For disclaimers see chapter one...
Danny slowly opened her eyes. She had tried to stretch out her aching legs, but there was no room. Where am I ? Her head was still pounding and she had a hard time remembering.
She could smell leather and the faint scent of perfume and the recent hours' events slowly started coming back to her. Her escape. Her fear. Her savior. The blonde . At least Danny hoped she was a savior. She realized she could just as well be the opposite, driving her somewhere where they would find her, despite what she had promised. The hospital, maybe?
But deep down Danny didn't think so. She couldn't tell why, but something told her she could trust the woman. There was something about the blonde that had made Danny feel safe, protected even. If she didn't know better, she would say that they had met before.
What was her name?
She hadn't said, Danny realized. She vaguely remembered the blonde helping her into a car.
“It had been some work”, Danny thought, aware of the fact that she was both taller and heavier than the blonde, but the woman was obviously stronger than she looked.
Danny could feel they were still moving. She was lying with her back against the front of the car, and tried to move the other way, figuring it would be more comfortable, but she didn't have the strength. She could hear the blonde talking to someone, her melodic voice deep, soothing.
"Probably a cell phone", Danny thought, but she couldn't make out what the woman was saying. She closed her eyes again, unable to keep them open. She started drifting away.
Sleep came to her again, embracing her in its healing arms. Thankful, she welcomed it.
***
Emily called her brother's number again. She knew she needed to get a hold of him. She should have picked Max up more than half an hour ago and they must be worried by now. She pressed the bluetooth button on the steering wheel, to make it easier for her to concentrate on the driving. The weather was pretty much the same, the rain not having diminished its onslaught noticeably.
On the third ring, Tom finally picked up. She figured they must have gone to bed, considering the late hour.
"Thank God", Emily whispered, trying not to wake up the woman sleeping in the back seat. "Tom, can you hear me?"
"Is that you, Em?” the deep voice answered at the other end. "Emily...?"
She could hear that he was worried.
"Yeah, it's me. Listen, Tom, can you do me a favor? Something has come up and I won't be able to pick up Max tonight. Could you look after him tonight and then drive him to daycare tomorrow morning? I will pick him up in the afternoon".
She silently hoped he would accept without asking too many questions, not wanting to have to explain herself right now. I wouldn't even know what to tell him, really.
"Is everything ok, Em? Has something happened? Are you ok?"
He knew her better than anyone, Emily knew that, and he knew that something was up, but she insisted.
"No, I'm just fine. I just need to help a friend out and I figured it's best if Max stays with you and Jen tonight, that's all. Please?"
"You know I will do anything for you, Em. Don't worry, we'll take care of him, you know that. Just promise me that you will tell me if there is anything I can do to help, ok. Don't hesitate to call me, you hear?"
Emily knew he wasn't nearly pleased with her telling him so little, but she was thankful he didn't push the issue.
"Yeah, I will. Thanks, Tom, you're the best. Just give Max a kiss for me, ok, and I will call you in the morning. Bye."
"Bye, Em."
***
It took almost half an hour for Emily to drive the short distance to her house, located just outside of the small town where she grew up. You had to drive a few hundred yards on a narrow gravel road, through the woods, to get to her property. Emily appreciated the amount of privacy the location provided, with no neighbors whatsoever within at least a few hundred yards. The secluded location was one of the main reasons why she had bought it in the first place, being the private person that she was. She wanted her space and she wanted to be able to walk around buck naked in her own yard, if feeling inclined to do so.
The other reason was the architecture. It wasn't a big house, by no means, but it was well planned and quite enough for her and Max. It was a two story, white brick house. Large floor to ceiling windows covered most of the front of the house, where the living room was located, sliding glass doors leading on to the large wooden patio her father and brother had helped her build the summer before. The patio, as well as the house, was surrounded by the vast yard, complete with fruit trees and a large greenhouse, which was her pride and joy. There was a lot of room for Max to play on and for her and her family to enjoy barbecues and various other family gatherings.
The ground floor of her house included the impressing living room slash dining room slash kitchen area, making up the majority of the first floor space. A small corridor leading from the living room took you to a smaller guest room, with its accompanying bathroom, and an even smaller home office. The second floor was smaller than the bottom one, containing the master bedroom, Max's room and a large bathroom. It was like a penthouse floor, with perfect view over the living room space below. A wooden staircase linked the two together.
