1/10/98
The doorbell woke Cat out of a sound, if restless, sleep.
Groggily she peered at her beside clock and groaned at the early
hour. "Ah c'mon, it's Saturday for Pete's sake!"
She stumbled sleepily down the stairs. Yawning fiercely, she
opened the front door and then stared in shock at her two unexpected
visitors.
"Loni? Teagan? Wha-? Uh, hi!"
Loni chuckled at Cat's startled greeting. "Hello cousin; long
time no see." 25, 5'6", with short dark brown hair and grey eyes, she
had been one of Cat's best friends growing up, but it had been several
years since they'd seen each other.
5-year-old Teagan just grinned; "Hi." She had long brown hair and
grey eyes, with a slightly Oriental cast to her features.
Cat shook her head to clear it; "C'mon in, it's freezing out
there." She led her two friends into the living room after setting
their bags at the foot of the stairs. "So, is Philly as cold as down
here?" she grinned.
"Actually, we're up in the Poconos for now," Loni replied
casually.
Cat covered a start. "Resort living huh?" she asked Teagan
playfully; "Getting spoiled by room service every day?" Teagan just
grinned. "Well," Cat continued to tease, "you'll find none of that
here; no maid service or bellhops either, which means you'll have to
carry your own bags upstairs."
Teagan giggled; "What's a bellhop?"
"If there's no room service," Loni grinned sardonically, "I
suppose I'd better make us breakfast, as I remember your cooking all
too well Cat."
"Go right ahead," Cat grinned, gesturing in the direction of the
kitchen. "But, if you didn't come for my cooking, what brings you
here?"
"Loki thought you could use a visit from Tee, for your shoulder,
so he gave us a ring."
Cat groaned and hung her head in her hands. "I am going to
throttle Zarah one of these days."
Loni threw Cat a puzzled look; "Why?"
"Because, she's no doubt the one who told Loki ."
"Oh, is she his new lady friend?" Loni asked, smiling
indulgently.
"Yes, even though she works at the Centre; they are both totally
gone on each other," Cat replied, echoing Loni's grin. "Now, about
that breakfast...."
"So," Cat began when she and Loni had a moment to themselves,
"what's this about the Poconos? She's too young; besides, she's the
wrong type to be there in the first place."
"Relax cousin," Loni replied in a soothing tone, "she's just
there for a field medicine unit, with a little minor self-defense on
the side." Loni sighed, then chuckled grimly; "If she's anything like
you, me, or Lauren, she'll need it," she whispered.
Cat sighed in agreement. "I still don't like it. Speaking of
Lauren though, any news from her?"
Loni looked up with a start. "You hadn't heard?"
Cat shook her head; "Heard what? I haven't seen or heard from her
since I was assigned to London, and that was seven years ago."
Loni avoided Cat's searching gaze. "She was part of an extraction
unit in the Gulf a few years ago; she got her man out, but..."
Cat breathed in sharply. "I was too deep cover then; I guess
that's why they didn't notify me," she said, trying to conceal her
bitterness.
"I'm sorry; I thought you knew."
Cat sighed again; "The past is gone; it cannot be changed."
They sat in silence for several minutes, remembering.
"All unpacked!" Teagan exclaimed happily as she came back
downstairs, interrupting the solemn reminesencing.
"Well then, let's have a go at that shoulder cousin," Loni said
brightly.
Cat's smile was only slightly forced; "Just let me check in with
work first."
Twenty minutes later she was sitting in her bedroom. Loni
critically examined the wound.
"Not a bad job for an imitation," she teased, referring to Cat's
half-finished attempt to heal herself while pretending to be Teagan.
"Yes, well, you were much easier to copy," Cat grinned.
Loni merely grunted as she continued examining Cat's shoulder.
"You've been overdoing it," she scolded. She turned and unpacked an IV
set up from her bags.
Cat eyed it suspisciously; "And just what is that for?"
"Don't look at me like that; it's your own fault for not taking
better care of yourself. Your gonna be out for about a day, and since
the healing will accelerate your metabolism..."
