Words Unspoken
By Schroederplayspiano
Chapter 2: Been Wondering
The hospital room was silent as Tess waited for a response to her audacious remark. She watched Cat turn back to the man, trying to silently communicate with him in the few seconds they had before the situation turned even more awkward.
"Excuse me," Vincent stood from the chair, but did not move his feet. "I should go."
Tess smirked, there was no way he was getting off the hook that easily. Especially when, looking back at Cat, it was clear his leaving was the last thing she wanted. "No. Stay!" Tess expressed her enthusiasm willingly. "I hate to interrupt. Cat doesn't want you to leave, does she? Stay, please. Keep us – er, her – company." Despite her desire to insist on her staying with them as well, Cat's tense face told her that wasn't an option. Still, Tess offered, "I can leave."
As if her words weren't even heard, Tess watched Cat and the man silently say goodbye to each other. Tess was surprised herself at how uncomfortable she became when she noticed how deep the looks of longing went between them.
Vincent stepped around Tess as he headed for the door. Tess' gaze switched back and forth between her friend's longing eyes and the back of the man's green jacket.
"Hey," Cat called after him.
Vincent turned back to look at her automatically, matching Cat's longing expression, he somehow forgot her partner was still in the room.
"Thanks for your note."
His response catching in his throat once again, Vincent's silence allowed him to stare at her one last time. "Feel better, Catherine." He whispered before exiting the room.
Once alone, Tess crossed her arms in her usual way, her familiar expression demanding an explanation from her friend and partner.
"Catherine?" Tess started incredulously. "Catherine? Since when do you go by Catherine?"
Avoiding any subject that Cat needed to, or wanted to, was becoming her specialty of late. "What are you doing here, Tess? Midmorning of a workday."
"I-" Cat's questions felt like accusations and caused Tess to stumble on her words. "I didn't have a case and it's boring at work without you," her excuse came out quickly. "And who's the hot guy, Cat?"
"Nobody," Cat said automatically. "He wasn't here."
"Really?" Tess said sarcastically with a smile. "So if I go chase him down right now, I won't find him leaving the hospital in a hurry?"
"Don't!" Cat's loud voice surprised her. Tess, too, was shocked by her urgency. "Please. If you care about me at all-"
"'If I care about you at all?' Cat, you sound like talking to your hot visitor is a matter of life and death." Now concerned, Tess took a step towards Cat and said in an ironic tone, "In case you haven't noticed, the life or death situation already happened."
Tess' words somehow gave Cat permission to let go, to breath. The worry was over. She's alive and on the mend and Vincent was here, with her, just for a moment. Cat turned towards the window as Tess took the chair Vincent previously occupied.
A moment with him was all she needed.
"So," Tess' voice broke through her thoughts. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Cat replied simply.
"When did you wake up?" Tess attempted to connect further.
Slowly, Cat rolled her head back in Tess' direction. "A few hours ago," she whispered.
Tess matched Cat's soft tone. "How are you doing? What did the doctor say?"
Cat closed her eyes for a moment. "I don't know," she answered honestly.
Tess just nodded, accepting her answered and knowing better not to push. "Where's Heather and your Dad? Do they know you're awake? Shouldn't they be here?"
"Oh my gosh," Cat's eyes opened instantly. "My Dad. The wedding. Please don't tell me I ruined everything." Tess was silent for too long allowing Cat to let out a loud sigh of exasperation before leaning back on her pillow.
"You didn't ruin everything. Just the honeymoon." Tess assured her with a slight smile. "Didn't you leave halfway through the reception?"
Cat's silence was the only confirmation Tess received.
"Where on earth were you going?" Tess pushed. "What was so important that you had to leave your Father's wedding reception early?"
Again the only answer Cat could give Tess was silence. If not for Tess noticing Cat's eyes at the door as soon as her question was asked, Tess would have become irrationally annoyed with her friend who spent the last three days fighting for her life.
Tess followed Cat's eyeline just as the light bulb went off in her head. "Oh. My. God!" Tess exclaimed with excitement. "That guy? That's who you were driving off to?"
"No, Tess. I wasn't." Cat protested, but Tess chose not to hear her.
Tess pointed to the door. "He's hot!"
"Tess…" Was all Cat could say as she begged her to drop the subject.
Tess ignored Cat again, finding the particular card she'd had hoped was just mentioned lying casually beside Cat's hip. Before Cat could do anything, Tess grabbed it from her and leaned back in her chair to start reading it.
"Your other family?" Tess questioned, obviously intrigued.
Painfully, Cat sat up and moved over in order to snatch the note from Tess. "Private. Notes are private."
"Cat, they were attached to a coma patient's flowers. JT and V, whoever they are, had to know other people were inevitably going to read it."
Closing her eyes again, Cat focused on securing their note in her left hand.
"So, which one was he? JT or V?" Tess questioned again with a smile.
"Whichever one you want him to be," Cat sighed and began searching the room for something. "Do you see my phone? I should probably call my Dad."
"You're avoiding the subject."
"I am asking my friend, who is visiting me in the hospital, to help me get a hold of my Dad. That's not an unreasonable request, is it?"
Tess lost her examiner face instantly and pulled her phone out of its belt clasp. "No," she said softly. "Of course it isn't."
"Thank you," Cat whispered her gratitude.
When Tess handed her phone to her friend, she held it back as Cat reached for it. Tess smiled at Cat's annoyed expression. "But don't think we're done talking about him."
"Of course not," was the only response Cat could give without running into more trouble. "What are friends for, if not to talk about hot visitors at hospital bedsides?"
"So, you do admit he's hot." Tess noticed with a smirk. "We are making progress."
Cat rolled her eyes as she put the phone to her ear.
Obsessing over crime photos seemed to be Evan's new hobby. Though he would never admit to anyone, the amount of time he spent sifting through these two particular sets of photos was turning unhealthy, he knew, but he couldn't help it.
His mouse stopped clicking when a photo of Cat's car appeared on his screen. The photo, which he had now seen a hundred times, highlighted the missing car door. Evan leaned closer to the screen. He had always assumed the door had unhinged on impact, but now, his eyebrows furrowed when he took interest in the bent metal that would have kept the car door attached to its hinge.
The door was ripped from the car. There was no other explanation. Evan recalled his blurry mental image of the man who held Cat tightly in his arms. While that man looked strong, there's no way he could have unhinged a car door. Evan closed his eyes, trying to sharpen his memories of that night. No matter how hard he tried, no matter how many times he recalled the memory, all he could remember was walking towards the man who held Cat as he brought her to hand her off to him.
It was strange how little of his focus was kept on Cat, even after he felt the weight of her in his arms. Most of him was focus on Cat's deliverer, who he was not entirely sure was human. Of course, the moment he registered his realization, the deliverer had disappeared completely. Literally, Evan remember, one second he was there and the next, he was gone.
Evan opened his eyes to examine the photo again. The markings on the car reminded him of claws. Looking closer at the damage, Evan could practically hear the noise of flesh ripping when he was tied up against that subway poll.
How could he not have noticed it before? It's not like he hadn't tried to connected this man, creature, to his near death experience in the tunnels, but never had he notice the car's door hinges.
After printing the picture of the car hinges and placing it in the same folder with his sketch of his lab intruder, he made one more important realization:
Cat interacted with this man, with this creature; in someway both times he had been in its presence.
Cat was lying to him.
A/N: Wow! What an enthusiastic response! Thank you so much. I hope you enjoyed this chapter - it wouldn't hurt to tell me if you did - or didn't, because Chapter Three is almost done! xo
