Chapter 8 - The Rescue
When Liz woke up she glanced at the clock and noticed it was late. She stretched and yawned and then found Fantine curled up against her. She brushed her hair aside, kissed her forehead and then studied Fantine's sweet, peaceful face. It had been so long since Liz had ever felt anything like what brewed inside her now. She wondered how it could be that she was so fortunate. She was truly in love.
She lay still, holding Fantine late into the morning until finally deciding to get up and start some coffee. She got a pot started and slipped quietly into the bathroom to take a shower. She soaked herself in the warm spray and thought about Fantine and their fresh relationship. She tried to imagine what their future would be like.
Through the frosted glass of the shower door she watched a sleek, feminine form stretch before the bathroom mirror and then turn face her. She recognized the dark hair and graceful curves. She smiled and reached out to touch the shower door as though painting the image on the glass. She watched the figure sprout a long, red tail and then walk toward her.
Fantine opened the door and warmed Liz with her smile. Liz welcomed her with an embrace. They touched foreheads together and gazed into each other's eyes. Their smiles said everything.
Liz had always been careful about exposing Charm in the shower (the soap stung so), but as their lips met she slowly pushed it out to join Fantine. Their tails entwined and the moment became a soul kiss.
The rest of their morning was spent in bathrobes either lying in bed or on the sofa with hours of playful banter or heartfelt entreaties. Fondness for each other grew on them as if it was their nature to be lovers and friends. They tried to make an effort toward cooking breakfast but it was useless, they could not keep their hands off each other. Realizing the futility, they decided on venturing out for lunch and then strayed repeatedly while trying to get dressed.
Liz' strong sense of propriety and order prevailed and they eventually found themselves at a quiet little restaurant beside a stretch of river-walk.
At the restaurant and all through their lunch, Fantine continued in her playful, almost lackadaisical mood but Liz was strictly business.
"I'll have to sell my car but I can just give away my furniture and clothes," Liz asserted, she was practically just thinking out loud because Fantine was not really in a planning frame of mind. "That leaves us with just a few boxes to take with us."
"My boat is waiting for us in San Diego," offered Fantine, then she gave a mock pout. "Why do you not tell me again how much you love me?"
"Perfect. I'll tell them I accepted a job in Baltimore," continued Liz, ignoring Fantine's playful taunt. "Nobody would dare try to track me down there."
"If someone, they love you very much, then they search the world for you, eh?"
"Silly girl. Plan now -- love later," Liz chided in acknowledgement of her lover's plea for attention. She took Fantine's hand over the table and smiled warmly at her. Lunch was over and they both needed more private time. They agreed to go back to the apartment and curl up together for a nap. They paid the check and eagerly headed back to the car.
She saw him only an instant; an angry face standing in the parking lot. Her only thought had been, 'Oh, what is he doing here?' Liz quickly dismissed the incident and her mind turned back to organizing her move and leaving this life for good.
As they approached the car, she released Fantine's hand and walked around the front of the car to the other side. She never saw the quick movement from the shadows or heard the rushing footsteps. She did hear a shriek and when she looked up she saw the figure of a large man standing in front of Fantine. She saw the blur of motion as the man thrust his arm repeatedly upward against her love's stomach. She heard gasps as Fantine took the blows.
Fantine slowly crumpled to the ground and over her, the burly attendant from the adult book store stood with a bloody knife clutched in his fist and a furious grimace on his face.
"You think you can fuck with me, bitch," the man yelled at his prone victim? He looked over at Liz with the same wild glare in his eyes. He pointed the knife at her and growled through clenched teeth, "I got the same for all you bitches."
Liz froze in shock and fear. Her Fantine was struck down and now she faced the same fate. She was powerless to stop him and simply waited for his rage to spend itself on her.
The man had apparently redeemed whatever anger he had. He glanced down at Fantine and his face melted from rage to fear at what he had done. Instead of attacking Liz he simply thrust his bloodied hand and weapon into his coat pocket, turned and quickly walked away.
