Story: The Pair
Chapter 19: Screams
Disclaimer: Don't own them but if James Cameron and Fox won't put them to good use maybe they would consider giving them to me...
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The scream turned into screams. Coming from the cabin. Vin and Alec ran to the cabin and burst through the door. Running to the room Lexa was sleeping in and was greeted by the sight of Lexa sitting up in bed screaming as fast as she could draw breath. Her eyes were wild and unfocused. It was apparent she hadn't escaped her nightmare yet.
Max tried to draw her into her arms but Lexa was still too asleep to realize it was Max. She hit Max and knocked her from the bed. Vin moved forward and, using the same gesture Lexa had used on him, touched her forehead. Lexa stilled instantly and focused on him. Breathing heavily she burst into sobs and Vin held her.
Alec who had helped Max up from the floor watched the scene wordlessly aching to be the one to comfort her.
~!~!~
a few minutes prior
In her dream Lexa was back in the cell that she had thought of as her private hell. 924 walked in and grabbed her. She fought him the best she could struggling. They slammed from wall to wall but he managed to get her feet out from under her knocking her to the floor. The breath was left her lungs in a loud whoosh and then he was on top of her.
He was pulling at her shirt ripping it, trying to get to her breast. She pushed at his chest and he grabbed her around the throat and said "Lay there or I will kill you" he exerted some pressure and for a moment she could not breath. She panicked trying to draw breath into her lungs.
"Are you going to cooperate?" he asked. When he didn't get an answer he shook her neck and her head banged into the floor. Her world went dark and then starry and she nodded.
Keeping his forearm against her neck he pulled the button from her pants. She went numb inside and felt a piece of herself die.
924 didn't see her eyes go glassy as she pulled herself from reality to survive.
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After her sobs subsided she pushed Vin away. Max said "Leave us alone for a minute." Both men started to protest but she added "You can come back after I talk to her." They both left reluctantly.
Max sat down on the bed by her feet. "Are you all right?"
"Yes, no. I'm not sure." Lexa said not looking at her.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"There's nothing to talk about."
"You can tell yourself day after day that nothing happened Lexa but it doesn't make it go away."
"Drop it Maxie."
"I will for now, but if you don't talk about it with me please talk about it with someone, anyone. Alec and Vin will listen, if you don't want to talk to one of the guys OC and I will listen. Please don't let it eat you alive. It will. Not just killing him but what he did. I heard what he said Lexa. I don't think you were wrong and neither will anyone else. That guard would have died because he helped you. You saved him." She stood and looked at her trying to gauge if she was letting what Max was saying get through to her. Unable to read her expression Max sighed and said. "I'm going to let those two guys who are probably wearing a hole in the rug out there in. Just think about what I said."
She left the room and the two guys who had indeed been pacing in the living room came back in.
"Lexa, I know you are tired but there is something I want to say about the night you were taken-" Alec started to say.
"Alec, you're right, I am tired. I can't handle this conversation right now. All I want to do is sleep. Please." she said emotionlessly.
"But-"
"Alec."
Alec, frusterated, shoved his hand through his hair
and blew out a quick breath. "Okay."
Vin sat on the bed near Lexa but far enough away that she had space enough not to feel crowded. "Why don't you lay down and we will stay here until you fall asleep."
She nodded with her eyes still on Alec.
"I'll leave if you want." The expression on his face was many things. Hesitant, bordering on fearful, yet he tried to maintain his unaffected mask.
As mad as she was at him before what had happened, she didn't want him to leave. She was afraid that if he did then things would never go right between them again. She shook her head. "No, please stay."
He nodded and laid down behind her. He scooted close to her but not touching, not holding her like he wished he could. He knew that she had been hurt by a guy while the second Manticore had her and he didn't want to move too fast and scare her. He noticed that Vin who was laying in front of her had the same thought. He laid with his back to her giving her both control of how close they were, the dominant position, and the most protections as he was closest to the door.
Alec propped himself up on his elbow watching as she drifted off into what would hopefully be a more peaceful sleep. She started talking low in her sleep. Normal hearing wouldn't have caught what he was saying but then his hearing wasn't normal. She was telling someone no.
He listened closer and made out the words spilling from her lips "I won't tell you where they are. Never. I will not see them in this place again. I would rather die." She kept repeating it. It both wrenched his heart to hear her say this and lightened it because to him it was an indication that despite what she said while awake she did care for him. He knew she had to for her to protect him like that.
He stroked her hair and leaned over and whispered "Shh, it's okay. We're safe. You kept us safe. Shh." he murmured calming words until she settled down and a peaceful expression replaced the frown that had been starting to form.
Vin got up out of the bed and indicated he was going to get something to eat and drink. Alec nodded.
After Vin had left Alec went back to stroking her
hair and thought about all that she had meant to him and all that she could
mean. Leaning down he whispered quietly into her ear. "Thank you.
I have a lot more to say to you but right now there isn't anything I want
to say more than-" He paused and took a deep breath "I love you." he felt
a great relief "wow that feels good to say that."
After a moment he slid from bed and walked into
the kitchen where Max and Vin were eating sandwiches and drinking soda.
He saw a third plate and glass for him and sat down. What he hadn't seen
was the small smile on Lexa's face as he had left.
He took a bite of the sandwich and said "Did she talk to you about what happened?"
Max shook her head. "No but if she doesn't soon we have to find her help." They all agreed with this.
"Did you call Wheels and let him know that we have Lexa and he needs to start on papers for us to get back?" Alec asked Max.
"No. Good idea. It almost five not too early."
This surprised the other two and they looked out the windows and saw the sun rising. Max reached her hand out for Alec's cell phone and he gave it to her. She walked out of the cabin to make her phone call to Logan.
Vin stood up and said "I'm gonna take a shower and go to sleep. I will sleep on the floor if you want the couch." Alec agreed.
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"Hello?" came the sleep blurred answer to Max's phone call.
"Hey sleepy head." Max said smiling.
"Hey. HEY. Are you guys all right? Are you going after Lexa tomorrow night." He looked at his clock. "Scratch that, tonight?"
"Actually that's why I called you. We have her." Max answered.
"What? How? When?"
"Hmm. Alec you could say got impatient and decided not to wait any longer. We got back around three or so."
"You all okay? Is she fine?" he asked.
"Yep. Just a little bruised and cut. We think she may have a few cracked ribs. How are you doing?"
Logan looked down beside him on the couch. "I had an - interesting night you could say."
"Really what happened?"
"Uh, nothing worth taking up Alec's precious phone time."
"Okay" Max said a little confused. "Well, we were just letting you know that any time you could get us those papers and get us back it would be great."
"Sure. No problem. Right on it. I will be there as soon as I have them and then we can all come back together."
"Okay. thanks." Max said suspicious of his side of the conversation. "We'll be here. I am gonna let you go. "
"Fine. Be careful. And Max?"
"Yeah?"
"Relax some huh?"
"Sure."
Max hung up and looked at the sunrise wondering what was going on with Logan that he would act like that.
Logan hung up and looked down at the couch beside him where Asha was sleeping beside him naked after the dinner and three bottles of wine and one round of illicit sex they had that night. He felt a huge swell of guilt and tamped it down. He would consider the consequences later.
*TBC
Well, you could say I got inspired. I finished chapters 17-19 in one night. Yay me! Btw thanks to Pari106. She gave me a good boost of confidence with all of her reviews.