Chapter 78
Sara spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in Tegan's bedroom and living room. Tegan was sleeping again and Sara lay on the couch reading Q magazine when Emy entered. "Hey babe" smiled Sara. She noticed that Emy didn't look particularly happy today. "Hi.. how's Tegan?" she asked. "She's okay, weak and tired but Kate says her vitals are holding up nicely. She just needs a lot of rest." said Sara and threw her legs off the couch making room for Emy. She leaned over to kiss her. "Did you get some work done?" asked Sara. "Yeah... I did thanks... still feels as if I'm drowning in it though. I just hope they don't mess things up with me not there" said Emy. "Do you need to go back to New York?" asked Sara. "I understand if you do... I mean... you can't keep your life on hold for me" said Sara. "Sounds as if you want me to?" said Emy defensively. "What are you talking about?" said Sara looking perplexed. Emy looked away, "Sorry... I'm just a bot on edge... I don't know... I guess I'll play it by ear..." said Emy looking tired. "You coming to bed?" she said with her hand on Sara's thigh. "Um... I think I should just stay here tonight... I'm still kinda worried about Tee and..." Sara got cut off by Emy "Sara she's got a doctor, a nurse and a fiancé looking after her... I don't think you need to be here" said Emy. Sara stayed quiet for a few seconds and looked taken aback by Emy's response. "I... I just really want to stay here... I won't be able to sleep up in our room. I'll worry" said Sara. Emy got up and walked out onto the veranda, Sara followed. "Yeah... guess I'm not enough of a comfort for you" said Emy. "Don't be like this Emy... what's up with you?" said Sara. "It's fine Sara... Stay here... whatever" said Emy. "Baby... Please... I'm just worried about Tegan, she had a rough afternoon" said Sara softly. "I said it's fine... I understand. It's fine Sar. I'm going to bed, I'm really tired." she said sounding distant. "Hey... Em..." said Sara and Emy stopped and turned around. Sara put her arms around her waist and pulled her closer "Thanks for understanding... I love you" said Sara while looking into Emy's eyes. "I love you too... get some rest" said Emy still sounding slightly annoyed but also worried. "Let's go out for lunch tomorrow" said Emy. "Sure... if Tee's okay" said Sara. Emy shook her head " yeah... if Tee's okay... goodnight Sara" she said softly and kissed her forehead.
Sara stood on the veranda watching Emy walk back to the main house. "Would you like something to drink Sara?" said Kate behind her and it made Sara jump. "Jeez you scared me..." said Sara who remained highly strung and jumpy since her abduction. "Uhh... sorry, I didn't mean to" said Kate. "No worries... How's Tegan" asked Sara. "Hanging in there. Meds seems to be doing a good job. She's stable. I've given her some breathing treatments to open her airways a bit, tired her out real good. She's asleep again. I'm hoping she's going to feel a lot better tomorrow" said Kate and switched on the kettle. "Did I hear Emy's voice earlier?" asked Kate tentatively. "Yeah... she just dropped by to say goodnight. I'm going to be sleeping on the couch. I want to be close" said Sara. "That's not necessary Sar... Abby will be here in a few minutes and I'm probably going to be awake half the night anyway since I slept half the day" smiled Kate. "I'm staying..." said Sara quickly. "Okay... at least take one of the spare rooms. We won't be using it" said Kate and handed Sara a whiskey. "Nightcap... you need it" winked Kate. "Thanks – and you're having tea?" asked Sara. "Can't drink when I'm on duty" shrugged Kate. Sara and Kate sat in comfortable silence enjoying their drinks. "You must be sooo sick of us... I'm sure you want to get back to normal again" said Sara. "Well... normal isn't always all it's cracked up to be" sighed Kate.
