Hi, I hope the images come across in this chapter as sad as they are
supposed to be. I was debating whether making this part with "Hallelujah"
by Rufus Wainwright in it or not, sort of a song fic within the fiction. I
had it playing as I was writing this and the tone of the song sort of took
over. Obviously I decided not to. It was due to the fact I debated back
and forth on which order to put the paragraphs in the first section in and
then I couldn't decide how to intertwine the verses with the paragraphs.
Anyway.onto the story.
*-*-*-*-*
Alex wandered around the Angel Hall of Fame as they jokingly called it. It consisted of pictures of all the former angels since 1975, Jill Munroe, Kelly Garrett, Sabrina Duncan, then more recent additions like Madison Lee and soon Dylan Sanders would be hanging up there too. Wandering into the office she realized they would probably have to start searching for a replacement soon. A lump rose in her throat and tears filled her eyes, Dylan's body wasn't even cold yet and she was ready to replace her. She slammed her fist down on the mantel. She hated always being practical and strong. She had hoped that Bosley would still be there to comfort her and her him, but he wasn't and she didn't want to go home. Jason had left that morning to go shoot the next Maximum Extreme movie in Costa Rica. She could probably call him but she was tired. She couldn't remember the last time she had hurt so much, physically and mentally. "Probably after HALO," she thought sitting on the couch. Her eye lids were heavy and slowly her eyes closed. She was asleep. She would call Jason in the morning.
Natalie arrived home a little after two. Pete had fallen asleep on the couch watching an old movie with Spike next to him, his little dog chin resting on Pete's chest. As Natalie reached for the remote the dog sprang to life and gave a short sharp bark. She pressed her finger to her lips and hoped the he understood that meant to be quiet. Pete looked so comfortable she hadn't the heart to wake him. Bending down she pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. He stirred and opened his eyes. "Hey sweetie," he said sleepily. "Is it morning already?"
"No, I just got home," she answered not quite ready to tell him about losing Dylan to the little mad man known as the Chief. Too bad he knew her too well. He picked up the nuance of sadness in her voice. "Did something happen?" he asked sitting upright. Natalie debated about whether or not to tell him that something had happened but she was tired and overwhelmed. Instead of denying she exploded into quiet tears. "Shhh", Pete tried to calm her down to make out what she was saying. Finally he understood what the important part was; Dylan was dead.
"Are you sure?" he asked. He didn't want to believe anything bad had happened to her. She was like a little sister to him.
"The fire department said there was no way that anyone could have survived." She picked up a photo of the three of them, her, Alex, and Dylan laughing on moving day when she and Pete moved into together and ran her finger over the glass leaving a fingerprint smudge. She drifted off in a day dream remembering how they had so much fun dancing to MC Hammer; she never thought it would end this way. Pete wiped a tear off her cheek with the ball of his thumb and Natalie continued. "They said they found several bodies inside but no word if any of them is hers. The windows were made of unbreakable heat resistant glass; a few blew out from the explosion but landed in one piece just missing us. The doors were sealed tight when we got out. I knew we shouldn't have abandoned her, but she told us to go. We thought she had a plan." Natalie broke down and started sobbing once more.
"Has anyone told Anthony?" he asked.
"He was there," she replied in-between sniffles.
"Poor guy losing the love of his life like that," said Pete pulling Natalie onto his lap. She hadn't thought about that at least not like Pete did. "Was Dylan the love of the Thin Man's life?" she wondered. She knew he cared but there was always the nagging question of Kate in her mind. "I don't know what I would do if I lost you," said Pete kissing the top of her head. As she pondered Dylan and Anthony's relationship she let Pete lead her to the bedroom.
Anthony pulled into the drive way of what was soon to be Kate's house. He needed to get a few things then he would go to Dylan's. "I want.no" he thought, "I need to be close to her." He opened the door and was surprised to find Kate still awake it was after 2am. She flew off the couch and ran to him. "My god Anthony, what happened?" she asked looking him over covered in soot and ashes. He turned from her and shook his head; he didn't want to talk about it. "You're hurt," she said as she took a clean tissue and dabbed it to the small cut on his forehead and led him up the stairs to his room. She could only imagine what had taken place after she left the Chief but whatever it was seemed to be perfect. He was there now with her and not with Dylan.
