The daydream was too good good to let slip away. She didn't know how but she'd finally managed to make her fantasies feel real too but she wasn't going to question it too stringently. She felt as if she were bundled up in thick cotton batting, a thick fluffy cloud of warmth – she couldn't remember the last time she had felt any kind of warmth without it being directly linked to pain and suffering. Because of this, she refused to open her eyes lest reality come charging in. With a contented sigh she snuggled deeper into the comforting warmth.

There were sounds around her – hushed voices, the rustle of cloth, the light chink of china and glass – but she fought hard to remain hidden from them deep in her comfy cocoon. There was something almost familiar about the sounds but she refused to allow her thoughts to dwell on it. She worried that recognition would only bring more terror and pain.

She felt a sharp needle prick against her upper arm but refused to react in any way - she had learned to stifle any reaction because reacting appropriately only seemed to delight her captors. She did note that whoever it was that had her now was really lacking in the torture technique department. That little needle jab was absolutely pleasant compared to the life of torment she had been experiencing in the factory/hell hole she'd been confined to. Slowly, she could feel her thoughts slipping sideways and pulling her even more deeply into her dreams and she was quite content to allow them to do so. Her newest owners didn't really need her to be awake for their lame-ass attempt at hurting her anyway. Sleep sounded so good, even better than food.

oOo

Tamsin stood at Kenzi's feet and watched Lauren closely, not knowing anything else she could do to protect Kenzi now that she'd been rescued. The doctor drew a shuddering breath and expelled it in a soft sigh. "Oh Kenzi."

Lauren kept her fingers wrapped loosely around Kenzi's wrist when she glanced up at Tamsin. "I'd rather her pulse be stronger but at least it's steady – steadier than mine is right now even." She smiled wryly and paused a beat, brushing her knuckles carefully against Kenzi's cheek. "We need to know exactly what we're dealing with so this exam is going to need to be thorough. The sedative I gave her, I...I don't want to add to her pain so I..."

"I get it, doc." They were all walking on egg shells.

Lauren took another shuddering breath. "Did she say anything about what's been done to her? Did she give you any clue?"

Tamsin started shaking her head before Lauren had even finished forming the first question and she scrubbed at her face with shaking hands to steady herself.

"Did she say who took her? Where she's been? Why they took her?" Lauren wouldn't give up.

Tamsin shook her head sharply. "No. She hasn't said anything – at all. Not one sound."

The doctor's forehead wrinkled but before she could ask another question, Hale spoke up.

"According to the guard she was real chatty when they first got her at the factory. You know how Kenzi can be with that attitude of hers... He said there were discussions among the directors about cutting out her tongue or severing her vocal cords but that, in the end, they decided it would be more...fun to just torture her into silence." Hale's voice was too even, too unemotional. "He said she doesn't even scream anymore, no matter how badly you hurt her. He offered to give us a demonstration but we turned him down."

Lauren was even paler than usual when she turned her attention back to her patient.

Tamsin stood as a silent sentry throughout the hours long exam. Hale remained standing close at hand right up until Lauren warned him that the examination was going to have to delve into more intimate locations. Tamsin watched him leave, the barely reigned in fury in the siren's eyes was a very palpable thing – she almost felt sorry for whoever it was that had snatched Kenzi. Almost. Hale might typically be easy going but whoever was responsible for Kenzi's condition would be suffering tremendously once they figured out who it was. Tamsin wanted nothing so much as to help Hale extract revenge.

Throughout the examination Lauren had taken notes – pages and pages of copious, detailed, horrific notes. With each page she filled, Tamsin's stomach dropped another inch lower in her gut. Just when she thought it was all nearly over, Lauren would discover another injury that would cause her frown to deepen.

Finally finished, Lauren set aside her tablet and closed up her medical bag before slumping back into the armchair she'd been perched on. Rubbing her eyes and combing her fingers through her hair, she rolled her head from side to side to relieve at least some of her tension. With a sigh, she rolled forward in the chair, gently patted Kenzi's hand, and stood up.

Tamsin had watched closely as Lauren alternately examined, cleansed, and bandaged the younger woman. She saw for herself the overlapping layers of scarring that seemed to cover every square inch of Kenzi's flesh. She saw the seeping, raw mass of tissue that passed for the soles of her feet, shuddering at the memory of Kenzi walking the length of that rain-soaked alley. She saw the tremors that shook Lauren's usually steady hands as more and more damage was uncovered.

Tamsin couldn't blame the doctor for being so affected by it – even after witnessing first hand the carnage of a thousand battles, Tamsin herself was having trouble accepting all that had happened to Kenzi. The young woman was far from perfect, but no one deserved even a small measure of the treatment she had endured for three very long years. It made Tamsin almost sad that she had survived it at all – death would likely have been a blessing.

"Has Bo been contacted yet?"

Tamsin shrugged. "I dunno. I've been here with you the whole time. Trick probably called her, don't you think? I wonder why she isn't here yet though..."

Lauren moved toward the stairs, throwing a look back over her shoulder at both Tamsin and Kenzi. "Tamsin?"

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying right here until she wakes up." She dropped down into the armchair Lauren had vacated, sprawling back against the upholstery to emphasize her meaning.