Liz recuperated from her shock and rushed around the car to Fantine. When she saw her lover curled up on the ground in a pool of blood she dropped to her knees and cried. She lifted Fantine's head to her lap and wailed her grief out loud. Her years of medical training and experience fled her. Her conscious mind helplessly retracted at the catastrophe before her.
A witness had seen the entire attack and had called for an ambulance. Within seconds the two women were surrounded by concerned strangers offering sympathy and aid. Liz was inconsolable. She rocked Fantine's limp form in her arms and called her name but Fantine would not respond.
It was all a blur for Liz; a confusing collage of images and events. Some passed like a blink of an eye, some dragged like torture. Paramedics arrived and tended to Fantine. They put her on a stretcher and Liz rode with her in the ambulance. At the hospital, the emergency room was a flurry of activity and change. Liz was dumbfounded through the entire experience. Covered in blood, she stood helpless and vacant at the side of the chaos and was physically led through the calamity in a horrified daze. At last she was walked into a waiting room and made to sit.
It was quite some time before she climbed out of her stupor and became responsive. Once she had seized reality, her first priority was to find out everything she could about Fantine. She asked the nurse at the desk and was referred to the intensive care wing. When she got to the ICU, she was given the run around and when she found some one who would talk to her the only thing they wanted to know was Fantine's vital information, her financial status and insurance. Liz resolved herself to sit in the waiting area and wait to speak to her doctor.
It was late afternoon when a man in a lab coat came looking for her. "Hello, I'm Doctor Murray," He said. "Are you the young lady who came in with our stab victim?"
"Yes. Thank you so much for seeing me, Doctor," Liz anxiously replied as she rose to shake his hand. "My name is Elizabeth. How is she?"
"I'll be honest with you, she's been hurt bad," replied Dr. Murray in a grave tone. "It doesn't look good for her. Frankly,... we're surprised how well she's hung on so far."
Liz choked back a sob. She tried to say something to express her desperation and dire need for his support. "But... she can't. We were... " She was lost in desperation.
"I'm sorry," Dr. Murray continued. "Does she have any family; anyone else who should be here for her? For you?"
Liz felt stunned, like her emotions had just been tapped dry. "No,... they're all dead," she said in a hollow voice. This news was so terrible. She felt so sad for Fantine; she had so much; she had been through so much. Now, she would lose it all, right when she had finished her long quest. She did not even want to begin probing her own loss; finding love for the first time in four hundred years. She had protected her heart from this for so long and just when she found some one to give her heart to, she was going to lose them again. It was not fair. They had both come so far to find each other and would now lose it all.
"Well, we'll... do everything we can for her," said Dr. Murray, awkwardly fumbling for the right thing to say.
"Can I see her," she asked, hoping he was painting a worse picture than the situation warranted?
"It will still be a while," he confided. "She's still in surgery. We're waiting for her condition to stabilize. We'll let you know when you can go in."
"Thank you, Doctor," Liz replied. "I know you'll do your best." She turned and sat down. She looked bedraggled and tired. She was still covered in Fantine's blood and shuddered to think what people wondered about her. She broke down and cried.
About an hour later, a nurse summoned Liz to Fantine's space in the ward. When Liz saw her she was shocked. The bold, courageous girl she met two days ago looked frail, helpless and wasted on the stark hospital bed. Her face was pale, drawn and listless. Her body looked limp and fragile with all the wires and hoses dangling from her. Liz approached her carefully and tried to be brave. She kissed Fantine's brow and whispered her name; hoping to draw her from her peril. She sat by Fantine's bed held her hand to her cheek, lulled hypnotically by the steady beep of the cardiac monitor.
It was starting to get dark out when Liz was roused from her lament by the nurse telling her that the police needed to ask her some questions. Two grave looking men were waiting for her in the hallway.
"' evening, ma'am," said the taller of the two men. "I'm detective Yates. This is detective Haney." Each of the men offered his hand which Liz shook in succession. "We've been assigned to your friend's case, Ms...?"