"I was so worried about you," she said looking at him with big eyes. He looked at her and she looked sincere. She slid her arms around him and pulled him into a hug. "I do have good news. I was working late tonight and the eggs were returned." He gave her hand a small squeeze to let her know he was happy for her then pulled away his mind replaying the explosion. "It is so wonderful. I have an appointment with Mr. Hartman in the morning and I am going to give all the credit to the angels. I don't know what they did but the eggs are back safe and sound." She looked him over as he stared at the picture of Dylan on the night table. "I know. I'll bring you a cup of tea." He didn't reply he sat there and tried to remember his life before Dylan and tried to figure out what to do after her. Visions of the alley outside Corwin's, her standing wrapped in a sheet in Knox's living room, pulling her away from the ledge and their first kiss, her kneeling beside him at Dimitri's grave; it hit him with such force he had to sit on the bed. Then he thought about the thoughts, the hate for her that he had momentarily felt at the Chief's. He had he meant it he wondered? If so what would that have meant for them? "No," he thought he didn't mean it; he had enjoyed what they had together. "It will make you feel better," continued Kate realizing perhaps for the first time, that he truly loved Dylan. "What's done is done," she said to herself and went to make the tea.
A small metal box that was on to dresser top caught his eye Anthony stood and went over to the dresser and opened it. The box had been a birthday present from Dimitri when he turned twenty one. He lifted the lid and removed the contents, a lock of copper red hair. Sitting back on the bed inhaling what is left of the sweet scent of its former owner. It was fading. Closing his eyes he realized that they would be the last locks he ever took. He lay down on the bed and for the first time since he was seven he cried. Kate returned a little later with the tea she had promised. Standing in the doorway of the bedroom and saw Anthony on the bed sleeping an exhausted sleep with all he had of Dylan clutched in his had. She set the tea cup on the dresser and pulled the blanked that laid across the foot of the bed over him.
*-*-*-*-*-*
Five trucks had been called in to fight the fire that engulfed the mansion after the Chief fired the bullet into the gas filled air. The verdict had been no one could have survived so the men and three women of the LAFD were shocked when a slight young woman with grimy soot covered hair and clothes crawled out of the chimney into the large room that they had mistaken as a ballroom. "My god," cried one of the female fire fighters rushing to her side. "Ma'am?" asked on of the men as the woman sat on the hot floor exhausted not really seeing them. When she didn't respond he picked her up and carried her out to the EMS truck.
"Hey Ted," called the fireman to the EMT. "Yeah, I know I owe you fifty." said the EMT turning around but his words dropped off as he saw the young woman unconscious in the fireman's arms. "How the hell did she survive?" he asked amazed that the woman was only a little singed and bruised but had no severe burns.
"Crawled up in the chimney apparently. How she breathed? Haven't a clue." He said placing her on the gurney. Dylan opened her eyes to reveal bright red bloodshot orbs as the EMT placed an oxygen mask on her. "She must have angels on her side," he said laughing as they loaded her into the back of the ambulance and took her to the hospital.
*-*-*-*-*-*
The melody of "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" chimed and Pete moaned rolling over on to his side. "Hello," said Natalie as she answered her cell phone and sleepily blinked in the morning light streaming in the window. She hand laid away most of the night and had only just started to doze off. Glancing over at Pete who was snoring next to her she climbed carefully out of bed. "She says the eggs were returned?" she asked Alex who was on the other end of the line. "Well it makes sense; the Chief said that he had returned them."
"I'll call Bosley. He can come with us and we should tell him about Dylan," said Alex.
"You haven't told him yet?" asked Natalie as she wandered into the kitchen with Spike at her heals. She fed him then turned on the coffee maker.
"He wasn't here last night and I didn't have the heart to call the Bosleys and wake them with the news. I was going to drive over this morning but seeing we need to go to the museum."
Cradling the phone under her chin she reached down to pet the dog and asked, "Okay. Want me to meet you there?" Alex replied that it would be a good idea. "What time?" asked Nat "Noon at the museum okay, got it. See you at the Bosleys." With that they said their goodbyes.
"Up already?" asked a voice from the kitchen doorway. Natalie turned to see Pete standing there. "The phone didn't wake you did it?" she asked. He shook his head and said, "No, I got cold without you next to me." She smiled at him but he could see she was still hurting and it would be awhile before she stopped. "Yeah, we have to meet our client at the museum and tell the Bosleys about Dylan."
"Are you sure you are up for that?" he asked.
"I have to be. The job doesn't just stop because." she paused not wanting to say it. Pete pulled her into a hug. "Do you think Charlie would give you guys a vacation after this? Maybe we could go away somewhere?" That was one of the reasons that she loved Pete; he was always thinking about her. "He probably would but I think it will be easier to get over facing it everyday rather than be hit with it all again when we got back." Pete sighed he didn't think of it that way but she was right.
