Chapter 13:

Visiting the Doctor and a Teacher's Fury:

(Friday May 5th, 2017)

Carrie slept on, as she had for the past few hours. Being under the quilt, she was warm and comfortable, and still had her arms round Jack. Though she'd never slept with another person in the same bed before, she had a very good night's rest, probably better than at any time in her life up to then. She gently squeezed her arms round Jack, only to find he felt much softer than usual. She opened her eyes a little, and saw she actually had her arms round one of Jack's pillows instead.

She opened her eyes fully, and sat up before looking over to the window. The curtains were opened, showing it was morning and the sun was rising into a crystal-clear blue sky. Wondering where Jack was, she suddenly heard what sounded like the splashing of water and the sound of something being tapped inside one of the sinks within the marble counter inside. The door to the bathroom was opened a little, and the light was on inside.

Now with her curiosity up, she quietly got out of bed, went over to the bathroom door and peeked inside; she could see Jack standing in front of one of the two sinks, his pyjama top was off, and he had his razor in hand and shaving round his face. It looked like he was nearly finished, as he had only small patches of shaving cream dotted at points round his face. Then Carrie saw Jack's chest and how strong and well-toned it was, with the beginnings of a six-pack visible. His arms were strong and muscular, and Carrie, remembering how those arms had made her feel secure during the night, wondered if he could possibly lift her up.

Jack finished up, emptied the sink, washed down the inside and then washed the untouched bits of shaving cream off his face with warm water before drying his face and reaching for the bottle of aftershave gel. Then, he noticed the bathroom door open and saw Carrie standing in the door entrance.

"Morning Jack." Carrie said, as a smile came across her face.

"And good morning back, Carrie; did you sleep well?" Jack asked, as he rubbed a little of the aftershave gel around his face where he had shaved.

"I did. I'd the best night's sleep I've had for a long time. And I didn't want it to end. Thank you for giving me that." Carrie said, as she came over, threw his arms round him and gave him a big hug which Jack happily returned. Then Carrie angled her head up and took in a deep sniff through her nose.

"Hmm, that aftershave does smell nice." she said, as Jack smiled.

"Yeah well, I do like to smell nice after I shave every morning, especially for you." he said, as they released each other from their hug.

"Will you be finished here soon?" Carrie asked.

"Just one thing left first…put on some antiperspirant." Jack said, reaching for the can of Lynx deodorant. After giving it a real good shake, he lifted his arms and sprayed some under each arm.

"And it's all yours, Carrie. I'll get dressed and then I'll get us breakfast ready. How does a bowl of cereal with a glass of orange juice sound?"

"Sounds good to me. I should be done in here in a few minutes." Carrie said, and Jack stepped out of the bathroom, closing the door most of the way behind him.

After getting dressed in fresh clothes, including light brown trousers, fresh white socks and a white t-shirt and light blue cardigan as well as putting on his white shoes, Jack went out to the kitchen and, after opening the curtains, set about getting the table ready for breakfast. Putting out two bowls and spoons, two glasses, a bottle of unopened orange juice, two boxes of cereal, cornflakes and Weetabix, as well as the bottle of milk.

He had filled the two glasses with orange juice and then heard sounds coming from the master bedroom. Calling out, "Breakfast!" Carrie stepped out a second later, still in her pyjamas, and sat at one of the places.

"Well Carrie, which cereal do you want; cornflakes or Weetabix?"

"I'll have…Weetabix." Carrie said, taking the box, reaching for the open pack inside and putting two biscuits into her bowl, as Jack poured some cornflakes into his bowl and they tucked into their cereal after pouring in some milk. They were silent for a few long moments as they ate, but then Carrie said "What's the time?" and Jack looked at his watch.

"It's almost 7:30am. Rita's gonna be here in just a few short minutes." Jack said, with a hint of worry in his voice, as he took a sip of his orange juice.

"I wonder what she'll say when she sees us here together." Carrie said quietly, before taking in another spoonful of Weetabix and milk.

