When the shadows of this life have gone
I'll fly away...
Like a bird from these prison walls I'll fly
I'll fly away...
I'll fly away, oh Glory
I'll fly away, in the morning
When I die hallelujah by and by
I'll fly away...
Allison Kuarss 'I'll Fly Away
"They just got finished with giving her charcoal and pumping her stomach." Van was sitting in one of the chairs in the waiting room of the hospital talking on his cell phone.
"What did the doctor say?" Billie's voice came over the phone sounding professional, but with a hint of worry.
"The doctor thinks that she has a chance of pulling through this." He replied, his gaze distracted from the floor as a child ran by him to the toys that were set in the corner of the waiting room. The mother came more slowly and picked a chair near the child.
"If she doesn't have any trouble during the night, she'll be able to go home tomorrow." Van continued, returning his attention to the floor. "I'll be going back to her room, but she might still be asleep."
"All right, Van. You stay there and make sure she doesn't get any unwanted visitors." Billie ordered and hanged up. He slipped his phone into a pocket and leaned back with a sigh, and then stood up and walked by the reception desk where he nodded to a nurse and down a hallway here he carefully opened one of the doors to peer in. He could see Roxie was still sleeping; nothing had changed since he left the room to make the call. Quietly, he came in and sat down next to her bed.
Billie stood in front of her mirror in her bathroom as she finished up with her last touches for her date with Daniel tonight. She paused before applying her lipstick, really looking at her refection for the first time since she started primping. What could make someone want to die? To just give up and kill themselves so they don't have to deal with it anymore? For the matter, what would it take for her want to kill herself? She wondered.
She was suddenly shaken out of her morbid musing when she heard the knocking at her door. She quickly applied her lipstick and with a quick flick of her hair, she walked to the door and opened it.
"Hey, lover." She said as she tilted her face up to receive his kiss. He smiled back at her as he handed her a bouquet of red carnations that had a spicy smell.
"I thought you'd like something a little different." He teased as she breathed in their spicy scent. "Besides, red roses are so cliché."
"Hey! They're classics!" Billie defended as she swatted him with the back of her hand; he winced playfully and caught her to kiss her soundly. She smiled as she pushed him away and walked into the kitchen to put the flowers in water.
"You seem a bit distracted." Daniel observed as he rested his elbows on the kitchen table and watched her fill up a vase with water.
"Am I?" Billie said back at him with a smile. "Maybe you're distracted." She winked at him and took the flowers out of the sleeve they were in and plopped them into the water, taking a moment to fluff them and arrange them. He came up behind her and lifted her hair away from the back of her neck so he could kiss her there. She sighed with pleasure and leaned back against him.
"Wanna stay here for tonight?" She asked huskily.
"Sure."
"Oh, you're not doing that!" Deaq exclaimed from his car as he put down his binoculars and hit the steering wheel. He had been looking forward to checking out a club that had opened not long ago and now it seemed that Billie had other things on her mind, things that he didn't feel right thinking about, much less witnessing.
"If you think I'm gonna sit out here and imagine all those kinky things you're doing to Daniel, you got another think coming!" Deaq groused at her house, but he knew that he wouldn't feel right leaving, besides, who knows, maybe they'll change their mind later about going clubbing. If they don't take all night, that is. He grumbled as he settled down in his seat and turned the radio on.
"When she said I'll be watching her back, I thought it'll be all partying. But noooo, it's sex too and I have to sit out in this damned car trying to amuse myself." He started rocking to the music as he settled on a station whose vibe he liked. "To bad she never said what to do if she stays home with her man instead."
Deaq jumped suddenly as his phone rang in his pocket and he dug it out and was surprised to see Billie's number.
"Whasup?"
"You don't have to watch my back tonight." She whispered softly into the phone.
"Where are you, isn't your lover boy gonna think it strange with you on the phone talking like that?" Deaq asked skeptically.
"I'm in the bathroom you idiot. Just go and enjoy yourself. I know you've been looking forward to going to that club, you sure won't shut up about it." Billie told him and hanged up. He grinned as he closed his phone and slipped it back into his pocket and started his car.
Billie opened the bathroom door, and stood there, framed by the light behind her, now clad in a silk bathrobe and lingerie she had bought earlier that week.
"Now, where were we?" She asked sultrily, her eyes approvingly gliding over Daniel's body as he lay on her bed clad only in his boxers.
