Title: If Alex Fell: Fate
Author: Frohike
Email: frohike51@aol.com
Rating: R
Category: Krycek/other romance
Spoilers: Don't think there's anything in there to spoil your dinner...um...viewing experience, I mean.
Distribution: Anywhere you'll have me. Just leave my name and email address intact and drop me a line so I can come and visit.
Disclaimer: Alex isn't mine, damn it! He belongs to the Master of Yuppie Morbidity and 1013 Productions. You Can Close Your
Eyes by James Taylor, is reprinted without permission and with no malice aforethought. Any brand names mentioned are registered trademarks, a fact I would have indicated within the text, if I could figure out how to make the little registered trademark thingie. I've stolen bits and pieces of Monty Python routines; again, no malice intended. Spam for the house! Alias Smith and Jones was a real TV show; you can catch it on TVLand, if you're so inclined. All movies mentioned are also real and available at low budget video stores everywhere. Harlan Ellison belongs to himself. Katie, Matthew and Tyler are mine all mine.
This is part one of a series that will go on until I can't stand it anymore.
Thanks to Mim for reading this at every stage of its inception.
Feedback: Yes, please. Praise will make my day. Flames will be used to lure Alex to my door. Either way, I win. Can you say 'incendiary device'? Sorry, inside joke. Talk to me people.
Late October, 2000
She turned her collar up against the biting wind. The weather had taken a turn for the worse in the last half -hour. Not a great time to be out for a late night stroll, but something tugged at her and staying home only made it worse. Some nights were like that, a nagging sensation that refused to go away until she walked it out; too many thoughts, too many ideas, too many nights alone contributing to the general frustration and emptiness in her life. The back streets of town were no place to be alone this late, but this was her home and she knew every turn, every corner, every inch of the darkness, by heart. The streets gave her a sense of security and belonging. She could close her eyes and shut out the loneliness.
A loud clap of thunder startled her out of her reverie. Her nose had barely registered the telltale smell of ozone, when second clap sounded. She picked up the pace, hoping to get back home before the rain began. Around the next corner, she could cut through the alley behind Bandits, a local pool hall/pub.
A few feet from the corner, she heard a shot and pressed herself up against the brick wall of an office building. Her writer's sense of humor kicked in as she watched two men run from the alley and disappear down the street. 'It was a dark and stormy night. Suddenly a shot rang out,' she thought with a grin. The grin faded as she rounded the corner and saw a body slumped against the dumpster. Without a second thought, she ran toward it. The man was breathing, but unconscious. His left arm was dangling at a peculiar angle, by his right; she found a small handgun. She hoped that meant he had been the shooter and not the shootee. Checking him over, she found no evidence of a gunshot wound, lots of blood, but none coming from a new hole in his body. His nose was bleeding and he had a number of cuts on his face. He was breathing like his ribs hurt and when she touched him there, he whimpered and his eyes fluttered open.
"Hey, buddy, what's your name?" she asked him.
"Alex," he whispered.
"Well, Alex, looks like we need to get you some help."
"No hospital," he coughed, just before passing out.
She pulled the cell phone out of her pocket and dialed the only person she could rely on.
"Hey Kid, it's me. I need your help. No, I'm behind Bandits. Yes, I know what time it is. Look, just get over here, will you? Oh, Kid, bring your bag. Thanks babe, I knew I could count on you."
She folded the phone and dropped it back into her pocket.
"Hold on, Alex, the cavalry is on its way."
Another clap of thunder struck. This one wasn't as loud as the previous two, but with it came the rain. There was no overhang in the alley, so she took off her coat and held it over them in a vain attempt to keep dry. Ten minutes later, when Kid arrived, they were soaked to the bone.
Kid got out of the car, leaving his headlights on, to illuminate the darkened alley.
"Hanna?"
"Down here, Kid. Over by the dumpster." She stood up and waved at him.
"Jesus, you're soaked. What the Hell are you..." he complained, as he approached the dumpster. The body at her feet cut off his words. "Oh God, Hanna, what have you done this time?"
She frowned at him. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Kid. I haven't done anything. I was out walking. I heard a shot, saw a couple guys running and when I turned the corner, there he was. Looks like he was responsible for the gunfire, since the gun's over there and I couldn't find a bullet hole in him. Whoever he was firing at beat him up bad though. His face is a mess, I think he may have a broken rib and his left arm scares the shit out of me. I didn't even try to touch it."
Kid knelt down to take a look at the man on the ground. The rain was coming down harder and he couldn't see for all the water running into his eyes. He looked at the gun on the ground. Without a second thought, he picked it up and put it in his coat pocket for safekeeping. Kid had no intention of returning it to this man, but he didn't want to leave it on the ground either.
"Hanna, why didn't you just call an ambulance?"
"He said he didn't want to go to a hospital."
"You spoke to him?"
"Yeah, just for a second. His name's Alex and he doesn't want to go to a hospital. That's all I know. Please Kid, help him," she pleaded.
Kid sighed. For as long as they'd known each other, Hanna had been the one to pick up every stray. Usually, she kept herself to strays of the canine or feline variety, but every so often, one of the human variety struck her fancy. He should know; he was her first human stray.
October, 1971
Katie Heyes wandered the playground looking for something to do. At ten years old, she didn't fit in with the other girls in the class. Barbie dolls bored her, Easy Bake ovens were for wimps and if she had to listen to one more discussion about who was cuter, Donny Osmond or Bobby Sherman, she'd surely puke up a lung
Ordinarily, finding something to do wasn't a big problem. Ordinarily, she'd be playing kickball with the rest of the guys. Ordinarily, she wouldn't have her ankle wrapped in plaster, thanks to a patch of oil on the garage floor. Her dad had been changing the oil in the car, when the pan tipped, dumping the contents. While he was inside getting a bag of kitty litter to sop up the mess, Katie had come running into the garage and slipped on the spill, fracturing her ankle. It could have been worse, she supposed, at least she had on a walking cast, so she wasn't confined to the house or the classroom. She couldn't stand being confined or being still, so she walked everywhere, endlessly. It drove her parents crazy, but her grandmother understood and supported her. The last time she'd gone walkabout, her parents had yelled at her for almost a half-hour until her grandmother intervened.
