Thanks to everyone who reviewed. This isa storythat islooking to be a long oneand clearly its a bit different from what a lot of Van Helsing fic is like so feedback really helps.
To Andrea who said getting another chapter made her birthday -I'm so glad!Birthdays are always challenging for me so I'm happy to know I made yours better!
It had to happen eventually. After all, one can only avoid thinking about something for so long and seeing the police car running a speed trap finally shattered Carl's Happy State of Denial.
Carl's first thought at seeing the police car was to offer a quick prayer that he didn't get pulled over. Carl was pretty certain that the weapons he was transporting were not legal in this state or any other. Probably not in most countries in fact. He let out a huge sigh of relief when he was well out of sight of the policeman.
However, this brought to his attention the fact that he was transporting these weapons because the man who made use of them was currently recovering from his wounds in Carl's guest bedroom. Also that the reason he need to recover was because of creatures that Carl would have said couldn't possibly exist had done a number on the hunter. Moreover, the same creatures had intended to do much worse to him. In the face of all these facts, Carl's carefully constructed peace of mind, crumbled. He had to pull over to the side of the road while violent tremors shook his body. He had damn near died last night. It was about this time yesterday that he had been coming out of Carmico's offices. The simple act of getting lost had almost gotten him killed. If Van Helsing hadn't been there, Carl would have been torn to shreds by the gargoyles. Carl felt his stomach heave and it was all he could do not to throw up the contents of his stomach. His mind was caught in an endless loop of the attack as he sat shaking in his car.
It was someone knocking on his window that finally snapped Carl out of his fear induced reverie. Carl practically jumped out of his skin and he fumbled as he rolled his window down. The jogger looked at him with concern and asked "Are you ok? I stopped because you are parked at a bus pullover but then I realized you didn't look so good." Carl stared at the man uncomprehendingly for a moment but slowly his brain began to function again. He took a shaky breath to gather himself and said "I'm alright. Something just caught up with me, that's all." He tried to smile reassuring at the man but it came out as more of a grimace. The man didn't look convinced but also realized that there really wasn't anything left to do. He just nodded and said "OK. Well, I hope you don't have far to drive. You still look pretty shaken" The jogger reluctantly moved away from the car and resumed his run.
Carl watched him go for a minute and then taking a deep breath, started the car. He was still on the edge of fear but he also knew that it wasn't going to get any better until he got home and got some answers out of Van Helsing.
As soon as Carl put the car in park, he leapt out and ran for the house. The door slammed behind him as he charged for the stairs and took them two at a time. He didn't bother to knock as he entered Van Helsing's room, which only showed how rattled Carl was. Van Helsing took one look at Carl's panic stricken face and thought that something had followed him home and he was out of bed and wielding the tojos in seconds.
Carl saw the tojos and freaked out even more. He flung himself away from the hunter and ran for the bathroom. He slammed the door shut and locked it, then leaned against it, his heart racing.
Van Helsing, who had been woken from a sound sleep by Carl's mad arrival, was trying to figure out just what had happened to spook the man. He was flushed with adrenaline and his senses were on high alert trying to detect danger. He walked to the door of the bedroom and peered down the hall but could sense nothing at all moving in the house.
Confused, he turned back to the room and looked at the bathroom door that Carl was currently hiding behind. Walking over to it, he called out "Carl, what the hell is going on?
Carl who was still caught up in his fear, flinched away from the door and stared at it in horror. Van Helsing was just on the other side of the door and he had the tojos. Carl's eyes grew even wider. The tojos! He had modified them and there was no way that the door was going to keep the man out. Carl backed away from the door whimpering and tripped, falling into the bathtub. He pulled down the shower curtain rod as he fell, adding a loud crashing noise to his own cry of fear.
Van Helsing heard of this and realized that Carl had clearly fallen down from panic stricken state he had worked himself into. Knowing how many things there were in the bathroom for Carl to hurt himself on, Van Helsing realized he was going to have to break in. He heaved an aggravated sigh and set the tojos down. He then eyed the door and gave thanks that no one ever makes bathroom doors very sturdy. He then flung his weight into the door causing it to shudder under the assault. He cursed loudly as connecting with the door caused every wound in his body to shriek in pain. He paused for a moment to let the agony settle and the room to stop going gray.
Carl was half laying in the bathtub with the shower curtain draped over him and his head swimming. He had struck his head against the wall and it really hurt. However, he forgot about the pain when he heard the sound of Van Helsing attempting to break the door down. He looked at the door in absolute terror and pulled his legs into the bathtub. He burrowed his way to the farthest end of the tub and stared at the door trembling. He was clutching the shower curtain around him like a small child holds a security blanket.
Van Helsing eyed the door with deep loathing and gathered himself for another try. He slammed his weight into it and this time the door gave, causing Van Helsing to stumble into the room. He barely managed to catch himself before he too tumbled into the bathtub.
