Chapter 17
hours later

Robin stood on the porch looking out into nothing.  The cold feeling of dread still filled her body.  She was so detached from the world that she hadn’t even heard someone walk up the gravel path.  “Robin?  Robin, dear, are you okay?”  An elderly woman stood at the bottom of the steps.  She had on an old style dress with a soft hand woven shall.  She looked like something out of Little House on the Prairie.  She was kind of an odd woman but she had always been sweet and kind to Robin.  The thing Robin had always thought was the funniest, was that Mrs. Wallice never wore shoes or socks, she was always in bear feet.

Robin snapped into reality and looked at the old woman.  “Yes I’m fine Mrs. Wallice.”  Her words came out in a horse whisper.

“How many times have I told you, you can just call me Rose.  Mrs. Wallice was my husband’s mother, God rest their souls.  Now dearie, tell me what’s wrong,” Rose sat down on the steps and patted the place next to her.  “Is all this worry about that sweet child who lives here?  What’s her name?”  Rose paused a moment.  “Oh yes, Erin.  That sweet girl is going to be just fine.”  Rose patted her hand reassuringly.

“You know where she is?”  Robin asked startled.

“Why of corse, she’s at my house.”

“What?”

Rose proceeded to tell her the whole story.  She had been out collecting plants and flowers to put in an arraignment when she heard a crash from the cottage.  Thinking something was wrong she hurried right there.  Someone was trying to brake in and Erin had climbed out the window and she was running down the driveway when Rose had shown up.

When Rose finished with her story, Robin just looked at her with her jaw haning open.  “So Erin is at you’re house?”  Rose nodded.  “Can you take me to her?”

“Why certainly, this way,” Rose lead Robin a way through the forest.  After a ¼ of a mile they came to a small clearing with a modest cottage that looked like it was built in colonial times.  It was a quaint little cottage built of stone with a thatched roof, just like something out of a fairy tale.

Inside Robin saw that it was nothing more then one room, just like a step back in time.  It was sparsely furnished with only a rough hand made table, two matching charis, a spinning wheel off in one corner and a fairly comfortable looking bed pushed against the far wall, but Robin didn’t notice any other then a figure curled up asleep on the bed.  The figure was Erin and Robin could see that her left arm was bandaged and that there was a stain of blood on it.

“She’s been asleep for a good two hours, so it should be okay to wake her.”  Rose walked the few feet to the bed.  “Erin dear, it’s time to wake up.”  Erin stirred, opened her eyes slowly and yawned.

“Hmm?  Robin!”  Erin jumped up fully awake.  She stood a moment and wavered.  Erin sat back down quickly.

“Are you okay?  What happened?  Who did this to you?  I came to the cottage and found it a mess.  It looked like a bull had ran through there.  I’ve been so worried about you, why didn’t you call me?  Jason’s ready to blow a gasket over there and…and…”

Erin looked at her sleepily and smiled.  “Calm down.  Now start from the beginning, and go slow this time.”

“Never mind everything else.  Are you okay?”  Robin touched the bandage on Erin’s arm.  Erin winced when Robin touched it.

“I’ll be fine.”  Erin told her trying to sound encouraging.

“What happened?”  Robin asked changing the subject, she knew that Erin wouldn’t tell her if she weren’t feeling well.

“It’s a long story.”  Erin said trying to avoid the subject.

“I have all the time in the world.”  Robin sat down on one of the wooden chairs and looked at Erin expectantly.

Erin sighed and started to tell Robin the story.  “Well I was weighting for you to come and the phone rang.  Who ever it was told me to get out of the house.  I have no clue who it was or why she called, but for some reason I took her seriously.  Just when I was heading for the door it opened, I thought it was you so I didn’t do anything.  But two men came in.  You know how in cartoons the cat chases the mouse around the house?  Well that’s kinda how it happened.  I tried to throw things in their way to slow them down but it didn’t really work.  After a few minutes they cornered me in my room, that’s when they drew out their guns.  I don’t think they were really intending to shoot me but the gun went off.  I threw a chair at them and jumped out my window.  They must have been real amateurs because they didn’t try to fallow me.  That’s when I ran into Rose and she brought me here.”  Erin shook her head.

“Thank god you weren’t hurt any worse then you were.”  Robin looked at Rose.  “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate what you’ve done.”

“It was no problem deary.  Now you should take this little doll back before that husband of yours doesn’t…oh what did you call it, ‘blow a gasket’ I think was.  Now you two better get going.”

Robin thanked Rose again for her help and her and Erin returned back to the cottage.  Jason was relieved when he saw them come out of the woods.  She told him everything that happened, Jason wasn’t happy, to say the least.  He insisted that she go to General Hospital to get her wound looked at and for once Erin didn’t protest.

When the doctor looked at Erin’s arm he determined that the bullet was still in her and it had to be removed immediately.  Before she went in to surgery, Erin asked Robin to call Nik and tell him what had happened.