Thank you to everyone who posted on the last chapter and shared how humorous they thought it was.
That indeed was the point. It's easy when you have such wonderful characters as Pete to write about.
Cheers.
Getting to Know You
Gloria had no choice but to join the troupe when they went to the Townhouse after seeing the doctor. She asked Myka where she could get the prescriptions filled and went to take care of that when the others went inside. Helena begged everyone to stop making a fuss, but it was like a three ring spectacle of concern. Myka gingerly removed her wife's coat and tossed it across the width of the hallway as Helena watched in amazement. "I want Gloria to keep an eye on this," she said and Irene suggested the nurse stay the night. "Great idea," Myka agreed. Helena tried to protest, but no one was listening.
Helena hardly knew what that was like.
Leena came out and asked what happened and each one told the story – simultaneously. Helena's head was beginning to hurt more than her hand. Leena said she would prepare some food and Pete was the first one to go in and ask her to cut up Helena's food - whatever she was making. As soon as he exited through the door to the dining room, Irene came into the kitchen from the hallway and instructed that whatever Leena was making, it should be cut up in bite size pieces – but not to make it obvious. Irene escaped through the dining room just as Myka came in and Leena said – "Let me guess? Cut everything into bite size pieces?" Myka looked at her curiously, because she had no idea what she was talking about. "What? No, but could you sauté chicken with vegetables so that Helena doesn't notice the pieces are small?"
"Great idea," Leena concurred – the third time she heard it.
Pete had already alerted Claudia and Eileen by asking Claudia if she could build a left handed keyboard. "You know, like put most of the keys on the left side?" he suggested and meant it.
"Something's wrong," Claudia said and she and Eileen went directly to the townhouse. They arrived just as Gloria was making her way back with the medicine. "What happened?" they asked, rushing at the nurse who was unsure of just who they were. It took a moment for the woman to recognize the pair she had met briefly that morning.
"There was an accident, but Ms. Wells is…," she got out before the couple took off up the stone steps and into the house.
"Oh good, I was afraid we'd run out of over-reactive people," Gloria said, holding onto the railing and walking up the steps to the front door.
"You the nurse?" she heard behind her and jumped. She turned to see a woman in a tan trench coat and fedora, standing there accompanied by a NYPD police officer.
"Yessss," Gloria said, wondering if she wore her profession as blatantly as the young cop in uniform.
"Detective Tierney," Jane introduced herself, and Gloria could not imagine that someone had called the cops to investigate what happened. "This is Officer Bell."
Gloria said hello as Jane and her protégé joined her at the front door. "They installed this fancy finger print security system, but …It's rarely locked," Jane said as she pushed opened the door for the nurse to enter first. "You should talk to them about that."
"Did someone call you about the accident?" the nurse inquired, as she went inside, the law following behind her.
"You could say that," Jane replied cryptically because it was Pete who called.
"And you're here to….. investigate?" Gloria asked confused.
"About the accident? No; in spite of what my fiancée says, I don't think the death penalty is applicable here," Jane explained.
"There is no death penalty in New York, Sir," Officer Bell reported.
"She's very smart," Jane said of her protégé.
Gloria walked further inside and looked up at the grandeur of the entryway. It was like something out of one of those magazines on fancy homes. Suddenly, Pete appeared and rushed into the hallway to greet them. "Oh good! You're here," he said to Jane. "The Eagle is wounded, the Dove is not calm and I'm pretty sure Yoda has joined the Dark Side," Pete all but squealed as he gave her the update.
"I'm sorry - the who? The what?" Gloria asked, totally confused by his vernacular.
Pete looked at the newest member of the staff and stared for a long minute, trying to determine what to call her. "R2D2 is not up to speed," he said, jerking his head in her direction. Gloria was smart enough to figure out she had just received her code name.
"Got it," Jane said and was sincere.
One of the reasons Pete was certain he had chosen the right woman to marry was because Jane was the only person who tolerated his enthusiasm for code names. It had been something Pete suggested over and over again, but to no avail. Jane might have agreed to its usefulness, but she found it hard to keep up with the changes Pete kept making.
"Oh, just when I thought this couldn't get any weirder," the nurse said out loud.
"Lady, you have no idea," Jane said as Pete relayed what had happened.
Irene finally emerged from the library where Helena was resting under the careful eye of her wife. "Oh good," Irene said when she saw the detective. "I'm glad you're here."
"You're not thinking of …pressing charges, are you?" Gloria asked, still confused by the police presence.
Irene looked at the woman and realized she was confused. "No, of course, not. I'll handle him myself," Irene threatened …and meant it. She was just happy someone was there to keep Pete calm.
Pete's eyes widened and he pulled his lips back as he said through them; "See? Dark side?" to Jane.
