Chapter 23
index
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Dr. Meadows gasped sharply.
�Luckily he was wearing a Kevlar vest, unluckily it was at close range and did damage anyway.� She started to rub her belly absently as she spoke. �He was planning on �taking� me in front of Luis as he died and in front of the priest, who was too shell shocked to move.�
�But Luis had given me a small pistol beforehand too use only uncase of an extreme emergency.�
�I hope you used it!�
�You bet it did!!� She then added. �Just not very well.�
�Uh oh.�
�Yeah, I kind of sort of�� she cleared her throat. �I shot him, Luis grabbed the priest who had grabbed me after Cole fell because I had lost control of my emotions and off we went.�
�WOW!�
�Yeah, married on a helicopter as blood gushed out of the grooms wound.� She sighed in an incredulous yet wistful tone. �It�s not exactly what fairy tales are made of.�
Dr. Meadows blinked. �At least not where I grew up, that�s for sure.�
�Me neither,� she nodded. �Well, anyway. Once we were safely away from the island the first thing we did was�� she winced.
�It can�t be that bad.� Dr. Meadows intoned.
�Yes it can, we� ahem� well, first we landed on top of the closest hospital.�
�Oh.� She gasped, her hand covering her mouth.
�Oh, no honey, it gets BETTER! That was only illegal, then we got inside, and while Luis was getting stitched up� did I mention the fact that they were doing this all by gun point?�
Dr. Meadows would have laughed had she not known it was the truth.
�Well, I was still on the drugs so the priest stayed with me and mentioned to one of the nuns--�
�He pulled a gun on a NUN?�
She winced again, �It was either a gun or allow Luis in his state of near shock to verbally assault her and use the Almighty�s name in vain.�
�Ha!�
�Well, the priest just happened to mention to the nun that I had just found out that I was pregnant and that I had been fed a medicine cabinet�s worth of drugs and that it could have harmed the baby. And well, at the very moment, between the shooting, the wedding and trying to stop Luis from bleeding to death 20,000 feet above air, I wasn�t exactly in the best of shape myself.�
�Ya think?�
Brenda giggled, she liked this doctor. �So the nun starts talking to me, but I don�t understand her because of the whole shock/heavily medicated thing, and she starts to ask me all these questions while she got out the instruments to start checking me over when all of a sudden--�
�Wait! Let me guess! Luis walked through the door, was drugged up on pain killers, as she confirmed that you were/are pregnant, only to have Luis freak out, pull out his gun, pull you out of the room, commandeered the first car you see and make out like bandits with the poor priest the only one with his wits about him enough to drive.�
Brenda was laughing so hard she just about burst into tears.
�You have NO idea how close you are!� She managed to say between fits of laughter.
�What, the priest wasn�t the getaway driver??�
�No, we let him stay behind. But had he known how to fly a helicopter--.�
Dr. Meadows howled with laughter at this.
�Luis freaked out when he saw my legs in stirrups. He thought she was trying to take the baby back to Cole.�
�Oh God! The drugs weren�t helping his sense of logic were they!?�
�No, no they didn�t help him at all. Needless to say he grabbed me, pulled his gun out, waved it around, let the priest stay behind and we booked it back to the helicopter and got the hell out of dodge.�
After composing herself Dr. Meadows sat down on her chair and shook her head ruefully. �Please tell me the rest of the pregnancy has been uneventful.� She asked with a sharp wince, almost wishing she hadn�t said it in the first place.
But Brenda�s eyes told her a different story, they began to sparkle and light up like a child�s eyes at Christmas. �Oh, after we touched down on his Uncles yacht--� Dr. Meadows paled. �No, it wasn�t an emergency landing, and yes, there was a place to land on the yacht.� She answered without even having to hear the question.
The doctor let out a deep sigh of relief. �Thank God.�
�As I was saying-- after we touched down on his Uncles yacht, things were much better. His uncle is a fantastic head shrinker, who was able to help me more than I thought anyone would be able to, ever. His pseudo nephew was the nicest sweetest kid known to mankind. And after two months of marathon sessions and detox, we set off for the high seas, with both the doctors, and the �nephew�s� blessing.�
�But you never went to a doctor after that for a check up?� She asked quizzically.
