Chapter 198
The next day Tegan was staring at the black tar in front of her as she drove the first stretch of the long road back home. She felt relaxed and well rested after a relatively chilled day and a lovely dinner with Sonia, Bruce and Stephen. She slept well for the second night in a row and the dark circles under her eyes were slowly starting to fade. Her ankle still hurt but Sonia wrapped it up really well before they left and it seemed to help a bit. She decided to take the first couple of hours driving so she could put her foot up in the back seat a few hours later. The twins drove in virtual silence for the first few hours. That silence was never uncomfortable though.
Half an hour later Sara spoke. "You still awake there?" she smiled.
"Very awake" said Tegan.
"Mind if I phone Kate?" asked Sara.
"Of course not" said Tegan and looked out at the mountains surrounding them.
The phone rang and rang. "No answer" mumbled Sara.
"Maybe she's in surgery?" said Tegan.
"Maybe" said Sara and tried again. Kate answered after 3 rings.
"Sara… Hi, is everything okay?" asked Kate sounding flustered.
"Hi babe, yeah everything's fine. Are you okay?" said Sara.
"Um… Sar I'm kind of in the middle of an emergency. Can I call you back?" said Kate.
"Oh I'm so sorry, of course sweetie. Sorry" said Sara.
"I'll call you back okay. Things are just, really... on edge here" said Kate. Sara couldn't place the sound for a few seconds. Then it hit her. Kate was scared.
"Katy… Amelia okay?" said Sara sounding nervous.
"Yes Sar, Amelia's absolutely fine hon" said Kate. Sara heard alarms go off in the background and people shouting orders.
"Shit…. I need to go… bye Sar" said Kate and hung up.
Sara looked at the phone in her hand.
"Bye" she said as an afterthought.
"Everything okay?" asked Tegan.
"I don't know… thinks so. She couldn't talk, had an emergency" said Sara.
"God I can't imagine having that job… it must be so stressful" said Tegan.
"Hmmm" mumbled Sara and stared out of the window.
"I don't want to leave her when we go on tour. She needs me. This is going to be hell" said Sara and started crying.
"Hey don't worry Sar… she'll come visit. And we'll go home often for breaks, and you guys can talk on the phone all the time" said Tegan.
"I don't want to talk on the phone I want to hold her when she's hurting…. I want to kiss her. I want to be able to talk to her all the time" cried Sara.
"Is there no way she can take some time off?" asked Tegan.
"Yeah like a week or two maybe… but not months" said Sara.
"Jeez… this is pretty much an impossible situation" mumbled Tegan.
Sara gave a shuddering sigh. "Pretty much"
"So when are you two getting married?" asked Tegan a couple of minutes later.
"Don't know… when we have time to get around to it" said Sara.
"Just… elope or something" said Tegan.
"We're like married anyway… does it really matter?" said Sara.
"No… and yes" smiled Tegan.
"What do you mean?" said Sara.
"I can only speak for myself Sara but I really think that verbalising that commitment in front of our family and friends just… took our relationship to another level" said Tegan.
"Yeah but don't forget, you had a life threatening event happen. She almost lost you Tee" said Sara.
"I guess… yeah, that did bring us closer together. That… and the pregnancy and…" Tegan trailed off.
"You guys were pretty damn loved up even before your illness Tee" laughed Sara.
Tegan just laughed.
"Anyway… I think you're right. I think we should just do it. Just invite a few close friends over and do it. Because God knows she's my everything. I want to make it official" smiled Sara.
"I'm happy for you Sara. You guys deserve to be happy" said Tegan.
"Thank you" said Sara.
"Can we stop for lunch? I have to wee and I'm so hungry I can eat the ass of a low flying duck" said Tegan.
Sara shook her head laughing. "For the love of ducks, let's stop"
Sara looked distant during lunch. "You okay there Sar?" asked Tegan and took a massive bite from her cheeseburger.
"Yeah… just worried about Kate" said Sara.
"Pone her?" said Tegan.
"No she's busy… with… like really important things. Saving lives and all… She said she'll phone me back" said Sara gazing at her coffee cup.
"She'll be fine Sara. She's good that way" said Tegan.
Sara just pursed her lips and raised her eyebrows.
"I'm so fucking psyched for this tour" said Tegan trying to change the subject. She leaned back onto the red leather of the booth.
