Ben was definitely on cloud nine. He didn't know what to expect when he had kissed Kathryn, and for a moment he had thought he'd messed up, until she kissed him back. It was better than he had dreamed; the smell of her perfume was intoxicatingly beautiful and it had only made him pull her closer to him and kiss her even better.
He wasn't even upset when her cell phone rang and they found out who it was. The second kiss had been as good as the first, and he had meant what he said. He was never going to get tired of kissing her. He loved how she hadn't said no, because now he was never going to let her go. Figuratively speaking, because he watched as she left the room and his own phone went off. Looking around for it, he found it next to his computer. It had been a text message from his father about the favor he'd called in.
Checked it out. Everything seems fine. Emailed you his papers. Call me to tell me what it's all about. Dad.
Ben grinned at the message as he started up his Mac. His father had never been one for long or complete sentences. But at least he was quick and to his word. He should have figured there was nothing wrong with Joe the Janitor; after all, Princeton had hired him.
He clicked on his father's document and waited for it to download. As he did, he started to wonder. Why would Virgil Tracy be calling, especially at this time of night? Suddenly he had an uneasy sensation and a knot formed in his stomach as he opened the file. Then he snapped into action. First he called his father as he moved around the room, grabbing clothes and stuffing them into a backpack.
"Dad, it's Ben," he said into the answering machine. "We're coming home. That man isn't Joe. Or at least the man we know as Joe isn't him. Either way, it's not the same person. Something's wrong. We'll take the train into New York City, stay at the Cornell Club then get on a plane in the morning, first thing. Call Princeton, let them know." Ben hung up the phone and went to get his computer. He frowned, looking at the man in the picture his father had sent. It was the scan of a driver's license, from New Jersey, but the man looked to be in his early sixties with white thinning hair. And he was as pale as paper. Nothing like mid-forty, dark haired and fair skinned Joe. If that was really his name, which Ben was now starting to doubt.
He had to find Kathryn. He had to grab her and get her out without arising too much suspicion from Joe. Hopefully his dad would hear the voicemail soon and call Princeton so they could arrest the guy. And to let the Cornell Club know they were going to be spending the night. The club didn't let non-alumni in unless an alumnus vouched for them. Like his parents. It would make him feel safer, knowing that faux-Joe wouldn't be able to get in, but Ben knew he wasn't going to be able to sleep until he was safely in South Carolina and on his home and farm where he knew his Katie would be safe.
He slung his backpack on and shut everything down. He hoped Kathryn was in her room, because he couldn't hear her as he opened the door to the hall. He stepped out and shut the door behind him, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness of the hall.
Ben should have seen him sooner, but it was too late when he saw the man in the corner of his eye, coming at him with something. A pain burst through his head for a split second, and then Benjamin Benedict knew no more.
Virgil and Alan arrived at the entrance of Blair Hall and immediately knew they were too late. The door to the hall was wide open, to start with. Alan walked over to the sensor that electric keys were tapped against to open the door, and immediately saw it had been tampered with. "For some reason, I feel like this is the part where we pull out our guns and walk slowly into the dark building," Alan told Virgil as they walked together slowly through the door.
"You watch too many crime shows Alan," Virgil told him. They saw the circular desk, and assumed the night guard should have been there, but they saw no one. Walking slowly towards the desk, Alan leaned over and gasped. Virgil came to his side and shook his head.
"Virgil," Alan started but stopped when Virgil shook his head.
"Don't think about it," He told Alan. "Yes, there is a dead body with a hole through his chest, but don't think it's meant for Kathryn."
"I wasn't," Alan confessed. "Until now." He looked up and down the hall, wondering how it could be so dark. Maybe the power was out, or it just seemed darker with this man's murder. The brothers walked quickly, but quietly, over the tiled floor. "Fourth door of the hall," Alan reminded Virgil as they neared what he hoped to be the dormitories. Then the floor split into two halls and the brother's looked at each other with a sigh. "You go right, I go left?" Alan grinned slightly. Virgil nodded and the brother's split up.
Alan crept slowly down his hall, an uneasy feeling in his stomach, along with guilt. If only he'd picked up the call earlier, then maybe they would have done something beforehand. Or maybe if he talked to his sister like he was supposed to, like her big brother. He felt like he'd let her down. She was his little sibling.
Alan didn't have many memories of the time before his mom died; he had just been five when the accident at the ski resort happened. Yet, one of the few he could remember, quite vividly, was the day they went to the hospital to see little Kathryn. Being five years old, he hadn't understood why everyone was so worried; he was thrilled that the baby had arrived before it was supposed to. It meant he could stop being the little one. He remembered walking down the hospital hall, with Scott (who had been ten then but still acted mature for his age) holding his hand tightly as he jumped up and down with excitement.
"Do you want to see mommy first, or your little sister?" Scott asked.
"Sister," Alan laughed. "But why isn't she with mommy? You told me you got to see me with mommy."