"'The man who follows the crowd will usually get no further than the crowd. The man who walks alone is likely to find himself in places no one has ever been.' Leave the child alone. Her walks hurt no one. She's good girl, don't take away that which gives her comfort. Katrina, promise me you will tell your parents when you decide to go walking next time. They worry when you disappear, that's why they yell."
She promised and rarely forgot after that. The yelling stopped as well. They still didn't like seeing her go, but grandmother had spoken and her parents accepted her wisdom. Grandmother was her hero and her best friend. Grandmother had also come to stay with them, while she waited to die. Katie refused to think about the cancer that was slowly sucking the life out of her grandmother, believing, as all children do, that if she didn't think about it, it wouldn't happen.
Katie wandered the playground until she saw the new kid sitting on the swings by himself. He wasn't in her class, but she'd seen him come in to school the day before. She had a funny feeling about him, like they were supposed to be together. He looked nice enough, so she decided to introduce herself.
"Hi, I'm Katie Heyes. What's your name?"
"Matthew. Matthew Curry."
Katie giggled at his name. "Matthew Curry? Really? Your last name is Curry?"
"Yeah, so what?" Matthew replied, indignantly. Great, someone had finally come over to talk to him, only to laugh at his name.
Don't you watch TV? We're famous outlaws," Katie said, with a grin.
"What are you talking about?"
Katie sighed. "Alias Smith and Jones, don't you watch it? It's so cool. My last name is Heyes and yours is Curry, just like the two guys on the show, Kid Curry and Hannibal Heyes. It's my favorite show in the whole world; haven't you seen it yet?"
"Oh yeah! I love that show," he smiled. "Man, I can't believe I didn't get it right away. I don't know any girls who like that show. At my last school, none of the girls would be caught dead watching Westerns."
"I'm not like most girls. I love Westerns and playing ball and climbing trees and walking all over the place. I hate stupid Barbie and Donny Osmond and Bobby Sherman and all that other girl junk that everyone else likes." She paused and looked at him. "You're going to think this is weird, but I have a feeling that we're supposed to be friends."
Matthew laughed. They spent the rest of recess together on the swings, talking. After school, Matthew waited for her outside of her classroom and they walked home together. As luck would have it, Matthew's dad had bought a house the next street over from Katie's, so they were practically neighbors. She brought Matthew inside and introduced him to her mom and grandmother, then they walked down to his house. His mother welcomed her with open arms and offered them both an after school snack of warm chocolate chip cookies and milk.
"You know what, Matthew? I think I'm going to start calling you Kid and you should call me Hannibal. We've got the last names already; we might as well go for the gold. Whadda you think?" Katie asked, with a mouthful of chocolate chip cookie.
"That's cool with me," Matthew said, "but Hannibal's a boys name. How about just Hanna? That's a girl's name and it's shorter than Hannibal is, too."
Katie frowned, then rolled the name around in her head. Hanna Heyes. Hmmm. That's not too bad, actually. "OK, Hanna it is."
Present day
"Let's get him into the car, then. Where do you want to take him, Hanna?"
She looked at him. He already knew the answer to that question; he just wanted her to say it so that he could have something else to bitch about. "Where do you think?"
Matthew frowned and launched into tirade. "Hanna! You don't even know this guy! This is not one of your stray kittens, this is a man with a gun, for crying out loud."
She set her jaw and glared at him. "Kid, are you going to help me pick him up or are you going to stand there getting wetter and wetter, while I do it myself?"
Kid sighed. He knew that face; there was no point in arguing with her. One thing he'd learned early on was that once she set her mind on something, no one could talk her out of it. She was right, more often than not, but still.
"Fine. You grab his legs, I'll grab his arms and we'll hoist him into the back seat."
He knelt down to get a grip on Alex's shoulders, but felt something odd under the jacket. Feeling his way down, he was startled to find that the arm ended about six inches from the shoulder. That explained the position of the arm, at least.
"Hey Hanna, check this out."
He reached down and twisted the prosthesis completely around. Katie yelped.
"Jesus, Kid, isn't he hurt enough? What are you doing to him?"
Matthew laughed. "It's a prosthetic arm, Hanna. Your stray's an amputee."
"His name is Alex, Kid, and I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't do that again. Geez, you scared the crap out of me," she said, letting out a breath. "I guess this means his arm's not broken, that's a plus." She shivered in the cold rain. "Can we get him in the car already? It's cold and wet and I'd really like you take a look at his injuries before we all drown."
They grabbed Alex and got him into the back seat. Alex whimpered and struggled a little, but didn't wake up. They drove in silence back to Katie's loft. Matthew was trying to figure out how to persuade his friend from taking this guy upstairs, while Katie was keeping a watchful eye on her charge. She knew that Matthew was dying to fight with her about this, but she also knew he'd give in, he always did.
Matthew pulled up in front of Katie's building. She got out and opened the front door, while Matthew opened the car door. They had a much harder time getting him out, but finally, they were able to pull him from the vehicle and into the waiting elevator. Upstairs, they carried Alex into the spare room and placed him carefully on edge of the bed.
"Hold him up for a minute, Kid. Let me get him out of these wet things." She removed Alex's jacket, sweater, T-shirt and arm. He had fresh bruises on his chest, stomach and ribs. "Oh my God, look at this."
Matthew didn't say a word. Katie pulled down the blankets. "Let's get the rest of his things off and get him into bed." She sat down on the floor and wrestled with the boots. They came off after much tugging, followed by his soaking socks. Getting up, she had Matthew lower Alex to the mattress, then reached for the button on his jeans and popped it. She pulled at the zipper, then slowly attempted to peel the jeans from Alex's body. The wet denim put up a good fight, but Katie succeeded in removing the saturated garment, along with the briefs they were hiding. Her eyes traveled up his body, but stopped short when she saw his right knee. It was swollen to twice its normal size and purple.
"Oh God, Alex," she gasped.
"Damn, Hanna. Someone really did a number on this guy."
"I can see that. Help me slide him up here, then you can check him out, while I go get him something to wear. I'll bring you some dry clothes, too," she added. "What should I do with this?" she asked, holding up the arm.
"Hang it up somewhere so the chest harness can dry."
