As a new day dawned the sunlight inched it's way across the floor, eventually reaching the figure who was laying there on the bed. She twitched, shifting, then finally she opened her eyes, groaning softly. Descent pushed herself into a sitting position, wincing as she looked around the strange room in confusion. Sam sat in a large chair not far from the bed, the brown haired priest fast asleep. Her chest rose and fell, her face oddly peaceful in sleep, a gentleness apparent there that would never be seen while she was awake. White bandages swathed her one arm, but other than that the young woman seemed to be unharmed. 'Good,' Descent thought, gazing for a moment over at Sam's still form. She carefully eased herself up out of the bed, wincing at how stiff she felt, then padded across the room naked to where a pile of clothes waited. She could have attempted to create clothes, but with how weak she felt it probably wasn't a good idea. Thankfully Descent had gotten her pants on when a faintly amused voice said, "Alex will be relieved to know you're up and around." The woman in the doorway was beautiful in a lush, almost earthy way and her smile was gentle as she walked in, long purple hair falling down her back. "My name is Jasmine," she flashed a mildly lecherous grin, "and you've been sleeping in my bed." Descent fought back a blush, but at least she didn't feel any threat coming from the woman. "Friend of Alex's?" she asked softly, looking towards the still sleeping Sam. Jasmine kept her voice down, too, her smile much more gentle. "She's my lover, yes," she agreed. Noticing where Descent's gaze had gone to she noted, "Sam hasn't left your side since we brought you inside." "Where are we?" Descent asked, choosing to ignore the comment about Sam, despite the warm glow it fostered inside of her. "The apartments are behind Daughters of Artemis," Jasmine explained. She smiled, "The place is famous for being a neutral location in this crazy city." "Incredible," Descent murmured, shaking her head and sending her long black hair flowing down her back. "Urghel," Sam made a incoherent noise then jerked awake, looking around wildly before she saw Descent and Jasmine. "Well," she visibly shook herself, getting up out of her chair with a groan, "I'm glad to see you're back among the living." "Thank you," Descent said softly, feeling oddly confused. She hadn't really thought that Sam even liked her much, so it was odd seeing her show such concern. "I owed you one for taking that blast for me," Sam said abruptly. She looked over at Jasmine, "Jazz, is there somewhere we can grab some coffee and eats?" Jasmine shrugged casually, "The Daughters has a pretty good cook, you could try there." She studied the two of them, "Are you going to stick around till Alex gets back?" "I don't know," Descent admitted. "It might not be such a good idea," Sam noted quietly. She gaze Jasmine a apologetic smile, "The two of us are trouble, and having us around will put you both in danger." "I don't think Alex cares about trouble," Jasmine said. "Maybe," Descent said, "but my conscience would bother me if she our you got hurt because of us." She looked over at Sam questioningly as she offered, "Maybe we can stick around long enough to say thanks and good-bye?" "Sounds good," Sam agreed. She looked shyly at Jasmine and added, "I wanted to say thank you to you, too." Jasmine chuckled throatily, "Alex'll be paying for it tonight, trust me." "Do I want to know?" Sam asked. Jasmine's smile widened, "Probably not." She pushed her hair back with a sigh, "Sam you saw the club when we brought you two in last night, why don't you two head over for some food? I'd go with but I need to get ready for work." "No problem," Descent slipped a borrowed pair of battered runners on as she and Sam left the upper floor apartment. "Is it me," she asked as they walked down the hall to the battered elevator, "or was she not human?" Sam raised an eyebrow as she hit the down button, "How could you tell?" "Scent, I think," Descent answered, "there was just something slightly off." "That was good," Sam commented as the elevator roughly descended, "I just ended up seeing her tail when she got up this morning." "Tail?" Descent blinked but Sam just shrugged. Together they left the lobby and went outside, following the cement path over to the nightclub that was set up in the front of the lot. A large building, it had several cars parked in front and the main doors were unlocked. Entering the first thing they saw was the painting of a female archer on the back wall, the words 'Daughters of Artemis' underneath. "You two must be Alex's strays," the woman at the bar said, the blonde's smile and tone taking any sting from her words, "my name is Circe." The introductions were quickly made then Sam asked with her most charming manner, "Any chance of us getting some breakfast?" "Athena is around somewhere," Circe chuckled, "I'll get you some coffees then see if she can make you up something." "Thank you," Descent smiled at her and then the two walked over to sit down at one of the cleaner little tables, Circe dropping off two mugs of thick coffee a few moments later. Sam waited for Descent to mix up then drink some of her cup of coffee then she asked seriously, "So how are you doing?" "Weak as a kitten," Descent admitted softly. She took another drink, "I doubt that I could manage a shapechange or any other feats, much less fight." "I talked to Drake," Sam's expression was serious, "she figured it would be several days before you were fully recovered." "Days?!" Descent blurted, face pale. "Hmm," Sam nodded, drinking her own coffee while she considered the situation. She studied Descent for a moment then said, "You're going to need to hole up somewhere, I think, until you've fully recovered." Descent narrowed her eyes, "I am not going to hide." "It's not hiding," Sam shook her head, "it's giving yourself the time you need to recover from wounds you got saving me." She hesitated, looking down into her coffee mug then in a very different tone of voice said, "Thank you, by the way." Descent actually felt herself blush a bit, shrugging uncomfortably. "Reflex," she said, "I didn't even think about it." "Which probably makes it even more heroic, considering," Sam noted. Circe bustled up with two plates loaded with sausage, eggs and hash-browns and sat them down with soft thumps. There was so much grease and crispy brown bits that both ladies could feel their arteries panicking just looking at it. "Athena got a little enthusiastic," Circe explained cheerfully, "there's seconds in the kitchen once you work through this." She paused, hesitating, "Diana and I established this place as a sanctuary, if you need to take shelter here a few days...." "Considering the Lady wants us dead," Descent said seriously, "it could bring serious trouble to your door, ma'am." Circe raised a saucy eyebrow, "That'll just make things more interesting." More seriously, "The only thing is... Lady Diana's people are welcome here, too. While you're under our roof you cannot start anything, no matter whom you meet." Sam looked over at Descent, "I've been here before, it's not too bad." Descent looked at Circe thoughtfully as she considered. "And if someone decides to take a shot at me?" she asked pointedly. "They aren't that foolish," Circe said firmly. "I understand at least one assassin took a shot at Jess Drake mistakenly," Sam pointed out, "these men aren't that bright." Circe just gave a truly unpleasant looking smile, "Trust me, they will not get another shot." To be continued.... Notes: Sam has appeared at Daughters previously, as have several other characters who have also appeared in Descent. Some of Sam's background has also been hinted at in Daughters, including the fact that she was a Vietnam vet.
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