--Chapter 9: Gangs of Neptune--
--I apologize to those of you who expected to see the double date, but I figured that the four of them would all get together again at some point later when Piz has proven himself to Logan. Plus, I think we've seen Lauren in enough pain for a little while eh?--
Logan was out with Veronica, so Lauren had the apartment to herself. She reheated some leftover pizza and turned on the TV, settling on the Discovery Channel--it was a "Mythbusters" marathon. She heard what could have been a knock on the door; it was two raps, spaced out so it didn't just sound like something hitting the door. She got up to check. Looking through the peephole, she saw a dirty, disheveled looking person. So it was a knock. Cautiously, she opened the door a crack. The figure turned to look at her and through the dirt and blood covering his face, she recognized him. "Dick?"
"Little Chick . . . Is Logan here?" He was obviously in pain.
"No, he's out with Veronica, but you get in here," she commanded, gently taking his arm and leading him to the couch. She laid hid down with a throw pillow under his head and said, "Don't move." She rushed to the bathroom and tore through the cabinets, grabbing washcloths, Neosporin, peroxide and the whole box of bandages. Dick was just as she'd left him when she brought everything back out to the living room. Another quick run into the kitchen and she came back with a bowl of warm water.
As carefully as if he were a baby, she washed off the dirt and blood that was caked onto his face, revealing several deep cuts on his jaw and forehead. "What happened, Dick?" she asked when his mouth was clear. She'd grabbed a pair of scissors from the kitchen drawer and now started cutting his T-shirt off to get to the wounds on his chest and sides.
"I went out to the PCH," he explained painfully. "I was just gonna get some E for a party tonight."
"So what went wrong?" she asked sympathetically.
"I don't know," he winced. "I gave 'em the money, they gave me the stuff, then someone hit me from behind. Before I knew it there were guys everywhere-- I couldn't see any of their faces, I . . ."
"Shh; don't worry about it," she soothed. He was as cleaned and patched up as she would be able to get him. "Is your car outside?"
"Yeah."
"Okay--I have to get you to the hospital; you're gonna need stitches for some of these. Where are you keys?"
"Right pocket."
"All right," she said, reaching into his pocket and pulling them out. "I'm gonna pull it as close to the door as possible--don't move; I'll be right back." She briefly reached for his hand, and he squeezed it in return. Then as fast as she could, she pulled on a pair of shoes and ran outside to find Dick's car.
Following the signs to the hospital, she pulled into the parking lot near the Emergency entrance. She ran around to the passenger side, opened the door, and allowed Dick--wrapped loosely in a blanket--to lean on her as she guided him into the ambulance bay doors.
She got him to the reception desk and told the clerk as much information as she could, as fast as possible. "And does he have insurance?"
"Look lady, the guy is standing here bleeding--he's already lost a lot of blood--I think you should be asking whether or not he's going to live first." Dick leaned harder on her shoulder, and she knew he was fading fast. "Now, I don't see that many people here, so I'm just gonna take him through that door there, and you can bring the paperwork and stuff in when he's no longer bleeding all over me."
"Um, all right." Ren had caught the woman off-guard, but it had worked. There was a person in scrubs with a wheelchair waiting for them when Ren all but dragged Dick through the door marked Triage One. They got him into an exam room and immediately started cleaning and stitching him up.
"I'd like to keep him overnight to make sure there are no complications from his injuries--will you be staying with him?" Dick squeezed her hand and didn't let go.
"Yeah." She squeezed his hand back.
"All right, I just need to find a room for him. It may take a little while. And you may just want to go back out to reception and finish up with Pam," he smiled. Ren nodded as he left.
"Okay Dick, I'm gonna do that, and then give Logan a quick call.
"But you coming back?"
"I'm not going anywhere."
---------
"This had better be good."
"What, did I interrupt you having sex or something?"
" . . ."
"Oh . . . well, um, I'm at the hospital."
"What?! Are you okay?!"
"I'm fine, but Dick's a little the worse for wear. You may want to put some clothes on and come down here."
"What happened?"
"I'm not really sure. He showed up at our door bleeding and barely able to stand. He said something about drugs and PHC--whatever that is?"
"PCH?"
"Yeah, that's it."
"Geez."
"Anyway, they're keeping Dick overnight, but they haven't gotten him a room yet. I'm gonna stay with him, but I'm pretty sure he'd like to at least see you."
"Yeah, okay . . . we'll be there soon."
---------
"Where are we gonna be soon?" Veronica asked.
"The hospital . . . something happened to Dick." He pulled on a pair of pants and a T-shirt. "You don't have to go--you can stay here and sleep if you want."
"You honestly think I'd stay here?" She got up and got dressed as fast as she could. He smiled and took her hand as they walked out the door.
Ren was sitting next to the bed holding Dick's hand when they walked into his hospital room. "Hey man, how're you feeling?" Logan asked him.
"I've definitely been better." Keith Mars walked in through the door.
"Hey Dick," he said slightly sympathetically. "Veronica called me and said I should come over here--you wanna tell me what happened?"
"I'm not gonna get in trouble if I tell you the truth, am I?"
"Normally, I revel getting two birds with one stone, but under the circumstances--I'll let you slide."
