SCENE 7
Julia had kept her rage bottled up as Lang led her to his private office. But as soon as the door was closed behind her, she exploded, "Why are you keeping me from Barnabas Collins? I demand to see him this instant!"
Dr. Lang sat in his chair calmly, unfazed by her outburst. Leaning back, he looked at her intently and asked, "What is your relationship with Barnabas Collins, Dr. Hoffman?"
She started, surprised by such a personal question, and unsure how to answer it, since she was at a loss to explain herself what her relationship with Barnabas truly was. She finally settled on, "I am Mr. Collins' personal physician. I have been treating him for quite a long time now, and I would like to see my patient."
Lang just ignored her request. "His personal physician? Then perhaps you can explain some things for me. Let me tell you about my experiences in treating Mr. Barnabas Collins." Julia was too much in control to show it, but her mind was in a panic. What, if anything, had he discovered about Barnabas? He continued, "As you know, my assistant witnessed the accident. It looked much worse than it actually was. Fortunately, their car took the worst of the damage. Now, my assistant is hardly a medical expert, but he does know the basics. He quickly determined that Miss Winters was all right, merely unconscious.
"Mr. Collins, on the other hand, seemed in much worse shape. He couldn't find a pulse or heartbeat, he didn't even seem to be breathing. He thought Mr. Collins was dead. Just then, Barnabas started writhing in pain, so of course my assistant knew he was alive, and brought him here. Mr. Collins continued to appear to be in extreme agony, although my examination revealed no injuries of any consequence. The only thing I did find was a small sliver of wood embedded under the skin of his chest. Certainly uncomfortable to the average person, but not enough to cause excruciating pain. But once the splinter was removed, Mr. Collins relaxed in relief.
"Though my assistant saw little blood on Mr. Collins or at the scene of the accident, the man had the lowest blood count I have seen in years. Then, early this morning, just about dawn, actually, Barnabas Collins fell into a death-like coma from which he has yet to wake." He paused and gave Julia a pointed look. "You weren't treating Mr. Collins for narcolepsy, I trust."
Julia, stunned by his narrative, just shook her head. Lang went on, "I didn't think so. So, just what are you treating him for?"
The question brought Dr. Hoffman back to reality. "Barnabas Collins has an extremely rare blood disorder. We have been making some progress in controlling it, but unfortunately, he still suffers some severe symptoms."
Dr. Lang crossed his arms. "And just what is the name of this 'blood disorder', as you call it?"
Julia looked away from him. "I- I haven't found a name for it yet." Before Lang could respond, she heard the office door open behind her. She turned to see who was coming in...and came face-to-face with a dead man. She gasped and cried, "Joe Haskell!"
"What?" The young man who had come in looked confused. "Excuse me, ma'am, but do I know you?"
For once, Julia was speechless. Though she herself had no memory of it, she knew from Barnabas and Willie that she had killed Joe Haskell when she was possessed by Angelique. Joe had been trying to stake Barnabas in his coffin when she had stabbed him. One of her greatest shames was the guilty feeling that, even if she wasn't possessed, that she might have done the same thing to save Barnabas if necessary. How could Joe be here?
Lang spoke up. "Dr. Julia Hoffman, this is my assistant, Jeff Clark."
It took a moment for his words to register to Julia. "Jeff Clark?" Her eyes widened. "So you aren't Joe Haskell?"
He put on a nervous grin. "I'm afraid not. I've never heard that name before. Is he a friend of yours?"
"Yes, he was." Julia studied his face: the rugged face, strong jaw, high forehead and classic features. True, his hairstyle was more conservative than Joe's, and he was clean-shaven, lacking the stubble that Joe constantly sported. Still..."The resemblance is remarkable."
"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but my name is Jeff Clark, and has been for as long as I can remember." He cast a pointed glance in Lang's direction, as if nervously sharing a private joke. "Doctor, I finished the examination of Mr. Collins." He held out the manila folder he was carrying. "Here are the results."
Lang took the folder. "Thank you, Jeff." He started to open the report, then looked up and saw Jeff was still standing there. "That will be all for now, Jeff."
The young man left the office without a word. Julia looked after him for a moment, still stunned by his resemblance to Joe Haskell, then turned to Dr. Lang. He had put on a pair of glasses, and was reading the report Jeff had given him. She watched nervously, wondering what was in that report. She was about to say something, when Lang suddenly shut the folder.