"Remember what I said, Carrie...let me worry about that. But how's your shoulder feeling this morning?" asked Jack.

"Still sore, but not as much as it was last night." Carrie said.

"Well, we should still have it looked at by a doctor as soon as possible. In fact, the sooner it's looked at the better I'd say." Jack said, as Carrie nodded in agreement.

They soon finished and, as Carrie went back into the master bedroom to get dressed, Jack stayed in the kitchen and cleaned up the breakfast things. He put the dirty dishes into the dishwasher and had just put the milk and orange juice back in the fridge, when suddenly there came three knocks at the door.

"Jack, are you up yet? You weren't waiting outside like you usually do." came the voice of Rita Desjardin from the other side of the door.

"Oh crap…this is it." Jack thought, knowing Rita would find out about Carrie spending the night with him. Going over to the door, he unlocked it and opened it to see his gym teacher waiting just outside.

"Are you nearly ready to go? Hey, are you feeling all right?" Rita said, noticing Jack was sweating a little on his forehead.

"Almost, I'm just putting the breakfast things away and…" Jack began.

"Jack, who are you talking to out there?" came a female voice from behind him. Jack froze, eyes wide in fright as he saw Rita lean in a little and her eyes narrow in suspicion.

"Was that Carrie's voice?" she asked in a deadly tone that promised him quite a bit of pain if he didn't speak up.

"Now Rita...Rita! Before you clobber me, nothing happened I swear!" Jack said, in a slight panic.

"Hmm..." Rita said, as she looked at Jack suspiciously.

"Look, come on in, and we'll explain everything." and Jack opened the door fully to allow Rita to come into the apartment, which she did.

As Jack closed the door, Rita walked towards the kitchen and came upon Carrie coming out of the master bedroom half dressed, but with her pyjama top still on.

"Carrie?!" Rita said, in surprise.

"M-Ms Desjardin?!" Carrie gasped, a little surprised to see her gym teacher here.

"Now Rita…if we could sit at the table…we could explain everything." Jack said. And so they did; Rita and Jack sat opposite each other while Carrie sat to Jack's right and Rita's left. Then Jack told Rita what had happened the previous night after Carrie arrived at the apartment, but left out the part where Carrie had shown off her telekinetic powers, knowing that was Carrie's business.

Carrie backed up the story, telling her gym teacher everything that took place at her house the evening before and, to convince Rita she was serious, she unbuttoned her pyjama top and lowered the right side to show her bandaged shoulder. Rita's eyes opened wide in shock on seeing that and she shuffled her chair closer to Carrie.

"Jack, did you bandage this wound up?"

"Yes Rita, I've had advanced first aid training." Jack said, and showed her the first aid kit which was still sitting on the table.

"Is it okay if I undo the bandage to have a look at this wound?" Rita asked.

"By all means." Jack said, and so Rita carefully undid the bandage and loosened it up a bit before lifting the dressing up, revealing the knife wound on Carrie's right shoulder underneath. When Rita saw it, she gasped in horror.

When the two teens finished their explanations, and the bandage on Carrie's shoulder had been retightened, Rita immediately engulfed Carrie in a gentle but loving hug.

"I can't believe you went through something as horrendous as that. I'm just so glad to see that you're all right now." Rita said. Then she let go of Carrie and stood up. "Okay you two, finish getting yourselves ready, then grab your bags and meet me down at my car. Carrie…" Rita said, as she looked down at Carrie, "…before we go into school, we're gonna take you into the doctor to get that shoulder examined."

"Okay Ms Desjardin." Carrie said, as she stood and went into the master bedroom to finish getting dressed, as Rita headed for the door with Jack following closely behind.

"It looks like you did quite a good job on getting that wound bandaged, Jack, but I think it's better to get an expert's opinion…just to be safe." Rita said.

"Of course, Rita, I understand. I think that's a fine idea too." Jack said, as Rita opened the door before she stopped and turned.

