Rising Into Consciousness / Duality
by E. R. Mills
Chapter 12:
Knight In Shining Circuitry
Auset stared out the small window on her left at the tiny shapes of cars and buildings that were thousands of feet below her. The plane had just finished its take off and was leveling out, settling in for the two-hour trip back to Chicago. The dark-haired woman watched the landscape roll by beneath her, the red hills of Texas slowly giving way to the more familiar brown northern soil.
Auset never got nervous on flights, but for some reason her guts were in turmoil this time, roiling in a ceaseless current of unease. It made her pause to reflect upon the source of the sensation. It had initially hit her during the little scene with Mary. Auset chuckled to herself at the memory of Mary's very frustrated expression when the hacker had up and left her hanging, so-to-speak. She had wanted to mess with the woman's mind and certainly that was an effective avenue to take. But why had it happened? Where had that sudden and overwhelming panic-like sensation come from?
There was no answer that she could come up with. Instead, Auset resolved to sit back and ride out the remainder of the evening flight, ingest some airline pretzles along the way, and then get back to her apartment...back to Reese. A smile stretched across her lips at the thought. Reese had said she would be back that evening as well. It would be good to see her again, and sooner than she had originally anticipated.
The jet flew onward towards the horizon, the sun setting off to the west and throwing brilliant pinks and purples across the dimming sky. Auset ran a hand through her short black hair and sat back in her seat, gazing idly out at the color display of sunset.
Meeting Andrew at the house went without incident, as their father had already stumbled off to work for the day. Reese's younger brother was indeed sporting a black eye that morning, but that seemed to be the extent of the damage. He looked terrified though and was shaking badly. The blonde placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and gazed sadly at him.
"Some things never change," she said quietly as the three of them headed for the car.
"It was so strange though, Reese. After you left, he let into me like usual but then he got real calm and started crying, going on about how he'd lost his little girl. I never heard him talk like that before," Andy said as he slid into the back seat with Ione. Reese took her place behind the steering wheel and turned the key in the ignition. She mulled that over in her head but said nothing. "But then he worked himself up again and started yelling about why you'd be back." He paused and took an uneven breath. "He started asking me why you'd come back. He accused me of it having something to do with me, Reese...he..." his voice trailed off as Reese turned in her seat, her face full of apprehension.
"He knows." It was a statement. Andy nodded his head weakly and stared at his feet. Ione began crying and leaned her head on her boyfriend's shoulder.
"That was the strangest thing, because he got real red and angry, but then he just turned around and went to bed. I haven't seen him since. But he knows. He knows all about why you're here today," he practically sobbed. "I couldn't...I had to...oh God, I'm sorry."
"It's all right Andy, we'll get this done. He's at work. He can't do anything right now. And I'll figure something out, I promise," the blonde stated reassuringly and then, after seeing that Andrew had regained some of his composure, she pulled the car away from the house and drove on in the direction of the clinic.
Something unusual caught Reese's attention as they neared the building. A large group of people, carrying signs and shouting, had formed a crowd out front of the clinic. They were protesters.
"Shit," she mumbled to herself. "We'll just go around back like usual, I guess, and maybe they won't see us."
"Aw crap," Andy said dejectedly when he saw what was going on. Ione just buried her head further in his shoulder.
"C'mon, we'll be OK."
Reese parked that car in the lot out back as she had the day before and the three got out and made there way to the door. It was locked. There was a sign on it that read, "Please use front door, this one broken."
"Just our luck," Andrew lamented. Reese squared her shoulders and straightened herself.
"We'll go to the front then. No big deal. Fuck 'em."
Ione chuckled half-heartedly and followed with Andrew behind his older sister as they made their way to the front of the building. When a few members of the crowd noticed the trio and where they were headed, the shouting began.
"Baby killer!"
"Murderer!"
"Sinners!"