"Dr. Hoffman," he said, as he took off his glasses and put them in his jacket pocket, "I am ready to take you to Barnabas Collins."
SCENE 8
Victoria had fallen asleep again soon after Drs. Lang and Hoffman had left. This time, she dreamed of her last few minutes in 1790. She watched again as the man she loved was shot down. As the hood was put over her head, and darkness surrounded her, she called his name. "Peter! Peter!"
Slowly she woke up, his name still on her lips. As the room came into focus, she realized someone was standing over her. Soon his face became clear. "Peter! It is you!" Vicki sat up and embraced him. He was solid, he was real.
Jeff was embarrassed, but almost sorry to disillusion her. "Excuse me, Miss Winters, but we haven't met yet. Not while you were conscious, anyway. My name is Jeff Clark. I'm Dr. Lang's assistant."
Vicki reluctantly let him go as the news penetrated. She looked up at him, unable to believe what he said. "You aren't Peter Bradford?" she asked, unable to believe it wasn't him, but not able to believe Peter could be here in 1991 either.
"You know," he smiled at her, "this must be my day for being mistaken for someone else. Except Dr. Hoffman thought I was someone named Joe Haskell. But my name is Jeff Clark. Really."
Her face collapsed in disappointment. "I believe you. I knew you couldn't be. I just hoped..." She began weeping silently.
Jeff felt sorry for her. "This Peter was someone special, huh?" She nodded. "Then I'm sorry I'm not him. Who was he?"
"He was..." She thought about how much to say. He looked so much like Peter, she wanted to trust him completely. But she knew what people would think if she told them about her journey into the past. She decided on caution for the time being, until she knew more about this Jeff Clark. "He was someone who trusted me, someone who believed in me when no one else would."
"He sounds like a wonderful man." Suddenly, Jeff wanted to know everything about this girl. It was strange, but somehow he felt connected to her, drawn to her in some way. "What happened to him?" he asked, wanting to continue talking to her as long as possible.
"He- we lost each other. We had no choice. I was forced to leave him, there was nothing I could do. We...belonged to different worlds, different times. And I hope I might see him again one day, but I know it's impossible."
Touched by her story, Jeff felt the need to reassure her. Where the words came from, he didn't know. "This cannot be the end. Some way, somehow, he will find you again."
Victoria stared at him. "That's what he said to me, just before I left him."
Jeff, still wondering where the words had come from, tried to cover his discomfort. "So he was a wise man, as well as kind."
They looked at each other for a long moment. It was Jeff who turned away first, feeling guilty for awakening these feelings in Miss Winters when he had nothing to offer her. "I wanted to come and apologize to you. For the accident. I was having some car trouble, and tried to flag down some help. You must have been startled by me. You crashed just as I stepped into the road."
"The accident?" She looked down. "So it was you I saw. I should have realized."
He quickly discerned what must have happened. "You thought I was this Peter Bradford, and that's when you lost control of the car, wasn't it?"
Vicki nodded. "Dr. Lang says you brought me and Barnabas here after the accident." Jeff nodded back. "Then I suppose I should thank you. That road can be pretty lonely at night. If you hadn't been there, who knows how long it would have been before we were found."
Jeff chuckled. "If I hadn't been there, you probably wouldn't have had an accident in the first place."
"I don't know why, but for some reason, I think it was for the best." Jeff looked at her, puzzled by the comment. She shook her head. "I'll tell you what. You stop feeling guilty over my accident, and I promise to get better as soon as possible. Deal?"
He grinned at her. "Well, all right. But that's a pretty tall order for me. You'll have to do better than that." Now she looked at him, puzzled. "How about after Dr. Lang releases you, you let me take you to dinner? To make up for the trouble I caused you."
"But you didn't cause that much trouble. Really."
"Please? It will make me feel better about the whole thing."
"Well, okay. If it will make you feel better." She smiled at him.
He smiled back. "Wonderful. Look, you get some rest, okay? I'll be back in a while to check on you again." Jeff opened the door. "I'll see you soon, Victoria Winters." He walked out, closing the door behind him.
Vicki called after him, "I certainly hope so." Then, after a moment, quietly she added, "Peter."
