Another big thanks to guest reviewer Juliet! And a Giant Thank You and Wow to user MIssFemm Thanks for the helpful critique I will take that into consideration! I hope you enjoy the chapter! Thanks again for reviewing!
Trisha was back on the road before dawn but the light on the horizon began to grow brighter and brighter. She unfortunately hit the early morning traffic and sighed in frustration.
"Come on, come on!" she hit the horn and gripped the wheel as the line began to move again, "It's more like it"
The Traffic cleared as she exited down and drove for Mr. Alexander's house, having wasted over two hours in traffic.
Alex must have been worried sick. But as she approached the house she heard music blaring even as she pulled in.
"What on earth?" Trisha got out and made for the front door. "Mr. Alexander?" she knocked harder to be heard over the Music. "Mr. Alexander?"
Suddenly there was a crash, like something wet and heavy being throw from a high place and she rounded the house to find something that made her heart stop. Time seemed to slow down around her and her breath caught in her lungs painfully, refusing to be freed. She stood like a statue as her brain struggled and reeled, trying to take in what had just happened and overwhelmed to the point of almost shutting down completely.
Alex, spread out in a growing pool of red blood. His limbs were twisted and bent in unnatural ways and his hair was soaked and matted with gore.
"Oh my God!" she screamed and darted for him and landed roughly on her knees, "Alex! Alex! Can you hear me?" she asked and he only whimpered softly in reply.
"Alexander, don't move! Do you hear me Do not move whatever you do. I'm going to go call an ambulance." She ran for the front door and began to bang harder this time.
"Mr. Alexander! Let me in! Please, Help!" the door was opened by a strange woman in a pantsuit and the girl shoved past her, running down the hall and stairs to find Mr. Alexander, Julian, and A strange man sitting around a high tech sound system blaring Beethoven.
"Mr. Alexander! It's Alex, he's..." she stopped, the music so loud it was barely able to be comprehended but it struck her.
Beethoven.
The ninth.
"Mother fu..." she began to curse but remembered she didn't have enough time to wait, deciding to deal with the wheelchair bound man late she darted.
There was a phone in the kitchen and she ran for it. Julian met her, ready to stop her and she ran into his arm as she tried to pass and held her in a crushing grip to his chest. "Let me go, we need to call an ambulance, quickly!"
He tried to stop her struggling and as she clawed at his muscly arms she thrashed and wiggled violently, landing a few good blows. She cried out in pain as she felt a sudden, sharp pain by her shoulder and down her arm.
"You let me go!" Trisha screamed and raked her nails down his wrists leaving thing lines that began to bleed, still he didn't budge until she managed to squirm her way down so his forearm was by her face and she twisted her neck biting into the skin of his arm as hard as she could.
He cried out and she took advantage to slip out and snatch up the long, used kitchen knife sitting of the counter as he snatched her wrist.
"Stop it!" she held the knife to him, daring him to come for her, streams of blood at the corner of her lips where Julian's arm had met with her teeth and a wild, almost savage look in her eyes.
"I…am calling… the police." She panted, "And an ambulance"
He released her with his hands raised and she trembling reached for the phone, struggling to grip of receiver, and dialed the number.
They would be there soon, the operator said after she gave the address and situation. Trisha hung up but didn't let go of the knife, circling the counter away from Julian how waited for her to let her guard down in some way.
She didn't stop watching him until she was at the doorway and darted out and for the front door. Around the house she found Alex as she had left him, the man and woman who were strangers to her left in a new shiny car.
She sat beside him, a pool of blood spreading and staining her stockings and skirt.
"Alex, can you hear me?"
Alex moaned and she pressed her fingers to his throat, he was just barely alive.
"Just keep listening to me Alex," she leaned in towards him, "Just keep listening to my voice my love. You have to stay with me now." She touched his hair and gently stroked in where there was no blood. She began to cry and wiped her eyes.
"I'm sorry Alex, I should have come sooner. I should have been here to protect you." She spoke to him as a large white ambulance began to pull up into the drive and she stood and yelled and waved her arms for them to come over there.