*-*-*-*-*
In the hospital Dylan slowly opened her eyes, her head was pounding. "Morning Sleepyhead," said the smiling nurse at her side. She looked around and couldn't remember how she got to the hospital. "Where am I?" she asked in a hoarse voice. Her throat ached and was raw from the hot smoke she inhaled the night before.
"Cedar Sinai. You were in a bad fire they tell me. You look pretty good though. Here," she said lifting the bed so Dylan was sitting upright. "You are pretty scrapped up. Would you like a drink?" Dylan nodded her throat was sore and scratchy. She coughed and it felt as though she swallowed sand. The nurse held out the cup and Dylan took it drinking greedily. "Whoa, not so fast. You will make yourself sick." She finished the water and handed the cup back to the nurse. "The doctor will be here in a few minutes. Don't get out of bed. If you have to go the bed pan is there." She pointed to the stainless steel object on the shelf of the table next to the bed. "Just relax and I'll see you later."
Dylan didn't want to be there. Where were Natalie and Alex? It was unusual for one of them to wake up in the hospital and the others not to be there. Slowly the night before came into focus. She could only wonder if they made it out before the Chief hit the lock down button. "Anthony!" she thought. Where was he? Tears formed in her eyes as she pictured her friends dead; killed in the fire she started and the Chief helped finish in his own way. She was so lost in thought that she didn't hear the doctor come in. "So Jane Doe, how are you this morning." Dylan looked up surprised and said "Dylan. My name is Dylan Sanders."
"Well that is a start. So Dylan do you know what day today is?" She answered him and he smiled. "Very good now do you remember what happened to you last night?"
"There was a fire and an explosion."
"Also good it looks as though your short term memory is intact. How you managed to survive has us stumped. They said you hid up a chimney." Dylan nodded as she remembered. The blast had thrown her into the huge fireplace. She had looked up and saw rungs but knew that she wouldn't be able to breathe if the smoke went out the same way so she climbed up and shut the flew behind her. It had been almost unbearably hot like being baked in the oven. She climbed up as high in the chimney as she could, until she could feel the cooler night air blowing down and over the opening. There she remained and passed out for a while with her body wedged between the high cool stone walls.
"That was brave and clever. I just need to run some quick tests on you. Nothing special the hard stuff we did last night when you were brought in." The doctor checked her out, heart, lungs, told her the MRI they ran on her when she was brought in was negative, and gave her a clean bill of health. "That means I can go?" she asked.
"Actually I wanted to keep you here for the rest of the day for observation. You are pretty banged up and I'm worried about that gash on your head." Dylan raised her hand and felt a thick piece of gauze taped into place. The doctor continued, "I am going to prescribe you and antibiotic cream for those burns, it looks more like someone took a cattle prod to you than a fire though." He looked at her in away that let Dylan know he wanted her to elaborate but she wasn't ready for that yet so she said nothing. She shifted in the bed and moaned.
"If your ribs are bothering you I'll give you a mild analgesic too. They aren't broken which was a concern when you were brought in this morning but you seem to be doing quite well." He made a few notes in Dylan's chart.
"Can I use the phone?" she asked.
"I'd rather you get some rest," he said getting ready to leave.
"Did anyone else make it out?" she asked not sure if she wanted to know the answer.
"I'm sorry Ms. Sanders, I really don't know." She watched as the doctor walked out of the room and could see him chatting with a nurse in the hallway. When she saw that neither was nearby she carefully swung her legs out of bed. Shivering from the cold tile floor beneath her bare feet she went to the closet where her clothes were neatly folded and laying on the shelf. Cringing at the smell of smoke and her perspiration from the night before which clung to them she made her way into the small bathroom to change. Bruises in a rainbow of purples and yellowish greens covered the left side of her abdomen, putting on her bra left her in agony. "I'm not waiting around here. I want answers," she said to herself so she would be encouraged to go on. Once she was dressed she went to the door of the room and looked both ways to make sure her escape would go unnoticed.
She passed the nurses station with no trouble. The three who were there were busy watching a morning talk show and not paying any attention to the main hall that led to the elevators. She pressed the lift call button and watched as the numbers indicated the decent from two floors above just as it was almost there she heard the voice of her doctor coming and she ducked inside a small recreation type room. "I can't believe my eyes," came a booming English voice from behind her. Turning in surprise she saw Neville Rutherford. "Dylan-love, don't take this wrong but you look like hell." She couldn't help but smile at the former lord.
