"Hello, Gwen. Is it urgent? Because a crazy guy just attacked the city, and I am needed everywhere."
He responded in as clear a voice as he could.
"Captain Stacy?"
"Who are you? Where did you find this phone?"
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He interrupted what was quickly becoming an interrogation.
'Like father, like daughter, huh?'
"Excuse me, Captain Stacy, can I interrupt you?"
Before he could respond, Arthur continued,
"My name is Arthur Lester. Gwen and I were on a date tonight. I don't know if she told you, but it doesn't matter. During dinner, a guy in a big grey suit crashed into the building we were eating in."
Captain Stacy, once again, interrupted his explanation.
"What happened to my daughter? Is she hurt? Where is she?"
"She is safe in my place for now, but she is in the middle of a panic attack, and I am doing whatever I can to help her, but I really don't know what to do right now, so I need you to calm the fuck down and help me."
He started hyperventilating by the end. The night had been stressful for him as well. He had also seen the blood and the gore. For Gwen, he had managed to stay calm, but his pretence was being challenged by the stupid captain who refused to let him talk.
The other end of the line was quiet for a moment before he could hear Captain Stacy take a deep breath and reply, having completely changed his tone.
"Okay, son. Tell me where you live. I am coming as soon as I can. For the panic attack, stay close to her, rub her back, help her regulate her breathing, and read a science book out loud. It should help both of you bring your adrenaline levels back to normal. Stay strong and wait for me."
"Okay, thanks, Captain Stacy."
He gave his address, hung up the phone, and proceeded to do what he had been asked to.
Gwen was holding her knees against her chest. Her breathing had slowed down but was still fast and irregular. He sat beside her, tentatively reached for her shoulder with his hand, and when she didn't pull away from his touch, he slowly gathered her into his arms and put her on his lap.
"Gwen, can you hear me?"
She hesitantly nodded against his chest.
"Can you hear me breathing?" When he felt her nod again, he continued. "Can you follow me with your own?"
For the next five minutes, he loudly breathed in and out. He could feel her calming down as she followed along with his rhythm. As he was doing that, he saw Bast entering the living room. In her maw was one of his only biology books.
He had bought it just the day before. Taking it with one arm, he opened it and started reading slowly.
He could feel her relaxing more, and soon, he could hear that her breathing had returned to a normal level.
He could also feel himself relaxing. As Captain Stacy had said, both of their adrenaline levels were being reduced, and slowly, they both fell asleep on his couch, Gwen on his lap, his arm circling her.
Later in the evening, Arthur was woken up by pounding on his front door. He looked around in panic for a moment before Gwen's breathing calmed him down. Looking down at his lap, Gwen hadn't been woken up by the sound. Slowly shifting her from his lap to the couch without waking her up, he got up and walked to the door.
On the other side of the door was a white man in a police uniform. He was middle-aged, with a few white hairs and a moustache. His face was tense with worry. Before he could start knocking on the door again, it opened, and he came face to face with a young man.
Arthur looked at who he supposed was Captain Stacy. Still, he asked for confirmation before letting him in.
"Captain Stacy?"
"Yes, where is Gwen?"
Arthur immediately opened the door fully and invited him in.
"She is on the couch. We fell asleep some time ago. You woke me, but not her."
Captain Stacy quickly saw the couch in the living room and walked towards it. Seeing Gwen relaxed and sleeping seemed to drain all the tension from his shoulders. Still, he asked in a low, shuddering breath,
"Can you tell me what happened?"
Arthur nodded before directing him to the kitchen, taking care never to get in the line of sight of the father and his daughter. He pulled up a chair for him and sat him down before going to get two glasses of water.
Sitting down in front of the concerned father, Arthur looked down at the glass of water in his hands before replying,
"We were eating at a Mexican restaurant two blocks over when the crazy guy in the grey suit made the whole building explode. We were towards the back of the room, so we weren't touched by the initial impact, but the shock against the building must have damaged its integrity because almost immediately, the floor above us started caving in. I managed to pull both of us away from the debris falling down, but by the time we looked up from where we were, there was blood and body parts everywhere."
He continued, shaking slightly,
"I think Gwen didn't really register the attack itself. It was too fast. But when she managed to get her bearings back, the first thing she saw was the blood pooling on the floor and people being mashed under the wreckage. I got us out, and the paramedics arrived soon after. I gave a testimony to a cop there, and Gwen was attended to for her cuts."
"She has a light one on her thigh and a more serious one on her forehead. When the paramedics let us go, I didn't know what to do. Gwen was catatonic, so I decided to bring her here while waiting for someone to bring her home."
He looked up from his hands and fixed his gaze on her father in front of him.
"Everything you said for the panic attack worked. We both fell asleep, and you woke me up."
Before Captain Stacy could respond, they both heard Gwen's voice coming from the couch.
"Arthur, where are you?"
He got up and approached the couch, helping her sit up slowly. He said,
"Your father just arrived."
Before he could continue, she shot up from the couch and turned around. Seeing her father walking towards her, she rushed into his arms and started sobbing again.
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