"Well, I was down at the PCH--I was supposed to be buying some E for a party." He seemed ashamed by this. "But before the deal was finished, I was jumped from behind. When I woke up, there were a couple of the PCHers on the ground near me--they were beat up too. I didn't stick around to find out if they saw who hit us."
"Who were you buying from?"
"I don't know--he rode a black bike with an orange lightning bolt--it kinda reminded me of a Gatorade bottle."
"Okay." Keith turned to Ren. "You must be Lauren--it's nice to meet you. I'm Keith Mars, Veronica's father."
"Hi." She smiled and shook his hand. He looked at Dick's wounds a little closer.
"The doctor's said you patched him up a bit before you brought him in?"
"Yeah. I know a little about bandaging cuts."
"So I'm told," he mentioned. "You did a good job." He kissed Veronica on the head. "Well, I have to get back to the station with this information. I'll see you all later."
The mood in the room was somber after Keith left. Ren was a little worried--this was the first time she'd really seen Dick be this serious. He'd gotten beaten up once while she and Logan were living with him, but that was for talking to the wrong guy's girlfriend. And he'd been his usual sarcastic self through the whole ordeal.
"Is there anything we can do for you Dick?" Veronica had never seen Dick like this either--even when Cassidy had died.
"Some water?"
"Sure; I'll be right back." Veronica turned toward the door, and Logan followed her.
"Thanks for staying Little Chick."
"Hey, you're kinda like a big brother to me too. I mean, when I first got here, you didn't have to be nice to me."
"Yeah I did--if I was mean to you, Logan would never have forgiven me," he laughed a little painfully. "Besides, you turned out to be not so bad."
"You're really not so bad either Big Guy."
---------
"Veronica, Logan told you to stay away from this." Lauren followed just behind her down the dock.
"I know what Logan said, but nothing's going to happen. I just want to see if there are any clues to who did this." She crouched down next to the blood stains on the ground.
"Haven't the police already been here?"
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean anything. This is the PCH; a lot goes down here that doesn't get followed up on."
"Boy, I know how that goes." Ren lowered herself next to Veronica. "What's that?" She pointed to what looked like a small piece of silver. Veronica picked it up and looked at it hard.
"Well, it's definitely metal . . . It almost looks like a crown," she marveled.
"Let me see," Ren said, intrigued. Veronica held it in front of her, and Ren took it from her. "That's a piece of a Claddagh."
"A what?"
"A Claddagh. It's an Irish symbol, usually given by a Sweetheart or a family member. Like this." She held up her hand so Veronica could see the ring on her right forefinger."
"Oh, that's what that is?"
"Yeah--Danny gave me mine on my fourteenth birthday. He said, 'Ma wanted me to give this to my daughter--and you're more of a daughter than I'm ever gonna have, Little One.'" She smiled down at it. "It was the best birthday present I ever got."
"Wait, so if that's part of an Irish ring, that means . . ."
"It's mine." The girls whirled around to find Liam Fitzpatrick standing there. "Veronica . . . didn't think you'd be stupid enough to cross me again."
"Look Liam, we were just leaving." Veronica stood and pulled at Ren's sleeve.
"Of course you were." He hooked his thumbs in his belt loops. "Only you weren't really going anywhere--not with that piece of my ring."
"We won't tell anyone Liam, just please, let us go." Veronica was really nervous, almost begging him.
"Who's your friend Veronica?"
"No one, really." She started trembling.
"Lauren." Ren stood up and answered him. Veronica gave her a panicked glance. Why did you do that?
"Well, not so bright are we Lauren?"
"How d'ya figure?" She stood firm--she'd dealt with bigger, scarier people than him.
"If you were smart, you wouldn't have gotten involved with Veronica here. She has a talent for getting into trouble."
"Maybe I'm here ta make sure she doesn't get inta trouble. Didja think of that?" She invoked her Southie accent on purpose, trying to sound tough.
"Well, then you're not doing a very good job."
"It's Liam, right?" She lifted her chin a little. "Well, Liam, you're not doin' a very good job of tryin' ta scare me."
"Oh no?" He took a step forward and grabbed Veronica's arm, but Lauren stepped in between them and pushed him back.
"Titim gan eiri ort." She set her jaw and stood her ground.
"Those are strong words for a little girl." He seemed a little surprised both by what she'd said, and by the fact that she'd said it. Without blinking or dropping her eyes, she pulled a knife from her pocket, flipped it open, and held it between them.
"Not as little as you think." He backed away with his hands up. "Now we're not gonna say anything, cuz you're gonna let us go. The PCHers have already been implicated for this, and since we found that piece of you're Claddagh and not the police--I'd say unless you left some blood here, you're clear. So you're gonna get outta here, and you're not gonna scare Veronica anymore. An dtuigeann tĂș?"
He didn't say anything; he just turned around and left. Veronica looked at Lauren in awe. "What did you say to him?"
"I cursed him. That was Gaelic--a little something I picked up at the bar. It means 'may you fall without rising' or basically, 'drop dead'."
"Well, you grew up across the country, and you're still just like you're brother."
"What?"
"Always gotta come to my rescue."
"You're welcome," Ren smiled knowingly, and the two headed back toward Veronica's car.
---------
