Gone. Eleanor was gone.
Rachel sat with her knees drawn up. Her dress had ridden up, a solid reminder of how real her nightmare had been. What would have happened if Roman hadn't pulled her out? Would Walter have used her to satisfy his lust again? And if he would have pulled her out sooner, would it have saved their baby?
Probably not.
The bartender had come back, along with a man in glasses. He carried a small black bag. Rachel rubbed her stomach as if that would make the pain go away.
As if it would bring her daughter back.
A fresh wave of tears started to flow. How could she have let herself get pulled into this situation? Would there have even been any way to avoid it? Even Maturin had confirmed that she was meant to be Pennywise's mate.
How long had the Turtle even known about her? Why didn't he just set her on the path to Roland? The gunslinger wouldn't have done this to her. Wouldn't have put her in this predicament. And yet somehow, instead Rachel had drawn the attention of two of the biggest evils the universe had to offer. Claps for Rachel, her inner voice applauded.
Yes how cruel the universe could be. And here she was, a pawn. A toy. A prostitute for interdimensional men to fuck and to pass back and forth as their needs saw fit. She was even dressed for the occasion now. Clever Walter. At least he saw her for what she truly was.
Rachel's face burned. She swayed sideways. A strong hand held her upright.
"Rachel?"
It was Roman.
"She needs a doctor."
The man that had just walked in responded. His voice sounded muffled. Burning. Rachel was burning. Maybe she was dying after all. She pitched forward. Roman held on to her.
"Do something!" Roman cried.
Rachel's vision went white.
The sky was a light blue. But there was a shine coming from somewhere to the right. The sun. Rachel was lying on her back on something hard. She tilted her head back. Even from upside down there was no mistaking what was behind her.
The Tower. She was back in the Tower.
She glanced down at herself. Her silver dress from the first Tower trip was back. Rachel actually smiled. At least she could be away from the pain for a little while. Maybe she could even see Eleanor's spirit again.
Rachel gasped. Eleanor! She sat up quickly. She felt a cool breeze against her skin. Cool. Not burning. Yes maybe she could stay here for a while. She got to her feet. She was on the balcony again. She went closer to the edge. The same glorious view met her. The patchwork quilt of different landscapes. Rachel sighed. A content sigh this time.
She felt a cool hand grab hers and glanced down quickly. An angelic face smiled up at her. A face that Rachel had only seen a couple of times, but would never forget for as long as she lived.
Rachel's chest tightened. Eleanor was wearing her white dress again. Her eyes were more brown this time. More like Rachel's used to be. Rachel knelt down.
"Hey, sweetie."
Eleanor didn't say anything. She just smiled at Rachel. Rachel's eyes filled with tears. She gently squeezed her daughter's tiny hand.
"How are you? Are you feeling okay?"
Eleanor nodded.
"That's good. I don't know how long mommy's going to be able to stay here okay."
Another nod.
Rachel reached out and touched Eleanor's shoulder. Touched her hair. She felt so real. So solid.
The tears fell. Eleanor reached out to brush Rachel's cheek.
"Don't cry, Mommy."
Rachel cried harder. How short a time she had known this child. An how attached she had already gotten.
"I'm crying because I love you. And because I miss you."
"Don't worry, Mommy. Daddy will take care of you. And you have Uncle Roland now."
Rachel's heart swelled. How aware Eleanor had been. A powerful telepath, just like her father. But just how aware had she been? Rachel quickly tossed that thought from her mind. She was with her daughter.
"Are you going to stay here?" Rachel sniffled.
Eleanor nodded again. "Me and Maturin are going to protect the Tower together. And so will you."
"Me?"
"Yes. We will guard it up here. And you will guard it from down there."
Rachel stared at Eleanor. Walter wanted to bring down the Tower. He would kill Eleanor a second time. Rachel stood quickly.
"I have to go. You know I love you, right?"
Eleanor nodded her little head, her curls bouncing. "And I love you as well."
Rachel knelt and embraced her daughter, a renewed strength filling her. As much as she wanted to stay, she needed to get back. There was a Tower to protect. Which meant the entire universe was at stake.
"You will always, always be my daughter."
There was no doubt about what Rachel had to do to get back. She took off running across the balcony.
And jumped.
Roman struggled and struggled to find a pulse. There was no breath. Nothing.
He pushed his hair back. What is it that humans did in this situation? CPR? He hovered over her. Should he try to get her to breathe first or get her heart pumping?
"Fuck!" Roman hollered.
He was about to start shaking her again when Rachel's eyes flew open. She took a gasping breath. She started coughing.
"Oh. Baby." Roman bent down towards her again. He put his arm on her shoulder. Rachel glanced towards him. Her eyes seemed a bit unfocused. But then she looked directly at him.
"Roman."
"I'm here, kitten."
She hoisted herself up on her elbows. "I saw her." Rachel's voice was a hoarse whisper, but at least his wife was alert. And she was breathing.
"I saw her."
"Who did you see? Where-"
"In the Tower. Eleanor's in the Tower."
Roman sat back on the edge of the bed. She had gone back.
"You saw Eleanor's spirit in the Dark Tower?"
