Okay then, this is a new chapter for a long forgotten fic ... okay Im sorry I know, Im a jerk, kept yall hanging there. Like I replied to someone in a PM... i hmmm was having some difficulties... on my side. Life got in the way... exams... preparations for stuff... German degree... i dunno i just... felt lost for some time. Im back though and I promise to finish this. Writing is my passion, its who I am. And even though I havent managed to do much lately i still got my writing. Love y'all... please lemme know what u think. Bye for now, new chapter soon to come. and oh... chapter is not betared so any mistakes are mine.
(LK)
(Small recap)
.''Hey Kelly?''
The other woman stopped what she was doing, sensing that her friends words were serious. ''What is it?''
''What's wrong with Bri?''
''Jet-lag.'' She lied.
''Oh-Kay...''
The both looked up simultaneously when they heard a distinct crying.
Raphael
Sabrina was there in two long strides, kneeling, seeing the small bundle, right in front of her room door. At first she had thought the cry to be that of a small animal but now she realised that the form was human.
''Oh my God...'' she muttered and lifted the bundle in her arms. ''Oh my God...''
Kelly was right behind her when she got to her feet. ''What is that?!'' she asked, whispering intensely.
''A baby...'' Sabrina said, dozed with surprise.
''A what ?!'' Kelly's eyes narrowed as she looked closer.
''A baby...!'' Sabrina repeated, moving her hands so Kelly could see. ''Small human, ya know?'' she joked.
''That's crazy!''
Sabrina shushed her and opened the door to her room, slipping carefully inside. She locked behind them, but Kris was already knocking on the door. She opened again and let her in. ''What is this? Some sort of party? Why is everybody coming to my room?'' Sabrina mumbled under her breath.
Kelly pointed at her. ''Bri found a baby!'' she told Kris.
''Wha-?!'' The both squeezed to see inside the folded cloths. The other woman pushed them away. ''Hey, hey back off you two!'' She sat down on the bed. ''What are we gonna do with that now?!''
Kelly threw her hands in the air. ''I don't know! Go around asking,' 'scuse me miss... did you by any chance lose a baby?' ''
Kris shrugged. ''If someone left it then... she probably won't admit it.''
Bri nodded. ''Look how carefully the sheet is wrapped around him...''
''How do you know it's 'him' ?'' Kelly asked.
''Do I need to explain to you?'' She cleared her throat. ''If someone wanted to get rid of him... they wouldn't have been so careful wrapping him...'' She looked up to see if her friends were paying attention. ''This is someone who knows me... and this someone might be in great danger... maybe a student... ''
Kris sighed. ''A student?''
''Well, don't forget, you're younger than most students here.'' She looked down at the baby again, it had stopped crying. She sighed. '' They're all over twenty one... it was one of the school's demands, only adults.'' The baby sighed in response. And so did Kris. Yet again. It is the day of the Great Sigh Kelly thought, but did not sigh. Everyone was tired, and the heat wasn't making things easier. She chewed the inside of her cheek in thought.
''What are we going to do with ... him then?''
Sabrina lifted her eyebrows. ''I vote we keep him.''
''Since when are we voting?'' Kris asked.
''Since now.'' Bri replied and raised her hand.
Kelly's eyes narrowed. In her mind the baby right now wasn't good news. They should try find the mother quickly, instead of pretending to be parents. ''Kris?''
''Hey Kell, don't look at me, I love babies.'' She raised her hand comically.
''It's not that I don't love babies... '' Sabrina fluttered her eyelids in mock pleading. ''Okay, okay you win, you can keep him... for now!'' She said. ''But I'm not changing diapers. Not ever!'' Sabrina laughed and held the infant closer against her chest.
''He's asleep.'' she said softly.
''How old can he be?'' Kris asked, curious, since she hadn't seen anybody holding a baby, or even hear a baby crying during the couple of days she was in the building.
Sabrina lifted the sheet a bit and inspected the birth cord mark. ''About ten inches...four pounds...mmm. Less than a week.''
''How do you know?''
''I wanted to be a doctor...'' she laughed. ''Then I decided...the hell with it... and I went to the academy.''
''You never mentioned that...''
''Well I never complain that I'm the only one you two send to the morgue!''