About ten minutes later, Katie returned, wearing dry clothes and bearing same for both Matthew and Alex.
"So, what's the verdict on the patient?" she asked, as she began to put a pair of sweat pants on Alex.
"Without an x-ray, I can't be sure, but I think he has a couple of cracked ribs. His knee is messed up pretty bad, but I don't think that the kneecap is broken; again, I'd need an x-ray. The cuts on his face aren't as bad as they look. Once we get him cleaned up a little more, I'll put some antibiotic cream on them. This one over his eye is going to need a couple of stitches. He's got a nasty bump on the back of his head that needs to be iced. I have a feeling he has a concussion. Other than that, he's badly bruised and will probably hurt like Hell for the next few weeks. He belongs in a hospital, Hanna."
"I'm not taking him to the hospital. He said 'no hospital' and I'm not going to put him somewhere he doesn't want to be."
'Damn it!' he thought. 'Hanna and her intense distrust of hospitals.' She watched her grandmother being taken to the hospital, against her will, in the last few days of her life. Her grandmother had begged Katie's parents to leave her alone, to let her die in her own bed surrounded by her family. Her parents hadn't listened. They meant well, but in the end, Katie's grandmother had died in the early hours of the morning, with no one around to hold her hand. Katie never quite forgave her parents for that and she vowed she'd never set foot in a hospital again. When Matthew told her that he was going to be doctor, she hadn't spoken to him for weeks. Her anger passed and she became his biggest champion, but she made him promise that she would never have to set foot in that place.
"Hanna, what if he dies? What if he's bleeding internally? I can't see inside his body," Matthew argued.
Katie sat down on the bed next to Alex and pushed the hair away from his forehead. "Lift him up so I can get this sweatshirt on. He needs to have something covering his chest."
"Hanna."
"He's not going to die, Kid. I won't let him," she whispered. "Are you going to stitch him up? He's starting to bleed through the gauze." Matthew frowned, but reached into his medical bag for needle and surgical thread. "You're going to have to hold on to him, in case he tries to fight me. I'd numb the spot, but I think it might be better to try it without first. Should only take two, maybe three stitches to close it. Besides, I'd feel better if he did wake up."
Katie nodded and moved Alex's head into her lap. She placed a hand on either side of his face and held tightly as Matthew took the first stitch. Alex twitched, but didn't wake up. The second and third stitches barely registered a reaction. When Matthew was done, she gently slid Alex's head onto the pillow and pulled the blankets up around him. She reached back to turn the light off, on their way out of the room.
Matthew dropped his bag on the table beside the couch. "I'd better call Tyler and tell him I won't be coming home tonight."
"What do you mean you won't be going home? I'm sure Tyler's already pissed off at me for calling you out in the middle of the night." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Go home. I'll call you if I need anything."
"Hanna, I don't like the idea of you being alone with this guy."
"Go home, Kid. I'll be fine. Give Tyler a big, wet one for me, OK?"
"Hanna," he started. The look on her face told him that arguing was pointless. "Promise you'll call me when he wakes up. I want to ask him a few questions."
"I will."
Matthew shook his head and opened his bag. "I'm leaving you a couple of dressings for his stitches, just in case he breaks them open or they start to seep. Here's the antibiotic cream. I'll be by later this morning to change the dressing myself, but if you have to do it before I get here, be sure to put this on the wound. You're going to have to watch him. If he wakes up, ask him if he's dizzy or nauseated or if he's seeing double. Call me if he says yes to any of these, Hanna. Ice his leg for fifteen minutes every hour, to see if we can get the swelling down. Oh, if he starts to run a fever, call me. Got all that?"
"Yes Dr. Curry. Anything else?" Katie teased. "It's all common sense, Kid, I think I can handle it. Go home."
"OK, I'll be back in a few hours. This is a stupid thing you're doing."
"Maybe, but I have a feeling about this one. I think he's supposed to be here with me."
Matthew let his head drop. "A feeling, Hanna?"
She shrugged. "They've always served me well, haven't they?"
He shook his head and sighed. "I guess they have. Night, Hanna."
"Night, Kid."
A short time later, Alex tossed and turned, then cried out. Katie woke up and rushed to his bedside. He was muttering something, in Russian. So, the plot thickens, she thought. Her grandmother had emigrated from Russia as a young bride, but had not passed the language down to her children. "We are in America," she explained to her husband, "our children should speak English." And that was that. In the last few months of her life, her grandmother had taught her a few words and a lullaby, of sorts. She didn't remember most of the individual words now, but the lullaby had stayed with her. As Alex became more agitated, she sat down beside him on the bed and stroked his hair. Her movements seemed to calm him, but before she realized what she was doing, she found herself singing her grandmother's song.
Sleep, Little Snow Girl, sleep,
Our tasty bun so sweet,
Rolled from the snow of spring,
Warmed by the sun of spring.
We'll give you drink a-plenty,
We'll give you food galore,
And make you such a pretty dress
And teach you four times four
Not exactly a lullaby for a grown man, but it was the only Russian she knew, it would have to suffice. It seemed to do the trick, for by the third time, Alex had stopped tossing and had fallen into a sound sleep.
Alex woke up at 4 AM, sore as Hell, with no idea where he was and a desperate need to pee. He tried to swing his legs over to the side of the bed, but shooting pain in his knee and ribcage caught him by surprise. He cried out, waking Katie. "Easy there, Alex. Don't try to do too much moving around. Just tell me what you need and I'll get it for you," Katie offered, as she turned on the light.
"I need to pee," he stated bluntly, squinting as the light assaulted his eyes. "And if you can do that for me, darling, go right ahead."
Katie smiled. "OK, so that one's out of my range of expertise. I don't have a bedpan handy, so I guess you'll have to use me as a crutch."
She pulled back the blankets and slid her hands under his legs. "Look, you have a swollen knee and a couple of cracked ribs, so don't try to move to quickly. I'm going to slide your legs over to the side of the bed, then help you sit up. It's going to hurt, but I don't know of any other way to get you where you need to go." Katie looked him in the eyes; I knew they'd be green, she thought. "Ready?"
He nodded and she began to move his legs. "Tell me if you want me to stop." He winced and bit the inside of his mouth, to hold back the screams he felt surging up from his belly. When his legs were hanging over the side of the bed, she slid her arms around his back. "You push, I'll pull and between the two of us, we should be able to bring you to a sitting position."