"Oh, and that's a nice haircut Jack." Rita said with a smile, and, after Jack thanked her, she left the apartment and headed back down to her minivan. Then Jack, after closing the door, turned and went back into the kitchen to finish putting the breakfast things away. Once that was finished, and Carrie had finished dressing, they grabbed their school bags and left the apartment.

Rita stood outside her minivan by the main entrance and waited for the two to arrive. Then she saw them coming out of the main entrance doors side by side. Carrie was dressed in blue jeans, white and blue Nike sneakers, a cream t-shirt and a light-yellow cardigan. Rita smiled as she saw the two teens approach, and noting that Carrie no longer wore her old-fashioned style of clothes and now looked just like a normal beautiful teenage girl.

"Ready to go, you two?" she asked, as they came up to the minivan.

"Yes, Ms Desjardin." Carrie said, as she opened the sliding door at the side of the van and hopped inside.

"Is the doctor's office very far from the school, Rita?" asked Jack.

"No, not too far. It's only a hundred yards or so away from the school. And next door is the pharmacy where we can get any medication Carrie may need." Rita said.

"Okay, let's get going then." Jack said, as he climbed into back of the minivan and sat beside Carrie as Rita got into the driver's seat.

(Less than 10 minutes later; doctor's office)

Rita sat in the waiting room talking with Jack and Carrie as they waited for the doctor. They were the only ones there at that time of the morning.

"So, you both slept together in the same bed last night?" Rita said, raising one eyebrow while gazing at both her students.

"Yes, Rita. We did." Jack said, knowing full well there was no point in denying it.

"I asked him if I could sleep with him, Ms Desjardin. I…I didn't feel comfortable sleeping by myself after what I'd gone through at home yesterday evening." Carrie said, clearly a little concerned as to how her gym teacher would react.

"It's all right, Carrie. I understand. But…how did you manage to sleep last night?" Rita asked.

"I'd the best night's sleep I've had for a long time. Jack and I…we both had our arms round each other and it made me feel more secure…and also Jack's shoulder felt nice to sleep on. In fact, I had such a good sleep, I didn't want to get out of bed this morning." Carrie said, as she smiled at the memory. Rita felt herself smile too…oh, she knew that feeling very well!

"Rita...do you remember yesterday when I had that uneasy feeling about something I mentioned? Well, when Carrie came last night and showed me her wound...I realised after Carrie arrived at my apartment what it was...that something bad might happen to Carrie." Jack said.

"Well...I'm glad to see that she's okay...and with hindsight, Jack...I think you were quite right to be worried." Rita said.

Then, an older woman stepped out and caught their attention.

"The doctor will see you all now." she said. Standing up, Carrie, Jack and Rita went into the doctor's office. As they entered, Rita thought she recognized the brunette-haired woman sitting at the desk.

"Ah good morning there, how can I help…" the doctor began, but then she leaned forward and looked directly at Rita, "…Rita? Is that you?" the doctor said, as she stood up.

"Hang on…Laura Hilton? Oh, it's been a while! How are you?" Rita said, as the two reached forward and shook hands.

"I'm fine! Long-time, no see!" Laura said, as she happily shook Rita's hand.

"Jack, Carrie…this is an old school friend of mine…Laura Hilton. Laura, this is Carrie White and Jack Sullivan, two of my students at Ewen High." Rita said.

"Nice to meet you. Rita and I were great friends when we were in high school. This is the first time we've seen each other in more than seven years." Laura said.

"It's nice to meet you too." Carrie said, as she and Jack shook hands with Laura

"So, how can I help you this morning?" Laura asked.

"Well, Carrie here needs an injury looked at…" Rita said, as she looked at Carrie. Taking a deep breath, Carrie nodded and explained to Laura what had happened the night before. When she finished, Laura simply smiled and nodded

"Okay then Carrie, get your cardigan and t-shirt off, sit up on the examination table and we'll have a look at that wound."

