::Broken::
By Ca
Rating: Possibly M or strong PG.
Notes at End
Four weeks after Malcolm's job transfer
Ward Seventeen
Ten p.m.
"Terri? You're working late." Mitch appeared through the double doors to see Terri at the reception desk. The only other sounds were of the air conditioning clicking on and off, and the squeak and shuffle of nurse's shoes. Somewhere in the distance, a toilet flushed, and then there was the rattle of a drip being pushed down the hall. She looked up and smiled, but there were dark shadows under her eyes.
"There's a lot to do. I thought you were supposed to be at home with Rose?"
"She took Lucy to see her parents. They'll probably be gone for the week. I have to pick them up, anyway. Rose is still a bit nervous about driving."
"Hmmm." Terri looked back down at her notes.
"Have you seen Jane Mason's notes? She's in room four." Mitch shuffled through papers. "I still can't work out Matt's filing system."
"He must take after Jodi." Terri agreed, and they shared a smile for a moment.
"Mitch, Terri. Didn't think you were supposed to be on the night shift." Von spoke as she came to put a folder on the desk. Terri jumped visibly at the interruption. She pushed her hair back with one hand.
"No, I'm not. Just checking something."
"Well you can check it tomorrow. Go home. You've been running yourself ragged since..." Von left the sentence incomplete. Malcolm was still a touchy subject with Terri, and although Von had asked about it, she had been brushed off with a denial that anything was wrong.
"All right." Terri shut the folder with a sigh. Mitch was still madly shuffling through files.
"Night all." Terri left, putting her jumper on as she went. Although it was summer, for some reason a rare coldness had developed over the hospital, inside and out.
"Von have you seen Jane Mason's notes?" Mitch finished looking through he bottom shelf and started on the top shelf again.
"I've got it right here." Von passed it to Mitch's outstretched hand. She paused a moment before she spoke again.
"Worried about Terri?" Leaning on the desk to read the notes, Mitch glanced up briefly.
"A little."
"You know why?" Von was persistent, and this time Mitch stayed looking at her.
"No, why?"
"I don't know. You should talk to her." Von gave a small smile as she walked out. She'd done her good Samaritan bit, which was rare and a bit sickening, but now it was up to those two.
Later
Terri Sullivan's residence
The phone rang and Terri woke up, vaguely unsettled and disorientated. She'd decided to stay in Malcolm's flat after he left, because she preferred it to her own. It was bigger, and it reminded her of him.
Looking at the clock, she noticed that it was two am.
"Hello." She finally reached the phone, banging her knee on the bedside table as she swung her legs over the edge. Rubbing the spot where it hurt, she waited for an answer, but there was nothing but heavy breathing.
"Hello?" Terri said again, trying to discern who it was. Sighing, she hung up. Probably a wrong number, or some kids making prank calls.
Later still
Mitch Stevens' residence
After Mitch got back from the hospital, he couldn't help but think about Terri. She'd been working for longer ever since Malcolm left, and he'd noticed she'd been getting exhausted. She'd also been losing weight, and he hadn't seen her eat lunch at work for ages. Of course, he hadn't really noticed, being involved in work too. To both of them, work was an out, an easy way to ignore problems that wouldn't go away; for Mitch, it was Rose, but for Terri; who knew. She was being much more withdrawn too. She didn't talk to Von as much, and was ready to talk to anyone in her office about their problems, but never about hers.
The next day
Ward 17
Bron was handing out invitations to the staff when Mitch arrived.
"Better be there." She said, as she gave it to him. The wedding was going to be in a week.
"It's nothing special. Just a backyard barbecue after a small ceremony. Not many people are going to be there." Ben arrived then, and gave Bron a kiss on the cheek.
"I know your not many people, so there will probably end up being a lot more than we thought." Bron turned round the put her arms around his neck.
"You have no faith."
"I better go, still on call." Ben kissed her one last time, and called his number into the radio. Scott answered and they heard him laugh on the radio as Ben was walking out to the lift.
"Terri." Bron caught Terri as she was walking past with a clipboard and a pen. "Only one week from now." She said as she handed an invitation over.