�Well, that was the thing about his uncle. He�s also a M.D.�
�Yes, but was he an OBGYN?�
�No,� Brenda shook. �But he knew what he was doing.�
�Oh, but did he give you regular check-ups.�
Brenda was starting to feel badly now. Tears came to her eyes and blush rose to her cheeks. �No.� She whispered in a small voice.
The doctor frowned, feeling a pang of guilt. She had been through so much. It was only logical that they would want to get away from all the stress and just be together. �It�s okay. I�m sorry. I�m the last person that should be passing judgment on you or your husband for taking measures-- albeit extreme measures-- to ensure that your pregnancy was as stress free as humanly possible.�
Brenda sniffled and wiped her nose. �No, no, you�re right. I should have had regular check ups. But doctors, and needles, and sterile white rooms.� Her voice trailed off as her eyes darted around the room.
Dr. Meadows� brow furrowed as she took in her surroundings with the eyes of someone who had had the worlds worst experience in doctors offices/examining rooms. If she had been done as Brenda had, there wasn�t an ice cubes chance in hell that she would ever step foot into a doctors office ever again under any circumstances.
�They give me the creeps.� Her voice brought the doctors attention back to her. �But,� she added after a pause. �With Luis I didn�t have to worry about it. If anything odd or abnormal would have happened he would have had me in an emergency room quicker than white on rice.� She smiled.
�Oh, does your husband know a lot about pregnancy�s?� She asked, her curiosity piqued.
�Um�well, kind of. His first wife had twins and it was a hard pregnancy. But he remembers it and everything she went through. So that helped.�
She nodded.
�Listen, I know that this may be beyond your medical expertise, but is there any way for you too, oh, I don�t know, check to see how far along my baby is?� She asked anxiously. �I mean, it doesn�t matter to me who fathered my child. But it might mean something to Luis. I mean� Gosh, this sounds horrible doesn�t it?? He would love this child no matter what. I know that. He loves me. I just�� She shook her head sharply, trying to think the words she needed. �If Cole were to ever� �pop up�, I want to know who the father is. I want to be able to have proof� ya know?� She asked, tears coming to her eyes.
�And even, if by some twist of fate, Cole is the father, I never ever EVER want him to have anything to do with this baby. No child, no matter what the circumstance under which they were conceived, deserves to have a sick and twisted sadist like that that.. THING!� She spat out, her face flush with passion, her hands shaking with rage.
Dr. Meadows put a calming hand on her knee.
�Take a deep breath honey. Now. Let�s get down to the basics, shall we?�
*~*~*~*~*~
His eyes were closed as she watched him sleep listlessly in her bed. She had already gone through Raul�s clothing and had put aside things for him to wear that were okay to get soiled or trashed and some �special� stuff for him to wear when he was �hers� and some other things just in case they went out. But Petra had grown restless, but had decided against doing any drugs. But that was for Coni�s sake, and Coni�s sake only, as he was thrashing and muttering in his sleep and she wanted to be completely coherent just in case something happened.
�No rest for the weary,� she sighed heavily
Part of her had hoped against hope that he would be able to at least find some sort of solace, respite, or some kind of escape in his dreams. But sadly, it seemed to her that even in his dreams he was surrounded by the horror that filled his every waking moment.
To think that just earlier that she had wanted sex, sex and more sex from him was beyond her realm of comprehension now.
Horny. Yes.
Psychotic, malicious , cruel and vindictive. Not so much.
The idea of having sex with Coni, older, wiser, and physically more virile had turned her on in more ways than she cared contemplate. But upon seeing him as he had been all those years ago, only taller, but still the terrified child trapped inside the body of someone far older and stronger had softened if not extinguished the primal sexual appetite that had nearly taken over earlier.
And while she was still a consort of sorts with Cole, that did not mean that she could or would just stand back and watch as Cole mercilessly tortured and tormented him. Nor did that mean that they wouldn�t share a bed.
No.
