Safe?

Home?

Love?

Kindness?

She wasn't sure exactly why but suddenly she was filled to overflowing with those thoughts. She wasn't even certain she understood the meanings of those words anymore. As much as she wanted to block out the people among whom she found herself, this one seemed to bring to the forefront of her thoughts only happiness, calmness, and peace.

Happiness...how long had it been since she had last felt that fleeting emotion? She truly had no idea. All she knew for certain was that she had no intention of letting go. She didn't care anymore how many people milled around her speaking in their not-quite-understandable words just as long as she could stay exactly where she was, as she was.

oOo

"It's hard to be sure until we can get her to actively work with us. Her experiences are so deeply ingrained it's just going to be a matter of waiting it out and learning for certain." Lauren moved a few steps away. "If you're certain you'll be alright..."

"Yes, Lauren. Thank you so much for everything," Bo reassured her, settling more comfortably into the couch with Kenzi. "This is the best I've felt in a long time. We'll be okay."

Lauren nodded. "If there are any changes, let me know."

"Got you on speed dial, doc." Hale quirked a small grin.

With Lauren's departure, Trick followed her up the stairs with a comment about finding something for their patient to eat that wouldn't make her sick.

"Dyson?"

He met Bo's gaze evenly.

"Back at my place...I never touched Kenzi's room. She has all of her clothes there, just the way they were when she disappeared. Maybe Tamsin could go with you and find something for her to wear. Something familiar."

Tamsin nodded. During the doctor's examination, they had removed what had passed for clothes on the young woman although it had been little more than threadbare rags and thick with grime. At the time, Tamsin had wondered if it was the same clothing she had been wearing when she was taken but after three years it was too difficult to tell.

"Of course." He rose soundlessly and Tamsin followed suit, pressing a hand to the back of Kenzi's head before she ascended the stairs.

Tamsin and Dyson were halfway to Bo's, having decided Tamsin's truck was more appropriate for their errand than Dyson's motorcycle, when he finally spoke up. Tamsin had been waiting for the questions to start and was ready.

"How did you find her? It's been so long since we heard anything that even sounded remotely like a lead. I had given up." He stared straight ahead.

Tamsin shrugged. "It was pure luck. A Fae I brought in to the Morrigan at her request tried to buy his way out of her bad graces with some information."

"The Morrigan helped?"

Tamsin snorted softly. "No, I was in the room when he started to spill the beans. It sounded like a possible lead and the Morrigan owed me a favor so she let it slip."

"Did it work the way he wanted?"

Another snort. "Last I saw, he was being drug away to the dungeons. She was probably pissed that she was put into the position of giving into that owed favor."

Dyson almost smiled.

"Here we are." She threw the truck into park and hopped down onto the gravel.

The clubhouse was quiet. Tamsin had never been able to get used to the silence since Kenzi had disappeared on them. It just seemed too unnatural when she had grown accustomed to the noise that always seemed to follow Kenzi around no matter where she was or how quiet she tried to be. She climbed the stairs, pushing aside the veil of memories that threatened to suffocate her.

Bo had been right, Kenzi's room looked like the young woman had just stepped out – there wasn't even any dust. Somehow Tamsin was relatively sure Bo had been in this space on at least a weekly basis for three years now - it certainly didn't dust itself. She pulled open drawers until she located what she was looking for, shoving clothes into a knapsack she found. Shaking her head sadly, she closed the bag. "This stuff isn't even going to fit her anymore..."

"We'll fatten her up."

"Oh yeah, wolfie? Planning on baking her into a pie?" Kenzi's old nickname for Dyson slipped easily from her tongue and she even found herself biting back a smile.

Dyson grinned, sliding down to sit on the edge of the bed. "I gave up on ever finding her. How can she forgive me for that?"

Tamsin drug in a shuddering breath. "The same way she'll forgive me for hoping she was dead. I knew she would never leave on her own without leaving some kind of note or explanation. I knew that she had to have been abducted. I knew how she would likely be treated. I hoped she had died early on because I didn't want her to have to suffer for long." She shook her head. "Now I just hope she'll recover. Maybe she'll be able to forgive me, maybe not. But even if she doesn't, at least I know she's safe and being taken care of."

"You're right."

