Chapter 33 – The Story, Part 2

Monica and I worked together to figure out our escape. She's a very smart girl. Since Pearson was her father, she knew him better than I did. We talked about everything he did when he came in once a week to bring our groceries.

He was all about power. That was why he had beaten his wife. She made more money than him and it made him feel weak. He'd had to show that he was the 'man' of the family. And the more she tried to stand up to him, the more he beat her. That last time, she had threatened to leave him (though I don't understand why she didn't before that), He had turned red with rage and couldn't stop beating her until he killed her.

So, did we use his rage and need for power or did we go in the other direction? Normally, I would have gotten him riled up and then dealt with him, but I had to face my physical limitations. Lack of food and sunlight had diminished my strength. Also, I had tried standing up to him already and he had used my weakness to beat me up. So I was still recovering from wounds inflicted.

My health having made our decision for us, we started our plan. When he arrived with the groceries the next time, I smiled at him. Believe me, it was the hardest smile I've ever had to give. He looked at my smile, suspicious of my motives.

I said to him, in a hesitant way, "I think you know how much I care about Monica. I'm really happy that you allowed me to get to know her. I just wanted to thank you for that. And to let you know that I already feel like she's my daughter. I wish she really could be. Maybe someday we could start being a real family."

I didn't expect it to work right away. He laughed, not believing anything I was saying. But I just smiled at him and returned to my bed.

I repeated my performance the next week, trying to seem even more sincere. I even put my hand on his arm. I complimented him on his intelligence in setting this whole thing up and told him how impressed I was that he had outsmarted me. I kept this up in the next few weeks, adding things like I was happy he had relieved me of my 'hard' life as a cop, not to mention my unhappy marriage.

(She squeezed House's hand and smiled at him.)

It took awhile, but he began to believe me. I started to convince him that to be a family, we needed to be together more. So he started to come to us more often. Monica and I talked to him and treated him like the head of the family. He began to relax. But I knew he was smart and we had to handle this carefully.

He always had his gun with him. My objective was to get the gun away. Then we would have control. After we had started to gain his trust, I started to greet him with a hug, as did Monica. He was hesitant at first, but then he began to hug back. Finally he hugged me back and tried to kiss me, and I knew we were ready.

The next time he came, I approached him and he grabbed me and kissed me. While he was doing it, I reached into his waistband where he kept the gun. I pulled it out and drew away from him, gun in hand. He was furious. He kicked me and the gun flew across the room. Instead of going for it, he reached for me. He punched me and knocked me down. Then he got on top of me and starting strangling me. He was much stronger than I was. My police training wasn't helping me due to my weakened health. I was sure he was going to kill me. I said a silent goodbye to Greg and Emily.

Then I heard a gunshot. Pearson fell on top of me. I was confused. Suddenly I remembered – Monica! I pushed him off of me and looked up. Monica was standing there with the gun in her hand, looking horrified. I got up as quickly as I could and took the gun from her. She started to cry.

"It's okay," I told her. "You just saved my life. It's okay."

"I just killed my dad." She sobbed.

"I know you did, honey. But he stopped being your dad a long time ago. A loving dad would never have put you through this."

"He was going to kill you. I couldn't let him kill you!"

"You're very brave. You saved my life." I wanted to continue to reassure her, but we needed to get out of there. I wasn't sure if he was dead and I didn't want to get close enough to find out. I didn't think I had the strength to fight him if he wasn't and I couldn't depend on this frightened girl to shoot him again if necessary.

I took her hand and dragged her out of the room. I shut the door behind us, not knowing if he had a way to open it. We hurried up the stairs and found the front door. We went outside and I breathed fresh air for the first time in a long, long time.

Pearson's car was sitting outside, but there were no keys in it. I ran back into the house. They weren't laying around anywhere. He must have put them in his pocket. I didn't want to go down and check, so I went back outside and told her we'd have to do it on foot.

The house was really isolated, not much more than a cabin really, somewhere in the pine barrens. I had no clue where. He had taken our shoes, so we had to do it barefoot. I figured away from the cabin was better than near it, so we just started walking.

I don't know how long we walked. It was daylight when we started and it was dark when I said we could stop and take a break. We could have been going in circles for all I knew. I'm a city girl, I don't know anything about finding your way in the woods. I found us a spot that was covered by bushes so that we would be hidden if by some chance Pearson was alive and coming after us. Then we slept for a few hours, holding on to each other for warmth.

When I woke up, the sun was just starting to come up. I roused Monica and we started off again. This time I tried to take better notice of my surroundings. I saw that the trees seemed to be getting sparser at some points, but were thicker at others. I headed towards the sparser trees and sure enough, we found the highway! I still kept us back near the trees in case Pearson was pursuing, but I kept watching the highway.

Finally, I saw a police car coming down the road. I ran out, waving my arms until he stopped. It turned out to be a state police trooper. I told him our story. I could tell he didn't quite believe us, but two women wandering the interstate barefoot in October was suspicious enough for him to take us in to his barracks to investigate.

I repeated the story there to the trooper's supervisor. He immediately called the Princeton PD to verify. Of course, they told him that Kate Martin was dead, but they verified what I had told him about the house exploding. Their response made him think that he should take my picture and send it to them. Once Princeton PD saw it, they knew it was me and told him. The state police offered to take me back to Princeton. Monica was under Social Services care and they would have to find out where she belonged before she was taken anywhere.

They gave me some sneakers to wear and put me into a car to take me home. They asked if I was hungry. When I said I was, the trooper driving pulled into a McDonalds and bought me an Egg McMuffin and orange juice. I don't think I've ever eaten anything as wonderful in my life! It wasn't peanut butter!

I begged them to bring me to PPTH. I told them my husband and daughter would be there and I needed to see him before anything else. They agreed and called my department to tell them that's where we were going.

When we got to the hospital, they tried to go through official channels to get me in, but I was too excited. I ran for the elevator, they barely made it in with me. When I got off, I took off down the hall with those poor troopers following and trying to hold me back. Nothing could stop me. I knew that Greg was near by and I had to get to him.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

By the end of the narrative, House was sitting on the arm of the chair that Kate was in with his arm around her shoulders. He squeezed them now. Although he had heard her tell the police the story and she had also revealed most of it to him as well, it was still daunting to listen to it now. All he could think of was how happy he was that she was alive and returned to him.

As Kate's story ended, all their guests sat still, amazed at what she had been through and that she had survived it. They now understood her weight loss and apparent weakness in what had been a strong, confident woman. Everyone hoped that she would return to that woman.

A/N: Okay, it's not over, but I promise no more "deaths" or breakups. There will be drama for the House family before it all ends, but I think they can handle it. The end is in sight, but still some more to go. Thanks for the great reviews!