Instead she would do as she was told too and re-teach him all the thing that he had forgotten or undoubtedly repressed. Sleep with him and enjoy it. But it wouldn�t be quite what she had planned on. She had planned on taking him again and again and again until he understood his position-- no pun intended-- in the hierarchy of their twisted family unit.
Not only that, but she thought of it was a cathartic release for him. A release for all the pent up emotions that Cole would force him to suppress at fear of further punishment or public humiliation.
There was a very thin line that she had to walk as not to tip off Cole of her technical betrayal. After all, he was the one that wanted her to put Coni back into the place he had had him when he was under his control in the first place.
She absently chewed on her bottom lip worriedly. �Oh what a twisted web we weave, so that in the end it is not us who is perceived to have been deceived.� Okay, so it wasn�t an exact quote, but it still had meaning. They thought she was stupid. To drugged out of her gourd to differentiate between agony and eXtacy. But even Petra had her secrets. She thought as she smiled wickedly to herself.
The stupidest thing you could ever do was judge Petra by the way she acted around Cole. She was just ultimate Chameleon. And there were only three people in the world-- besides Luis, who didn�t count because had long ago disowned her-- who know this. And two of those three were dead.
And the other.
She sighed heavily, allowing her eyes to wonder away from Coni for a second to the only picture she kept on her mantel, but was always careful to keep hidden when Cole or one of the guards were around.
The other person could have cared less.
Faith had been the first one to see past the fa�ade and through the many masks she wore, each different, each to fulfill whatever role people expected her to play. She could be anything from an oversexed, drug dependant, screwed-up vixen with no inhibition and absolutely no conscience-- Cole�s person favorite, to Cole�s least favorite and her favorite-- compassionate, while flawed, capable of caring for someone besides her self without devious or deviant intentions, who had a heart, who used her brain and felt the occasional human emotion.
She had hidden behind her masks for so that she no longer knew what her real face was. It was one fa�ade after another. She knew deep inside of her heart that the REAL Petra Josephine Alcazar died with Raul, as did any hope for the future. The loss of the one person that cared about her had sent her into a free fall and straight back into her menagerie of masks until she got so lost that she couldn�t identify herself without one of them. Raul had been her last hope. Raul and Cameron were the only people in the world that had given a damn about her and when they had died, so had any hope of meaning anything to anyone besides what they expected of her.
The druggie.
The nymphomaniac.
The screw up.
The heartless bitch.
The unrepentant--
A soft strangled whimper interrupted her thought process and she leaned down and whispered into his ear. �Sssssh,� in hopes that it would quiet whatever demons were in his dreams. It must have worked as his restless thrashing and whimpering ceased and his breathing evened out.
�It�s going to be okay, you know.� She cooed, softly caressing his fevered forehead. �It just has to be.� she thought to herself. �Otherwise. We. Are. Unbelievably. And ERRIVOCABLY SCREWED!�
She shook her head sharply and tried to rid herself of those thoughts. Not that she was good at thinking positively. It was like an unwritten rule that when Cole was involved pessimism was a prerequisite because any other type of thoughts would more than likely get you KILLED, maimed, or worse.
She let out another deep sighed as she relaxed in the chair and looked intently at Coni�s face. In her mind, he kind of resembled Luis. He had his dark hair and features, the chiseled cheek bones and brooding eyes. He had his fathers thick eyelashes and perpetually unruly hair. But his eyes, those dark brown orbs that easily showed in inner workings of his soul, were nothing like Luis� or Juliana�s. They, instead, reminded her of her own Poppa�s eyes. God rest his soul. It was a good thing he was dead, because if he even had the slightest idea what they were doing he would have had a massive coronary.
If it weren�t for the cuts and bruises he would have been a very handsome, nubile, vulnerable young stud. Hell, even while bruised and battered he was hot. It just made him look like a prize fighter. �Who just happened to have been shackled from a ceiling beam and beaten within an inch of his life.� Her own subconscious added snarkily.
She hadn�t realized how intensely she had been looking at his eyes until they popped open and she jumped back startled, almost falling out of her chair.
He sat up like a bolt.
�JEEZUS!� She gasped, jumping out of her skin.
He either didn�t hear her or was too preoccupied with holding his stomach as it tossed and turned, for he didn�t acknowledge her presence at first.
