2/
Catherine pulled up to the front doors of New York's Presbyterian Hospital, looking at her friend, "You go on in, I'm going to park the car and then I'll come and find you."
Joe Maxwell looked at the woman gratefully, "Thank you, Cathy." Leaning forward, he brushed his lips against her cheek before getting out of the car and rushing in. Once he was gone, Catherine circled the parking lot, in search of a spot.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
Jogging through the hospital, Maxwell came to a stop when he approached an information desk, "Emergency room," he said, panting for breath.
The elderly woman seated behind the desk pulled out a sheet of paper with a printed map and highlighted the route for Joe to take. Thanking her with a smile, he set off on the trek, his mind racing with panic and worry. Once he reached the emergency department, Maxwell walked over to a nurse's station, "I'm Joe Maxwell, my sister, Lauren, is here."
The nurse went over to the computer and punched a few keys, "Last name?"
"Maxwell." Joe responded, slightly annoyed with the question.
Picking up on his annoyance, the nurse gave Joe a sympathetic smile, "I'm sorry if that appeared to be an unnecessary question to you, Mr. Maxwell, but I wasn't sure. Your sister could have had a different last name due to marriage or something."
The district attorney nodded as he took that into consideration and gave her an apologetic smile of his own, "You're right, I'm sorry. I guess I'm just a little worried."
"That's understandable," the nurse responded with a smile as she looked at her computer screen. "It looks like your sister has already been moved to a private room." Grabbing a piece of paper and a pen, she scribbled down the room number and handed it to Joe. "It's on the second floor."
"Private room?" Joe felt his heart pound deep in his chest... If Lauren had been moved to a private room that means that her attack was much more serious than Joe had feared. "Are there any doctors' notes or anything in her file? Something that would indicate what happened?"
The nurse bit her bottom lip and shook her head. This was one of the aspects of her job that she truly hated, not having access to information that would help family members of patients. "I'm sorry, Mr. Maxwell, but there is nothing that indicates what happened in your sister's file. My recommendation would be to speak with her primary doctor who is in charge of her case," quickly glancing at the screen again, she found something she could give him, "That would be Dr. Greg Matthews. He can be of more assistance than I can."
Joe gave the nurse a smile and nodded, "Thanks, I appreciate it." Maxwell glanced at the piece of paper in his hands, at the room number... room 407... knowing that was on the fourth floor, he went over to the main entrance of the hospital and waited as he saw Catherine walking into the doors.
"Hey," she greeted as she went over to him, "how come you aren't with your sister?"
Maxwell looked at his friend, his face was nearly white with worry and fear, "They moved her to a private room, Cathy. It's more serious than I first thought."
Catherine looked at Joe with compassion and sympathy, "Now, Joe, don't automatically assume the worst." She glanced down at the piece of paper with Lauren's room number and gently guided him by the elbow towards the elevators, "She might just have only a few cuts and bruises and they want to keep an eye on them." Walking into the car, she pushed the button to take them to the fourth floor and gave Joe a hug, "Try not to worry."
"Try not to worry," Joe scoffed, "she's my baby sister, Catherine. I don't know what I'm going to say to Ma about this."
"You say nothing at first," the woman said, "until you know just what you are getting into."
Joe sighed as the car came to the desired floor and they stepped off. Catherine spotted a waiting area and then indicated to Joe that that is where she'd be if he needed her. Joe glanced around and found Lauren's room and took a deep breath before he walked in and tried to give his sister an encouraging smile, "Hey, kiddo."
Lauren Maxwell turned her head and looked at her brother. As soon as she heard his greeting, her face began to crumble and dissolve in a mess of tears. "Oh, Joe," she said through her sobs.
Joe immediately ran over to his sister's bedside and sat on the edge of her bed and took her in his arms, cradling her gently, trying to soothe her, whispering softly, "What happened, Lauren?"
"It was a fix-up," she said softly, "my friend, Maureen, assured me that he was a good guy."
Her brother felt his blood go cold in his veins at the thought that his little sister had been possibly date raped. Joe took a deep breath, whispering softly, "Honey, did he rape you?"
Lauren closed her eyes and nodded, whispering softly, "He told me that he'd come back and kill me if I got the police involved." The young woman turned and looked at her brother pleadingly, "Joe, please, you can't get the police involved."
Maxwell sighed deeply, "I hate to break it to you, baby sister, but the police got involved the minute you were admitted. We saw some uniforms wandering around the floor waiting to talk to you." Joe watched as his sister digested the information, "Lauren, who was this creep? You gotta give me his name. We'll nail his ass against the wall, you have my promise. I'll personally prosecute the case myself."
Lauren shook her head rapidly, her dark curls spinning around her face, "No, Joe, I can't, he'll kill me."
"Nobody's gonna touch you," he assured her, "you got my word." Joe sighed as he ran a hand over his face, trying to figure something out, "You can stay with me. I promise I won't let anything happen to you."
