* OUR ONE HEROIC PLEDGE, [josh]

[JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE]

Joshua considered her for a moment longer, wondering if it was his presence that was keeping her awake or whether she really was reluctant to sleep in the hospital, then decided that it was her choice either way and nodded. Her comment coaxed a laugh past his lips and his gray eyes danced with the humour. "I still don't understand how you can fall asleep in the middle of our bed and wake up on the floor. It's a real talent of yours." If Nell fell out of bed it usually roused Joshua, too, for he was an incredibly light sleeper and the slightest of sounds or movements could wake him. "You know, maybe handcuffs are a good investment. Not because they're kinky but because you need some help." He was joking of course and his voice was light. He snorted softly as he imagined what that would be like in reality. It would do more harm than good if she dragged him with her, really. It was amazing how quickly his mood could turn as he walked out into the hall and caught sight of his brand new enemy. Hello again, asshole. The fact that Rafael did not care was one of his many mistakes. His first had been ever talking to Nell in the first place. Josh was normally respectful of family and would tread careful around the family of his friends but Nell's family were a glaring exception. There was no fear in angering Rafael, in wanting to hurt him, because the way Nell seemed to feel toward him suggested she'd agree with his own anger. It's your head. If Rafael wanted to get serious, that was his choice.

He might not have knew anything about the situation beyond what Nell had told him but that mattered worth shit to Joshua. He hated this guy. If Angela had already gone home he still would have wanted the satisfaction of kicking him out of the hospital. It was starting to feel more personal now. Nell made friends quickly and Josh made enemies in the same speed. "I don't need to know fuck all to know you're a spineless fucking prick." He knew the words could often entice people into fights but Josh didn't try to censor himself, didn't try for relaxation. Calling Nell a murderer was a bad idea on Rafael's part and Joshua actually stepped forward as if to attack him. There was a pure, genuine fury burning in his eyes, no amusement whatsoever in his currently cold and flat expression. "How about we go to the ER, instead, and I'll find something to shut your fucking mouth for you." He wanted to hurt him. He was shaking, now, hands trembling as his left one clenched into a slow fist at his side. He shot Nell a warning glance. She knew what his anger was like, she'd seen him at his worst points when he absolutely exploded. "You're getting what you want so leave her the fuck out of this." He cursed like a sailor when he was really incensed, mostly the word 'fuck' in all its tenses past, present and future. Rafael wasn't really getting what he wanted (Josh had been referring to talking to the 'bigwigs') but that didn't matter to the angry Fire elemental.

Biased? Yes, he supposed he was, but he didn't regret it. "Head honcho it is." There was a challenge in his voice, in his eyes. You'll regret you crossed the line, asshole. He wished they were outside or, better yet, in a place like the Academy where Joshua could unleash a torrent of flames to burn the boy to a crisp. He wasn't really homicidal but he felt pretty close. Getting to Donovan usually wasn't easy and involved going through a chain of several people first. Joshua merely knocked hard on the office door and frowned at the assistant. "No, really, I need to talk to him." She was doubtful in letting three young people in to talk to her boss, and what was worse, he didn't recognise her. She must have been new. "Tell him it's Josh and if he tells me to get to fuck, I'll go." He folded his arms and fixed her with an intense stare. She muttered something he didn't quite catch and stalked off to find him. For a moment Joshua worried that his father might disregard the situation (he would leave if his father demanded it, for there was no arguing with him) but after a few minutes the disgruntled woman returned with Donovan, who waved her off with an, "It's fine, really." He arched his brows at the sight of his son and Nell standing with an unfamiliar figure. "This guy," Joshua jerked a thumb violently in Rafael's direction, eyes blazing, "has a problem he'd apparently like you to hear." Josh kept his arms crossed and leaned against the wall to allow Nell and Rafael to explain the situation. He'd give his own input after Rafael finished talking.

[Calling Nell a murderer REALLY pissed Josh off. Like really o.o]

[NELL DOE DALE]

i was confused by the powers that be,

FORGETTING NAMES AND FACES

-PASSERS-BY WERE LOOKING AT ME

as if they can erase it. baby, did you forget to take your meds?

