LOST AND FOUND - PART IX
JOAN
Chapter 78
When Adam came through the door, Joan slowly opened her eyes and the corners of her mouth lifted slightly as he moved a chair next to the bed and sat down. He took her hand in his and stared at her for a few moments, reluctant to ask what he knew he HAD to ask.
"Joan..." he said softly and had to look away for a second, wondering if he was completely wrong about the whole thing. But he mentally shook his head, knowing in his gut he was right, so he cleared his throat and forced the words out.
"Joan," he repeated, "are you Hunter?"
Then he watched, fascinated, as her face changed, became harder and animated with unholy glee at the same time. She gave him a sly smile.
"So you finally figured it out, genius?" she said mockingly in a deeper, hoarse voice.
All he could do was nod as the hair on the back of his neck stood up.
She glanced down at their joined hands and frowned. "Do you mind? I don't like to be touched." He immediately let go, but still stared. Laughing harshly, she shook her head. "Oh if you could only see the look on your face!"
He blinked and firmly reined in his deepening sense of unease and scattered wits. "Joan..." he began, but she cut him off.
"Don't call me Joan," she hissed furiously. "I'm not that spineless, sniveling twit. You KNOW my name."
"Hunter," he said quietly and her brow cleared.
"That's right, and don't you forget it," she said with a sharp smile, her dark good humor restored. "You put two and two together and figured it out because I'm the only one that could have gutted Albrecht, right?"
He nodded again and when she laughed nastily in response he called out, "Ted, would you come in here please?"
She only laughed harder when Ted came into the room to stand behind him. "Oh look, it's the brain doctor!" she taunted and smiled unpleasantly at Ted while batting her lashes.
"Joan?" he asked, not understanding what was happening. Adam shook his head as she sighed in exasperation.
"Damn it, I am not Joan!" she was so angry her voice went down another octave and rasped deep in her throat.
"This isn't Joan, Ted, this is Hunter," Adam said simply and looked up at his brother-in-law over his shoulder. When the doctor finally understood, his leaf-green eyes narrowed and his stare became intense.
She batted her lashes mockingly at him again and sneered when he took Adam by the arm to pull him from the room and partway down the hallway. But when they stopped he seemed to be at a loss for words.
"Have you ever seen something like this before?"
Ted shook his head. "I remember hearin' about it, but just never believed the stories."
"And now?" Adam prompted him.
"I can't say. After observin' her for a while I could state an opinion, but..."
"Looks like you may get to do that. No one is going to put her in prison, she's insane." He started back, but Ted stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.
"Even if she wasn't insane, she wouldn't be goin' to prison anyway," he said firmly and Adam stared at him for a few seconds before he understood.
"She's dying?" he asked and the other man nodded.
"Probably won't make it until sunrise"
"But she seems fine..." Adam was clearly baffled.
"Now she does...as Hunter, but not as Joan. I think Joan is givin' up and she's willin' herself to die."
"Are you sure?"
Ted nodded. "I've seen that look many times and it always means the same thing - she's just not interested in livin' anymore."
Shaking his head, Adam sighed. "This is just too strange to be believed. But I could swear that the woman I was just talking to is NOT Joan. She doesn't...feel like Joan."
"I agree and let me tell you I've seen some VERY strange symptoms, but this beats all."
They both started back to the recovery room and before they entered Adam turned to softly say, "Not too long ago people would have thought she was possessed by a demon."
"Some still would," was Ted's softly spoken answer as they entered the room.
"Well now, aren't you two brave?" she grinned at their solemn expressions then focused on Adam as he sat down on the chair next to the bed again.
She grinned and looked at him expectantly, her eyebrows raised, her eyes burning with something he just could not read.
"Why?" he asked quietly and she tipped her head to the side coyly.
"Why what?"
"Why have you been protecting me all these years?"
Giving him a sardonic look she spat out her answer, "I haven't been. I haven't been protecting YOU, I've been protecting Thea's husband."
His eyes narrowed, "I see."
"No you don't. I love Thea, I would do anything for her and I've been watching your back ever since the day she was stupid enough to marry you."
"I'm getting the idea that you hate me," he said purposefully and almost smiled when she laughed.
"Not just you, I hate all men." She shifted her gaze to Ted. "Don't feel left out Doc, I hate you too."
Ted's expression didn't change he just continued to watch her intently as she turned back to Adam.
"Why shouldn't I hate all men," she went on. "All you ever do is use, hurt, and kill women." His brow furrowed and he was about to answer when she cut him off.
"Don't believe me? Here, I'll prove it to you. Take Joe for an example. Do you know that idiot Joan actually thought he CARED for her?"
"He did," Adam automatically answered, then cautioned himself to stay quiet and let her talk, taking his cue from Ted.
