wounded
Epilogue
"…here I am
expecting just a little bit
too much from the
wounded
but I see
see through it
all
and see you…"
Alex wakes up with a jolt, sweating but chilled. The man's hands were on her body again. Ever since the ordeal with Darien's old enemy, Kaitlyn Ashbury, Alex hasn't been able to sleep. Every time she dozes off, she relives the moments when she was paralyzed and the man started to touch her.
"Such
a pretty little thing," He said. Alex
shudders, thinking of his unwelcome hands. It's 3 a.m. but she doesn't feel like wrestling with the nightmares
until daybreak. She pulls on a pair of
jeans, a tank top and goes for a drive.
One
of the reasons she decided to become an agent was so she would never be a
victim. She watched her older sister
jump from one abusive relationship to another, pretending to enjoy the
humiliation. Alex resolved to be immune
to the chauvinism of society. As she
developed into a woman, she suffered the harassment normal for a lady of her
beauty until she was trained enough to gather respect and admiration from all
sexes. She prides herself on being
self-sufficient and independent of any man or woman. Lately, she feels lost. She answered her psyche's need for motherhood and became pregnant only
to have her child stolen by Chrysalis. She remained stoic throughout the months it took to rescue him only to
make the drastic decision to return him to his adoptive mother. After learning that the adoptive mother had
returned to Chrysalis, she started to lose focus. Nothing made sense after the news, and then after several days of
struggling to stay functional, Darien Fawkes found a different place in her
mind.
She turns right on red and finds herself outside of Darien's apartment. She didn't think of Darien as anything more than a nuisance until the recent ordeal with her son. He proved himself a capable agent as well as a caring friend.
She
met with Hobbes and the Keeper over at Darien's and saw the fear on his face
when he spoke to Kaitlyn. Soon after
the phone call, he had lapsed into a deep sleep similar to a coma. When he was captured, she pretended to be
his keeper in order to make sure he was okay. She didn't acknowledge the fear and worry that she felt for him until he
was safely in the hospital. Alex had
actually cried in Bobby Hobbes' arms, tears for her lost child and her
good-hearted friend who was then fighting for his life.
Alex
hasn't had friends in a long time, if ever. She cut herself off from social attachments in order to protect herself
but the light-hearted bickering between her two fellow agents cracked her
shell. She was having fun working with
them. No matter what happened, they
always seemed to make the best of the situation. Darien was miserable dealing with his madness and other effects
of the gland but he tried to keep a smile.
Alex
looks up, hearing the timid knock on her window. Darien is leaning on his cane with a worried look on his healing
face. She rolls her window down.
"What's
wrong, Alex?" He asks.
She
realizes that she has stopped her car in the deserted street. "Wow. I couldn't sleep…"
"And
you ended up here with the only other person awake in San Diego?" Darien slowly smiles. "Well?"
"Well
what?" Alex asks.
"Are
you going to park your car and come up or not?"
Alex
sighs, pulls her car into a space and joins Darien in the street.
"You
could've called first. Then I wouldn't
get all freaked when I look out my window and see you sitting in the street,"
He says, limping to the sidewalk.
"I
was just driving around. I guess I
ended up here," Alex says.
"Don't
get embarrassed, its fine. Come in and
join the party." Darien is still on
medical leave as his body recovers from the savage beating he sustained in
Kaitlyn's possession. She calls to
check on him regularly, but hasn't been to his apartment in a while.
It
is a hazardous waste area inside. Take
out boxes are stacked on the counter, some teetering above her head. There is a pyramid of beer cans to rival the
average frat-boy's and what looks like a small fort on the pool table made from
pizza boxes.
"Can
you fit in there?" Alex asks, amused,
pointing to the fort.
"Nah,
but I thought about inviting a midget over to play," Darien smirks. "Care for a beer at 3:30 in the
morning?"
"Sure,
I've only got a days worth of filing tomorrow, what can it hurt?" She relaxes as she falls into a seat on
Darien's sofa in front of a paused video.
"Cooler
beside you," Darien grins, sitting beside her. Sure enough, there is a cooler filled with beer cans and ice at the edge
of the couch.
She
passes him one and gets one for herself. She savors the chilled liquid as it goes down.
"Nightmares?" Darien asks.
"Yup,"
Alex admits, inwardly surprised at the easiness that she can trust him. Seeing the way he came to her rescue in the
cage and his loyalty to Hobbes, she realizes that he is her friend.
"Me
too," He replies. "The pills Claire
gave me for the pain don't even start to compete with the memory of Kaitlyn's
gun in my face."
Alex
nods. "I keep seeing that man." She shivers. "I feel his hands on me."
Darien
looks away. "I'm sorry, Alex, for
getting you into that. I wouldn't wish
that on anyone."
"Its
not your fault, its that pervert's. I
never said thank you."
"You
don't have to thank me, I hope that if some huge asshole ever sticks a needle
in me and tries to have his way with me that you'll totally kick his ass,"
Darien jokes, trying to get a smile from Alex.
"Actually…"
Alex smiles.
"You
wouldn't dare," Darien says.
"If
there were cameras involved, I might consider waiting a bit," Alex jokes.
Darien
blushes but smiles, good-naturedly.
"Seriously. The way you clamped onto that guy was
classic. You're a tenacious little
bastard," Alex compliments.
Darien
pales a little with the mention of his actions. Alex watches him fight to keep the guilt he feels for the man's
death from washing across his face. Alex realizes that Darien is unaccustomed to killing even when it is required
in the line of duty.
"Oh,
Darien, I didn't even think…" She starts.
"Its
fine. I mean, I would do it again, no
question to protect you, but…I don't like the fact that I killed him. I don't want to be a killer," Darien admits.
"You're
not a killer. I've seen you tear up
when you see roadkill. You're a big old
softie," Alex says, quietly, taking his hand.
"Huh,"
He says, squeezing her hand. "I just
remember knowing something was wrong and waking up to see him coming at you
with the needle." He looks at her. "You look nice when you sleep," He slips
in. "And when it was clear what he
wanted to do, I thought I could pull his head right off."
"Jealous?" Alex asks, a nervous feeling in her
stomach. She hopes it isn't
anticipation.
Darien
looks away. "No one should ever touch a
woman without her permission."
Alex
smiles. "Good answer," She says, but
she is slightly disappointed.
"A
man shouldn't even look at you, Alex Monroe, without permission," Darien
says. "Gotta have the proper
clearance."
"I
just wish I could sleep. Insomnia's
tiresome after a while," Alex smiles.
"I
know. Its like the safety zone is
gone," Darien says.
"And
its always too cold," Alex adds.
Darien
pulls his hand from hers and puts his arm around her. He pulls her until she is leaning against his chest. She sighs, pulls her feet beneath her and
snuggles against him.
"Want
to watch some Cartoon Network?" Darien
asks.
"How
about CSPAN?" Alex replies.
"What
about kung fu?" Darien tries.
"Gardening,"
Alex says.
Darien
sighs but unpauses the screen.
"Is
this Monty Python?" Alex asks.
"Can
it be? Alex Monroe watches
comedy?" Darien scoffs.
"Shut
up and rewind the damn thing," Alex laughs.
Darien
sighs, dramatically and obeys her. She
gives him a kiss on his stubbled chin. He blushes.
Ten
minutes into the movie, both are sleeping peacefully.