"Oh, great. I wouldn't miss it." Terri said, but it was clear to see she was preoccupied.
"Matt, Jodi and Conner are flying back over for this, so Jode can be my bridesmaid." Bron said as she returned to the desk.
"Cool." Matt said, answering the ringing phone.
"Bron, can you switch from room seven to room ten." Terri came back to the desk, minus the clipboard, and Bron dropped the invitations onto the clutter that marred the reception desk.
"Sure, no problem. Who's taking ten."
"Jared will be, then I'll take three because they've had to shift a high dependency up here, and until we discharge Mrs. Rogers in room one, we can't give them a room to themselves."
"Okay." Bron left to check on her patients, and Matt answered another phone.
"Terri, for you."
"Thanks." Terri took the phone and heard heavy breathing again. She rubbed her forehead tiredly as she hung up.
"That was quick." Matt hung up the phone he had, and Terri shook her head.
"Must have been a wrong number or something."
"Couldn't have been. They asked for Terri Sullivan, said it was urgent, something that needed to be discussed, or something like that." Terri shrugged and left as another patient came rolling in. Matt answered two phones as they both rang at once.
"It's going to be a busy day." Bron said as she walked past.
"Has anyone seen Terri?" Matt looked around the corner to the double doors. "She was here a second ago..." He scratched his head, and asked if he could take a message. After a negative reply, he hung up and concentrated on the other phone call.
"Jared, did you get the urine samples from Mrs. Rogers yet?" Mitch called out.
"She says she doesn't need to go, but she'll call me if that changes."
"Right, not to worry too much, mate, but we need them before one." Mitch wrote a few notes on a chart as Luke walked through the door. He switched on the light on the X-ray board and put a few sheets up.
"Mitch, would you mind looking at this?"
"What is it- looks like a compound fracture, right femur."
"That's what I thought, but I'm not too sure whether I should set it for temporary or permanent, in case the swelling gets worse. I think I'll go temporary and keep her in overnight."
"Right." Mitch went back to his chart and looked at his next patient on the white-board.
"Mitch, could you see Delpha Nuance in seven, she's got a family history in diabetes, it could affect her medicine. She was just brought in." Terri walked to the desk.
"Okay, anything else I need to know?" Terri handed Mitch the Delpha's chart.
"It's all in there."
"Terri, someone called for you, didn't leave a name or anything. It sounded pretty important."
"Okay, thanks Matt. Bron, Kylie's coming to see Edward Greer in six, could you make sure his obs are updated before she gets here."
"No problem. Hey, Terri, are you sure you can handle five rooms, I've only got three, Jared's got two."
"Yeah, I'll be fine. Von should be here soon. Edward Greer, okay?"
"Okay." Bron shot a worried glance at Terri's back.
"I say we start a pool on how long it is before Terri books a plane ticket to America." Matt spoke in Bron's ear.
"Okay, I say she stays here." She handed over a ten dollar note from her pocket, and started toward room six.
"How about you, Vonny? Want to place a bet? How long till Terri takes off to the USA?" Matt smiled hopefully.
"Oh, don't you have anything better to do?" Von was in a bad mood from having to work a double shift, and looked up to scowl at Matt as she walked through the doors.
"Nope, nothing at all. Hey, maybe if they put in an arcade in the sun room... Hello, Ward 17?"
Von moved out of the way as the high dependency patient was wheeled in. She took the notes, and followed the bed into three.
"Hi, I'm Terri, I'll be your nurse today. Just lie still and try to relax as I put you on some oxygen. It will help you to breathe better. Okay?" Terri watched as the frail man in the bed nodded, and smiled at him.
"Oh, hi Von, glad you're here. Can you take five, eight and nine?"
"You have to slow down." Von said as Terri scribbled down the time on the chart, and the potency of oxygen given.
"Oh, Von, I'm hardly rushing. It's just a busy day." Terri walked around to room seven, emptied a catheter, changed a bed and checked obs. She talked to some of the patients, and wrote a few more notes on the charts.
"Terri, someone here to see you." A call came from the desk. Terri put the dirty laundry in a laundry bin nearby, and walked out to the desk. Standing there was a youngish police officer, rolling his hat in his hands.
