Chapter 9 – O Conspiracy!

"Hey, fairytale princess," Evan greeted Cat with a smile. "How are we feeling today?" He had deliberately waited to go in to visit her until after her father and Heather left. He wasn't sure he was ready to deal with any of the myriad questions Mr. Chandler surely would grill him about after getting an earful from his hysterical daughter. Heather could be charming, but she was wound tighter than an 8 day clock at times, this being one of them, which was understandable under the circumstances. She adored her big sister, and he couldn't fault her for that. So did he.

"Evan – hey," she answered a bit weakly. "What are you doing here?"

"Well isn't it obvious? I came to see you." He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead in what he hoped was a non-threatening gesture. He was a man of his word, and even though she had been unconscious when he said he wouldn't pressure her any more, he would honor that commitment to her.

"What's up with the fairytale princess thing? I wasn't out long enough to be Sleeping Beauty."

"No – but you were saved by a beast." He gave her a long, meaningful stare.

"Wha-what are you talking about? You sound like you're the one with the concussion instead of me. Delirious much?"

"It's ok sweetheart, your secret's safe with me. I've met.. him, and JT, too. I'm going to do my best to try and help, alright?" Catherine's heart started beating wildly, feeling like it was lodged in her throat. Evan knew about Vincent? She was beginning to understand how JT must have felt about her all these months. How did this happen? She didn't realize how long she sat silent processing this new development, or the terrified look she was wearing while doing so. Finally Evan said, "Cat? Did you hear me? I'm going to try and help. I promise I'm not going to blow the whistle on him or you. After hearing what he's been through, I think that's enough torture for one lifetime. He doesn't belong in a jail cell for something he can't control."

"It probably wouldn't hold him anyway," she murmured, but he heard her.

"Really? So.. he's that strong?" Cat got a positively hunted look on her face and refused to look at him, let alone answer. Evan sighed. "You're going to have to start trusting me sometime, love. JT and Vincent already do."

Cat's eyes went wide. "Will you please stop talking about him like that? Out in the open where anyone can hear?"

Evan chuckled. "Easy now. We're the only ones in the room."

"It doesn't matter." She dropped her voice to a near hysterical whisper. "Muirfield has eyes and ears everywhere, I swear."

Evan's look turned serious. "It's that bad? They weren't exaggerating any of it?" Cat shook her head, her eyes wild and frightened. She'd obviously seen what these people were capable of. Hadn't Vincent said they'd kidnapped her? How could he and Tess not have known? "Hey now," he soothed, stroking her hair. "I promise to be more careful."

"Who else knows?" she croaked. She couldn't believe how out of control this was getting.

"No one Cat. Just me. I promise it's going to be alright. We're going to try and find a solution to his... problem."

"Do you really think it's possible? That the experiment can be reversed?" Catherine almost didn't dare to hope. Why hadn't Vincent told her any of this?

"Well I don't know about a full reversal," he admitted. "But surely something ought to be able to be done to stop or at least slow the progression of the mutation. Maybe alleviate some of the symptoms? I don't know. I'm just talking off the top of my head right now. I'll have to take a look at your mother's research notes and see what I can glean from them."

"So you know my mom was involved in this then." Cat laid back and closed her eyes. Every time she thought of the fact that her own mother had done this to the man she loved, it made her a little crazy. She wished her mother was here to try and undo the damage that she'd done, but that task was left to her eldest daughter now. What a legacy to leave behind. Thanks Mom.

"Cat, you are not to blame for what happened to… your friend," he said, avoiding using Vincent's name in order to keep her calm. "Besides, playing the blame game now isn't going to accomplish anything. The situation is what it is and we need to move forward. Now… I have a plan." He gave her one of his self-confident smiles. "Your dad and Brooke will probably reschedule their honeymoon as soon as you are out of here, right?"

Catherine groaned. She'd still been kind of woozy from the drugs when her dad had showed up. It never even registered with her that he should have been in the Caribbean with Brooke instead of visiting her in the hospital. "I can't believe I ruined their wedding night. Great way to welcome Brooke into the family."

"Cat, seriously? They aren't a couple of teenagers. I'm sure they can handle it. Now, your job is to make sure they get out of here and go on that honeymoon as quickly as possible."

"Why? What difference does that make to you?" She must still be loopy from the drugs because this was going right over her head. It was frustrating knowing she was missing something obvious, and still not being able to figure out what. She put her hand up to her forehead, trying to stave off the beginnings of a headache.

"Because once they're gone, we're going to raid your mother's things. We obviously can't let them know about it."

"Well what about Heather? How are we going to explain going to Dad's when he and Brooke are out of town?"

