Natural Reaction (6 page)

Bradley wrapped an arm around her and led her to the staircase, his own laughter echoing in the room. “Come on; let’s escape while we still have brain cells left.”

“What?” Mike called again, confusion evident in his voice.

“Oh shut up,” Ian yelled from the kitchen. “And pick something else to watch on the bloody
telly
.”

A fresh wave of laughter floated down the stairs from Mary and Bradley.

“It’s not that funny,” Ian called up after them.

Bradley and Mary sat on the edge of her bed, wiping the tears from their eyes. Mary took a deep breath. “Oh, that felt so good,” she said breathlessly. “I really needed that.”

He turned and wiped a stray tear from her cheek and she smiled up at him, “It feels like it’s been forever since we laughed together.”

He smiled and nodded. “I agree.”

Looking up at him, she gave him a cheeky grin. “It feels like forever since we did several things together, Police Chief Alden.”

“Like what?”

She looped her arms around his shoulders. “Like this,” she whispered, before kissing him lightly on the lips.

Loosely encircling her waist with his arms, he pulled her a little closer. “Yeah, I missed that too.”

“Me too,” she replied with a sigh. “I missed you.”

“Never again,” he said, lowering his head to touch her forehead. “Never again will I let doubt and fears keep us apart.”

She sighed happily. “So what should I promise?”

“Promise to love me forever,” he whispered, kissing her lightly on the nose.

“Oh, well, that’s easy,” she replied, lifting her head to kiss his lips.

He angled his head and deepened the kiss, pouring all of his love into it. She slid her arms tighter around his neck, knocking them both off-balance. They slipped backwards onto the bed, Mary still enfolded in his arms.

She froze. Suddenly she was back in the dark room and Gary was climbing on her, touching her. “No, no,” she cried, beating against his chest. “Don’t touch me, don’t touch me.”

“Mary! Mary, it’s me,” Bradley insisted, lifting himself away from her. “I’m so sorry. Mary
come
back to me.”

She scrambled across the bed until she was in the far corner. Her eyes were wide and frightened, her breath coming out in gasps. Bradley could tell she wasn’t seeing her own bedroom, she was back with Gary.

“Mary, you’re home,” he said softly. “You’re in your own room. No one will hurt you. Mary you’re safe. I promise. You’re safe.”

The glaze of fear left her eyes and she blinked several times. She looked around her room and then looked at Bradley. He was standing a few feet from the bed looking down at her with concern on his face. “Bradley?” she whispered.

“Mary?” he said in a low voice. “Are you okay? Do you know where you are?”

She nodded, tears running unchecked down her face. “Oh, Bradley, am I going crazy?”

He slowly moved toward the bed, and when she didn’t object, climbed over next to her. He wrapped his arms around her and held her as she cried, kissing her on the top of her head. “No, darling, you’re not crazy. We’ve just got to give you a little more time to heal.”

Once he had assured himself she was doing better, Bradley left Mary’s room, closing the door firmly behind him. Ian stood at the top of the staircase and Mike hovered nearby.

“We heard something and thought we’d come and have a look,” Ian said.

“No, we thought we’d have to kick your ass if you were hurting her,” Mike corrected, and then he looked at the worry on Bradley’s face. “Not that we actually thought you’d be hurting her.”

Bradley sat on the top step and put his head in his hands. “One moment, everything’s fine, everything’s great and the next moment, she thinks I’m Gary.”

Ian placed his hand on Bradley’s shoulder, “Oh, no, she doesn’t think you’re Gary,” he said. “She’s having a flashback. She’s not home anymore; her mind brought her back to Jeannine’s memories. It’s naught to do with you.”

Scoffing harshly, Bradley shook his head. “Yeah, you try to convince yourself of that when she’s beating her hands against your chest and screaming in terror.”

“So, you’ve never had a woman do that to you before?” Mike teased.