"Remember how Grandma told you that she was born early?" Alan nodded.
"She said that she was born little," Alan said. Scott stopped and knelt down next to him till he was looking at Alan straight in the eye.
"That's right," Scott said, trying to grin. "Well she was born just too little, so she's in a different room so she doesn't get sick. You won't be able to hold her yet so you're going to be able to look outside a big window and see her. There may be a lot of machines, but that's okay. They're keeping her safe. Do you understand?"
Alan nodded. He remembered getting to the big window and John was there with Virgil who was on his toes looking through the window. Scott had picked him up and Alan remembered being up and a little sad at the same time. "She's so small," Alan whispered, afraid to wake her up. "Is she okay? Why is there so much stuff on her?"
"They're keeping her safe remember?" Scott told him. "They're making her strong so that she doesn't have to be in there anymore."
"She's so tiny," Alan heard John whisper. "Like Alan's bear."
"She's going to be okay when the machines are gone?" Eight year old Virgil asked. "That's what Grandma said right?"
"Yeah, that's what Grandma said."
"I'll protect her," Alan said and he remembered how his brothers turned towards him. "I'm her big brother. I'll keep her safe from anything. Just like my big brothers."
Scott had chuckled and ruffled his hair. "That's right Allie. You keep Kathryn safe and we will too."
Except they hadn't. As Alan would later find out protecting her would be a much harder task than they had anticipated. But he also had to remember the victories that he witnessed Kathryn achieve. Like when she was finally strong enough to leave the ICU.
"Mommy!" Alan had cried happily and ran to her side. He leaned up on his toes to see what she was holding in her arms. It was a little baby who was sleeping and he knew it was Kathryn. But he didn't know why she wasn't behind the window anymore. "Mommy, what's wrong?" He could see the tears on his mom's face. "Why are you crying?"
"Just happy Allie," she promised him. "I'm just really happy." She scooted over in her bed and patted the space next to her. Alan, with the help of his dad, got on the bed and sat down next to her. "Do you want to hold your baby sister?" Alan's face lit up as he nodded. He knew none of his brothers had gotten to hold her yet and he wanted to be the first. His dad had told him how to hold his arms and then his mom had placed her gently on them. At first, Alan was scared he would drop her, but then when he looked down at her, he saw that she had woken up. Alan couldn't remember ever seeing her awake and he saw that her eyes were big and grey, the same color as Virgil's.
"Look Allie, she's looking up at you." His dad told him. "Kathryn must know you're her older brother."
"Hi, I'm Alan. I'm your big brother and I'm going to keep you safe."
They brought her home early October, just in time for John's ninth birthday party. And they were all really happy for three months until a tragedy happened. Alan would always remember the sadness and darkness in their family during the months that followed. His dad became really sad and started working a lot. Scott stepped up and did a lot of things his dad used to do. Grandma moved in to help with everything and Kathryn. Especially Kathryn. Alan knew, he just did, that she cried for their mom. He had been so sad that she would never get to know how great their mom was.
And the years went by and Alan found out it would be a lot harder to protect Kathryn. There were things he just couldn't protect her from, like sickness. Being born premature, Kathryn had a weak immune system and simple colds would never happen. Flu, pneumonia, severe bronchitis, chicken pox and measles landed Kathryn frequently in the hospital all before she was five years old. Alan couldn't count the times he had to spend nights outside of his house or hours he and his brothers lay awake wondering if they would get to see her in the morning.
But health was the only thing Kathryn was weak in. Even though she'd been born premature, she always kept up with kids her age. Gordon taught her how to swim at five and he teased Alan on how she learned faster than he did. Their dad teased them all when Kathryn learned to ride a bike a week after, beating Virgil's 5 year and 3 months record by two days. What she really got into, despite Grandma's protest that it was too dangerous, was gymnastics.
Alan heard a moan, which brought him out his thoughts. He looked around and found that he was in an entirely different floor than before. He figured he must have gone up the stairs without noticing much. There was a moan again and Alan looked around, pulling his phone out for light. He noticed the body on the ground and rushed towards it. Leaning down, shinning the phone light on their face.
"Ben?" he asked, recognizing the boy immediately as Kathryn's friend and as the guy who had yelled at him one day many years ago. He looked at the Ben's head and saw the trail of blood that was moving down his neck. "Ben who did this?"
"Don't know," Ben managed to get out. "From behind. Kathryn…trouble…" Alan went ice cold after hearing it. He had to find her, protect her just like he had promised. Then a loud, piercing, shriek exploded and the hall was filled with a red flashing light. Alan looked around to see the fire alarm, which was alarmingly loud, going off. Students were opening their door and filing out of their rooms. "Come on Ben, we have to get out of here." With assistance from a student, and major teamwork, Alan lifted Ben up and prayed that Virgil got to Kathryn in time.
A/N: Flashbacks are always some of my favorite things. Itty Bitty Tracys always make me happy.