Emily parked the car under the white carport, yet again grateful for the secluded location. She exited the car and opened the door to the back seat. She slowly extended her hands, not wanting to startle her sleeping cargo; she had seemed scared enough as it was. She lightly shook the dark haired woman's shoulder.
"Danny, we are here".
She could feel the woman starting to wake up. She was still shivering, despite the heavy fleece blanket covering her body.
"She really needs to get out of those wet clothes before she catches pneumonia", Emily said to herself and looked at the woman. She was still not completely awake.
"She looks so fragile, so vulnerable", the blonde thought, confused by the sense of affection she felt for this woman. It was strange, since she didn't even know her. She stroked the woman's forehead, placing a stray strand of dark hair behind her ear. She was still hot from fever.
"Danny, wake up".
She shook her a bit more this time.
"Here, let me help you", the blonde offered, taking Danny's hand. She could see Danny struggling to sit up, not being very successful. Blue eyes looked back at her. It was evident that she was in pain, but she complied.
Danny tried her best to manage on her own, but the blonde insisted that she should lean on her, helping her along. She didn't know where she was, but figured the woman had taken her to her place, since that was what she had said she would do. She could see they were slowly making their way towards a house. Despite the dark Danny could see that it was white. It wasn't far, but felt like it was miles away.
They struggled with the few steps leading up from the grass onto the wooden patio. Danny's knees were so weak she was afraid she would fall, but the blonde was relentless in their movement forward, supporting her.
Danny could see there were no lights on in the house and silently hoped that the blonde lived alone, not wanting to be forced to face a husband or whoever could live in the house with her. She had convinced herself to trust the blonde, but that was as far as she went.
The woman had apparently sensed her hesitation, Danny's hand being squeezed harder, comforting her.
"It's ok. There is nobody in the house".
Danny felt her body relaxing a little and followed the other woman to the large glass doors.
"Can you stand on your own, I need to get my keys?"
Danny nodded her head yes and released the other woman's hand, feeling a strange sense of loss. She had to focus really hard to be able to stay upright, but she didn't want to be more of a burden than she already felt she was.
Finally inside, Emily switched on the lights and silently led Danny through the living room to the large coffee colored sofa in the middle of the room.
"Please, sit down here, I am going to go and get some things. I really need to clean your wounds, especially that deep cut on your forehead", Emily instructed, smoothly running small fingers over said spot.
"I just hope it doesn't need stitches".
She let her eyes wander to the other woman's face. Now, in the pale but sufficient light provided by the ceiling spotlights, she could actually see the truth of the woman's condition completely. Her pale features were covered with cuts and bruises, dried blood mixed with dirt and the salty remnants of evaporated sweat. Her left cheek displayed what seemed to be an old scar, approximately three inches long, extending almost all the way from the base of her chin to the top of her defined, chiseled cheekbone. To Emily though, none of these could hide the fact that the woman was beautiful. Very beautiful .
Emily could see the other woman looking back at her, blue eyes searching hers. For what, she didn't know. She could feel her heart starting to beat faster and her hands becoming damp. But not from fear, she concluded, puzzled. She had no clue as to why she was reacting the way she did. It wasn't her usual routine to pick up injured strangers in the middle of the night and bring them home. I must be losing my mind . She knew she should be afraid; for all she knew the woman could be a criminal, but strangely enough, she wasn't.
Drawn from her musings, Emily reluctantly let go of her patient and went upstairs to the master bathroom after hurriedly changing her wet and now also dirty clothes, and searched through the medicine cabinet for the things she needed. She took out some gauze, a bottle of hydrogen peroxide and a packet of aspirin, determined to clean the woman up as best she could at the moment. Truthfully, she really needed to take a bath, to clean up her wounds thoroughly, having cuts and scratches on all visible parts of the body, but Emily didn't think the woman had the strength at that point. She needed new clothes too, the blonde realized, the ones she had on being completely ruined.
"I wonder if I have anything that will fit her, though, considering she is much bigger than me". Running her eyes through the contents of her walk in closet, she decided to go for a pair of her own grey sweat pants and a white t-shirt her brother had left behind, figuring it was closer to the woman's own size.
Danny could see the blonde making her way back down the staircase a few minutes later, a large bundle in her arms. The blonde smiled at her and Danny couldn't help herself, smiling in return.
"I brought you some clothes. I don't know if they will fit you, though".