"No, don't. I can sit up all by myself, thank you."
"OK, go for it."
He pushed himself part of the way up, then a sharp pain in his ribs made his stop.
"Sure you don't want some help?" Katie asked.
"Maybe a little," he conceded.
Together, they managed to get him sitting upright. He couldn't bend his right knee and his head was swimming in pain. He looked at the woman standing over him. "Now what?" he asked. "I don't think you're going to be able to support me."
"I was just thinking that very same thing," Katie replied. "Let me think."
"Think fast, or pretty soon, it's going to be a moot point."
"OH! Hang on, I've got just the thing."
She ran out of the room. He could hear the sound of something being moved across the floor, then she burst through the door, full of smiles.
"How's this?" she asked, pointing to a rolling desk chair. "We can slide you onto the seat and I can roll you over to the bathroom."
He smiled for the first time since waking up. "That just might work."
She pushed the chair over to the side of the bed and held it in place while he scooted onto it. The movement caused him a great deal of pain, but he supposed that was something he'd have to get used to.
When he was fully on the seat, Katie pushed him out the door and over to the bathroom. She pushed the chair up against the toilet, close enough for him to slide over. The problem was, she'd have to hold the chair so that it didn't slip in the process.
"Gee, this arrangement doesn't give you much privacy. I'll turn my back while you slide over and, if you want, I can duck out until you're done. Then I can come back and hold the chair again. How does that sound?" she asked.
She needn't have bothered, since by the time she'd gotten the words out of her mouth, he was already taking care of business.
"Or, I could just stay here and wait," she added, averting her eyes.
She felt the seat move, signaling his return. He reached over and flushed the toilet. "I appreciate the thought, but my bladder was in no condition to argue with my sense of modesty."
"No problem. Now that we have the bathroom situation taken care of, let's get you back to bed." A thought hit her.
"Alex? I hate to ask, but Matthew will want to know. Did you notice any blood in your urine?"
"No," he yawned, "everything looked normal."
She rolled him back to the bedroom and helped him onto the bed.
"Can I ask you a question now?"
Katie sat down in the recliner. "Sure, what do you want to know?"
"For starters, who are you, where am I and how do you know my name?"
"Oh good, easy questions. I'm Katie Heyes, you're in my loft, which isn't too far from the alley where I found you and you told me your name a few hours ago. Matter of fact, you said exactly three words to me. The first being your name, the other two 'no hospital', which is why you're here instead of there."
"Well, Katie Heyes, it's nice to meet you. I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but isn't bringing a strange man up to your loft a pretty stupid thing to do? You don't know anything about me, except my name and my interest in staying out of hospitals."
"Do me a favor," Katie said, with a grin. "Say that to my friend, Matthew, when he gets here later. He said the same thing to me last night and I know he'll get a kick out of hearing it come from you."
"Who's Matthew?" he asked, stifling a yawn.
"Dr. Matthew Curry. My best friend in the world. I called him after I found you last night. He helped bring you here. He cleaned you up, stitched your eye back together and gave you a thorough check up. He is of the opinion that this is a stupid idea as well and that you should be in the hospital right now. You'll get to meet him before too long; he'll be stopping by to check on you. What else do you want to know?"
He yawned again; wincing in pain as his lungs tried to suck in a deep breath. "Everything, but not right now. I think I'd like to go back to sleep."
Katie nodded her head and pulled the blanket up around her. "Good idea, think I'll catch a little nap myself." Just as she started to get comfortable, she remembered something Matthew had told her. " Oh damn, Matthew said that we're supposed to be icing that knee." She started to get up from the chair to get the ice pack, but Alex stopped her.
"Not right now, I'll never get back to sleep with the ice on it. Wait until later, it's not going anywhere."
"You sure? It looks pretty bad."
"Yeah, just leave it alone, for now."
"OK, just don't tell Matthew I let it slide."
"It'll be our little secret," he replied, sleepily.
Sleep well, Alex."
"You too, Katie."
At 6:45, Alex cried out again. Katie called over to him, but he didn't respond to her words. He struggled and fought with the blankets, saying those words in Russian that she couldn't quite make out.
She went to his side and sat down next to him on the bed. Stroking his hair, she began to sing her lullaby. His thrashing ceased soon after she started. He could hear her, even if he couldn't find his way back to consciousness. When his breathing seemed normal, she stopped singing and prepared to go back to her chair. As she lifted her body from the bed, Alex mumbled something else in Russian, two words she did understand, no mama. She settled back down on the bed and sang a little longer. He sighed and nuzzled his head against her leg.
At 7:30, she had to get up. Sitting with her back up against the headboard of the bed had become unbearably uncomfortable. She got up, stretched out a little and waited to see if he would notice that she'd moved. When it looked like he was going to remain quiet, she decided to risk leaving him long enough to grab a quick shower. Twenty minutes later, freshly showered and kink-free, she returned to check on him. Laying her hand on his forehead, she was horrified to discover that he was burning up with fever.
"Damn it, Alex! I can't leave you alone for a minute, can I?"
She hurried out to the phone to call Matthew.
"Kid, it's me. He's running a fever. No, he was fine twenty minutes ago when I left him to go take a shower, now he's burning up. No, I don't know how high, I didn't check. Do you want me to get the thermometer and call you back? OK, great. See you in few."
She went into the bathroom and grabbed the thermometer. Turning it on, she held it in his ear and pushed down on the button, 103.2. She took his temperature two more times, just to be sure. The thermometer read the same each time.
"Oh Alex, I don't know if I'm going to be able to keep you out of the hospital now," she said, as she paced the floor. "What do I do? Think." She paced back and forth, over and over, until she remembered the ice pack and ran to the kitchen. "OK, Alex, this is sneaky, but it's our only shot at keeping you here." Pulling back the covers, she placed the ice pack on his knee, hoping it would bring his temp down a little, at least enough to keep Matthew from pulling rank on her and calling for an ambulance. "Come on ice, do your stuff. If you can hear me, Alex, think cool thoughts."
