Jim’s body had been aching during the trip back to campus, no doubt hurt a lot both by the injury he’d received on campus with Emily, but also the pain and tension he’d suffered at Fran’s house.  Being tossed into a giant watch was no a very pleasant feeling.  Of that, you can be sure.  About halfway there, he’d fallen asleep, laying in Abby’s hands.  His sleep was a pleasant one, dreamless and peaceful.

Abby, however, knew that his sleeping wasn’t as peaceful as one would have thought.  As they walked back to campus, she was spending a lot of time, just watching him.  As he slept, he was tossing and turning, letting out all sorts of grunts and painful screams.  The sight of him immediately saddened the girl.  She knew it wouldn’t take all that long to get back to campus, but seeing him like this made her want to do something for him at that very moment.

Realizing that Jim’s turning was likely the main cause of the painful grunts and screams he let out as he slept, she tried to figure out a way to restrain his body, so he wouldn’t be able to move around and aggravate those injuries.  Taking a deep breath, she carefully moved Jim’s tiny body around in her hand.  She slowly wrapped her fingers around him and tried to create a gentle grip around him.  Once she’d formed this grip, she whispered down to him, hoping he hadn’t woken up by this and feeling slightly bad for what she was doing to him.

“I’m sorry, Jim.  I hate restraining people like this, but the pain you may feel from my fingers will, without a doubt, be better than the pain you must be feeling from tossing and turning in my palm.  We’re almost there, so just keep sleeping and hold on.”

Jim had, surprisingly, not woken up from the actions or the words.  Abby tried to wipe a tear into her shoulder as they continued across the border of the city.  As much as she would hate to admit it, her best friend had nearly killed him.  Had Emily not seen Fran take him, Jim could, very well, be nothing more than a stain on the bottom of her friend’s foot right now.  The thought was scary, to say the least.

Abby stopped and shivered for a moment as that very thought passed through her mind.  The thought of Jim, her new, tiny friend, being dead, thanks to her friend’s temper, was beyond her comprehension.  Her tears began to reform as she began to talk to herself on the matter, not caring who may have been around to hear her speaking of it.  All that mattered to her, for the moment, was getting her own feelings out to herself and getting her friend to safety.

“I…barely made it in time.  Fran’s jealous side...I never…I never knew how bad it was until today.  She was always a little forward and strong about her emotions and attachment, but I never thought she would go that far.  I…I know you probably can’t hear me Jim, but please try to forgive her and forgive me for arriving so late.  I don’t know what all she may have done to you, but I’m very sorry and I’ll do whatever I can to help you cope with all of this…”

Abby stopped speaking at this point, realizing her voice was slowly getting louder.  Turning her head from side to side, she looked at the city they strolled next to, enveloped by the darkness of the night.  The sun had finally gone down, and the atmosphere seemed perfect to keep her little friend sleeping.  Even if he were to wake up, the darkness around him might help him sleep.

As Abby walked, the campus slowly came into view.  Her tear-drenched face was slowly drying up at this point and a huge smile came to her face.  They were nearly there, nearly to the help that poor Jim needed.  She let out a sigh of relief as they slowly made their way to the main gates of campus.  Turning towards the campus, she began to walk inside, but immediately stopped, nearly gasping as something caught her mind.

Looking back towards the city, she looked down at Jim, trying to remember something he’d told her earlier.  She wasn’t exactly sure what had gotten her so excited, but she felt like she was forgetting something important.  Watching his sleeping form, she replayed the day’s event in her head until she finally caught onto what had hit her so hard.  There was someone in the city that might be worried about Jim at this very moment.

“Ruby…” whispered Abby, as she finally remembered the memory she was seeking.  Jim had a wife, and it was nearing the head of the night.  She was, surely, worried sick about her husband, but how would she be able to get the news to her?  She couldn’t just wake up little Jim and ask him for directions.  She couldn’t get anyone to look up his file, either, due to how late it was.  The only staff that’s around the school during closed hours was the nurse and doctor that stay in the infirmary. 

