Disclaimer: I don't own Mort Rainey or anything Secret Window…or Lord of the Rings either.
AN: We're almost at the end, people! Just this one and an epilogue! Anyway, enjoy the story while you can before I move on. Oh, and I hope that people aren't mad about the punishment I chose for Alex; it's the best I could do, but if you feel like its not up to par, feel free to imagine your own torture for the guy. Also, I'm sorry for any cheesy parts towards the end of the chapter: for anyone who's seen Fellowship of the Ring, the sappy part Kayla's mouthing along to is the one where Aragorn and Arwen are on the bridge together. Ciao for now!
Chapter 15: Return to the Way Things Were:
A Week Later: Author's POV:
The past week had been a mixed blessing for both Mort and Kayla as they tried to make up for lost time. Mort did everything he could to go back to the improving patient that he was, and the staff was amazed at how much better he behaved now that Kayla was back in his life. He tried harder to look good, his interactions with both staff and patients were improving, and he ate healthier than he did before. The man he was before his separation from Kayla was only a taste of the man that Mort was now. With Kayla behind him as a driving force, Mort had improved dramatically and nothing seemed to hold him back.
However, there was only thing that seemed to hang over the two of them: the fact that Dr. Vincent still had not made his final decision on the matter of Mort's innocence and probable release from the institution.
Two Weeks after Being Reunited: Kayla's POV:
"I hear he's making incredible progress," one nurse whispered to another as they walked down the hallway. "I've never seen anything like it, and neither has anyone else!"
"It's like a miracle," her comrade quietly replied. "Some people say there's an angel with that man, and if I hadn't seen his progress with my own eyes, I'd never have believed them."
Kayla tried to hold back her amusement. Mort had surprised everyone with his astounding comeback, and had blown even the most experienced psychiatrist away with his actions. He was interacting with people quite well, he smiled at everyone in a happy fashion, and had no more violent episodes with either patients or staff. Morton Rainey had become quite the changed man in a very short time, and Kayla felt a great deal of pride knowing that she was the reason Mort wanted to change so badly.
A tap on the window snapped her out of her thoughts, and a peek out the corner of her eye told her it was Mort. A happy grin was plastered on his face, and a perfect set of teeth sparkled at her, causing her to grin in return. Putting down her file folder, she walked over to the window and slid it open. A rose was passed through the window and gentle stroke of the fingers was his reward.
Kayla smiled at him. "How are you doing today, Mort?" she asked, setting the flower in a bottle of water she kept close by for that purpose.
Mort gave her a smile that soon withered slightly. "I'm alright," he said, looking at her hands through the window, apparently wanting to touch her but knowing that such a thing was suspicious to the staff members.
She quickly scanned his face. "You're worried about Dr. Vincent, aren't you?" she whispered. "I can see it in your eyes."
Mort sighed and nodded. "It's been weeks, Kayla," he whispered back to her. "How long could it possibly take to make a judgment on this sort of thing?"
"And here I was thinking that it was the woman's place to worry about everything," Kayla joked, coaxing a smile out of him. "These sorts of things take time, Mort, you know that."
Mort sighed again. "But I want to get out of here," he said, glancing around the area for possible spies. "I want to get out of here and date you like a normal man would." He looked her in the eye. "I want to romance you like the enchanting woman that you are."
Kayla blushed as she spotted Holly approaching them. She quickly cleared her throat and tried to hide her red cheeks as the nurse entered the reception desk, careful to place the rose out in the open. Many of the staff members believed that such things were simply 'thank you' presents from Mort, tokens meant to show gratitude for the aid of a much-needed friend. Kayla and Mort saw no reason to disprove that idea, and instead took advantage of it, especially during the past couple of weeks.
"Hey, Holly, what's up? You seem awfully cheerful for a Monday," Kayla teased, noticing a very happy smile on her friend's face.
"Oh, nothing," Holly said, giving them a smile that screamed that she knew something they would give their right arm to hear. "I just wanted to say that Dr. Vincent wants to talk to the two of you in his office. Right now."
Both Kayla and Mort exchanged looks of surprise and nervousness, but it was Kayla who spoke first. "Do you know why he wants to see us?" she slowly asked, looking somewhat uneasy at the news.