"Thanks." A sad smile flitted across the doctor's lips. "I'm going to go find Trick... and Hale. They should know at least some of what I've learned." Lauren stopped partway up the staircase. "She's going to make it, Tamsin. She's too stubborn not to."

Tamsin nodded mutely and settled in to wait. She wasn't planning on leaving Kenzi's side for a very long while. She wondered whether Lauren was trying to convince her of Kenzi's chances or trying to convince herself.

Kenzi was still sleeping some time later when Tamsin heard the way station's main door slam open and footsteps race across the floor overhead. Tamsin smirked and squeezed Kenzi's hand. "It's about time she got here," she murmured. "I don't really understand this bond between the two of you but I envy it. I've never had a friend who would give up as much as Bo has these last three years when she was trying to find you. Bo may have that sexy succubus vibe working for her but it's you who draws that kind of undying loyalty. You're special, Kenzi." She huffed a soft laugh. "Hell, you've even got my loyalty and I've never been loyal to anyone but myself."

Almost as soon as the ruckus began upstairs, Lauren and Hale descended the stairs into Trick's living space, their faces masks of seriousness. Tamsin could hear Trick's distinctive footsteps overhead as he moved to intercept his granddaughter and likely try to calm her a little before showing her where Kenzi lay recuperating. Lauren and Hale positioned themselves between the couch where Kenzi still slept and the staircase, creating a very physical barrier between her and the rest of the world. Tamsin wondered if it was a conscious maneuver or just instinctive. Whichever it was didn't make any difference to Tamsin, all that mattered was that Kenzi was safe and protected.

Waiting for Bo to make her appearance, Tamsin reached out and caught a lock of Kenzi's hair between her fingers. She had spent her time waiting at Kenzi's side working on righting the mess her hair and nails had become. She had gently eased the snarls and tangles from the strands and washed away years of grime and filth. She had even managed to scrounge up a bowl from Trick's shelves and a towel from a stack of clean laundry. Now Kenzi's hair lay clean, dry, combed and rippling across the pillow she reclined against. A nail file had been procured from Lauren's purse and what finger and toe nails Kenzi still had intact were trimmed and smoothed.

She could hear their voices – Trick, Bo, and Dyson – but couldn't make out more than a few words of what was said. Lauren, who was positioned nearer the stairs, seemed to understand more and allowed her stance to relax slightly. Surely if the doc was relaxing a bit it was a good sign.

Tamsin gently took Kenzi's hand between hers and massaged her chilled fingers. She had spent a good deal of time since Lauren's examination was finished trying to warm Kenzi up. Every blanket and quilt Trick possessed had been piled on top of the patient until Tamsin worried the weight would be too much for her to handle. Now it seemed to only be her fingers and toes that remained cool to the touch. Tamsin leaned closer to Kenzi – she didn't care that Bo was Kenzi's best friend, there was no force in either the Fae or human worlds that was going to oust her from her spot.

The atmosphere in the room shifted dramatically as footsteps quickly descended the stairs. Tamsin watched them hurry to close the distance to Kenzi but as soon as they came within view of the couch, both Bo and Dyson froze. Yeah, Tamsin could understand that reaction too. All anyone seemed to want to do was envelop Kenzi in a bone-crushing hug and never let her go but once they got a good look at her they were all terrified of accidentally scaring or hurting her anymore than she already had been. She looked so frail and broken – she was so frail and broken.

"Oh god, no. No, no, no..." the litany of denial fell from Bo's lips even as she dropped down on the other side of Kenzi from Tamsin. "Kenzi..." Ever so carefully, she took up Kenzi's free hand, gently pressing the fingers to her own cheek and closing her eyes against the tears that began to pool in them.

"Doc sedated her so she wouldn't have to be conscious during the exam. She hasn't woken back up yet." Tamsin continued to stroke Kenzi's other hand.

Slowly opening her eyes, Bo looked away from her newly recovered friend for only a second. "Is she...?"

Lauren rescued Tamsin from having to answer. "She's beyond bad. She's in a horrific state, actually. I'm really not sure how she managed to survive for so long. I'd have to say that just the fact that she's still alive is a testament to her strength and will power. Bo, with everything that was done to her, everything she had to endure, she should be dead a dozen times over. Recovery is not going to be easy for her by any stretch of the imagination but it'll be a walk in the park compared to her last three years." Lauren squeezed Bo's shoulder. "She's going to need all the support we can give her and I promise that I'll help her every step of the way but she's going to need professional psychotherapy as well as physical therapy. There's no way she'll get through this without a lot of help - both friends and professionals. I know a few psychiatrists who might be able to help her."

Bo's eyes never left Kenzi's face. "Thank you."

"Of course. I'm going to go upstairs and make a few phone calls."

"She's a lot tougher than she looks," Dyson commented, breaking his self-imposed silence. "I don't know why but it surprises me every time. The foot soup, the Norn, the Garuda... She's going to pull through this too. No one stops Kenzi except Kenzi – how often has she proven that to us all?"

Tamsin silently agreed with his assessment. Kenzi was tiny and petite in appearance but she was fierce and tough as nails underneath that alabaster skin. She just hoped Kenzi's mind hadn't been irreparably harmed. She prayed to anyone who would listen that they had not lost Kenzi completely.

to be continued...