Hello, lovely readers. I see you've come back. Here's another chapter for you:
xxxxxx
Dewey stepped out of the passenger side of Gale's car and began making his way toward the front door of his house. After Gale had assisted the paramedics in finding a way to get Cotton down from the motel's roof, she had insisted that they go to the hospital. Cotton didn't have any family in Woodsboro, and wasn't necessarily a very popular guy. If they didn't go to the hospital to support him, it was quite possible no one would. They also each wanted to know if Randy was doing okay.
But first, they needed to get dressed in something dry. It had been hours since Dewey had jumped into the pool to save Gale from drowning, and they had been soaked and freezing ever since. Just as soon as they were finally feeling like they were drying off a bit, Dewey had been knocked back into the pool, and of course Gale had followed. Now they were drenched all over again.
Sam had driven them to the park where Gale had left her car. They needed to have their own transportation back again. Dewey's police car was actually found driven off the road a short distance from the motel, but it was considered evidence now, since the killer had driven it there. Gale had driven them back to Dewey's house, and would drive them to the hospital as soon as they were dressed.
Dewey made his way up the steps and unlocked the door, gesturing for Gale to go inside first. He always tried his best to be polite to Gale. He still couldn't believe someone like her even gave him the time of day. Every moment he was with her, so long as she wasn't offending him with her insensitivity, he felt like he had won the lottery. Sometimes he even when she was being insensitive. He just loved her so much, flaws included.
"I guess I'm going to be wearing more of your clothes again," Gale sighed as she walked through his front door and stood in the hall, "I packed so many cute outfits, and all for nothing. I always end up wearing some old t-shirt that doesn't even fit me."
Dewey smiled at her as she pouted, "you look even cuter in my clothes," he grinned. He loved seeing her in his favorite shirts.
He saw that Gale smiled as well. She enjoyed being dressed professionally, in heals, mini skirts, blazers, and all that sort of stuff, but she had to appreciate wearing something comfortable for once, whether she admitted it or not.
"I don't know if I have any shoes that are gonna fit you," he noted as he made his way into his bedroom. Gale followed behind him. He still wasn't sure why she hadn't been wearing shoes when he arrived at the motel, "where are your shoes, anyway?"
"I had taken them off in my room. I heard that noise and planned on just going outside for a second. Then I got locked out and things turned pretty serious from there," Gale explained.
"Well, I could let you wear some of my tennis shoes, but I think they're going to be a few sizes too big," Dewey shrugged as he began going through his dresser and looking for something for them to wear. He chose a white t-shirt for himself, and a grey one for Gale. She looked good in grey. Then he looked for some pants, "do you want sweat pants? Or jeans? Pajama pants?"
"I'm not wearing your jeans, Dewey," Gale raised her eyebrows at him, "I'd look ridiculous."
Dewey laughed, "I think you'd look cute," he countered. Of course, to him, she looked beautiful in anything.
"Dewey," Gale spoke from behind him, "Do you have a first aid kit of any kind? The bandage on my arm is soaked. I should probably change it."
"Why didn't you have the paramedic look at it?" Dewey frowned as he turned toward her.
Gale shrugged, "they had more important things to do."
"Follow me," he instructed as he made his way toward the bathroom and began rummaging through the cabinet over the sink, "go ahead and sit down and I'll help you with this," he offered as he found a first aid kit which he hadn't ever used up until now. He took a bandage and a roll of gauze out of the kit and turned toward Gale, who had sat down on the edge of the bathtub.
Dewey paused as Gale pulled her shirt up over her head and tossed it in the hamper, "I might throw my bra and underwear in your dryer for a minute before we head to the hospital. I doubt you have any bras for me to borrow," she commented with an arched eyebrow.
Dewey almost wanted to stop himself from looking at her. He wasn't sure why he was always so nervous around the reporter. She was certainly not shy around him. He breathed in a calming breath and reached for the gauze wrapped around Gale's arm, untangling it and looking at the injury underneath.
"It looks a little better than yesterday," Gale commented, "like it's healing, anyway. Hopefully it doesn't leave a scar."
"Does it hurt?" Dewey frowned, "I could get you some aspirin or something."
"It's fine, Dewey," Gale smiled up at him as he replaced the bandage and wrapped gauze carefully around her arm, "thank you."
Dewey nodded and let his eyes briefly wander over her exposed skin. He frowned when he noticed bruises up and down her arms, and that frown persisted as he examined her further. Up until now, everything had been so hectic that he hadn't really had a chance to assess her injuries. She had finger-shaped bruises around her neck and a bruise forming on her cheek as well.