"Besides, if our Kenzi's still in there, you know she'll forgive us both. I don't think the girl knows how to hold a grudge against anyone who isn't a blood relative." She shouldered the bag and turned to leave the room. "We should probably get a change of clothes for Bo too. I don't think she'll be leaving the Dal anytime soon."

oOo

It seemed quieter and she wanted to figure out why. There weren't so many voices speaking and the air seemed not as heavy as it had before. Moving her head only as much as she needed to in order to peek out, she cracked open one eye again.

She was still Narnia, which was okay by her, but most of the people who had persisted in invading her line of sight earlier were missing, which was awesome. The fewer the people, the better so far as she was concerned. Maybe since there were so few of them remaining, it would be okay to focus on them at least for a second or two. The one she had attached herself to, she couldn't see from her position so she let her focus fall on the one who sat nearby.

It was a man, that worried her a bit although he didn't seem to be threatening. Actually he seemed just a little bit familiar in a vague way. Maybe she'd seen him from one of the tours the factory sometimes conducted to show off their cheap workforce. Or maybe she'd seen him at one of the parties she'd been rented for... She pulled her thoughts back up from the deep pit they had begun to sink into. Don't wanna think about that, not now, not ever.

She heard words being spoken, saw the man lift his head and allowed him to make eye-contact just for a moment before letting her gaze slip away. She knew the words had come from the person who held her, could feel the vibration against her cheek, but it was the man who said the one word that managed to struggle through the cotton in her head.

"Kenzi?"

She didn't know why that word would mean anything to her, or why he seemed to expect it to mean anything to her. It seemed, upon further reflection, she'd heard that word spoken a lot since waking up in Narnia. Kenzi. Yep, nada.

There was noise coming from overhead. It sounded like people walking, not too many people from what she could tell, and so she allowed her eye to stay open. She even shifted a little more so that both eyes could be open. She felt the person she had attached herself to shift to accommodate her. She still had her arms wrapped solidly around the person's waist and could feel their arms squeeze just a little around her shoulders.

They were back, slowly coming into her field of vision. She shrunk back just a little but not enough that she couldn't see clearly. Three people, one woman and two men. One of the men had a bowl of something in his hands that smelled suspiciously like food...

oOo

"Colcannon," Trick said simply, setting the bowl down on an end table. "My mother used to make it to ward of the winter's chill. I checked with Lauren, she said it should be alright. It's just potatoes and cabbage. I thought that Kenzi might like it."

"I think she'd like anything these days. No offense to your cooking, Trick." Tamsin dropped the knapsack she'd carried in next to the couch.

Trick smiled. "None taken."

"Maybe..." Bo cast a meaningful look at the bag next to the couch.

"We'll be upstairs," Hale offered, following Dyson and Trick back up the stairs. "I think I could use a drink, barkeep."

"I know I could," Dyson agreed.

With all the males absent, Tamsin knelt down and was surprised to see two bright blue eyes watching her. "Hey, Kenz," she murmured. "Getting curious, huh?"

"She's been getting a little braver since you left," Bo admitted with a smile. "They couldn't destroy that insatiable curiosity of yours, could they, Kenz?" She rubbed her hands across the blanket that was draped over her back.

Tamsin smiled and took a deep breath. "Look, I was here when Lauren looked her over." She shook her head slowly. "It's not going to be easy to see for me and I'm prepared..."

Bo nodded. "If Kenzi survived it, I can stand seeing the results."

"Alright," Tamsin sighed, cocking her head an pulling out a handful of soft fabric from the bag. "We picked up some clean clothes for you too."

"Thanks."

It took close to an hour, slowly maneuvering Kenzi enough so that they could replace the blanket with real clothes and trying no to scare her too much. It was an agonizing experience, not just for Tamsin but also for Bo. Tamsin watched the horror dawn in Bo's eyes as they very slowly worked to help Kenzi but Bo succeeded in remaining calm for her friend despite the anger that grew by leaps and bounds behind her expression. They both spoke to Kenzi throughout the process, offering words of praise and encouragement to cover their own sickening despair.

When they were done, Tamsin sat back on her heels and watched Kenzi snuggle back into Bo's side. "I need a drink." She was halfway up the stairs when Bo called her back.

"What's up?"

"Tamsin, I can never repay you. I don't even know how to thank you. Hale told me how you found her, where you got the information."

Gratitude never sat well with her, especially when it was directed at her. It made her uneasy. "Just make sure she's safe now that we've got her back." She grinned. "How about you? Want me to bring you back something stronger than a glass of water."

"Please," all of Bo's stress seemed to pour out into the single word.

"No problem."

to be continued...