Bell stared at Ryan as the moonlight shone through the small window,
illuminating her beautiful face. She seemed to be sleeping soundly, thank
goodness, but he just couldn't seem to drift off. He had faith that Ken was
doing everything possible to get them out of there, but it just wasn't
enough.
He sighed and flipped over on his other side, facing the wall and...a third
cot.. Suddenly it hit him. Three cots...three partners..
He heard Ryan stirring next to him, and turned just in time to see her
eyelids flutter open. "Bell?" she asked in a sleep filled voice.
"Yeah Ryan?"
"Just making sure you were still here," she said, her voice becoming more
alert.
He stood and sat on her bed. She tensed for a moment, but he placed his
hand gently over hers and she relaxed. His hand was warm and soothing as it
tightened over her chilly palm. She shivered at the temperature change.
"Are you cold?" he asked, surveying her skimpy outfit which was visible
through the thin sheets. She gave a little nod and he pulled the sheet
tighter around her. He just sat there with her until sleep came, and she
loosened the grip she had on his hand. Smiling, he stood and placed a tender
kiss on her forehead. When she gave a tiny, sleepy smile, he went back to
his own bed and sleep crept up on him quickly.
§¤§¤§¤§
The shrill ring of his cellular phone snapped Ken out of his funk. He
picked it up and placed it to his ear. "What?" he listened with growing
turmoil. "Shit. Are you sure? Alright..bye," he slammed the phone down and
took a long swig of his black coffee.
He had just been informed that a bunch of cowboys from Station 77 had gone
looking for Ryan and Bell themselves. That was -all- he needed.
§¤§¤§¤§
"Okay. Let's do this. Meet back right here at 4:00am sharp," Wick ordered.
Everyone nodded their agreement then took off. Everyone but him, Melissa and
Rodriguez.
"Alright. I know this area pretty well. There are about two or three cabins
down towards the lake, and about four or five to the east of the lake," she
said, pointing in the general directions. "If we cut through the grass and
go around the lake, we can reach the first cabin much more quickly," she
said, already taking off. The men quickly followed.
Tall grass whipped at their ankles and bees swarmed around them as they
made their way through the saw grass and mud. Sliding her flashlight
cautiously over the ground, she lit a path for the men behind her as they
marched on.
§¤§¤§¤§
Rodriguez was traveling in circles. He stopped and stared up at the black,
starless sky, trying to think like a sailor. Only problem was....there
wasn't a star in the whole goddamn sky. He shone his flashlight over at the
familiar weeping willow tree and then at the stump on the other side.
Clicking off his light, he sat on the stump. "OW!" he cried, jumping to his
feet. "Stupid bark," he complained, rubbing his sore rear.
He rubbed his head and thought. What was he going to do? That psycho
Melissa was going to KILL him... He heard a twig snap and he jumped and spun
around. Seeing nothing, he backed up..right into someone..
§¤§¤§¤§
Melissa and Wick had just noticed Rodriguez's disappearance. She was
getting pretty angry. She didn't have time to search out dopey firemen who
couldn't follow a flashlight beam. Wick was trying to think of a way to calm
her nerves.
"Why don't we sit for awhile? Maybe Rodriguez will find us?" he suggested.
She laughed a little, but sat down. "Why don't you tell me a little more
about yourself?"
"What do you want to know? I'm pretty much homeless, no living family, not
a single soul that even remotely likes me...including your friend,
Kathleen," she sighed and caught a glimpse of Wick's sympathetic gaze.
Looking away she continued. "I came here to free myself from judgement...but
no matter what, it follows me. No one knows the real me. -No one-," she
said, her eyes welling up.
Wick took her hand. "There is at least one person who -does- like you...and
you're looking at him," he told her softly. She looked up, their eyes
meeting and she smiled. "And Kathleen doesn't HATE you...she just..doesn't
know how to deal with you."
"I think she's really nice. She's just...frumpy," she said, wrinkling her
nose. She stood and brushed off her shorts. She reached down and grabbed
Wick's hands, pulling him up. She guessed she pulled too hard, because he
flew up and smacked dead into her, knocking her backwards. She landed on the
ground...Wick on top of her..