"Terri Sullivan?"
"Yes." Terri frowned slightly and noticed that most of the busyness around them had died to a minimum.
"Let's go to my office." She suggested, and the officer followed her in. He closed the door behind him, and sat in the chair when it was offered.
"Hi, I'm Caleb Smith. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but..." Caleb sighed and took a deep breath. "Early this morning, Richard Bird escaped from the jail he was in. It was said by other inmates that he kept repeating your name."
"Oh my god." Terri's first thought was of Bron.
"I understand it was one of your staff that was kidnapped by him."
"That's right, Bron Craig." Terri was leaning forward in her chair, her hands clasped in front of her.
"Would you like to tell her, or will I?" The police officer looked at Terri kindly and she sighed and rubbed her face with both hands.
"I will. Do you think he's a threat."
"I hate to tell you this, but yes, I think he is. You and Bron were the ones that got away- you through a previous engagement I have come to understand, and Bron through sheer determination." Terri nodded, and the police officer stood. He handed her a card with a number on it. "That's my home number, ring me there any time, day or night, if you feel threatened or anything."
"Thank you."
"Remember, don't go out at night, lock all doors and windows, lock your doors when driving around and don't open your front door to anyone."
"Will you be telling the rest of the hospital about this."
"Actually, we don't believe Mr. Bird will be a threat to anyone else, so we'd prefer if you kept this quiet. We've already spoken tot he owners of the hospital, and since funds suffered last time through the reluctance of people to enter a hospital that had a rapist running around, they thought it best to keep quiet. And could you pass that along to Bron, too."
"Sure." Caleb stood, and so did Terri, but she felt shaky.
"I guess I'll be seeing you later sometime. I'll come to see you if we catch him. If not, and we believe he is a big enough threat to you, you may have to consider the witness protection program." Terri offered a small smile as he left, then sank back into her chair. Von knocked slightly on the open door before poking her head in.
"Room three needs checking again, but I could do it if you like?" Terri kept looking down for a moment too long, then looked up to Von with a forced smile on her face.
"Please. And could you tell Bron to see me in here now."
"Will do." Von turned and left.
"Bron- Terri's office, now." She instructed before she left to go to room three.
Bron tentatively pushed the door open to find a very pale Terri seated behind the desk.
"Come in, and close the door." Terri motioned towards the seat and Bron sat.
"Bron, I'm not too sure how to tell you this. Um." Terri started, then rubbed her eyes for a moment.
"What's wrong?" Bron leant forward and reached an arm out.
"Early this morning..." The phone rang and Terri picked it up.
"Hello?" She listened for a moment before slamming it down. It was the breathing again; it was beginning to scare her. "Wrong number." She said by way of explanation. Sighing again, Terri started once more.
"Bron, early this morning Richard Bird escaped from jail. It appears he's after me instead of you, but it doesn't seem like there's any risk of him raping anyone at the hospital so the police and the hospital board want it kept quiet."
"No. This can't be happening. I'm getting married next week!" Bron yelled, getting up from the chair. Terri moved around to hug her, and she stroked Bron's hair as she cried.
Outside the room, Jared had heard Bron's yell, and was standing nonchalantly near the door, trying to hear more.
Terri emerged and shut the door behind her. "Jared, I need you to take Bron's rooms for her. Matt, call Ben, then patch him through to my office. Call the Agency and tell them we need a nurse right now." Terri disappeared back into her office, and Matt started making the phone calls.
"Wonder what that was all about?" Jared said. Von walked past him to stack a clipboard on the already precarious pile.
"Never mind. You better look at room four. As soon as Mitch is finished looking at Jane, you can fill in a discharge sheet."
"Okay." Jared sighed. Terri came back out, and Matt gave her the details.
"Terri, Ben's on a call-out, should be back soon. An agency nurse is just downstairs, was supposed to do a shift on Ward Eleven, but something's happened, and for once they've overbooked on nurses."
"Right, get the nurse to take seven, nine and five. Jared can keep ten, one and take six, and Von can get the rest. Tell Ben to go straight home if you can reach him."