A hoard of medics brought a stretcher and gently but quickly lifted Alex up.
"I have to stay with him!" she began to run after them but was stopped by two paramedics. "Please I have to make sure he's okay!"
"We'll do all we can miss, but you have to come with us." They led her to a police car where an officer waited with a shiny, metallic blanket which was tucked over her shoulders as she was made to duck in to the back of the car.
They drove to the hospital, a giant place that smelled entirely of cleaning solution, and Alex was immediately taken into surgery, a team of doctors and nurses flocking around the gurney while Trisha was escorted to normal looking examination room with a clip board to sign out for Alex.
She was also attended to despite her protests, as it would turn out George's beating had done quite a bit of damage, but the pressure Julian had put on her had only worsened it and caused a full break in her collar bone and a hair line fracture down her upper arm.
She went into surgery and came out rather quickly with the bone reattached, an ugly, gruesome looking wound stitched up and stapled shut with a layer of gauze over it, and a sling over her shoulder.
The media had caught wind of the news that the recently cured boy had suffered an "accident" and was now in the hospital. Trisha herself being assured that Alex would live and make a full recovery, Sat down to a media press conference and told them about the effect of the treatment and how it was to blame for Alex's injuries.
And to her delight, as she sat in her Parlor reading the paper and sipping her hot town, Trisha found that the media immediately began crucifying the doctors, prison warden, and the government for allowing the treatment to occur.
Two days later she received a phone call from Mrs. DeLarge.
"He's awake?" she shot up from the table, causing the maid holding the phone to jump.
"Just last night dear, we're going down to see him this morning and thought you would like to know."
"Yes! Yes, thank you Mrs. DeLarge I will be right down!" she hung up and turned to the maid.
"Are you going somewhere Ma'am?"
"Yes, the hospital." She downed the rest of her tea and made for the stairs in a fast pace.
"Wait, Ma'am! You'll need help dressing!" the maid ran after her.
She could only wear loose fitting things for a while, easy to get in and out of without much pain. A loose fitting white dress and a string of white and cream pearls long enough to hang down between her breasts, usually a summer color but she was so happy she felt like it was the only color to express it.
"Ma'am, at least take a wrap with you! It's still autumn out there!" The maid insisted and handed her grey coat to throw on as she rushed out the door to the driver who waited for her. Her injury prevented her from driving properly so she simply relayed the order to him and sat in the back seat as they zoomed down the city streets.
Trisha met with Alex's Parents at the front door and rushed into the room where Alex still lay, half asleep.
"Alex?" she whispered and stood over him, on the opposite side from Mr. and Mrs. DeLarge.
"Alexander?"
His eyes fluttered open slightly and he looked around, unable to move his head or neck. Both his arms and legs were bound in plaster casts, as was his left shoulder. There was a large bandage tapped down his chest with a speck of blood on it where they had to fix his broken ribs and injured lungs. And His head was wrapped in plaster casting with a metal brace on each side so he could not move.
Patricia was so grateful she couldn't speak, and it took everything in her not to laugh.
"Hello Lad"
"Hello Son," Em leaned over him, "How are you feeling?"
"Are you feeling better?" P asked and Alex stared at him with a looked at was anything but sympathetic.
"What… Gives? Oh my p and em." Alex's breath was slightly labored "What makes…you think… you're welcome?"
Mrs. Delarge began to sniffle and hid her face in her handkerchief. "There, there mother he doesn't mean it." P hushed her. "You were in the papers again son."
"It said they had done great wrong to you. It said how the government drove you to try and do yourself in… and if you think about it son, maybe it was our fault to, in a way. Your home's your home when it's all said and done son."
Alex didn't say a word and they soon left before the bedridden boy noticed the third figure in the room, now standing over him with a look of slight disapproval, a hardy amount of relieve, and love.
"Is this an angel…I see before me?" He asked with a pained smiled. "Come to… wing me off to…heaven?"
She pulled up a chain and sat right next to the bed so he could still look up at her.
"Why is it, whenever I leave you alone with someone you always end up worse for wear?" she reached forward and brushed a hair off his plaster shell. Alex smiled a little.
