Review, please... I´m translating as quick as I can, but it´s more like writing it again - you should see the original, if I use two sentences from it, there are ten new in the translation -grin-
Hope you´ll enjoy this chapter the same. Now go on reading the story.
A/N: This is a beta readed version, folks, so thanks go also to Kayleigh:)
Noble Memoirs
by Nicol Leoraine
Chapter 2
The next morning welcomed Nick with pain and confusion. Opening his eyes, Nick realised where he was. He knew his name now, but it meant nothing to him. He was trying to remember really hard, but it brought only headache and frustration. Even in this state though he knew a hospital wasn´t his favourite environment. The only problem was - it was the only known place for him right now. The nurse came in to check on him and smiled, seeing him awake. Nick smiled back, though it didn´t reach his eyes. After taking his vitals, she wrote them to the chart.
"How are you feeling"
"The same as yesterday. I´ve got a headache" grumbled Nick.
"The doctor will come in a while" she assured him, then left without asking him if he remembered something. Nick took that like a plus and decided not to give her any problems. Why the thought of making problems to the staff even occurred to him, he didn´t know.
Something rustled near him and Nick quickly opened his eyes, surprised that they were closed in the first place. The young man with short blond hair alarmed Nick when he saw him. The scowling look didn´t do much for his calm either.
"Who are you" Nick asked and put some distance between him and the man, scrambling to the corner of his bed.
"This is not the best time for joking, Nick" the man sighed wearily, running his hand through his hair. "Look, I know it´s hard for you to believe I´m here - but I am! Don´t tell me you never saw a ghost before" The tiredness turned into frustration, but Nick didn´t pay attention to it.
"Whoa! You´re from the psych ward or what" he asked and shrunk back even more as Gerry took a step closer, a look of confusion on his face.
"What´s the matter with you, Boyle"
"Oh, I don´t know. Probably the fact I don´t have a clue as to who you are. Or just the weird things you said" the confusion on both men´s faces could´ve been a good Kodak moment, if not for the fact it was all too real.
"God, you really don´t know who I am"
"Well, don´t be so flustered. I won´t recognize my own face if I saw it in the mirror." There, he said it. The warning bells in Nick´s head were just ringing in alarm. Why did he do it? How could he know this wasn´t his enemy? Or worse - some stranger, just playing with him?
The curse that left Gerry´s lips could´ve been a good indication about his true intentions, had Nick listened. But his head was full of chaos and the only thing Nick could do was watch every move that the stranger made. Something inside him ushered a warning every time Gerry as much as blinked.
"Hell, Nick - you have to believe me! I´m your friend, Gerry."
"I don´t know you" repeated Nick with a fierce voice.
"No, I don´t suppose you do. Well... where is Derek"
Nick blinked, remembering the grey haired man with the Dutch accent the day before. Maybe this man wasn´t a real stranger, Nick allowed that thought to penetrate his brain, but choose to put it aside for a moment.
"Derek who" he asked.
"Derek Rayne." The man before him frowned. "Don´t tell me he wasn´t here. Really" Gerry snorted as if it was some joke and started to pace the small room. Nick threw a glance at the door, seeing the nurse peer inside, than walk away. So the staff knew Gerry was here. Would they allow a complete stranger to come in, or not? The question was easy to answer: no. The hospital policy didn´t allow visits from a stranger, at least Nick thought so. Gerry had to show at least his identification or something. Why his mind concentrated on those things Nick didn´t know, but it felt natural. Maybe he could gain back his memories, after all...
The cough and the fact that Gerry stopped pacing and watched Nick with worried expression pulled him back to reality.
"You okay"
"Yeah" Nick cleared his throat and looked around for something to drink. The glass full of water was just out of his reach,
"Could you..." he pushed aside his pride and turned at Gerry. "Can you please give me that glass"
Gerry looked at him with something resembling wonder, mixed with fear. What, should he kneel and beg? What was the matter with that guy, anyway?
Gerry took few steps, but didn´t touch the glass.