Ione and Andrew kept their heads down as Reese ushered them through the jeering mob and towards the front door that beckoned to them. A man from the clinic rushed out then and helped them make it through the crowd, which was quickly growing more and more violent. At last they made it inside with the door shut firmly behind them.
"Sometimes I just don't understand people. How can they be so hateful when they claim to be 'on God's side'?" Reese asked, amazed and sad. The man who had helped them shook his head and shrugged.
"Some people get caught up in an idea that they're damned sure is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help them God, that they start losing sight of the real truth, I think. And they get mean and stupid."
"I guess so," Reese agreed. "And thanks for helping us out."
"No problem."
The receptionist spoke up then and addressed Ione, who was clutching nervously to Andrew.
"The doctor will see you now. You two can wait out here and make yourselves comfortable." She seemed a little friendlier today, at least, Reese mused. Brother and sister both gave Ione firm hugs before she went slowly through the door that lead into the surgery area.
Reese and Andy sat down and made feeble attempts at getting comfortable. It would be a long couple of hours.
"How has it been?" she asked quietly, after a short while had passed. Andrew looked up from his clasped hands with a questioning look on his features.
"How has what been?"
"I feel bad having left you alone to deal with dad," Reese went on. "How has he been? How have you been?"
"Up and down. The drinking's just as bad, if not worse. You and mom got out at a good time, and don't regret doing it either, Reese. I was so happy for both of you when you left. I mean, sure, I'd like to go too, but..." his voice trailed off and he looked back down at the floor.
"You shouldn't have to deal with this alone, Andy," Reese finished for him. "I'm sorry I left you like that." She could feel a little moisture gathering in her eyes, but she willed herself not to let it drop. "Have you talked to mom at all?"
"A few times, when dad wasn't home." Here he looked back up, tears appearing in his own eyes. "I miss her, Reese. I really miss her."
Without another word, Reese moved off her own chair and enveloped her brother in a heartfelt hug. After a moment, he returned the gesture, clasping his arms around her, and they stayed like that for a time. Finally they pulled away and Reese held his chin in her hand affectionately.
"I promise you, Andy, I will get you and Ione out of here. I will figure out something, some way of helping dad. This needs to be over."
"Thank you. Thank you so much for everything you've done, Reese, I don't know how I can repay you--" Andrew started but was cut off by a stern but kind look from his sister.
"No, Andy, this is what family is supposed to do for one another. You owe me nothing. I love you, I wouldn't do any less." He smiled at her, exhaustion evident on his young face, and Reese returned the gesture before resituating herself in the chair that had previously been vacated. "Ione's gonna need all the support she can get from you when this is done."
"I know, and she'll get it, as much as I can give," Andrew replied with determination. "And believe me, I've learned my lesson with this. If we're not ready for kids, we make the precautions to make sure we don't have them."
"Or just refrain from doing what tends to result in children. You are pretty young, Andy," Reese suggested seriously. He chuckled slightly and blushed a deep crimson.
"Yeah, that's another idea." His sister shook her head and grinned slightly. They spent the next two hours in companionable silence, anxiously watching the clock on the wall and trying to drown out the noise of the protesters outside.
Finally, the door to the back opened on a nurse pushing Ione into the room in a wheelchair. The girl was flushed white, the healthy pallor gone from her skin and a look of pure exhaustion on her face. Andrew rushed over to her and knelt beside the chair.
"Everything went just fine," the nurse said reassuringly. "She's a tough young woman, should be back to normal in a few days, provided she gets lots of rest and relaxation."
"Thank you so much," Andrew gushed as he affectionately rubbed one of Ione's hands between his own, kissing it at intervals and staring at her nervously.
"Calm down, Andy, I'm OK," Ione insisted gently, smiling at her boyfriend fondly. Reese walked over then and smiled at the girl.
"Can she walk?"
"Should be able to, but that's more up to her," the nurse answered. Ione nodded and hefted herself out of the wheelchair. When she stood there was a little hesitation in her stance but then she steadied and assured the group that she could indeed walk.
