Some POV switches to be aware of . . . Elle; Dick; Dick; Edward; Hugh; Edward; and ends with Hugh.
WARNING: Language and Some Violence . . .
"I've already told you, I'm not going! I am fine now. And quit looming over me!"
Dick stood over Elle where she was laying propped on her bed and sent her his best batglare. "You are not fine! And I'll stop looming when you stop being stubborn!"
She was unimpressed. "I'll stop being stubborn when you stop being ridiculous! Dick, I was frightened and stunned, that was all. I don't even have a bump! Going to the emergency room is a waste of time."
"How is getting medical treatment a waste of time?" He goggled at her.
"You don't go to the emergency room," she pointed out. "You go home."
Dick ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. "If I was hurt at work, I would go to the emergency room!"
Elle crossed her arms and lifted an eyebrow. "And what about the night shift?"
Dick glanced warily at the door. The sheriff's department had arrived fifteen minutes ago and were combing the house for clues. Dick was hesitant to interfere. He wasn't here as a cop or as Nightwing, after all.
He sighed. "I go home, but if it is serious enough, I go to Alfred or Leslie. I don't just ignore it."
Elle sunk down into her covers and rolled onto her side away from him. "I don't like hospitals," she grumbled.
"Elle, you lost consciousness . . ."
She glared at him over her shoulder. "For all of two minutes! It was nothing!"
"You were vomiting in the potted palm, for Christ's sake!" Dick yelled at her as he paced beside the bed. He attempted to calm himself. "Elle, please, there could be something seriously wrong. You won't know unless you go."
"I'm not bleeding out. I don't have a broken bone that requires setting. I . . ."
"Have a potentially dangerous head injury that caused you to not only lose consciousness . . ."
"Oh, for God's sake . . ." She pulled the pillow over her head.
"But had you puking your guts up!"
Dick sat down on the bed, tugged the pillow away, and gently drew her into his arms. "Please, Elle . . . I-I can't lose you."
She snuggled against him. This was what she needed; not strangers poking and prodding at her. She just wanted to be held and told everything would be okay.
"I'm fine now," she whispered. "You're not going to lose me."
"If I hadn't driven directly up here . . ." Dick suppressed a shudder.
Elle couldn't stand it. Dick's fear and guilt were crushing her. She had enough going on without adding his emotions into the mix. "But you did. You did, and I'll be eternally grateful for that. Thank you for coming after me."
Dick leaned his forehead against hers and swore to her a solemn pledge. "I will always come after you, Elle."
"And I, you," she swore right back against his lips.
A knock on the door interrupted the kiss. They broke away as Dick bade the person to enter. A Cook's county sheriff enter the room. Dick remembered being introduced to Sheriff Maggie Lawton when she arrived.
"Sorry to interrupt," Sheriff Lawton said. "I had a few questions for you if you're feeling up to it?" She directed the question to Elle. "Are you certain you don't want me to radio in for the ambulance?"
"That would be great," Dick said, even as Elle told her, "No, that won't be necessary."
Lawton looked back and forth between the two before turning back to Elle. "Miss Hamilton, I would recommend getting some medical attention if for no other reason than to assist the prosecution."
Elle looked supremely unhappy at the woman's suggestion. "Can you not prosecute with just the photos that you took and my testimony?"
Lawton hesitated. "Well, we can, but without a doctor's report it will boil down to your word against his. When did you say the attack happened?"
"Approximately an hour ago," Dick answered for Elle.
She was frowning. "That bruise looks a little older than that. Is it from the attack or is it a previous injury."
Dick frowned in return. "It's from this attack, of course. There are witnesses who can vouch that Elle had no bruise last night."
Lawton pursed her lips. "And didn't you have bruises on your shoulder from your assailant's hand?"
"She does," Dick snapped. What was she getting at?
"Could you point them out to me, please?" Lawton asked.
Dick turned and paused. The bruises on Elle's shoulder were nothing more than mere yellow-green smudges against her flawless skin; barely visible now.
Elle sighed. "It was just a family squabble, Sheriff. Dick shouldn't have bothered you. He's very protective of me, but you can see that nothing serious occurred."
Dick's eyes jerked up to meet hers. She looked exhausted and resigned.
"Are you telling me you don't want to press charges, Miss Hamilton? You realize you may not be able to pursue this later if you go this route."
"Elle, what are you doing," Dick asked her in a hiss.
"No charges," Elle told her quietly. "I apologize for wasting your time."
Sheriff Lawton took a step closer. "You aren't wasting our time. It is obvious that something happened here tonight, but I admit that the facts and your stories don't jibe well enough to make a conviction stick, in my personal opinion. The court frowns on exaggerated testimonies and false charges . . ."
"Nothing was exaggerated . . ." Dick moved to stand up, but Elle's hand on his arm was enough to stop him.
"Dick, stop," Elle said quietly. "I thank you for responding so quickly, Sheriff Lawton. You and your people are a true asset to this community. I appreciate all your efforts on our behalf."