"Alright alright, I get the picture," Cat grinned ruefully,
allowing Loni to deftly insert the IV needle, "but no more than one
day; I've too much work to do."
"Hey, who's the medic here?"
"The kid."
Loni sighed; "You always were a difficult patient, you know
that?" she teased. "Now, I put a local in the IV; it should start
taking effect pretty soon. You go ahead and relax while I pry Teagan
away from your TV."
"Well?" Loni asked Teagan after the child had sat back from
working on Cat, who was sleeping peacefully.
"She has been overdoing; I repaired what I could," Teagan
replied, trying to stifle a yawn.
Loni smiled fondly at her young ward; "Now who's overdoing it?"
Teagan grinned sheepishly.
"C'mon, let's get you into bed," Loni said after making sure
Cat's IV was secure enough to survive her thrashing around from the
violent nightmares she was prone to.
"Can't I watch some more TV first?"
Loni grinned at the girl's wistful tone. "I guess; tell you what,
I saw some ice cream in Cat's freezer; what say we raid that to
restore our blood sugar levels?"
"Cool!"
The phone rang late that night.
"Hello? No, Cat's asleep....I'm her cousin, Loni; can I take a
message?....What?! Loki?! What happened?.... uh huh... yes, I'll tell
her; thank you for calling Miss Blade." Loni sighed as she hung up the
phone. "James, what have you gotten yourself into now?" she muttered
under her breath.
"Loni?" Teagan called softly from the doorway.
Loni turned, startled; "You scamp, what are you doing up?"
"He woke me up," she replied, indicating someone in the hall
behind her.
Loni gasped and rushed to stand between Teagan and a strange man
with close-cropped red hair.
"You help Debbie?" he asked in a childlike voice.
Loni recognized the name as one she'd overheard in the background
of the phone call. "Are you from the Centre?" He grinned crookedly in
reply. "Can you take us there, get us in?" He nodded eagerly. "Ok,
just let us get some stuff together." She glanced at Teagan and
sighed; "So much for you getting a good night's sleep."
Loni watched silently from the vents as Teagan said her goodbyes
to Debbie. The two girls spoke quietly out of deference to the woman
who'd fallen asleep in a bedside chair.
"Ok, well, I gotta go now," Teagan whispered, hopping down
lightly from the infirmary bed; "please don't tell anyone; they might
get mad."
"Mad? Why? All you did was help me."
Teagan shrugged. "Who knows why adults get mad sometimes."
"My dad won't; he's pretty nice."
"Yeah, but he might get in trouble."
"Well," Debbie hesitated.
"Please?"
"O.K."
"Promise?"
"Yes, I promise; you better go. Bye Tee; thanks again."
"Bye!" Teagan turned and walked over to just below the vent. "Ok,
I'm ready," she whispered.
"Hey, Tee!" Debbie called silently.
Teagan turned; "Yeah?"
"Will I see you again?"
Teagan shrugged; "Don't know; maybe." She turned back to the
opening vent.
Loni gave Teagan a telekinetic "lift" so she could reach the
opening. Teagan was just crawling inside when they heard the woman at
Debbie's bedside rouse. They moved quickly away as she spoke.
"Debbie, are you O.K.?"
Debbie's response was not heard as they crawled quickly back to
where they'd come in.
"That was fun," Teagan mumbled sleepily as Loni carried her to
the car.
Loni smiled fondly; ah, the innocence of youth, Loni thought to
herself. "You did real good sweetie; I'm real proud of you," she said
as she settled the girl in the passenger seat. Teagan just murmured
unintelligibly, already sound asleep as they drove off into the
darkness.
1/11/98
Sunday was relatively uneventful, until the call came in the
evening notifying them that Loki had been returned; Cardinal, however,
was still missing.
Loni was relieved, as she had been dreading having to tell Cat
what had transpired while she slept. At leats now two of the three
problems that had arisen from the Saturday night fiasco could be
resolved before she awoke.