Twenty minutes later, the door opened and Matthew rushed to the bedroom. He nodded to Katie, then placed his hand on Alex's head. Frowning, he opened his bag and pulled out a thermometer. "Have you taken his temp?"
"No," she lied.
He turned back toward his patient and looked at the thermometer. 102.9. "It's pretty high, Hanna." He showed her the thermometer and inwardly, she breathed a sigh of relief. Under 103 meant she stood a chance of keeping him here.
"He was fine early this morning. We had a nice conversation."
"You spoke to him? Was he dizzy or nauseated or seeing double? Did he know who he was?"
"God, slow down, Kid. He woke up and tried to get out of bed to go to the bathroom. He screamed, I woke up and I went over to help him. It wasn't easy, but we devised a way to get him into the bathroom, so that he could answer the call. Afterwards, I brought him back in here and got him into bed again. So you know, he agrees with you about this being a stupid idea, but he's glad that we didn't take him to the hospital. And no, until this fever, he wasn't showing any of those symptoms."
"Was there blood in his urine?"
"I knew you'd want to know that, so I asked him and he said everything was normal."
Matthew pulled out his stethoscope and listened to Alex's heart and lungs. The beat was strong and his lungs seemed clear, both good signs. The fever concerned him and he still believed that this guy belonged in the hospital, but Matthew wasn't ready to force the issue quite yet.
"Here's the thing, Hanna. This guy belongs in the hospital." She opened her mouth to protest, but he cut her off.
"Let me finish. He belongs in a hospital, but I'm not going to insist you let me take him there. Not yet anyway."
Katie smiled and threw her arms around him. "Thank you."
He peeled her off of his neck and pushed her back. "Look, I'm doing this against my better judgment, so you have to promise me you'll do exactly as I say. As much as I've come to trust your feelings, I'm not willing to endanger this man's life for them. I'm giving you more space than I should, already."
"I know you are and I appreciate it. Alex appreciates it too, even if he can't tell you so himself." She leaned over Alex and brushed the hair away from his forehead. "He's going to be just fine. We're going to have a bad few days, but he's going to be fine. I can feel it."
Matthew gave her a long list of things to do and symptoms to watch for, before leaving for work. She had strict instructions to call him, should Alex's fever get any higher. He stared at her when she promised she'd call, knowing fully well that she was lying through her teeth. 'I hope you know what you're doing, Hanna. I hope I know what I'm doing, too,' he thought.
Every hour, on the hour, Katie checked Alex's temperature. It stayed right at 102.9, even after removing the ice pack. At noon, she noticed his lips getting dry and decided she had to do something to keep him from dehydrating. Her first thought was to try dripping water into his mouth, but she was afraid it might end up in his lungs. Instead, she went into the bathroom and prepared a damp washcloth. First, she moistened his lips, then she placed the cloth on his forehead. It wasn't much, but it was the safest thing she could come up with. At 2:30, he had another bout of restlessness. This one wasn't as bad as the others, he tossed some and whimpered in pain, but he wasn't talking in his sleep. Katie sat next to him, cradling his head and singing softly.
Tyler showed up at 5:15 with a pot full of beef stew and a bottle of wine. He headed directly to the kitchen and put the pot on the stove.
"What's the occasion, Tyler?"
"Matthew told me about your newest house guest. Knowing you, I figured that you'd get so involved in your latest project that you'd forget about food. I called the hospital and told him to meet me here for dinner. This way I know you'll both eat something tonight."
Katie smiled. "Why Tyler, you care about me after all. I'm touched," she teased.
"No I don't," he teased back. "I just want to stay in your good graces so that you'll leave me the loft in your will."
She chuckled. "It's going to Matthew, but I suppose he'll let you stay here," she replied, just before kissing his cheek.
"Thanks, Ty. This was really nice of you to do."
"No problem. I'm still pretty pissed at you for dragging Matthew out of bed last night though. Can I see what was so damned important?"
"Go ahead. He's in the bedroom."
Tyler crossed to the bedroom and peered in from the doorway.
"Is he awake?" she asked, hopefully.
"No." He walked into the room to get a better look. Katie followed a minute later and found him staring intently at Alex.
"God, Katie. He's beautiful. You're forgiven," he whispered.
"He is, isn't he. I'm glad you approve." She slipped an arm around him and gave him squeeze. "Stop staring, you're spoken for," she said, with a wink and a nudge.
"I can look. I'm married, not dead," he replied, returning her squeeze. "I'm going to go stir the stew. Matthew should be here around 6, so we can eat then."
"Sounds good. I'll be out in a bit. I want to check Alex's temperature and take a look at his knee before Kid gets here."
Tyler nodded and left to tend to the stew. Katie pulled back the blankets and touched Alex's knee. It felt a little less swollen than before, so she decided to try and pull the pant leg up to take a real look. She got the pant leg part of the way up his calf, before he stiffened and cried out. Katie pulled the pant leg down quickly and rushed to comfort him. She kneeled down on the floor and touched his face.
"Shhh, Alex. I'm sorry. It's okay, everything's okay."
He moaned and tried to move, hurting his ribs in the process. "No, no. Mama make it stop," he cried, in Russian. This time, she understood his words.
"I'll try, Alexei," she whispered. "I'll try." She kissed his forehead, leaving her lips there a little longer than necessary. Then, resting her forehead against his, she sang to him, softly, until he was calm once again.
Tyler stood silently in the doorway of the bedroom, listening to Katie sing to this stranger. He'd only come back to ask if she wanted him to make some biscuits to go with the stew; he hadn't meant to intrude, but he couldn't stop himself from watching the scene unfold. About the third go 'round of the song, he made the decision to walk away before she noticed he was there. Thirty minutes later, when Matthew arrived, she was still there, fast asleep, at Alex's side.
"How long has she been there?" he asked Tyler.
"In the room? About forty-five minutes. Asleep? No more than twenty."
"What was she doing anyway?"
Tyler told him about going in to see Alex and about Katie staying to check on his knee. When he reached the part about Katie singing to him, Matthew sighed and rubbed his eyes. "I'd better wake her up, before she hurts something."
"Good idea. I'll go put dinner on. Do you have to go back to the hospital tonight?"
"No. Why?"
"I brought wine. Didn't want to pour you a glass if you had to go back."