His sister sighed deeply, "Joe, you are a workaholic. You can't guarantee something like that."
"Alright, than how about this?" Joe offered. "I have a good friend that I work with. Her name is Cathy Chandler. She's a really good woman, in fact, she drove me here because she didn't want me to drive myself while I was so upset. I'll talk to her. Maybe you can stay with her. She's certainly got the room."
Lauren bit her bottom lip and glanced out the window for a moment and then back at her brother before nodding, "Okay."
"Good." Joe smiled softly and then kissed the top of his sister's head. As he pulled back, he heard footsteps behind him. Standing up, he turned around and saw a doctor.
The doctor smiled as he extended his hand, "I'm Dr. Matthews, and you are...?"
"Joseph Maxwell," Joe offered, "I'm her brother."
Dr. Matthews nodded, "Mr. Maxwell, would you mind if we did another examination of your sister? It won't be long."
Joe nodded and glanced at his sister and then back at the doctor, "When can she come home?"
"We want to keep her overnight," the doctor explained, "but tomorrow she should be able to be discharged."
Joe nodded and smiled, "Okay, thanks." He stepped back over to his sister's bed, "Honey, I'm going to go and talk to Cathy and then run home and grab an overnight bag and be back, okay?"
Lauren nodded and smiled as she gripped her brother's hand, "Thanks."
Maxwell gave his sister a wink as he headed out of her room. Sighing heavily, he glanced around and walked over to where Catherine was seated and sat down next to her, speaking softly, "It was a date rape."
Catherine closed her eyes and then looked at her friend, softly, "I am so sorry, Joe."
"It gets worse," Joe continued, "the animal threatened to kill her if she got the cops involved. She's too scared to stay at my place. She didn't say it, but I think that the attack happened in my neighborhood." Joe looked at her, "Can she stay with you? Just until the son of a bitch is arraigned?"
The woman took a deep breath, "Joe, you know that I will do anything I can to help your sister, but I work as many hours as you do. Lauren wouldn't be any safer with me." Catherine chewed her bottom lip as her mind briefly flashed to Vincent and Father, knowing that the community below could keep her safe until the trial. "Let me talk with Vincent, okay? He may know of somewhere safe that Lauren can stay. Someplace warm surrounded by people who care for her."
Still knowing nothing about Vincent, Joe looked at his friend and searched her eyes, softly, "Do you trust this Vincent character, Cathy? I don't want anymore harm coming to my sister. She's been through enough."
"Joe," Catherine said, taking a breath, "I trust Vincent with my life. If he says she's safe, than she's safe."
Maxwell nodded, "Your word is good enough for me. Thanks."
Catherine smiled softly and nodded as she stood up, "Let me go talk to him. You want me to give you a ride somewhere?"
Joe shook his head and smiled softly as he too stood up. "Nah, I'll grab a cab."
Cathy nodded as she gave her friend a hug and left the hospital.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Vincent sat in Father's library as he contemplated his latest move in their game of chess. Looking at the onyx pieces, he moved his bishop towards Father's rook.
"Mmm," Father said, "good move, son."
Vincent nodded his head once in gratitude, "Whatever moves I know, I learned from the master."
Father chuckled quietly as he made a rebuttal move. Just as Vincent was contemplating another move, Pascal came in with a piece of paper in his hand. "Vincent," he said as he entered the room, handing the paper to the intended recipient, "this just came across the pipes for you. It's from Catherine."
Vincent took the paper and gave the other man a quiet smile, "Thank you, Pascal," he remarked as he unfolded the piece of paper. Scanning the contents, his brow furrowed and then he looked at Father, "She wants to come Below tonight. She said she has something very important that she would like to discuss with the two of us."
Father's brows arched, "With both of us? I wonder what it could be..."
Vincent shook his head, "Her message didn't reveal what the contents of tonight's meeting would be. She just asked if we could meet her here tonight, around nine o'clock."
Father nodded his agreement to the meeting and sat back in his chair, both men curious about what the woman wished to discuss with them.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
Catherine stood pacing at one of the many entrances to the tunnels, waiting for Vincent. This particular entrance, the one in Central Park was a favorite of theirs, and had been for quite a while due to its romantic beauty. At five till nine, Catherine checked her watch and let out an anxious sigh. Moments later, she heard Vincent come to the mouth of the entrance.
"Catherine."
The woman spun around and gave Vincent a quiet smile, "I'm glad that you and Father agreed to meet with me tonight."
Vincent closed the gap between them with a stride and pressed his lips to her's. "You know I could never refuse you," he whispered into her hair. Sliding his hand down, it closed around hers and he smiled softly, "Come... Father awaits us." Without further preamble, Vincent led Catherine into the labyrinth of tunnels and soon they found themselves at Father's library.
Catherine gave the older man a warm smile as she descended down the steps towards him, "Father," she said affectionately as she walked over and kissed his cheek and enveloped him in a hug, "You look well."