''No wonder...'' Kris extended her arms to Sabrina. ''May I?''
''Sure...'' Sabrina carefully handed her the baby and walked to Kelly's side. She leaned a bit closer when Kris wasn't looking and whispered in her ear. ''You okay?''
''Mmm...''
''Ok...''
A baby left at a doorstep, Sabrina thought. Kelly was an orphan. She wondered if this brought some unpleasant memories back. Maybe this is why Kelly was so defensive and negative about keeping him. After all she loved kids. She put her hand on her friends shoulder but didn't say anything. It would be of no use. Kelly knew that she could talk to her any time, but she had to make her own choices. None of them talked as they watched Kris, holding the infant, absolutely fascinated.
Sabrina found the time to lay the small pink rats she found in a cotton hanky. Kelly hovered over her and it made her smile. ''We need to get to the kitchen, get some milk, then find some store with baby milk...'' She turned to Kris. ''I have to meet someone here, maybe I will manage to get some more information about what's happening in this place...So it would be best if you and Kelly went to buy some stuff before it gets dark.''
The blond girl nodded and gave her the baby back. Sabrina lifted her eyebrows at the sleeping form. ''And since you don't have a name... I shall name you...''
''Why do you get to name him?!'' Kelly protested. She suddenly felt left out.
''Raphael.'' She moved her hand in a better position to support his head. ''Agreed?'' She asked the other two.
The other two nodded. Raphael... angel of healing...''Then little Raphael... has a home here for now... until we find his mum...'' Her eyes locked with Kelly's. ''And we will.'' I promise... she mouthed when Kris wasn't looking. She sat down, waiting for her meeting with Alice and the door closed behind the two angels. Suddenly she was alone, and there was not sound in the room. She peeked at her watch. A quarter before the arranged time. She held the small body against her chest, and leaned back in the armchair. She was suddenly very tired. The past days seemed to be moving in fast forward. She wanted a drink, but she had stopped that too. One drink led to another and the drinks led to a shot of heroine. Kelly had neglected to look at the rest of the drawers for the other bags Sabrina kept. A trickle of sweat slipped from her back down her neck. The AC fan roared, like a sleeping dragon from the upper corner. The bathroom tap was loose and small drops escaped it, hitting the sink and vanishing. Tap. Tap. Tap. Sabrina tapped her foot nervously on the floor, in response at first, and then in tempo, just so she wouldn't hear the water drops. The baby made a cooing sound that softened her nerves a bit. Soon she resumed to her normal breathing. She realised she was still in her pajamas when someone knocked on the door.
''Crap..!'' She bolted up, still holding Raphael. She opened the door and greeted Alice with an awkward smile. ''Erum...'' She grinned again. ''I cannot explain about that now... so please ignore this little situation...and um...'' She laughed with herself. ''The improper outfit...!''
Hope followed behind the smaller girl. Sabrina's eyes opened wide. ''Ooooh no, you back off! I haven't done anything!'' Hope's features softened. ''I come here in peace.'' She winked. ''For now.''
She showed them the bed and they sat down. She took her place back in the armchair. ''I want you two to enlighten me about what the hell is going on in this place.'' She looked up to Hope. ''Who did this to Alice?'' Hope shook her head.
''I don't know miss Reyes.'' She replied seriously.
''Sabrina... Call me Sabrina. My name is Sabrina Duncan.'' She met looks of surprise. She took a wallet out of her purse, handing them her ID and business card, along with her PI license. ''What will be said in here, is not to be repeated to anybody else. My name is Sabrina Duncan and I'm a private investigator. Me and my colleagues were contacted by Hazels parents.''
''Detectives?!'' Hope thumbed through the papers.
''Yes.'' Sabrina wondered if she was doing the right thing. Still, if she wanted the girls to trust her and open up, she had to trust them too. If she was wrong about this she might had just blown their cover, and she might had just put both of her friends in grave danger. She nibbled her lower lip, wondering if this repeated nibbling would leave a mark any time soon. Crickets filled the long silence with their out of rhythm song for a while. Then it was just that, the sound of absolute silence, just their breathing, both sides withdrawn, worried what the other side has to say, wondering whether to trust or not, fearing what will and will not be said, counting words, rearranging phrases, wondering, wondering, wondering...