Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater!

Trust No-One

Chapter 6:

After the door shut, leaving only Maka, Soul, Mortensen, and Holland, Mortensen pulled up a stool, seating himself. Holland leaned back against the wall. Soul held Maka's hand tightly. Maka didn't make eye contact with any of them, instead choosing to stare down at her lap. After all that had happened, the last thing she wanted was to be in a room full of men. Intruding, impudent men, no less—well, minus Soul. She was thankful he was there, or she might have let the boiling nervousness in her stomach explode into a full-blown panic attack. But she knew Soul would protect her from anything.

A tense silence enveloped the room for about a minute, and then finally Mortensen spoke.

"So," he said, Maka and Soul both tensing, "Miss Albarn…"

"Call me Maka," she said abruptly.

"Don't like your last name, either?"

"I don't like the man it's associated with," she grumbled. Mortensen nodded slowly, but didn't question her further on the matter.

"So are you feeling okay? You fainted quite suddenly."

"Fine," she answered cautiously. If murder mystery shows taught her anything, it was that cops could be very slippery when it came to interrogation, and she was on guard; she didn't know where he was taking this conversation, but she knew she wouldn't like it.

"That's good. You don't feel nauseous or anything?"

Soul wrinkled his brow. Shouldn't the doctor be asking her this? Or was he preparing for a kind of figurative sneak attack? Maka shook her head.

"Fine, I told you."

"Good…so you were at a dance the other night, yes?"

She nodded again.

"Your partner took you?"

Another nod.

"Who was there?"

"I-I…I don't remember."

"You don't remember…?" Mortensen didn't sound like he believed her. Maka took a deep breath.

"No. I don't remember anything after getting there."

"Absolutely nothing?"

"Nothing until I woke up."

"You haven't tried to remember anything?"

"I have. I always draw a blank."

Mortensen sat back a little bit. "Hm…that's going to put a dent in the investigation, isn't it…?"

"Um, Maka…" Holland piped up nervously, "were you drinking at that party?"

She looked at him incredulously. "Hell no!"

"No drugs?"

"What kind of girl do you take me for?!"

"Hey, hey, I just needed to ask. Usually memory impairment of that magnitude is drug-induced."

"All due respect, you guys," Soul said, "but don't you think that'd be a good reason to let the docs do their tests or whatever? I watch enough murder mystery TV to know that some of those drugs metabolize really fast."

"You shouldn't believe everything you see on TV," Mortensen commented.

"So you're saying you're just going to completely rule out the rape drug or something because it's on TV?"

At the same time Mortensen said "No," Holland scoffed lightly, "Manufacture and distribution of Rohypnol is strictly illegal."

"Ever heard of an outlaw, Holland?" Mortensen asked. "It's difficult to get, but it's still possible, even though it's illegal."

Holland shut up.

"So if you were on Rohypnol," Mortensen mused, "you really wouldn't remember anything…I guess we can't rule it out yet."

"Even if someone did slip something in her drink," Holland argued, "wouldn't it alter the taste?"

"Rohypnol is colorless and tasteless," Maka told him.

"How do you know that?" Soul asked her.

"Your television and a brief mention of it in science class."

There was, again, tense silence. Holland spoke up to argue again, but Mortensen held up a hand.

"Shut up, Holland."

He did.

"So, you're telling me you remember absolutely nothing."

Maka started to nod, but Soul gave her a look. She pursed her lips, looking back down at her lap.

"Well…not exactly nothing…I did…have a flashback."

Mortensen leaned forward and Holland straightened up a little bit. Maka took a few deep breaths, trying to even out her shaky breathing. She laced her fingers through Soul's and tightened her grip just a bit for comfort. Soul kept his eyes on her, silently coaxing her to go on. Not looking at any of them, she started out as a soft murmur.

"I-I don't…know if it'll be of any use…"

"Just go on. Anything you know can be of use to the investigation."

Blinking back tears, she recounted what she had told Soul and Black*Star. Mortensen leaned back in the stool again, mulling over the information. Then, finally, he nodded and stood up, beckoning Holland to his side.

"Thank you for your cooperation, Maka, Soul," he muttered, giving each of them an acknowledging nod. As he and Holland walked out, Maka suddenly burst into tears. Soul wrapped his arms protectively around her, stroking her hair and again whispering soothingly.

"S-Soul…" she whimpered.

"Yes, Maka?"

"I'm scared…"

"Scared of what?"

"I-I don't know…but I know I don't like that guy…"

"Which one?" Soul asked, a small, amused smile playing on his lips.

"Both. I hate them both."

Soul chuckled once. "Me too, Maka. Me too."

That night, after a lot of persuasion and fighting with the hospital staff, Soul was allowed to take Maka home. After all the tests were over with, Dr. Ryan had told them he wanted Maka to stay overnight again, but Maka was not up for that. She had argued stubbornly, Soul fighting on her side, until they finally let her leave. Dr. Ryan told him as soon as they had results, they'd let Soul know, and that they wanted to see Maka every week for a checkup. Presently, Maka was clicking her seatbelt in place in Soul's car, him climbing in on the driver's side. When he got in, he looked over at her.

"You okay?"

She gave him a small smile and nodded. Soul smiled back and started the engine, backing out of the parking lot. When they got back on the road, Soul decided to try to make conversation.

"So…" he started awkwardly, "is it my turn to make dinner tonight?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. Was I really out for an entire day?"

Soul nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, you were."

Maka pursed her lips together again. "So yeah, I think that would make it your turn again. Unless you want me to take mine…"

"No! No, no, that's alright…I mean…you've already been through a lot, and…"

"That's the point," she said, "I just…I really just want to get on with my life as normal. Or, as normal as it can be, now that the police are involved." She shot him a venomous look, which he returned with a scowl.

"Hey, I was only doing what was best for you. I've told you that already."

She sighed. "I know, Soul…" she placed her hand on the armrest between them, Soul reaching over to put his own over it. She laced her fingers between his and they smiled at each other.

"Well, then, if normal's what you want," he laughed, "then I guess you're cooking tonight."

She laughed with him, "Yeah, or else dinner's gonna be far from normal!"

They made their way back to the house going back and forth in playful banter, their laughter starting to evaporate the air of anxiety and awkwardness. Maka was glad to be laughing again, glad to be back with Soul. As she looked over at him in the passenger seat, his shark-toothed grin shining like the stars above them, Maka thought of the way he held her hand, the way he'd held her and comforted her in the hospital, and found herself again if maybe she loved him. But, again, she pushed the notion to the back of her mind, reminding herself that she was just thankful to have him there, comforted by the fact that he was there, even when the worst had happened, just like he'd always promised.

The thought that the worst had yet to happen didn't even cross her mind.

A/N: Hahahaha! You have to keep reading now! I thought I'd lose you if I didn't add a cliffhanger…so there ya go! Review and stay tuned!