Loni had not, however, counted on meeting so much interferance
when she went to pick up Loki. It was five hours before she was able
to leave with him, and that only happened because she ran into
Shannara, another Graduate from the School she'd known a few years
before. Though she was unsure why Shan had chosen to intern at the
Centre, she was grateful for the cousin's help.
Loki, as expected, made a royal fuss at being confined at the
Centre. Loni drove both him and Shannara, who had been shot the night
before, back to Cat's house to spend the night as well as give Teagan
a chance to look them over.
While Loki had been roughed up a bit, he was basically sound, and
insisted that Shannara be tended to first; he could wait a night to be
healed. Loni and Shannara agreed, as none wanted to risk burning the
five-year-old out by overworking her. As it was, Teagan was not quite
able to completely finish with Shannara before passing out from
exhaustion.
Loni was checking on Cat when the phone rang, again. "What now?"
she sighed, rushing to answer before the noise woke those who were
sleeping.
"Hello?" she asked tiredly.
"Who is this?" a female voice asked.
"This is Loni; who is this?"
"Oh; you're Cat's friend. This is Zarah; I'm calling to check on
Loki."
"Oh hi Zarah. He's fine; a little roughed up and a lot mad about
recent events, but he'll be O.K."
There was a slight pause on the other end. "Is it too late for me
to come by to see him?"
Noting the worry in the other girl's voice, Loni decided she
could use some late night company. "No problem; he's asleep, but I'm
sure he'd be glad to see you if he does wake up."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah; as a matter of fact, you could do us a favor, if it's not
too much trouble."
"Like what?" Zarah asked, slightly suspicious.
"Well, we were in such a hurry to leave earlier, once we could,
that we forgot to grab Loki's personal effects and his car. Could you
drive it on over here? I can drop you back off in the morning."
There was a long pause before Zarah answered; "Sure, alright."
"Great; thanks so much; see you in a little bit."
"Mind telling me what's been going on while I was asleep,
cousin?" a bemused voice said from behind her.
Loni whirled guiltily; "Cat, what are you doing up?"
"Have you ever tried sleeping thru Loki's snoring? Heard it all
the way down the hall," Cat joked. Then she suddenly turned very
serious; "What happened to him?"
Loni sighed. "Better pull up a chair, it's a long story, and you
aren't going to like most of it." Then she spent the next half hour
explaining what she knew of the events of the last two days.
Cat rubbed her face tiredly and sighed. "I think," she said
wearily, "I'm going to take a walk to clear my head."
"But it's freezing outside," Loni protested.
Suddenly the doorbell rang, forestalling further argument.
"That's probably Zarah," Loni remarked.
"Hopefully," Cat muttered under her breath. When Loni threw her a
quizzical look, she just smiled and shook her head; "Just edgy I
guess."
Zarah stood shivering slightly on the doorstep. She was glad for
the long coat Loki had bought her the month before; she would have
frozen if she'd had to wear a borrowed coat on this cold night.
She was still furious it had taken so long for her to be notified
that someone had come and taken Loki home. She had left strict orders
that she be called the instant he awoke.
She was shocked when Cat herself answered the door. "Cat?! I
thought you were still recuperating?" She looked suspiciously at the
dark-haired girl standing just behind Cat, who simply shrugged.
Cat smiled as she closed the door behind Zarah. "Don't glare at
Loni; I just couldn't sleep anymore."
"How is Loki?" Zarah asked in a cearefully controlled voice.
"Snoring away," Cat quipped, "LOUDLY."
"He's fine," Loni assured her, shooting Cat a dirty look. "Teagan
will take care of him in the morning; he insisted she look after
Shannara first."
"Can I see him?"
"He probably won't wake up," Loni replied, "but you can sit with
him just in case. In fact, I'd appreciate it; it would save me from
having to check up on him myself."
"C'mon," Cat said, "I'll show you the room."
As Cat headed up the stairs, Zarah caught Loni's eye, glanced
meaningfully at Cat, then looked back at Loni, arching her eyebrow in
a question. Loni merely shrugged and gave her a "What can you do?"
expression. Zarah sighed as she turned to follow Cat.