"You know, Nick... I think you should know"
"I´m just thirsty, okay" Nick blurted out, letting the anger colour his voice. Gerry blinked. Maybe it wasn´t such a bad idea.
"It´s not that I don´t want to hand you that glass" he explained as his hand swished through the thick material, vanishing in the bedside table. "It´s just that I can´t." True, the last sentence was cut with Nick´s gasp "Oh, God" as the ex-seal almost jumped from the bed, not conscious of the headache or the pain in his ribs.
"Oh, shit..." was the next exclamation as Gerry pulled his hand back from the bedside table, showing it to Nick as some sort of trophy.
"See? I was trying to tell you, really. But with that memory loss of yours"
"You´re... you´re a ghost" Nick stuttered, considerably paler than before.
"Well, yeah. Come on, calm down a little, Nick, or someone will rush in with a crash cart" the joke wasn´t appreciated, but at least it made a much needed break.
"I don´t believe- this" Nick said.
"You know, it wasn´t the easiest thing for me either" Gerry felt the frustration from the previous events catching up to him as well, and he was thinking about if there´s someone to counsel ghosts. Perhaps some dead psychologist? He almost chuckled at the picture of Sigmund Freud talking to him how his frustration was caused by some bad experience from his childhood, or his friendship with his mother.
"Being dead, you mean" Nick asked and Gerry was glad to see his breathing slowed down to a manageable level.
"Yeah, that one part was the hardest, I think. Now when you believe I´m real"
"I didn´t say that" Nick objected and eased himself into the hospital bed. Gerry frowned at the sudden change in Nick, the sudden calmness.
"What"
"You know, maybe I lost all memories from my past, but I know that concussions can cause hallucinations.."
Gerry busted out laughing, then his face quickly changed into disbelief.
"That´s bullshit" he managed to say, but Nick ignored him and closed his eyes, hoping to wake up.
"Come on, you can´t believe I´m just some crazy illusion"
"Crazy is the right word" Nick mumbled. "And now shut up. You´re not real."
"Who´s not real" a new voice asked and Nick´s eyes shot open. Dr. Goddard was watching him with curiosity and worry.
"Ah, I´m sorry. I think I just dreamt about something" Nick threw a warning glare at Gerry, who stood by the left side of the bed, while the doctor walked to the right, already checking the chart and comparing them with the latest readings.
"Hey, Doc - when are you going to give him something which will knock some sense into his thick head" Gerry growled and Nick rolled his eyes.
"Something wrong" Dr. Goddard asked, catching on the gesture.
"´s nothing" Nick mumbled somewhat subdued.
"I gather your memory is still a blank"
"Yeah."
"Okay, I need to ask a few questions."
"Go on" Nick replied, eyeing Gerry with some doubt. Was he real or not? He automatically answered the questions - same as the ones yesterday, plus some new.
"Why are you asking this" Nick was getting annoyed.
"I just need to make sure your memory is all right."
"It isn´t" Nick snorted.
"It could´ve been worse, Nick."
"How´s that"
"Well, I think your memory loss is caused due to psychological shock, more than the injuries themselves. In that case, you have a pretty good chance to regain them. Even if not, you can build your life up again. I know about people, who sustained worse damage. They knew their past very well, but didn´t know what happened five minutes ago. Just imagine, you look up and see your friend, asking you about something you were just talking about, and you ask him when he came in. He could be there for an hour, and you would ask him twenty times. I think that would be worse."
Nick didn´t argue about it, though he would rather not have any memory loss. The fact that Gerry was now sitting on his bed and waving his hands mere inches from the doctors face, wasn´t very consoling either.
"-still experiencing some headache"
"Hmmm"
"I asked..."
"If you have headaches" Gerry quipped and with a frustrated sigh jumped off the bed.
"Yeah" mumbled Nick, gingerly rubbing his temples. "From you" he almost said but stopped, seeing the doctor was totally unaware of Gerry.
"I´ll send in the nurse with something for the pain. Now we should take a look at your ribs."
