Title: Problems with the Past
Author: I AM GRUMPY BEAR
Rating: PG
Spoilers: None
Disclaimer: I don't own them. At least, I don't think I do. No, I don't.
Summary: Gary meets a girl who's past is quickly catching up to her and that could spell disaster for everyone.
Note: I don't write notes. It's against the rules. Evil Grin.
Problems with the Past
Chapter Nine: Waiting
Rachel walked into her house and into the kitchen. Eight of her siblings were sitting at the kitchen table watching cartoons.
"Did Sarah already leave?" asked Rachel as she got down the phonebook off the top of the fridge.
"No," said Marilyn. "She's upstairs, but she'll be leaving in a few minutes. She was starting to get mad because you weren't here yet."
"I was visiting my friend in the hospital," said Rachel in her defense and then she realized she was defending herself against her nine-year-old sister. She opened the phone book and started to look for the number of a pizza place.
"We know that," said eleven-year-old Jamie, "but Sarah is afraid she's going to be late. You know how much she hates to be late."
"I'm late everywhere I go and it never bothers me," said Rachel as she walked over to the phone.
"Yeah," said Jamie, "but you're used to it; Sarah isn't."
"Yeah," said Rachel, "but sometimes I wish she was. Then our lives wouldn't be quite so hectic." She dialed a phone number and waited while it rang.
"I'm leaving," said Sarah as she walked into the kitchen. She grabbed her jacket off the coatrack by the door and opened it. "Bye," she said with a wave.
"Bye," said all the kids in the kitchen except Rachel.
"I think we should try and make her late," said eight-year-old Luke. His twin sister, Lucy, agreed with a nod of her head.
"We're not going to sabotage our sister," said ten-year-old Jonathan. "It's just not right."
"Sure it is," said seven-year-old Mark. "What's sabotage mean?"
"Purposely wreck something," replied Jamie.
"Oh," said Mark. "I do that all the time."
"Like that vase," six-year-old Annie threw in.
"That vase!?" said Jonathan as he turned toward his younger brother. "I got blamed for that." Mark smiled and then ran out of the room. "Come back here, Butthead!" Jonathan shouted as he ran after his brother.
"Don't use that word!" Rachel shouted at her two brothers as she hung up the phone.
"Come, back, or here," asked Jamie as a joke.
"You know what word I meant," said Rachel as she sat down at the table and started to watch cartoons as well.
"What kind of pizzas did you get?" asked Marilyn.
"Half-pepperoni, half-mushroom," replied Rachel, "and one all cheese."
"Good," said Luke. "So that's one pizza for me, and you guys all split one."
"In your dreams," said Jamie.
Rachel laughed and then set her head on her hands. She started to think back to the hospital visit. She was confused. She knew Emma was lying to her, but she couldn't figure out why. Why had she lied about her name? What was the point? Rachel thought back to when she had spent the night at Emma's. Was there anything in her room that might explain why she lied? Rachel remembered seeing an old yearbook lying on her friend's desk. When Rachel wanted to look at it, Emma took and shoved it into her desk. She had quickly changed the subject.
"What name was on the cover?" Rachel asked herself. She closed her eyes and visualized the book. "Knoxville!" exclaimed Rachel when she opened her eyes.
All her siblings turned to stare at her and Rachel shrunk down a bit.
"Tennessee?" asked Jamie.
"I don't think so," replied Rachel, "but I'm going to find out." They all went back to watching cartoons.
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Gary payed the cab driver and climbed out of the taxi. The man who hitched a ride with him had already gotten out at his stop. He pulled out the newspaper and checked the story once again. There was supposed to be a dumpster fire in an alley that burned down two stores.
Gary found the alley and saw that the dumpster was already smoking. He ran into the grocery story next to the alley and up to the clerk behind the counter.
"Do you have a fire extinguisher?" Gary asked the clerk. The man just stared at him. "This is an emergency!" The clerk walked into the backroom and came out carrying a fire extinguisher.
He handed it to Gary and asked, "You're going to bring that back, right?"