"I believe it was somewhere between "Wanna stay tonight" and "Let's have wild sex."" He replied as he got up from her bed and went to her. He took her in his arms and looked down into them deeply before kissing her gently, then more firmly.
"Ooh, you know how to do your job." Billie murmured, pleased.
"Mmm, where am I?" Roxie moaned softly as she rubbed the back of her hand across her eyes sleepily as she looked around the room she was in. Van stood and moved to the side of the bed so she could see him.
"How you're feeling?" He asked, tilting his head slightly. She sighed and stretched, her body felt a little stiff as she had been lying in the same position for a while.
"Like I puked my guts out and a headache that would kill a whale." She moaned as she closed her eyes from the harsh lights. "Where am I?"
"You're in the hospital, do you remember what happened?" Van asked, his voice becoming a little bit colder from worry and slight irritation from the stress. She squinted at him as she detected the change in his voice and manner.
"You're sounding more like a cop than my protector." She observed critically. "I'm not sure if I like the way you're talking right now."
"Too bad, honey. But I do tend to get cranky when my charge tries to kill her self." Van shot back, riled. "Do you remember what happened?" He said, unconsciously adapting more of the cop interrogation manner.
"Not really." Roxie shot back, her eyes narrowing with anger. "I just remember those fucking pictures on my ceiling!"
"What about after that?" Van challenged.
"You were there and you were playing my friend instead of the cop." She retorted and got a small satisfaction as he winced slightly at her jab. He sighed and rubbed the area between his eyes.
"Why did you try to kill yourself?" He tried instead, more gently. He watched as her defiance melted away and she started worrying the blanket, knotting it around her hands as she stared down at them.
"Do you know what I'm really scared of? What makes me wanna just hide in my room curled up in some pathetic ball and cry?" Roxie asked, but he felt that he wasn't supposed to answer and after a paused, she continued on. "Dying, I'm terrified of dying. That I would cease to exist anymore and Roxie would be forgotten never existed."
He started in surprised and she looked up at him with hollow eyes.
"And I tried to kill myself." She laughed with out humor. "That's how scared of him I am. I killed myself so I wouldn't have to deal with him anymore." She said, with almost a sense of wonder.
"I'm sorry." Van sighed as he pulled the chair closer and sat down.
"What for?"
"Being an ass, not being there for you, when you need me. Take your pick." He said as he rested his elbows on her bed. She smiled at him and patted him on the head.
"You're cute." She smiled at him, her annoyance at him forgotten. "I had a revelation. I'm not gonna let the King control me anymore; keep me so afraid all the time. I'm tired of being afraid and I wanna fight now. I want you to teach me how to protect myself, how to shoot, anything."
"Sure, if you promise to never try to kill yourself again." Van bantered. She smiled mischievously and held out her pinky and he took it with his own with a grin.
"No worries of that, I'm still scared of dying." She said with a laugh.
It was a day longer than planned before the doctors allowed Roxie to leave the hospital; she had to see a psychiatrist to make sure that she wouldn't attempt suicide again. Van opened the door to her apartment and she walked in with a sigh.
"It's always good to be home again." Roxie told him with a smile that changed to a frown as she noticed a bouquet of flowers sitting on the coffee table. She walked to it, but was stopped by Van as he grabbed her arm and pulled her back.
"Wait, it might be from the King." He said as he moved forward carefully to examine it. Finding nothing abnormal, he pulled the envelope with the card and handed it to her to open. With only the crease between her eyebrows to show her discomfort with the situation, she carefully opened it and pulled the card out.
To my Jester of Hearts, I applaud you. You have greatly amused me and begun to develop the very character I was hoping to see from you. I look forward to continuing our relationship and our game with the Blue Knaves. Oh, tell your Knave that he may enjoy your friendship, but nothing more. Eternally yours, King of Hearts.
Roxie looked up at Van with the familiar scared look. He took the card from her and quickly scanned it, his eyes lingering over the last two sentences.
"'Blue Knaves?'" He asked, looking up at her as she sat down on the couch.
"Cops." She explained. "He's created this fantasy world where everything is this world beneath a world, where it only happens the way he wants it to in his mind." She laughed without mirth. "He's insane."
"That goes without saying." Van agreed as he picked up the flowers. "What do you want me to do with these?"
