Chapter Ten
"How are you feeling?" Katryn asked smiling, as she sat down on the edge of Jesse's bed.
"I've been better." Jesse remarked, swallowing a couple pills. One, being his antibiotic. "Just taking a short break. How's Archie?"
"He's alright." Katryn returned, sighing. "Muscle spasms. He's really frustrated with pain, about now." She told him, chewing her lip.
"Something's wrong." Jesse stated.
"What do you mean?"
"You tend to chew on your lip when you're preoccupied with something." Jesse commented, pointedly.
"It was an accident and my own fault." She answered, glumly.
"Now I know something's wrong." He declared, looking her directly in the eye. "What happened, Kat?"
Sighing, Katryn wordlessly held up her hand.
Jesse frowned, examining the cut on her thumb. "Something tells me that's not a cat scratch."
Katryn shook her head.
"You used the IV port, right?"
She nodded.
"Well then you might be alright unless he had blood in the port." Jesse remarked, optimistically.
Katryn rolled her eyes. "Jess, you know as well as I do that the IV port isn't entirely sterile when it comes down to it."
"Yeah I do." He admitted, sighing. "Look, I'll tell you what. We'll take a blood sample from him, run a CBC, and if he has anything, It'll show up."
Katryn nodded. "I'll get on it as soon as I get some food."
"Uh-uh." Jesse contradicted. "I'll get some food for the both of you and you take the tray and get a blood sample. We'll worry about getting one from you, after we find out if he has anything."
"Thanks, Jess." Katryn replied, gratefully.
"De nada." He responded, as he walked out of his room.
Katryn watched him leave the sick berth, with a thoughtful smile.
"Shall I be making baby booties next?" Davey quipped deviously, without looking up from what he was working on, which appeared to Katryn to be another pair of socks, as he'd already ended up making pairs for most of the crew since they'd left Florida. After the initial teasing wore down, the crew, having discovered how comfortable the knitted socks were, had requested he make them each a pair.
"Bite me, Davey." Katryn retorted, entering the make-shift O.R., where they kept the equipment for lab-work. She grabbed the tray used for blood testing and headed back toward her own quarters.
Davey, behind her, exchanged a cheeky grin with Cortez.
Archie was puzzling over the spot of blood on the bedclothes when he heard the door open again. It was too soon to be Katryn, obviously. Frowning, he looked up as Horatio, looking very guilty, peered around the screen.
"I'm alright, Horatio." Archie assured his friend, motioning for him to sit down. "What did First Officer Rats-Love want?"
Horatio grinned. "He asked me to bring him a bag that was under his bed."
Archie raised an eyebrow. "That bag wouldn't have contained knitting needles, would it?" He asked, curiously.
Horatio stared at him. "How did you know?"
"Did he show you or did you look?"
"Archie!" Horatio scolded, insulted. "You know very well I would never open it and look, without permission! It was open when I pulled it out."
Archie shrugged. "Katryn mentioned it was probably something to that aspect."
Horatio nodded. "Apparently, he was the youngest of his grandmother's four grandsons and an only child, whose parents were commonly abroad." He explained. "So he spent much of his time with his grandmother and because she'd never had any granddaughters, that was the result."
"You would never expect that about him." Archie commented, thoughtfully.
They looked up as the door opened again.
"Katryn?" Archie called, uncertain.
"Yeah, it's me."
Archie frowned, at the tone of her voice. "Are you alright?"
"It depends on how you look at it." Katryn answered, coming around the screen. She was carrying a tray of what was definitely not food.
"Are you bleeding?" Archie asked, remembering the blood he'd found earlier.
Horatio frowned, confused.
Katryn sighed, and held up her thumb, now covered with a bandage. "I slipped with the needle earlier." She informed them. "I didn't realize it had gone through the glove until I was leaving the room a while ago." She paused, taking a deep breath. "And because of health risks and given your past history, we're going to have to run a blo0d test."
"To make sure I didn't pass anything on to you." Archie stated, quietly.
Katryn nodded.
"Do you need me to leave?" Horatio asked, concerned.
"Not if you don't want to." Katryn replied, shrugging. "From what I hear, there's not much in his past history that you don't already know. I am going to have to have you move though, because I need the chair."
"Of course." Horatio readily responded, moving aside.
Katryn, noticing the look of guilt and shame that had crossed Archie's face, sighed. "This isn't your fault, Archie." She assured him, sternly. "It's my fault because I'm a doctor and I was careless with a needle."
"I was the one who moved." Archie insisted.