“It’s not funny, Mike,” Bradley replied, but he couldn’t help the smile that flitted over his face.

“No, it’s not funny,” he said. “But you have to get some perspective here. Mary is safe. Gary is going to be put away for a long time. But, even if he escaped, Mary could have kicked his butt with no problem, as long as she wasn’t drugged. She’s not a victim. She’s a warrior. She just has to remember.”

Ian nodded.
“Pretty smart for a dead guy.”

Turning to Ian, Mike grinned. “Yeah, and I don’t even have a PhD.”

They walked down the stairs together and gathered at the kitchen table where Ian had placed a large bowl of buttered popcorn and some drinks.

“I figured since there was no point in watching the rest of the movie, we might want to decide how we can best help Mary,” he said.

“Well…” Bradley began.

“Shouldn’t I be included in the conversation?”

The three turned to see Mary standing on the staircase, wrapped in her robe and looking determined.

“Aye, you should,” Ian agreed. “Have a seat and I’ll get you something to drink? Would you like tea?”

She shook her head. “No, I need something stronger. Is there any cold Diet Pepsi?”

Mike grinned. “The champ is back and she’s fighting.”

Mary shook her head as she came down the stairs and joined the men. “No, I’m not fighting, I’m scared. But I know I can’t go on like this.
So, any suggestions?”

Ian handed Mary a can of soda and sat down next to her. “Let me hypnotize you,” he said. “I might be able to remove Jeannine’s memories. You’d still have your abduction to deal with, but I think it would lessen the trauma.”

Shaking her head, she took a deep breath. “Can we take that off the table for now?” she asked. “I don’t think I want to be hypnotized again for a while.”

Ian stiffened, taken aback. “I’m sorry, Mary,” he said, his voice strained. “I had no idea it would have this effect on you. I never…”

She quickly turned to him and placed her hand on his shoulders. “That’s not what I meant,” she said. “We both did what we needed to do to solve this crime and I don’t regret it for a moment. Please don’t think I hold you responsible for any of this.”

“But…,” he began, but stopped when he saw the plea for understanding in her eyes.

Cocking his head to the side, he studied her for a moment. “I see,” he said slowly, staring into her eyes. “I agree we should pursue some other options.”

“After 9/11 we got a lot of training about post-traumatic stress disorder,” Mike said. “Lots of the first responders were affected.”

Mouthing a silent “thank you” to Ian, Mary turned to Mike. “What kinds of things were suggested?”

“Talk to someone about your experience,” Bradley interjected.

“Well, there aren’t too many professionals who would listen to my story without suggesting I go to a nice quiet place and rest for a long time,” she replied wryly.

“It doesn’t have to be a psychologist,” Mike said. “You can talk to us. Get it out of your system.”

She looked at the three strong, capable and caring men sitting at the table. She knew they’d listen and do their best to empathize with her. But they would never really be able to understand what she experienced.

“As much as I appreciate it, I don’t think …” she tried to explained, “What happened to me…to Jeannine…
”

“We aren’t women and we can’t understand how it feels to be raped,” Ian stated baldly.

“Yes,” she said softly. “That’s it exactly.”

“Well, what else?” he asked.

“You’ve got to get busy,” Mike said. “You’ve got to get back to living your life. Don’t let the experience rule your life.”

“Hey, she just got out of the hospital,” Bradley protested. “She needs some down time.”

“I wasn’t suggesting she run a marathon,” Mike said. “Just start moving forward.”

“An investigation,” Ian said, “An old case with a calm, easy-going ghost. Something I can use for one of my studies.”

“Perfect!” Mary said. “And I have just the case. While I was at the hospital there was a ghost following Dr. Thorne. Then she told me her father died in an explosion at the high school. We could look into that one.”

“Wait,” Bradley interrupted. “I think you are all moving too fast.”

She turned to him and placed her hand over his, “I promise I won’t over-do,” she said. “I just have to get busy, get my mind off of what happened.”

