Ratigan looked out his window, drinking from his bottle of whiskey. He would have preferred wine, but he wanted something stronger, especially with the way he was feeling.
Feeling the betrayal he did to Isabelle.
Two weeks ago, one of the girls that worked in the Rat Trap, Sondra, came up to him. He used to flirt constantly with her, which was until he met Isabelle. He noticed that she always gave Isabelle dirty looks when the thief wasn't looking, but she never confronted her, due to the bowie knife that always slung on her belt. Sondra then told him something that made no sense to him.
Isabelle was cheating on him with a mouse.
One of the things he knew about Isabelle was that she was loyal to a fault. She never deviated and she showed her loyalty to him, always. She never wanted another man.
However, he went to the place where Sondra said he saw Isabelle and the mouse. He found them at a high class restaurant and it was clumsy, but Isabelle was definitely flirting with him. He then saw her caressing his knee and that's when he left.
Ratigan felt rage, hurt, betrayal and sadness in one swift motion. He wanted to throttle Isabelle and that man she's with, but he thought of something better.
Let Isabelle knows how he feels.
He asked Sondra to dinner, which she immediately accepted. During the dinner, they talked, but Ratigan couldn't help thinking how dull she was compared to Isabelle. She was so boring. He then took her to a hotel and rented a room. Sondra was eager, but in the end, Ratigan couldn't do it; he couldn't even get arouse. If anything, he felt disgusted with himself that he would go so low. He then left Sondra in the hotel room, feeling soiled.
As he was returning back to his home, he got news that a noble mouse got robbed and was hospitalized for broken fingers. He was last seen with a mouse-woman with different color eyes. That's when it hit him.
Isabelle was grifting, she was working. She was buttering up that man for his loot.
The revelation stumped Ratigan, realizing he was dead wrong about Isabelle, that she was always faithful to him. And he didn't believe it.
His emotions were still conflicted when he entered the Rat Trap, he then heard Sondra talking to the other girls that worked there, telling them of their "passionate" tryst and bragging to them with false details. He was so disgusted that he left quickly, renting a flat nearby. He has been here for two weeks, practically hiding out there and drinking; he did a lot of drinking as he wallowed in self-pity.
He was violently pulled out of his thoughts when he heard his door slam open and Isabelle came into his line of vision, looking both hurt and angry. He gulped, wondering just how she tracked him down and wondering if she knew what happened.
"I been looking for you." She said quietly, making him nod.
"Padraic, I…heard some stuff. Did you really…sleep with Sondra?"
"Not…exactly."
"The hell you mean, not exactly?! And stop sucking the bottle!" she yelled out as she grabbed the whiskey bottle and slammed it to a table nearby. Ratigan sighed as he tried to explain.
"Sondra told me you were unfaithful to me and I believed her." He said, seeing the stunned look on her face.
"I saw the man you were with at that bar and…I drew that conclusion."
"Padriac, he was a mark!" she shrieked, "I was grifting!"
"Yes, I found that out much later. So…I thought I could get back at you by sleeping with Sondra."
Isabelle flinched as though she was struck, making Ratigans heart break.
"Odd thing was, I couldn't do it. I couldn't get…"
"You couldn't get it up?"
Ratigan inwardly cringed from her bluntness, but he remembered that's why he loved her so much, she was so different and unique from other women he met. God, he wanted to laugh out loud; what possible relationship could they have now? He blew it; he destroyed the beautiful thing that they had.
"So…you didn't actually do it? You didn't do anything?"
"No. I honestly felt soiled from her touching me."
Isabelle blinked and then looked at Ratigan in question.
"Padriac, why did you think I would cheat on you? Why did you doubt me? I mean, Thomas was understandable, but why?"
Ratigan sighed, wondering how to explain what he felt.
"It feels like a dream, Isabelle." He said, seeing her confused look.
"It feels like a dream." He repeated, "You, the jobs, your psychotic family. I just feel that one day, it's going to be over. That you're going to be…gone."
His face scrunched up, thinking that was the stupidest thing he ever said. He looked up at her, seeing her very still. He didn't like that at all; he wanted her to be angry. He rather have her scream at him, hit him, throw things at him, but she didn't do anything about any of those things. She just stared at him with look of hurt and disappointment that made him want to crawl in a hole.
"Padriac, I-"
Just then, they heard someone enter Ratigans flat and call out his name. They both flinched when they realized it was Sondra. Ratigan sighed as he got up, determined to get rid of the problem as Isabelle stayed behind in the room. He entered the front hall and Sondra smiled up at him, faltering when she took in his tired state.
"Hello, Professor, I was looking for you and-"
"Why did you lie?" he interrupted with a curt tone, "You know very well what happened in the room. I'm not attracted to you…at all."
