A/N: Thanks to Unicorn Lady, Jessica, and Moonstone Tears for your
reviews. Enjoy!
Ch. 4: Sudden changes
Friday afternoon, Renée was a little distracted, but it wasn't very pronounced, so I didn't say anything. She left rather early, about 4:00, but before she did, she asked for the direct dial number for my room.
Pete was on duty that night. I'm always glad to see him. The care attendants had been running behind, and no one had undressed me for bed. I don't particularly mind sleeping in my clothes (I do it often enough), so I just had Pete move me to the bed. I was restless that night. I don't usually have trouble sleeping. About 11:45, Pete came in to check on me, and since I was still wide awake, he moved me back to my chair and we sat and chatted for a while. He left about midnight, and shortly after that, the phone rang. I answered it using the remote built into my chair. It was Renée.
"Jenny, is that you?" Her voice was soft and a little scared.
"Yeah. I'm here. What's wrong?"
"I went to a party tonight, and Joe is getting really drunk and pushy again. I drove myself here, but I had something that was a little too strong myself, and I'm a little bit scared to drive home." Her speech was slurring a bit, and I was not going to let her drive.
"Don't leave by yourself. Where are you?"
She gave me an address only a few blocks away from the home. "Hang on. I'll be there in 5 minutes."
"But—"
"Does anyone there know much about your family?"
"No…"
"I can pretend I'm an upset aunt or something come to take you home."
"OK. I gotta go." Click.
I was at the desk seconds later. "Pete, Renée is in trouble. I've got to go get her."
"Go get her? Where?"
"She's just a few blocks away. I'll be OK. Just let me go."
"I don't know…" He was worried, both for me and for Renée, and I'm pretty sure he'd have gone himself if he hadn't been the only nurse there that evening.
"Listen. She needs help. I can go get her and get her out of another bad situation."
"OK. Go. Just get back as soon as you can. Here, take my cell phone. Call me at the desk if you need anything."
"Will do. Thanks, Pete." He dialed the number and set it on my lap so I could just press the "Send" button and talk. Even with my limited coordination, I could probably do that.
It didn't take me long to travel the couple blocks to the address Renée had given me. Fortunately, the front door was on ground level. I could hear loud music and louder voices inside. I rolled my wheelchair over to the door and managed to push the bell, then backed away so the screen door wouldn't hit me. I had to repeat the procedure two more times before anyone answered the door.
A younger man with a beer in-hand answered the door. He looked down at me, clearly confused. I didn't give him a chance to speak. "I'm here for Renée. Please tell her she needs to come immediately." The kid just looked at me blankly. He couldn't have been more than 17 or 18. "Renée needs to come home. If you don't get her right now, I will call the police and we'll see what they think about your party."
"You…" He turned and went back inside, closing the door behind him. After several minutes that felt like forever, Renée came to the door, along with a couple big guys, Joe included.
"Come on, Renée. You need to come with me." With that, I turned my chair and headed down the sidewalk, hoping she'd follow and the guys would let her. Somehow, they did, and she caught up to me after a moment. I headed back for the home as fast as my wheelchair would go. Renée was jogging to keep up with me.
"Slow down, Jenny!"
"That's not a good idea. I want to get back to the home before those guys get their act together. The security at the home will keep them out, but if they follow us and catch us on the street, we're in trouble. Grab the handles on the back of my chair and balance on the battery supports." The girl was fairly small, and the chair solidly built, so the arrangement worked just fine.
We got back without incident. Pete was sitting at the desk and opened the door for us. He shot Renée a worried glance. She definitely looked worse for the wear. I went over to him. "Pete, I hope it doesn't happen, but there may be some thugs following us."
"Don't worry about it. They won't get in, anyway. You have visitors. They're waiting in your room."
"What?" He didn't have a chance to explain, because Maria, one of the other night nurses, came up just then. She's a stern, unpleasant character, and I avoid her when I can.
Pete turned to her. "Hi, Maria. Thanks for coming in for me. I'm just not feeling quite up to staying tonight. Jenny, why don't I walk you back to your room and get you settled before I leave?"
I was confused, but I turned my chair and headed for my room. When I turned into it, my jaw dropped. Renée was the first to speak. "Who declared it Halloween?"
"They don't know what Halloween is, Renée." I had finally found my voice. "It is good to see you, Elladan, Elrohir. How did you get here?"
"Our father and Gandalf found a way to create a gate, but it will not last long. We can take you back, but we must hurry."
"Pete, what do you know about this?" There was more to the nurse than I'd realized.
"There'll be enough time for talk later. What about Renée?"
"Good question. I think Renée will have to answer that one." My heart was pounding and it was all I could do to keep my head. "Renée, you said you wanted to start over. Here's your chance. There's no time to explain. You'll have to trust me. You'll have to leave everything behind, but it'll be a new life and a fresh start."
After a long pause, Renée nodded. "Let's go."
Pete spoke up. "We'll have to go out the back so Bloody Mary doesn't see us."
Suddenly, something occurred to me. My wheelchair probably wasn't going to come with us. Pete realized the problem about the same moment and picked me up. "Let's go, folks."