�Coni,� she whispered cautiously, as he looked about ready to toss his cookies. �What�s the matter?�
�My� my tummy.� He whispered quietly, both hands clutching his now violently churning stomach.
�Uh oh!�
�Give me your arm.� She told him urgently as she held out his hand for him.
He looked at her warily before putting his hand in hers.
She grasped his hand and hauled him to his feet, putting his arm around her shoulder. �Here we go.� She grunted at his mostly dead weight. He was lethargic still, but at least he could move now.
�Wh-where are we going?� He asked timidly, though he clung to her arm he worried about her dropping him on purpose.
�The bathroom.� She stated simply as they trudged across the room and to her personal boudoir (I think that�s the word).
�I-I can make it.� He insisted, but even to his own ears it didn�t sound very convincing.
�Just believe me, it will be faster� and less messy �this way.� She reassured him, and tried to go faster and his hand was clutching his stomach even more now.
She had never realized how huge her room was until that moment. It was hard and laborious work to get him there. But she did get there in time, just in time, as he lurked for the toilet bowel, flung the seat up and hugged the rim with one arm as he relieved his stomach of it�s vile contents.
She caught the lid before it cracked him in the head and put it up securely as she knew he�d bump his head and that was the LAST thing he needed to do. Add more injuries to the laundry list that was already there via Cole.
As she sat there, wincing at the sound of it, she felt a pang of something. She wasn�t quite sure what it was. Perhaps it was something in between empathy and pity, for she reached over and began to carefully began to rub his back.
Even in her own mind there was no so suck thing as compassion, despite her action to the contrary on MANY occasions, she never thought of herself as anything other than the lesser of the two evils-- and sometimes she debated about the �lesser� part.
�It�s okay, it�s okay.� She cooed as she rubbed gentle concentric circles at the base of his spine. There was nothing else she could do.
Correction.
Nothing else she could do without him expecting her to expect him to pay her back the price for it later as �services rendered�. And she knew that his body couldn�t withstand that so soon. Not that she would have made him do it. He was dealing with too much as it were. She wasn�t about to add to it�. Or add even more to it as she had already added to it some.
She tried not to wince at the sound of him vomiting, but she couldn�t help it. He must have seen it out of the corner or his eyes for he shrunk away from her, his body tensing. She shook her head sadly and slowly reached up and comb her fingers through the lush thick dark locks at the nape of his neck to keep them out of his face. He slowly relaxed.
She smiled sadly to herself as it must have been a muscle memory from all those years ago. Even then, when �flying as high as a kite� she had comforted him at times.
Of course, she didn�t remember the times she had done so for the most part as she really had been too stoned out of her gourd to remember who she was comforting, let alone why she was comforting him.
In fact, there were very few thing she did remember outside of sex, drugs, sex, hating Luis, sex and hating the world and wanting to self-destruct, where Coni was concerned. But that didn�t prevent her from remembering that there had been times that she didn�t hate him quite as much as Cole had probably wanted her too.
In fact, he had threatened her life on more than one those occasions in just about the same exact scene that they were in at the moment. His head in the toilet as he threw up, her rubbing his back and his neck as she cooed to him softly.
She sat up sharply as she realized that he was retching now, having emptied his stomach.
�Coni,� she whispered, trying to get his attention. �Coni, dear, there�s nothing left.�
He paused, then reluctantly pulled himself away from the toilet, resting his hot forehead against he cool moist porcelain bowel, his eyes closed as he panted for fresh air. When he finally opened his eyes to look at the floor she was taken aback at how wild with fear and anxiety as well as tear filled they were as they darted from one side of the room to the other, but he never moved his head.
He went to wipe his mouth with his shirt sleeve but reconsidered when he smelt Miles� heady cologne on the fabric. He let his arm fall limply to his side and let out a small groan of defeat.
�What�s wrong?� She winced, bad question.
�It�s still there,� he answered weakly, all the energy drained out of his body. He was zapped. Emotionally. Physically. Mentally. Master had won. He closed his eyes at that thought. He had won, again.