She looked up at him, then at the flowers as she thought for a moment. "Eh, put them in water, it's not their fault." She put her feet up on the coffee table and leaned her head back. "It's gonna be hard to not be so afraid all the time, is it?"
"Yep. But you learn how to not let it take control of you." Van said as he found a vase in a cupboard and was filling it with water.
"Do you ever get scared?" She said as she sat forward and looked over her shoulder. He shrugged as he pulled the wrapper off the flowers.
"Sure, you'd have to be inhuman not to be."
"How soon can you teach me something to defend myself?" She asked as she flipped over so that her elbows were now resting on the back of the couch as she watched him drop the flowers in the vase. He shrugged as he leaned against the counter, crossing his arms.
"Right now if you want."
"Is it gonna be that SING deal from Miss Congeniality?" Roxie asked with a mischievous grin. He laughed, shaking his head.
"Yah, something like that. But more through." He said with a grin and offered her a hand as she clambered over her couch.
"Why don't you go get your yoga mats and I'll move the stuff around so that we have more room?" He asked and she nodded as she hurried to her room, pulling her coat off and chucking it somewhere in her bedroom as she dove into the closet. He bent to grab one side of the couch and pulled it against the wall and soon, Roxie was helping him move the rest of the furniture.
Van straightened up as finished wrestling a recliner chair by the couch and looked at her with a sly grin. "'Operation Thong has commenced.'"
She laughed as she walked to him and swatted him on the arm. "'Go stun-gun yourself!'"
"Oohh!" Roxie moaned as she walked out of her bedroom clad in her pajamas and bathroom as she carefully made her way to the kitchen. "Please just kill me now, I hurt way too much!" She groaned as she sat down at the table, her muscles were on fire from the workout Van had put her through.
Van laughed at her exaggerated expressions and movements as he got up effortlessly from the couch where he had crashed for the night. She glared at him as she sat waiting for the kettle to boil.
"You can make a saint hate you with how perky you are this morning. And put your shirt on, you're being distracting and I don't do distracting very well in the morning." She glowered at him as she opened a tea bag packet and put it in a Little Mermaid mug. "How do you do it?" she asked as he grabbed his shirt and started buttoning it up.
"Which one? Ah, good genes and lots of practice." He said with a grin as she gave him a particularly dirty look and he picked up the kettle as it started to steam and poured it into her cup so that she wouldn't have to move too much. She smiled at him in thanks and sighed as she inhaled the steam before sipping.
"Please tell me the pain will go away." She murmured as she drank her tea slowly. He grinned as he leaned against the counter besides her.
"The pain'll go away. Not real quick though." Van said and laughed as she rapped him on the shoulder with her spoon.
"You should do some stretches or that Yoga you like to do and then I'll take you to the shooting range and we can get started on learning how to use firearms." He said as he reached across the table for an apple from the fruit basket.
"Whooopie, first you work me so hard that I hurt in new places, then you're gonna blow out my eardrums?" She gave a wry chuckle. "You sure know how to show a girl a good time. When can I drop dead?"
"Tomorrow." He replied as he pulled her from the chair and pushed her towards her room. She stopped in the doorway to turn and look at him with a quizzical frown.
"Didn't you say that yesterday?"
"Is it tomorrow yet?"
"I hate you."
"Luv you too."
Deaq was laughing as he came into Billie's office area and sat down on the chair across from her. She smiled at him as she put the paper down and propped her elbows on the desk as she waited for Deaq to contain his mirth and tell her of what was amusing him so much.
"OK. I've been watching Van and Roxie in the security cams and that girl's teaching him Yoga! She's got him bending in all kinds of weird ways and now he's groaning as much as she is!" He said with a laugh. "They're fighting each other, seeing how much they can put the other one through before they snap and give up from the pain."
"That's good. At least she's not so depressed anymore." Billie said as she leaned back in her chair. "She lost a best friend, somebody she used to banter with and Lena was her pillar of strength." She smiled at his surprised look. "I had a good, long talk with Roxie before I brought her to the Candy Store."
"So you're saying that Van's becoming the replacement best friend?" Deaq asked with a skeptical look.
"You've seen how they talk with each other; they're like real roomies now." She gave a small laugh. "In fact, when I talked to Van last, he was talking about how they're gonna go shopping for a futon so that he has a more comfortable place to sleep."