Elladan and Elrohir looked confused. Elrohir spoke. "Why does the Lady Jennifer not walk?"
"I can't, Elrohir. I was badly injured 10 years ago, and it left me unable to walk."
"You only left a year ago!"
"Hmm. I guess time isn't constant between the two worlds."
Pete spoke from above me. "It never is, kid. It never is. Thirteen years here may be a year there, or ten there might be a hundred here."
"Just who are you, anyway?"
"Ask me some other time."
He carried me out the back door to the home, the others following. Once we were outside, Elladan took the lead and headed off into the woods. Renée had to jog to keep up, but even Pete, carrying me, kept up a good pace. We came to a small lake, and the twins walked right into it. Pete waded in behind. Renée was reluctant.
"Come on, Renée. It'll be OK." Pete was trying to be reassuring. Elladan came back and took me from him. Pete walked over and put an arm around Renée's shoulders. "Come on, kid. We're going home." She let him lead her in, and we formed a line, shoulder to shoulder, and walked into the lake. Just before our heads would have gone under, the lake floor seemed to drop out from under us dizzyingly. The world spun, and we fell downwards until down felt like up and we broke the surface in another lake.
As my eyes cleared, I could see the forests near Rivendell. Tears started to compete with the lake water for space on my cheeks. "Finally, I'm home. I can't even walk, but I'm home." I laughed. "You know, I don't even know where we are."
"We're several leagues from the city," Elrohir answered. "We'll have to hurry if we're to make it before dark, and before everyone is chilled to the bone. It is October, or at least it was when we left."
We set off again, Elladan carrying me and Pete leading Renée. We must have made quite a company. Renée was actually keeping up quite well. We had been walking for a few minutes when Arwen rode up.
"Arwen, my friend, it is good to see you again. I trust you've been well?"
"Better than you, I guess. Can you not walk?"
"No. I can't even stand up on my own."
"My father sensed your return and asked me to come after you. Will you ride with me?"
"I'm not sure if I can even sit a horse. My legs don't work and my arms are very weak. You'll have to hold me up."
She nodded, and Elladan set me before her on the horse. She is a little taller than me, and she was able to hold me up. We reached the city at dusk, and Elladan took me off the horse. Arwen left the horse with a groom and we all went to the library. Elladan put me in a chair. It had been a long time since I'd sat in a chair without arms, and I was glad he waited until I had my balance before he let go. Arwen left to find her father. Renée looked overwhelmed. While we'd been moving, she hadn't had time to stop and think, but now she had time to take in all the strangeness around her. Pete caught her as she fainted.
Ch. 4: Sudden changes
Friday afternoon, Renée was a little distracted, but it wasn't very pronounced, so I didn't say anything. She left rather early, about 4:00, but before she did, she asked for the direct dial number for my room.
Pete was on duty that night. I'm always glad to see him. The care attendants had been running behind, and no one had undressed me for bed. I don't particularly mind sleeping in my clothes (I do it often enough), so I just had Pete move me to the bed. I was restless that night. I don't usually have trouble sleeping. About 11:45, Pete came in to check on me, and since I was still wide awake, he moved me back to my chair and we sat and chatted for a while. He left about midnight, and shortly after that, the phone rang. I answered it using the remote built into my chair. It was Renée.
"Jenny, is that you?" Her voice was soft and a little scared.
"Yeah. I'm here. What's wrong?"
"I went to a party tonight, and Joe is getting really drunk and pushy again. I drove myself here, but I had something that was a little too strong myself, and I'm a little bit scared to drive home." Her speech was slurring a bit, and I was not going to let her drive.
"Don't leave by yourself. Where are you?"
She gave me an address only a few blocks away from the home. "Hang on. I'll be there in 5 minutes."
"But—"
"Does anyone there know much about your family?"
"No…"
"I can pretend I'm an upset aunt or something come to take you home."
"OK. I gotta go." Click.
I was at the desk seconds later. "Pete, Renée is in trouble. I've got to go get her."
"Go get her? Where?"
"She's just a few blocks away. I'll be OK. Just let me go."
"I don't know…" He was worried, both for me and for Renée, and I'm pretty sure he'd have gone himself if he hadn't been the only nurse there that evening.
"Listen. She needs help. I can go get her and get her out of another bad situation."
"OK. Go. Just get back as soon as you can. Here, take my cell phone. Call me at the desk if you need anything."
"Will do. Thanks, Pete." He dialed the number and set it on my lap so I could just press the "Send" button and talk. Even with my limited coordination, I could probably do that.
It didn't take me long to travel the couple blocks to the address Renée had given me. Fortunately, the front door was on ground level. I could hear loud music and louder voices inside. I rolled my wheelchair over to the door and managed to push the bell, then backed away so the screen door wouldn't hit me. I had to repeat the procedure two more times before anyone answered the door.
A younger man with a beer in-hand answered the door. He looked down at me, clearly confused. I didn't give him a chance to speak. "I'm here for Renée. Please tell her she needs to come immediately." The kid just looked at me blankly. He couldn't have been more than 17 or 18. "Renée needs to come home. If you don't get her right now, I will call the police and we'll see what they think about your party."