"You couldn't help having a muscle spasm and I should have compensated by waiting until it passed." Katryn told him, pointedly, as she put her rubber gloves on. "Ergo, it's my fault, not yours." She paused. "So hold still this time."
"Are you still using this?" Archie asked, holding up his arm where the needle was.
"Nah, I thought I'd pull it out and stick you again just to get even." Katryn retorted, seriously.
Horatio stared at her.
Archie rolled his eyes, and shook his head. "She's joking, Horatio." He assured his friend, as he placed his right arm on a pillow Katryn had set down beside him.
Horatio sighed. "That's not funny."
"Says you." Katryn quipped, inserting a needle attached to an almost clear tube into the IV port.
Archie watched, curiously, as she filled a glass tube-like container with blood then placed it on the tray and pulled the needle back out. "That's it?" He asked, incredulously.
"That's it." She replied, with a nod. "Painless, wasn't it?"
"Can you pull that other one out?" Horatio questioned, inquisitively.
"I could." Katryn answered, with a shrug. "But it would mean that every time I needed to give him a shot of medication, he becomes my own personal pincushion, and I'll just have to put another one in, next week when he goes back into surgery."
Archie blinked. "I suppose we might just leave it alone for the time being." He put in quickly.
"If you insist." Katryn returned, with a sweet smile.
They all looked up, when the door opened again.
"That'll be Jesse." Katryn spoke up, grinning.
"Yeah, where's my blood sample?" He asked.
"Where's my food?" Katryn returned, pointedly.
"I'll take that tray, you take this one." Jesse responded, setting a tray of food in Archie's lap.
As Katryn passed him the other tray, Jesse turned to Hornblower.
"Lance said to remind you, you're on Watch in . . . ." He paused, checking Katryn's watch. "Ten minutes ago."
Horatio's head jerked up. "Is it after 3:00, already?!"
Katryn frowned. "No, you still have twenty minutes." She informed him. "You're reading it upside-down, Jess."
"Oh right." Jesse corrected himself. "That would explain why it looked like the little hand was on the nine. You need to put some numbers on that thing, Kat."
"It has a Roman Numeral twelve at the top." Katryn defended.
Horatio breathed a sigh of relief and Archie chuckled.
"I doubt Hendricks is going to hang you by your thumbs for being ten minutes late, anyway." Katryn assured him, easily. "He knows where you are, so you don't have to rush off right away."
"I-I'd best be getting ready, at any rate." Horatio stammered, getting up.
"How long is your Watch?" Archie asked, disappointed.
"Only four hours." Horatio answered, waving a hand. "I'll return later, if that's alright."
"No problem." Katryn replied, nodding.
The two of them waited until the others left, then Archie turned his attention to the tray in his lap. "What do we have to eat?" He asked, eagerly. He was famished.
Katryn looked up as they were finishing their lunch. "So about this Sleazeball of yours. . . ." She spoke up, curiously.
"Simpson." Archie corrected, then frowned. "On second thought 'Sleazeball' sounds more appropriate. I don't know what it means, but it certainly sounds like him."
Katryn grinned. "Sleazeball, it is then." She went on. "Did he ever have any victims before you?"
Archie shrugged. "I suspect there were quite a few, although I only ever heard of the one that was just before me." He told her, thoughtfully. "He'd been in the Navy years before I joined up and I sincerely doubt the boy before me was the first he'd ever assaulted."
"No, I doubt it." Katryn agreed.
"Are you worried about what your blood test is going to find?"
I won't lie to you." Katryn responded, honestly. "From your past history and Sleazeball's past history, you're at risk for any number of diseases."
"He wouldn't have risked that for himself." Archie assured her. "I believe that's why he only went after young boys fresh from home, with no previous experience."
"You know that for sure?"
"From what I gathered, he only went after the newly recruited boys."
Katryn made a face. "So his M.O., or 'Mode of Operation'," she translated, "was to prey on the innocents."
"Essentially, yes." Archie answered, looking just as disgusted. "From what I saw, Horatio was the eldest he'd ever gone after, at the age of seventeen, but that was when Horatio first joined the Navy, and he came fresh out of school, with no experience."
"Did he ever visit the . . . what do you call the whorehouses?"
"Brothels?"
"Yeah, I've heard the reputation of the Navy in this time period, too." Katryn told him, pointedly.
Archie scoffed. "He didn't need the whores." He remarked, with a snort. "Why would he? There was never any shortage of young boys in the Navy. I can't tell you he didn't visit them when he was younger but I do know that I certainly never saw him with any."
Katryn chewed her lip, uncomfortable.
"What's the matter?" Archie asked, frowning.
