P A S S A G E
Sequel to Privilege
A/N: Be warned: another dark chapter. But I'm happy with the way it came out; I think it conveys a lot of the emotion that's been building up – happy and sad. Some good moments. Plus, the story is finally getting somewhere. So this chapter is kind of a big one. Please let me know what you think!
C h a p t e r E i g h t
Silence
. - . - . - .
"You know, Carolynn, I am not supposed to be here."
Eyes on the ceiling.
"I had to get my ER buddy to smuggle me in here."
Still no response.
Danny sat down in the same plastic chair he had occupied just about an hour ago. For a moment, he simply stared at the still, silent girl on the bed. He could see the bulge of her belly under the white hospital sheets. Technically, she should still have over a month and a half to go, but the doctors had warned him that given her age and weight, there was a high chance of an early delivery.
Danny sighed and leaned back in his chair. Purposefully, he fixed his eyes on the rough, gray-white ceiling as well and thought a minute before he began,
"I grew up in a crap neighborhood. Gang shootings, drug dealing, you name it. Lived in some shabby flat with my mom, my dad, my brother. Girl next door was Gabriella. Gabby. You know, all the guys love her, all the girls hate her.
"I had my own girl, but Gabby and I were friends. Grew up together. We used to hang out behind the corner deli, drinking, smoking, whatever, but mostly just talking and watching the trash blow down the street.
"One day she didn't show, so I went to see what was up. Found her curled on the floor in her room, holding her stomach and crying. She told me to go away… I went away.
"Next day her mother stumbled down the stairs and told us she was dead."
Carolynn let out a small, barely audible breath. Danny kept his eyes determinedly on the ceiling.
"Gabby hung herself in her room. We found out later she was pregnant. Never did learn who the father was, or why she was so upset. She was just gone."
There was no sound in the room but Danny's voice and Carolynn's shallow breathing.
"Her mom was in shock. Wandered out of the flat a week or so later and never came back. Her dad drank heavier and heavier, until one day he woke up and realized that he had nothing left and smashed everything in reach. Last I saw him he was a bitter, angry old man."
Danny paused and took a deep breath. He steeled himself, and finally turned to look at the girl on the bed. She wouldn't meet his eyes.
"Carolynn, you have a father who loves you very much. You have a best friend who never meant to hurt you." Pause. "You have me, who sits here talking to the ceiling on the off chance that something will get through to you. And most of all, you have a small, innocent child, who's already survived so much, who already loves you, and who needs you to pull through this." Another pause, then softly, fiercely, "I walked away from Gabby. You can ignore me all you want, Carolynn, but I don't make the same mistake twice. I'm not walking away this time. Get used to it."
There was a small sound from the bed. Danny let out his breath and closed his eyes in relief. Thank God, he thought. Thank God.
Carolynn was crying.
. - . - . - .
After Sam left, Dina poured herself another mug of coffee and leaned against the counter for a moment. She looked around her small, quiet kitchen with the crayon box on the table and the sippy cups next to the sink and thought how much better – how much brighter – her life had gotten since Kelly had come to live with her.
Dina smiled slightly, and slipped into Kelly's room. One of the changes most dear to her was the chance to watch her daughter sleep. Kelly's light brown hair was feathered across her pillow, and her mouth was slightly open. The rising and falling of her chest was a peaceful, unbroken rhythm, and Dina thought that all the pain, all the hardship of life before, was worth it just for this one moment.
There was a knock on the door to the apartment.
Dina got up slowly and carefully closed Kelly's bedroom door behind her, so as not to wake her daughter. She peeked through the spy hole.
A very blonde man stood on the other side of the door. As she watched, he pulled a badge out of his jacket pocket and waved it in front of the spy hole impatiently.
"Ms. Kingston?" His voice was low and hurried. "I work with Samantha Spade. Something's happened to her. Open the door, I've got to talk to you."
. - . - . - .
Martin balled up his empty take-out bag and aimed for the garbage can next to the counter. "Bet you it goes in clean."
Sam grinned. "Bet you it falls short."
"You're on." He leaned back and made a big show of lining up his throw.
He overshot the basket by a foot.
Sam laughed and Martin sheepishly got up to retrieve the bag.
Sam raised an eyebrow. "You lost."
"So did you!" He threw the bag at her.
She caught it and chucked it back. He dodged, and the bag landed neatly in the trash.
"Okay," Martin shook his head, "totally unfair. You weren't even trying."
"And you were?"
"Well sort of."
"Well you're lying."
"Ah, well."
Just then the phone rang. Sam made no move to answer it, and Martin glanced at her.
"Screening?"
"You see? I actually listen to you and Jack."
"Glad to here all my breath hasn't been wasted."
They waited. The tone sounded. Silence. Then a slow scratching noise began, as if something was being scraped across the mouthpiece on the other end. It sped up, getting gradually louder and higher until it filled the room with screeching that went on and on. Sam and Martin stared.
The tone sounded again, and the grating noise was suddenly cut off, plunging the room back into silence.
"Sam?"
Sam shook her head, trying to clear the ringing in her ears.
"Any idea what that was?"
She shrugged. "Probably a prank call. There's a bunch of kids in the building." She was, of course, trying to convince herself as well as Martin.
"Odd coincidence."
She didn't have to ask what he meant. "Paranoia."
"Maybe. Maybe not."
Sam looked down. Martin sighed and sat in the chair next to hers.
"I'm sorry. I know this is difficult. It's just that I'm worried, and you don't even seem to - "
"What do you want me to say?"
"What?"
"What do you want me to say, Martin? That suddenly there are times I want to draw down on any guy who bumps me in the street again? Times I can't make myself lay down on the couch again? That half a year later, and after over a month without nightmares, the dreams are suddenly back, and worse?"
"Sam – "
"Well it's true – but it's normal. Richard is out, Martin. I get that. And now I have to deal with it."
"And now we have to deal with it."
Sam hesitated. "Funny, you never struck me as the soap opera type."
"I'm being serious." He tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, and she closed her eyes at the familiar gesture. "You are the most independent woman I know. But you have to let me help you."
Without opening her eyes, she murmured, "So I'm a little worried."
He put his hand up to stroke her cheek. "That's okay, I'm scared too."
Her eyes flickered open and she smiled faintly. "I didn't say that."
"No. You never do."
"No." She leaned forward.
Their lips met in a soft, sweet kiss –
Rrrrring!
They pulled apart as the phone rang again. Sam grinned and turned to lean against Martin while they waited.
Silence, and then the same shrill shrieking filled the room again. Sam stiffened and sat up.
But this time the noise ended quickly, and more silence followed. Then –
"Samantha." The voice was a harsh whisper.
Sam flinched slightly, and Martin stood up.
"… Dina says hi."
. - . - . - .
A/N: Dun dun duuunn!