"Everything's good then?" Reese addressed the nurse once more. The woman nodded the affirmative and smiled, her aged face glowing with kindness.
"You get her home and to bed, you've already taken care of everything here. Go on now," the woman replied. Reese thanked her and then helped Andrew guide Ione towards the door. As they approached, they were suddenly reminded of the mob that awaited them just outside.
"Let's just make a break for it," Reese suggested. "Don't let go of her." The decision made, Reese opened the door and ushered the two out. The screaming began immediately. People shoved them from all sides and Reese was having a hard time figuring out which direction the car was in, so crowded were they by the mob. Andrew clung fiercely to Ione, who was making a valiant effort at moving away from the crowd as fast as was possible. A woman rushed forward then and shoved Reese backwards a few steps.
"Godless heathen!" she screamed. Reese, taken off guard, tried to push away from the woman but was soon enveloped by others who tripped her and shoved her so that she could not make any progress. She lost sight of Andy and Ione then and fear began to grip her.
"Andy!" she screamed out above the din. All Reese could hear, however, were the angry shouts of the crowd. In a last-ditch effort to break free of the mob, and because she was growing very agitated, Reese struck out blindly with her fists and connected with flesh a number of times. She let a satisfied smirk stretch across her face at that, and continued lashing out as the people started to back off. Just as she saw an opening that would allow her to slip away, there was a loud pop just to her left. Reese turned to face the source of the sound just as a searing pain shot through her torso. The blonde woman looked down at her left side and noticed a red stain in her shirt. The crowd had backed off considerably at the sound of the gun going off and a space had cleared around the stunned woman. Reese's glance darted around to the faces of the people in search of the one who had shot her and came to rest on the back of someone’s head who was trying desperately to get away as fast as possible. She was about to take off after them when a wave of light-headedness swept over her and she stumbled, then fell over onto the ground, clutching a hand to the bloody hole in her side.
All the noise faded away from her then as her green eyes stared up at the blue of the afternoon. She couldn't really feel the wound anymore, it was just a dull throb in the back of her conscious mind. Her head lolled to one side and there, standing next to her prone form, she saw Auset, smiling knowingly down at her. The dark-haired apparition knelt beside her and placed a warm hand to her cheek, blue eyes gazing fondly into her own. Reese smiled, and passed out.
Andrew and Ione had made it just passed the crowd when they heard the gunshot and simultaneously whirled around to see what had happened. When they saw the crowd part and Reese standing there, looking down at the bullet hole in her side, they were frozen to the spot. When she fell, Andrew turned to Ione and told her to stay there. He rushed over, shoving his way through the stunned crowd until he was at his sister's side. She was unconscious, a rather peaceful look on her features. Was she smiling?
"Call an ambulance!" he screamed. Ione came up next to him and he heard her choked sob. "Call an ambulance you fucks!"
Auset made it back to her apartment as the city was settling in for another night. She arranged her suitcases next to the bed and looked around. Ephiny, Reese's cat, was prowling around on the nest, mewling unhappily and eyeing the dark-haired woman nervously.
"Hey there," she addressed the feline and walked over to it. "Where's your mom?"
Auset glanced around the apartment. Reese had said she would be home by then. A tiny knot made its presence known in her stomach then and she noticed the flashing voicemail indicator on her computer monitor.
"Play," she commanded. It responded in kind.
"Auset...uh, this is Andrew, Reese's brother?" a shaky male voice began. Uh-oh. "I, um, have...bad news. Reese took me and Ione to the clinic...ah, for Ione's abortion..." So that was what was going on. "...and, uh, there was an incident. Reese got shot by someone on our way out, one of the protesters. She insisted that I call and tell you that she was, heh, sorry about not being back when she'd said. She's stabilized, they have her at the hospital here and--" The rest of the message played to an empty room. Upon hearing that her friend had been shot, Auset had grabbed her smaller suitcase and run right back out of the apartment, leaving a somewhat confused Ephiny pacing anxiously around the computer.