Sara drifted to sleep on the couch while watching some lame reality show with Kate. Abby was studying in one of the spare rooms while keeping an eye on Tegan's monitors on her iPad with her headphones playing classical music. Kate turned off the TV. The living room was quiet and Kate couldn't help stare at Sara. Kate eventually also drifted away and was woken up by Sara's mumbling. "No... please... don't hurt her... don't hurt her... no..no.. please... You're hurting her!" she mumbled. Sara kicked into the air. "Sara!" said Kate loudly, she sat down next to her and put her hand on her shoulder. Sara's hands flew up to Kate's neck and she rolled over her and they both crashed to the floor. "NO! Don't hurt her" said Sara seemingly not registering what she was doing. Kate clutched at her hands and tried to pry them away from her neck. Sara's strength was un-human. "Sss, saa..." she wheezed. Sara continued to squeeze, her eyes were closed and her face contracted as if in pain. Kate kicked her legs and tried to dig her too short nails into Sara's arms. Her muscles were burning and she was starting to see spots. Sara suddenly snapped out of it and let go of Kate's neck. "Whaaaa... where... Fuck! Kate... Kate!" said Sara close to tears. "It's okay Sara... you had a nightmare... He's gone... everyone's safe... you're safe" gasped Kate. "Sorry... what... I don't know what happened" said Sara as she fell onto the floor out of breath. She clutched her hand. Kate was still on her back coughing and wheezing. "What was that?" said Kate sitting up rubbing her neck trying to take deep breaths. "Oh my God Kate, are you okay? I'm so sorry... I'm so, so sorry!" said Sara looking horrified. "I'm fine" said Kate and gave another cough. Sara jumped up and got her some water. "Here you go" she said. "O shit I really hurt you" said Sara inspecting Kate's neck. "No... it's fine... really. What's wrong with your hand Sara?" said Kate sounding hoarse. "I just hurt it a bit when I... well you know..." said Sara looking embarrassed. "Let me have a look" said Kate. "No you're the one that's hurt" said Sara pulling her hand away. "For the last time... I'm fine I'm not hurt" said Kate and took Sara's hand in hers where she sat next to her. She ran her fingers over the bones in Sara's hand. Sara moved her fingers and flinched when Kate touched the top of her hand. "I think you just strained those tendons again. You're going to need to loosen them up way more Sar. When are you seeing the physical therapist again?" said Kate. "I'm not..." said Sara. "What do you mean you're not?" said Kate looking surprised. "I cancelled it... my hand's fine". Kate's mouth flew open and she stared at her in disbelief. "What the hell Sara... you need those physio sessions... do you want to play guitar again?" said Kate loudly. "Shh... they're sleeping" said Sara in a loud whisper. Kate was still out of breath and she stared out in front of her. "We need to talk about this in the morning... Go to bed now." she said. Sara got up wishing the earth would swallow her. "I'm sorry Kate... Sorry!" she mumbled and skulked away like a schoolgirl.
Tegan woke up a few times during the night. Her BP was still a bit loopy and it made her feel confused every time she woke up. Lindsey had to put her at ease time and again, reminding her where she was. This time though, she was fine, she opened her eyes and looked at Lindsey finally sleeping peacefully next to her. She felt much better than during the night and was glad to see the early morning light brake through the crack in the curtains. Their faces were almost touching. Lindsey's hand was tangled into hers. She smiled when she saw a bit of drool escaping Lindsey's mouth and drip onto the pillow. Tegan stared at her for ages. She put her free hand on Lindsey's stomach and smiled contently. She needed the toilet and after a while she couldn't hold it in anymore. She gently untangled her fingers from Lindsey's and took her leg off Lindsey's careful not to wake her. She didn't really know what to do with the monitors so she just unplugged the electrodes and removed the pulse ox meter on her finger and the nasal cannula. Before she could even get up Abby ran into the room "Tegan!" she said softly not to wake Lindsey. "I'm... I'm okay I just have a massive wee" said Tegan softly, careful not to wake Lindsey. "That's what this pause button is for Tegan... so we don't get the fright of our lives outside" said Abby. "Shit... sorry" said Tegan and pulled a face. "Come on let me help you" whispered Abby.
Lindsey heard the birds chirp but still felt so tired. She didn't sleep very much the previous night, constantly worrying about Tegan. She put her arm out to find Tegan, she patted another spot but felt nothing. Her eyes flew open in a panic and she sat up. "Tegan? Tegan!" she shouted. "Lindsey, she's just in the bathroom!" said Abby from inside the bathroom. She felt the adrenaline rush run through her and it made her dizzy as she sat up quickly. Tegan walked out of the bathroom followed by Abby. "I'm right here baby" said Tegan and plonked down on the bed next to Lindsey. "Shh go back to sleep" said Tegan as she put Lindsey's head on her chest. She had her hand on her back and started rubbing it in circular motions. "Relax Linds your heart is beating out your chest boo" said Tegan. "I just got a fright when you weren't there when I woke up" said Lindsey. Abby checked Tegan's BP. "BP is looking good Tegan!" she said. "Whoa... babies kicking" said Lindsey and sat back against the pillows. She closed her eyes and breathed deep. "Awesome! Hey kids... It's mommy... mommy Tee... Morning peanuts... Where's my beautiful bambinos!" said Tegan excitedly, seemingly feeling a lot better. She sat up on her knees talking to Lindsey's stomach not caring that she was disconnecting monitor leads in the process. She pulled up Lindsey's shirt and kissed her stomach over and over and put her head on Lindsey's stomach. Her hand was just under her breasts. She could feel her heartbeat and it was fast. Tegan's massive smile suddenly changed. "Linds... are you okay?" said Tegan and looked into Lindsey's eyes. Lindsey looked tired but nodded. "Go get Kate" said Tegan loudly to Abby who had just finished reattaching Tegan's monitors. "Lindsey... are you sure you're okay boo? Just chill babe" said Tegan still feeling baby kicks under her hands. Kate and Abby rushed back into the room "Tegan?" said Kate and took Tegan's face in her hands to examine her. "I'm fine Kate! It's Linds" said Tegan. "Get me a BP please Abby" said Kate. She opened Lindsey's eyes with her thumbs and looked into them. "I'm okay..." said Lindsey. "BPs a bit high... 150 over 110. Pulse 104" said Abby. "I'm fine I just had a bit of an adrenaline rush. I'm all good!" said Lindsey. Kate started working slower. She took Lindsey's BP again and checked the rest of her vitals. "Okay, you're alright" said Kate sounding relieved. "You scared me" said Tegan. "You scare me daily" smiled Lindsey. "You're fine Linds. We need to work on that BP though. When's your next appointment with Adison?" she asked. "A week's time I think" said Lindsey. "You two take it easy. Linds you didn't get much rest last night. It's early... go back to sleep" said Kate as she re-checked Tegan's vitals. "And you... seem to be doing a bit better than last night Tee?" said Kate and smiled.
