Part 3
Rachel jerked upright, blinking in confusion as she tried to gain her bearings and remember where she was. Her heart broke all over again as she realized she'd fallen asleep in Nina's bed, wondering how she was going to find the runaway and bring her home.
The vibration in her pocket alerted her to what had woken her up. She rose from the incredibly comfortable bed and reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. Her parents never texted so she assumed it was Dr. Rosen with a case. She was wrong.
She needs you. We know you are at her house. If you care about her at all, be waiting at the front door in ten minutes. Leave your phone and anything that can be traced behind.
Before Rachel could even reply the message seemed to re-scramble itself into some sort of bizarre code. Instinctively Rachel deleted the now unreadable message, knowing who had sent it and her stomach knotted painfully realizing something had happened to Nina. She checked the clock and saw it was late but she had a call to make.
"Dr. Rosen?"
"Rachel?" came the sleepy voice.
"Yes. I'm sorry to bother you so late but… look I need to take a few days off. Between things at home and what happened with Nina, I just can't handle any more," she explained, not entirely lying.
"Rachel, I know you've been through a lot, but we need you."
Rachel looked at the clock. 10:05. She only had five minutes left and didn't have time for politeness. "I'm sorry Dr. Rosen but I'm taking the few days. If that's a problem then I'll have to resign."
Lee's eyebrows rose, pleased by the way she stood up for herself, but worried about what had brought it about. "No Rachel, I don't want you to resign. Take as much time as you need, but I'm hoping we can talk about this when you get back."
"Of course. Thank you. Oh and if I could ask a favor…" she paused hoping she wasn't about to make the old man suspicious. "If you could let my parents know I had to go out of town on business suddenly or something?"
"Why don't you tell them yourself?" Lee asked, wondering what was really going on.
"Because they're part of the stress I've been dealing with lately," she answered truthfully. "I just can't take anymore lectures or matchmaking right now Dr. Rosen."
Lee could hear the tension in his young colleagues voice and while he suspected she wasn't telling him everything, he knew how shaken she'd been by Nina's betrayal and now her departure, not to mention the constant pressure put on her by her parents and the heightening of her senses. He was fairly certain she was going to look for Nina and he couldn't deny that feeling she'd done something to find her would be cathartic for the young woman so he decided give her a little room to breathe. For now.
"Alright Rachel I'll take care of it," he agreed. "Just…be careful. I…we are all here for you if you need us."
"Thank you Dr. Rosen." She saw she had very little time left so she ended the call and turned off her phone. She left it on the dresser and ran downstairs and out the front door, locking it behind her, just in time to see a black pick up truck slow to a stop in front of her.
She sighed, hoping she wasn't about to become a statistic and rushed to the truck as the passenger side window lowered.
"Hurry Miss Pirzad, there isn't much time," the young woman said with a gentle tone that eased Rachel's nerves and she quickly entered the truck which began moving before she could finish fastening her seatbelt.
"I don't mean to be rude, but who are you?" Rachel asked.
"You can call me Kendra,"
"What's wrong with Nina?" she blurted.
"We don't know," Kendra said. "Skylar brought her to us a several days ago. Physically she was fine though she was clearly suffering from major depression."
"Oh, of course she was," Rachel said sadly.
"Three days ago she started having these headaches that grew increasingly more severe and the next night she…collapsed with the pain. Skylar managed to sedate her but she's restless and keeps calling for you. Each time it hits, the pain seems to grow worse. Skylar has been trying to figure out some sort of device that will alleviate the pain but she was hoping you would come and help care for her while she works. You could keep her calm and that might help the headaches. If not then…"
"Oh God," Rachel breathed. Rosen had said the pushes she'd done since her return had affected her but to know she was suffering so badly was unbearable.
"We've got a couple of doctors living with us that have been doing what they can but we aren't sure if it's ability related or something physical and we don't have the equipment to do a scan and..." Kendra paused for a long second. "Can you do that?" she asked suddenly and Rachel didn't need her senses heightened to detect the hint of hope and excitement in her voice.
"Do…you mean scan Nina?" Somehow the thought of her entering Nina's mind seemed a rather sick sort of turnabout.
"Yeah. You know, can your vision detect something like a tumor or something?"
Rachel frowned. "I'm not sure, but even if I did, it wouldn't help her," she said despondently. "I don't have anything that would help her," she said fighting the urge to cry.