"Don't take this the wrong way, but I do have to ask. . ."
"You're wanting to know if I ever visited the brothels." Archie stated, knowingly.
She nodded. "I'm not meaning to insult you or offend you, but I just know what I've read and-"
Archie held up a hand, interrupting her. "You don't have to apologize and you're not offending me." He assured her. "I understand why you're asking and I'll gladly answer any questions you need to ask. As for my visiting the brothels, you can stop worrying about that. I've been invited a few times, by other Officers and such, but I can promise you I never been with any whores." He paused, flushing. "Given the circumstances, I've never been very comfortable in places like that." The flush deepened, and he looked down, embarrassed. "In fact, I've never really been with any woman before."
Katryn waited until he looked back up at her, then gave him a reassuring smile. "That's nothing to be ashamed of." She informed him, seriously. "And no honest, caring woman would ever hold it against you."
"Really?" He asked, unsure.
Katryn grinned, giving him a nudge on the shoulder. "If she does, she's not worth keeping." She promised him, honestly. "Besides, even though they don't admit it, neither have a lot of men. They just love to lie about it to make guys like you jealous."
Archie nodded, self-consciously, his cheeks still crimson.
Katryn sobered as he met her gaze again. "I still have to ask a few more questions though."
"Ask away." Archie commented, shrugging.
"Were you ever assaulted by anyone other than Sleazeball?" Katryn asked, ardently.
Archie sighed. "I was beaten a few times by others, but never more than that." He replied, grimacing. "Sleazeball never really wanted to share me around. I actually saw him threaten men for even suggesting it. He'd make me go ashore with him, to show me off, I suppose. He always made sure everyone knew I was his piece of property."
"That's nasty." Katryn stated, sneering.
"And humiliating, believe me." Archie agreed, miserably. "I was actually sitting in a tavern, when I heard a man at a nearby table, asking Sleazeball what he'd charge for this man to use me for the night. I can't even begin to describe what that felt like."
"I expect it would make you feel pretty cheap, at any rate." Katryn commented. "So he'd do all that, but refused to loan you out to other men?"
Archie shrugged. "Many of those men had a tendency to visit the brothels, frequently, as well as assaulting any number of fresh young boys." He pointed out. "I told you he would not risk the chance of getting anything from me."
"And he apparently was attached to you for some freaky reason and didn't want to lose his favorite victim." Katryn finished, with a flat look.
"Yes, actually." Archie returned, making a face. "Or at least I was his favorite victim, until another better looking young boy joined the Navy. Then he wouldn't care, anymore."
"So he used boys until he saw something better, then tossed them out like a used litter-box liner." Katryn mused, thoughtfully.
Archie nodded. "He used us repeatedly, over and over, until there wasn't even any sport in it, anymore." He told her, gravely. "Whenever I was alone, he always knew, and was always there. I couldn't get away from him."
"Didn't the other crew members do anything?" Katryn asked, frowning. "I mean it's a big ship, full of a lot of people. Didn't anyone say anything?"
"Most of the ones who knew, were afraid of him and the rest either didn't know or didn't care." He informed her, sighing. "They always found something else to do in other parts of the ship, when he came after me. I even tried to kill myself once, but couldn't finish because I was never alone long enough. He always knew what I was up to, and told me I was his little whore, and I'd best get used to it and that no self-respecting woman would want me anymore, anyway."
"Is that why you weren't comfortable with them?"
Archie bit his lip. "Part of the reason, I suppose." He answered, quietly, looking away.
Katryn reached over and pulled his chin back, so he faced her. Archie still refused to meet her gaze, and she couldn't help but notice the tear that slid down his face.
"Please look at me." Katryn requested, softly.
He swallowed, and finally met her piercing gaze. The pain she saw reflected in his eyes made Katryn want to cry.
"He was a lying bastard and that is not now, and will never be, true." She told him calmly, yet with a firm tone, as she brushed his tears away. "And you can take that from the point of view of a very self-respecting woman. Honestly, I'd sooner believe that no self-respecting woman would ever touch that creep, with a six-foot cattle-prod, before I'd believe it about you."
Archie gave a cough, that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. "What's a cattle-prod?"
Katryn grinned. "It's a stick that gives an electric shock, or zap, and is commonly used for herding cattle." She informed him. "Not that you'd know what an electric shock was, but let's just say it's like a really weak lightning strike." She paused, watching him.
Archie's head was bowed, but she could see the smile forming across his face.
Katryn grinned. "That's more like it." He really had a cute smile, she noted, inwardly.