"Catherine," Father greeted as he too kissed her cheek, "it has indeed been far too long."
Vincent stood from the top of the steps as he watched the love of his life and his father get reacquainted. Moments later, he stepped down into the library and took a seat. "Your message sounded urgent, Catherine, is everything alright?"
Catherine took a seat in an empty chair and waited for Father to sit down as well. Once he was seated, she took a deep breath. She had been trying to figure out how to discuss this particular topic with the two men all afternoon. Finally, she just jumped in, both feet first. "One of my dear friends, who happens to be my boss..."
"Joe," Vincent supplied quietly.
Catherine gave him a soft smile and nodded in affirmation, "Yes, Joe..." Taking a deep breath, she continued, "His younger sister was raped this afternoon. She's now in Presbyterian Hospital. It was a date rape... A friend had set her up on a date with this man and he turned out to be a vicious snake who did not understand the meaning of the word 'no'. Joe is, understandably, very angry about this and he has vowed to hunt down this animal and make him pay through the court system, and I intend on helping him." Catherine paused for a moment, "This is where I need both of your help... Since Joe and I will be very busy preparing for this case, there is no way to assure of Lauren's safety."
"You want Joe's sister to come down Below," Vincent deduced quietly.
Father looked at Vincent in alarm and then at Catherine, "Surely that is not what you are getting at, Catherine."
Catherine nibbled her bottom lip for a moment and then looked at Father, her voice was nearly a plea, "Father, this girl is in danger. The man who did it to her has promised to kill her if she presses charges. I know how secretive and protective you are of the world Below, and I understand that and I guard your secret with my life, every day. Hopefully you know that I would never ask this of you if it weren't important."
Father rose to his feet and slowly began to pace the room, "And what if this girl betrayed our trust? What if her brother betrayed it? I assume that you'll want to give your boss full access to our world as well."
Catherine quickly rose to her feet and walked over to Father, speaking passionately to him, "You have always told me that this was a safe haven. That it was a home for those in pain, in need, who couldn't possibly survive in the world Above. This girl's life is in grave danger, Father. I have known Joe for years, he's one of my dearest friends and a man whom I respect and admire a great deal. He's a mentor to me, Father. I trust him implicitly, as I do Vincent. I know that Joe would take this secret to his grave."
"And the girl?" The older man countered, "Can you say the same of her?"
The woman took a deep breath again, "I admit that I had just met Lauren this afternoon. However she is Joe's baby sister. He's devoted to her and she to him. I feel confident in saying that if Joe asked her, Lauren too would keep the secret. Father, you have to believe me that I would never dream of ever making this request unless I knew that the situation was dire."
Father looked at Catherine and then at Vincent, "What do you think?"
"I think I trust Catherine," he answered quietly, "and I trust her when she give us her word that Joe and Lauren won't say anything. Catherine has never given me any reason to doubt her and she's proven herself loyal to our family. She's risked her life and position for a number of us a great deal of times. I think we owe her this."
The older man sighed heavily as he pondered the situation for a few moments. Pacing the massive collection of books, he finally turned and faced Catherine, "She may stay Below with us, and her brother may come and visit. However, it must be explained to both of them that should they ever break our trust and breathe a word of this, than our entire world comes to an end."
Catherine nodded, quietly, "I'll speak with them. I'll get them to promise."
Father nodded, "Alright," he conceded, "they may come Below."
The woman smiled and nodded and then impulsively gave Father a great hug, kissing his cheek, "Thank you, Father," she said, her voice full of gratitude.
Father nodded and then quietly walked out of the room. As Catherine watched him go, she let out a heavy sigh, "Every time I speak with him, I think I give him more reasons to distrust me."
Vincent frowned as he walked up behind the woman and wrapped a protective arm around her shoulders, "He's scared," he said quietly. "The more people that know about this place, the less secure it becomes."
She turned around in his arms and looked at him, her brown eyes searching his amber ones, "Surely you know that what I speak is the truth... That Joe would never violate our trust. He would lose so many things, my friendship and respect for starters."
"Your friendship, and your respect," Vincent said quietly, "should be treasured and protected for the priceless gems that they are."
Catherine smiled quietly as she stood up on her toes and planted a soft kiss on Vincent's lips, "I should go," she said softly. "I need to get in touch with Joe. I think she's being released tomorrow. I'll have Joe explain everything to her."
Vincent nodded quietly, "You be careful, Catherine. The idea that an animal like that--one who gets his thrills for hurting women--is running around this city does not set well with me."
She smiled softly and nodded, "I promise, I'll be careful."
"Do not go anywhere alone," he wisely advised.
"I promise," Catherine repeated. "I do love you so."
Vincent smiled softly as he pulled her into a warm embrace, "And I you." Reluctantly, he let her go, "I should let you go find Joe. I'll ask Mary to prepare a chamber for Lauren."
Catherine smiled at him again and nodded, "Thank you." Leaning in, she gave him a final kiss before departing.