"Who would've thought?" Deaq said with a grin as he leaned back in his chair, lacing his fingers behind his head when he noticed the papers that were in front of her.
"Hey, what are these?" He asked as he snagged one before she could shuffle the papers back into their folder.
"Deaq, give that back." She said sternly, but he ignored her as he quickly scanned it, a frown appearing on his brow. The paper was about Lena's death and the notes that Roxie have been receiving.
"What's with this?" He asked as he allowed her to take it back and shuffle it back into the folder with the others. She sighed.
"I'm trying to figure out why Roxie is the King's go-to girl." Billie tapped the folder with her forefinger. "There is something that is different about her that he decided to keep her alive as his jester instead of killing her and making her a queen."
"Yah, I've been thinking about that too." Deaq said as he propped his elbow on his knee and rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"I think it's the key to finding out who the King is." Billie said as she leaned back in her chair and rested her feet up on her desk.
"Speaking of finding the King, how's the relationship with Daniel going?" Deaq asked with a snap of his fingers and pointing at her with a sly grin. He laughed when she thought for a moment and got the starry love-struck look in her eyes.
"Deaq, stop it!" She glared at him as her feet hit the ground with a loud thud. He tried to stop laughing, but snorted instead which caused Billie to smirk.
"Fine, I'm head over heels for him. Happy?" She said as she replaced her feet on her desk. He nodded with a big grin and rested a hand over his heart as he gave her a mock bow.
"Billie, you're my role model." He told her with a smirk and she swatted the air at him. He stood up with a sigh and pulled the hem of his shirt down as he mused over what he wanted to say next. "Don't let him break your heart for real, though. Not when we have so much at stake and we need you on top of your game."
"So that's what you and Van are talking about? I'm not on the top of my game anymore?" Billie asked with that dangerous look in her eyes.
"Hey, you said it, not me!" he replied, his hands in the air as he backed up. "But seriously, be careful. The King could be waiting for you." She smiled at him in the familiar cocky way.
"Hey, this is me. I know what I'm doing." She said and waved a hand at him dismissively. "Now go away and do your thing. Remember I have a date with Daniel tonight at 8."
"I got your back, Billie." Deaq said with a grin and left. She watched him go and picked up her phone and hit the speed dial.
"Hey, luv. Getting cold feet already?" Daniel's familiar voice came over the line and she found herself sitting at her desk like a love-sick school girl, chin propped in her hand as she stared dreamily up at the ceiling. She grinned sheepishly as she changed her pose, hoping that Deaq didn't happen to see her do that.
"No, just wanted to hear your voice." She replied huskily.
"I can do better than that, why don't I stop by where you work and take you out for lunch?" Daniel said. "We can go to that new Mexican place that opened up a few weeks ago. I heard that the food was divine. Or at least, that's what my co-worker tells me." He said with a laugh. "She won't stop gushing about it, so it has to be really good."
"That sounds wonderful, but how about I come to you instead?" Billie oftered instead as she smiled dreamily.
"Are you embarrassed by your co-workers or job? Or me? Because you won't tell me anything about what you do and it seems that I'm not allowed to see my girlfriend at work." She frowned at the tone of his voice and leaned forward.
"No!" She protested. "I'm not embarrassed by anything about our relationship or my job. It's just I don't think that you'd approve of it."
"Honey, you're a cop. I can't disapprove of somebody who works to keep people safe." Daniel said, causing her to start in surprise.
"Wha- how did you know I'm a cop?" She asked, quickly casting about her mind to find where she gave it away to him and coming up empty.
"Easy, I found your badge when we were playing strip-tease. I should've have known sooner when you wanted to handcuff me. " He teased her; she could hear that he wasn't mad or disappointed anymore, but amused now. She leaned back in her chair relieved.
"Thank you for understanding. But I still wanna come pick you up; I just got a new car I wanna try out." She said with a smile.
"Is it anything like the last one we test drove?"
"Better."
"Come get me, babe."
"I'm so glad that we didn't get a heavier futon." Roxie sighed as she sat next to Van on their new futon after they had just finished putting it together.
"I know what you mean, I'm so tired now." Van replied with a lazy grin as he rested his arms along the top of the futon. "But you can be sure that I'm happier about having a nicer place to sleep on."