Soon Carrie, her shirt and cardigan off, but her bra still on, was sitting on the examination table and having her wound on her right shoulder examined by Dr Hilton, having had the bandage and dressing removed beforehand. Jack and Rita were sitting on chairs along the wall, watching the doctor go about her work.

"You did a very good job disinfecting and bandaging up this wound, Jack." Laura said, as she examined the wound.

"Thanks doc, I just did what I was taught on my advanced first aid training course. Though I never expected to have to treat something like a knife wound." Jack said.

"Well, there's always the unexpected in life, Jack." Rita said, as Jack nodded while giving a small smile. Dr Hilton kept examining the wound on Carrie's shoulder for a few more minutes. Then she turned to look at Carrie.

"You were very lucky Ms White, it's nowhere near as bad as it looks. The damage to the muscle is fairly minor, so no need for stitches. I'll prescribe you some medication to help with the healing. But first, let me disinfect the wound and put a fresh dressing on." Laura said.

"The disinfectant won't sting, will it?" Carrie asked, remembering the unpleasant stinging feeling from the disinfectant Jack had used to clean and disinfect her shoulder.

"Don't worry, Ms White. Wound disinfectants that are made today don't sting you when applied." Laura said, dabbing some disinfectant on a cotton cloth as Carrie sighed in relief. After rubbing down the wound with the cloth, Laura put a fresh dressing over the wound. Then she printed off a prescription for the medication Carrie would need.

"Okay, just take one a night before you go to sleep and your shoulder should be better in no time at all. However, one thing I'd strongly recommend is don't do any strenuous activities for at least a week." Laura said, as she handed Carrie the prescription.

"Oh, thank you, doctor." Carrie said with a smile, as she pulled on her t-shirt and cardigan and then hopped off the examination table.

"And before you go, I'd just like to speak to Rita for a few moments. I promise it won't be too long." Laura said, as she stood up from her chair.

"Okay Laura…" then Rita turned to Carrie and Jack, "…you two just wait for me out in the waiting room please."

"Okay, we'll just sit out there until you're finished." Jack said with a nod, and then he and Carrie left the office.

"What's wrong, Laura? What did you want to talk to me about?" Rita asked, as Laura seemed to struggle a little with what she was about to say.

"The poor girl doesn't just have a knife wound on her shoulder…when I was examining her, I found evidence of old injuries that looks as though they were caused by a heavy blunt object of some kind. Also…and this is far more worrying to me…there was no sign of the injections all children are supposed to have. I'm truly amazed she's as healthy as she is." and Laura paused to catch her breath, as she tried to process everything.

"Now, normally I'd have reported this already to the relevant authorities, but I won't if you promise me something…promise that you'll make the one responsible for hurting Ms White pay. That they'll be punished for their appalling actions." Laura said, and a hard look entered Rita's eyes as she gave a nod.

"Don't worry, Laura…I can tell you now that the person responsible for hurting Carrie will be sorry. And I'm gonna make sure of that personally." Rita said. And giving a grateful smile, Laura shook Rita's hand.

"Thanks Rita, that's all I want to know. Tell Ms White I wish her a speedy recovery."

"I will, and many thanks for helping." Rita said, as she turned and left the office.

After getting the medication Carrie needed at the pharmacy next door, Rita told Carrie and Jack to head to Ewen High and get ready for their first classes.

"You two head to up the school and meet with your friends in the cafeteria. I just have a little something I need to do first." Rita said.

"Is everything okay, Ms Desjardin?" Carrie asked.

"Everything's fine, Carrie. I just have an errand to run. But I'll be back as soon as I possibly can." Rita said, while smiling reassuringly at Carrie.

"Okay, good luck with your errand." Jack said.

"I shouldn't be too long, you two. I should be back in plenty of time for my first class." Rita said, as she got into her minivan and started the engine.

As she set off, Jack and Carrie, bags on their backs, headed down the street to Ewen High, which was less than a hundred yards away. Jack checked his watch; it was 8:20am.