Danny could see the woman fingering what looked like a T-shirt of some kind, nervously. Danny put her hand on the other woman's, reassuringly.
"It's ok, really, anything you have will be just fine".
The blonde smiled back at her, chuckling.
"That's good since you and I aren't exactly the same size".
The blonde could feel herself loosening up a little. She let her eyes roam over the body in front of her. The dark haired woman was almost a whole head taller than she was, her body sleek and lean, her athletic form showing well defined, sculptured feminine muscles. She was a sharp contrast to Emily's own, almost petite, form.
Danny sat still, quietly, while the blonde carefully cleaned her wounds. It was all she could do not to cry when the woman padded the deep gash in her forehead with the hydrogen peroxide. She heard the sizzling sound of the peroxide against her exposed flesh, tears burning behind her eyelids. She didn't want to start crying, afraid that if she did, she wouldn't be able to stop.
If I hadn't been so stupid, none of this would have happened.
Danny turned her attention back to the woman, slowly cleaning her face and arms with a wet towel. The thing smelled so good. Soap of some sort. It had been a long time since Danny had experienced the scent of soap; she had almost forgotten what it was like.
She was so kind, Danny thought. She wondered what her name was, but didn't want to ask, figuring the woman would tell her if she wanted to. Maybe it was all for the best anyway, since Danny figured she would be on her way as soon as she had regained her strength. She didn't want to involve the woman in her problems. She was just an innocent bystander.
Her wounds being thoroughly cleaned, Emily covered the deep gash on Danny's forehead with a sterile cotton wool bandage and wrapped the gauze around the woman's head to keep it in place.
"There you go".
Patting the woman's knee, Emily raised herself from her bent down position, giving the dark haired woman the bundle of clean clothes she had left on the living room floor beside her.
“Do you want me to help you put these on?”
Danny shook her head and smiled towards the blonde. Emily smiled back. She didn't know what to say and they were both silent for a few moments.
“Are you hungry”, Emily asked as she realized that Danny must be and she felt guilty that she hadn't asked earlier. She figured that she should make something for her and see to it that she ate it. Not eating wouldn't make her get well any sooner.
“I think you need to eat something, Danny”, Emily said as she looked at the dark haired woman, shaking her head, declining her offer. She had only a pair of thin pants and a torn t-shirt on and she looked like she hadn't been eating much lately.
"I'll go and make something for us to eat. You can just leave your old clothes here on the floor when you have changed and I will take care of them, ok?”
She would wash them, but honestly, she really just wanted to throw them in the trash, since there wasn't that much left of them anyway. She turned to leave for the kitchen, but was stopped by a cold hand, touching her upper arm, making her skin tingle as if she was touched by electricity.
"Thank you", Danny whispered. "I will never forget your kindness".
The blonde gave her hand a light squeeze and a shy smile covered her lips.
“You can thank me by eating something, Danny”, she said.
Strangely enough Emily didn't want to let go of the woman's hand, but did so anyway. She saw Danny nodding affirmatively, complying with her wish.
“I'll just be in the kitchen if you need me”, she added. “Try to change into the dry clothes so that you don't catch a cold on top of everything else”.
She smiled towards Danny as she left her alone to change.
Danny watched the blonde woman as she left for the kitchen area. She looked tired as well and Danny felt bad about imposing on her like this. Again she was struck by how kind she was towards her. She was a stranger, but she had invited her into her home just the same. She seemingly didn't do all of this out of obligation either; it actually looked like she cared about her wellbeing. About the wellbeing of a stranger.
Danny could see the woman's face in her mind. Her eyes, the color of a tropical sea, looked so familiar to her, even though she knew that she had never seen the woman before. Danny couldn't help smiling to herself as she sat there. The blonde was so cute. Beautiful, actually. Despite her present situation, that fact hadn't escaped Danny's mind. Danny knew that in another world, she was a woman she would most certainly be attracted to. A lot.
The hard work of trying to get her wet and dirty t-shirt off her body forced Danny to think of something else, though. She hardly couldn't manage. Her body ached like hell and it just became worse every time she moved her arms even just a little bit. The way the damn thing stuck to her skin like glue didn't help either, rather making the task almost impossible.
She gave up, again almost on the verge of tears. Sometimes she just wished that she had died one of the times when she had been close. This was such a time. Maybe it would have been better that way. She couldn't see a future for herself in this world anyway.