"Oh come now, a pretty boy like him? I don't believe it. He was just going to use her like all the rest did. Why go looking for it when it's right under your nose, just begging to be taken." She chuckled. "After all, any old port in a storm, right?"
She shifted on the bed, and then winced in pain before continuing. "I guess I never should have tried to go to Joe's room to kill him the night before we left. I was just trying to protect her, and you know what that whining brat had the nerve to do? She THREATENED ME!" Her eyes opened wide with fury as Adam felt a cold lump form in his stomach. The madness that now shone from her eyes was making his skin crawl.
"I couldn't believe it, after everything I've done for her! She told me if I laid one finger on Joe, she'd kill us." The fury faded from her expression and she smiled slyly again. "You're the one that locked his door that night, aren't you?" Adam nodded.
"I thought so. Besides Thea, you're the only other one around here that has any brains to speak of." She sighed. "I'm sure that isn't enough proof for you, so now we move on to another member of your family...your father."
Adam stiffened and she raised one eyebrow. "Ah, you don't like that, do you? Too bad, he's the perfect example of men treating women as though we're just things and easily replaced. You marry one of us and manage to kill her off through childbirth or carelessness. But what does that matter, there's always another one waiting in the wings, right? Another stupid female willing to sacrifice herself for 'looove'." She paused to smile a satisfied smile when she saw his face tighten in anger.
"The truth hurts, doesn't it?" she taunted him. "You men are all alike and I'd take every single one of you in this house with me if I thought that wouldn't break Thea's heart."
"You keep saying you owe my wife, but you've never said anything about why." He expected her to react when he referred to Thea as "my wife," and she did.
"Don't say that! She's Theadora, not something you own like your horse or your dog!" She glared at him for a few seconds until something clicked behind her eyes and she reluctantly nodded. "Very nicely done," she said sarcastically.
"Thank you," he allowed himself to answer and her gaze became even more hostile.
"You are so smug, you make me sick," she spat and then smiled slyly at him again. "Are you aware that you're not the first patient Thea ever brought home from the hospital?"
Adam was surprised, but didn't let it show as he shook his head.
"Well you aren't...I am." She paused to see if he would react, but he didn't.
"Of course that twit's name wasn't Joan back then and we were only fifteen. And as I'm sure you've already guessed, we've changed a lot, that's why Thea didn't recognize us." She gave him a knowing grin, as though aware he had just been thinking about that question.
Then she sighed and her expression became oddly blank as her eyes opened wide. She turned her head away from him to stare at the ceiling. "Thea was the only one who never treated us like dirt. She saved us and stood up for us," she said flatly and Adam had to suppress a shudder.
"We made the mistake of trusting a man and when we went to our father for help he beat us and threw us out of the house. Thea was driving by in her buggy and saw him throw us down the steps. He was a big man, bigger than Hoss, but she didn't care. She came running to help us and he shouted at her to leave us alone, that we were in the gutter where garbage belongs. When she ignored him he started for her, but she pulled a knife on him. I'd never seen fear in our father's eyes before, but he was afraid then." She turned her blank stare to Adam again. "He ran away."
She blinked and the blank stare was gone...Hunter was looking out of those pale eyes again. "He ran away," she repeated and started laughing weakly. "Little Thea threatened that big, tough MAN with a knife and he ran away. I've loved her ever since, I'd do anything for her."
Turning her cold gaze to Ted she asked, "You already told him we're dying, right Doc?" and when he nodded she turned back to Adam. "That means I'm not going to be around to protect her anymore so I'm warning you. If you let anything happen to her, if you break her heart or hurt her I swear I will come back from the dead to make you pay. And don't think that God or all the angels in heaven will protect you. No one's ever been able to stop me. So you watch yourself, because I'll be watching YOU."
He could see she was losing strength rapidly, the whites of her eyes turning yellow and her complexion turning more ashen.
"I told Albrecht I'd be seeing him in hell right before he died and it looks like I'll be right on his heels," she chuckled weakly. "And if it's true that the devil is a male," her eyes opened wide one last time as she stared intently into Adam's, "he should be very...very...worried right now."
Forcing himself to not look away, he watched the fierce light start to fade and could have sworn for one second Joan was looking at him before her lids fluttered closed. Adam didn't move as Ted stepped up to the bed, and when the other man pulled the sheet up to cover her face, he sighed and bent his head to stare at the floor.
Ted came to take him by the arm and pulled him to his feet. "There's nothin' more you can do here." He said firmly and started to tug him toward the door. "There's no sense in stayin' here to brood over somethin' you couldn't prevent." They were in the hall now.
"You've got a room full of people up there who really do need you. Go be with your family," he ordered and gave the other man a push toward the stairs. "Go on, I'll take care of Joan," he finished.
Adam stood there for a few seconds, but then nodded as he wearily started up the stairs. He only looked back once to see Ted go into the recovery room and firmly shut the door.