"Nope," Holly shook her head. "I didn't ask; knowing me, it'd probably be all over the hospital as gossip in less than a few hours. It's probably something only the two of you should know, so you should both be hauling your butt over there, ASAP. I'll watch the desk, don't worry."
Kayla nodded as she headed outside of the plastic shielding, her insides quivering with nervousness. This could very well be the meeting that she and Mort were waiting for, the one which would decide the fate of the man she loved. Swallowing, she reached out for Mort and took his arm, assuming the appearance of leading him towards Dr. Vincent's office when, in reality, it was the opposite. The two of them approached the room, both of them knocking on the door together.
"Come in," called a tired male voice.
Recognizing the voice, the two entered, stopping in surprise when they spotted Alex sitting in one of three chairs opposite Dr. Vincent. The two other seats were to Alex's right, putting them in better eye-contact with the chief of staff. Nervously, Kayla led Mort to the chairs, where they both sat down, avoiding any sort of glance with Alex as they did so.
"I'm glad the two of you could be here, Mr. Rainey, Kayla," Dr. Vincent said, nodding at the two of them. "Now we can officially get to the bottom of this whole mess. What do you say?"
What else could they say? To put this all behind them would be the greatest thing in the world, other than Mort getting released from the hospital! The two of them nodded in agreement, and Dr. Vincent turned to look at Alex, raising an eyebrow in a sort of signal for the younger man to explain himself and his actions to everyone.
Alex cleared his throat and had an angry gleam in his eye as he made his attempt to speak a good argument in favor of what he'd done. However, when he opened his mouth, nothing came out, and the angry gleam in his eyes burned brighter than it had before. Once more he tried to explain himself, but again, nothing emerged. Instead, he turned and glared at Mort, refusing to say a word.
Dr. Vincent sighed. "Alright, since Alex refuses to say anything, I guess I'll have to take over the conversation."
And so the whole thing was revealed, nearly word-for-word in accordance with what Kayla had told him over two weeks prior to that day. He explained Alex's attraction to Kayla the day she had first started on the job, and his desire to somehow obtain a date or possible relationship with her. His explanation further told of how, in his anger of Mort's close relationship with Kayla, Alex had formulated a plan to get the author out of the way so that he could have her to himself. After weeks of sneaking around and finding nothing that could cause a rift between Kayla and Mort, Alex had resorted to old-fashioned spying on Mr. Rainey in an attempt to find out some sort of 'dirt' that he could form the base of some sort of accusations against his competition.
"However," Dr. Vincent said, glancing from one face to another, "given the hostility against Mr. Rainey, it is unlikely that such accusations will hold up. With no true proof of forbidden interactions with patients or staff members, Mr. Rainey file has been wiped clean of all charges and accusations."
"But I heard him in a closet with someone!" Alex cried in disbelief. "Its not false if I heard it, is it?"
"Given your dislike against the accused, such evidence is void, Mr. Connor," Dr. Vincent snapped.
Kayla jolted at the mention of Alex's last name; it was the first she had ever heard of it. She looked between the two men and took a deep breath. "So what does that mean for Mort?" she asked.
Dr. Vincent looked towards her. "Well, since he's made considerable progress and his file had been cleared, Mr. Rainey will be free to go in a month or so, depending on whether or not he regresses back to his former ways."
"No!" Alex yelled, leaping up from his chair in anger. "He's been fooling around with a woman from the hospital, I heard him! I swear that it's true! There was a man and a woman's voice, and one of them was Mort Rainey's!"
"Alex, your word is hardly credible at this point," stated the chief-of-staff. "You've harbored intense hatred and a thirst for revenge for a long period of time, and have abused your power of authority over the patients and staff by using it to try and get a relationship with a member of said staff! I hardly think that sort of thing makes your word believable and credible, don't you?"
The next thing they knew, Alex had managed to get his hands tangled in Mort's collar, tightening the garment and holding him so that they were eye to eye. In a panic, Kayla reached to try and pry the orderly away from Mort, but was having no success. As she tried to get between the two men, she noticed that Dr. Vincent was reaching under his desk, but pulling nothing out. Not understanding the doctor's actions, Kayla returned her attention to the task at hand.