“Here I am, not even able to take off a stupid t-shirt on my own”, she thought as she bent forward, resting her head in her hands.
If there was a God, he surely had a strange way of doing things.
***
Emily was standing in the kitchen area, preparing some sandwiches. She smiled and shook her head at her decision to not buy some more groceries earlier that night when she'd had the chance. Of course she had no idea then how the night would turn out, but now she would have needed them, only having some bread, ham and cheese in the fridge. Along with the cereal and milk she actually had bought. She sure as hell didn't want to serve Danny cereal and milk.
To Emily that was kids' food, but she didn't have any other choice. She had the sandwiches as well, of course, but to her that didn't do much difference. Emily wasn't the world's best cook, but she could at least have put something together if she had just had a few more things at home.
She put everything on a tray, together with the two cups of coffee she had made and walked around the corner, returning to the living room area. She saw Danny sitting there on the sofa, at the exact same spot where she had left her, with her face in the palms of her hands, looking totally resigned. She still wore her wet and torn clothes.
“Danny, are you all right?” Emily asked as she put the tray down on the table.
She cursed herself for not having stayed, to make sure that she was doing ok by herself. She put her hand on the other woman's shoulder, meeting her eyes. She looked as if she was about to cry.
“Actually, no”, Danny answered and turned away.
She felt so guilty about all this. Now the blonde would have to help her change too.
“I can't get out of these clothes, it hurts too much”, she admitted, still not looking at Emily. She just wished she could sink through the floor or something.
“I'm sorry”.
She could feel the blonde stroking her hair lightly and closed her eyes. Her touch felt so good. Safe, somehow.
“Don't be sorry, Danny”, Emily assured her as she sat down beside her on the couch. She just wanted to help Danny somehow. She had no clue where the feeling came from, but she felt like she not only wanted to; she needed to help her.
Emily tried to get the t-shirt off the dark haired woman's body by tugging on it gently, attempting to slide it over her head, but after going about it for a few minutes, she stopped. She could see how much the movements hurt Danny and how she struggled not to show that it did and Emily didn't want to torture her anymore than necessary. She already looked like she had been through enough.
“Stay here, I'm going to go and get some scissors and cut this thing up”.
She smiled towards Danny as she saw her opening her mouth to object. She had made up her mind. She had a lot of other clothes Danny could use, or she would go and buy her some in the morning, she didn't care. Emily was determined to do this, inflicting as little pain on Danny as possible.
She got up from the couch, looking back towards Danny as she headed for the kitchen area. She noticed that she was watching her and her silhouette in the faint light of the room and the intense look in her blue eyes made Emily's heart beat faster. It was a strange feeling because she didn't know where it was coming from. It made her confused.
She retrieved the scissors from the drawer and went back to the living room. Emily could see Danny watching her every movement as she began cutting the t-shirt up at the front and tried to smile towards her, but turned her eyes away; she felt so damn nervous for some reason. Her hands were trembling like crazy as she cut the garment open, revealing the bruised body beneath it and for a moment she was afraid she would accidently hurt the woman.
“It must be the adrenaline from the chock that's still affecting me”, Emily thought and looked towards Danny, meeting her eyes as she felt cold hands on top of her own, trying to still them.
Danny looked back at the blonde woman sitting in front of her. Her hands were moist and she looked like she was struggling to keep her focus. She felt her flinch as another loud bang was heard from outside, accompanying the sound of the rain that was still smattering against the large windows, sounding like the pounding of a hundred drums. Lightning must have struck somewhere close by, Danny knew that, but she wasn't afraid. In fact, she felt more at ease right then than she had in a very long time.
“What's your name”, she almost whispered, still holding on to the blonde woman's hands. Danny really wanted to know the woman's name. She had decided to leave her the next morning, but she needed to know her name before she did. Not that she thought that she would ever be able to thank her properly, even if she knew her name, but still.
She saw the blonde smiling towards her. She had a lovely smile; everything about the blonde was.
“Emily”, she said.
Danny smiled back. Emily . It was a beautiful name. Danny looked at the woman sitting next to her. Apparently she had calmed down a little, so Danny let go of Emily's hands, placing them back on her now cut open t-shirt.
It took a while, but Emily was relieved when she finally had managed to get the wet t-shirt off of Danny's shivering body. She'd had to cut up her bra as well. It was a sports bra type, with no hook at the back, so she'd had no choice. Danny couldn't keep on wearing it, that's for sure.