"Okay. Is everything all right, Terri?"
"Yeah." Terri rubbed a hand to her forehead as if she had a headache, and forced a smile. "Yeah, everything's fine. I'll be back soon."
"Okay. Ward 17, Matt speaking." Matt turned from her and Terri got Bron's bag from the locker room. She went back to her office, and found Bron waiting. They went downstairs and took Bron's car to get home.
Afternoon
Bron and Ben's residence
As soon as Ben arrived, and Terri had explained most of it to him, she left. She called a cab, and went straight back to the hospital to finish her shift and make up for the extra hours.
"Any messages, Matt?" Terri asked as she came back in.
"No, but Joan is waiting in your office."
"Joan?" Terri said, startled momentarily.
"The great Joan herself. Oh, and some guy has been calling for you all afternoon, but he doesn't want to leave messages. The weird thing is, it sounds like he's talking through a tissue or something." Terri thought of Richard, someplace out there, calling her and breathing into the phone whenever she answered.
"Thanks, Matt." Terri went into her office. Joan was admiring the flowers; Malcolm had called a florist shop close to All Saints from America and ordered them for her. She missed him.
"Joan."
"Oh, hi Terri." Joan sat down in the visitor's chair, and Terri sat behind her desk, feeling unsettled.
"What are you doing here?"
"I know you've heard- about the rapist." Joan leant forward a little, as if to exude a confidential air.
"Yes." Terri said, concerned. She knew it was going to be about her job.
"The board has decided you're going to be too big a liability to continue working here, and there's also the fact that the Doctor used to work here too- so he knows every nook and cranny of this place. Every place he can conceal himself, waiting..." Joan gave a sigh, and her voice returned from the melodramatic note it had been held at.
"One month, full pay. Starting in a week. Surely you can't expect better than that."
"But what if he's not caught?" Terri rubbed her face tiredly. The day was on a rapid downhill slide, and it was all she could do to keep from being buried under the mess.
"I'm sorry, Terri. I think you should consider looking for another job." Joan stood up with a grunt and walked to the door. She had once been romantically involved with Richard, and although she didn't show it, Terri knew she was still shaken. He had broken it off a year ago, before the rapes started, and before he and Terri had been on a few casual dinner dates.
"Be careful, Terri. Be very careful." She said before she walked out. Terri sat back in her chair, the words echoing around in her head. Was it a well disguised threat, or a pearl of concern?
Mitch chose that moment to knock and enter. He was the kind of person who knocked on a door as he was opening it, not before. By the time Terri had looked up, he was already in the room, and shutting the door.
"Hi, Mitch. What's wrong?" Terri sat up, trying to stay alert, but failing slightly. He sat down, and pulled the chair closer so their knees were touching under the desk.
"I've heard. About Richard." Terri put her head back and rubbed both eyes with her fingertips.
"Does everyone know?" She said. Mitch shook his head.
"Joan told me then. Thought you might need a friend." Terri started to speak, but Mitch silenced her by holding up one finger. Then he continued.
"Terri, I know you decided for us that we can't be friends anymore because of... What happened between us."
"Mitch-" She tried to speak, but he spoke over the top of her.
"Terri, we can still be friends can't we?" The look he gave her was pleading, and she remembered as the look he would give her in their days together, when he wanted something really badly.
"You need a friend right now. Rose is away- I can stay over if you like." At the last sentence, Terri looked up with her blue eyes turning rapidly glacial.
"That's all this is, isn't it Mitch. Malcolm's gone now- Rose is away. Are all men so..." Terri let her sentence trail off, as she started gathering up her things.
She walked to the door. "Mitch." She sighed as she reached for the handle. "I used to love you. You were the first person I loved in my life." It seemed like there was more to say, but she couldn't find the words to express it. Pushing a strand of hair back from her face, Terri let herself out the door and slammed it. The noise echoed past the reception desk. By this time, Matt, Jared and Von were watching. She turned back to them, then away. She was already out the doors when Mitch emerged from her office. Curious looks greeted him as he headed for the tea room. Obviously, a fight had gone on, but no one was going to explain.