"Uhm... doctor"
"Yes"
"Is it possible to . uhm" Nick hissed as Dr. Goddard pressed on a particularly tender spot. "-see things that aren´t real"
Dr. Goddard stopped and frowned.
"Why? Do you see things that aren´t real"
"No" Nick responded quickly, shaking his head. "Nah, I was just curious. You know, nothing better to think of..." he smiled and the doctor sighed.
"It is possible, Nick. If you´re seeing something - I think you should tell me or your friends. They´re here for you, Nick. Try to trust them."
"Trust is something that should be earned" Nick returned grimly. "I don´t have a recollection of such thing, doctor." Seeing the worried look on the older man´s face, Nick sobered a little.
"I´m sorry, doctor. Guess I´m a little... scared." Now, there he said it. He wasn´t the only one surprised by it, though. Gerry spun around with a questioning glance and the doctor looked at the readings, as if waiting to see some fluctuation or other deflection. As there was none, he had to take it as a signal of Nick´s despair.
"It´s okay to be scared, Nick. I would be too. But I think you would feel better after talking with Derek. While we´re at it, he´s outside. Do you want him to come in"
Nick was considering the possibilities. If he send him away, he may never again regain his memory. The fact that Gerry was still here wasn´t really encouraging either. If he could believe at least one person and talk about this ghost or illusion...
"Is he alone"
"There´s also Alex, the woman from yesterday. She´s your colleague."
"Okay" Nick sighed and threw an uncertain glance to the doors, just where Gerry stood. The doctor finished the check-up and was on the way out, when Nick asked:
"When will you release me"
"I see you´re eager as always to get out" the doctor smiled.
"As always? Just how many times was I brought in here" Nick frowned.
" A Few" Dr. Goddard replied, catching up on his mistake.
"So, do I know you, doctor"
"Not really, I treated you once before."
"With what"
"You had an accident. Nothing serious" Dr. Goddard lied. If someone´s heart stopping, wasn´t serious enough, than he didn´t know what else. But he couldn´t tell that to Nick, certainly not now.
"Why do I have the feeling you´re lying, doctor" Nick´s voice was hard, demanding answers.
"I´m sorry you feel that way, Nick. The truth is, Derek is my friend. Maybe he won´t answer all of your questions right now, but you can trust him."
"No, doctor. I can´t trust anyone. You can say anything and I don´t have a way to find out if you´re telling the truth."
"When we release you, you´ll be able to check out everything. Till then though - you need to believe in someone. Those people are outside this room, wanting to help you. They´re worth your trust."
"Let them in, Nick. Come on, we don´t have much time here. I can tell you anything about Derek Rayne" Gerry said. Even if it was only an illusion, Nick was inclined to believe him.
"Okay, let them in" If not for the bandage, Nick would´ve rubbed his temples, trying to ease some of the tension building up behind his eyes. As it was, he could only frown at the illusion, which called himself Gerry.
The doctor was gone for several minutes, in that time the nurse came in, giving Nick some pills. He wanted to refuse them, but the headache was growing and knowing what conversation lied ahead of him, he rather swallowed the pills and prayed the memories came back with them.
While Nick was thinking how to ask anyone about Gerry, Dr. Goddard had a little talk with the Legacy team. It was hard enough to accept the memory loss in any normal family - and Dr. Goddard thought of Derek´s team as a family - but there was much more to deal with. One of the things was the Legacy. If Nick never acquired his memories, would he still be a member of the Legacy? Would they have to tell him about it, or rather let it slip and help him build his own life on some false facts? It was hardly a question Derek Rayne could deal with right now. Nick was like a son to him, but the Legacy was his life. And how long was it going to take for the Ruling House to have their say? How much time were they giving Nick?
Those were the questions Dr. Goddard had no answers to. He was only a physician and however good, he didn´t have the gift of precognition.
The doors to his room opened and Nick looked up, hoping that perhaps he knew the people coming in. Yes, there was Derek Rayne, walking inside and scanning the room with a frown. Right behind him, the Creole woman, equally puzzled by something. Nick shook his head and followed their gaze, gasping as the reality hit him.