�What�s still there?� She asked as she reached up from her seat on the floor on the other side of the bowel into the sink, turned the water on, dampened the nearest clothe she could find without moving from his direct line of sight, and rung it out with one hand.
�Them� Their--�
�Oh.� She cut him off. No need to verbalize what they both knew.
�Here.� She said as she offered him the cloth. But he seemed hesitant.
�I� I don�t des--�
�Oh hush,� she scolded him, but lacking the harshness of a reprimand. �If you don�t, then I will.�
And she did.
After closing toilet�s lid, and flushing it, she closed the gap between them and placed the cool cloth on the back of his neck. The coolness of it made him tense, startled. Yet, at the same time it reassured him that she wasn�t going to burn him or scold him with hot water. Then she moved it slowly down his neck and then his mouth, wiping all reminders off of his lips before turning the cloth over and cooling off his cheeks and forehead.
�Better?� She asked knowingly, as he pulled away from the toilet basin and propped himself up against the wall.
�Yes-- thank you.� He answered timidly, one hand clutching his stomach.
�Hmm.. Wha-- Oh.� It dawned on her that the taste was still in his mouth.
As she rose to her feet and opened the medicine cabinet it never occurred to her that he wouldn�t watch her. But he didn�t. And instead of watching her he saw her large ornate bathtub. A tub identical to the one Max and Miles had used earlier.
His body tensed. �Oh God. Not again... Not so soon.� He prayed as she stood there, totally unaware of it all.
She sat back down holding a sealed bottle of Listerine� and noticed that he was considerably more pale than he had been before she stood up. She also noticed that he wasn�t looking at her, but rather directly behind her. She slowly turned, following his gaze and she too paled. �Damnit! Damnit! DAMNIT!� She cursed.
She put her hand on his knee and he jerked away reflexively. �I-I�ll be good. I-I swear.� He stammered, pulling his knees to his chest and casting his eyes downward.
�No, no� I--� She paused, taking a deep breath. �That�s my tub.�
He nodded. �I- I swear. I�ll obey. I�ll do a-anything you want me t-too. Just please,� he beseeched, his voice teetering on hysteria, �no more bathes. Please.� His voice cracked.
�I promise you,� she whispered firmly and with sincerity, as she closed the gap between them after putting the still sealed bottle of Listerine� on top of the toilet lid and placing both of her hands over his as he held his knees against his chest. �My tub isn�t used for that.� She reminded him patiently. �Don�t you remember?�
He closed his eyes, searching through his jumbled memories, but it wasn�t there. The memories were still coming and going. The flashes were still hitting him from time to time and were as debilitating as ever. But yet, that memory hadn�t been triggered yet.
Or, perhaps as Petra feared, it was one of the memories that Cole had permanently eradicated from his memory..
�No, I-- I don�t remember.� He winced, holding his head in pain.
�Don�t force it, Coni. It�ll come back all by itself.� It had better She thought to herself, feeling a flash of rage.
�I-- I can�t--�
�Thanks okay Coni. You don�t have to remember anything before you�re ready too.� When she was thoroughly convinced that he was calmed, she picked up the mouth watch and broke the seal.
�What�s that for?� He asked curiously, knowing innately, that she would never hurt him for asking a question. Cole on the other hand would take great pleasure out of disciplining his for such a thing.
�It�s for you, actually.� She answered as she uncapped the bottle and poured a small amount into the cap.
�Why? �
�To get that taste out of your mouth.� She explained simply as she saw no reason to beat around the proverbial bush.
�Oh, do I just drink it?�
She blanched. �No, no, you put it in your mouth and swoosh it around for a few seconds and gargle with it and then spit it out.� She explained, but could tell that he was more than a little lost.
�Here, watch me.� She drank the lid full, swooshed it around in her mouth, tilting her head to one side then the other and back to gargle a bit before lifting the toilet�s lid and spitting it out.
�See, that simple.�
He nodded. �Okay.�
�Got it?�
�Yes, I� I think.�
She poured another cap full, less full than the one before, and handed it to him. �Just remember. Don�t swallow it. It�ll make you sick.�
He gulped. �Oh, okay.� He whispered looking at the greenish liquid and feeling less and less sure of himself.