Archie finally looked up at her with gratitude visible in his eyes. "Thank you." He replied, simply, as no more was needed.
"I was only telling the truth." Katryn returned, sincerely, then gave a thoughtful look. "One more question, if I may."
Archie raised an eyebrow.
"Is he dead?" Katryn asked, seriously.
Archie gave a sly grin. "Why? Were you planning 'Temporary Insanity'?"
Katryn shrugged, trying to look innocent but Archie was not falling for it.
"Horatio had a duel with him several years ago." Archie told her, after a moment. "I wasn't there to see it, because I was captured before that, but I hear he fired his shot early, claiming it was a misfire, and didn't kill Horatio. Then fell to his knees, pleading for his life, when Horatio was told to fire back at will."
"He didn't!" Katryn exclaimed, laughing.
"I wasn't there, as I said, but Horatio was the one who told me about it, so I assume it's true." Archie went on, with a snigger.
"So did he shoot him?"
Archie sighed. "No. Said he wasn't worth the powder." He responded, glumly.
"Shoot him anyway!" Katryn argued. "It would have been fun! In fact, better yet. Shoot him in a really delicate spot, then watch him scream. That would be more fun."
Archie started laughing. "You possess a devious spirit about you, do you not?" He commented.
"When it comes to creatures like that, you'd better believe it." Katryn retorted, nodding.
"Well I don't blame you, but I'm afraid Horatio isn't like that." Archie informed her, regretfully. "He shot in the air."
"I bet Sleazeball didn't like that."
"He waited until Horatio turned his back, then grabbed a dagger off Dr. Hepplewhite, who was our surgeon, at that time, and tried to stab him in the back." Archie supplied.
"And?" Katryn prompted.
"Captain Pellew shot him dead." He finished.
"What did they do with the body?"
"What do you mean?" Archie asked, confused.
"You know, kick a little dirt on him and feed his worthless carcass to the birds?" Katryn pressed, eagerly.
"My, aren't you the morbid one?" He commented, in disbelief.
Katryn sobered. "You're right. That would be terrible." She remarked, after a minute.
Archie frowned, noticing the gleam in her glittering blue-grey eyes.
"For the birds." She finished.
Archie laughed harder, and wiped tears off his cheeks.
"What?" She defended. "Seriously, think of the indigestion the poor birds would get from that creep?"
"Stop!" He begged, holding his side. "You're going to kill me!"
Katryn grinned, sheepishly. "Sorry." She replied, sincerely, after a brief pause.
"You never finished your story." Archie reminded her, when they'd both sobered.
"Where did I stop?"
"Something about your 'piano' lessons." Archie replied, thinking. "Tunes from theater performances?"
"Right, man I loved to play those songs." Katryn went, on remembering. "I'd been in choir class, when I was about twelve or thirteen and those were the songs we sang there. I'd loved them so much that I had my teacher buy them so we could play them on the piano.
"Nothing wrong with that."
"I encouraged him to buy me things, and I was a good student, but only when I got my way." Katryn admitted, frowning.
A sudden look of understanding crept across Archie's features. "You felt it was your own fault. That you allowed him to do the things he did." He spoke up, speculatively. "That's why you feel stupid about it."
Katryn looked down and he noticed a tear that fell into her lap. This was certainly a switch from her normally good spirited personality.
Archie reached over, and picked her chin up, to look at her face, as she had done with him, just a few minutes ago. "It was not your fault." He told her, seriously, wiping the tears away with his thumb. "He was the one that took advantage of you, not the other way around. You only did what any child would have done in your place. You said yourself he'd been a close friend of your family, and like an Uncle to you. Why should you not accept gifts from such a trusted friend?"
Katryn nodded, with a woeful look in her eyes. "You know when I finally realized something was wrong?"
"When?"
"The day he stopped me as I was running out of the studio door, when I was about seventeen." After describing every part of my body, in detail, telling me how beautiful it was, as he'd obviously been looking every chance he could get, he told me he wanted me to be his wife."
Archie stared in disbelief.
"Then he told me he loved me, but he didn't want to hurt his wife because she'd been so good to him all those years." Katryn explained, with a shiver.
Archie shook his head in disgust. "So then he wanted to keep you as a mistress, and not say anything to his wife?" He asked. "Is that what you're saying?"
Katryn nodded. "I believe that was what he was driving at." She answered. "Anyway, I told him 'no way' and ran out the door as fast as I could."
"I can't imagine things would be the same after that." Archie remarked, dispirited. "Unless he still thought you were playing 'hard to get.'"
Katryn shrugged. "He pretended it never happened, and never brought it up again."