"You can see him"
Derek stopped, for a second letting his eyes fall on Nick, then returning to Gerry. Alex stepped closer, raising her hand and trying to touch the misty figure. She gasped as the feeling of terror and fear cursed through her body, then took a step back, almost knocking into Derek.
"Alex"
"Just... fear. It´s too weak - or too far away, I don´t know."
"How do you see him"
Alex shook her head, squinting.
"Mist... nothing more. Hard to tell what it is..."
"It´s him" said Nick, frustrated by the lack of surprise on their side, but on the other hand relieved, knowing now that he wasn´t going crazy or that Gerry wasn´t an illusion. Though if he wasn´t one - what was left?
Finally, both Alex and Derek looked at him, as well as the other woman and man by the door, that were ignored by the trio.
"Well, this should be interesting" Gerry coughed, earning a glare from Derek. The Precept had a distinct feeling of words, though he didn´t hear them.
"Who´s it, Nick"
"Gerry. At least it´s what he said."
The man by the door gave a surprised gasp and Nick was starting to feel a little too crowded. Four strange people, plus one man - probably ghost if he should believe him, all in a too little hospital room. Nick started to ask himself if he had a tendency to get claustrophobic before, or was it a new experience?
"Could you please just... go away" he pleaded and covered his face with his hands, willing all of them to leave. There was some shuffling, but he could still hear the breathing. Peering one eye open, and looking between his fingers, he saw the door was closed. Turning around, he frustrated realised, that the trio stayed, two people eyeing the third, even though they didn´t see him clearly.
"I think you should act as intermediary, Nick" Gerry said and sat on his bed. Nick watched as Derek´s gaze moved, as well as that of the woman called Alex.
"And what do you want to tell them" Nick asked, resigned to the situation.
"Try from the start. My name is Gerry Stelton, and I´m from New Orleans."
Nick repeated it wearily.
"Gerry is dead" Derek stated.
"Yeah? Well, he´s trying to convince me about it the last half hour."
"Can he... can he tell you what happened to him"
Nick looked at Gerry as the man stood and started pacing the room. As if it wasn´t hard enough to concentrate on him when he was sitting.
"O-kay" Nick sighed and sat up a little straighter, so he could watch all of them without much moving and turning. "First of all - who the hell is Gerry, and why can´t anyone else see him besides me and probably you two? Is he a ghost, or is this some crazy nightmare"
"Gerry was your - friend" said Derek somehow hesitantly. "He died two weeks ago, in car crash. The police wrote it off as an accident, though there were some doubts. But no trails, so they´re closing the case. Your own accident was pretty similar..."
"You´re thinking that our accidents weren´t coincidental"
"It doesn´t appear that way."
"Damn it, I think my memory would be put in good use right now" Nick muttered. "How long did we know each other"
"From childhood" this time it was Gerry who answered. "Our fathers worked on the same place, so they used to put us together. Nick, this is a really bad situation. I know it´s hard on you, but... I need your help, as well as the help of the others. I know that it wasn´t an accident - not my crash, not yours. Someone was trying to kill you, Nick. And he will try again, if we don´t stop him. But I m afraid we were not his only targets."
Nick let the words sunk in, along with the pain filled look his "friend" gave him.
"He said that - that someone was trying to kill us, and there could be another target. But I don´t understand. Why did someone try to kill me? What did I do to make someone that angry" the question was directed towards Derek and Alex.
"We have a few enemies, Nick. I can´t tell you why or whom."
"It´s" Nick gulped"it´s something illegal"
"No" Derek replied surprised. "It´s not. Look Nick - you´re working for the Luna foundation. We´re concentrating on antiques and relics, research and archaeological excavations. You´re the security chief on the Angel Island."
It was much more news than Nick awaited.
"Digs? I´m working on digs"
"No, you´re concentrating on the security" Alex smiled. "Making sure the computers are working, that the house is safe from thieves."