"Yes. I saw her, Roman. I talked to her."
Rachel started crying. But she had a smile on her face.
Roman smiled back. "That's good, kitten. She is at peace then."
Rachel nodded. "Yes. She's at peace."
Roman grabbed her hand and held it. Rachel squeezed back. She laid back down and let out a deep sigh. She closed her eyes. Roman knew that he should get the doctor to examine her, not that he would have been able to adequately. He would have to get her back to Earth for that. Maybe he should try to contact the Turtle. Not that the old skin bag would be willing to talk to him.
"We need to at least move her."
Roman had almost forgotten that there were other people in the room.
He sighed. "Yes. If she's going to actually rest, she doesn't need to be lying in blood."
"What about her clothes?" Allie asked. "She's going to at least need some for when she wakes up."
"I'll take care of that," Roman replied.
He turned his attention back on Rachel. The even rise and fall on her chest made him relax just a little more. If she was still in any pain, apparently it wasn't bad enough to keep her from sleeping.
"Is there another room available?" he asked Allie.
"Hmph. That's all there is. We can put her in the one across from here."
Roman stood. It had been a while since he had held his wife. He got into positon and carefully lifted her. He inhaled. She still smelled like him. Whatever the Man in Black had done to her must have really left its mark somehow. He eyed her dress as he lifted her. The bartender had had a point. Roman could see the clear outline of her breasts. And she would definitely have to be careful how she sat. There was nothing about the dress that left anything to the imagination.
Roman started shaking and he held Rachel against him probably more tightly than he should have as he followed Allie to the other room. The gunslinger's eyes quickly scanned Rachel's body, but he just as quickly looked away. Roman grit his teeth. He took a shaky breath. He couldn't afford to go all Pennywise now. He had to exact self-control. For Rachel's sake.
Allie pulled back the covers in the bed in Rachel's new room and Roman gently placed her down. She was snoring softly. Roman smiled. His wife always was a hard sleeper. One time he had even turned into Pennywise while she was sleeping. She had slept on top of him like he was a body pillow and hadn't even noticed until she woke up the next morning. He gently placed her down in the bed and covered up to just below her neck.
"Would you like me to examine her now?" the doctor asked.
"No," Roman answered quickly.
"Pennywise."
Roman rounded on the gunslinger. "You think I'm going to let anyone touch her right now? She's sleeping. She is actually sleeping. I don't feel any pain coming off of her at all. If there's any, it's mild."
"What if she's still bleeding inside?"
"Then not even doctors from her world would be able to stop it."
Roman couldn't help but notice the concern in the gunslinger's eyes. He hated it.
"Is there any place to buy clothes around here?" Roman asked Allie.
She pointed with her chin towards the street. "There's a shop a few blocks down. I guess I can take you there. If you don't need me here anymore. I don't open up for a while yet."
Roman nodded. "Alright. You can go too," he told the doctor. "If we need you, I'm sure you won't be a problem to find."
"It is your choice. But she really needs medical attention," said the doctor.
He left. Allie was right on his heels. Roman went to follow them, but Roland blocked his path.
"What if she wakes up and you're not here? Again."
Roman scowled at the gunslinger. First the man didn't want Roman near Rachel, now he didn't want him away from her. It was getting tiresome indeed. He slowly approached the gunslinger and dropped his voice to where just the other man could hear him.
"I know the mind wanders sometimes. And I know it's hard right now. Believe me I'm not happy about the…state she's in. But if you touch her while I'm away…you'll be lucky if your hands aren't the only thing you lose."
"Then I guess we're both lucky I'm not a monster like some people."
Roman smirked at the gunslinger. "You're right. Why would she be interested in a human?"
He clapped Roland hard on the shoulder and then left.
Roland turned his attention back to the sleeping girl. He could hear her even breathing in the silent room. It was like any normal morning, if there was such a thing in Roland's life.
There was a chair. Roland sat in it.
Twice now he had been warned about Rachel. To keep both his eyes and hands off of her. Maybe he had let his eyes linger just a couple of times. It would be hard for any man not to. The girl had a way about her, quiet but strong. Or she had been. Until Walter had gotten a hold of her.
Pregnant. She had been pregnant. Had it been for Pennywise? Roland rubbed his hand across his face. He was still having trouble putting her and the clown together. None of it made sense. How did a girl so young and beautiful end up with such a creature? Had he tricked her the way Walter had? Used some kind of magic on her? Was she bound to him in some way?
He thought of her eyes. The color of amber, they had turned gold. It had been back in Pricetown, after she had run into Pennywise. Pennywise had gold eyes also. There had to be some kind of connection there, but what?
But there was another problem at hand, a more pressing situation. Walter wanted her. Why? What was it about this girl that attracted not one but two supernatural beings to her?
Rachel made a little noise. Squirmed a bit in her sleep. Roland started to stand, but she stilled again.
She had passed out and then had stopped breathing. Had stopped responding. And then she had woken up. And had said two words that had caught Roland's attention above anything.
The Tower. Rachel had seen the Dark Tower. Had seen her daughter in the Dark Tower.
Yes it was time Roland had a talk with Rachel. He just hoped he was prepared enough to hear her answers.