"What do you think that was about?" Matt asked as the lift doors shut behind Terri, and the tearoom door shut behind Mitch.
"Get back to work." Von went towards the tearoom and Jared shrugged, as he headed towards his patients room.
"I tell you, there's a conspiracy happening." Matt called after Jared.
In the tearoom, Mitch was leaning on the sink, his arms folded across his chest. Von let herself in the room and closed the door gently behind her.
"Want to talk?" She asked. Mitch let out a sigh and uncrossed his arms.
"When did she change, Von? Was it when she was with Malcolm?" Mitch turned to look out the window.
"What happened now?" Von pulled a chair out and sat at the table. She folded her hands together as she rested them on the scarred tabletop.
"I'm worried about her." Mitch coughed and turned back to Von. "Richard Bird's escaped from jail. Joan told me he was probably after Terri. The hospital wants to keep it quiet, though."
"Oh my god." Von sat back in her chair.
"I offered to stay over there the night, but Terri thought it was just an excuse... Told me just because Malcolm had gone, and because Rose was away... It was no reason..."
"Mitch, don't let it worry you. I'll call around there tonight. You should try and call anyway. She won't stay mad for too long."
"Yeah, I will. Thanks Von." Mitch said. As he crossed the floor to leave, Von spoke.
"You're still in love with her, aren't you?" She waited for an answer, and knew it as Mitch's shoulders drooped slightly, before he opened the door and left.
7 p.m.
Terri Sullivan's apartment
Terri was just finishing her dinner as the doorbell rang. She put the plate in the sink before she went to answer it. Standing at the door, she remembered the police officer's words.
'Don't open your front door to anyone.'
Hesitating, Terri rested a hand lightly on the handle. When the knock didn't come again, she felt brave enough to crack the door open slightly.
There was no one outside.
But from the bushes, a man watched, waiting. Looking while Terri looked around, unable to see him. Unable to see the threat of him.
Closing the door and engaging the latch again, Terri leaned against it. She jumped when the phone rang. The cordless was on the hall table, and she pressed the talk button with trepidation.
"Hello."
"Terri, it's Mitch." Terri let out a small sigh of relief and pressed a hand to her chest. Her heart was fluttering, and she could feel her pulse racing slightly.
"Listen, Terri, I'm sorry about today." She could hear the burble of a television in the background, and could imagine him sitting in front of it, the picture playing across his face in mottled shadows of blue and black.
"I didn't mean anything by it. I just thought that you might have felt safer with someone in the house."
"It's okay, Mitch. I was just tired. Sorry. About what I said."
"Is Von with you?"
"No. Was she coming over."
"Yes. Sorry, I... I told her about Richard. I thought it might be easier having Von there instead of me. She said she would come over." There was a silence for a moment while each pondered their own thoughts.
A beep was heard, and Mitch swore under his breath.
"There's another call coming in. I'll just be a second." He pressed the button to change calls.
"Hello."
"Hello, darling. Were you on the phone?" It was Rose, and her speech sounded slurred. Mitch wondered if she'd been taking her medicine.
"I still am. I'll just finish that call off and I'll be all yours." He switched back to Terri's phone before he could hear Rose's voice turn deeper with menace.
"You'd better be all mine."
"Terri?" Mitch asked. There was no answer, but there was no beeping, to tell him she had hung up.
"Terri?" His voice got louder, and he looked around wildly, as if in his place, there was something that would tell him of her whereabouts. In the background, he thought he heard a scream, then a clunk. Then there was deathly silence.
"Terri?" He asked again, although it would be useless. He pressed the end button on the phone and threw it down, panic scrambling his thoughts. What he didn't remember, as he rushed to get his keys, was that Rose was still on the phone.
"Mitch! Mitch, darling. You'd better be there. I'll take Lucy if you don't answer. MITCH!"
Meanwhile...
"Terri. The one that got away." Richard leant closer to her, and smelt her hair. Terri cowered, frozen under his touch, praying silently for a miracle.