"Well, that's not bad, at least I should think things would change after that, at any rate." Archie commented, pointedly.
"I don't think he ever forgave me for it, though." Katryn told him, frowning. "He didn't stop buying things for me but his demeanor changed. He no longer seemed interested in my singing, and he was always telling me about the things he did with his wife."
"As in something you didn't want to hear?" Archie asked, making a face.
"Don't be silly." Katryn retorted, with a snort. "They didn't do that sort of thing, as far as I knew. He told me once that his wife gained so much weight after their daughter was born, he thought her health was more important then 'other things'. Meaning she got fat and he didn't want her anymore."
"That seems rather arrogant."
"We call it pig-headed, where I come from." Katryn corrected. "No, it was nothing like that. He'd talk about the places he took her and the things he did for her, that kind of thing."
"Trying to make you jealous?" Archie asked, amused.
"Never worked." Katryn remarked, shrugging. "And I bet it frustrated him, too. Because he also did one particular thing that seriously made me angry."
Archie raised a eyebrow, but remained silent, waiting for her to continue.
"There was this huge Festival for Christmas, every year. They had all their students preform and they had loads of awards to present for it. The biggest was for the student who had made the most progress during the year. I was put up for it, because of my memory with songs and because I'd won two awards before that. I'd not missed a recital in seven years."
"You didn't get it, did you?" Archie asked, noting her downcast appearance.
"No, I was graduating that year, so he made up an 'Outstanding Senior' award, just to shut me up." Katryn told him, glumly. "Of course they had to give it to the other girl who also graduated that year and then she also got the big award, even though she'd had it the year before."
"That's what made you mad?"
"No, what made me mad is that one week before the Festival, he told me that if I sang the song I had picked out to sing, they would pull it off in the middle of my performance, because it was 'inappropriate for a church'." Katryn informed him.
Archie stared at her. "And that was his way of punishing you for refusing him?"
Katryn shrugged. "I don't know what he meant to prove." She confessed. "He told me his son had specified that."
"What was the song about?"
"It was about a woman who'd had a fight with her husband, and he'd run out to get some air." Katryn described. "Probably just to get away. Anyhow, there was a storm, and he died in a crash into a tree that got hit by lightning."
"Sad." He commented.
"The song was about her memories of him and her guilt, at losing him, after an argument." She went on. "In all honesty, what do you suppose a woman who really did love her husband would remember about him?"
Archie's brow furrowed. "Well, I'd probably have to hear the song, but actually, I can see why he wouldn't allow it."
"That's not what I was arguing about." Katryn insisted. "I understood that. What ticked me off was the fact that I'd been practicing it for a month, previous to that and he'd never said one word before that. Don't you think that if it were not appropriate, he would have said so, the first time I sang it?"
"Did you ask about it, then?"
"Yes." Katryn told him, sighing. "I sang four different songs and asked which one would be best for the Festival."
"And?"
"He said, in a very bored tone; 'Which one do you like the best?'" She replied, rolling her eyes.
"Wasn't he even listening?"
"Why would he?" Katryn pointed out. "I made it clear I wasn't singing them to him, so he quit listening."
Archie stared in astonishment. "Well, he'd still be your teacher, so wasn't he supposed to be telling you what to sing?"
"He stopped being my teacher long before that, Archie." Katryn answered, slowly. "I picked the songs, I decided what to sing and how to sing it, I decided what to play on the piano, and the only thing he did was take me shopping and stare at me. I was going nowhere at all. I just didn't see it until a year later."
"So what did you do for the Festival?"
"The only thing I could do." Katryn replied, shaking her head. "It was way too late to choose a new song, so I had to do one I'd done a few times before and believe me, I didn't like it."
"No, I wouldn't expect so." Archie commented, in agreement.
"Anyway, I waited another year, working twice as hard." Katryn went on. "Again, I was up for the big award. I came up with a song that blew them away, it was that good."
"I want to hear that."
"Later, I promise." Katryn returned, before continuing. "I was the last performer, and I had people standing up, applauding."
Archie grinned. "I believe."
Her face fell. "What did I get? An award for attending eight years of recitals." She stated, looking frustrated. "A stupid attendance award that any idiot who went to recitals could win, if they went long enough."
"He made up another one, then?"
"And another one of his students got the one I had worked all those years for." Katryn finished. "I found out that year why I could never win that award."
"Why?"
"Because I had free lessons and it would look like favoritism." Katryn explained, distantly.
Archie stared. "That doesn't seem very fair."