"You…" He turned and went back inside, closing the door behind him. After several minutes that felt like forever, Renée came to the door, along with a couple big guys, Joe included.
"Come on, Renée. You need to come with me." With that, I turned my chair and headed down the sidewalk, hoping she'd follow and the guys would let her. Somehow, they did, and she caught up to me after a moment. I headed back for the home as fast as my wheelchair would go. Renée was jogging to keep up with me.
"Slow down, Jenny!"
"That's not a good idea. I want to get back to the home before those guys get their act together. The security at the home will keep them out, but if they follow us and catch us on the street, we're in trouble. Grab the handles on the back of my chair and balance on the battery supports." The girl was fairly small, and the chair solidly built, so the arrangement worked just fine.
We got back without incident. Pete was sitting at the desk and opened the door for us. He shot Renée a worried glance. She definitely looked worse for the wear. I went over to him. "Pete, I hope it doesn't happen, but there may be some thugs following us."
"Don't worry about it. They won't get in, anyway. You have visitors. They're waiting in your room."
"What?" He didn't have a chance to explain, because Maria, one of the other night nurses, came up just then. She's a stern, unpleasant character, and I avoid her when I can.
Pete turned to her. "Hi, Maria. Thanks for coming in for me. I'm just not feeling quite up to staying tonight. Jenny, why don't I walk you back to your room and get you settled before I leave?"
I was confused, but I turned my chair and headed for my room. When I turned into it, my jaw dropped. Renée was the first to speak. "Who declared it Halloween?"
"They don't know what Halloween is, Renée." I had finally found my voice. "It is good to see you, Elladan, Elrohir. How did you get here?"
"Our father and Gandalf found a way to create a gate, but it will not last long. We can take you back, but we must hurry."
"Pete, what do you know about this?" There was more to the nurse than I'd realized.
"There'll be enough time for talk later. What about Renée?"
"Good question. I think Renée will have to answer that one." My heart was pounding and it was all I could do to keep my head. "Renée, you said you wanted to start over. Here's your chance. There's no time to explain. You'll have to trust me. You'll have to leave everything behind, but it'll be a new life and a fresh start."
After a long pause, Renée nodded. "Let's go."
Pete spoke up. "We'll have to go out the back so Bloody Mary doesn't see us."
Suddenly, something occurred to me. My wheelchair probably wasn't going to come with us. Pete realized the problem about the same moment and picked me up. "Let's go, folks."
Elladan and Elrohir looked confused. Elrohir spoke. "Why does the Lady Jennifer not walk?"
"I can't, Elrohir. I was badly injured 10 years ago, and it left me unable to walk."
"You only left a year ago!"
"Hmm. I guess time isn't constant between the two worlds."
Pete spoke from above me. "It never is, kid. It never is. Thirteen years here may be a year there, or ten there might be a hundred here."
"Just who are you, anyway?"
"Ask me some other time."
He carried me out the back door to the home, the others following. Once we were outside, Elladan took the lead and headed off into the woods. Renée had to jog to keep up, but even Pete, carrying me, kept up a good pace. We came to a small lake, and the twins walked right into it. Pete waded in behind. Renée was reluctant.
"Come on, Renée. It'll be OK." Pete was trying to be reassuring. Elladan came back and took me from him. Pete walked over and put an arm around Renée's shoulders. "Come on, kid. We're going home." She let him lead her in, and we formed a line, shoulder to shoulder, and walked into the lake. Just before our heads would have gone under, the lake floor seemed to drop out from under us dizzyingly. The world spun, and we fell downwards until down felt like up and we broke the surface in another lake.
As my eyes cleared, I could see the forests near Rivendell. Tears started to compete with the lake water for space on my cheeks. "Finally, I'm home. I can't even walk, but I'm home." I laughed. "You know, I don't even know where we are."
"We're several leagues from the city," Elrohir answered. "We'll have to hurry if we're to make it before dark, and before everyone is chilled to the bone. It is October, or at least it was when we left."
We set off again, Elladan carrying me and Pete leading Renée. We must have made quite a company. Renée was actually keeping up quite well. We had been walking for a few minutes when Arwen rode up.
"Arwen, my friend, it is good to see you again. I trust you've been well?"
"Better than you, I guess. Can you not walk?"
"No. I can't even stand up on my own."
"My father sensed your return and asked me to come after you. Will you ride with me?"
"I'm not sure if I can even sit a horse. My legs don't work and my arms are very weak. You'll have to hold me up."
She nodded, and Elladan set me before her on the horse. She is a little taller than me, and she was able to hold me up. We reached the city at dusk, and Elladan took me off the horse. Arwen left the horse with a groom and we all went to the library. Elladan put me in a chair. It had been a long time since I'd sat in a chair without arms, and I was glad he waited until I had my balance before he let go. Arwen left to find her father. Renée looked overwhelmed. While we'd been moving, she hadn't had time to stop and think, but now she had time to take in all the strangeness around her. Pete caught her as she fainted.