After Mitch changed calls, the door was knocked on again. Thinking it was Von, Terri left the phone on the table, before opening the door. Immediately, a strong hand clamped over her mouth, and another hand pushed her shoulder so she turned around, then locked around her neck. The man she saw was dirtier, and dressed in a black track suit, but it was unmistakably Richard Bird.
He swung the door shut with his foot and pushed Terri through to the kitchen.
"What are you doing here." She said, when he uncovered her mouth.
"Why do you think I'm here. I just wanted you. Bron was something on the side, another choice. You were too hard to get to, because you were giving it to Malcolm every night. I saw you two, kissing in the halls, on the lift. I saw you on Ward eleven." Richard's voice was turning to a growl, a low snarl that betrayed his anger. Terri tried to step back, but ran into the sink. She looked around for a weapon, something to use, but there was nothing.
"Don't think of running away. You can't get away." Richard was moving closer to her, invading her space. He leant so close that she could feel his body heat.
"Don't struggle and you won't get hurt." He ripped at her shirt, and Terri pushed past him, breathing hard. Her breaths were loud in her ears, and she felt dizzy. He caught her as she was about to run out of the kitchen, heading for the door or the stairs, whichever way she turned.
"Bitch." He said, pulling her back close to him. His erection was hard against her, and she struggled, but it was to no use.
Pushing her to the floor, and dragging her back to the kitchen, then hitting her a few times in the face hard enough to draw blood, Richard started unbuckling his pants.
7.30 p.m.
Mullaby Road
Mitch pushed his horn down, adding to the growing noise as impatient drivers took out their anger. There was an accident ahead, and it was clear everyone was more concerned about getting home than about the people who were in the accident. Mitch caught sight of flashing lights ahead, and saw ambo workers lifting a stretcher into their van. They drove off, and the tow truck pulled the wreck to the side of the road. Traffic was directed through, but slowly. Cut back from a four lane street to a two lane, tempers were high from frayed drivers, and a few from the other side passed over to the wrong side of the road, preventing the traffic from his side to move forward. A police vehicle moved in, and as soon as Mitch was passed it, he sped towards Terri's apartment. He knew she had moved to Malcolm's just before he left, and had stayed there, but he didn't know the exact address. Mitch checked the clock on the dash. Hopefully he was only fifteen minutes away.
7.50 p.m.
Von Ryan's residence
Von viciously tried to start her car for the fourth time. It seemed dead, and although she had fiddled around with the battery- with not the faintest of what she was doing- it still wouldn't work.
She'd been trying to leave for Terri's for at least half an hour, and although she had tried to call, it had been engaged every time. Reasoning with herself, and ignoring the knot of dread that was slowly tying itself in her stomach, Von tried Terri once more. Still engaged. She placed the next call to a taxi service, and was on her way in only a few minutes. It only took a twenty minute drive- when traffic was heavy, so it should take less time now. Unfortunately, she had the World's slowest driver.
"Come on, come on." Von impatiently pushed twenty dollars at the man, and he reluctantly sped up. Von crossed her fingers as the cab rushed through streets lit with street lights, and with lights shining from houses. She hoped Terri was all right.
8 p.m.
Terri Sullivan's apartment
Terri still lay on the floor after Richard had crawled off her and redressed. She shakily reached for her clothes; most of them were ripped and tattered, and pulled them back on. She was sore, and aching, and tired of being weak. Her cheekbone was stinging from a hit he had given her, and she knew purple bruises were going to ring her arms from the way he had held her down. Her lip was busted open, and she could taste blood in her mouth. There was another cut on her hairline that was bleeding copious amounts of blood; it dripped past her eye and down onto her clothes.
When she had nearly been raped before, it had taken a lot of time to get through it. She had been convicted for murder, but at least she had stood up for herself. This time she had been powerless and unable to stop him. She wondered if she really wanted to, then forgot that thought.
Now she was huddling in the corner of the kitchen, her back pushed harshly into a cupboard handle.
Richard was standing at the kitchen table, looking out the window. He disappeared into the hallway, then came back carrying the phone. He threw it down at her, as if daring her to use it. Terri stared at it blankly.