He turned his hand and caught her hand in his own. “Not thinking about it is not going to make it go away,” he said. “I could speak with Regina Tallmadge at VOICES, the domestic violence shelter; she could get you into a group session.”

She knew Bradley meant well and was only trying to protect her, but she wasn’t like those other women. She was a trained professional. She understood about crimes against women. She wasn’t a victim. She had been a cop.
A damned good cop.
And if she could survive dying, there was no way in hell some creep was going to get the best of her.

She squeezed his hand and met his eyes. “I’m not ready for that,” she said. “But, I’ll be sure to let you know as soon as I am.”

“Yeah, Mary doesn’t need to sit around talking, she needs some action and she needs it now,” Mike said.

There was a sharp rap on the front door, causing everyone to jump.

“Okay, that was spooky,” Mike added.

The men allowed Mary to open her own door, but only after earning a sharp glare when they tried to prevent her. “It’s my house,” she said with determination. “I can answer the door.”

She was surprised to find Andy’s mom, Katie Brennan, standing on the porch. In the past few months, Katie and Mary had become good friends. Katie was wrapped in a camel-colored coat with a soft pink and lavender wool scarf layered around her neck. Her curly blonde hair poked out in wisps from the matching knitted cap and her usually sparkling blue eyes were filled with concern. She hadn’t been outside for very long, because her cheeks hadn’t reddened enough to cover the smattering of freckles across her cheeks. Mary knew she was the mother of six, but at this moment she could have been mistaken for a college coed.

“Mary, I have a huge favor to ask you,” she said, concern audible in her voice.

“Is everything okay?” Mary asked. “Is Andy…
”

Katie smiled warmly. “No, everything’s fine with the children, thanks for worrying. But the favor has to do with Andy and Maggie.”

“Well, please, come in and tell me what you need,” Mary insisted.

“I hate to be a bother,” Katie replied.

“No, bother,” Mary said, guiding her into the house. “Can I get you some tea?”

Katie stopped when she saw the two men standing in the living room. “Oh, Ian and Bradley, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt,” she exclaimed.

“Katie you’re looking as pretty as a summer’s day,” Ian said. “Come in, we can make ourselves scarce if need be.”

“No, please don’t,” she said. “I’m asking Mary a favor, but I’m afraid it’s probably going to affect the two of you.”

“What do you need?” Bradley asked.

Katie took a deep breath. “We just got a call that Clifford’s mother, Andy’s grandmother, took a fall at the nursing home she’s been living in,” she explained. “They believe she’s broken her hip and they are taking her in to surgery tomorrow. She’s fairly frail and we’re concerned…”

Her voice cracked and she took a deep breath. “Well, we just don’t want her to be alone right now.”

“Of course not,” Mary said. “How can I help?”

“I’ve found a place for the older boys to stay,” she said. “But I need somewhere for Andy and Maggie to stay for at least a few days, and perhaps up to a week. I know they adore you and since the bus picks them up right in front of your house, I wondered…”

Mary smiled brightly. “Really?” she said, delighted. “You’d let me watch them for you?”

A shaky laugh burbled from Katie. “You obviously have no idea what you are getting yourself into,” she said. “But if they are with you, I know I wouldn’t have to worry about them at all.”

“Would it be better if Ian and I limited our time at Mary’s?” Bradley asked. “I don’t want them to feel uncomfortable.”

Katie laughed and shook her head. “You’ve become one of his heroes,” she replied. “If there were a Police Chief Alden action figure, I believe you would have even replaced Wolverine.”

“Big tall beast-like creature,” Mike whispered to those who could see him. “Yeah, I can see the resemblance.”

“And I do believe my Maggie has a crush on Ian,” she said.

He chuckled. “Aye, she’s a rare bonnie lassie,” he said. “She’ll be breaking hearts when she’s older.”

“Needless to say, I’d love to have them stay here,” Mary said. “And I promise to take good care of them.”