"Logic would dictate…that you should… never leave me." He swallowed. "That way…I'd stop getting hurt." He eyed her sling and cast and frowned questioningly.
"Just a few broken bones my Love." She shook her head and pulled the coat on tighter so he wouldn't see the ugly staples that looked like grotesque stitching across her skin.
"Ole' Georgie boy really did a number on you huh?" he swallowed for breath, "did he… you know…?
"No." she shook her head thankfully, "He couldn't"
Alex smirked a little. "Knew it."
"Course you did Love." She laughed and leaned forward to kiss his forehead.
"So, how to you feel?" she asked, "I mean are you still…?"
Alex had begun to breathe slightly easier now, but the stitches down his chest were still tender with every rising breath
"I don't know. I don't feel anything. Then again I don't feel too horrorshow either."
"I think the Doctors will be ready to get that thing off your head soon." Trisha told him.
"You really scared me Alex. I don't think I've ever been that frightened by anything in my entire life." She rubbed his bare shoulder. "I thought for sure I was going to lose you." She felt her eyes prickle and she quickly wiped them but couldn't keep the hitch out of her voice.
"I just heard you fall, and there was so much Blood and your body was just…" she covered her mouth and shook her head as if to banish the dreadful thoughts. "I was so afraid Alexander."
She didn't bother asking why he did because she knew, it was the music they had been playing full blast.
"He found me out." Alex explained, "I suppose. But not to worry my dearie, I'll be fit as dodgers soon." He smirked a little, "and then, we'll have a proper celebration."
She laughed as he wiggled his brows in an exaggerated manner.
"When this is all over, we'll both go home. Everything is ready for you." She ran her hand up and down his bicep and shoulder, the only bare skin she could reach. "Da left me a good deal of money, enough to last. The house is all paid off, and I have my writing." She smiled softly.
"I've started writing about the treatment, about what happened." She confessed, "I think after those interviews with the reporters I realized how much good I can do now. If people knew what you went through then they wouldn't let it happen again."
A week later Alex was able to sit up but not stand yet, and Trisha visited him every single day bringing with her a portable typewriter and a stack of paper.
They agreed not to mention Trisha's crimes as it would destroy her reputation, but they did write about her relationship with Alex and the Droogs. Of course they would have to change some names for legal reasons, but it was coming together nicely for a rough draft.
However they still couldn't figure out if Alex was still "cured" or not. They were both too afraid to find out.
They would sit for hours, talking and writing until one day a cheery, purple haired woman walked in with a cart baring a strange looking machine.
"Good morning." She said brightly and the duo eyed her.
"Good morning missus."
"And how are we today?"
"Fine, fine."
"Good, may I?" she swiped the newspaper off Alex's lap. "I'm Doctor Taylor."
Alex watched her carefully. "Never seen you before."
"I'm your psychiatrist." She said quickly and Trisha hummed.
"Psychiatrist? Do I need one?" Alex questioned
"Popular opinion says yes." Trisha deadpanned and Alex shot her scolding look.
"It's just part of hospital procedure" the doctor assured them both.
"Should I leave then?" Trisha began to get up but the doctor shook her head.
"No need miss, as long as you remain quiet"
"What are we gonna do? Talk about me sex life? You'd enjoy that wouldn't you sweetheart?" Alex said only half joking and turned toward Trisha as best he could and Trisha eyed him reproachfully.
"Alexander" She drew out his name and he rolled his eyes.
"Only joking, love."
"I'm going to show you some slides, and you're going to tell me what you think of them. Alright?" The doctor explained.
"Jolly Good. Say doctor, do you know anything about dreams?"
"Somethings, yes" she began to set up the machine.
"Do you know what they mean?"
"Perhaps, something you're concerned about?" she asked
"No, no, not concerned really. But I've been having this really nasty dream, very nasty. It like uh…" he wet his lips. "when I was all smashed up and unconscious like, I kept having this dream where like all these doctors were playing around with me Gulliver, like the inside of me brain. And I kept having this dream over and over again. Do you think it could mean something?"