As soon as they were alone again Tegan pulled Lindsey closer and put her arm and one leg over her. She held her tight. It was her favourite position, Lindsey called it the koala. It wasn't Lindsey's favourite because it was hot and usually pretty uncomfortable but she allowed it happy to feel Tegan's skin on hers. Lindsey looked sleepy but Tegan was wide awake. Lindsey could feel Tegan's eyes on her as always "What is it... do you want to talk?" said Lindsey opening her eyes and gave a yawn. "No... I just want to stare" smiled Tegan. Tegan lifted her hand and touched Lindsey's face. She lifted the finger with the pulse ox meter on and gently closed her eyelids with her free fingers next to it. "Sleep my angel" she whispered.
Half an hour later Tegan felt as if she couldn't lie down a minute longer. Her body was stiff and sore and she just wanted to move around a little bit. She definitely felt strong enough to get up. She gently detached herself from her sleeping partner and grabbed the giraffe soft toy she got from Sara on the chair next to the bed and wrote a note on a piece of paper. a) don't panic b) I'm in the living room c) I love you. She propped up the note onto the giraffe's lap and pressed pause on the monitors and unplugged them. She walked out of the room pushing her IV stand. She stopped in the hallway and yawned and scratched her belly with one hand and her head with the other. When she opened her eyes after the yawn Abby was standing in front of her. "Oh hey... it's the heat" said Tegan chuckling at her own police joke. "Where do you think you're going?" said Abby. "I can't lie down in that bed for another minute, my body's aching... you guys are going to give me bed sores" complained Tegan. Kate was leaning against the wall looking cool as ever, "Oh for heaven's sake Abby let her into the living room. I think she deserves a bit of parole" laughed Kate.
Tegan stood on the veranda struggling with some stretches. The monitor leads were still hanging out of her tank top and it annoyed her. She casually threw them around her neck. She breathed in the cool morning air through her nose. Kate handed her a fluffy robe, "can you at least stay warm" she said and smiled. Tegan let Kate help her into the robe. She saw two large bruises on Kate's neck and gasped. "Jeez Kate what happened to your neck?" said Tegan concerned. "Nothing... it's no big deal" said Kate. "Did somebody hurt you? Who hurt you Kate I will fucking kill them" said Tegan getting worked up. "Calm down Tegan" said Kate slowly. "Who did this?" said Tegan inspecting the bruises on Kate's neck. "Sara..." whispered Kate. "I thought you just said Sara" said Tegan confused. "You heard right... she... we both fell asleep on the couch last night and she had a nightmare. I think it was about the abduction... sounded like it. I tried to wake her up, she grabbed me by the neck, obviously thinking I was her abductor and yeah ummm... well at least she snapped out of it in time" laughed Kate. "What the hell" said Tegan looking shocked. "Tegan... they had a very traumatising experience. These things happen. I can't blame her! She feels really sorry. She's just... she's traumatised" said Kate. "Fuck... she could've killed you Kate!" said Tegan sounding upset. With that Sara walked out "She's right... I could've killed you. I'm sorry... I really didn't do it on purpose. I feel like a monster" said Sara and started crying. "Sara... I'm fine! It's no big deal... You're not a monster" said Kate and stood up to hug Sara. "You're a teddy bear... Shhh" Tegan watched them hug. Kate rubbing her sister's back with her eyes closed, Sara with her face buried in Kate's chest. It suddenly hit her. Wait... What, what, what? No fucking way... I don't think they realize this but... they're falling for each other... I can't comprehend this... What about Emy? Tegan didn't know if she should laugh or slap them both against the head...
A/N: what do you guys think about this development? Should they put a stop to this now or go where their hearts lead them? Do they even realize what's happening? Review please!