I was halfway to my feet by the time Cassadee reached me. Everything hurt and the world seemed to sway a bit, but she had clearly taken the worst of it. Seeing that it was mostly determination and her concern for me that kept her upright at that moment, I wrapped an arm around her waist and half carried her the short distance through a couple of teleporters as Erika stayed behind to check for any additional threats.
The climb to Monticello’s front door felt much longer than I remembered and by the time we reached the top it was all I could do not to drop this little red-headed beauty who had captured my heart so completely. Fortunately, as we were coming in, others were coming out. Cherry took her from me and helped her to the couch, offering some blood to speed her recovery. I followed, noting that the room was fairly crowded for a change, and vaguely noticed mention of another attack. Once it was clear that Cassadee was going to be fine, Cherry looked to me with a frown and said I looked like I needed to go lay down.
Three steps from the couch, everything seemed to spin. As I lifted my foot for a fourth, the ground leaped upward and the world went black.