JOAN
Chapter 78
When Adam came through the door, Joan slowly opened her eyes and the corners of her mouth lifted slightly as he moved a chair next to the bed and sat down. He took her hand in his and stared at her for a few moments, reluctant to ask what he knew he HAD to ask.
"Joan..." he said softly and had to look away for a second, wondering if he was completely wrong about the whole thing. But he mentally shook his head, knowing in his gut he was right, so he cleared his throat and forced the words out.
"Joan," he repeated, "are you Hunter?"
Then he watched, fascinated, as her face changed, became harder and animated with unholy glee at the same time. She gave him a sly smile.
"So you finally figured it out, genius?" she said mockingly in a deeper, hoarse voice.
All he could do was nod as the hair on the back of his neck stood up.
She glanced down at their joined hands and frowned. "Do you mind? I don't like to be touched." He immediately let go, but still stared. Laughing harshly, she shook her head. "Oh if you could only see the look on your face!"
He blinked and firmly reined in his deepening sense of unease and scattered wits. "Joan..." he began, but she cut him off.
"Don't call me Joan," she hissed furiously. "I'm not that spineless, sniveling twit. You KNOW my name."
"Hunter," he said quietly and her brow cleared.
"That's right, and don't you forget it," she said with a sharp smile, her dark good humor restored. "You put two and two together and figured it out because I'm the only one that could have gutted Albrecht, right?"
He nodded again and when she laughed nastily in response he called out, "Ted, would you come in here please?"
She only laughed harder when Ted came into the room to stand behind him. "Oh look, it's the brain doctor!" she taunted and smiled unpleasantly at Ted while batting her lashes.
"Joan?" he asked, not understanding what was happening. Adam shook his head as she sighed in exasperation.
"Damn it, I am not Joan!" she was so angry her voice went down another octave and rasped deep in her throat.
"This isn't Joan, Ted, this is Hunter," Adam said simply and looked up at his brother-in-law over his shoulder. When the doctor finally understood, his leaf-green eyes narrowed and his stare became intense.
She batted her lashes mockingly at him again and sneered when he took Adam by the arm to pull him from the room and partway down the hallway. But when they stopped he seemed to be at a loss for words.
"Have you ever seen something like this before?"
Ted shook his head. "I remember hearin' about it, but just never believed the stories."
"And now?" Adam prompted him.
"I can't say. After observin' her for a while I could state an opinion, but..."
"Looks like you may get to do that. No one is going to put her in prison, she's insane." He started back, but Ted stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.
"Even if she wasn't insane, she wouldn't be goin' to prison anyway," he said firmly and Adam stared at him for a few seconds before he understood.
"She's dying?" he asked and the other man nodded.
"Probably won't make it until sunrise"
"But she seems fine..." Adam was clearly baffled.
"Now she does...as Hunter, but not as Joan. I think Joan is givin' up and she's willin' herself to die."
"Are you sure?"
Ted nodded. "I've seen that look many times and it always means the same thing - she's just not interested in livin' anymore."
Shaking his head, Adam sighed. "This is just too strange to be believed. But I could swear that the woman I was just talking to is NOT Joan. She doesn't...feel like Joan."
"I agree and let me tell you I've seen some VERY strange symptoms, but this beats all."
They both started back to the recovery room and before they entered Adam turned to softly say, "Not too long ago people would have thought she was possessed by a demon."
"Some still would," was Ted's softly spoken answer as they entered the room.
"Well now, aren't you two brave?" she grinned at their solemn expressions then focused on Adam as he sat down on the chair next to the bed again.
She grinned and looked at him expectantly, her eyebrows raised, her eyes burning with something he just could not read.
"Why?" he asked quietly and she tipped her head to the side coyly.
"Why what?"
"Why have you been protecting me all these years?"
Giving him a sardonic look she spat out her answer, "I haven't been. I haven't been protecting YOU, I've been protecting Thea's husband."
His eyes narrowed, "I see."
"No you don't. I love Thea, I would do anything for her and I've been watching your back ever since the day she was stupid enough to marry you."
"I'm getting the idea that you hate me," he said purposefully and almost smiled when she laughed.
"Not just you, I hate all men." She shifted her gaze to Ted. "Don't feel left out Doc, I hate you too."
Ted's expression didn't change he just continued to watch her intently as she turned back to Adam.
"Why shouldn't I hate all men," she went on. "All you ever do is use, hurt, and kill women." His brow furrowed and he was about to answer when she cut him off.
"Don't believe me? Here, I'll prove it to you. Take Joe for an example. Do you know that idiot Joan actually thought he CARED for her?"
"He did," Adam automatically answered, then cautioned himself to stay quiet and let her talk, taking his cue from Ted.