"Pour freely, my dear, I think I'm going to need it," he replied.
Matthew walked into the room and squatted down beside Katie. "Hey, sleepyhead. Wake up," he crooned softly. "Dinner's ready."
Katie opened her eyes and tried to focus.
"Welcome back. Dinner's ready."
"Oh, I guess I fell asleep," she said, rubbing her eyes. "What time is it?'
"Just after six. Tyler says you haven't been asleep for too long. Think you can stand up or do you need help?"
She pushed away from the bed and stretched her back. "Not sure yet." She tried to move, but found her legs asleep. "Nope, the legs have checked out for the moment. I think you're going to have to help me up."
He grabbed her under the arms and pulled, bringing her to her feet.
"Ow," she said. "I'm getting to old for this shit." She stretched her legs until the circulation returned. "While you're in here, would you take a look at his knee? I think the swelling's gone down. I tried to look earlier, but he started tossing and turning."
"Yeah, let's take a look." He reached over and placed his hand on Alex's knee, gently pushing all around the kneecap. "Oh yeah, it's gone down quite a bit. Have you been icing it down all day?"
"Of course I have. He's overdue for it now, since I fell asleep, but up until
Tyler got here, I had ice on it every hour, as instructed."
He reached over and put his hand on Alex's forehead. "He's still running a fever. Get my bag, I want to see where he's at."
Katie left the room and grabbed his bag from the table by the couch. Tyler was taking the plates to the table. She held up her finger. "We'll be right out, Ty. Just need to take Alex's temp."
She put the bag down on the recliner, reached in and pulled out the thermometer. Matthew was relieved to find that Alex's temp had dropped since he'd last been there.
"Well? What is it?" Katie asked.
"102 even. Still high, Hanna, but much better than earlier."
She smiled, excitedly. "I told you he'd be fine."
"Slow down. He's got a long way to go before we can say he'll be fine. Let's just say I'm a little less concerned about leaving him here than I was before."
"He's going to be fine," she stated firmly. "I know it." She reached down and kissed Alex's forehead. "Keep thinking cool thoughts, Alexei," she whispered. Straightening up, she grabbed Matthew's hand. "Come on, Tyler's waiting for us."
They sat and ate, attempting to carry on with the usual table talk; how was your day? anything interesting happen at work?, the normal conversations of families at dinnertime. Tyler tried to keep the atmosphere light, but Katie was distracted by thoughts of Alex and Matthew was distracted with his concern for Katie. Finally, he gave up and ate in silence. When he was done, Tyler cleared the table, started the dishes and put the rest of the stew in the refrigerator. Katie left the table and went in to check on Alex. Matthew brought his bowl into the kitchen and put it next to the sink.
"Thanks, Ty. That was delicious." He put his arms around his lover and hugged him tight.
Tyler turned in Matthew's arms and kissed him. "I'm going home now, so you can talk to her alone. Try not to be too late."
"I won't," he said, letting go. "I'm worried about her, Ty. She's already falling for this man and she doesn't even know him. I want to trust her feeling, but this is too weird, even for her."
Tyler smiled and chuckled.
"Am I overreacting again," Matthew asked.
"No, you're not," he said. "You're being her best friend. Just don't push too hard this time; say your piece and come home. She's too far gone to hear you anyway."
"I know, that's what worries me."
Tyler kissed Matthew on the cheek, then walked to the elevator. When he was gone, Matthew took a deep breath and headed into the bedroom. Katie was there, sitting on side of the bed, holding a damp cloth on Alex's forehead and telling him all about dinner.
"How long have you been holding that cloth on his head?"
"Just now, or in general?" she asked. Matthew scowled. "I started around noon. His lips looked dry and I was afraid he might get dehydrated. I thought about using the syringe to get some water in him, but I didn't know if it would go into his stomach or into his lungs, so I decided to just wet his lips, then put the cloth on his head. Was that the right thing to do?"
"Yes, it was the right thing to do." He patted her arm. "Come on, we need to talk."
She nodded and reluctantly got up. Alex protested a little, shifting his head to the spot she'd just left. Katie put her hand on his cheek. "I'll be back soon, Alexei."
They walked out to the living room and sat down on the couch. She knew what he was going to say and she really didn't want to hear it. She also realized that he wouldn't be her friend if he didn't try.
"Alexei?" he asked. "You lost me with that one."
"He woke up yelling in Russian last night. I couldn't understand most of what he was saying, other than 'no' and 'mama'. When he wouldn't calm down, I started singing that lullaby my grandmother taught me. Seemed to do the trick. Anyway, whenever he gets a little restless, I talk to him and call him Alexei and he settles down."
Matthew sighed. "You don't know him, Hanna. Don't start believing you do."
She looked at him and flashed a sad grin. "I know you're right, but I can't hear you. I'm supposed to know him, Kid, just like I was supposed to know you. The feeling is that strong. Don't you understand?"
He slid over and pulled her into his arms. "I do understand. I just don't want to see you get hurt."
"I know. I have to go with my feeling on this. If I get hurt, so be it. You can't save me, Matthew; all you can do is be there to pick up the pieces, if this all comes crashing down around me. Which it won't," she added.
"Matthew?" He looked surprised. "The last time you called me Matthew was when I told you I was in love with Tyler. That was almost eight years ago." He kissed the top of her head. "I love you, Katie. I'll be here to pick up the pieces or dance at your wedding, whatever you need. Just be careful."
"I will," she promised. "Now go home and be with Tyler. It was really sweet of him to fix dinner for us this evening; you need to make sure he knows how much you appreciated the gesture."
"No problem there. I have every intention of making him feel fully appreciated," he said, wiggling his eyebrows.
Katie snickered as Matthew got up and gathered his things.
"Call me if you need anything," he said, just before getting into the elevator.
"I will."
He nodded and closed the elevator door.
Katie got up from the couch and looked in on Alex. He was still resting quietly. She picked up the washcloth and carried it into the bathroom. The whirlpool was calling to her, but she was afraid to be away from him for that long. Instead, she washed her face, brushed her teeth and got ready for bed. On her way back to the bedroom, she filled a small bowl with water, so that she wouldn't have to go all the way to the bathroom, in the middle of the night. She placed the bowl and washcloth on the nightstand, before checking his head one more time. In her mind, she heard the voice of her grandmother and it made her smile. "I'm right here, if you need me, Alexei," she said softly. "Your Katya's right here." He pushed his head against her hand. She kissed his forehead and crawled into the recliner.