Lawton glanced back and forth between the two. She suspected that there was a lot more to this story than what she was privy to, but unless they were willing to be up front with her, her hands were tied.
"We'll be wrapping up then," she said. "You might want to look into doing something with the front door. The weather's too cold to leave it broken like that, and it will remain a security hazard as it is despite the gated entry on your drive."
"We'll take care of it, thank you," Elle replied, so Dick wouldn't. He was too angry at the moment. "I'm sorry for the poor hospitality. I should have at least made some coffee."
Lawton smiled at Elle. "Nonsense. You just get to feeling better. If something like this happens again, you give us a call and we'll be out in no time." She turned to leave, but stopped with her hand on the door knob. "Oh, I meant to tell you that two gentlemen arrived downstairs a little while ago. They claim to work for you. They said their names were Hugh and Edward. My officers had to detain them for a bit. They are fair chomping at the bit to get in here to see you."
"Please send them up, Sheriff," Elle told her. "We know them."
"Right. Well, you take care. We'll show ourselves out," Lawton gave a little two-fingered salute as she left the room.
"What the hell was that," Dick hissed at her as soon as the door closed, furious. "How can you even consider not pursuing this?"
"Dick . . ." Elle began.
"No!" His hand slashed the air between them. "You admit that Aiden attacked you; that he hit you, but you want to let him off of the hook yet again! Stop protecting that bastard!"
She placed a hand on his arm. "I'm not protecting him, but you heard the sheriff. My bruise already looks more than a day old and that doesn't support the information we've given her. The fingerprints Aiden left on my shoulder have nearly vanished! The court would throw it out and hold us in contempt if they didn't charge us with perjury and bearing false witness."
He paused as he consider her words; his eyes roaming her face and the bruise that had indeed looked older than it was in truth. He might not have believed it either had he not seen the bruise appearing on her face within moments of it happening.
"Trust me on this, Dick," she told him.
"And you know this how," he glared at her suspiciously.
Elle looked away. "I just . . ." she sighed, "I just do. Please, can you accept that I might know something of what I am talking about this once?"
"So, you're not protecting him?" It hurt him to think about what experiences must lay still hidden behind that admission.
"No, I'm not," she promised. "I plan to tackle Aiden another way."
His eyes narrowed. "What other way?"
She smiled tiredly and patted his hand where it lay beside her. "I'm still working out all the little details, but don't worry so much. My brother will get what's coming to him. I plan to hit him where it hurts most."
Dick snorted. "I'd be happy to hit him for you."
"Honestly, I wouldn't mind doing that myself."
He knew that Aiden Hamilton towered over his sister. Had she tried to fight him tonight instead of fleeing, she might have been more gravely injured in the confrontation. There were ways to accomplish it, however. But in truth, Dick simply wanted the privilege of beating the man into oblivion himself.
"We'll work on it," he said.
At that point the door to the room burst open to admit Elle's two bodyguards. Anger flaring, Dick leapt to his feet and he rushed the closest of the two; slamming Hugh into the wall with enough force to rattle Elle's trophies on a nearby shelf and send two pictures crashing to the floor. He shoved his forearm against Hugh's throat with enough strength to cut off the man's breath.
Edward was on him in seconds. Without releasing Hugh, Dick turned and blocked Edward's attack; hitting the older man with a series of punches, and then sent him flying backwards with sidekick into his solar plexus. Edward landed on the end of Elle's bed and rolled to the floor onto his hands and knees as he gasped for air.
Edward climbed to his feet, pulling his weapon on his principle's crazy boyfriend.
Dick pulled one of his escrima stick from a holster he had had made for them, and flung it, almost without thought. The stick struck Edward's wrist just as he cleared the holster; numbing it and causing him to drop the pistol. It took more than this, however, to stop a man who had once taken a bullet for his charge.
He moved in on Dick from behind.
A pillow slammed into the back of his head with enough power to stagger him. He glanced behind him, and stared in awe at Elle. She was standing on the bed threatening to clobber him with her pillow once more.
"Don't you ever pull a weapon on him again," she snarled.
"Your boyfriend attacked us," Edward reminded her.
"I. Don't. Care!" Elle hissed through clenched teeth. "You don't touch him!"
"Bella, he's lost it! He's going to kill Hugh," Edward turned away from her to back up his partner. Pillows did not intimidate him.
He hadn't taken two steps before Elle slammed him again, with the lamp this time. He dropped to his knees; stunned and ears ringing. She hopped off of the bed, still wielding the lamp like a baseball bat.
"You left her here alone, you bastard," Dick was growling in Hugh's face. "If I hadn't shown up, he might have killed her!"
Hugh struggled to breathe despite the arm pressed against his windpipe. Every move he made, Grayson managed to counter it. Hugh had Special Forces training! Bella's fiancé was more than a typical cop to be able to best him. Currently, however, the man was unhinged and Hugh couldn't see how he would gain the advantage without resorting to deadly force.
He only hesitated knowing that Bella would never forgive him for that.
"I trusted you both to protect her," Dick was snarling at him.