Sondra looked taken aback by his curt words, but she just glared at him.
"Oh? But you are attracted to a tomboy like Cassidy."
Ratigan just shrugged.
"I could have done worse; I could have fallen for someone like you."
Isabelle bit back a laugh, especially to Sondra's shocked look. But she heard her shriek;
"Is that so? Well, I saw Cassidy's back and I don't understand why a gentleman like yourself would want damaged goods!"
Isabelle stiffened from that, wondering just how the hell Sondra knew about her scars. But she then heard a low growl, a growl she was familiar with. It was when Ratigan's monster side was about to rear its ugly head.
She then heard a crash and a scream. She quickly entered the room and saw Ratigan had Sondra by the throat in one hand and had a revolver in his other hand, the barrel in her mouth. Sondra looked terrified, while Ratigan looked enraged.
"I should blow your head off." He growled, making Isabelle grab his arm.
"Padriac, come on, she's not worth it!" she said with a pleading tone. He looked at her and then looked at Sondra, who had tears running down her face. He cursed loudly and dropped Sondra, shoving the revolver into Isabelle's hands, then hurriedly leaving the flat. She watched him go as she disarmed the gun, then looking at Sondra.
"Thank…you." Sondra stuttered, making Isabelle growl and suddenly punched the mouse across the face. She then grabbed Sondra by the hair and slammed her to the wall.
"Now, you're going to listen closely. You are never going to get near Padriac again and you're going to find another place to work. Is that clear?"
Sondra nodded frantically.
"Now, I'm gonna go find him and when I come back, you better be gone."
She let Sondra go and ran out the door. She saw it was raining and frantically wondered where Ratigan was. She heard a noise coming from the alley and quickly went over, stopping short.
Ratigan was cursing, punching and clawing the stone wall. It was like some emotional explosion gone off and Isabelle realized most of the curses were directed at him and saw his claws were starting to bleed. She never saw such a pitiful sight.
He then saw her and he stopped as they stared at each other. He then walked towards her, stumbling a little.
"Isabelle, I-" he started to say and then suddenly fell to his knees, with Isabelle quickly ran up to him as she caught him. Ratigan then wrapped his arms around her, holding her like she was his lifeline.
"I'm sorry." He whispered, "I'm so sorry."
Isabelle said nothing as she held the rat in her arms.
Ratigan stirred on the bed as he opened his eyes, taking in his surroundings.
He was back at the flat, remembering that Isabelle helped him back to the flat and laid him down on the bed, helping him take off his clothes and put on dry ones. She also bandaged his hands; his claws were raw and bleeding as were his knuckles. He also noticed that she threw away all his liquor. He groaned as he sat up, looking at the clock. He realized with surprise that he slept for almost ten hours. Isabelle then entered the room and sat down next to him; Ratigan just looked down, too ashamed to look up at her.
"Can you ever forgive me?" he asked quietly.
"For what?" she said, "You didn't do it."
"I had the intent."
"But you still didn't do it, Padriac. That's says a lot."
She then grabbed his chin and made him look at her.
"I forgave you for that, Padriac, even the fact that you doubted me. But the problem isn't with me, it's with you."
He pulled back in surprise.
"What do you mean?"
"I forgave you, Padriac. But you haven't forgiven yourself."
He sighed as his ears perked down, thinking he could never forgive himself for doubting her, whether he had the intent or not.
"Let's go to bed." She said, grabbing him and dragging him with her. She embraced him, settling his head on her chest, making him hug her back. She then looked at him with a sharp gaze.
"Now, you listen here, you fuckin genius idiot." She said, making him chuckle lightly from the jab, "I ain't going anywhere with you, so get that thought out of your head."
He smiled as he nodded; knowing that all doubts are away, for the dream was a reality.
AN: Phew, this took me a while. A kinda long one-shot.
I got inspired when I had to watch an Australian film called "Lantana", which is about marriage and relationships and trusts. I found it kind of depressing, so I don't really recommend it.
So, in this story, Ratigan thinks Isabelle is cheating on him and tries to cheat on her, but he couldn't do it. Then he realizes she didn't cheat at him at all, so he just loathes himself. Sorry if Ratigan was being too dramatic here, but I wanted to show a more emotional side of him, with his doubts and insecurities.
If you don't understand the situation with Thomas or Isabelle's scars, you have to take a look at my other GMD story, Into the Night, the answers are there.
I was having a discussion with my boyfriend (who is confidante, best friend, editor, etc.) and I asked him if Isabelle forgave Ratigan too quickly, and he says no, since Ratigan didn't actually do it. What do you all think?
Anyway, enjoy and comments are loved! I don't own GMD, just Isabelle and Sondra!