Gary didn't respond and ran out the door. He raced into the alley and over to the dumpster. Gary opened the dumpster and put out the fire.
Gary sighed in relief and closed the dumpster. Before he could turn around, Gary felt someone grab his arm and twist it behind his back.
"I advise you not to help Robin again," the man who had hold of his arm said.
"What are you talking about?" demanded Gary. The man twisted his arm harder and Gary felt something snap.
"Don't ask questions," said the man, "and take my advice. It may save your life." Before Gary could respond, the man pushed him into the alley wall. Gary's head collided with the bricks and he sank to the ground unconscious.
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Robin was resting her head against the back of the hospital bed and trying to keep her mind off the needle in her arm. She hated needles.
"Done," said the nurse as she pulled the hypodermic needle out of Robin's arm.
"I hate needles," muttered Robin as she opened her eyes.
"So do I," said the nurse as she put the needle away. "I still don't know why I work with them." She walked out of the room.
Robin shook her head and closed her eyes again. There was a dull ache in her chest and she had been trying to ignore it all day. The doctors had told her that she had three broken ribs and a fractured skull. They were worried about internal bleeding at first, but the doctor was now positive there wasn't any. Her parents were really worried about the head injury, but it was the pain in her chest that bothered Robin the most.
"I can deal with a headache," Robin muttered to herself as she once again tried to get comfortable in the hospital bed, "but not pain every time I breathe."
"How are you feeling?" Christine asked Robin as she walked into the room.
"Why do you ask me that whenever you see me, Mom?" was Robin's reply.
"Because I'm a mother and it's my job," answered Christine, "and you are constantly getting into situations that cause me to worry more than the average mother."
"In answer to your question," said Robin apparently affected by her mother's guilt trip plan, "better."
"The doctor told me he's going to have you get some more x-rays tonight," said Christine.
"Joy!" replied Robin sarcastically then she inhaled sharply as a pain shot through her chest.
"Are you all right?" Christine asked her daughter nervously.
"Yeah," replied Robin. "I guess I was breathing too much."
"When you get out of here," said Christine, "I'm going to make sure you have a nice long rest. No school for at least a week."
"No complaints here," said Robin as she drifted off to sleep. She liked sleeping when she was at the hospital. That was the only time she didn't feel pain.
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The world slowly came back to Gary. He was lying on the ground and his head was pounding. Gary put his right hand down on the ground to help him get to his feet, but when he put pressure on it, a pain shot up through his arm. His fell back onto the ground and pulled his arm close to his body. Gary looked at his arm and saw that his wrist was bruised and starting to swell.
"This is just great," muttered Gary as he pushed himself up with his left hand. Gary took a step and his head started to spin. He felt himself falling and reached out his right hand once again to support himself. Pain shot through him again when his arm hit the wall.
"It's broken," Gary thought to himself. He walked out of the alley stumbling along as he did. He tried to think back to what had happened. His mind was fuzzy, but after a minute, flashes of the day started to come back. He remembered being at the police station, then the taxi ride, and then the dumpster fire. "The guy," Gary thought to himself, "he said not to help Robin again." He tried to think of who Robin might be. A pain shot through his head and grabbed it with both hands.
"God my head!" Gary muttered. He stumbled a bit and almost wasn't able to regain his balance. "The Paper!" Gary said all of a sudden. He reached into his pocket, but the paper was gone. "Oh, no," thought Gary. He couldn't remember if the dumpster fire had been the last thing he needed to prevent. Then another thought dawned on Gary. Whoever had that paper knew what he knew everyday. Fearing the worst, Gary took off in a sprint not sure of where he was going.
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Hazel walked down the sidewalk struggling to keep the papers in the folders from falling out. She hated carrying around all the papers, but she didn't trust anyone enough to keep them for her.
"If there was one thing my father ever wanted me to remember," Hazel often said to the people who questioned her cautiousness, "it was this: There are only things in the world you can trust, your family and your gut. To be safe, always go with your gut."