The nurse paused and glanced at Trisha a moment before chuckling, "patients who sustain the injuries you have often have dreams of this sort. It's all part of the recovery process." She assured him.
"Oh"
"Now then, each of these slides needs a reply from one of the people in the picture. You'll tell me what you think the person would say. Alright?" The nurse prepared him and Alex nodded.
Trisha stopped her work to watch with interest.
The first slide was of two man and a peacock.
"Isn't the plumage beautiful?"
Alex thought, "And I'm just supposed to saw what the other person would say?"
"Yes."
Alex scrunched up his face and the nurse laughed.
"Well don't think about it too long, just say the first thing that pops into your head."
Trisha stifled a scoff, oh this was going to be interesting.
"Uh, Cabbages…knickers…. It's not got a beak" Alex spat out and Trisha covered up a smile, trying to remain serious but that didn't stop Alex from laughing as the nurse turned to the next slide.
"Good," The nurse flipped the slide, "the boy you always quarreled with is seriously Ill."
"My mind is a blank, eh..."
"Nothing new there."
"shh, you have to be quiet remember?" Alex hushed Trisha before thinking suddenly.
"I'll smash your face for you, yarblockos." Trisha covered her mouth, not because she disapproved but because Alexander had a violent thought and wasn't ill.
Time for the next slide. A picture of a nude woman in bed and a man on a ladder outside her window.
"What do you want?"
"No time for the in an' out love, I've just come to read the meter." Alex said without thinking.
"You sold me a crummy watch, I want my money back."
"You know what you can do with that watch? Stick it up your arse!" Alex laughed and Trisha grinned.
"Good" the Nurse flipped to the next slide. "You can do whatever you like with these." It was a picture of a woman giving a man eggs.
"Eggiwegs. I would like to smash 'em. Pick up the lot and f... owww...!" he yelped as he brought his hand down, forgetting it was broken and cradled it in his good hand. "Fucking Hell"
"Well, that's all there is to it" The nurse began to pack up, and Trisha immediately began to fuss over the boy in the bed's hand which has cracked sickeningly.
Alex tried to bat Trisha off with incoherent muttering " Dammit woman I'm Fine!" he hissed and she sat back up with a pout.
"Are you alright?"
"Hope so, is that it then?"
"Yes."
"I was rather enjoying that."
"Good! I'm Glad!"
"How many did I get right?"
"It's not that kind of a test," the nurse smiled. "But you seem well on your way to making a complete recovery."
"Isn't that grand?" Trisha rubbed his shoulder.
"When do I get out of here then?"
"I'm sure it won't be long now." The nurse left them and Trisha watched her go before turning to Alex.
"Alex did you see what just happened?"
"What?"
Trisha laughed. "You had a violent thought! You slammed your hand down, you thought about sex! And you didn't get sick!" Alex thought and grinned from ear to ear.
"There's only one way to find out for sure." He eyed her and she looked over her shoulder at the door. "True but we don't have the time and neither of us are in the proper condition." She circled to the other side of the bed.
"Let me see your hand." She took his good hand and knelt down before allowing it to snake down the front of her dress.
Alex willingly groped about, even after it was apparent that the "cure" had worn off and Trisha was so caught up in the lovely feeling she had not experienced in two years that they were almost walked in on by a nurse carrying a tray of food who rushed in as Alex's heart monitor sped up.
"Visiting hours are almost over Miss, you'll have to leave so the patient can rest." The nurse informed her and Trisha nodded, readjusting her blouse before leaning forward and Kissing Alex firmly and feverishly.
"Gently darling, gently." Alex whispered between kisses as she kissed his jaw but lingered dangerously close to his neck brace with her hand resting on his bare chest, suddenly the heart rate monitor spiked making the poor nurse jump and eye Trisha disapprovingly.
"Sorry, sorry, sorry" she said sheepishly and she kissed him one last time before packing away her type writer and leaving the hospital reluctantly, but happy as a clam that the cure had worn off.
Her driver waited with the door open for her as she slid in drove her back to the large house she hoped she would soon be sharing.