Abby was puzzled as to what action she should take from this.  After a few moments of thinking, she heard a tiny grunt from her friend and immediately turned her attention back to him.  Looking down at his, seeing a tear running down his face, she’d decided to worry about his wife later.  She needed to get him to safety as quickly as possible to get his injuries treated.  That was the most important matter at hand, at this moment.

“I can ask about her in the morning.  Jim may be able to tell me when he’s better, or I could get the Dean to send someone to his home after school starts.”

Abby then, eyeing the infirmary in the distance, began to walk towards it, preparing to get her tiny friend settled in for the night.  She’d begun to stare off at the building, letting her vision fade slightly as she made her way there.  She was distracted and not really paying attention to where she was walking, accidentally kicking a couple benches from their place as she walked.  The pain in her friend was all she cared about at the moment.

As she finally reached the infirmary, she got down on her knees and took her free hand away from Jim.  She softly tapped on the wall next to a large window, hoping someone was nearby.  Much to her satisfaction, the window opened in a matter of minutes, revealing a nurse with long, blonde hair and a mouth open as she yawned.  She blinked a few times as she looked up towards Abby and cocked her head, asking her what she could help her with.

Immediately afterwards, Abby raised her hand up, uncurling her fingers and revealing the beaten, grunting Jim.  The nurse nearly screamed as she saw him and immediately ran off, pulling a rolling bed up to the window.  “Quickly, get him on the bed!  We’ve got to get these wounds treated right now!” yelled the nurse, who seemed wide awake now.  Abby complied and gently set Jim’s body in the window and onto the bed. 

Upon reaching the bed, Jim’s eyes bolted open, his head shaking and letting out a soft scream.  Turning every which way, he found himself outside of Abby’s hand.  Frantically looking around, his shaking blurred his vision and he called out for his friend.  “Abby?  ABBY?!  Abby, where are you?!  Where am I?!  What’s going on?!”

The nurse immediately pressed her hand on his chest and held him against the bed, looking down at him, bringing a small flashlight to his pupils.  His eyelids were trembling at the time and she noticed that his pupils were dilated.  Trying to speak down as softly as she could, she forcefully, but gently said “Easy, easy.  Listen to me, you’re in shock.  I’m Sarah, a nurse at the University, and I can help you with these wounds.  Now, please, try to calm down.  Abby is right here next to us, see?”

Sarah then pointed towards the window, to which Jim’s eyes quickly followed.  As they looked, they did, indeed, see the giant face of his friend, who was trying to make as much of a smile as she could as she saw the pain he was going through.  Looking back to Sarah, Jim’s entire body was starting to slow down, breathing deeply.  His heart was racing and it was hard for him to catch his breath. 

Sarah kept him held down as she whispered down to him, trying to ease her new patient’s stress.  “Take it easy.  No one is going to hurt you.  You’re in the Infirmary now.  You need to sleep, though.  I’m going to give you a sedative to help with that, okay?”

Jim took in Sarah’s words and then looked towards Abby.  Abby simply nodded and whispered to Jim that it was okay to trust Sarah.  Looking back to her, still shaking, he slowly nodded his head.  “Y-yeah…sleep”

Sarah, smiling at his acceptance, no doubt thanks to the giant lady in the window, reached off Jim’s body and walked to the side, preparing a needle of sedative for the man.  His body began to turn a little on the bed but, even by the time Sarah had returned, he was still on the bed, trying to hold himself still.  Holding one of his arms down, she smiled to him and softly said “This might sting a little, but I promise you’re going to be asleep in no time.”

Jim’s arm was trying to shake, but was held still as the needle swiftly punctured his skin and inserted the sedative into his body.  Within moments, he felt all sorts of feelings rushing into his head and his vision was going blank.  Just before drifting off to sleep, he reached towards Abby with his other arm, as if to grab her.  She had tried to reach her finger into the window to help him with all of this, but he’d fallen asleep before she could reach him.

Sarah took a deep breath as she pulled the needle out of Jim’s arm and looked towards Abby.  “Miss Abby, I’m going to immediately care for these wounds.  After I’m done, however, I’d like to hear how this happened.”  After receiving a quick nod from Abby, Sarah, moved the bed away from the window and began to collect supplies to help the man with his many injuries…