People normally laughed at her when she told them that, but Hazel didn't care. That was the way she was raised. Her parents had always told her and her brothers to be themselves and not to care what others think. That's one of the reasons people were so surprised when they found out she was a federal agent. It didn't fit her personality at all, but over the years her personality had changed to fit her profession.
Hazel lost the fight with the folders and the papers fell to the ground. She quickly dropped to her knees to pick them up.
"Let me help you," said a woman as the stooped down to help. She was the only person on the sidewalk who volunteered.
"Thanks," said Hazel as she grabbed the papers. It took a few minutes, but they finally managed to gather them all.
"There you go," said the woman as she handed a stack of papers to Hazel.
"Thank you," said Hazel as she put the papers back into the folders.
"You're welcome," said the woman. She continued down the sidewalk.
Hazel tucked the folders under her arm and started walking again. She hated big cities. She was raised in a small town and that's where she liked to be.
"When this is over," Hazel thought to herself as she adjusted the folders again, "I'm going to take a nice long vacation."
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Bostwick sat on the bench staring out into space. His "plan" was falling apart. After he had knocked the guy out, he knew everything was about to go down hill. "I have to lay low for awhile. I can't let that damn fed find me. Robin's just going to have to wait a couple of days."
Bostwick stood up and knocked the paper he had taken from the guy to the ground. He stepped on the paper leaving a muddy footprint on the date. He never noticed what he had.
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Gary sat down on a park bench and took several deep breaths. His head was swimming and his wrist was throbbing. He knew he needed to go to the hospital, but first he needed to find the paper.
After his head had cleared, Gary stood up and took a few steps to see if he was better and stepped on a muddy newspaper. Gary took a few more steps and then turned back around. He bent down and picked up the paper. He wiped the mud off the date and saw that it was his paper.
"I can't believe this," said Gary. He opened the paper and saw there were no more disasters that he needed to prevent. Gary tossed the paper into the trash can and started walking. He was headed toward the hospital and after that, all he wanted to do was go to bed.
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The nurse wheeled Robin down the hall. She was taking her in for some x-rays and then she was supposed to take her back to her room.
"If I leave you here," the nurse said to Robin, "you gonna stay?"
"No," said Robin. "I'm going to wheel myself down to that elevator and go to Pizza Hut."
"You'll be wheeling yourself for awhile," said the nurse with a laugh.
"Then I'll order in," replied Robin. "They deliver to hospitals, right?"
"I don't know," said the nurse. "I've never tried it." The nurse left Robin and walked down to the nurse's station. She liked the girl. She had a good sense of humor even for being a hospital patient. The nurse knew Robin was ready to get out of the hospital, but she knew the doctors weren't ready to release her.
Robin looked around at all the people as she let her mind wander. She thought about her friends in Knoxville and the officers. "I hope Carver's okay," she thought to herself. Every time something bad happened to someone she cared about, she blamed it on herself. "I really hope he's okay."
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"It's broken," said the doctor as he looked at the x-ray.
"I figured that," said Gary.
"How did you say you broke it again?" asked the doctor as he took the x-ray down.
"I fell and put my arms out to support myself," lied Gary. "I guess I feel on it wrong."
"I don't think there is a right way to fall on it," said the doctor. "It's a pretty bad break so it's gonna need a cast. I'll have to set it and then put the cast on. It could take six to eight weeks for it to heal completely." (A/n: Please understand I don't know how long it takes a broken wrist to heal.)
"Is that gonna hurt?" asked Gary.
"A little," replied the doctor, "but it's either that or it can hurt for six weeks."
Gary stared at the doctor and then looked down at his wrist. It was still swelling and bruising. "Okay," said Gary.
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Robin was wheeled out of the x-ray room and was being pushed down the hall by the nurse.
"Wasn't so bad, was it?" the nurse asked Robin.
"I guess not," said Robin with a sigh. She was getting tired again.
The nurse wheeled her toward the elevator and saw a sign on the door. "Out of Order" it read.
"What?" said the nurse. She saw the elevator next to it had the same sign. "What is going on?" She looked at Robin and said, "I'll be right back." She walked down to the nurses station and asked, "Carol, what is going on with the elevators?"