"No, it wasn't." Katryn answered, making a face. "I quit that year. I lost interest in recitals, and stopped going to them. I was headed for Med. School anyway, so I had too much to do. Then I quit church that year, as well."
"That, I'm surprised you didn't sooner." Archie commented.
"My parents made me go until I was eighteen."
"Did you ever tell them?"
"Yeah, I told my mom a while after we started going to a new church." Katryn answered. "My mom had said she watched us drop out one after another, and realized that the old church was going nowhere. It was like they were dead. The pastor's wife grew more and more judgmental toward her, mainly because she blamed her for my sisters and I quitting. So my father and her both left, and found a new church." She paused, seeing his confused face. "What?"
"Did you go to this new church?"
"Yes, I loved it." Katryn told him, with a smile. "They were so nice there, and they never expected us to be perfect, and didn't care about what we wore, jeans, pants, earrings, make-up. . . ."
"And the other one did?"
"They hated everything we did." Katryn remarked, making a face. "We were a bunch of heathens to them."
Archie frowned. "Yet the minister had been seducing you all those years." He commented. "If you ask me, they have no room to talk."
"Yes, but the family didn't really know about that." Katryn reminded him. "As far as they knew, he was a good man, who was nice to us, giving us free lessons, and we didn't appreciate it." She paused. "You look like there's something else you're wanting to ask."
Archie shrugged. "Just out of curiosity."
Katryn raised an eyebrow.
"I'm a little surprised you went back to any church at all, really." Archie spoke up, timidly. "I don't honestly think I would have, after such an experience."
"You can't really blame God for one lousy minister." Katryn pointed out. "That doesn't mean they're all like that. Obviously, not everyone is the same so why should all churches be the same?"
Archie shrugged. "I suppose, when you put it that way, you have a point." He admitted.
"Well it's the same as your situation, really." Katryn informed him, pointedly. "Obviously not all Navy ships are the same, because I sincerely doubt Captain Pellew would allow the things that happened on your last ship."
"No, he'd have had Simpson executed, if he'd known."
"There you have it." Katryn replied, with a grin. "You know that when I told my mom what had been going on, she actually had suspected it?"
Archie raised an eyebrow. "A bit more perceptive then you thought, was she?"
"She said that if I'd have told her sooner, we'd have been out of that church that much faster."
Archie gave a chuckle, then frowned. "You never mentioned when you realized what he'd done to you."
"That's the odd thing." Katryn remarked, shaking her head. "I studied abuse. Wrote papers on it. I knew all the different kinds, and all the symptoms of it, abused children, abused people, all of it. The only thing I didn't do, was look in the mirror, because I had all of them. I hated to be touched, I didn't like to be close to men. I've never had a decent relationship, because of that."
Archie nodded, understanding. "So then you've never been close to anyone, either?"
"No." Katryn answered, with a small smile. "Every time he wanted to get closer, I got uncomfortable, and he got upset, because I couldn't explain why I felt the way I did." She paused. "So, do I make you feel better?"
"Actually yes, now that you mention it." Archie replied, with a grin. "So when did you figure things out?"
"I was doing more research into abuse, for something I was writing for Med. School, and I found out that abuse isn't just the physical part." Katryn explained. "The merest suggestion, remark, or uncomfortable feeling also qualifies as abuse. It hit me like a ton of bricks, because I'd had all that, and more. After that, I finally told my mother."
Archie gave a thoughtful look, as an idea occurred to him. "You know, you're right." He spoke up, seriously.
Katryn frowned. "Hmm?"
"That man got off way too easily." Archie told her, pointedly, pausing.
Katryn raised an eyebrow.
"I would have made him eat it, too." He finished.
Katryn burst out laughing, and he joined her.
"You know there's a song about it." Katryn informed him, when they'd calmed down.
"You're joking!" Archie cried, shaking his head. "No one would write a song about such a thing!"
"No really!" Katryn insisted. "It's a satire-parody of another song, written by a good Jewish insane person, named; 'Weird Al' Yankovic."
Archie stared. "Tell me that's not his real name." He retorted, with a snicker.
Katryn rolled her eyes. "Yeah, two loving parents got together, with their new baby son, and said 'Let's call him Weird Al.'" She answered, flatly.
Archie shrugged. "Well, in your time period, how would I know?" He pointed out.
"He added the 'weird'." Katryn informed him, smiling. "His real name is Alfred Yankovic. Anyhow, the song is called Headline News, and covers the three biggest news stories of that year. That story was the third verse."
Archie grinned, eagerly. "I have to hear this."
"Do you want me to sing it or find it?"
"By all means, sing it." Archie invited. "Then find it!"