"No, I guess not," Kendra sighed in disappointment. "Though knowing if she had a tumor or something would at least help focus Skylar's attention.
"We should tell Dr. Rosen. He could help," Nina suggested.
"No!" Kendra nearly shouted but when her passenger flinched she reigned in her temper. "I'm sorry but your Dr. Rosen isn't welcome anywhere near us. None of your team is. However, Nina needs you and Skylar cares very much for her friend. So…"
"Are Skylar and Nina…?" Rachel hesitated, not sure she wanted to know.
Kendra chuckled. "No Miss Pirzad. They aren't together. As I said, Nina has been asking for you and only you since she collapsed. Skylar…hell, we all know where her heart lies, even if Skylar was interested. Which she isn't. Now I hope you'll forgive me for this," she said softly before quickly placing a firm grip on a startled Rachel's thigh.
Rachel stiffened as an odd pulse traveled up her body and looked at the driver with alarm. "Wh…what are you doing?" she asked.
"Please, there is no need to be afraid. I have the ability to render people unconscious, but we need to make sure that our location is kept hidden this time," the woman said somewhat bitterly.
Rachel hesitated even as she started to feel disoriented. "I wouldn't tell anyone," she protested. "I wouldn't do that to Nina or to Skylar. Not again."
"It's not you we distrust Miss Pirzad, it's the others who destroyed our other home that we want to avoid."
"Oh," Rachel muttered before falling unconscious.
"Miss Pirzad we're here." Kendra whispered. "Rachel," she said a little louder and shaking the sleeping woman and sending another pulse through the small body.
Rachel stirred. She opened her eyes and panicked briefly when her head began to swim.
"Easy. It may take a few seconds to fully regain your equilibrium" Kendra said.
"Oh. Wow," Rachel said shaking her head to clear it of the fuzziness.
"You alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just…take me to Nina please."
"Alright, but Rachel, we're taking a very big chance. I'm asking you on behalf of everyone here, please don't use your abilities to try and find out where you are."
"I promise," Rachel assured her. "I don't want to do anything to put your people at risk. I only want to help Nina."
The older redhead nodded. "Thank you. Now let's take you to your girl."
Rachel winced at the last two words. Nina wasn't her girl. She wasn't even sure they were still friends. Sighing, she got out of the truck, managing to see, even though the only light came from the moon and the house that she was in the middle of absolute nowhere. She followed Kendra into the house and down a long hallway, barely noticing the suspicious looks from some of the people she'd met before as her worry for Nina was continuing to grow.
"She's in here. Kendra opened the door at the end of the hall. Rachel had to let her eyes adjust to the nearly complete darkness. Only a slight sliver of moonlight made its way through the thick dark curtains but Rachel adjusted her abilities enough to glimpse the woman who'd turned her whole life upside down and her stomach clenched at how weak she appeared.
"Skylar is putting Zoe to bed but she'll want to see you in a few minutes," Kendra whispered softly.
Rachel nodded and then she was alone with Nina and she simply stood there staring at the figure on the bed and wondering what she was supposed to do or say.
"Rachel."
The sound of her name jerked Rachel from her nervous musings and she quickly walked to the bed.
"Nina?" she whispered anxiously, her heart aching at the tears evident on Nina's face. Nina's eyes flickered and then slowly opened and another moan passed over dry lips.
"It hurts," she whimpered. "I just want it to stop. I just want Rachel," she slurred before her eyes started to droop again.
"Nina, I'm here. It's Rachel," she said placing a hand on Nina's cheek, alarmed by how cold her skin was.
"No. Rachel doesn't care. I hurt her."
Rachel's eyes stung, hearing the self-loathing in Nina's choked voice. "No. Nina you're so wrong. I do care. That's why I'm here."
Nina's eyes opened again and this time there was a welcome flicker of awareness in them. "You're really here?"
Rachel wiped at a tear that had slipped down her cheek. "Of course I am," she said sadly at how frail Nina looked even in the dim light of the moon.
"Why? Am I dying or something?" Nina tried to tease, but it just sounded dejected.
"No Nina, you aren't dying," Rachel said with a sad smile, "I read your letter. How could I not come?." She gently reached out to brush the hair out off Nina's forehead.
"I had to do it you know" Nina said. She reached up cup Rachel's cheek. "I did it for you."
Rachel's heart tightened in fear and she covered Nina's hand with hers. "Did what for me Nina?"
"I had to," Nina continued weakly. "I don't want you to be afraid of me anymore."