"I wonder what it is she's to do. I hope she gets back in time." Carrie said quietly.

"Yeah well, it's best we just leave her to it." Jack said.

"Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting out early today." Carrie said.

"Yes, thank goodness it's a half-day today." Jack said. There was going to be some scheduled maintenance on Ewen High's electrical system today; as a result, all classes would be finishing up early, at 12:00pm sharp. They soon arrived at the school and went inside.

(With Rita, two minutes later)

Rita quickly came to a stop outside the White residence on Carlin Street. She got out and marched with determination up to the front door, knocking very loudly and aggressively. After a moment, the door opened and a disgruntled Margaret White stepped out.

"Who are you? What do you want?" she asked, as she stared at the red-haired woman before her who, in her mind, was wearing immodest clothing of white sneakers, grey gym shorts, a blue t-shirt and a blue sports jacket.

"Mrs White? Carrie White's mother?" Rita asked, the anger in her voice barely disguised. "My name's Rita Desjardin, your daughter's gym teacher, and I've some news for you concerning your daughter. May I come in and explain it?"

"That WITCH is no daughter of mine!" Margaret suddenly screeched, startling Rita slightly, but then the eyes of the gym teacher narrowed in rage. "Leave now and never return, before I strike you down in the name of the lord all mighty!"

"Strike me down?! Like you tried doing to Carrie last night?!" Rita said angrily.

"The witch doesn't deserve to live. It needs to be purged from this earth and sent back to hell's fiery depths where it belongs!" the fanatical woman rambled in a crazed voice. Then Rita snapped and, with a yell, delivered a front kick to the raving woman's chest which sent her flying backwards into the house. Rita followed and stood in the doorway as Margaret picked herself off the ground, while holding her chest in pain.

"You d-dare to attack me, you heathen?! I'll send YOU back to where you belong for this!" Margaret screeched madly.

"Just try it, you mad lunatic! You'll pay for hurting Carrie! I love that girl like she's my own daughter. I'll be damned if I were to let you or anyone else try and hurt her again! So, bring it on!" Rita said, as she brought her fists up to her face.

Margaret screeched, before running to the kitchen and grabbing a knife. In fact, it was the very same one she wounded Carrie with the evening before. She then charged the teacher, screaming like a lunatic.

However, Rita, being nimbler and fitter, dodged the blade easily and then, bringing her right fist up, landed a strong punch on Margaret's nose, making it bleed instantly. The religious fanatic recoiled in pain and dropped the knife, before bringing her free hand up to her nose to try stop the bleeding. However, she left herself wide open to another assault.

The enraged teacher quickly delivered another two punches to Margaret's face before backing off a little, taking advantage of Margaret being undefended.

"HI-YAA!" Rita cried out, as she lifted her leg up and gave Margaret another hard kick, this time in her stomach, and the fanatic grunted out in pain as she doubled over. Taking the chance, Rita brought Margaret's head down on her knee, breaking her nose and knocking her out cold before falling to the floor of the porch, where she lay knocked out.

"That was for Carrie…you bitch!" Rita snarled, looking down at the downed woman who'd hurt her favourite student.

After taking a few deep breaths to calm down from what had just taken place, Rita pulled out her phone and dialled 911.

"This is 911, what's your emergency?"

"Hello, my name's Rita Desjardin. I need police and paramedics at the home of Margaret White at 47 Carlin Street in Chamberlain as soon as possible please."

"Yes, ma'am. Is anybody injured?"

"Just Margaret White. She attacked me with a kitchen knife when I confronted her for attacking her own daughter last night and I defended myself. She's currently knocked out on the front porch."

"Okay ma'am, there's a nearby police unit already on its way to your location and should be with you very shortly. And paramedics have just been dispatched too. They should be there in less than 5 minutes."

"All right…excuse me, hang on a second." and Rita lowered her phone. She could hear police sirens in the distance and getting closer. Then she saw a police car come round the corner in the distance and drive towards her.

"Speak of the devil, the police are here right now. Thanks for your help."