She made her way down to the garage where her new car waited. The hacker jumped inside, threw her belongings into the passenger seat, and started up the car. There had been no decision really, she just immediately knew that she had to go to Flora. Now. There was no other option. She slammed down on the gas and the sports car peeled out of the garage, then barreled down the city streets en route to the interstate that would take her south.
Auset drove all night, sleeps' enticing offers not even having half a chance at distracting the determined woman. Again there was the disconcerting flood of emotion that rushed over her when Reese's safety was concerned. Someone had shot her!?! Auset's fists clenched the steering wheel tightly, tendons bunched and white. Whoever was responsible, she decided with fierce determination, would not live to see another day.
Reese was aware of a blinding white light shining down on her. Am I dead? she wondered briefly before things started to come into focus. She was lying down in a bed, Andy on one side of it and a man in doctor's scrubs on the other.
"Morning, Reese," the doctor said, smiling. Andy grinned down at her and placed a comforting hand on her arm, which she looked down and noticed had an IV tube running from it.
"Mfm," she grunted. Andy gave a half-hearted chuckle and looked at the doctor.
"She'll be OK, right?"
"Yep, she's one heck of a fighter." He looked down at the woman in question. "You're in the hospital, Reese. Do you remember what happened?"
The blonde woman took a moment to assess her memory. She remembered coming out of the clinic, and yes, being shot was definitely emblazoned upon her memory.
"I was shot."
"Yes, in your left side. You got lucky though, the bullet didn't hit anything important, you just initially lost a lot of blood. But thanks to your brother's quick thinking, you were brought to the hospital in time for us to patch you back up." The man smiled, his pale blue eyes smiling right along with his age-touched face. "I'm Doctor Bremner."
"Good to meet you," she said and smiled weakly.
"We need to keep you here a little while for observation, and there's a good chance that the local authorities will be in to question you folks about what happened...but I won't let them in until you think you're up for it, OK?" he continued.
"All right. Thank you."
"You're welcome, Reese. You're a strong woman. Take it easy now and I'll leave you alone with your brother here while I go make sure everything is as it should be. Poor guy's been driving us all crazy making sure you were OK," the doctor finished and winked at Andrew, who gave a sheepish grin and turned back to face his sister.
"What's up?" she asked, her voice scratchy. Andrew chuckled a little and shook his head.
"You are something, Reese, ya know that?" She laughed weakly and closed her eyes for a moment, gathering up what strength she had left. "They operated on your for most of yesterday afternoon and then you slept for a while. I was...really worried. But I called Auset and left a message for her, like you said."
"I said?" she questioned, not remembering having been awake since being shot.
"Uh, yeah, you were...um...having a nightmare early last night and when we woke you up you insisted that I call Auset's apartment and let her know that you were sorry about not being back yet. Really sis, if she's a decent human being she'd be more concerned about you being shot than not being back to water the plants on time," he chided good-humoredly.
"I guess...I don't remember that," Reese replied quietly.
"Understandable, I guess you weren't really with it at the time. Some nightmare you were having too. But you're OK now. You should sleep." He grinned down at her and then moved slowly towards the door.
"Thanks Andy," she said. He smiled again and then went out the door, shutting it quietly behind him. Reese lay back again and stared up at the pock marked ceiling with weary eyes. The drug-induced cloud still swirled around her head and she decided that it would be best to try and get some sleep. Sleep would also relieve her from the soreness in her body where the wound was.
The dream started off well enough. She was sitting in the middle of a small clearing amidst a vast forest. Legs crossed, eyes closed, breathing deep. A barrage of stimuli hit her senses--she could clearly hear a bird singing in a tree to her left, the wind rustling leaves in the canopy above, some small animal dashing through the underbrush and her own breathing, quiet and relaxed. A single beam of sunlight broke through the foliage and warmed the skin on her thighs. At that moment she was fully apart of the woods. She had no thoughts other than those of the nature that she was within.
