Chapter 88
Kate got back to Tegan's seat and saw that she was looking slightly nauseous. Come with me Tegan, there's an actual room with a bed just back there. I think it would be best if you lie down flat for a while so we can ice this properly" said Kate softly. Tegan nodded and got up. "Stay here Linds..." she said. "No sweetie I'm coming with you" said Lindsey looking confused. "Please... Just stay here... Relax... I could do with a bit of alone time. I have some thinking to do" said Tegan and smiled. She kissed Lindsey on the lips. Lindsey looked confused. Kate didn't speak as she sat Tegan down on the bed. Tegan lay back against the pillows with difficulty and Kate gently pulled her shirt up. She put her stethoscope in her ears. "I thought we're just icing it..." said Tegan softly. "I just want to have a listen to your lungs and make sure everything's okay Teabag. I know... I'm paranoid" said Kate. She moved the cold stethoscope head around Tegan's chest and had a serious expression on her face. "Deep breath in... and out... in..." she said. She didn't say a word further and simply took Tegan's BP. She uncapped the anti-inflammatory gel and softly smeared a thick layer onto Tegan's ribcage. Tegan put her arm over her eyes and swallowed hard. "Are you okay Tee... am I hurting you?" asked Kate. Tegan just shook her head – arm still over her eyes. Her facial expression showed pain though, emotional not physical. Kate felt Tegan's chest start to sporadically contract under her hand as she started crying but tried her best to stifle it. "Shhh... everything's fine Tegan" whispered Kate as she put an ice pack on Tegan's ribs. "What's wrong... you're really upset..." said Kate. Tegan finally cave and took her arm away from her eyes. "Do you want to talk about it?" asked Kate. Tegan just shook her head fast. "Okay... Just breathe normally and try and take a nap... traveling can be exhausting.. you've had a busy morning so far" said Kate. "Hey Tee... She'll be back to her old self soon... just give her time... By the way... I know this was her... and I feel like kicking her ass for hurting you but..." Kate trailed off. "It's not her fault... I made her really angry... I asked for it... she didn't mean to do it" said Tegan crying. Kate snorted "You know what you sound like Tee... an abused wife... so stop making excuses for Sara... And I know you've got a really thin skin and you're sensitive... and you take things personal." said Kate. "I do not!" said Tegan loudly "Oh yeah... then why were you crying just now" said Kate with a sad look on her face. Tegan stayed quiet for a few seconds biting her bottom lip "Because it hurts okay" she said and looked away. Kate sighed. Those two pain pills will kick in soon. "I mean... this... hurts... my heart hurts... " said Tegan. Kate jumped and put her fingers in Tegan's neck. "My metaphorical heart Doctor... when she does these things..." said Tegan. She pushed Kate's hand away and actually laughed and rolled her eyes. "Don't scare me like that when we're 40,000 feet in the air Quin" laughed Kate and shook her head. "Try and get some rest and don't over-think this. I hope you know this has nothing to do with you... It doesn't... It's Sara's issues... you just happened to be the person in the firing line." said Kate and opened the door. Tegan shrugged "I guess...". "Get some rest!" repeated Kate. "I'm fine I don't need to rest" said Tegan. Kate softly bumped her forehead against the door frame in frustration. "Well... I don't know if you've noticed but your old friend Ptosis has come to say hi... and you know what that means" said Kate looking at Tegan's one droopy eyelid. "He's such a fucking tattle tale that Ptosis..." giggled Tegan. "You're tired... and emotional... so... you know what I'm sayin'... get some rest it's going to be and exciting holiday... and you don't want that jerk Ptosis on every photo" smiled Kate.
Sara woke up halfway through the flight and noticed that Tegan wasn't in her seat. She assumed she was in the bathroom but after a few minutes she started feeling on edge. She got up and wandered around. Kate came out of the bathroom. "Where's Tegan?" asked Sara. "She's... resting" said Kate tentatively. "Where?" asked Sara. "Why?" asked Kate standing her ground. Her arms were crossed protectively over her chest. "I want to see her please. I need to talk to her..." said Sara. "I don't think that's a good idea Sara... I just got her calm and she needs to be resting now" said Kate. "I... I won't wake her... please let me go to her" asked Sara. Lindsey got up and walked to Sara. "Sara, give her some time to rest please" she asked. "What... what do you mean... why are you all so protective of her suddenly?" asked Sara sounding scared. "She's hurt her ribs again... and I think you know how that happened. Anyway... she wants to be alone" said Lindsey. "Alone my ass!" said Sara and walked to find Tegan. "Sara... you leave her alone!" said Lindsey loudly. "Hey... hey... it's okay Linds... let them talk it out" said Kate and led Lindsey back to her seat with her arm around her shoulder. "It she fucking touches Tegan again I'll break her in half" said Lindsey sounding emotional. "Linds... Sara will never purposefully hurt Tegan you know that" said Erin. "I know Tegan and I know she's lying about that fall... Sara may not hurt her on purpose but she's in such a state right now I don't know what she'll get up to..." said Lindsey.
"Tegan... are you awake?" asked Sara softly. Tegan turned her face away and sighed. "NO..." she said annoyed. "Tegan... please can we talk" said Sara. "Sara I don't really think there's much more to talk about" said Tegan sounding dejected. "She moved to sit up more and the ice pack slid from under her shirt. Sara's eyes darted to it. "O fuck... why do you have an ice pack" she said suddenly looking pale as she realized that she actually hurt Tegan. Tegan didn't answer but the corners of her mouth turned down and her chin started quivering. A plump tear rolled slowly down her cheek and Sara turned around and ran to the bathroom. She vomited into the toilet a few times, coughed and got up to rinse her mouth. She put her head on her forearm and leaned on the basin. "What the fuck did you do you monster..." she whispered. Sara felt a hand on her back but didn't move. "Sara... it's okay" whispered Tegan. She took Sara's hand and led her back to the little room. "I can't believe I hurt you... I'm sorry Tegan" cried Sara. "Hey it's okay... I'm fine it's nothing" said Tegan softly. "Lie down Tee... let's get this ice back on your ribs" said Sara. She pulled up Tegan's shirt and started crying when she saw the bruise. "I'm so fucked up Tegan... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." cried Sara with her eyes closed.
A/N: Let's hope they work this out and have a good holiday! I know this story is getting super long! I should consider making it less detailed I guess but that's hard! Please remember to review - as always! Thanks for sticking with this story.