"Rutherford?" she said turning surprised to see the infamous collector.
*-*-*-*-*
Alex wandered around the Angel Hall of Fame as they jokingly called it. It consisted of pictures of all the former angels since 1975, Jill Munroe, Kelly Garrett, Sabrina Duncan, then more recent additions like Madison Lee and soon Dylan Sanders would be hanging up there too. Wandering into the office she realized they would probably have to start searching for a replacement soon. A lump rose in her throat and tears filled her eyes, Dylan's body wasn't even cold yet and she was ready to replace her. She slammed her fist down on the mantel. She hated always being practical and strong. She had hoped that Bosley would still be there to comfort her and her him, but he wasn't and she didn't want to go home. Jason had left that morning to go shoot the next Maximum Extreme movie in Costa Rica. She could probably call him but she was tired. She couldn't remember the last time she had hurt so much, physically and mentally. "Probably after HALO," she thought sitting on the couch. Her eye lids were heavy and slowly her eyes closed. She was asleep. She would call Jason in the morning.
Natalie arrived home a little after two. Pete had fallen asleep on the couch watching an old movie with Spike next to him, his little dog chin resting on Pete's chest. As Natalie reached for the remote the dog sprang to life and gave a short sharp bark. She pressed her finger to her lips and hoped the he understood that meant to be quiet. Pete looked so comfortable she hadn't the heart to wake him. Bending down she pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. He stirred and opened his eyes. "Hey sweetie," he said sleepily. "Is it morning already?"
"No, I just got home," she answered not quite ready to tell him about losing Dylan to the little mad man known as the Chief. Too bad he knew her too well. He picked up the nuance of sadness in her voice. "Did something happen?" he asked sitting upright. Natalie debated about whether or not to tell him that something had happened but she was tired and overwhelmed. Instead of denying she exploded into quiet tears. "Shhh", Pete tried to calm her down to make out what she was saying. Finally he understood what the important part was; Dylan was dead.
"Are you sure?" he asked. He didn't want to believe anything bad had happened to her. She was like a little sister to him.
"The fire department said there was no way that anyone could have survived." She picked up a photo of the three of them, her, Alex, and Dylan laughing on moving day when she and Pete moved into together and ran her finger over the glass leaving a fingerprint smudge. She drifted off in a day dream remembering how they had so much fun dancing to MC Hammer; she never thought it would end this way. Pete wiped a tear off her cheek with the ball of his thumb and Natalie continued. "They said they found several bodies inside but no word if any of them is hers. The windows were made of unbreakable heat resistant glass; a few blew out from the explosion but landed in one piece just missing us. The doors were sealed tight when we got out. I knew we shouldn't have abandoned her, but she told us to go. We thought she had a plan." Natalie broke down and started sobbing once more.
"Has anyone told Anthony?" he asked.
"He was there," she replied in-between sniffles.
"Poor guy losing the love of his life like that," said Pete pulling Natalie onto his lap. She hadn't thought about that at least not like Pete did. "Was Dylan the love of the Thin Man's life?" she wondered. She knew he cared but there was always the nagging question of Kate in her mind. "I don't know what I would do if I lost you," said Pete kissing the top of her head. As she pondered Dylan and Anthony's relationship she let Pete lead her to the bedroom.
Anthony pulled into the drive way of what was soon to be Kate's house. He needed to get a few things then he would go to Dylan's. "I want.no" he thought, "I need to be close to her." He opened the door and was surprised to find Kate still awake it was after 2am. She flew off the couch and ran to him. "My god Anthony, what happened?" she asked looking him over covered in soot and ashes. He turned from her and shook his head; he didn't want to talk about it. "You're hurt," she said as she took a clean tissue and dabbed it to the small cut on his forehead and led him up the stairs to his room. She could only imagine what had taken place after she left the Chief but whatever it was seemed to be perfect. He was there now with her and not with Dylan.