As they reached the top landing, a whispered voice cam from down
the hall. "What are you doing up?"
Cat turned and regarded the indignant Teagan. "I should ask you
the same thing shrimp," she teased.
"I was checking on everyone," Teagan yawned.
"I thought you were gonna leave that to me?" Loni chided.
Teagan grinned sheepishly; "Sorry Loni." Then she noticed Zarah
standing in the background. "Hello; who are you?"
"My name is Zarah; I'm Loki's...um, friend."
"Oh; will you be sleeping with him tonight then?" Teagan asked
innocently.
Zarah blinked in surprise while the other two girls tried to
suppress grins at her consternation.
"Yes she will be bunking in with Loki," Loni answered when Zarah
seemed to remain speechless.
"Just remember that he isn't up to anything energetic," Teagan
admonished. Zarah blushed furiously.
"Teagan!" Loni axclaimed, trying not to laugh. "I think it's time
we retired for the night" she said to Zarah and Cat. "Goodnight;
Zarah, let me know if you need anything; Cat, try not to stay up too
late." She turned and carried Teagan into the guest room they were
sharing.
Cat was still chuckling as she led Zarah to the other guest room.
"I'll just settle you in before I go out to do the obligatory check
on Loki's car; then I'll take a look around, make sure we have no
unexpected visitors tonight."
"Want me to come with you?" Zarah offered.
"That's ok," Cat replied with a grin; "you go ahead and look
after your own man tonight cousin."
Zarah entered the room cautiously, trying not to awaken Loki. He
was lying on his back, mouth open, arm flung carelessly over the side
of the bed. A fond smile crossed Zarah's face. He looked so peaceful.
Then he shifted his weight, and the sheet fell off of his shoulder. A
thick dark bruise ran across his shoulder and down across his back.
Zarah was forced to swallow the cry that was forcing its way up her
throat. The utter fury she felt at seeing his injuries, the relief she
felt at knowing that the report of one operative was highly
overexagerrated. She stood still by the bedside for several minutes,
concentrating so intently that she didn't notice Loki was awake and
watching her until he reached out and touched her leg.
She reached down and took his hand in hers. He tugged silently on
it, and she sat on the edge of the bed, careful not to jostle him too
much. His eyes were filled with questions, and just a tinge of pain.
"Are...are you alright? I heard so much about what happened, I
had to come and see you," she said softly.
He smiled at her. "Yes, I'm fine. I was about to ask you the same
question."
"Me?" she repeated, slightly confused.
"Your thoughts were obviously disturbing," he replied. "And while
I will be the first to admit you are definitely beautiful when you are
angry, you are far more attractive when you are not scowling."
She looked down. Her features softened into a small smile. Loki
squeezed her hand.
"Much better," he teased. He drew his elbow up and tried to sit.
A fleeting pain crossed his face, and he inhaled sharply.
"No, wait, don't do that!" Zarah exclaimed, reaching out to push
him back into a lying position. With a sly expression, Loki grabbed
both of her wrists and pulled her down onto his chest. The unexpected
action caused Zarah to lose her balance, and she fell rather heavily
onto him. He cried out as she impacted with his bruised ribs. "Oh, I'm
sorry. Did I hurt you?" she asked in concern.
Once he got his breath back, Loki responded, "It was my own damn
fault. I should have known better." He looked at her, her face so
close to his. A wave of emotion washed over him, so strong he needed
to close his eye to regain his composure. When he opened them, Zarah
was still gazing at him. She was in an awkward position, physically.
She couldn't get the leverage she needed to sit up without putting
more pressure on his ribs. Besides, she didn't want to move. She
needed the reassurance that he was safe, that he would be ok.
Unable to read her expression, Loki sighed. "You know," he said
ruefully, "I won't break if you touch me." The expression on her face
didn't change, and she made no effort to change positions. A sudden
thought hit him. "Or is it that what happened to me repulses you?"