�Just go slow. And I�m warning you, it�s going to sting, so just don�t spit it out, okay?�
He looked pensive, unsure if he could do it.
�You�ll be fine .� She reassured him, but inwardly she felt the need to make the sign of the cross for protection.
�If you say so.� He whispered, taking the small cap and lifting it to his lips and doing as she had instructed him to do before spitting it out in the toilet.
She closed the lid and flushed it once more as he worked his jaw.
�There, there,� she comforted as she patted his back. �See, you did fine.�
�I don�t like that taste either.� He stated simply.
She smiled. �Yes, but you don�t have that OTHER taste in your mouth anymore, do you?�
After he wiped his mouth with a hand towel she had handed him, he nodded. �No, not anymore.�
�And that�s what was suppose to happen.�
They settled into a comfortable silence, but she could feel the fear radiating off of Coni�s body.
�You won�t tell� will you?� He asked after a moment, his eyes shining with fear and trepidation.
�Never!� She swore, emphasizing her declaration by giving his hand a reassuring squeeze. He seemed to believe her, but even she could tell that he was always readying himself for a lie or to be yelled at. But she understood his apprehension. After all, it wasn�t everyday that the person that used you for your body held out an olive branch in good faith� no pun intended.
�Here,� she said reaching her hand out after pulling herself to the squatting position. �Give me your hand and I�ll help you back into bed--� That wasn�t exactly the best way to say it as he shrunk back from her until he hit the tile wall.
He let out a soft whimper as he pulled his knees to his chest and tightly closed his eyes. �So soon?�
She winced at his plea full tone. Damn it, think before you speak! she scolded herself.
After carefully considering her next words she replied, �No, not yet. Not until later.� He opened his eyes tentatively. �You need to rest, that�s all your going to do in my bed, I promise.�
He couldn�t tell if she was being truthful or deceitful, but he wanted it to be truthful. He wanted it to be truthful as he liked rest, his body craved it.
�If you promise.�
She smiled, relieved. �Promise, now take my hand.�
He did and she carefully pulled him to his feet. He took a step, but faltered. Instinctively she put her arm around his wait and pulled up, not realizing that that was where it hurt the most. His back arched as he let out a sharp hiss in pain.
She gasped, her free hand covering her mouth. �Oh God, I�m sorry.� She apologized quickly, but kept him firmly at her side as she knew otherwise he would fall.
�It�s okay,� he whispered softly. �Y-you didn�t mean it.� He added as he shifted his weight a little so that he could lean against her for support.
She couldn�t help but feel unnerved that he had so little concern over his own well being. It was to be expected she supposed, but so soon? She could have shoved him to the floor and done the cha-cha in her heels on his back and she wasn�t sure he would have so much as winced.
�No, really, Coni--� her voice trailed off as she heard him sigh heavily in defeat. With a sharp shake of her head she decided to nix the apology and just concentrate on him recuperating a bit.
The trip back to the bed was far less laborious as the drugs affects were finally tapering off, for now at least, that was. As long as he was awake and aware-- correction somewhat aware, she could deal with everything else that happened� she hoped.
After carefully settling him on her bed and helping him lean against the head board and putting a pillow behind his back to keep the pressure off of his wounds, she wordlessly walked across the room and started to rummage through her cupboards.
He watched her as pulled out two cans of soup as he attempted to relax against the pillowed head board. He didn�t know what she was doing, but he wanted to watch her just in case, well, he wasn�t sure why, he just wanted to know what was going on so that he wouldn�t be surprised. He hated surprises.
�Do you think that you�re up for some tomato soup?� She called out over her shoulder.
He considered her offer and was about to reply when his stomach answered for him. Petra froze as she opened the cans of soup. A smile curved her lips.
�Um�I--� he tried to cover the sound awkwardly.
She let out a small chuckle. �It�s okay Coni. You probably haven�t eaten since you�ve been here.�
�He didn�t say I could eat. He didn�t give me permission.� He muttered under his breathe, his lowered eyes darting around the room anxiously.