"I was so worried about you," she said looking at him with big eyes. He looked at her and she looked sincere. She slid her arms around him and pulled him into a hug. "I do have good news. I was working late tonight and the eggs were returned." He gave her hand a small squeeze to let her know he was happy for her then pulled away his mind replaying the explosion. "It is so wonderful. I have an appointment with Mr. Hartman in the morning and I am going to give all the credit to the angels. I don't know what they did but the eggs are back safe and sound." She looked him over as he stared at the picture of Dylan on the night table. "I know. I'll bring you a cup of tea." He didn't reply he sat there and tried to remember his life before Dylan and tried to figure out what to do after her. Visions of the alley outside Corwin's, her standing wrapped in a sheet in Knox's living room, pulling her away from the ledge and their first kiss, her kneeling beside him at Dimitri's grave; it hit him with such force he had to sit on the bed. Then he thought about the thoughts, the hate for her that he had momentarily felt at the Chief's. He had he meant it he wondered? If so what would that have meant for them? "No," he thought he didn't mean it; he had enjoyed what they had together. "It will make you feel better," continued Kate realizing perhaps for the first time, that he truly loved Dylan. "What's done is done," she said to herself and went to make the tea.
A small metal box that was on to dresser top caught his eye Anthony stood and went over to the dresser and opened it. The box had been a birthday present from Dimitri when he turned twenty one. He lifted the lid and removed the contents, a lock of copper red hair. Sitting back on the bed inhaling what is left of the sweet scent of its former owner. It was fading. Closing his eyes he realized that they would be the last locks he ever took. He lay down on the bed and for the first time since he was seven he cried. Kate returned a little later with the tea she had promised. Standing in the doorway of the bedroom and saw Anthony on the bed sleeping an exhausted sleep with all he had of Dylan clutched in his had. She set the tea cup on the dresser and pulled the blanked that laid across the foot of the bed over him.
*-*-*-*-*-*
Five trucks had been called in to fight the fire that engulfed the mansion after the Chief fired the bullet into the gas filled air. The verdict had been no one could have survived so the men and three women of the LAFD were shocked when a slight young woman with grimy soot covered hair and clothes crawled out of the chimney into the large room that they had mistaken as a ballroom. "My god," cried one of the female fire fighters rushing to her side. "Ma'am?" asked on of the men as the woman sat on the hot floor exhausted not really seeing them. When she didn't respond he picked her up and carried her out to the EMS truck.
"Hey Ted," called the fireman to the EMT. "Yeah, I know I owe you fifty." said the EMT turning around but his words dropped off as he saw the young woman unconscious in the fireman's arms. "How the hell did she survive?" he asked amazed that the woman was only a little singed and bruised but had no severe burns.
"Crawled up in the chimney apparently. How she breathed? Haven't a clue." He said placing her on the gurney. Dylan opened her eyes to reveal bright red bloodshot orbs as the EMT placed an oxygen mask on her. "She must have angels on her side," he said laughing as they loaded her into the back of the ambulance and took her to the hospital.
*-*-*-*-*-*
The melody of "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" chimed and Pete moaned rolling over on to his side. "Hello," said Natalie as she answered her cell phone and sleepily blinked in the morning light streaming in the window. She hand laid away most of the night and had only just started to doze off. Glancing over at Pete who was snoring next to her she climbed carefully out of bed. "She says the eggs were returned?" she asked Alex who was on the other end of the line. "Well it makes sense; the Chief said that he had returned them."
"I'll call Bosley. He can come with us and we should tell him about Dylan," said Alex.
"You haven't told him yet?" asked Natalie as she wandered into the kitchen with Spike at her heals. She fed him then turned on the coffee maker.
"He wasn't here last night and I didn't have the heart to call the Bosleys and wake them with the news. I was going to drive over this morning but seeing we need to go to the museum."
Cradling the phone under her chin she reached down to pet the dog and asked, "Okay. Want me to meet you there?" Alex replied that it would be a good idea. "What time?" asked Nat "Noon at the museum okay, got it. See you at the Bosleys." With that they said their goodbyes.
"Up already?" asked a voice from the kitchen doorway. Natalie turned to see Pete standing there. "The phone didn't wake you did it?" she asked. He shook his head and said, "No, I got cold without you next to me." She smiled at him but he could see she was still hurting and it would be awhile before she stopped. "Yeah, we have to meet our client at the museum and tell the Bosleys about Dylan."
"Are you sure you are up for that?" he asked.
"I have to be. The job doesn't just stop because." she paused not wanting to say it. Pete pulled her into a hug. "Do you think Charlie would give you guys a vacation after this? Maybe we could go away somewhere?" That was one of the reasons that she loved Pete; he was always thinking about her. "He probably would but I think it will be easier to get over facing it everyday rather than be hit with it all again when we got back." Pete sighed he didn't think of it that way but she was right.