§¤§¤§¤§
The person screamed and whipped around the same time Rodriguez did. It was
Carla. She let out a sigh of relief and laughed. "Oh, God. That scared me,"
she said, placing her hand over her heart, feeling it pounding in her rib
cage.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
"I got turned around," she said, sitting on the ground and folding her legs
under her.
"Yeah, me too," he said sitting next to her. They looked up at the sky, the
inky blackness and the barely visible silver-lined clouds. He was acutely
aware of her presence, the smell of her hair, her soft breathing... He was
becoming confused. He wasn't attracted to her....was he?
§¤§¤§¤§
Neither of them moved. Wick was rather enjoying just staring at her.
Breathing in her sweet perfume (RYAN'S sweet perfume), gazing into her eyes,
listening and feeling her heartbeat speed up.
Melissa looked up at Wick and realized he wasn't moving. And she wasn't
sure she wanted him to. But she -did- know that she wanted him to kiss her.
And he did. Gently at first, but then more hungrily. She'd never been
kissed before, but Wick's experienced lips taught her everything she needed
to know.
§¤§¤§¤§
Bell awoke to the sound of something dinging in his ear. He looked up and
blinked a few times to clear his eyes. Jerry stood there ringing a tiny bell
at his ear.
"Ah. You're awake," he laughed. Bell turned and saw Ryan standing across
from his bed at the window, her arms cuffed to the bars.
"What are you doing to her?" Bell demanded.
"I haven't decided yet..but you're going to watch," he grinned. "I thought
you'd might enjoy it."
"You son of a —" he started. Jerry turned and punched him in the jaw. He
tasted blood and then felt it trickle down out of the corner of his mouth.
Ryan gasped, but out of fear said nothing.
"Now, Michael. Is that anyway to talk to me? Hmm? I hold the key to
Kathleen's fortune. You wouldn't want anything dreadful to happen to
her...would you?"
Bell shot him a withering glare but kept quiet. Jerry laughed and walked
across the room and stood next to Ryan. "Should we give him a show?" he
asked, winking and rubbing her shoulder seductively. She tried to pull her
shoulder back, but she couldn't move it very far. "Aw...Ryan...okay. We'll
save that for another time," he said, cupping the side of her face in his
hand. Rubbing his thumb over her cheek, he kissed her hard. She resisted,
and when his tongue found its way into her mouth, she bit down on it as hard
as she possibly could. He drew back but not before she tasted his blood in
her mouth. Spitting, she watched as he held his tongue, blood seeping onto
his fingers.
He grabbed the cane he had brought in with him and prepared to hit her with
it. He stopped and gazed over at Bell's wide-eyed, terrified expression and
laughed. Turning back to Ryan he said, "no. Hurting you would be TOO easy,"
he walked over to Bell, smiled and then hit him hard over the head with the
cane, knocking him out cold.
****
Ryan had been sitting with him for quite some time, but he had just
recently started babbling. He wasn't awake, but he wasn't unconscious. He
had started mumbling incoherently about his family and Megan, but was now
quiet.
"But you...." he started up again. "Kathleen. You are my best friend.." he
said something after that, but she couldn't make it out. She mopped his
forehead and stroked his face. "I wish I could be the man you've always
dreamed of. I..I wish I could be Superman.." he mumbled. She stifled a laugh
and continued to bring comfort to his body. "I love you, Ryan..."
She gasped then quickly brushed the thought away. He was delusional. He had
no clue what he was saying. "Sshh. Michael. It's okay. Just...lay still. His
eyelids were fluttering and then they opened.
"Ow..." he moaned. He felt like the whole band of Pink Floyd was having a
concert inside his head. He had the strangest feeling of Deja vu as he
looked up into Ryan's breathtaking face. He struggled to sit up and she
offered her hand. He took it and gazed up at her. He had been dreaming. He'd
told her that he loved her... what an odd dream...
"Are you okay?" she asked, a concerned look on her face. A sudden urge to
kiss away the concern passed through Bell, but he shook it off.
"Yeah. My head is -killing- me, but yeah. I'm okay," she offered a tight
smile and sat on the bed next to him. He put a reassuring arm around her and
the settled down on the narrow bed. She turned on her side and scooted her
body close to his. Settling her head on his chest, she allowed her mind to
wander back to the moment he had said that he loved her. She knew he didn't
mean it, but she still felt kinda special...