Rafael was certainly not to the point of anger yet, but Nell knew he could get there. She saw him get there. He rolled his eyes at Josh, clearly not taking him as a serious threat, and Nell clenched her jaw. She couldn't get mad at being called a murderer, because Rafael was painfully right. Her reputation had been destroyed by the scandal, repaired only slightly by the fact she was let off. However, Josh did get angry, and that meant bad news. She was smart enough to know that, anyone should be able to tell a six-foot-tall--sorry, six-foot-three--man with temper issues could be a problem. Rafael didn't see him as a threat. In fact, he was mostly incredulous. Clearly he didn't know Josh could get violent. "Really, that's a riot, because she's my sister and I can do whatever the fuck I want." The look Josh gave her said that he was damn near snapping, and when she saw Rafael open his mouth to say something, a part of her wanted to keep her own shut and let him find out how her fiance could get. Why should she stop Josh from kicking his ass? For what he did to Angela--and god knows who else, judging by Gale--he deserved it. Then the sensible part of her remembered that it was a hospital, and that she didn't like anyone getting hurt. "Rafael, let's just go. You can talk to someone and sort this out, all right?" she said, hoping that he realized it wasn't worth the fight. Josh could kick his ass, and that made her somewhat proud.

Rafael seemed to think better of anything he was going to say, and just shrugged. But she saw in his eyes that he really wanted to say something, but apparently, he wanted to see his girlfriend more. She hated the way she could understand that. She didn't want to compare her brother to her mother. Nell understood that Mia had been broken beyond repair, like a child's toy that ran out of battery and shut down. That wasn't Rafael. He could still function, he was just a complete asshole. She thought of this when they approached who must have been Donovan's secretary or something. She didn't seem too keen on letting them see the man, and Josh didn't seem too keen at all, and Nell waited quietly while she glared daggers into Rafael's head. He returned the glare just as fiercely and so she decided to contort her face until he rolled his eyes. If he wasn't such a douche bag, they could have been something more, she believed. But he'd crossed a line he couldn't even look behind at. When the woman came back with Josh's father, she flashed him a pleasant smile, and not just to warm up to him. She wasn't as worried as she had once been about him, the bridge of the trial had long since been burned. She smiled as she saw her brother's eyes narrow as he glanced between the two men. "Rafael?" she said, giving him the floor.

He clearly thought nothing of it, and Nell was riding on this chance right now, hoping for once that nepotism would be in line. Usually she didn't support such a thing, but there was nothing else she could do in this situation. No police report meant no evidence, no way to actually do something about Rafael until she worked up the guts to have a discussion with Angela. "Yeah, I want to see my girlfriend, she was admitted here earlier tonight. Unfortunately, these two wouldn't let me, even though I have permission." It was amazing that she managed to keep her mouth shut for the duration of Rafael's speech. "If I may, Dr. Dale," she said, feeling rather cocky about the situation. Maybe she shouldn't have. Maybe Donovan would allow him to pass through. "Rafael is the reason his girlfriend is here. There was a domestic dispute and Angela is afraid to file a police report." The Thunder elemental chose this as his time to speak. "In other words, there's no proof that I had anything to do with it." It was quickly shaping up to be more bickering, so she took a breath. "Be that as it may, there really isn't a better explanation for the bruises and gash in her arm," she started sharply, her gaze flitting to Rafael, "I don't think it'd be a good idea to let him in. And Josh agrees." She hoped that the added comment would help her in this situation.

[/justify]

[JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE]

Joshua could barely contain his anger and violent impulses as he glared Rafael down, hands still trembling as if they had a life of their own. He wanted nothing more than to clench them into fists and beat the younger boy into a pulp or at very least wrap them around his neck and shake him until he understood that you did not simply insult Nell like that in front of him. He knew she was a murderer, had seen the effect it had on her reputation, but Rafael had meant it in the cruellest way possible. It wasn't murder, it was justifiable homicide. He kept his gray gaze locked with Nell's brown one for a moment, knowing that if he lost eye contact he would forget where they were and act on his impulses. I want to hurt him, Nell, I really do. She spoke to Rafael and he blinked his thanks at her, once again conveying everything that he had to say without words. If not for Nell, if Rafael had opened his mouth again, Josh knew there would have been no stopping him. Carefully, levelly, Joshua turned his smouldering gaze back on Rafael. "I don't care what she is to you, Rafael. I don't give a fucking shit." All Joshua cared about was that she was his fiancée and that this prick was giving her a hard time. It always bothered him when Nell didn't stick up for herself, when she wasn't the one to insist that she'd gotten away with the death of her mother. He understood what a hard subject it was for her but that didn't mean it felt good to see her insulted because of it.