And then there was a presence at her back. A gentle hand, callused and warm, pressed down lightly on her bare shoulder. She raised her own hand to cover the one on her shoulder, keeping eyes shut, and smiled. There was no question as to who it was--she knew--and the peace she felt increased at this persons' arrival; the final part of the whole come sliding home. Complete, at last.
But then there was another sound, foreign in the woods, forcing its way into the space. A loud bang, and then screaming, and her heart was filled with panic. She reached a hand out for the person who had been behind her, the person she needed, and felt only empty air. Jumping to her feet, she made to look around but was suddenly incapacitated by a sharp pain in her side. She clutched her hand to the pained area and when she brought it back up it was covered in her own blood. Her mouth opened in a scream but nothing came out but a rush of deafening wind. The presence returned at her back then and the panic left momentarily, but soon was replaced by complete and total fear and sadness as she felt herself being pulled into the now dark woods by some unseen force. She tried to run to the dark-haired woman, but her feet would not move and she could not break free from whatever was pulling her away. Auset's figure grew smaller and smaller as she was dragged further into the dark and then, just before she lost sight of the woman, she was sucked forcefully back into consciousness.
"Reese!"
She was struggling, trying to get free of the thing that had been dragging her away, but someone was holding her limbs down.
"Reese! Calm down, it's me!"
Awareness dawned on her then, the distinctive voice finally registering in her muddled brain. She blinked her eyes open and tried to bring the fuzzy images into focus.
"Auset?"
The hacker placed a warm palm on Reese's sweating forehead and smoothed back the pale bangs.
"Yeah, it's me."
"But how did...?" the question fell unsaid from her lips, amazement showing across her face.
"I got your brother's message and drove out right away," Auset stated simply. Reese remained silent for a moment, letting everything sink in.
"You...drove? All this way? What time is it?"
"A little after eleven...AM," her brother's voice piped up. Auset saw the question in Reese's eyes and answered before she could give voice to it.
"I drove all night."
"Oh," was all the blonde woman could manage to say. "Wow." Auset chuckled and sat down in the chair next to Reese's head.
"You were having another nightmare when she showed up. Quite a doozy too, but she helped calm you down," Andrew added, grinning happily at the tall woman who had suddenly burst onto the scene as he and some of the nurses had tried to get Reese to snap out of the dream.
"Thanks...I mean, for everything. For being here. You didn't have--"
"No, I did," Auset cut her off, giving one of her trademarked lop sided grins. The two just looked at each other for a silent moment, letting their eyes get reacquainted with the others' color. Andrew grabbed the hint that had been flying around his head and excused himself and the other nurses from the room.
When they'd gone, Reese tried to sit up a little, grunting as a sharp pain shot up her side. Auset helped position a pillow so that she could sit up a little more comfortably.
"Take it easy. You're shot, remember?" the hacker joked. Reese snorted and shook her head.
"How could I forget?" She paused, still staring at and not believing that Auset was really there. "I can't believe you're here."
"Believe it. I was finished in Dallas anyway," she said and shrugged. "I couldn't very well not come and make sure for myself that you were all right. That and the fact that some bastard is gonna pay for this and I plan on taking care of that."
"Auset, the police--"
"No, the police never get anything done. Whoever the sonofabitch is, I'll find out and make sure they never hurt anyone again," Auset growled, her eyes gone icy with malicious intent. Reese took one of the dark-haired woman's hands into her own and squeezed it as she stared intently into the blue eyes.
"Auset, I can't tell you how much it means that you've come all this way...but if you think I'm going to let you do something that might mean you being taken away from me..." she stated firmly, not really caring how it might sound. Auset was at a loss for words. After a moment of the battle between two very stubborn wills, she finally gave in, shoulders slumping in defeat.
"OK, I won't do anything, for now."
"Good enough," Reese said and allowed herself to relax a little.