Slowly the words began to penetrate, and Hugh began to understand Grayson's fury over what he obviously deemed their betrayal and failure. Hugh forced himself to calm down and stopped fighting back. Disengaging was apparently all it took as Grayson shoved himself away; taking a defensive stance in case the bodyguard chose to retaliate.
Part of Dick hoped he would. Being unable to catch Elle's brother in the act, Dick felt the overwhelming urge to beat someone.
"She could have died!" He told him.
The accusation hung in the air between them. Their gaze met and finally Dick could see the realization and guilt play across the bodyguard's face.
The muffled thump from behind him had both men turning in time to see Edward fall under the power of an irate woman brandishing a lamp.
"What the hell is wrong with you two," Edward was yelling as he kneeled on the floor, holding a hand to the back of his head. "I thought we were supposed to be on the same side here!"
Hugh grimaced and stepped over to help his partner to his feet.
"Look, it's okay. They have a right to be upset with us. We dropped the ball," Hugh told Edward, even as he examined the growing lump on the back of his partner's head.
"How does this come back to us," Edward argued as he winced when Hugh prodded the sore spot. "We had no choice when Bella dismissed us."
Hugh stepped back, shaking his head. "You're wrong. We forgot that Cedric Hamilton was our client; not Bella. Bella may be our principle, but Cedric was paying the bills. He ordered us to protect his daughter. His daughter doesn't get to dictate how we do our jobs.
But she had been doing just that for a number of years. Ever since Bella turned nineteen and began striving for her independence in truth. The guards had done their best to give her some semblance of autonomy by granting first one or two of her requests, and then more as she exerted greater control over her own life.
Edward blinked as Hugh's words sunk in. When had they stopped working for Cedric and begun working for Bella?
The only sound for a long moment was heavy breathing that accompanied extreme emotions and heavy exertion. Heavy breathing than soon became labored.
Elle swayed; dropping the lamp onto the floor with a thud and the tinkling sound of the lightbulb shattering. Dick was by her side in the next second.
"Elle, what are you doing, baby," he crooned. "Sit down."
She shrugged off Dick's arm, but did sit on the side of the bed. She waved away her guards.
"I'm tired. Too much happening all at once, that's all," Elle told them.
Edward winced as he fingered the growing lump on his head, and kneeled in front of her. "Are you still experiencing dizziness and shortness of breath?"
Dick head swiveled to stare at the guard. "What are you saying?" He spun back to look at her. "This happened before the attack? How long has this been going on, Elle?"
Hugh paled and waved to Edward. The older man moved back to make room for Dick, and joined his partner.
"What is it? What's wrong?" he asked softly.
Hugh turned his back on the couple. "What happened to Cedric . . . Didn't it start the same way?"
Edward narrowed his eyes. "Did what start the same way? What are you getting at?"
Hugh ran a hand through his hair. "His illness . . . Dizziness, breathlessness, fatigue . . ."
"No! No, that not it!" Edward growled. "You can't seriously be suggesting . . ."
"The doctors were never able to agree on a diagnosis. What if it's hereditary?" Hugh whispered.
"Those are symptoms to a lot of things," Edward argued. "Hell, she could be pregnant for all we know!"
Hugh looked startled and glanced over his shoulder. Bella was now allowing Grayson to coddle her when just seconds ago she had been batting his attentions away irritably.
"Huh . . . Are mood swings another one of those symptoms?"
Now it was Edward's turn to stare. "Um . . . According to my brother's wife, yes, that was one of them."
"Do you think?"
Hugh was remembering when he had first met Bella shortly after the accident that had killed her mother. He had just been starting out in the business after a four tours as an Army Ranger. He still remembered the little girl with huge, sad, brown eyes and how his heart had turned over upon meeting her.
She had been in the hospital when Cedric had introduced him to her. He remembered being astounded that this tiny child had managed to escape the vehicle and basically rescue herself against all odds. He had seen the remnants of the vehicle that she and her mother had been in and thought that the newspapers had been correct. She was a miracle . . . He had later been brought into the family's trust and the secrets of Bella's heritage were entrusted to him. But it had been that day at the hospital that he had dedicated himself to her protection; determined that no one would ever again hurt her like that.
For the most part, he had been successful, but there had been moments . . . Many of which he had suspected had been because of her brother, but with Bella unwilling to point a finger at him, they had no real proof. The boy was not foolish enough to get caught, but Hugh and Edward were well aware that he was capable of incredible cruelty.
He and Edward knew of the hatred Aiden held for Bella, and were always careful to place themselves near her every time he was around. But according to Grayson, this time they had failed and Bella almost paid the price for it.
Now, he stared at the woman that the little girl had grown into and wondered anew. It hardly seemed possible, and yet it would be the height of naivety for him to not consider the very real possibility. Hugh found he preferred this to the horrifying idea that she had inherited her father's illness.
Little Bella . . . A mother? A smile tilted the edges of his lips.
And from the looks of things, he thought, feeling amusement for the first time in days, neither parties involved had a single clue.
REACTIONS?
Well? What do you think? Could Hugh be right?
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