She took a deep breath and forced herself to turn her eyes away from the body in front of her.
“My God, what is this?” she thought to herself as she felt the reactions of her own.
She could hardly stop looking and she felt guilty about her reaction. Danny was sitting there in front of her, hurt and in need of her help. She had bruises almost everywhere and dried blood on her chest and stomach. She had a great number of scars there as well; the dirt and blood did nothing to disguise them from Emily's investigating eyes.
And here she was, thinking about something completely different. This was so unlike her and Emily couldn't understand why she was feeling like this. She didn't do it on purpose, she simply wasn't able to stop herself. It was like a reflex. She swallowed hard and picked up the clean t-shirt from the floor, trying to distract herself from the view. She needed to get this done.
Danny closed her eyes as she forced herself to raise her arms up. God it hurt! Emily had offered to go and get a shirt that was open at the front instead, to make it easier to put on, when she realized that putting the dry t-shirt on was almost as hard as taking the wet one off, but Danny had insisted on her staying. She felt a tear she hadn't been able to suppress running down her cheek and opened her eyes when she felt the soft fabric covering her body at last. It felt good. She saw the blonde woman stretching out her hand, stroking the tear away with her thumb. Danny just looked at her for a long time. The blonde didn't look away. Danny hadn't missed the way Emily had looked at her earlier. She felt a connection to the woman in a way she had never felt before, even though they had just met. And she sensed that the other woman felt the same way. She saw it in her eyes.
Danny opted to say something to her but hesitated when she felt the earlier nausea suddenly returning again with full force.
“Oh, my God!” she said, trying to stand up. “Where's your bathroom?”
She took a few steps, fighting against the dizziness that threatened to turn her world upside down.
“Danny, what's wrong?” Emily asked. Now she was worried! She quickly got up from the couch and grabbed hold of Danny's arm. She looked like she was about to fall down on the floor. Emily was afraid that she would pass out before her eyes.
“I feel sick”, Danny whispered, swallowing over and over again, trying to suppress the feeling. She didn't want to throw up all over the wooden floor.
“Here, take my hand”, Emily said, guiding Danny towards the bathroom as quickly as she could. They just barely made it.
Danny had never felt so sick in her life. She threw up over and over again; the feeling just didn't want to go away. She didn't get rid of that much, though, mostly yellow bile and water. Probably because she hadn't eaten anything for quite some time. Her body was probably reacting to the drugs. Or maybe the absence of them.
It took several minutes before she started feeling slightly better. Her face was covered in cold sweat.
“Are you ok?” Emily asked, stroking her hair tenderly.
She had been holding Danny's hair away from her face the whole time, lightly caressing her back. It wasn't much else she could do, but Danny was grateful all the same. It had made her feel slightly calmer. Taken care of.
“Yeah, a little”, Danny answered as she sat herself down on the cold tile floor. “I'm sorry”.
Emily looked at Danny sitting there. She really didn't look well; she was covered in sweat, her face was pale and she was shivering. Her appearance made Emily worried, but the worst thing was the fact that she had absolutely no idea what was wrong with her.
“You've got nothing to be sorry about, Danny. I just wish I could help you somehow”.
She reached out, caressing a sweaty cheek, seeing the other woman closing her eyes.
“You have already helped me more than I could have ever asked for, Emily”, Danny admitted. “Not everyone would help a complete stranger like you have”.
Emily smiled, but turned away.
“You don't feel like a stranger, Danny”, she thought.
That was what was so confusing to her. Her mind telling her one thing and her heart another, but life had taught Emily to trust her heart, so that's what she intended to do.
“Do you feel strong enough to stand up?”
Emily extended her hand towards Danny. She nodded.
“Yeah, I think so”.
Danny was still dizzy, but it had subsided a little. Hopefully enough. She took Emily's hand and raised herself up, slowly as her body adjusted. She hoped it wouldn't return; the force of it had actually scared her.
Danny let Emily lead her back to the couch and she decided that she would try to do as she had said; to try to eat something. She wasn't hungry, but she knew that her body probably craved food.
Danny leaned back on the couch slightly and watched Emily as she sat down beside her, putting a sandwich on a plate.
“Here you go”.
She handed Danny the plate along with a cup of coffee and smiled, looking embarrassed.