§¤§¤§¤§
They didn't know just how long they had been laying there and kissing until
Wick noticed that the sky was getting lighter. He reluctantly pulled himself
off Melissa and helped her to her feet. She grinned and wiped the edges of
her mouth where the taste of Wick's kisses still lingered.
"We'd..uh..better get goin'," Wick said, staring at Melissa. He couldn't
stop thinking about the way her body fit perfectly into his...the way her
lips tasted... He shook his head and remembered the reason they were out
there. Ryan and Bell. Ryan and Bell. Ryan and Bell.
"Yeah. We still have to find poor Rodriguez," Melissa laughed. She could
feel all her barriers being ripped down, all her defenses lowered. Wick had
opened something she didn't know existed...her heart.
They marched on, waving their flashlights around in circles. They were
unsure of what they were looking for, but they knew they were looking.
"Sshh! What's that noise?" Melissa asked. Wick listened and heard kind of a
sucking noise. He waved his flashlight to the source of the sounds and was
shocked at what he saw...
§¤§¤§¤§
Rodriguez snapped his head away from Carla's. An extremely bright light had
invaded their tender moment. He looked up to see Wick and Melissa gaping
down at them. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Carla hastily stand and
straighten her shirt. He offered a sheepish grin then sprang to his feet.
"Man, you go," Wick laughed. Carla placed her hands on her slender hips and
shot him a shriveling glare, making him wince. The only other person who's
looks could scare him that bad was Ryan.
"Well, um...should we head back?" Carla suggested. Laughing and shaking his
head, Wick and Melissa turned and headed back in the direction they had come
in.
§¤§¤§¤§
Back at the station, they were getting hell from Ken. "What did you all
think you were doing?" he yelled waving his arms in the air. "I don't have
time to baby-sit you! In case you haven't noticed, Kat and Bell are
missing!" He was getting angrier by the second, and he couldn't do anything
about it. Kat, the woman he was so in love with was missing...and what made
it worse was the fact that she was alone with HIM.
"Look, Ken, we wouldn't have done anything if we'd thought that you were
getting any closer," Carla reasoned gently. She wanted to talk before Wick
did, because she knew he'd totally blow up at Ken. She could see his face
getting red and his hands were curling and uncurling into fists.
"How am I supposed to be getting any closer when I have to track down a
bunch of imbeciles?" he fired.
"Hey! Excuse me, Mr....whoever you are. I don't see any cause for this. We
didn't do anything wrong. We didn't harm anyone, or trespass. No one got
hurt, no one's missing. We were just trying to help our friends!" Melissa
yelled. Ken bit his lip trying to hide a smile.
"Look, little girl, I don't know who you think you are, but you need to
just step back, okay? You don't know who you're up against."
"Oh, and you do?" she countered. Rodriguez grabbed her arm and pulled her
over to the couch. She resisted but finally plopped down into the cool
leather.
"This is my first and last warning. Don't mess around in things you don't
understand. I would hate to have to arrest you."
Watching Ken exit the station, Wick unclenched his fists and let out the
deep breath he had been holding. Melissa jumped up and rubbed his shoulders,
trying to calm him a little.
§¤§¤§¤§
Their whole day had consisted of caring for each other and praying that
Jerry would keep his distance. Ryan's arms and legs were still hurting
pretty bad and Bell's head hadn't stopped hurting. They had been a huge
comfort to each other, just being there, and talking...
She watched as he laid down on the bed, gingerly placing his head on the
pillow. She smiled softly and desperately wished that his pain was her own.
She flipped on her side, away from him and quickly fell asleep.
|| Jerry was closing in on her. She had nowhere to go. He had a knife in
his hand and he slowly lowered it down onto her exposed, naked body. She
screamed in pain and in fear, but that only seemed to egg him on. He grabbed
her shoulders and shook her hard. Bringing her hands up she screamed and
thrashed her arms wildly. ||
She was faintly aware of someone shaking her awake. Her eyes fluttered open
and she saw a figure standing over her, their hands sliding down her arms...
