Broen

Dimitri paced nervously in the waiting room. It had been hours since he had ridden in the ambulance with Madi and stitches did NOT take this long. He wondered what else was wrong. In truth, her mental state was of more concern than her physical, but no one seemed interested in telling him what was going on. He made a few more runs forward and back before settling in a chair, legs bouncing nervously.

"Mr. Gierzynski?" Dimitri looked up at the mention of his name, a female doctor was standing with a chart on her hip, and a kind but concerned smile. He stood clearing his throat and wiping his palms on his pants as he walked towards her.

"Yeah. Is she okay?" The doctor sighed and nodded.

"Walk with me." He followed as the doctor led through the linoleum and fluorescents of the sterile building. She spoke softly, "It's a good thing you found her. Her head wasn't the only problem. She has a few bruised ribs, one broken one. She needed five stitches for the cut in her head, and another 15 for several cuts on her thighs. She's pretty banged up; it'll be a couple of days before she's back on her feet. But that's not really what concerns me," She stopped, turning so her back was to a door and she faced Dimitri, "Dimitri, did you see anyone coming or going from the building when you went in?" The question struck him as strange.

"No. Why?" The doctor took a deep breath.

"Mr. Gierzynski, Madison has been raped." She watched as he tensed, his jaw clenched and fists balled. He had suspected molestation, but rape? Rape?!?! He would kill whoever had done this. He would find him and he would rip him apart and-- thoughts were interrupted by the doctor's voice, "But you need to stay calm, for her. You can see her now if you like, but just know her state is fragile at best." He nodded, taking a deep breath before trying to exhale his rage through his nostrils.

"Lead the way." It took concentration to speak calmly. The doctor nodded, opening the door and letting him in. Madi lay in a gown on the bed, trying to force a smile, even though it only exaggerated the quivering of her lips as she tried to force back tears. Dimitri could only stare, his eyes never leaving her face as he settled into the chair beside her bed. His hand moved to rest over hers, "Is that okay? Or do your knuckles even hurt?" He chuckled, and she actually smiled.

"That's okay." She nodded and groaned, a hand moving to her head as she grimaced. His touch startled her, even after his warning beforehand. The doctors had probably told him. A tear streamed out of her eye. He squeezed her hand gently, but she refused to look in his direction.

"Madi, I'm sorry about tonight. I called Darren and let him know where you are. Was there anything you wanted me to ask him to bring over here?" She sniffled, of course, when the heavy shit came through, Dimitri was eager to pass responsibility for her to Darren. Not that she could blame him. This wasn't a tiff between her and a neighbor or a stressed out ranting about balancing her workload.

"No, they said I could probably go home tomorrow, until then I have this gown." She still looked away. Her voice was soft and distant. He squeezed her hand again.

"Madi, look at me." She ignored the request. "Please, I need to see you." Slowly, she turned her head in his direction. Her right eye was black and her lower lip cut and swollen, tears hung on her lashes. His jaw began clenching again. He could barely contain his rage.

"Who did this?" She had never heard him like this before, that angry growl that forced him to limit his voice to something just above a whisper. She didn't dare speak for fear of what would come out. She didn't have the control to trust herself to not tell the truth. She just squeezed his hand. "Tell me who did this." Each word was even in length as though rhythm was the only hope for controlling himself.

"It doesn't matter, Dimitri." She saw the flames beginning to blaze in his eyes. Fear was throbbing deep inside her somewhere but she knew that it was baseless.

"It doesn't matter? Did you really just say that? Madi, please, tell me. I'll tell the police, I'll tell the DA, I'll do whatever I can to help find him." She sniffled, looking as though she was about to break. He took a deep breath, it was hard to stay angry with anyone when he was looking at her, she was beautiful, even now. He rose, still holding her hand, and pressed his lips to her forehead. "I'm sorry." He settled back in his seat, looking into her eyes. "But it matters. It matters a lot. He can't get away with this."

"Dimitri?" She sighed, looking down at their hands and then back into his face. He simply nodded; afraid his own voice would scare her's back into her throat. "Will, will you stay with me tonight? I.. I don't want to be alone." The end of the sentence trailed off into a struggle against tears. He nodded once more, standing to sit at the foot of the bed before Madi moved over a bit. He understood, lying down beside her and wrapping his arms around her protectively.

"Is this okay?" He whispered next to her ear, the heat of his breath tickling her lobe. She simply nodded, rolling over carefully, being sure not to rip out her IV before curling up in a ball against his chest to cry, God forbid she be without whatever this tranquilizer they were pumping her full of was, the rhythmic movement of his hands the only thing could offer even the slightest comfort.

*******

The heavy sigh that pushed forward from the small bundle on the couch beside him weighed on his ears like a ton of bricks. Madi seemed resigned to silence, despite the fact she seemed too small to hold everything that was invariably going on inside. Her eyes were like a mosaic sea glass, matte pieces of green and brown sloppily fit together into something incoherent.