"Oh yeah? That came kind of suddenly" said Sara.
"Okay, I'm not really but I'm trying to pump myself up" laughed Tegan and shoved a French fry into her mouth.
"I mean… I am and I'm not, if that makes sense" said Tegan.
"Sure it does… I feel the same way" said Sara.
"We should work on the set list in the car. I'm past pleasing the crowd. Well… I mean I'll please them as much as I can but I really, really want to play what I like this time. You know… some of the more rock-ish stuff" said Tegan.
"Oh you're so still into pleasing them…. I know you. But sure Tee, you can play whatever you want, just happy you're gonna be playing" said Sara.
"I miss… that emotional release you feel on stage…. That… purging you feel when you just lose yourself in the music and when you close your eyes… you kind of forgot where you were" said Tegan.
"I hear you. Ready to hit the road?" said Sara.
"Let's roll… we have families to get to" said Tegan and got up with difficulty.
A couple of hours later Kate finally phoned Sara back after numerous worried text messages from her.
"Baby what's wrong? You sound tired… and upset" said Sara.
"Ugh… that's because I am" said Kate
"Talk to me… I'm here for you" said Sara.
Kate stayed quiet for a minute before bursting out into tears.
"Katy… baby?" said Sara sounding petrified.
"It's nothing Sar… I'm sorry hon…. I'm sorry I just… I don't know" said Kate
"Kate? What don't you know?" asked Sara.
"Sara… I don't think I can save her… she's fading Sar" said Kate.
"Who's fading babes?" said Sara.
"Jenny, the little girl" said Kate.
"Oh honey… I'm so sorry" said Sara.
"I can't save her Sara… she's… she's suffering and I'm doing everything I can to make her comfortable but I can't… I can't. I'm racking my brain tying to come up with a plan but..." Kate sobbed.
"Shhh baby… it's okay….. it's okay" said Sara, now also in tears.
"Sorry, the dam walls just broke. You're the only one I can talk to about this" said Kate.
"Do you need me to come home right away… Baby I'll get on a plane and be there tonight" said Sara.
"No it's fine, take your time. I'm sorry Sara but I'm probably going to be in surgery when you get home tomorrow. If…. If she lasts this long. This is very much a last ditch effort, it's like a 14 hour surgery babe … Am's going to have to stay with Lindsey or Erin, my parents are flying out tonight…. I'm sorry…. Please don't be mad" said Kate.
"I'm not mad Kate. Do what you need to do. You're going to be okay…. It's all going to be okay… Whatever happens... Just do your best. I love you" said Sara.
"I love you so much" sniffed Kate.
"Hang in there baby… We're going to do our best to get there as soon as possible. We're minimising loo breaks" laughed Sara.
"No Sara, listen to me… I want you guys to take regular breaks… please… It's a really long drive, you need to take breaks. Walk around, stretch your legs… eat something. Promise me you're going to take breaks and sleep over tonight somewhere…. I don't want you driving in the dark… like at all please" said Kate sounding bossy.
"Okay Kate! We'll stop for the night before it gets dark" said Sara
"Promise me" said Kate.
"I promise baby… God I wish I was there to… I don't know… give you a massage, or just hold you and tell you it's going to be okay" said Sara.
"Or give me a stress fuck" said Kate seriously.
"Or that…" Sara smiled sadly.
"I guess I have to go…. I miss you" said Kate softly.
"Get some rest Kate… you sound horrible" said Sara.
"Yeah right" snorted Kate.
"Baby… I think you should check with HR about your leave day status… I think you need a break" said Sara.
"Yes Sar… I do need a break but… listen I don't want to discuss this on the phone. We'll talk when you get home" said Kate.
"Yeah, if you ever go home again" said Sara.
"Can we not start with this again" said Kate sounding close to tears.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to pick a fight" said Sara.
Kate just let out a deep, frustrated breath.
"I love you, I love you, I love you" said Sara softly.
"Oh boy… you're on psych duty this week" said Tegan when Sara hung up.
Sara shot her a dirty look.
"Sorry couldn't help overhearing… I'm like right here" said Tegan.
Sara just sighed.
"I'm sorry we're putting you through so much Sara" said Tegan sincerely.
"It's just a phase… this too shall pass" said Sara and closed her eyes.