His voice sounded bitter.
Zarah reached her hand up, and cupped the side of his face. Her
thumb stroked his cheek. "How could you ever think that? I'm so
afraid I will hurt you. And I could never do that." She lowered her
face to his. He closed his eyes, and he never really knew which
touched his lips first, her lips or the single sudden tear which
rolled down her cheek.
All the emotions Zarah felt, she transferred to that one gentle
kiss. The reassurance she needed, about his health, about this love,
swept over her. Breaking the kiss, she raised her head. A giddy smile
broke over her face. Loki looked so disappointed. "I was told that I
can't ravage you tonight. That you weren't 'up' to it," she said with
an enticing grin.
Loki looked outraged, and started to protest, but a huge yawn
interrupted his tirade. "While I would love to prove precocious young
Tegan wrong, as to what I am up to I'm afraid, my dear, I am
exhausted," he apologized.
"I understand. I'll go," Zarah said reluctantly, righting herself
carefully.
Loki held onto her. "Please, stay with me," he pleaded. The
emotional toll of the past two days finally broke through his
defenses. She saw the naked fear, pain, worry, and terror in his eyes.
How could she leave him like this?
Nodding silently, Zarah got up and quickly moved to the other
side of the bed. Not bothering to undress, she slipped under the
covers with him. She draped her arm gently over his chest, and nestled
her head on his undamaged shoulder. He held her tightly. A shudder
passed over his body, then he relaxed. He kissed her forehead, then
closed his eyes.
Not able to relax so quickly, Zarah gently stroked his hair.
Sensing he was still half awake, she whispered in his ear, "You're
safe now. I promise."
He turned his head slightly. "Thank you, love," he murmured, then
fell into a contented sleep.
As Zarah drifted closer to sleep, she marveled at how easy it
felt to comfort him. The feel of his skin under her cheek, his steady
breathing, all felt so right. It was so wonderful, this feeling of
safety, all while reassuring and protecting someone.
The silence of the room surrounded the lovers, guarding their
sleep.
Once she had gone over Loki's car thuroughly, and made sure she
had not dropped the spare key she'd brought with her, Cat headed off
into the surrounding woods, searching. She took the time to circle
around so she wouldn't be approaching from the direction of the house.
She knew someone was out there, watching, and while she was relatively
certain of who it was, her training held.
A little while later she found him, a few yards from the
treeline, watching the house intently. She could even tell what he was
thinking from his stance. She leaned casually against a nearby tree
and watched him for a bit.
"It's not an invasion," she called softly after a minute.
He whirled and then glared at her accusingly.
"Sorry for sneaking up on you like that Ky," she said calmly;
"old habits die hard, as I'm sure you know."
"Why are they here?" he demanded suddenly.
"Well, the first came to help me; the others we brought because
they needed help."
"They don't belong here," he replied angrily.
"Who are you to say that?" she snapped at him; "These are my
friends, the closest I'll ever have to a family! They could be your
friends too," she added quietly, her anger dissapating as suddenly as
it had arisen.
He merely scowled at her, a look of patent disbelief on his face.
Cat sighed heavily. "Cousin, please let us help you," she
entreated.
He turned away abruptly. "I don't need anyone," he responded
tightly.
"Fine,"she said, a steely edge in her voice. She started to
stride past him back to the house before she remembered the real
reason she'd come outside.
She turned back to him and handed him a small item. "Here; this
is for you, in case you change your mind," she told him in a very
controlled voice. Then she turned and walked away.
It was several minutes before he looked to see what she'd given
him, a key wrapped in a slip of paper. The outside of the paper read
"should you need it"; the other side contained a single word.
He crept quietly up to the house, then walked all around it,
trying to decide which door the key might belong to. On one side of
the house he found what he was looking for. He guessed that the door
in question led to somewhere in the basement under the house; the top
half contained a single pane of glass that had frosted over.
Inscribed in the layer of frost was a single word, the same word
that had been on the slip of paper.
Refuge.