Carl looked at Van Helsing and let out a terrified whimper. He pulled the shower curtain even more tightly to him, as if to try hide from the man. His eyes were wide and petrified.
Van Helsing looked at Carl in shock. Carl had locked himself in the bathroom because of him? Just what the hell had he seen at Van Helsing's apartment that had caused such a freak out? He looked the trembling man and realized he was going to have to talk Carl down if he was going to get him out of the bathtub.
He slowly held up his hands to show that he wasn't carrying any weapons. He then very carefully lowered himself down so he was kneeling at eye level to Carl. This moved caused more then a little pain and he let out a angry curse, which only served to spook Carl more. The man was practically burrowing into the wall behind him and Van Helsing winced as he realized he had just made things worse.
Speaking in the most soothing tone he could, he said "Carl, I'm not going to hurt you." Carl merely whimpered in response and clutched the shower curtain tighter. Van Helsing continued to look Carl in the eye and said "Carl, I don't know what happened to you at my apartment but I swear to you, I will never hurt you. Whatever you saw, whatever happened, I promise you, you never have anything to fear from me"
Carl looked at Van Helsing, who still holding his empty hands where Carl could see them. Knowing that he didn't have the tojos made Carl feel a little safer but why had the man threatened him in the first place?
"If I have nothing to fear from you, then why did you grab the tojos when I came in. " He cringed down into the bathtub, realizing that he may have just angered the hunter with his words.
Van Helsing saw the cringe and sighed. So it was the tojos that made Carl freak out. But what did Carl expect him to do when he came charging into the room like the Hounds of Hell were after him? He looked at cringing man in the bathtub and gave it one more try.
"Carl, I'm sorry about that but when you came flying into my room the way you did, I thought something bad happened and I was preparing to defend us. I didn't draw them on you, I drew them on whatever it was that was chasing you. Only there wasn't anything chasing you, was there?"
Carl looked at the hunter who was still showing no signs of aggression, and straightened up just a little. He bit his lip and then whispered "No. Nothing was chasing me" His wide eyes still gazed timidly at the hunter but some of the blind panic had faded from them.
Van Helsing, realizing he was finally getting through to Carl said "How about we get you out of the bathtub and you tell me exactly what did happen to you?" He still made no move toward the other man, knowing that this was a delicate juncture.
Carl looked away from Van Helsing and noticed for the first time that he was curled up in the bathtub with the curtain. Now that the terror had faded some, he realized that he must look terribly foolish cringing in the bathtub with a shower curtain "security blanket". He flushed and bit his lip and this time his avoiding the hunter's gaze was from embarrassment rather then fear.
Van Helsing saw the shift in Carl's body language and decided it was time to get Carl out of the tub. He continued to move incredibly slow, knowing that Carl would still be a bit skittish. As he reached the side of the tub he stopped and waited for Carl to look at him.
Carl slowly raised his head and looked at Van Helsing. The dark haired man was looking at him with a patient, slightly questioning look. As they made eye contact, Van Helsing very carefully said "How about I get rid of the shower curtain?"
Carl looked down at the shower curtain still clutched in his hands and flushed deep red. Van Helsing must think he was the most pathetic person. He had acted like a women in a B horror movie, locking himself in the bathroom and cowering in the corner. He let go of the curtain and Van Helsing slowly eased it away and set it to one side.
"So, how about you get out of the tub and we'll go back in the bed room and talk about what happened?" Van Helsing was still using the very soothing tone he had been using since he broke into the bathroom.
Carl flushed even deeper and climbed awkwardly to his feet. He knew Van Helsing was deliberately using a pacifying tone, which meant he still thought Carl was going to freak out again at any moment. Van Helsing backed away from the tub to allow Carl out and then turned and walked back out to the bedroom.
Carl followed and walked to the chair that sat near the bed. Van Helsing settled back on the bed with a couple of muttered curses and Carl felt a huge wave of guilt wash over him as he realized he had caused Van Helsing a lot of pain in all of this. He squirmed a bit in his chair and finally ended up nervously wringing his hands. He couldn't bring himself to look at Van Helsing
Van Helsing watched Carl's face as a myriad of emotions crossed it. He had expected to see embarrassment and maybe even some lingering fear but the guilt surprised him. More then ever, he wanted to know exactly what happened to set Carl off.
Deciding that if he waited for Carl to start, they'd be there all night, he cleared his throat and said "So, would you mind telling me what sparked all of this?"
Carl looked up from his contemplation of his hands and hesitantly looked at Van Helsing. He bit his lip and his eyes darted about the room, as if hoping for some kind of intervention. Van Helsing sighed impatiently and said "Carl?"
Carl's eyes snapped back to Van Helsing and his face flushed a deep red. His voice came out at not much more then a whisper. "I'm really sorry. Its just that the cop brought it all back to me and I suddenly realized just how close I came and well…" his voice trailed off as his eyes clouded over with remembered fear.