She watched him until almost 8:30, before drifting off herself. Not an hour later, he started talking in his sleep. Katie woke up and listened, trying to make out anything he was saying. The ones she could understand were in English this time. Ramblings mostly, random words, Mulder, Scully, oil, nothing that made any sense to her, but obviously meant something important to him. He mumbled, but in his dream, he seemed to be fighting with someone. He raised his arm to emphasize a point and dropped it on his torso, causing him to cry out in pain. After that, his words became unintelligible through the moans and whimpers. He wasn't out of control, like he'd been before, but she couldn't stand to sit by and do nothing while he was hurting. Climbing out of the recliner, she hurried over to the bed and sat down beside him. Assuming the now familiar position, she stroked his hair and sang to him. Since he wasn't using Russian, she changed her song to a lullaby of a different sort.
Well the sun is surely sinking down
But the moon is slowly rising
So this old world must still be spinning
'round
And I still love you
So close your eyes
You can close your eyes, it's all right
I don't know no love songs
And I can't sing the blues anymore
But I can sing this song
And you can sing this song
When I'm gone
It won't be long before another day
We gonna have a good time
And no one's gonna take that time away
You can stay as long as you like
So close your eyes
You can close your eyes, it's all right
I don't know no love songs
And I can't sing the blues anymore
But I can sing this song
And you can sing this song
When I'm gone
No way to know if he liked James Taylor, but she did, and she was the one doing the singing right now. If he didn't like it, he could bloody well wake up and tell her to cut it out. Besides, she was getting pretty darn sick of that lullaby, so as long as he was mumbling in English, she was going to sing in English.
This night went on, the same as the last. Alex would cry out or talk in his sleep; Katie would get up and go to his side. If he was speaking Russian, he got Grandmother's lullaby; if he was speaking in English, he got James Taylor. By his 3:30 fit, she was beyond exhausted. He was especially violent this time and it took her almost twenty minutes to get him calmed down. By this time, he'd tossed himself onto the left side of the bed. When she sat down to hold his head and sing to him this time, she ended up completely on the bed. After he calmed down, she simply slid down on the pillow beside him and fell asleep. Neither stirred for the rest of the night.
Matthew stopped by at 8 to check on Alex, before going to work. The loft was quiet, so he didn't call out for Katie, opting instead to let her sleep. He was taken aback to find her in bed with Alex, nestled up against his shoulder, Alex's head leaning against hers. It took him a minute to recover, but when he did, he began his cursory examination of the patient. The fever was down to 101.5 and the knee looked considerably less swollen than it had last night. The bandage over the stitches showed a little blood, so Matthew decided to change the dressing. Everything underneath the dressing looked good, so he figured that Alex must have simply hit the stitches in his sleep. He warmed his stethoscope and listened to Alex's heart and lungs; both were working, as they should. Maybe today would be the day Alex would wake up. Matthew had a lot of questions he wanted to ask this guy, especially now.
What to do about Katie? That was his current dilemma. Should he let her sleep...there...with him, or should he wake her up? He paced the floor between the bed and the door, then walked into the living room. If he woke her up, would she be grateful or would she be pissed? He was making a leap of faith that Alex hadn't awakened during the night and invited her into his bed. Of course he didn't, the man has cracked ribs, Matthew thought. He paced the living room, trying to make a decision.
"Morning," Katie yawned. "Why didn't you wake me up?"
Matthew jumped at the sound of her voice.
"Little edgy this morning, Kid?" she teased. "I keep telling you to lay off the caffeine."
He frowned at her and she knew, immediately, what the problem was. "Cut it out, will you? He had a really bad night and I finally got too tired to keep moving from the chair to the bed. For crying out loud, he has cracked ribs! Do you really think I'm going to take advantage of an unconscious, injured man?" She stormed off toward the kitchen, grabbed a glass and slammed it down on the counter. Opening the refrigerator door, she pulled out the grapefruit juice, poured it into her glass and took a gulp, before returning the container. She held the glass in front of her and glared at him. "I know it's been a long time, but I'm not that desperate."
"I'm not worried about you taking advantage of him, Hanna," he said quietly.
Katie put the glass on the counter and crossed the room to put her arms around him. "Didn't we cover this last night? I'll be fine. No matter what happens, I'll be fine."
He nodded. "I know, but I'm still going to worry. At least until I get to talk to him."
"So, how is he this morning. I'm assuming you've already checked him out."
"Fever's down, the swelling's down and his cuts seem to be healing. Everything looks and sounds good. I'm hoping he'll wake up sometime today."
"Me, too," she replied. "If he does, is there anything I should do? Anything I shouldn't do? Medically speaking," she added, with a grin.
"Medically speaking," he started. "Ask him how he's feeling; all the questions I told you to ask him last time. If he says yes, to any of them, call me. Other than that, just use common sense. I wouldn't let him eat much at first. Start with soup, preferably something clear, but knowing you, I'm willing to bet that tomato is the only soup in your pantry." She nodded and shrugged. Matthew raised his eyebrows and chuckled. "That'll do. Just keep it light, little bits at a time, until we know how his body is going to react. He's going to hurt; you can give him acetaminophen for now. I can prescribe something a little stronger later on, after I've had a chance to talk to him. I'll stop by on my way home tonight to see how things are going."
"Do you have to leave right now?"
"I have a few minutes. Why?"
"Can you stick around while I take a shower? I don't want to take a chance on Alex waking up and finding no one around," she smiled and bit her lower lip. "Please?"
He laughed and shook his head. "Yeah, I'll stick around. Just don't be too long."
"I won't."
Katie ran off to take a shower, while Matthew sat in the bedroom, watching Alex. When he heard the water shut off in the bathroom, Matthew got up from the chair and walked to the side of the bed. He leaned down and spoke quietly to Alex.
"I don't know if you can hear me, but if you can, listen good. Katie's my best friend and I love her. She has a feeling about you, so I'm trusting her judgment and letting you stay here. If you do anything to hurt her, I'll hunt you down."