"They're under maintenance," replied the nurse as she checked something off on the clipboard she had. "We have to use the service elevator, Ellen."
"Okay," said the nurse as she turned to leave.
"But you can't use it right now," said Carol.
"Why not?" asked Ellen.
"A person was just air-lifted here from Peoria," replied Carol, "and there's supposed to be three more coming. They're using the elevator for that right now."
"What happened?" asked Ellen.
"Car accident," answered Carol. "From what I've heard, it was supposed to be a three car pile-up."
"That bad, huh?" said Ellen.
"One person's already dead," said Carol. "Unless your person has to be someone desperately, you're stuck for a little bit."
"Alright," said Ellen. She walked back over to where she left Robin. "We're stuck here for a little bit," she said.
"Why?" asked Robin. Ellen quickly explained it to her. "Oh," said Robin with a nod of her head. She sighed and started to look around again. She saw a man walking down the hall that seemed familiar. "Where have I seen him before?" Robin asked herself.
"Seen who?" asked Ellen looking around.
"That guy over there," said Robin pointing. "I know I've seen him somewhere before."
"I can't tell you," said the nurse.
The man walked over to the elevator and saw the signs.
"You're stuck here for awhile," Ellen said to the man. He had a red cast on his arm.
The man looked at Ellen and then Robin in the wheelchair. "Why?" he asked.
"Service elevator is in use," replied Ellen. "I don't know how long it will be, but I guess you could use the stairs."
"Thanks," said the man.
As he was about to walk away, Robin said, "You're Gary."
"What?" asked the man as he turned around.
"You're Gary," Robin said again. "You're the guy from the accident. You're the guy who saved me."
Gary looked down at the girl and then recognized as the girl he had saved. "Emma something," Gary said not being able to remember her last name.
"Jones," Robin said. Very seldom was she actually able to give her fake last name without trouble. "I just wanted to thank you again." She stuck out her hand.
Gary shook it and said, "You're welcome."
There was silence for a minute and then Robin asked, "What happened?"
"What?" asked Gary.
"You're arm," said Robin pointing to the red cast.
"I broke my wrist," replied Gary quietly.
"How?" asked Robin.
"I fell and stuck out my arms to try to support myself," answered Gary. "Not a good idea."
Robin nodded and then asked, "Can I sign it?"
For a few seconds, Gary didn't respond and then he said, "Sure. Got a marker?"
"Hold on," said Ellen. She walked over to the nurses station and came back with a sharpie. "There you go," she said as she handed it to Robin.
Gary stuck out his arm and Robin debated for a minute on what to put. She finally decided and quickly wrote, "Thanks, Robin."
Gary looked at the signature and then name hit him. "Robin?" he said as he looked at the girl.
"It's a nickname," replied Robin.
"There you are," said Christine as she and Roy walked over to their daughter. "We couldn't use the elevator, so we had to use the stairs." She looked at Gary and asked, "Who are you?"
"This is the guy who saved me, Mom," said Robin answering the question for Gary.
"Oh," said Christine. "Thank you." She stuck her hand out to Gary.
Gary shook it and said, "No problem."
"You saved my daughter's life," said Roy as he also shook Gary's hand. "We can't thank you enough for that."
"You're welcome," said Gary. He looked at his watch and then said, "I don't mean to be rude, but I really need to get going."
"It's okay," said Christine. "Thank you, again."
Gary waved good-bye to the family and went to the stairs.
"What happened to his arm?' asked Roy.
"He broke his wrist," answered Robin.
"Oh," said Roy. The family sat there for another half-hour before they were able to us the service elevator.
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Gary walked into his apartment and collapsed onto his bed. The cat meowed at him from its spot on the couch.
Gary looked at him and said, "I broke my wrist. Are you happy?"
The cat only meowed in response. Gary shook his head and closed his eyes. In minutes, he was asleep.
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Chapter Nine. Yay! I want you guys to review the story and give me an opinion on Agent Maureen Hazel. I want to know what you think of her.