Van Helsing saw the fear beginning to return and opened his mouth to intervene when the word "cop" registered. His eyes widened "Did you say cop? Don't tell me you got pulled over? " His eyes bore into Carl's and Carl burrowed back against his chair, shocked by the hunter's suddenly aggressive tone.
Van Helsing saw Carl's response and closed his eyes, struggling to regain his composure. He took several deep breaths and in a less angry tone said "Carl, I need you to tell me what happened with the cop." He tried to maintain a patient expression but inside his heart was racing. If the weapons got confiscated, he was in deep trouble with his bosses.
Carl looked at Van Helsing like a mouse facing a snake and swallowed hard. It took him several tries to speak and when he did, his voice was squeaky. "Nothing happened with the cop. He was just doing a speed trap. He didn't even pull me over." He looked at Van Helsing beseechingly, silently begging him not to blow up.
Van Helsing looked at Carl in confusion. "If the cop didn't stop you, then why are you so upset about him?" He was beginning to think that perhaps Carl was a few sandwiches short of a picnic. Perhaps the best thing to do was to get out of here as soon as he could.
Carl could see that Van Helsing wasn't following him and quickly burst into speech. "It wasn't the cop, per se that did it. It was thinking about what would happen if he DID pull me over, which then made me think about why I was transporting the stuff, which made me realize that I almost died last night and that there are big, nasty creatures roaming around ripping people to shreds." Carl finally ran out of breath and stood there looking at Van Helsing with wide, horrified eyes.
Van Helsing listened to Carl's outburst with growing compassion. Of course Carl was freaked out. He couldn't have ever imagined that monsters existed in the world, let alone that he would almost be killed by them. Because Carl had kept his head during the attack and had seemed unfazed by what had happened, Van Helsing hadn't taken the time to check in with Carl and make sure he was ok. And now that denial had worn off, Carl was responding as much as you'd expect from someone who had barely survived a gargoyle attack. Van Helsing was just grateful that he hadn't started crying.
Van Helsing looked at Carl sympathetically and said" I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you about the policeman. I was concerned that he had confiscated the weapons but that doesn't justify barking at you like that. You've been through a lot and I should have taken the time to make sure you were doing alright. Most people would have had a meltdown long before now. You've done remarkably well under the circumstances. You kept your head during the attack when most people would have collapsed and you even managed to keep it together long enough to get me here and patched up. You were due for a panic attack and all things considered, it wasn't that bad of one. The shower curtain may never be the same though…." He gave Carl a gently teasing smile and was rewarded with the tiniest of smiles from Carl.
Carl sighed and said "I can't believe I came unglued like that. I locked myself in the bathroom, for Christ's sake. " His face was beet red and he fidget a bit in his chair. "I didn't mean to get so wigged out. I just needed answers about what the hell is going on and then you came bounding out of bed wielding the tojos like some kind of avenging angel and well… it was the final straw. I went totally into 'fight or flight' mode. Though it was really just 'flight' mode." He looked down completely embarrassed.
Van Helsing just chuckled and said "Under the circumstances, flight was the way to go. You were unarmed against an armed opponent. Not very good odds there." He wasn't sure why, but he felt the need to make Carl feel better about the whole thing. Maybe it was because Carl had taken care of him after the battle with the gargoyles or maybe it was because Carl just looked so crestfallen that it brought out a long buried urge to coddle. Either way, Van Helsing was determined to convince Carl that he didn't think any less of him for what had just happened.
"Let's just put all of this behind us and forget about it. You were able to find everything I needed, right?"
Carl suddenly leapt out of his chair "Your stuff - I left it all in the car." He sprinted from the room before Van Helsing could stop him. The Hunter just shook his head and waited for Carl to return. Carl's ability to shift gears like that still gave Van Helsing mental whiplash. He settled more comfortably on the bed and tried to decide how much information to give to Carl. Technically he was not suppose to give any information out about the Order and what it did. On the other hand, Carl already had enough information from his own encounter with the gargoyles and having seen the Hunter's weapons to cause problems if he wanted to. But Van Helsing was willing to gamble that Carl would say nothing about anything Van Helsing told him. There was something trustworthy about Carl and to be honest, Van Helsing could use a chance to unburden himself about everything.
He heard Carl struggling down the hall and chuckled realizing that Carl had clearly decided to carry everything in at once. It must have been quite heavy and awkward.
Carl staggered through the door and over to the bed. He very carefully placed the larger of the two bags on the bed and then dropped the second one on the floor. Carl gestured to the bag and said "You can check it all over if you like".
Van Helsing just shook his head and said "No, I don't need to. But if you could put it in the closet, I'd appreciate it." Carl gently picked up the bag and walked over to the closet. He stored the bag on the floor and shut the door. He looked at Van Helsing in indecision and the Hunter knew that Carl was trying to figure out how best to ask him what was going on.
Van Helsing gestured to the chair and said "Carl, why don't you sit down? I've got a lot to tell you and you might as well get comfortable…"