"No problem, ma'am. Have a nice day." and, with that, the call ended.

The police cruiser stopped in front of the house and, as the siren and blue flashing lights were turned off, the two officers, one male and the other female, exited the cruiser and approached the gym teacher.

"Are you Rita Desjardin, ma'am?" the male officer asked.

"Yes sir, I am." Rita confirmed, before turning to the knocked-out form of the woman by her feet. "That's Margaret White, the woman who attacked me."

The female officer cautiously approached the body and after looking over her, confirmed to her partner that Margaret was still breathing, just knocked out and also pointed out the knife that lay on the front porch not too far from her side too.

After telling his partner to keep a close watch on the unconscious woman until the paramedics and ambulance arrived on the scene, the male officer turned to Rita, while pulling out his notepad and pen from his belt.

"Ms Desjardin, may I ask you why you're here and why Mrs White attacked you the way you claimed?" he asked.

"Of course, officer. You see this morning I found one of my students, Carrie White, had run away from home last night after her mother attacked and tried to kill her with a kitchen knife. Carrie managed to fight off her mother, but not without sustaining a flesh wound on her right shoulder. After packing some things, she escaped and ran down the street to her friend's apartment where she spent the night. When I went to pick up the friend for school this morning, I found Carrie there as well. They told me what had happened and Carrie showed me the wound on her shoulder. Afterwards, I went with them to the doctor so Carrie could have her injury looked at. When we finished there, I told them to head to Ewen High before I drove here to confront Margaret. But when I did, she began raving a lunatic and threatened to kill me with a kitchen knife like she threatened to kill her daughter. But I was able to defend myself and knock her out before I called for help." Rita said.

The officer wrote down everything Rita had told him, before closing his notepad and looking back at Rita.

"Thank you for your statement, Ms Desjardin. If we need anything else. We'll get in touch with you. Oh, and don't you worry about Margaret White. We're quite familiar with her and her…unusual antics, and after this incident, she won't know freedom for much longer." the male officer said.

"Thank you, officer. And here's a copy of my card, just in case you need to get in touch with me." Rita said, reaching into her pocket and handing the officer a card with her number on it.

"Thank you, ma'am." the officer said, as an ambulance pulled up at the side of the street. The paramedics got out and, after speaking briefly to the female officer, went over to attend to Margaret. Rita checked her watch; it was 8:28am.

"No problem, officer. Anyway, I'd better myself get back to Ewen High School as soon as I can. My first class of the day starts in about half an hour." and with that, Rita got back into her minivan and drove back to the school.

Soon Rita arrived back at Ewen High, parked her car in the parking lot and went inside. She headed straight to the cafeteria, where she saw Jack and Carrie sitting at their usual table with Sue and Tommy, Norma and Freddy, and Heather and Roy.

In the intervening time between them arriving at school and Rita stepping into the cafeteria, Carrie had told the others about what had happened at her place the previous evening and that she's spent the night at Jack's apartment. Then, by pulling her t-shirt collar aside, she'd shown them her bandaged shoulder. The others at the table were shocked to hear Carrie speak of her personal life, and how hard it had been for her, as they genuinely hadn't known about Carrie's private home life until when she told them.

Then, Carrie glanced up and saw her gym teacher coming towards their table.

"Ms Desjardin! Did you manage to finish what you needed to do?" Carrie said.

"Of course, Carrie. And it didn't take as long as I expected it to." Rita said, as she smiled at her favourite student.

"If you don't mind me asking Rita, but…what was it you had to do?" asked Jack, curiously. Rita turned her attention to Jack and just smiled while giving a wink.

"I'll tell you later." she said, much to the confusion of the rest of the group.

The original fanfic, "Fighting for her", had the characters, including Rita, meeting in a restaurant after Rita defeats Margaret White. Personally, I find that highly unrealistic, particularly when the teacher is being paid to do her job in school and not waste her time being outside of school, as well as the students needing to spend their time in school and not out of it.