"I was so...worried...when I got the message," Auset began clumsily, gazing down at their still clasped hands. "I didn't know...I thought...I just got here as fast as I could. I'm so glad you're all right."
Reese smiled happily and brought Auset's hand up to her lips and placed a brief kiss there. Had Auset been the blushing type, she would have been bright red then, but as it was she tried not to choke and focused her eyes on something very captivating on the floor. Deciding to grab the proverbial bull by the horns, Reese placed a finger to Auset's chin and gently raised the woman's face so that the suddenly timid blue eyes were on a level with hers again.
"I missed you," the blonde said quietly.
"I missed you too," Auset replied, her mind lost in the deep verdant gaze that had locked onto her own. Something passed between them then, something unseen but very much understood by both. They could see it in each other's eyes. It was very much like the thing Reese had felt in the beginning of her dream, that same peace. Before either parties involved were really aware of it, they had brought their faces closer together, barely an inch apart. Apprehension dawned on Auset's face but then disappeared in a flash when Reese closed the remaining distance between them and pressed warm lips against her own. A wonderfully calming sensation flooded through their senses as the kiss lingered, both lost in the overwhelming emotion that was conveyed through such a simple action. It was not fiery and did not leave either Reese of Auset hungry for anything else. It was simply a single action unto itself, something that was given and received with no strings attached.
As they each pulled away slowly, Auset opened her eyes to see that Reese still had hers shut, a magnificent smile affecting her entire face. The sight was infectious and Auset found herself smiling giddily in reaction. When the blonde finally opened her eyes, she just shook her head in amazement.
"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that for."
Auset chuckled. "Really," she replied sardonically. "Right back at ya."
Before anyone could say more, the door opened and Doctor Bremner entered, clipboard in hand. He looked up and paused for a moment, then continued forward until he stood on the opposite side of Reese's bed from Auset.
"Your tests show that everything went according to plan. Like I said though, you'll need to rest quite a bit for a while, take some medication that I'll prescribe for you, and come in after about a week so we can check the wound and redress it a few times."
"I need to go back to Chicago though," Reese interjected. Auset raised an eyebrow at her but remained prudently silent.
"Oh, I wasn't aware of that."
"I live there now. I was just in town to visit my brother."
"Well, you need to stay here in the hospital for at least a day, and then if all looks well I can discharge you and transfer your files to a hospital nearby to where you live," he offered, flipping through the pages on the clipboard.
"Thank you, Doctor."
He nodded and then walked over to the drip bag that was hanging nearby. The doctor replaced the near-empty bag with a new one, checked the tube that went into his patient's arm, and then exited the room again.
"Nice fella," Auset said. Reese smiled and turned her gaze back on the woman next to her. There were raised voices coming from the hallway all of the sudden, and then the door flew open again. Reese's eyes grew wide in recognition.
"Dad."
Auset reacted immediately, her body growing tense and her steely gaze immediately fixed on the large man that hovered in the doorway. Reese's father stood, flanked by two other men, all of them in uniform. He glared at his daughter and took a step forward.
"What the HELL is going on?"
"Harold, maybe we should wait. Your girl's shot," one of the uniformed men spoke up, addressing Reese's father who lead the group. The bigger man whirled around on his partner and shot him the nastiest look he could scrounge up.
"Jim, she's my daughter, stay outta this!"
Auset stood then, allowing all of her intimidating presence to come radiating out, and leveled a glare at her friends' father.
"Who the hell are you?" he growled out, eyeing the tall, dark-haired girl from head to foot apprehensively.
"A friend of Reese's. You should keep your voice down, we're in a hospital," Auset stated flatly. Harold just stared at her for a second and then took another few steps forward so that he stood at the foot of his daughter's bed. She looked up at him with weary but determined green eyes. He examined her, noting the dark circles under her oddly vibrant eyes and her completely disheveled gold hair . When he went to place his large hand on her head, Reese jerked away slightly.