"Call the cops- that's what you want, isn't it?" He said, a challenge evident in his tone. Terri looked back up at him, her blue eyes glazed with tears. As he heard a car pull in, Richard swore softly, and looked down the hallway. There was a back door out through the laundry, and he ran that way. Terri let out a sigh of relief as she heard the door open and close.
She reached for the phone, and waited for someone to come through the door but no one did. It must have been the people in the next house. They were always getting home late.
Dialing triple 0, Terri spoke quickly, then hung up quicker. There was a police station nearby, and in ten minutes there was a knock on the door.
Terri didn't get up to open it, but instead listened to the police officers call out. When they finally came, she stayed crouched down to answer their questions. She hadn't told them she was raped; just that Richard Bird, an escapee from jail, had burst in, hit her, then left again. They took down everything she had to say, but didn't ask her to come to the station. She was grateful.
She heard another car pull in, and hoped it wasn't anyone she knew.
Unfortunately, it was Mitch.
He knew which house was Terri's by the car parked in the driveway with flashing lights. Pulling up next to it, hoping it was a false alarm, Mitch raced straight in. Terri was crouched down in the corner of the kitchen, huddled into a tight ball. Straight away he wanted to hug her, pull her close and make her forget what happened, and his voice betrayed that, as it cracked when he spoke her name.
"Terri." A police officer moved past him, and motioned for him to follow.
"She said Richard Bird burst in, hit her a few times, then left again. But something doesn't add up." The police officer frowned, and looked at Mitch as though he could add something. When there was no reply, the police officer cleared his throat.
"Well, you'll stay with her, won't you. She needs medical attention."
"I'm a doctor." Mitch said, aching to get back to Terri. He heard another car pull up outside, and Von appeared through the door, clasping a purse, and looking for Terri.
"In the kitchen." Mitch said. The second police officer walked out of the kitchen as Von walked in. They both shook Mitch's hand.
"Could we have your mobile number, Sir. It would obviously be less distressing if you told her if we catch Richard Bird. Just so we can ring you first." Mitch gave them the number, and they left.
Von appeared back through the door. She obviously hadn't been able to get a reply out of Terri, and wanted Mitch to make the first move.
"I'm going outside for a cigarette." She said, as she passed him.
"Be careful." Mitch grimly walked back into the kitchen. Terri was still huddled into the corner. She held out a hand for him to take, and he held on tightly, while getting out his handkerchief with his other hand and wiping the blood off her face. She looked better but the bruises were still there.
"Terri-"
"I'm okay." She said softly, but with resolve. Mitch looked at her, and his look said it all; then why are you still parked on Malcolm's designer tiles?
"I'm okay." Terri repeated, louder this time. Mitch knelt, then sat next to her. She pulled away from him, and from what he had seen in his years as a doctor, this was typical of rape victims.
"Did he rape you?" Mitch asked. Terri reacted visibly, pulling herself further away from Mitch.
"I told the police he didn't-"
"And now I'm asking, did he rape you, Terri." His voice got louder, and she was silent for a moment as she held his eyes. Then, defeated, she looked down. That was his answer there, and he felt himself feel close to tears as he received the silent affirmation.
"I couldn't stop him. He was so strong." Here eyes were filled with the salty stains of tears as she looked back up at him. Mitch wanted to hurt Richard at that moment; he hated him, and it was the kind of hate that was hard to achieve- a red, burning hate that made his insides feel like they were made of molten steel.
Von chose that moment to reenter the kitchen- smelling of cigarette smoke, and looked to Mitch. Terri was looking down again, but she wasn't shaking as much. With a quick shudder, she stood up, then swayed, grabbing the cupboard.
"Von, you can go home if you like." When she spoke louder, her voice was hoarse. Von looked her in the eye.
"I'm sorry I wasn't here." It was a quiet sorry, one that could have gone unsaid, but Von knew she would feel guilt whenever she thought of this night.
"It's okay. No one could have stopped it." Terri took two quick steps to pass Mitch, then steadied herself on the counter again. Mitch stood up, waiting for Terri to do something, but she just stood, weakly clinging onto the counter.
"I'll call." Von said. She walked towards the door before she remembered she had to call a taxi.
"I need to call a taxi." Von said.