Sara pulled into a town just more than half way to LA. Tegan had searched for a decent looking hotel on her iPad and they headed straight for it.
"Should we check in and then maybe go have a drink and dinner somewhere?" asked Tegan.
"Yeah… fuck, I'm exhausted after all that time in a car" said Sara.
"I know right, my back is killin' me" complained Tegan.
"How's your ankle?" asked Sara.
"Sore… swollen" mumbled Tegan.
"We sound like two old ladies" laughed Sara.
"Uh huh… kinda feel like one right now" grunted Tegan.
Tegan and Sara had a nice dinner at a quiet but quaint little restaurant in town. They paid the bill and headed for the car.
"It's still so early Sar, let's go for a drink" said Tegan.
"Really? You want to?" said Sara, surprised to hear Tegan finally not want to hide away in a bedroom somewhere.
"Yeah sure… What else are we going to do at the hotel?" said Tegan
"Sleep?" said Sara.
"Oh come on Grandma… we'll have plenty of time to sleep, promise" said Tegan.
"Okay, alright" said Sara and down the street to the bar.
"Double Jack Daniel's on the rocks please" said Tegan at the bar and looked at Sara with a question.
"I'll have a red wine thanks" said Sara.
"Oh you're so sophisticated these days" joked Tegan.
"Stuff off… I've always drunk red wine" said Sara.
"Who said anything about wine?" laughed Tegan.
As soon as Tegan took the last sip of her drink another appeared in front of her and another glass of wine in front of Sara. Tegan frowned.
"We didn't order these?" she said.
"Courtesy of the gentlemen at the end of the bar" said the bartender.
"Oh great" said Sara and rolled her eyes.
"Told them they're barking up the wrong tree" winked the female bartender.
"It's that obvious?" asked Tegan.
"No not really. I just… I… well I'm... on your team" said the bartender shrugging.
"Oh" said Tegan.
"And let's face it, fan or not, there aren't a lot of lesbians in the world that don't know who you two are" smiled the waitress.
Tegan laughed and shook her head. "Please thank the gentlemen for us but make it clear we're not interested"
They were halfway through their drinks having quite an animated discussion about which international countries they want to tour when the two guys walked up to them. They both looked a bit scruffy.
"Ladies" the one said.
"Hello sir. Listen, I'm going to stop you right there. Thank you so much for the drinks but we're really not interested. We're taken" said Sara.
"Really? You're not wearing a ring?" said the one rubbing his beard.
"That doesn't mean she's not taken… or that she's interested" said Tegan turning back to bar.
"We just want to talk" said the one.
"We're kind of in the middle of a private conversation though so… sorry" said Sara.
"Can we buy you another drink?" asked the one.
"Dude… we're gay…. Okay?" said Tegan annoyed.
The one snorted. "That sounds hot… works for me" he laughed.
"Just leave us alone please" said Sara.
"Ladies are these guys bothering you?" asked a young guy sitting with his friend a few seats down.
"Why don't you mind your own business pretty boy" said the creepy guy.
"I think the ladies made it clear that they're not interested" said the young guy's friend.
"You two want a piece of me?" said the creepy guy's friend.
"Guys we don't want to fight... Just leave the ladies be... There's plenty of other girls here that would love to talk to you" said the guy.
The guys turned around and walked away mumbling something.
"Thank you" said Sara sincerely.
"No problem" said the young guy and turned back to his friend.
"Sorry about that" said the bartender.
"No problem… it happens" laughed Tegan.
The girls had another drink, non-alcoholic this time, before they paid the bill and got up to leave. As they got to the door Tegan stopped Sara. "I have to go to the loo" said Tegan.
"Right now? Can't you keep it in till we get to the hotel?" asked Sara.
"No… because it takes me hours to get anywhere on these crutches" complained Tegan.
"Alright already…. Well, off you go. I'll go get the car so long" said Sara waving Tegan away.
Sara stepped into the cool evening air and started walking towards the car parked about 100 meters from there. She felt around her jean's pockets for her keys. The street was virtually empty except for a few parked cars in front of the restaurant and bar.
"Well hello sweet cheeks" she heard a husky voice say.
She turned around and saw one of their earlier suitors step out of an alleyway. Sara swallowed hard and mumbled "fuck".
A/N: Not a very exciting chapter but I promise the next one will be full of action! I'll try my best to have it up for you tomorrow.