"Tell them what happened in the closet," Alex threatened. "Tell them now, or else!"
Mort opened his mouth but couldn't get a word out, so tightly was Alex clutching his collar. While air could apparently get to his lungs, there was no way he would be able to provide an answer to the orderly's threat. Instead, Mort kicked out with his leg and kneed Alex in the groin. The younger man released Mort's collar and was soon on his knees, gasping in pain as a number of other orderlies burst in and restrained him.
"Frank, would you and Seamus here take Alex and put him in one of the rooms in the isolation ward?" Dr. Vincent asked. "I'll give you the signal when I feel he's calmed down enough to be let go."
"Sure thing, sir," Frank replied, dragging his once fellow orderly away. The door closed behind the three men, Alex now yelling in pain and anger as he was hauled away.
Meanwhile, Kayla was stroking Mort's back and helping him to regain his breath. She carefully rubbed his back, murmuring comforting words in his ear as he massaged his throat and the back of his neck where the collar had left an imprint in his skin. After a few moments, Mort was breathing much better, and the two could now turn their attention back to Dr. Vincent.
"So I'll be a free man in a month?" Mort rasped, his throat still a bit bruised from his encounter with Alex. Kayla made a concerned noise in her throat and poured him a glass of water from a pitcher on the desk. Mort eagerly gulped the water down and waited for Kayla to pour him another as the man across from him began to speak.
"Maybe less, if your progress improves," replied Dr. Vincent with a grin. "I don't see why not. Your publisher and your agent will be thrilled, and from what I've heard, your fans have been clamoring for a new book from you."
Mort simply smiled and turned his attention towards Kayla, who handed him another glass of water. "It's funny that one man's obsession with a woman can be thought of as harmful and disturbing, and another could be thought of as simply normal and persistent," he said, glancing back at the other man. "Funny old world, isn't it?" He took another sip of his drink.
"It sure is," Kayla muttered back. "We all thought Mort was the insane one, with his constantly trying to talk to me, and yet it was really Alex we should have been watching for dangerous behaviors actions."
"And for that I am truly sorry," Dr. Vincent apologized. "Perhaps we should keep Alex here for a while, just to test him for mental stability and such."
"I'm all for that idea," Kayla said, raising her hand as though in a vote. "It might be good for him to stay here for a while and see how it feels to be treated the way he treated Mort."
Her boss sighed. "Well, we can't do that, it's against hospital policy," he said, leaning back in his chair. "But I have to admit that keeping Alex here for a little while might really be good for him. You know…in helping to break his obsession with Kayla and everything…"
The other two couldn't agree more with that statement. As a comfortable silence enveloped the room, Mort and Kayla tried to think of what the two of them could do while waiting out the next four weeks…
Night, Three Weeks Later: Kayla's POV:
With Mort's behavior not regressing in any way, the hospital psychiatrists had agreed to let him out a week early. When Mort had walked out the front door, Kayla had the painful experience of watching him leave without her by his side. Trying to hold back the pain, she turned back towards the desk that held a pile of papers a foot tall.
The two of them had agreed that Kayla quitting her job too soon after Mort's release would look incredibly suspicious, so she was forced to play the roll of a proud friend and caretaker of Mort as he hugged her and kissed her (chastely) goodbye in front of several observing nurses and orderlies. After their goodbyes, Mort had walked out the front door, a pile of story ideas in his arms and a semi-happy smile on his lips. He was quickly put into a limo and driven away, his agent and publicist by his side.
Watching Mort leave without her had been heartbreaking, but Mort had sworn that he would top by later that night so that they could have some private time together. As nightfall rolled around, Kayla was frantically pacing her apartment, wondering if he would indeed return to her. A thousand thoughts swirled through her mind, the primary one consisting of Mort possibly meeting a beautiful supermodel and leaving her all alone. After all, Kayla knew such women existed: there was always someone out there who was better looking, and more talented that you, no matter who you were.
A knock on the door snapped her out of her thoughts, and Kayla ran to answer it. It was Mort, and he had a bag of Chinese food and a very large bottle red wine in his hands.