Evan sighed. "That, I'm afraid, falls on my shoulders. I'll have to keep Heather distracted while you and your two compadres go and appropriate anything that might be useful for our research."

The corners or Catherine's mouth lifted in a half-smile. "Well that should be a piece of cake for you, Mr. 'I'm-so-distracted-by-his-hotness'." She giggled, remembering Heather's drunken confession. "But please… just promise you won't lead her on. She's been hurt enough lately. She deserves a little happiness."

"I'll try my best," he promised. He thrust his hands into his jacket pockets and his fingers curled around the object inside the right one. "Oh, by the way, I found this when they brought Heather's car back to impound." He pulled her cell phone out of his pocket and handed it to her. "I thought there might be… someone… you'd want to get in touch with."

She smiled at him appreciatively, and it didn't escape his notice the way her eyes sparkled and she visibly perked up at the mention of contact with Vincent. If he hadn't been sure of her feelings before, he was now. Catherine was definitely head over heels for this poor tortured soul. If Evan couldn't be the one to bring that smile to her face as the man of her dreams, he sure as hell was going to do everything he could to make sure he put it there by helping her be with the man who was. He chuckled and shook his head, wondering when the hell he developed this altruistic streak. "What?" she asked with a huge grin. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing. I was just wondering what's gotten into me lately. I'm not used to being the good guy." They both laughed.

"Well I'm liking this kinder, gentler side to you, Dr. Marks," she teased. "Maybe we'll get lucky and it will stick."

Evan tapped her nose with his index finger he warned, "Don't get your hopes up, kitty-Cat. It's not often a tiger changes stripes. Now how about I leave and let you call Vincent-"

They hadn't heard the door open and Evan nearly jumped out of his skin when a slender red-head in scrubs came around the curtain to check on Catherine. He stood there totally awestruck, like a teenager having his first crush. He couldn't believe the way his heart was racing. Unfortunately, their first meeting wasn't going to be the pleasant, flirtatious encounter he was hoping for.

"Excuse me – did I hear you just say 'Vincent'? Would you be talking about Vincent Keller?" Catherine and Evan had all they could do to keep their jaws from dropping. What the hell-? Evan recovered first.

"I'm sorry… I'm Dr. Evan Marks and you are…?" He held out his hand in an attempt at a cordial greeting.

The redhead's brow furrowed as if she were confused by the proffered hand for a moment before deciding to shake it. "Alex. Doctor Alex McCormick." She turned to look at Catherine. "Is that why Vincent was here? To see you?"

Catherine averted her gaze and said, "I'm sorry I don't know a Vincent Keller."

The good doctor was not to be deterred so easily. "Well he was coming from the ICU when I saw him and I just heard your friend say something about calling Vincent."

Evan took a step closer to Alex and interrupted her somewhat aggressive questioning. "Excuse me, but don't you think this kind of interrogation is ill-advised under the circumstances? She shouldn't be getting upset in her delicate condition, should she?"

Alex looked suitably chastised by the comment. "No of course not, you're right. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Catherine reassured her. "Listen, I don't know who this Vincent Keller is that you're talking about. We were just talking about my friend Vincent Zalanski. I was supposed to go visit him and his family out in Colorado at the end of the week and I just need to call him to let him know I won't be able to make it is all."

"Oh…" Alex's face turned red enough to nearly match her hair. "I – I'm sorry. It's just… I saw this other Vincent earlier today and.. I don't know what's going on. I thought – we all thought that he was dead. Forgive my rudeness but it's been a very upsetting day."

Cat and Evan exchanged a look. "Sure, no problem," Catherine finally responded.

"Well, now that I've made a suitably poor first impression, the reason I came in here was to tell you that we'll be moving you from ICU within the hour. You'll still have to stay in the hospital for a couple of days for observation, between the GSW and the concussion, but overall, you've made considerable improvement. You're a good healer." She tried her best to give Catherine a friendly smile, but it fell somewhat flat. Catherine found herself feeling kind of sorry for the woman. Seeing someone you know come back from the dead isn't an everyday occurrence. She could only imagine the shock. She couldn't help wondering, though, who this woman was to Vincent…

"Thanks for the update," she heard Evan remark, gently hinting at a dismissal. It was apparent the doctor didn't have anything additional to discuss, and the silence was getting a bit uncomfortable.

"Oh.. yes. Right. Well, good luck with your recovery Ms. Chandler. "

"Thanks." After they watched the other woman leave the room, Evan pulled the curtain back so no one could sneak up on them again. He crossed to the door and shut it quietly, so he could talk for a moment with Catherine before he left.

"Seems someone was careless in here last night," he whispered with a smirk. Catherine shrugged as if to say, "Got no idea." What she didn't convey was that she sure planned to find out.