Her own silence forced him to bite his tongue. What words were appropriate now? What question could he ask without sounding like a bumbling idiot? 'Are you okay?' was not suitable now. And any other subject besides her well-being seemed to pale in comparison. He let his hand fall on her foot, squeezing gently, and was almost hurt by the way she jumped.

"Dimitri..." Her voice was so quiet and distant he wasn't sure whether he had really heard it. "You don't have to stay, I mean, I know you have shit to do and I'll be okay. I can take care of—"

"If I didn't want to be here, Madi, I wouldn't. In case you haven't noticed, we're friends. This is what friends do. No more nonsense talk. I'm staying until Darren comes home, he told me he has ROTC and family shit this week, so it looks like I'm here for a few days." He saw her smile, his hand moving up and down her calf slowly.

"Thank you." He simply nodded, laying down behind her on the twin bed turned couch. An arm moved around her waist, pulling her closer before he pressed his lips to the back of her head. His tenderness in the past 18 hours or so caught Madi off guard. It wasn't that she didn't have wonderful friends, but he seemed more invested. More interested. Like he only wanted to be near her right now. She was probably just delirious from the drugs though. Eyes fell across the stack of pill bottles on the table, antibiotics for STDs, some experimental treatment they thought might knock out HIV, Plan B, painkillers, tranquilizers, sleeping pills. Hell, in a situation where she could have become suicidal, they sure made it easy for her to off herself. Maybe the doctor's had asked him to stay and he was just making it less susipicious. She sighed, closing her eyes, she might as well take advantage of his closeness while she could.

"I'll make you a deal, you can have the remote, if you promise not to talk anymore nonsense." He felt her hand fall to his arm, squeezing his forearm softly. It was delicious, the soft heat of her skin, the sound of her breathing. He didn't want to move.

"I'll make you a deal, I live here, so I can have the remote regardless." She giggled softly. The sound was music. She slowly flipped through the channels, Monday afternoons left them with slim pickings. They settled on some afternoon sitcoms.

The sound of whimpering woke him from his nap, it was dark in the room. They must have drifted off awhile ago. Madi was beginning to squirm, as he leaned over her form he could see the tears on her cheeks. She seemed to be still asleep, though. Hand gently moved against her side before he leaned in, pressing his lips to her cheek and whispering in her ear. "It's okay, you're safe." He was surprised when her eyes flew open, his face still only inches from her own. The surprise in her eyes left him wondering why she hadn't screamed, her chest was still heaving from the fear of her dream. Had he thought twice, or even at all, he would've stopped himself before he pressed his lips against hers. It was a gentle kiss, the rough beginnings of a scab on her upper lip was a strange contrast to the rest, soft and moist. Her hand squeezed his forearm, lips moving to kiss back. Excitement coursed through his veins, fear and...and...and something he couldn't put his finger on. Her lips parted beneath his, inviting his tongue to explore tentatively.

Every inch of her was tingling, the kiss had been so soft it almost tickled at first. A hand rose to rest against his cheek, her thumb moving slowly as she continued to kiss him. It had been too long since she had kissed like this. With a question behind it. Not the simple hunger of lust or those empty kisses that had once tried to convince her of I love you's. It was nervous and familiar and... Dimitri. Of all the people in the world, it was him. She kissed with new vigor at the thought of it, a hand moving to put pressure on the back of his head, holding him closer as her tongue wrestled against his. A soft groan vibrated her chest as he feathered his fingers over her arms.

As Madi tugged him closer, it seemed he couldn't resist, moving her to her back so he could press himself against her, his weight forcing her to sink into the couch cushions. Pain surged through her damaged rib cage, panic gripping her throat, her heart pounding in her chest as her eyes flew open. Dimitri's facial features blurred, Karl's ugly snarl above her. She screamed, struggling and wincing all at once. Dimitri retracted like a rubber band snapping back, now it was his turn to panic. "Madi? Madi? Are you okay?" She sniffled, tears clinging to her eyelashes as she nodded, pushing herself up into a sitting position before looking into his face. Sadness overran her face.

She took a deep breath, "I'm sorry, I'm just not ready to...to..." He nodded, pulling her against him and kissing the top of her head, a hand gliding over the back of her sweatshirt.

"I didn't mean to push," He smiled, kissing her temple this time, "Don't look so sad," A kiss on the cheek now, "I'm not going anywhere." She sighed, obviously relieved. Maybe he really was here of his own accord It seemed a quick change of subject might be in order, "Are you hungry yet?" She giggled, nuzzling his chest.

"Do you ever think of anything not food related?" She looked up at him, her voice seemingly disconnected from the rest of her, he could see she was trying behind those eyes, "I could eat, what do you want?"

"Chinese sound alright?" She grinned,forcing him to lean in and kiss her softly. She seemed surprised and delighted. At least enough so to drop her head to his shoulder so her lips could grace his neck with fluttering kisses. He groaned softly. "Chinese it is then." He lifted his cellphone, placing their orders before dedicating both arms to holding her, a hand gently caressing her side. It was going to be a long few days, being as he would have to control himself the whole time.