"Dinner for two, anyone?" he asked, giving her a very sexy smirk.
Half an hour later, the two of them were curled up around each other on the floor in front of the television, watching Kayla's Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring DVD and drinking wine. Kayla was watching a particularly romantic part of the film and mouthing the lines along with the couple onscreen, her eyes starting to shimmer with tears.
"I love that part," she said, blowing her nose on a tissue that Mort had somehow conjured up. "It's so beautiful and romantic!"
Mort seemed to fidget beside her. "Well, since we're so into a romantic part of the film, how's this for an added scene to the film?" he asked, pulling out a box from his pocket.
Kayla glanced at the box, its significance not really registering in her slightly drunken brain. Instead of squealing with joy, she simply looked at him in puzzlement as she took the box and opened it. Inside was a ring made of white gold, with a beautiful round white diamond and two small pale pear-shaped yellow diamonds on either side, shimmering with a thousand lights.
"It's beautiful," she said, gazing at it in awe.
"It'd look even better once it's where it's supposed to be," Mort whispered into her ear as he took the box from her.
He silently plucked the ring from the box and slipped it onto her left ring finger, the gems catching and reflecting the light from the T.V. and the moonlight beaming in from outside. It took Kayla a little while to realize that Mort was asking of her.
"Oh, my GOD!" she cried, sitting up straight and looking him in the eye. "Mort, are you sure about this?" she asked, glancing between him and the ring. "I mean really sure about this? You're not doing this too soon because you have to, or because you -"
Kayla's voice was cut off by Mort's lips crashing against hers. Several minutes passed as they tasted each other's lips, enjoying the alcohol mixing with the unique taste of their lover's mouth. As the need for air became apparent, Mort broke the kiss and looked her in the eye.
"I want you to marry me, Kayla," he whispered, caressing her face with his fingertips. "I need you with me forever."
Kayla tried to steady her heart and nervous breathing. "What about your books, Mort?" she asked, leaning forward to rub his nose with hers. "And my job at the hospital? I thought you wanted me to keep it for a while."
"Forget that," he said, pulling her into his lap and holding her tightly. "Let's just go away together and surprise everyone with our marriage. What do you say, baby? You and me, together, in another place far away from here?"
Kayla grinned. "That would cause a horrible scandal," she muttered, giving him a quick, hot kiss on the lips. "It might stop people from buying your books."
"Nah, people love scandal, it makes the world go round," Mort softly replied as he kissed her in return. "So what do you say?"
"Hmm," she said, pretending to think about it. "What would you do if I said something other than 'yes'?"
A sudden hot look flashed in Mort's deep brown eyes, seriously turning her on. "Then I'll have to do what they did in the old days," he replied, growling in the back of his throat as he clutched her tighter, holding on as though she were the only thing keeping him alive at that point in time.
Now she was curious and turned on. "Really?" she asked, grinning at him. "What did they do back in the 'old days,' Mr. Rainey?"
Mort suddenly had her pinned underneath him on the floor. A very naughty smirk quirked the corners of his lips, causing her heart to beat faster. "I'd have to kidnap you, force you to marry me and ravish you like the villain I am."
Kayla giggled with delight as he proceeded to kiss her neck and rub it with his beard and mustache. "Then I guess I'll have to accept your marriage proposal, won't I, Mr. Rainey?" she teased, looking up at him. "We can't have you becoming an outlaw, now, can we?"
"Oh, I don't know…" he said, grinning down at her. "I can be an outlaw if you want me to be."
Kayla looked up at him with a seductive grin. "Really?" she said, quirking an eyebrow at him. "Care to show me?"
Mort growled as he swung her up off the floor and over his shoulder, causing her to let out a small squeal of surprise. He chuckled as she began to protest and plea for him to let her down.
"You really shouldn't challenge a man like that, darling," he said, giving her butt a small whack. "It could get you into trouble."
"Maybe there's a way I can get myself out of trouble?" she said suggestively.
Mort smirked. "Maybe…I'm open to suggestions…"
AN: This was the last chapter! The next is an epilogue and that's it for my Secret Window fics, so review!