Katryn shook her head, laughing. "Try to hold your fits of giggles until I'm done." She warned. "I get distracted easily."
"Would you like me to wait in the other room?" Archie asked, slyly.
Katryn gave him a flat look. "That was a whole different situation." She objected. "Now stop that, you're distracting me."
Archie grinned. "Sorry, please go on." He apologized, sobering.
Katryn's face turned more serious, and she started singing.
Archie had to cover his mouth almost immediately, to stop himself from laughing out loud in disbelief.
"Once, there was this guy, who
Made his wife so mad, one night,
That she cut off his Weiner.
And when he finally came to,
He found that Mr. Happy was missing.
He couldn't quite explain,
It had always just been there. . . ."
"You can laugh now." She replied, as she finished.
Archie collapsed into fits of laughter. "'Mr. Happy'?!" He questioned, gasping.
"Yeah, you know!" Katryn went on, seriously. "'Mr. Happy', 'Captain Winkie', 'Little Buddie'?! What? You mean nobody uses those names, now?!"
Archie couldn't answer. He was laughing too hard. "Find me that song!" He managed to get out, in the midst of his hysterics.
"'Song'?!" Katryn retorted, in disbelief. "I'm gonna have to get you another muscle relaxer in a minute! Stop that!"
This comment managed to calm him down. As soon as he'd recovered, he looked her in the eye. "The fact that anyone would use one of those particular names to describe that particular part of anatomy, is profoundly disturbing." He remarked, completely serious.
Katryn smirked. "But hysterically funny." She finished.
"Well, that goes without saying." Archie replied, giggling. "Please find me that song now." He paused. "And all the others you mentioned too."
Katryn shook her head. "This may take a while."
"And I want to hear the one you sang for Christmas, that year . . . .with you singing." He added.
"The Power of the Dream." Katryn supplied. "I haven't done that in a while."
"Where's that memory of yours?" Archie returned, pointedly.
"Memory, I have. It's the voice control, I'm concerned about." Katryn informed him. "And if you'd heard the song, you'd understand why." She paused. "Also, I'll have to find it. I know it's on one I have here, but it may take a bit, and I can't do it without it. It's the kind of song it is."
"But if you can find it?" Archie asked, with a pleading look.
"Oh! Stop!" She scolded. "Enough with the puppy-eyes, already! I'll do it if I can find it."
Archie smiled, happily, as she disappeared to the other side of the room, out of his sight. He heard her rummaging around and finally she returned with a pile of tapes, a black case, with a handle, that she opened, to reveal more tapes, and a larger black contraption. It had buttons on the top, and two compartments, that looked as if they'd hold tapes.
"Is this the one that plays out loud?" Archie asked, curiously.
"Oh yes." Katryn responded. "At its loudest, you can hear it in the Captain's quarters from here."
Archie raised his eyebrows, clearly impressed. "Well, we'd probably better not have it quite that loud." He remarked, pointedly. "I'd not want to be deaf, by the time I'm thirty."
Katryn rolled her eyes. "As if !" She retorted, with a snort. "I've been listening to a walkman since I was twelve, not to mention this thing. Do I appear to be deaf?!"
Archie frowned. "Walk-Man?"
Katryn gave an understanding look, and held up the small tape player. "Walkman." She informed him. "One word: Portable Cassette Player. See? Clips to your belt, so you can use it while climbing."
"Impressive." Archie commented, poking at the clip. "How does it work?" He questioned. "In fact, how do any of them work? Or is that something you can't tell me?"
Katryn frowned, considering it. "I'm pretty sure they won't be invented in your time, so I really don't see what harm it'll do." She replied, slowly, opening a little door on the back of the walkman and pulling something out.
Archie's brow furrowed, as he examined the small, cylinder-shaped object. It had a raised circle shaped bump on one end, and an indented circle on the other. It had a black end, and was mostly silver, with an orange and yellow stripe down it, beneath the word, 'Energizer'. "What is it?" He asked, handing it back.
"A battery." She told him, pushing it back in. "This player runs on two Double A size batteries."
"And the big one?"
"Eight Size C's." She informed him, opening the compartment on the back of it. "And my flashlight, the light I had last night, runs on three Size D's."
"So how do the batteries work?"
"That's a little too much to explain, and I really shouldn't tell you, because they aren't invented for a long time yet."
Archie nodded. "I can respect that."
"I will tell you that they only have so much power in them." Katryn explained, pointedly. "I have new ones to replace them but I'm not really wanting to go through a lot of batteries."
"I take your meaning." Archie replied, smiling. "Don't use it too much."