*-*-*-*-*
In the hospital Dylan slowly opened her eyes, her head was pounding. "Morning Sleepyhead," said the smiling nurse at her side. She looked around and couldn't remember how she got to the hospital. "Where am I?" she asked in a hoarse voice. Her throat ached and was raw from the hot smoke she inhaled the night before.
"Cedar Sinai. You were in a bad fire they tell me. You look pretty good though. Here," she said lifting the bed so Dylan was sitting upright. "You are pretty scrapped up. Would you like a drink?" Dylan nodded her throat was sore and scratchy. She coughed and it felt as though she swallowed sand. The nurse held out the cup and Dylan took it drinking greedily. "Whoa, not so fast. You will make yourself sick." She finished the water and handed the cup back to the nurse. "The doctor will be here in a few minutes. Don't get out of bed. If you have to go the bed pan is there." She pointed to the stainless steel object on the shelf of the table next to the bed. "Just relax and I'll see you later."
Dylan didn't want to be there. Where were Natalie and Alex? It was unusual for one of them to wake up in the hospital and the others not to be there. Slowly the night before came into focus. She could only wonder if they made it out before the Chief hit the lock down button. "Anthony!" she thought. Where was he? Tears formed in her eyes as she pictured her friends dead; killed in the fire she started and the Chief helped finish in his own way. She was so lost in thought that she didn't hear the doctor come in. "So Jane Doe, how are you this morning." Dylan looked up surprised and said "Dylan. My name is Dylan Sanders."
"Well that is a start. So Dylan do you know what day today is?" She answered him and he smiled. "Very good now do you remember what happened to you last night?"
"There was a fire and an explosion."
"Also good it looks as though your short term memory is intact. How you managed to survive has us stumped. They said you hid up a chimney." Dylan nodded as she remembered. The blast had thrown her into the huge fireplace. She had looked up and saw rungs but knew that she wouldn't be able to breathe if the smoke went out the same way so she climbed up and shut the flew behind her. It had been almost unbearably hot like being baked in the oven. She climbed up as high in the chimney as she could, until she could feel the cooler night air blowing down and over the opening. There she remained and passed out for a while with her body wedged between the high cool stone walls.
"That was brave and clever. I just need to run some quick tests on you. Nothing special the hard stuff we did last night when you were brought in." The doctor checked her out, heart, lungs, told her the MRI they ran on her when she was brought in was negative, and gave her a clean bill of health. "That means I can go?" she asked.
"Actually I wanted to keep you here for the rest of the day for observation. You are pretty banged up and I'm worried about that gash on your head." Dylan raised her hand and felt a thick piece of gauze taped into place. The doctor continued, "I am going to prescribe you and antibiotic cream for those burns, it looks more like someone took a cattle prod to you than a fire though." He looked at her in away that let Dylan know he wanted her to elaborate but she wasn't ready for that yet so she said nothing. She shifted in the bed and moaned.
"If your ribs are bothering you I'll give you a mild analgesic too. They aren't broken which was a concern when you were brought in this morning but you seem to be doing quite well." He made a few notes in Dylan's chart.
"Can I use the phone?" she asked.
"I'd rather you get some rest," he said getting ready to leave.
"Did anyone else make it out?" she asked not sure if she wanted to know the answer.
"I'm sorry Ms. Sanders, I really don't know." She watched as the doctor walked out of the room and could see him chatting with a nurse in the hallway. When she saw that neither was nearby she carefully swung her legs out of bed. Shivering from the cold tile floor beneath her bare feet she went to the closet where her clothes were neatly folded and laying on the shelf. Cringing at the smell of smoke and her perspiration from the night before which clung to them she made her way into the small bathroom to change. Bruises in a rainbow of purples and yellowish greens covered the left side of her abdomen, putting on her bra left her in agony. "I'm not waiting around here. I want answers," she said to herself so she would be encouraged to go on. Once she was dressed she went to the door of the room and looked both ways to make sure her escape would go unnoticed.
She passed the nurses station with no trouble. The three who were there were busy watching a morning talk show and not paying any attention to the main hall that led to the elevators. She pressed the lift call button and watched as the numbers indicated the decent from two floors above just as it was almost there she heard the voice of her doctor coming and she ducked inside a small recreation type room. "I can't believe my eyes," came a booming English voice from behind her. Turning in surprise she saw Neville Rutherford. "Dylan-love, don't take this wrong but you look like hell." She couldn't help but smile at the former lord.
"Rutherford?" she said turning surprised to see the infamous collector.