Gale furrowed her eyebrows as she must have noticed the concern on his face, "what's wrong?" she wondered.
Dewey reached up and gently brushed his fingertips over the bruise under her eye, "I'm sorry he hurt you," he frowned.
Gale pouted and he could see tears welling up in her eyes, "I'm sorry he hurt you too," she reached toward his forehead and lightly touched the bandage one of the paramedics back at the motel had put over the cut he had there from when Xavier had hit him.
At that point, Gale looked so vulnerable. Dewey shifted his gaze from her wet eyes down to her pouting lips, "may I kiss you, Gale?" he asked as he looked back up into her eyes.
The reporter's pout immediately formed into a small smile as she nodded.
Dewey put his hands gently on her waist and leaned down until his lips met hers. He kissed her slowly and moved one hand up until it rested on her back. He could feel that he material of her bra was indeed still wet. Her skin was smooth and cool and it felt like goosebumps were rising on up on her flesh. He wasn't sure if that was from the chill air or if she was enjoying his kiss. Either way, he probably needed to get her to put on something dry before she got sick. As much as he would have liked to kiss her forever, he finally drew back. She looked much happier now as she smiled up at him.
"Thank you for being so forgiving," Gale spoke as she wrapped her arms around him, "I know I'm not always easy to get along with. I've got a temper sometimes, and it's not always easy for me to step back and evaluate things from anyone else's viewpoint."
Dewey wrapped his arms securely around her as well, resting his chin on top of her hair and holding her close, "there's nothing you could do that I wouldn't forgive," Dewey began, "but you've done nothing wrong. This was a hectic, trying time for all of us. Everyone said or did things that they didn't really mean."
"I should have seen it coming. Xavier was much too calm. I should have known he was planning something. No one is that tolerant of me. Not even you put up with that much. You'll at least say something when you think I'm being insensitive," Gale explained.
"You couldn't have known," Dewey frowned. Although he himself felt awfully guilty for having left Gale alone with a man who tried to kill her. Dewey had foolishly put a lot of trust in a man he didn't even know. He had trusted Xavier to keep the person Dewey cared about most in the whole world safe, and Dewey didn't even know him, "I'm sorry I didn't stay with you like we'd promised. I sent you off with the killer without even knowing I was doing it. If he had killed you, I would have never forgiven myself... But he did hurt you, and I feel so bad about that. I told you to stay with him. I thought he would keep you safe. I had no idea he would try to kill you. I knew I should trust no one, but I didn't listen to my own instincts."
He couldn't help but feel an awful feeling in the pit of his stomach when he considered how much time Gale had spent with the killer. No wonder the murderer always seemed so fixated on or around Gale. He was watching her every move. He was angry at her for reporting on and playing the 911 call because his masked voice and part of his motive showed up there and became known to the entire world. It was a big piece of evidence he hadn't counted on anyone ever hearing. And then at the police station, maybe he hadn't killed her just so he could work with her on the news a little more before becoming the 'soul survivor' he so desperately wanted to be. Maybe like Gale had suggested before, he really did want to see her suffer first.
Xavier had had so many opportunities to kill Gale. More than Dewey could even count. She was staying in the room right next to him, in a motel with hardly any people around. Dewey couldn't say what he would have done if Gale had died. He loved her so much. Although he was no stranger to death, he wasn't sure if he could take another loss as huge as the death of Gale would have been. Losing Tatum was excruciating. He couldn't handle something like that again.
"Everything's okay now," Gale spoke in a soft voice, bringing Dewey out of his troubling thoughts.
"Yeah, it is," Dewey agreed as he wrapped his arms more snugly around her. He supposed there was no use dwelling on who had made poor choices and who had unknowingly trusted the wrong people at the worst times. There was no way anyone could have known that Xavier was the murderer. Gale certainly didn't know. She never would have gone off with him alone, and Dewey certainly wouldn't have advised her to. This whole thing was no one's fault but Xavier's.
Feeling guilty was simply not reasonable. That didn't mean those dreadful 'what-if' feelings were just going to vanish out of Dewey's mind. The anxiousness he felt in knowing that Gale had unknowingly spent so much time with the killer over the past few days was probably going to stay with him for a while. But what mattered most was that she was okay. This was all over, and Gale was alright. He couldn't ask for much more than that.
xxxxxx
This chapter isn't really too important plot-wise, but I thought I'd keep it in for those of you who are fans of Dewey and Gale, since they have a cute little moment in it. I love them so much.
Please review. Only one chapter left before this story is finally finished...