"Well, the little one uses less power." Katryn told him, shrugging. "The big one uses a lot, so as long as we use the little one most of the time, we're fine."
Archie nodded, then noticed Katryn checking her watch. "What time is it?"
"Time for me to check Jesse and the others." She answered, regretfully. "Jesse's got to be getting his rest, or his body's not going to be able to fight off the virus."
"Then you'll be working three times harder." Archie commented, concerned.
Katryn sighed, and met his gaze. "Archie, you know I don't have a choice." She spoke up, quietly. "Jesse can't do this by himself and Jesus and Willie are just as bad as he is. Eventually, they're going to get as bad as Davey and Jacques, and they can't even get out of bed to use the bathroom, without getting dizzy. There's no way Jesse can take care of Redbird like that."
Archie sighed, and nodded. "I know." He admitted, softly. "And I do understand . . . . but that wont stop me from worrying about you. I know you didn't go back to sleep last night."
"No, I didn't." She replied, slowly. "I've had insomnia for years, after a bad blow to the head, back when I was sixteen. When I get worried about something, I have trouble sleeping."
"Why don't you take something for it?"
"Because there's not much that works on me." Katryn informed him, shrugging. "My family builds up immunities to drugs fast. Sometimes, what works some nights wont work other nights. I have to keep switching, and that's kind of frustrating. You know morphine doesn't work on my family?"
Archie blinked. "That must be frustrating."
"It is." Katryn agreed. "Although, it's fun to tease surgeons with."
"How so?"
"Well, most of the time, when a surgeon puts you under the anesthetic, before surgery, they tell you to count backwards from ten." Katryn explained. "So they know when the medication starts working. If you can still count, then it's not working."
"Makes sense."
Katryn gave a sheepish grin. "I made it to about negative forty before they realized that maybe this wasn't working."
Archie laughed, shaking his head, then sobered. "You still look so exhausted." He put in, touching the dark circles under her eyes.
"I'll wear a surgical mask when I go in there." She finally replied. "That'll keep me from breathing in any cooties. Now, I'd better get going. I have to check and see what Jesse found on the blood test if nothing else."
Archie nodded, more than a little disappointed, as he eyed the tapes on his bed.
Katryn seeing this, grinned. "You know, if you want to listen to something, while I'm out, feel free." She told him, pulling a few tapes out. "This is Phantom of the Opera; Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; and Cats. They're the soundtracks of theater performances in our time. I played several from Phantom, including the title track, on piano, so I'm sure you'll be interested."
Archie grinned. "That sounds wonderful." He agreed, eagerly. "How does this thing work?"
Katryn showed him how to put the tape into the walkman, and then showed him every button, the volume switch, and how to work them. "And when the tape stops, you pull it out and turn it over, so you hear both sides." She finished.
Archie nodded. "I think I understand." He replied, with confidence.
"Good, I'll be back in a bit." Katryn returned. "If you need anything, just give and yell, and someone will come get me."
"Thank you." He responded, gratefully. "For everything."
Katryn leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek, then looked right into his slightly surprised blue eyes, with a smile. "Thank you. For what you said about it not being my fault." She told him, contented. "You have no idea how much I needed to hear that."
Archie gave a sad smile. "Yes I do." He replied, thinking of the things she'd said to him. "And I was only telling the truth."
Katryn grinned and without another word, she turned and disappeared around the screen.
Archie waited until he heard the door close behind her, before he settled the headset over his ears and picked up the walkman. Jesse was a lucky man, he mused, inwardly.
Katryn had never said anything to him about it but Archie could see it in the way she talked of him and the way she looked at him, as well as the way they acted together.
It was good, he decided, as he pushed the 'play' button. After all that pain, Katryn needed someone like Jesse. He was a good man and Archie could think of no other man who could deserve her more.
He smiled and sighed when the music started. It would be nice to hear how much the theater had changed over the years.
_________________________
End chapter 10!
Authors note...
I know that tapes and cassettes are pretty much outdated now, but I can't seem to give them up myself. Besides, if a CD gets run over by a car, it's toast. Likewise if you drop your ipod off a roof or something. If a cassette tape gets run over by a car, you tape it back together and it still works.
Besides, I think it would be pretty confusing to try to teach Archie how to use an ipod. Not only that, but an ipod just isn't practical in that time. What if she dropped it? Or it got wet?
Anyhow, I suppose that really is a tiny detail considering the main theme of this particular chapter. So I'll stop with that. Please leave any feed back you like as it helps my confidence greatly. Thanks for your support thus far!
--Cassi