Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid
Rated PG-13 for language and some violence.
Disclaimer ~ I don't own 'em.
Summery ~ Evelyn is suffering from postpartum depression while an old flame from Rick's past returns to haunt the present.
Ch 6
Jonathan rolled off the sofa, his eyes glued closed until he hit the floor. He lay stilled for a long moment, wondering if it had been merely a dream...until the heavy pounding at the door came once more. Evelyn peered out from Jonathan's room where she had been lying awake on the bed. Her eyes grew wide when the first pounding had come. For two in the morning, there was only one person it could be... Her eyes danced from her brother on the floor to the door as she pointed vigorously, trying to duck back into the bedroom.
Jonathan trudged to the door, rubbing his pounding head. One might have thought he would have known the consequences of indulgence... He turned on the front entry light as the pounding came once more. "I'm coming, I'm coming," he mumbled, more to reassure himself that he was making progress toward the door. Evelyn had slipped back into the shadows of the bedroom, holding her breath.
Jonathan turned the bolt, leaving the chain on the door in place as he pulled open the door. "I hope you've got a bloody good reason for coming 'round here at this hour."
"My wife is missing. I think that's reason enough." Jonathan closed the door, slipping the chain off before reopening it. "How can you sleep right now?" Rick asked as he pushed past his brother-in-law.
"How could anyone sleep?" Jonathan said with a deep yawn. "With pounding like that anyway?" Rick had long since lost his patience, grabbing Jonathan by the shirt collar.
"How could you sleep knowing your sister could be dead right now?"
"I would give Evy a little more credit than that, Rick ol' boy." He let Jonathan go, allowing him to sink back down onto the sofa.
"You're too damn calm right now." Jonathan picked up the bottle of scotch he had shared with Evelyn earlier, taking a deep drink from it.
"And you're too damn uptight." Rick grabbed the bottle out of Jonathan's hand, taking a long swig. "Now, are you quite calm?" He glanced up at the American, pointing toward his bedroom. Rick looked over his shoulder in the direction Jonathan pointed, glancing back at the scrawny Brit with a raised eyebrow. "I told you to give her more credit than that." Rick walked quietly to the bedroom, flipping the switch for the light. The bed was empty, though it had been laid upon.
"Evy?" Rick called quietly, turning back toward Jonathan who had lain back down on the sofa. "Jonathan, she's not in there."
"Look harder," he said from the dark.
"Oooooh, that little squealer," Evelyn said softly to herself as she stepped out from the closet. She glanced at Rick as he slowly turned back, his tired eyes falling on his wife. They stood for a long, silent moment before Rick finally opened his mouth.
"I'm going to have to kill your brother for not ringing me," he said with raised eyebrows and half a grin.
"Well then, you're going to have to kill me as well because I told him not to." Her tone was not nearly as joking as she stared back at her husband. His grin faded as he looked for the words in his exhausted state.
"Evy, look, I know there's a lot I should have told you..." Rick started.
"Rick, it's not just about you not telling me about her," Evelyn said. "I wish you would understand-"
"Evelyn, I do understand," Rick interrupted. "I just wish you would believe me when I say nothing has happened!" He brushed his bangs from his eyes with a heavy sigh.
"I want to believe you..."
"Then why don't you?" Evelyn averted her eyes, looking for an answer she couldn't find.
"I don't know," she finally said, almost inaudibly.
"Evy," he said quietly, taking her by the shoulders gently, "I know my track record is far from perfect. But if you can't trust me..." Evelyn glanced up, a tear rolling down her cheek. She closed her eyes, trying to fight back the tears she had cried all too much in the last few days. Rick pulled her in, wrapping his arms tightly around her. They held each other for a long moment before the silence was shattered.
"It's far too quiet in there," Jonathan said from the front room. "You'd better not be doing what I think you're doing." Evelyn smiled slightly as she pulled away from her husband.
"Where's Alex?" she asked.
"In the car. He finally fell asleep when we got here. I didn't have the heart to wake him up." Evelyn nodded, grabbing her coat from the back of the desk chair. "Go to bed, Jonathan," Rick said, motioning to the bedroom. Jonathan half-saluted as he walked by, falling face first onto the mattress, snoring before the bed stopped bouncing.
The night air bit Evelyn as they stepped out into the cold. She pulled her coat tightly around her as the breeze off the Thames picked up. Both stopped as they noticed the car door standing open, a note on the seat. Rick raced for the car, snatching up the note before the night breeze could carry it away.
'J'ai votre fils. Élevons-ensemble le.'
"What does it say?" Evelyn asked, her body shaking, though she no longer felt the cold.
"'I have your son. Let us raise him together.'" Evelyn's knees gave out as she sank to the pavement. Rick knelt down beside her, pulling her in. "Don't worry, Evy," he said quietly, fighting back his own tears as he stroked her hair. "I'll get him back."
"No," she said, looking up. She turned to stare him straight in the eyes, stating defiantly, "I will."