"Hey, are you saying that my couch sucks?" She asked him with a mock frown.
"I'm saying that it's worse than sucks." He said back at her with a sly grin.
"You take that back!" She hit him in the shoulder and he laughed as he grabbed her in a head-lock. "Hey! Lemme go!" She struggled and he shook his head grinning.
"Not until you promise to make dinner tonight." He said as he tickled her in the side, causing her to shriek.
"Fine! I'll make dinner, just don't tickle me anymore!" She squealed and sat up as he released her head, her hair frizzy and all over the place. She suddenly looked past him and gasped. He stood quickly and turned to look at what had surprised her when she tackled him from behind and knocked him face first into the futon.
"I can't believe you fell for the oldest trick in the book!" She crowed as she started tickling him as he twisted to get out from under her. He managed to get in a better position, but before he could take advantage of it, she darted from him and paused in her bedroom doorway laughing at him.
"I'm gonna change now and you've better scoop me up some of the ice cream in the freezer by the time I come out." She ordered, wiggling a finger at him playfully.
"You're insane." He told her with a grin.
"All my roomies tell me that, but they love me no less." She said with a grin that faded as a strange look pasted over her face and she quickly turned to go back in her room. He felt that something was wrong.
"Hey, wait." Van called out and she paused closing the door, but still stood with her back to him.
"What's wrong?" He asked concerned as he walked to where she was and rested a hand against the doorframe.
"This whole playing around we've been doing reminded of how Lena and I were. We would always be screwing around and laughing all the time and teasing each other." She snuffled and he pulled her into a hug.
"Hey, it's gonna be OK. We'll put the King in the slam so he can't do this again." He promised her. She pulled back from him to look at him in the face.
"Yeah?" she asked and he smiled as he wiped the tears from her cheek.
"I promise. Besides, don't you want your ice cream?" He asked her with a grin and turned her around and with a slap to her rear, sent her into the room to change with a laugh. He walked to the kitchen area and had the ice cream out when he heard her scream. He rushed to her room and found her sitting on the floor where she had tripped over an ottoman staring into her closet.
"You OK?" Van asked Roxie as he drew his gun and carefully moved to the closet and pushed the door back so that he could see in better. He could see that all of her clothes were tossed in a pile in the middle to make room for all the pictures that were taped all over the walls and ceiling. He tucked the gun into the back of his pants as he looked at some of the pictures more closely.
"She's a new Queen, isn't she?" Roxie quietly asked from behind him as she regained her composure and was now standing just in the entrance to the closet.
"I think so." He said as he started taking them down. He noticed Roxie had started taking the pictures down too, but stopped her and pushed her out.
"No, let me take care of this. You just wait for me in the other room. Please?" He asked and she nodded and walked into the main area of her apartment. He sighed as he turned back to the pictures and picked up a black piece of paper with gold writing and scanned it quickly, and then read it more carefully. He looked up at the pictures, resisting the urge to crumple the letter and resumed furiously taking the rest of the pictures down. Once he had all the pictures stacked together and he had finished checking over the closet for any clues, he pulled out his phone and dialed the Candy Store.
"Hey, Billie." He said when she picked up. "The King left another surprise for Roxie... and me." He said with a pause.
"What? He knows you're there now?" Billie asked worriedly.
"Yah, and what's more, he knows I'm a cop and he knows the place has been wired. The King knows my real name and my rank, Billie." He finished worriedly as he moved further into Roxie's room so that he could see her in the kitchen area making tea.
"Do you think you're at risk? Should we put Roxie into the Witness Protection?" Billie asked briskly, he could almost hear the little gears starting to work in her head.
"Nah, he didn't make any real threats, just warnings. I think he's just trying to rattle our cages." He replied as he sat on Roxie's bed. He could hear faintly the clinks of the mugs as she pulled two out of the cupboard.
"Alright, but don't let Roxie out of your sight. Even though she is trying to be stronger, she is still vulnerable." Billie warned him and hung up. He looked down at the pictures he was still holding, examining the face of the woman who lies dead on a bed.
"I'm gonna catch you, Bastard."
Sorry this chapter was a couple days late, between Thanksgiving, homework & babysitting sick cousins and catching their cold/flu, I'm surprised that I even got this finished so quickly! But then again, my Muse has no mercy for me, she kept me working!