She turned to him as he spoke as the can-openers clicked and whirred to life. �Coni?� She called out softly. �Coni?�
No answer besides the sounds of the can-openers incessant whirring and the sound of his heavy laborious breathing could be heard. Hurriedly, she dumped both cans of soup in the microwave safe bowl, and plopped it into the microwave for two minutes before calmly walking over to the bed. As she sat down on the sheets that covered his legs and took his hand into hers and curled her fingers around his while her other hand caressed his face until he lifted his hand and looked into her eyes.
�Look at me. This is me, giving you, permission to eat.� He still looked leery of the proposition.
�B-but t-the�� he squeezed his stomach unable to actually utter the word. �What if it�s still there?�
She thought about it for a moment before coming up with a good way of explaining it. �Just think about it this way. Tomatoes have acid in the, the acid will obliterate any of the-- you know-- that�s left in your stomach.�
He chewed on his lower lip as he considered her words. �If you�re sure��
�I�m sure,� �I think�, at least, that�s what Faith had always said about tomatoes having acidic properties. She just adlibbed the rest. �Who knew it paid to pay attention to Faith once in a great blue moon.�
�O-okay.� He agreed, feeling a little less reluctant.
�Good.�
The microwaves timer went off.
�And just in time too.� She smiled squeezing he hand.
He was okay, or so he thought, for as soon as she went to pour the soup in a wide deep coffee cup he started to worry about someone like Max or Miles or even Master Cole popping in and being very displeased with him. Not to mention the fact that he still needed to mend his own clothing and wash the shirt, pants and sox he was wearing.
He winced realizing that his wounds were undoubtedly bleeding on Max�s shirt. �Great, another reason for Max to despise me.� He thought absently as Petra came back and wrapped both of his hand around the cup and raised it to his lips.
She furrowed her brow at his behavior. He was thinking, she could that. It reminded her of one of the other few things that she remembered for their first go around. She remembered that Coni had a tendency, well, at least she was pretty sure it was �Coni� or the moderator personality, to go into auto pilot when the stress and pressure really began to get to him.
He sipped the soup graciously, his unfocused eyes closing as he drank in the warmth of the soup into his mouth and throat and stomach. �Thank you.� He whispered, his eyes still closed and he continued to sip the soup.
�You�re welcome. Do you like it?� She asked, her hand rubbing his arm as another physical reminder of his safety.
�Y-yes. It�s-- It�s warm.� He licked his lips. �And tasty too.�
She chuckled, happy and a bit relieved to see the faintest bit of a smile curving his otherwise worry filled face.
�Well, well, well. Looky what he we have here.�
They both jumped.
Coni almost dropped the cup but Petra caught it and quickly put it on the night stand and then jumped to her feet.
�What the HELL do you think you�re doing in here?� She demanded angrily as she stormed across the room. �Haven�t you done enough? Or you here for �Round 2�?� She spat incredulously.
Max let his head loll to the side and rest against the door frame. �Aw, I didn�t interrupt something �momantic� did I Petra?� He queried, feigning at vestiges of interest.
�You smarmy sick son of a bitch, say what you want and then leave him alone. You got your kicks for today.�
He straightened up, offended. �Hey, I was just--�
She got into his face. �Say it. And. Die.� She warned.
He gulped.
�Fine, bitch. God, all I wanted to do was have a little extracurricular fun with the nitwit. GOD FORBID I get to have a little fun around here!!� He turned around and picked up what he had been sent to do in the first place. �Here!� He threw the pile of bloodied clothing on the floor in a heap. �You�re going to need this too!� He snarled as he reached into his pocket and yanked out a needle and thread and slammed it into Petra�s palm.
�Good luck, you�re gonna NEED IT!!� He hissed before stomping off.
She looked down and the thread and then up at his retreating form. �What the--� she turned around to ask Coni if he knew what the needle and thread were for and saw that he was shaking violently.
�OH S--T!� She threw the needle and thread onto her mantle and ran to him. She pulled back the blanket pulled him over to the side and pulled his head down between his legs.
�Breathe Coni. Breathe!!� She whispered urgently. �Great, just GREAT! I was even making a little head way and then� Ohh. I�ll get him if it�s the LAST thing I do.� She fumed as she tried to sooth his anxiety attack. �He won�t know what HIT him.�
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