"Oh, great. Now why would someone want to kill of a security chief? Perhaps needs to steal some old relic" Nick said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"They are not telling you everything, Nick" Gerry threw a glance at Derek, but the older man didn´t seem to hear him. Nick only looked at him questioningly.
"Ah, and you can tell me more"
Gerry shrugged and Nick felt the frustration building, along with the headache. It looked like the pills weren´t all that strong, compared to the information he was getting.
"Okay, I´ve had enough" he growled. "You´re not telling me anything, and even if you are, I can´t be sure it´s true. Now, I have a ghost in my room and the two of you can at least sense him, so give or let me be. Who the hell are you people"
"We have some special abilities" Derek said reluctantly. "Something like sixth sense. It´s called the sight."
"You see dead people"
"That´s one of the things" Derek admitted. "But we also have visions of what happened, or what will happen."
"Is this some joke" asked Nick, rather unwilling to trust it.
"No, it´s the reality. I think we should leave you now, Nick, let you absorb everything. You still need your rest." Nick was surprised by the abrupt turn, totally confused. Alex looked the same.
"Wait - what about... Gerry"
"We can talk outside."
"So... you hear him"
"You hear me" came the double question and Derek grinned.
"Of course. It just took me some time. Alex, you coming"
"Yeah" the woman said, but stepped closer to Nick and gave him a peck on his cheek. "You, take care. We´ll return soon."
Before Nick could´ve answered, they were gone. Even Gerry left. Nick needed time to think, needed the space. But all he managed were a few scrambled thoughts about psychiatry and he fell into a troubled sleep, too exhausted to even lower his bed.
Once behind the doors, Derek turned at Rachel and Philip. They were rather confused by the situation, as none of them saw Gerry, but both knew about the Sight.
"It seems Nick had a guest" Derek started, casting an apologetic look at the door, where Gerry stood. Rachel took a few steps away from the spot and Philip touched the cross around his neck.
"Gerry" the young priest asked and Derek nodded. "He´s still here"
"Yes."
"Why"
"It didn´t end. Nick can still be in danger, and Gerry thinks there´s another person who could be a target."
"Why is he assuming this" this time it was Rachel who voiced the question.
"I don´t really know myself" Derek admitted and turned to the ghost. "What happened, Gerry"
"I was returning to our house. It was dark outside and the lights were turned on. The road was empty, it was late. I just picked up my phone to call Mandie to tell her she didn´t have to wait up for me, because it was going to take me another hour or so to get home. But I never dialled the number" Gerry stated smugly. "I swear the road was empty when I picked up the phone, but when I looked up - there was the biker, heading straight at me. It was too quick and I reacted, turning the wheel to the right, but my car swerved down the road. I only saw a tree then... nothing" Gerry muttered.
Derek was silent for a minute to give him time and cope with his emotions. The others though were not so tolerant, as they didn´t heard the silent conversation between the two, and could only judge by Derek´s expressions, which was not the easiest thing.
"Okay, maybe you hear him, but we don´t" Rachel protested, but quickly lowered her voice as one of the passing nurses threw her a warning look. Rachel smiled apologetically, then turned back to Derek.
"This isn´t the best place to discuss this, Derek."
"I agree with you, Rachel. I think we should return to Angel Island."
"What about Nick"
"He´s asleep" Derek said, getting the information from Gerry. Rachel frowned at him but didn´t comment.
"One Moment" Philip stopped them. "You said he could be in danger - and you want to leave him there, alone"
"Not alone. Gerry will stay with him."
"Oh, great. And what will he do if a situation arise? Scare everyone away? Derek, if he doesn´t have a form, he can´t do a thing to help Nick" Philip objected.
"He can inform us, and we can inform Goddard." Thus said, Derek headed from the hospital, the others following. Gerry lingered behind the door, but took a glance inside and decided. Derek sat behind the wheel as Gerry appeared on the backseat, next to Alex. She looked up, then closed her eyes, trying to focus on the misty figure. Maybe she can get a feel for him, so Derek won´t be the only one to hear his voice.
- t - b - c -
Reviews, please...