"You okay there, Mrs. Frederic?" Jane asked, because the HR Director's demeanor was noticeably different. Seeing Helena in pain had shredded a few layers of Irene's calmness.
"Please get that inside to Helena," Irene directed the nurse, who took one long look around the group before she left. But before she took one step, Bridget burst through the door, proving Jane's point that the door was rarely locked.
"Need me to stand guard outside?" Officer Bell asked her superior officer.
"OH MY GOD! WHAT HAPPENED?" Bridget shouted, having gotten the news when she went to Wells Corp for a meeting.
"Eagle's down, Dove hovering closely, Yoda teetering on the Dark Side and R2D2…is new," Pete said and Bridget, who never heard the code names, nonetheless, immediately got it.
"I swear, Pete, if you make me Chewbacca, I'll kill you," Bridget said, because her height could entice the man to give her that name.
Gloria had stopped momentarily - because any time Bridget made an entrance, people noticed. "This is Nurse Brown," Irene provided the introduction.
"She needed a nurse?" Bridget wondered out loud.
"Ms. Brown is on our staff at Wells Corp," Irene explained, hoping to quell the animated woman's curiosity.
"Is Helena okay? Can I see her? How is Myka doing? " Bridget asked Irene, because she knew who was really in charge.
Irene nodded to follow Gloria and pointed toward the library so the nurse would know where to go. Bridget dashed ahead and shouted, "This way," thinking she was being helpful.
"We are one tent short of a full circus," Gloria said under her breath as she followed the statuesque woman inside to where the patient was.
Myka had insisted Helena sit down on the couch and rest. Eileen was already in the kitchen preparing her tea. Helena was attempting again to assure Myka she was fine and in no pain. She thought they should return to work, but Myka wouldn't hear of it. Truth be told, Helena rather enjoyed Myka hovering over her, taking care of her. She was worried, however, that Myka seemed so anxious.
The new level of anxious was about to come through the door.
Bridget knocked, but no one was surprised that she was in the door before anyone suggested she enter. "Oh, Helena, I heard it was an accident in the lab! Are you okay? How are you, Myka?" Bridget asked in one long sentence. "What can I do?"
"Helena's hand is burned," Myka explained with feeling and Bridget gasped.
"Are you okay? Let me see," the investment banker insisted because nothing really scared her.
"Absolutely not!" Myka stated and her tone was the only thing that made her high-spirited friend pause.
"Oh, okay, sure," Bridget said, slowing down. "Are you guys ok?"
Helena looked up at the visitor and then looked back at Myka, giving the clear indication that she was okay, but Myka – no so much. As much as she adored her wife's caretaking, she could hear the stress in her tone.
"Oh," Bridget said, getting the message. "Maybe Leena could make you tea," the friend said, taking Myka by the shoulders, "…while Nurse Brown checks Helena's hand?" Bridget was more guessing than suggesting. She was pulling, but Myka wasn't budging.
"Yes, Darling," Helena said, grateful the woman picked up on her eye language. "Gloria can change the bandage or do whatever she does and you can have some ….thing," Helena suggested because she couldn't imagine Leena's tea would help anything.
Just then Eileen came in with the tea, with Claudia following her. "Are you okay, Boss?" Claudia asked and Myka told the two new visitors the whole story.
"Lemme see. No, I don't want to….okay, I'll look," Claudia said all in one breath. All eyes fell upon her and she answered with – "What?"
"Maybe I should stay to make sure that's not too hot," Myka said of the Sullivan-made tea that Helena could practically taste – even though it wasn't being provided to her just yet.
"I'll make sure it's not too hot," Eileen assured Myka and didn't put the cup down near Helena as the Brit desperately wished.
"Okay, I'll go …freshen up….and be right back," Myka said and let Bridget gently push her forward out the door.
"What are we doing?" Claudia asked as she went to one side of the nurse and Eileen stood on the other. Gloria turned her head from side to side to look at her literal sidekicks.
"We are going to look at Ms. Wells' hand, apply some salve, give her an antibiotic with water and let her rest," Gloria shared.
"Yeah, that's good. Okay," Claudia said and took her place next to Helena, waiting. Eileen assumed her post on the other side of her boss and waited, too.
"What are you doing?" came the booming voice through the door. It was so unlike any they heard before, that the two women jumped in their seats.
"Whoa!" Claudia said, grasping her heart. "Mrs. F! I didn't know who that was for a minute." Even Eileen stared at Irene who seemed to fill the doorway.
"You cannot be in here when the nurse is changing her bandages," Irene said, and stood there, waving them to get out.
"You better go," Helena said to both of them and meant it. "She's cranky."