“I'm sorry, but I didn't have that much food at home. I hope sandwiches are ok?”
“It's just fine, Emily”.
Danny smiled towards her. She didn't want her to worry about not doing enough when she actually did more.
“There is cereal too, if you want”.
Emily saw Danny shaking her head, smiling towards her.
“Yeah, I know, it's kids' food. My son likes them for breakfast, so…”
Emily turned her head away and took a sip of her coffee. It burned down her throat and the bitter taste told her that she had made it too strong. She just shook her head at herself; apparently she couldn't even make drinkable coffee tonight. Emily could sense Danny watching her and turned back, facing her.
“How old is your son”, she asked.
She saw the smile on Emily's face when she mentioned her son. It clearly showed how she felt about him.
“Max is five”, she answered.
Danny couldn't help smiling back. It was obvious that Emily loved him very much.
“I guess he must be with his dad”, Danny thought to herself, since he obviously wasn't there.
“He is staying with my brother and his wife tonight”, Emily explained.
She wondered why, since she didn't owe it to Danny to explain anything. She just felt that she wanted to.
“I had a late shift, so I figured it would be for the best if he stayed with them for the night”, she continued, hoping her white lie didn't show, as she took another sip of her disgusting coffee.
She also really just wanted to tell Danny that, except for her son, she lived there in her house by herself, but she didn't. She managed to stop herself before opening her damn mouth. That would be too much, to put it lightly.
What was this? Why was she feeling so differently? Why did she feel the need to excuse herself to a woman she didn't even know?
Emily looked over the rim of her large, white cup at the stranger sitting a few feet away from her, only then realizing she was being watched. Danny was smiling faintly, but it was a smile that didn't reach her eyes.
“And then I came along, huh… “, she said, almost whispering.
Emily knew that Danny knew that she had changed her plans because of her. There was nothing accusing whatsoever in her voice, or her words, just sadness. And regret. She should have kept her mouth shut.
“I'm sorry that I'm imposing on you like this, Emily. I shouldn't have let you do this. I just…
I didn't know you have a kid, I just… maybe I'm just going to go. You should be with your son and not some stranger. Anyway, you shouldn't be with someone like me…”
Danny put the cup she was holding back down onto the table and slowly tried to raise herself up on tired and shaky legs. It was a struggle, but she did her best to look as if she managed just fine. She didn't want Emily to try to make her stay, as she knew she would.
She shouldn't have come there in the first place, anyway. It was too dangerous. For Emily. She had just been so damn tired at that point, when Emily found her, she didn't think clearly. If she had, she would never have let Emily bring her home.
But now that she had rested a little, she would go. She didn't know where, since she had no clue where she was, but it didn't matter. She had to. She knew the risks involved.
Danny felt the dizziness returning again as her body tried, but failed, to adjust to the vertical state. She closed her eyes as she took hold of the table to make herself stay upright or at least not fall down. She didn't know what to do. She couldn't stay and it now seemed as if she couldn't go, either.
“Sit down Danny”, Emily told her as she came to sit down beside her on the couch.
Danny took a deep breath as she felt a warm hand resting lightly on her back. She heard the worried tone of Emily's voice. This had already gone too far. This thing between them.
Whatever it was. She could feel it, even though she had no words for it. Even though they had just met. That was another reason why she had to go. There could never be anything between them. Nothing more than this. Danny didn't want it too, either. Everything she touched was always destroyed and she needed to get away before yet another thing went straight to hell.
“Danny…”
She turned around and looked at the blonde. Emily was reaching out her hand to her. She looked determined as she patted the brown fabric beside her.
“You are not going anywhere”, she said as she took hold of Danny's arm, making her sit down.
“Do you hear me?”
Emily tried to not let her feelings show as she watched Danny silently nod affirmatively.
She couldn't tell which feeling was strongest; the worry she felt from seeing Danny's condition, and from the prospect of her leaving, she realized, or the rising anger over her damn stupidity.
How the hell could she even consider going anywhere in the state she was in? What was she thinking? She didn't know Danny, but it was clear that she was stubborn as hell. So stubborn, it was bordering on being idiotic. Of course she realized that Danny did what she did out of concern for her and Max, for some reason, but that was no excuse. Emily was a grown woman who could damn well decide herself what was or wasn't good for her. Or for her son.