"You told them we'd be there, didn't you?" It was more an accusation than a question. Reese had had only a moment to consider it, but when she remembered that her father had gotten their plans out of her brother and then just left him be, well, she was pretty sure the man had gone off and notified all the pro-life locals. It was something that, unfortunately, she would not put past him.
Harold blinked and then backed off a little.
"I-I don't know what you're talkin' about!" he countered. Auset only took her icy stare off the man for a brief second, her glance going to Reese as that revelation sunk in. Reese took a deep breath and went on.
"You told those people that we would be there yesterday. There was no other way they would have known." Her voice was soft but full of determination. The two other uniformed men shifted uncomfortably where they stood and went over the information over in their heads.
"What are you accusing me of?" Harold growled back, his own determination making a weary comeback. "Yeah Andrew told me about...about that whore's pregnancy! But ah have no idea what yer talkin' about young lady."
Doctor Bremner chose that moment to push his way into the room and took a position between Reese's bed and the slightly trembling figure of the police officer who had burst into the room without permission.
"What do you think you're doing, rushing in here like this?" he asked with one hand held up to stop the man from moving any further towards the patient.
"Ah am her father! Ah have every right to be in here!"
"Yes, sir, but you are also an officer of the law and should conduct yourself appropriately. Your daughter doesn't need to be exposed to any further stress at the moment," Bremner insisted. Harold's face went red with penned up rage but before he could lunge at the doctor, his two partners each grabbed an arm and restrained him.
"Harold! Calm down!" one of them yelled into the furious man's ear. Reese's father seemed to calm down as he lowered his head and stopped struggling. But then, as quickly as he had settled, Harold took advantage of not being gripped by the other officers and lunged towards the doctor and his daughter.
His journey was stopped very short, however, when a strong body rammed into his front and the force of the impact sent both Auset and Harold sprawling onto the floor. Auset had seen exactly what the man intended to do and immediately rushed to intercept him, her own fury erupting at the thought of Harold laying one more hand on his own daughter.
Her hands pinned Harold's shoulders to the ground and she used her knees to secure his legs in place. Staring hard into the man's eyes, her face a show of pure anger and power, she lowered her voice to a menacing rumble and spoke into his ear.
"You will never touch Reese in anger again so long as I live, asshole. And you will not harm anyone else in this room either." She removed one hand from a shoulder and gripped Harold's straining neck. "Now I suggest you calm down and get the hell out of this room before I do something to you that we all regret."
Harold had never lost a fight in his life. How in the hell this woman was able to keep him pinned was beyond him, but it was true. He could not move.
"Git off me," he managed to growl out. Auset's vice grip on his neck was starting to impede his ability to breathe.
"Auset," a quiet voice broke into the dark-haired woman's thoughts. Auset's glance went over to her friend. Reese was staring at her, green eyes tired and pleading. "Please, not like this." How could she resist? As much as her instincts were telling her to just choke the life out of the slimy bastard, she would not go against Reese's wishes. The man was her father, even if he was a complete asshole.
Reluctantly, Auset released her grip on his neck and stood up. Harold took that as his cue to also get to his feet. He rubbed his neck a little gingerly and backed up so that he stood with the other two policemen. Doctor Bremner cleared his throat and spoke up.
"Would you men wait outside one moment please? I'll be right with you."
The two other officers nodded and then ushered Harold out of the room. Bremner turned back to face the two women. Auset was still standing rigid, her eyes turned down.
"Thank you," Reese said and placed a comforting hand on the small of Auset's back. She could feel the muscles in the dark-haired woman's back in tense bunches, but after a moment they relaxed substantially and she heard Auset release a long breath.
"I'm sorry about that, but we didn't realize they would..." Bremner paused and shook his head wearily. "I'll deal with them outside. Be back in a minute."
There was a moment's silence, but suddenly Reese made a wincing noise and Auset turned to find out what had hurt her. The blonde glanced sheepishly down at the slightly bleeding hole in her arm from where the IV had been ripped out when she had gotten out of bed.