"Oh come now, a pretty boy like him? I don't believe it. He was just going to use her like all the rest did. Why go looking for it when it's right under your nose, just begging to be taken." She chuckled. "After all, any old port in a storm, right?"
She shifted on the bed, and then winced in pain before continuing. "I guess I never should have tried to go to Joe's room to kill him the night before we left. I was just trying to protect her, and you know what that whining brat had the nerve to do? She THREATENED ME!" Her eyes opened wide with fury as Adam felt a cold lump form in his stomach. The madness that now shone from her eyes was making his skin crawl.
"I couldn't believe it, after everything I've done for her! She told me if I laid one finger on Joe, she'd kill us." The fury faded from her expression and she smiled slyly again. "You're the one that locked his door that night, aren't you?" Adam nodded.
"I thought so. Besides Thea, you're the only other one around here that has any brains to speak of." She sighed. "I'm sure that isn't enough proof for you, so now we move on to another member of your family...your father."
Adam stiffened and she raised one eyebrow. "Ah, you don't like that, do you? Too bad, he's the perfect example of men treating women as though we're just things and easily replaced. You marry one of us and manage to kill her off through childbirth or carelessness. But what does that matter, there's always another one waiting in the wings, right? Another stupid female willing to sacrifice herself for 'looove'." She paused to smile a satisfied smile when she saw his face tighten in anger.
"The truth hurts, doesn't it?" she taunted him. "You men are all alike and I'd take every single one of you in this house with me if I thought that wouldn't break Thea's heart."
"You keep saying you owe my wife, but you've never said anything about why." He expected her to react when he referred to Thea as "my wife," and she did.
"Don't say that! She's Theadora, not something you own like your horse or your dog!" She glared at him for a few seconds until something clicked behind her eyes and she reluctantly nodded. "Very nicely done," she said sarcastically.
"Thank you," he allowed himself to answer and her gaze became even more hostile.
"You are so smug, you make me sick," she spat and then smiled slyly at him again. "Are you aware that you're not the first patient Thea ever brought home from the hospital?"
Adam was surprised, but didn't let it show as he shook his head.
"Well you aren't...I am." She paused to see if he would react, but he didn't.
"Of course that twit's name wasn't Joan back then and we were only fifteen. And as I'm sure you've already guessed, we've changed a lot, that's why Thea didn't recognize us." She gave him a knowing grin, as though aware he had just been thinking about that question.
Then she sighed and her expression became oddly blank as her eyes opened wide. She turned her head away from him to stare at the ceiling. "Thea was the only one who never treated us like dirt. She saved us and stood up for us," she said flatly and Adam had to suppress a shudder.
"We made the mistake of trusting a man and when we went to our father for help he beat us and threw us out of the house. Thea was driving by in her buggy and saw him throw us down the steps. He was a big man, bigger than Hoss, but she didn't care. She came running to help us and he shouted at her to leave us alone, that we were in the gutter where garbage belongs. When she ignored him he started for her, but she pulled a knife on him. I'd never seen fear in our father's eyes before, but he was afraid then." She turned her blank stare to Adam again. "He ran away."
She blinked and the blank stare was gone...Hunter was looking out of those pale eyes again. "He ran away," she repeated and started laughing weakly. "Little Thea threatened that big, tough MAN with a knife and he ran away. I've loved her ever since, I'd do anything for her."
Turning her cold gaze to Ted she asked, "You already told him we're dying, right Doc?" and when he nodded she turned back to Adam. "That means I'm not going to be around to protect her anymore so I'm warning you. If you let anything happen to her, if you break her heart or hurt her I swear I will come back from the dead to make you pay. And don't think that God or all the angels in heaven will protect you. No one's ever been able to stop me. So you watch yourself, because I'll be watching YOU."
He could see she was losing strength rapidly, the whites of her eyes turning yellow and her complexion turning more ashen.
"I told Albrecht I'd be seeing him in hell right before he died and it looks like I'll be right on his heels," she chuckled weakly. "And if it's true that the devil is a male," her eyes opened wide one last time as she stared intently into Adam's, "he should be very...very...worried right now."
Forcing himself to not look away, he watched the fierce light start to fade and could have sworn for one second Joan was looking at him before her lids fluttered closed. Adam didn't move as Ted stepped up to the bed, and when the other man pulled the sheet up to cover her face, he sighed and bent his head to stare at the floor.
Ted came to take him by the arm and pulled him to his feet. "There's nothin' more you can do here." He said firmly and started to tug him toward the door. "There's no sense in stayin' here to brood over somethin' you couldn't prevent." They were in the hall now.
"You've got a room full of people up there who really do need you. Go be with your family," he ordered and gave the other man a push toward the stairs. "Go on, I'll take care of Joan," he finished.
Adam stood there for a few seconds, but then nodded as he wearily started up the stairs. He only looked back once to see Ted go into the recovery room and firmly shut the door.