He was glad to finally reach Donovan's office and get the situation underway, mostly because he was positive he'd have leapt at Rafael if they'd been stuck together much longer. Joshua was doing his best to keep his temper under control but he was a Fire elemental, he had a problem with his anger and it wasn't so easily solved. He couldn't take a deep breath and let go of whatever was angering him. He allowed Nell and Rafael to explain the situation; partially because they knew it better than he did, but also because he didn't trust himself to speak without a string of curse words quite yet. He worked on trying to relax as they spoke but it wasn't very effective. He gave a sharp nod when Nell said that he agreed with her, for Donovan had looked to him for confirmation. "His girlfriend's here because of him and he's giving us a problem. I don't think he should be here, visitor's pass or otherwise." On top of that, I'm going to kill him in a second. Please make him leave. They held each other's gaze for a moment, Donovan's gray eyes searching and curious. The doctor then looked to Nell and Rafael, frowning. Joshua was worried that Donovan might not agree with him, that there was still some shred of bitterness leftover from the trial. If Donovan said that Rafael could stay, there was nothing Nell or Joshua could do about it. He tried not to show that he was worried, though, merely leaning against the wall and looking irritated.

Donovan seemed uncertain for a moment. Josh really couldn't blame him, given the fact that he didn't know much about the situation beyond what he was being told. "He was causing a scene in the hall," Joshua said, trying to help their case. "I guarantee that the person who gave him that pass doesn't know how Angela ended up here." He hoped this worked. Joshua knew that Donovan was against that sort of domestic violence. His father had hit him plenty of times growing up but not once had Josh ever seen him lay a hand on Patricia. He could respect that, even if he did wish that he'd gotten the same treatment. "I see." It was spoken softly but with no hint toward what his decision would be. Joshua cast Nell a glance. "If you're disrupting the peace of my hospital," Donovan said to Rafael, and triumph flashed in Joshua's gray eyes before he'd finished, "then I think you'll need to leave." It was all Joshua could do not to smirk. He also had to refrain from latching onto Rafael like a parasite and following him out of the hospital to pound his face into the pavement. He was glad about their victory but he was still pissed about earlier. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to work. Security will be called if you refuse to comply." He gave Josh a look and in growing up with the man, Josh could communicate silently with him just as he could with Nell. Yeah, I'll call them if Rafael doesn't leave, don't fucking worry about that. He smirked at the boy when the office door closed and Donovan was out of earshot. "Can't argue with that. Looks like you do need to get the fuck out of here." And good riddance.

[NELL DOE DALE]

i was confused by the powers that be,

FORGETTING NAMES AND FACES

-PASSERS-BY WERE LOOKING AT ME

as if they can erase it. baby, did you forget to take your meds?

At this point, Nell was concerned that some bloodshed may be in order, judging by the fact that she could tell Josh was trying to restrain his anger. Rafael, still not concerned. Pretty uncaring, as a matter of fact, and there was still that temptation to let Rafael keep talking. Let him know that he can't get away with his bullshit. But when she looked at Josh, she grimaced apologetically. Sorry about my family. Rafael's eyes were wide with expectation, before he met Josh's gaze with some admirable valor. Luckily for Rafael, he didn't say anything to Josh's retort, just shrugged it off like it was nothing. She gazed flatly at her brother. Did he honestly consider her his sister? It wasn't hard to think of him as her brother. He was so much like the others, like her aunt and her grandparents and her father and her mother, and family was another word for people who hurt each other.

Anticipation wrought tight in her when she finished her side of the story. No, it wasn't her side, it was the honest to God truth. And she was very near to flipping out on Rafael if he tried to use the absence of evidence defense again. Her brother's eyes were on Josh again in that blank, angry stare that was like looking into a super-massive black hole. She thought of dubbing it the Fuentes stare, and realized how much her exhaustion was actually getting to her. She didn't want all this, but it was an necessary evil. "Now that we've heard from the peanut gallery," Rafael muttered, scratching the back of his head as he looked away. She looked at him then, trying not to focus on Donovan and Josh, afraid that she might see something there that she didn't want to. What if Donovan didn't want to deal with them? What if he just shooed them away?

Nell turned back to Josh when he spoke again, talking about the scene that Rafael had caused, willing Donovan to understand that he was not a good guy. He didn't even look like a good guy, plaid shit and ripped jeans but she knew better than to judge anyone off of appearances. She looked back at Josh when his father spoke, the worry evident in her eyes since she just couldn't read the man. But she had to resist slapping her knee and pointing a triumphant finger in her brother's face when Donovan said he should leave. You should leave, vato, hear that? You better haul ass. She tried to read Rafael, and saw the exasperation there. Once Donovan left, she tilted her head, eyes big and triumphant. "Uh, buh-bye," Nell said, waving her fingers at him. He put up his middle finger before turning, and she guessed it was meant for the both of them. Unfortunately, she felt damn near collapsing and couldn't do a little celebratory dance.

[/justify]