"Oops," she said, which elicited a quiet chuckle from her taller friend.
"Let's get you back in bed, huh?" Auset suggested and at Reese's nod of approval, she helped resituate the writer on the mattress.
"How did you..." Reese started, shook her head slightly, and then went on. "I thought you'd be working longer than that. And then you drove all the way here from Chicago?" Auset shrugged depreciatingly. "Thank you."
"Nothing less," the hacker stated simply. Reese smiled, really happy for the first time since coming to Flora. Odd too, she mused, seeing as she was lying shot in the hospital, her father pacing around outside in a fury. But Auset had...come to her rescue? Yeah, it sure felt like it.
"What happened in Dallas?" Reese inquired softly as she pressed a hand to Auset's thigh to get her to sit back down. The hacker looked introspective for a moment and then settled her blue gaze back on Reese's face.
"Long story. How about I tell you all about it when you're rested and we're back in Chicago."
Gods, that sounded good. "All right, I can wait for that," Reese agreed, grinning even more broadly than before.
"Harold, is it true? Did you tell them folks about yer kids bein' at the clinic yesterday?" the larger of the two other policemen asked his still calming partner. Reese's father's head snapped up and he scowled at the man.
"Ian, are you suggesting that I told that sicko to shoot my own daughter?" he hissed. Ian threw his hands up in a defensive gesture.
"No, no Harold. Calm the hell down. But did you? Tell them, I mean."
Harold got up out of the chair he'd been sitting in and squared off with the other officer. "Yeah I told 'em, what's it matter? I thought maybe the fundies could scare the piss out of those good-for-nothin'..." He let out a frustrated growl and went on. "That whore my boy insists on seein' got pregnant, an' there was no way in hell I was gonna let that ruin my son's life! Ah did not know some idiot was gonna shoot Reese, if that is what you are implying."
"No, I know that you didn't do that. But Harold," Ian went on, internally disbelieving that the man had actually sent those crazies after his own children. "This won't look good at all."
"Fucked if I care," Harold grumbled as he sat back down.
"You're fucked either way," the other officer finally spoke up. He was the thinnest and tallest of the three, his dark brown hair cut in a short military style and a days worth of stubble accumulated on his cheeks. Harold fixed his angry glare on his other partner and scowled. "Harold, you've screwed up one too many times. There's no covering for your ass anymore, not by us." Here he looked to Ian for support, who nodded once. "You deal with the consequences on your own this time. I'm going to go interview your girl soon as the doctor says I can and then we're going to go fill out the initial report so we can get lookin' for the fella who shot her. I suggest you go home, sober up, and then come in to the station...and pray that all they do is fire your butt."
The two officers went in search of Doctor Bremner then and left Harold to his own thoughts. The sudden retaliation from one of his own partners had caught the man off guard. Damn.
An hour later, the police's interview with Reese was over and the blonde slumped back in the bed and let out a long sigh of exhaustion. Her side was killing her, regardless of the painkillers they were injecting her with, and then there was the grogginess that came with them. All she wanted was to slip back into the relaxing oblivion of sleep.
"She looks pretty ready to crash," Bremner offered. Reese mumbled some sort of agreement and Auset grinned.
"If you don't mind, I'd like to stay with...stay here, 'til she wakes up?" Auset asked quietly. The young doctor smiled knowingly and nodded.
"Sweet dreams, Reese. Get some rest and hopefully you'll be OK in a day or so." This time all the writer could manage was a soft grunt, to which both doctor and hacker chuckled. Bremner winked at Auset and then left the room, making sure to close the door behind him and shut off all but a very dim light. It was still just mid-afternoon, so Auset had enough light to see the lines of worry and exhaustion on her friend's face slowly relaxing into sleep. Must have been a rough couple of days.
Auset used her hand to gently smooth a few locks of gold hair back from Reese's forehead and just looked at her for a moment, glad to be away from the problems in Dallas, away from Sera. At least for now.
Chapter 13
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