She knew that Danny was in some kind of trouble, no one could miss that, but Emily didn't want her to leave. There were a lot of things she didn't know about this mysterious woman who had so suddenly unexpectedly appeared in her life. Whatever had happened to her or whatever she had done, Emily wanted to help her. That want, or need, to help her had grown stronger every minute she had spent with her.
Emily had lived through more than her fair share of shit during her 28 years on this planet and knew that however long the tunnel seemed to be, there would always be light at the other end. You just had to deal with whatever was thrown in your way, one thing at a time. And not give up. Call it intuition, Emily thought, but she sure as hell didn't intend to give up when Danny was concerned.
“You are in no condition right now to do anything but sit or lie down here on the couch”, she told the dark haired woman, who was now watching her with a look in her eyes Emily couldn't interpret. She didn't say a word, just kept looking at her as she spoke. Emily had seen her whole appearance shift, right in front of her. There was no smile in Danny's eyes and her face was totally unreadable. There was no way for Emily to even get a sense of what she was thinking. She didn't look angry, that wasn't it. It was more as if her eyes were totally stripped of all emotion. Empty. There was no sign of the woman who had been there just a few seconds earlier.
Her gaze made Emily feel a bit uneasy and for a very short moment, she wondered if maybe she had made a mistake. Nevertheless, she forced herself to look back, so that Danny would see that she meant it.
Danny didn't know if she was angry or grateful. She had no idea what to say to this woman or what to do. She seemed determined. Determined to help her, even if they had just met. And they hadn't met in the most normal of ways, either. Why did Emily do this? Why did she seem to care so much what happened to her? The way she spoke clearly showed that she did.
It had been a long time since someone spoke to her that way. A very long time.
Not since Samantha.
How long had it been now? Danny had no idea. It had been a long time since she had even thought about her. About them. She hadn't allowed herself to, because if she had, she would have broken down completely.
She fought to empty her mind of the images, of the feelings which threatened to resurface again after so long, looking blindly at the woman sitting next to her.
Danny slowly felt her resolve return, as so many times before, and welcomed the familiar feeling of numbness that came with it. She didn't want to neither think, nor feel. Anything.
She wouldn't let someone affect her like this. The way Emily had in such a short amount of time, for some inexplicable reason. Danny had let herself be vulnerable and had let her guard down. That had been a mistake.
“Ok, I'll stay for now, since I apparently can't manage to do a damn thing”, she told she blonde, who was still watching her.
She removed her hand from the tight grip of the blonde's, seeing the apparent disappointment and surprise in her eyes as she did so.
Danny could hear the coldness of her own voice, but didn't care. She had returned to being herself again, thankfully. That other person, who had showed herself for a short while, was gone. She was as gone to Danny as if she was dead. She would not return again. She was simply a remnant from the past. A distant memory of a person who had had hopes and dreams, feelings and emotions. A person who had loved. Who she was now was a shadow of a person who had once existed, who had once lived, but did so no more. And never would again.
She grabbed her mug of, now almost cold, coffee and the plate with her half-finished sandwich, as she turned away from the other woman. Emily had been right on one thing, at least; it was best if she got some energy into her system if she would want to feel any better. That was what her immediate plan was. After that, she didn't know.
***
Emily damned herself for the feelings that were still lingering in her chest. She couldn't get rid of them. And she tried, really tried.
She had taken the empty plates and mugs to the kitchen, trying to get her mind to focus on something else as she washed them, dried them off and put them back in their places.
She had left Danny lying there on the couch on her own. She didn't seem to mind, either. She had finished her food and coffee, which was good, and had then simply laid down against the back of the couch and closed her eyes, not saying another word.
Emily knew that she was being stupid for feeling the way she did, but she had never felt so rejected in her whole life. She realized she was being an idiot. What had she expected anyway? She had brought an injured stranger to her home and had expected what? She just couldn't help herself.
Who was this woman? Emily couldn't come to terms with it. With her. She was an enigma. No matter from which side she looked at things, Emily couldn't get a grip on it. Earlier that evening, Danny had been looking at Emily with such a different look in her eyes. There had been so much emotion in those beautiful, clear blue eyes, so much softness. And now, nothing. And Emily was certain that she hadn't just imagined things because of her own emotional state. She had seen it.