"That's okay. You can go with Mitch." Terri said quickly.
"You can't be here alone-" Mitch started. Terri turned towards him.
"I'll be in the car." Von said, leaving.
She was sitting in it when she saw the taxi pull up. Malcolm got out, with a small bag and looked towards the car. The windows were tinted so he couldn't see her, but Von could tell he recognized it as Mitch's car.
He entered the house, and she waited for someone to emerge.
The house wasn't big enough for the two of them.
"Malcolm?" Mitch said, as he appeared in the doorway. Terri turned and saw him. She smiled, and Mitch felt like the third wheel; turning but unneeded.
"Mitch." Malcolm's voice was cold when he saw Mitch, and Terri sniffed quietly.
"It's okay, he was just leaving." She said. Now that Malcolm was here with Terri, Mitch saw no need to stay. He knew he could have got her to talk to him if they were alone, and maybe he could have persuaded her to tell the police that it was a rape.
"Bye, Terri." His eyes were pleading as he passed her, but she had made her choice. It was forever Malcolm before him, and if he'd thought there was a chance, it should have been proved when she was at her most vulnerable.
As soon as the door shut behind Mitch, Malcolm turned to Terri.
"Are you okay? What did he do to you." Malcolm pulled her into a hug, and she didn't bother correcting him. At the moment, she was too tired, and being in Malcolm's arms was like being in a warm, comforting dream.
"I'm okay." Terri said. If Malcolm had noticed she had stiffened up as soon as he had touched her, he didn't say anything.
"Let's have a shower." He suggested with a wicked smile, and Terri agreed so that she didn't have to argue. The truth was that she was dreading being touched.
9 p.m.
Mitch Stevens' residence
As soon as Mitch got home after dropping Von off- with a promise to ring if Terri needed anything at all, his mobile rang. It was the police, with the news that Richard Bird had been arrested, close to Terri Sullivan's house. He was being put straight back in jail, and as fast as the police could push it through, he would have his sentence lengthened.
Mitch thought about calling Terri, but put it off.
He thought about calling her again, and finally picked up the phone. There was a dull beeping, and he suddenly remembered that Rose had been on the phone the same time Terri had.
Damn. He knew how Rose responded when she was being ignored, and she hoped she didn't do anything stupid.
He hung up on Rose's call, and rang Terri. Malcolm answered and his voice was considerably icy when he spoke.
"What the hell did you do to her, Mitch." He said. His protectiveness was somewhat admirable.
"Nothing. Listen, tell her Richard Bird was arrested."
"What does that have anything to do with it. She has bruises on her arms, and her thighs, and her neck. Whatever you did... She won't even come near me. If you come near here again..." Malcolm was past anger.
"It was Richard Bird. He broke in and raped her. She told the police he only hit her, but he raped her. I wouldn't hurt her. You know that." Both men were silent, until Malcolm spoke again.
"What am I supposed to do now. I love this woman, and she can't come near me."
"Give her time." They were the only words of wisdom Mitch could impart to Malcolm, and he hoped it would work.
"I have to go talk to her." Malcolm broke the silence again, and hung up abruptly. Mitch hung up more slowly and started to dial Rose's parents number. It was a phone call he didn't want to have to make, but he knew his duty.
He was bound from Terri by a wife with a mental problem, and she was with someone who loved her. And from her words, he knew she was over him.
It was saddening, but freeing, and he didn't know if he liked the feeling.
But he would work through it one day at a time, with Rose with him, and Lucy. And he knew Terri would work through her pain with Malcolm, although he knew there was the day when Malcolm would pack up and fly back to America, and Terri would be alone once more.
Author's Notes: This was written because I want to see something happen between Terri and Mitch again. There could (possibly) be a followup *smiles*. I need feedback, though.
Disclaimer/Legal Jargon: Any (actually, nearly all) characters seen in the above written work aren't mine, I'm just playing... Promise to put them back when I finish :). No infringement intended, no money being made.
Dedication: Anyone and everyone who wants angst between Terri, Mitch and Malcolm :).
Feedback: Yay! hehe. lipglosser@fudge.com
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