Chapter Nineteen: Terri

-Present Day, August 27-

I had get dried off and gotten dressed again, before I left my bathroom and came face-to-face with Walter for the first time since the conference. I froze slightly, watching as he placed my food tray down on my bedside table. I went over to my bed and sat down, but it seemed that Walter wasn't going to leave. I ate the food, even though I wasn't feeling hungry.

"The GCSU has determined that the girl in question is indeed Terri Nash." The fork dropped onto the plate loudly. Walter didn't even bat an eye, but it seemed that he wasn't finished. "It turns out that she was being held by an order known as the Rozen Kreuz."

"Isn't that the group that gives the AX Agency a hard time?" Walter nodded, and I felt a little elated. "Then she was on their Plain this entire time."

"I know you want to go and see her, but I need you to understand that the poor girl is traumatized by the events that have happened during the course of her abduction. She is also suffering from depression caused by being whisked away from her boyfriend."

I stopped eating, feeling nervous. Richard was Terri's knight in shining armor, and he was also her shield from being victimized. Without him, she would've been a basket case; depression wouldn't have even started to cover what she was feeling.

"How was she physically?" Walter closed his eyes, and I felt an underlying fear. They wouldn't have -!

"She has a lot of bruising on her back and abdomen, results of being beaten down by several members of the order for not giving the 'proper respects' that they claimed to have deserved. She claims to have been lucky to have had an uninterested master, who was not interested in having a female captive." I released the breath that I was holding in. Walter relaxed slightly and nodded at the plate.

"Now then, if you finish everything on your plate, I'll see if you can visit her."

I was wearing my blue sweater and jeans when Walter led me down the hall of the second floor where Officer Scott was sitting. She radioed my arrival and Hawkens was the one who opened the door, and the thing that blew me away was that he was smiling from ear to ear. He allowed Walter and me in and my gaze focussed on Terri the second I saw her. I was dimly aware that Sir Integra, Alucard, Seras, and Captain Bernadotte were in the room along with Father Nightroad, Sister Blanchett, and a blond woman wearing red and gold that I had never met.

This woman smiled warmly and introduced herself as Lady Caterina, the woman who runs the AX Agency. I gave my name willingly and I was allowed to sit beside Terri. Her peridot eyes grew watery when she recognized me. She gripped me in a tight hold and cried. Captain Bernadotte seemed unsure what to do and was growing uncomfortable with every passing moment.

"Oh Terri." I let my hand brush through her hair, remembering how she reacted when someone was victimizing her at school. As long as I brushed her hair like this and let her cry it out, she'd talk to me later. It had been like that since kindergarten, because it was something that calmed me down when my dad had done it to me. Terri's parents weren't the type to cuddle and hug, and they were always too busy at work to focus on her while she was bullied at school. They had thought that she was lying about being bullied to get their attention.

"They said you died." I froze up, confused. "When those people from the mall collected us, they told us that you fell in the river and drowned. They claimed to have won the game and that we were their prizes."

"Terri, I wouldn't be here now, holding you, if I had died. I did fall in the river, but I don't think I drowned. I'm too stubborn for that." Hawkens raised an eyebrow, and I motioned a quick 'shut up' before focusing back on Terri. "I'm happy that you're safe now."

"So am I; the people here kept on asking me a lot of questions, I thought they'd never end." She hiccupped and I patted her back gently. She seemed embarrassed with her outburst, realizing that they were still in the room. Captain Bernadotte seemed relieved that her crying jag was over.

"I'd be a little bit wary around people who I just met, oh wait, this is me we're talking about." Terri laughed as everyone turned their attention to me. Alucard shook his head, while Seras seemed confused.

"Well, as amusing as this is, we now need to discuss the current changed of events." Hawkens stood in the center of the room drawing all attention to him. Wow, this guy couldn't be any more of a drama queen, could he?

A/N: Oh no, what is Hawkens going to do now? Any guesses on what he's plan is now? Rate and Review.