Then, she had witnessed the change, displayed right in front of her. Even Danny's eyes were different. Not only had they looked cold and near impermeable, compared to the depth Emily so clearly had seen in them earlier. Even the color of them had changed; from clear blue to a dark, almost violet shade. She had looked like a completely different person, but yet she was still the same. Beautiful. Mysterious. So utterly helpless and at the same time surrounded by a sense of danger, so clear to Emily she felt she could almost touch the energy radiating from her. It was intensely intriguing, the way she stirred Emily's emotions. She was angry, sad, scared. Excited. She felt drawn to her like a magnet.
Emily shook her head at herself as she wiped her hands on the kitchen towel, before turning off the lights in the kitchen. There was nothing more she could do at this point, she knew that, and she had a feeling that the more she would push, the more she would only make Danny shut down even more. She was going to keep her distance and leave Danny alone if that's what she wanted. She would force herself.
At least she was somewhat safe at the moment, even though Emily didn't have a clue what she was running from. But, she was indoors with a roof over her head and not out in the storm and even though her body was obviously hurt, I seemed as if they were all just superficial wounds and nothing more serious than that. At least not at the moment. Emily hoped it would stay that way; that her judgment of Danny's condition hadn't been totally out of line. Otherwise she would never forgive herself.
Emily went back to the living room area, silently watching the dark haired woman. She was still lying on the couch with her eyes closed. She held a white pillow tightly in her arms, almost as if she was embracing it. Her breathing was slow and even.
Emily just stood there by the couch for a long time, looking at her. Seeing her like that made Emily almost want to cry. Danny looked calm and peaceful, seemingly asleep. Emily's heart ached for her. She wanted to reach out. To touch her, but didn't dare. She didn't know what to think, she just had a weird feeling about all of it. How could the face of a stranger feel so familiar?
Emily took a cream colored blanket that was lying at the end of the couch, by Danny's feet, and carefully put it over the sleeping woman, gently tucking it in under her body. She felt cold to the touch and was shivering slightly, Emily realized as she delicately put her hand on a blanket covered thigh. She was starting to worry again; this wasn't good, not at all. Danny's body was exhausted enough as it was, so getting a fever on top of it was bad, really bad.
Emily flinched as she was suddenly touched by a cold hand, grabbing her arm tightly.
“Please… please, baby, stay with me… please, don't leave me…”
Emily turned around, facing Danny as she sensed the frightened tone of the other woman's voice. It was only a whisper, but she was sobbing. For a few moments Emily was confused about Danny's words, thinking for a brief second that Danny was talking to her, but she soon realized that she was still asleep. Her head was moving back and forth and she was breathing harder, obviously dreaming something. Something bad, apparently, Emily thought as she sat down beside her on the couch. She didn't want to wake Danny up, both because she needed the sleep and, Emily had to admit, because she was a bit scared. Not scared of Danny per se, but scared of the way she had looked at her earlier. It unnerved her. Now, in her sleep, she was the same vulnerable woman Emily had seen earlier. Without the hard, emotionless expression on her face. And it made her just want to take care of her. She couldn't help herself.
Emily just sat there next to the dark haired woman for a long time, stroking her hair, until she had calmed down enough to make her feel ok about leaving her alone. Not that she wanted to, but what could she do? Lay down on the couch beside her? Hold her in her arms all night, to make sure she was alright? Emily just shook her head at herself. Again. How the hell could she feel this way?
She caressed Danny's cheek and tugged the blanket tighter around her before getting up from the couch. She needed to go to bed too, not having slept in more than 18 hours. Emily turned the lights off, leaving Danny in the dark, before walking up the stairs to her bedroom.
She stripped out of her clothes, just leaving them there on the wooden floor, and went to the adjacent bathroom to take a shower.
She honestly didn't feel like she had the strength to do anything more than just lie down, but she needed to wash herself off. She had been at work all day and then Danny had happened. Part of Emily's arm was stained with dirt and Danny's blood, from when she had tried to clean her up a little, probably. She leaned her forehead against the white tiled wall and closed her eyes as the hot water streamed down her body, almost burning her skin.
That's when Emily's emotions finally caught up on her, as forcefully and suddenly as a hard slap on the face. Emily slumped down on the floor as sobs shook her body, uncontrollably. She had tried to keep herself together, but now when she was alone, the dam simply burst. What was she going to do? What had she gotten herself into?
She couldn't stop crying and ended up just sitting there on the hard floor of the walk in shower for a long time, until there were no tears left in her.
To be continued in chapter three...
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