, still smiling. "Ian, there's nothing to be sorry about. There will be something to be sorry about if you don't get some rest," She pressed, all too happy to keep in the topic of his health. She tugged on the string of the lamp on his bedside table, watching the light click on before she headed towards the wall and clicked the main light off. "Good night, Ian," She said before gently closing the door and heading back towards the elevator. To do just that. To think in her room.