"Oh Nina, I'm not afraid of you, I never was. Now what did you do?"
Nina smiled and Rachel thought it was the saddest thing she'd ever seen. "A shot. It will make sure I can't force you to love me."
Love me. Rachel's mind seemed to be stuck on those two words. Nina couldn't mean…what did she mean? "Nina, what…? She sighed as she noticed Nina's eyes had fallen shut and she guessed she'd drifted back to sleep. Unable to help herself she placed a soft kiss on Nina's forehead and then took a seat in the chair by the bed where she sat quietly and simply watched Nina, her concern increasing with every whimper.
Eventually Nina finally settled and Rachel knew she had put off talking to Skylar long enough. She made her way to the kitchen where she found the young woman waiting, along with Kendra and a large man she'd never seen before.
"You came then," Skylar said coolly.
"Of course I did," Rachel said, for once not backing down at the glare being directed at her.
"Nina told me what happened. What she did to you," Skylar said in her usual emotionless tone.
Rachel stiffened, wondering if her private life was always going to be the source of gossip for the other woman. "Right. Sure she did," she said feeling the return of her anger. "So?"
Skylar cocked her head, only the slight narrowing of her eyes told Rachel the young woman was not as uninterested as she appeared.
"So, I imagine you're still pretty pissed off. Maybe enough to help your friends track her here and drag her back to that hellhole they called Binghamton."
"I wouldn't…no," Rachel said adamantly. "I wouldn't do that to Nina or to any of you. Not after what happened the last time."
Skylar looked over to the strange man. He nodded once and Skylar's muscles all seemed to relax at once.
"Good, because this time we wouldn't be quite as forgiving as before," Skylar said coldly. "By the way, meet Frank. Like you, he is able to tell when someone is lying, though his abilities aren't quite as strong as yours."
"I…Nina hurt me. Skylar," Rachel said bluntly. "It wasn't the kiss either. What hurt me was that she told someone something I've been ashamed of for as long as I can remember. Something that until Nina made me afraid to get close to anyone, but I let myself trust her like I've never trusted anyone else and she used it against me. She and her boyfriend turned it against me but the worst thing…" she paused as she fought the memory of Nina's expression that night.
"What?" Skylar prodded. She knew Nina's side of the story and how badly she was haunted by what she'd done to Rachel and why, but she was oddly curious about the other side of the story.
"She laughed at me," Rachel finally said, shame filling her once again as she remembered how Nina had pushed her away. "This whole time I thought we were friends and I've just been a joke to her."
"Oh my God Rachel, that's not true."
Rachel's eyes shot to the voice coming from the doorway. Nina was leaning weakly against the doorframe but the tear rolling down her cheek was Rachel's downfall. She quickly got to her feet and walked to the taller woman, fully noticing how frail she looked in the full light of the kitchen.
"Nina, I thought you were asleep. You need to be lying down," she said anxiously. "Come on," she urged.
"No." Nina refused. "Not until I know you believe me." She carefully lifted her hands as if to cup Rachel's face but at the slight flinch she lowered her hands and her shoulders sagged in surrender.
"Nina," Rachel said brokenly, knowing her instinctive reaction had hurt her.
"Go home Rachel," she said. "I'll be fine and you can get your life back."
"I'm not going anywhere," Rachel said firmly, her hand reaching out to touch Nina's face. Her fingers slid into the dark hair that she knew had once been silky soft but was now flat. There were circles under eyes that were still beautiful despite the pain and sadness that filled them.
"We will talk Nina, I promise but we have to get you well first. Tell me what you did that took your abilities."
"What she did?" Skylar interrupted. "What are you talking about?"
"Nothing," Nina retorted.
"No. She told me she did something so she couldn't push anymore."
"That's not possible outside of Binghamton…is it?"
"Apparently it is," Rachel said. "What was it Nina? That could be what's causing your headaches?"
"It doesn't matter. This is what you…what everyone wanted, right?"
Rachel sighed. "Come on, we're putting you back into bed and then we're going to talk, well as long as you're able."
"Here," Skylar interrupted holding out a syringe, somewhat amused that she and Frank became invisible as soon as Nina entered the room, though part of her felt a sadness wondering if her friend would ever let herself see the happiness standing right under her nose.
"This is another sedative for when you're finished talking, to help keep her headache from flaring and it will help her sleep."
"Thanks," Rachel said, taking the needle in one hand, Nina's hand in the other and led her authoritatively down the hall.