The two women shot up and then slowly moved past the HR Director. "Holy crap!" Claudia mouthed to Pete in the hallway - who said – "I told you!"
"I would like my tea," Helena mentioned in the most pitiful voice because she was tired and really just wanted her tea.
"Not yet," Irene said and Helena rolled her eyes.
"I'll be a quick as I can," Gloria said, because while she didn't understand it, she knew the patient wanted that tea.
"You can't do that yet," Irene snapped and didn't care what she sounded like. She turned quickly on her heels and went out of the room.
Gloria, who was certain she heard Irene moments ago request that she attend to Helena, looked at her patient. Helena suddenly felt the need to explain to the nurse. "She's…. not usually like this at all," Helena heard herself say and couldn't believe she was explaining Irene's behavior.
"Aha," Gloria said, because after what she witnessed today, she was beginning to suspect that all of this was normal – for the group. Impressing Helena beyond measure, the nurse went to the table and felt the teacup. "I think you can have this now." Then, sitting next to Helena, she lifted the cup up so Helena could take it with her left hand. She watched as the woman took a long sip and closed her eyes. She had never seen anyone enjoy a cup of tea the way this woman in front of her was at the moment.
"Favorite drink?" Gloria guessed.
"Depends on who makes it," Helena said and when she heard Irene coming back, she quickly drained the cup as if it were her last. Gloria took the cup back and looked into the bottom of it, wondering how someone could drink it so quickly.
Irene had marched into the kitchen and informed Myka that she thought it best if she sat with Helena while Gloria applied the salve. She no sooner shared the thought then Myka was on her feet and going with her to the library.
"Can you imagine what they'll be like when it's time to have the baby?" Bridget asked Leena.
"I can imagine that I will take vacation around that time," the Townhouse Director said and laughed.
Irene passed Pete, Jane, Officer Bell, Claudia and Eileen in the entryway as they all stood back and out of her way. It didn't help things that Pete started to hum the Star Wars Imperial March theme song as Irene went by. That even caused Officer Bell to almost crack a smile.
As soon as she reentered the room, Myka asked how Helena was and she smiled and said she felt good. She sat down on Helena's left side on the couch and held Helena's left hand. Only then, did Irene tell Gloria she could proceed. The nurse wondered why it was necessary to have Myka here, but didn't say a word. Apparently, she decided, this group did things she had never seen before. Gloria set up the antiseptic tray and gently placed Helena's hand on it and began to open the bandage.
"She won't feel it now," Irene assured the nurse, in spite of how tender the affected area was.
Irene knew something the nurse didn't know yet; Staring into Myka's green eyes was the perfect antidote to Helena's pain. The nurse began the procedure of reapplying the salve on the sensitive areas.
Helena never felt a thing.
Gloria finished up and suggested that Helena rest until dinner. What she really meant was for everyone to stop popping in to see her. Myka pulled a blanket up on the couch as Helena reclined on it. Myka sat at the end of the couch, so Helena could rest her head in her lap. In spite of her protests that she wasn't tired, the Brit fell asleep in this position within minutes.
Gloria and Irene slipped into the hallway where Irene reminded her they wanted her to spend the night.
"We can get your clothes," Claudia said, nudging Pete, her co-conspirator in all things. "Where do you live?"
"We don't even need a key," Pete said and then realized he just shared that they knew how to break into an apartment. A habit that only increased the more nervous he got.
"The fact that I am a NYPD detective, armed with a NYPD cop, in no way deters them," Jane said to the nurse.
Gloria looked at Irene for – well, anything. "I think if you drive Nurse Brown to her home, she could get what she needs and return before dinner," Irene suggested.
And with that, Pete, Claudia, and Eileen all proceeded to the front door to go with the nurse. "Shotgun!" Claudia called.
"Do they always do everything …together?" Gloria inquired of the group she was getting to know.
"You're going to learn to love them like family," Jane said as she and Officer Bell left as well. The young infatuated cop made a mental note that she wanted to be a part of this group and would make it her goal to be included. She ran and opened the car door for Jane as Gloria watched from the doorway.
The nurse turned and looked at Irene, the most rational of the group she decided, but Irene was already hurrying her along. Gloria wanted to be respectful, because that was something she always prided herself on. "Do you think I should stay the night?" she asked Irene gingerly.
It was obvious the way Irene moved her eyes back and forth that she was giving the question careful considering. "You're right," the woman finally said.
"Finally!" the nurse thought to herself. "Someone is sensible enough to think this through!" "I thought you'd see….." Gloria began, but never got to finish.
"Get enough things for two nights. Just in case," Irene said, before she put her hand gently, yet firmly, on the nurse's shoulder and sent her on her way.
And that was the end of that.
Up next: Something that Helena and the Nurse have in common.