The pattern of thoughts Nathan received throughout the day from Peter was, by now, so familiar that he went about his day without being derailed by most of it, no more than he would by most of his own thoughts. Today he had been listening more closely, in case Sarah's absence required brotherly intervention. It was understandable, after all – were Heidi gone somewhere, Nathan's behavior would be mirroring Peter's. Thus far, Nathan hadn't been moved to act.
At his desk in his office, he knew his brother was situation in similar fashion behind he own desk, as he could hear the ebb and flow of thoughts about Slayers. He was even peripherally aware when Peter's focus changed to a person – Gabriel, it seemed – thought patterns Nathan only half-listened to as he worked.
Crappy kind of headache. Tylenol or Excedrine? Better go with that one, it'll last longer. Gabe seems really on edge. Wait, what the--
Peter's thoughts dropped off sharply as the link went completely dead – not muffled, not distant, but a gaping chasm of nothing in Nathan's mind. There was and had only ever been one reason for that, something that should not be in danger of happening in the hotel, and Nathan acted immediately, barely pausing to yank a weapon out of the locked cabinet in his office before he was out the door.
By the time he had hit the ground floor at a run, he expected to feel Peter conscious again, but that wasn't the case. The combination of that and thoughts of Gabriel left Nathan with a sickening conclusion, one that was verified when he charged into the office to find Peter with a letter opener in the back of his head and Gabriel curled against the desk on the floor. The open distress was the only thing that saved him from Nathan at that moment.
"Don't move." The order was sharply given as Nathan trained the gun on Gabriel and moved to Peter's side. He wouldn't shoot unless Gabriel moved, and even then, Nathan didn't know he could bring himself to do more than shoot to incapacitate – as long as he was still Gabriel.
How long had it been since Peter had avoided being dead? Several months, at least. Some might consider it a reasonable record, given how often Peter was in danger. Nathan still didn't stomach it well, even after all this time. Sucking in a breath, a faulty attempt to rein in his panic so Peter wasn't hit by the full force of it the moment he came around, Nathan reached down and pulled the letter opener out of Peter's head, then tossed it aside. Only the barest amount of attention was paid to Gabriel to make certain he didn't move, gun still aimed at him – the rest of his attention was on Peter, waiting for a gasping breath and the mental flood of a reawakened mind.