Katie walked in, toweling her hair, just as Matthew finished his warning. "Any change?"
"No, he's still out." He kissed her wet hair. . "Hey, if he does wake up, see if you can get him up and walking, just a little. OK, Gotta go. See you this evening."
"Bye, Kid."
He gave her a wave and left the room.
"He's just looking out for me, Alex. Don't let him scare you." She ran her fingers through his hair. "Wake up, soon."
Katie left the room, reluctantly. She wanted to stay and watch him sleep, but there were things to be done. Number one on the list was laundry. Alex's clothes were still wet and piled up next to the washing machine, along with both hers and Matthew's things from the other night. He would probably want to have something familiar to wear when he woke up. She sorted the clothes, checking the pockets for anything that might give her some insight into who Alex was; his wallet was there, along with a comb and a few coins. Putting the items on the dryer for now, she started the washer and tossed in the clothes. She picked up his leather jacket. It was going to need to be dry cleaned and repaired. She also realized that he was going to need a few more items in his wardrobe, if he was going to stick around for a while. 'And he will be sticking around for a while,' she thought.
Her eyes drifted back to the dryer. The wallet sat there, daring her to open it and look inside. She picked it up, along with a towel, and carried them into the living room. To open it or not to open it, that was her question. It was pretty wet; maybe she should take everything out to dry. She debated for a few minutes, before deciding. She spread the towel out on the table and carefully opened the wallet. There wasn't much inside to deal with, about two hundred dollars, a few slips of paper with phone numbers on them and an old picture of a woman with a small child. She spread these out on the towel. The picture intrigued her. She'd have to ask him about it when he woke up.
That accomplished, she started on her second chore for the morning. This one required some outside help. She picked up the phone.
"Tyler, it's me. I need a favor."
Tyler arrived at the loft around 9. Katie gave him the list and her debit card. He took the list, but refused the card.
"No way, I'm shopping with that thing. If anyone happened to look at the name on the card, I'd be hauled downtown faster than Superman on speed. I'll cover it and you can write me a check when I get back."
Katie giggled. "That's what I like about you, Tyler. Your sense of humor is as strange as mine." She gave him a hug. "I really appreciate you doing this for me. If I've forgotten anything important, just go ahead and get it."
He nodded. "Since I'm going to be out shopping anyway, how are you set for food? Might as well take advantage of your personal shopper while he's here."
"Good idea. I don't know what I've got in there. Better go take a look."
They checked out the pantry and refrigerator and made a list of the necessary items. Tyler shook his head. "How do you survive? You have this fantastic kitchen, but hardly any real food. What a waste."
"I know. There isn't much motivation to eat when you're cooking for one, Ty."
"I hear that," he agreed.
The timer on the dryer buzzed, reminding her of one more item that needed to be dealt with. She walked over and picked up Alex's leather jacket.
"Uh, Ty? Can you do one more thing for me?"
"Dry cleaners?"
"Yeah. The sleeve needs to be repaired, too. Tell them to do whatever's necessary to get it fixed."
Tyler took the jacket and draped it over his arm. "Anything else?"
"No, that's it. Really."
"Are you sure he's worth all this, Katie?" She gave him an exasperated look. "And don't look at me like that, I'm your friend, you know. Just because you've known Matthew longer, doesn't mean that I can't worry about you, too."
"I know you're my friend and I love that you're concerned about me. He's worth it, Ty. I can't explain it, but I know he is."
"OK, that's all I needed to hear. I'm outta here. It's going to take me a few hours to get this taken care of. Tell you what, I'll pick us up something for lunch on my way back. I'll even bring some chicken noodle soup for Sleeping Beauty, just in case."
"Sounds good. I'll tell Alex you're bringing food, maybe that'll inspire him to wake up."
"Couldn't hurt. Back in while."
Katie went back to the dryer to fold the clothes. She hung hers up and carried Alex's back to the bedroom.
"Tyler's bringing you some chicken noodle soup for lunch. Personally, I prefer tomato, but chicken noodle's probably better for you right now anyway." She sat down on the bed, hoping for some kind of reaction. "Your clothes are clean. I put them in the dresser for you. Your jackets messed up though. Tyler's taking it to the dry cleaner to get it cleaned and repaired." She sighed and bent down to kiss his cheek. "I know you can hear me," she whispered. "I'll just be out in the other room for a little while. Holler if you need anything."
Katie backed out of the room, slowly, hoping to see something that would encourage her to stay. At the door, she turned and walked over to her computer. She hadn't checked her mail since bringing Alex home. The flag was up and when she opened the box, there were twenty-four messages waiting. Most were junk, but a few were important. She responded to the personal letters, before opening the note from her publisher. They were thrilled with the buzz on her latest book and wanted her to do some book signings upon its release, next month. She hated doing these book-signing tours and seldom agreed to do them. Fortunately, since her books always did well without them, she had the luxury of being able to refuse. They wouldn't be happy about it, but they wouldn't fight her too much either. She sent them a nice note, politely declining.
Mail taken care of, she decided to surf for any new weirdness to use for her next book. She scanned her favorite bizarre news and urban legend sites to see if anything different had popped up recently. Lately, the news had been pretty standard fare; same old decapitated heads in the refrigerator and my neighbor is a vampire shit. Not even any new conspiracy theories floating around to spur her imagination. Thirty minutes later, she logged off, having found nothing of interest. Her legs were fidgety and she needed to get out, but she settled on walking around the loft. It was a poor substitute for being out in the open air, but it would suffice. Her need to be here for Alex, far exceeded her need to walk outside. Her fourth lap around the loft was interrupted by a noise from the bedroom. She ran to the door and found that he'd gotten his leg tangled in the blanket. He was kicking, each kick causing him a great deal of pain. When she grabbed his leg to pull the blanket off, he yell something, in Russian, and struggled harder against her. Giving up on the blanket, she slipped in beside him and tried the lullaby trick. As he started to relax, she reached down and gently untangled his leg. He resisted her help, but she continued to sing and was able to free his leg. He fussed and whimpered for quite a while, so she stayed with him, stroking his hair, sometimes singing, sometimes talking softly. "Shhh, Alexei, Katya's here. I won't leave you. Shhh," she'd whisper, in between choruses.