Chapter Seven


Meg: Everything from here on in is mainly why I made this story PG-13. Suggestive dialogue. Sarah was mad at me for it. Lizz pretended to be shocked, but then apologized. Emma and RAEB haven't even read this chapter yet. Leigh... no idea what her views are on this. And no one cares what JWJ thinks about this.


I opened my eyes. Ratigan was asleep, looking rather worn. I could clearly see the wrinkles in his face from here. He looked older than I had ever seen him. What was I doing here in his arms? I could not even remember how I had gotten here in the first place. The last thing I could remember was Ratigan pulling off my hat and yelling at me.

I tried to get up, but was too tangled in a big bundle of blankets. Ratigan woke up and almost jumped out of the armchair. He caught himself just in time. He looked down at me. "Meg! Are you all right?"

"Yes." I answered uncertainly. "But... you... I... What am I doing here?"

"Don't you remember?" Ratigan asked. He seemed disappointed. Then he said, "Chuck C. stabbed you with a poisoned razorblade. You almost died."

"It was poisoned?" I looked at my arm and saw a bandage in the spot where Chuck had stabbed me.

"You'll have stitches there for a couple of weeks."

I looked around the room, expecting to see a doctor somewhere nearby. "How'd you get a doctor? You're a criminal, it would've been very hard to..." I stopped. He looked a little annoyed.

"Besides mathematics, I studied medicine in college," he answered rather shortly. "I was the doctor."

He lifted me up and set me on the bed. "Go back to sleep. You're not strong enough to do anything or go anywhere, so don't even think about escaping." He walked out of the room and slammed the door.

I tried to get up again. It was useless.

I then thought of something. I pulled back the covers, expecting to see my street garments. Instead I saw a black nightgown on me. I shivered and pulled the covers over me, suddenly feeling sick.


Over the next few days I started to recover from the poison. Ratigan was the only person I ever saw. He had to take care of my every need. At first I couldn't even feed myself. Then slowly, he started to help me strengthen my legs by holding me up as I tried to walk. Soon I started to walk on my own.

I sought for an opportunity to escape, but Ratigan was almost always in the room. He ate in the room; he even slept in the armchair whenever I saw him sleep.

Soon I had developed a plan. Ratigan had given me painkillers that were supposed to help me sleep. I had started to save them.


One evening I put all the painkillers I saved into his champagne glass. The crushed pills dissolved before Ratigan picked up his glass. He left the room for a while, locking the door behind him. He later came back with an empty glass. For an hour I waited, feigning sleep, for the pills to start. Finally I heard a book slide to the door, and his deep breathing coming from the armchair.

I cautiously got to my feet, listening. When Ratigan did not wake up, I crept to the armchair. I waved my hand in front of his eyes. "James?" I whispered. He was fast asleep. I slowly walked toward the door. I was almost there. I inched the door open, little by little...


Basil arrived at his flat in Baker Street just as Mrs. Judson was serving tea. Josh looked up at him expectantly. Basil shook his head.

"Oh no," Dawson muttered. "Poor girl."

Mrs. Judson quickly wiped a tear from her eye. "Help yourself to some tea and crumpets Mr. Basil," the old landlady said as she walked into the kitchen.

The great mouse detective sat down in his armchair and picked up his violin. He soothed himself with the music for almost an hour, trying to clear his head. He watched Josh closely. The poor mouse barely ate and slept anymore; he kept blaming himself for not doing anything to save her. Basil knew Josh was planning to do something, but he was not quite sure yet whether he should interfere.

Basil was exhausted. Ratigan had duped him again! He was even more cunning than he had been before the Queen's Diamond Jubilee almost four years ago. No clues, no leads; Basil had reached a complete dead end. He closed his eyes, playing a sad melody.

BAM! Basil was pulled from his reverie by Josh's banging his teacup upon the table. The young mouse stood up and snatched the violin out of Basil's paws. "Are you just going to sit there, playing your music, while she's out there fighting for her life?"

"Josh, put that down!"

"Oh, more worried about your "precious" violin than my fiancée, Basil?" he said sarcastically. "She's either been hurt or killed, or worse, and all because of HIM!" Josh threw the violin against the portrait of Ratigan hanging on the wall, smashing it into a million pieces. The bell tinkled as it rolled to Basil's feet. Basil clenched his paws to hold in his anger.

"Mr. Havers, this is hardly the time to panic! Meg's a strong girl. Have faith in her! Meanwhile, I've been just as worried about her as you've been, Josh! I'd rather die myself than to see one hair on her head harmed."

Josh still held the broken end of the violin. "Did you hear Iggie? Chuck C. stabbed her! She would've died almost immediately from it!"

Before Basil could do anything, Josh stormed out of the flat. "I'm going to find her, if it's the last thing I do!"

Basil raced to the door. Josh was already gone. He looked to Dawson. "Come on, old chap. We must follow him!"


Sarah: (sarcastically) That really makes sense. You only incorporate Basil like, seven chapters into the story. Your stories are in the section marked: "Cartoons: Great Mouse Detective." And yet, Basil's been like a very unimportant character throughout the whole thing! You did the same thing in "Sing Sweetly!"

Leigh: You're angry today.

Meg: But she is right. I sort of realized that after I wrote this story. It's not fair to our favorite detective!

Lizz: Oh, read the sequel to this story next Sarah! You'll get it!

Meg: Wait until they finish reading this one. Oh yeah Lizz, Meg's not dead!

Leigh: 'I'm getting better!'

Sarah: That Monty Python quote is starting to get on my nerves.