 
                --===Warmth of a Touch, Chapter 14===--
 
Chapter 14
 
 
 
    For a week, Martin's life was idyllic. He and Cat were
completely inseparable, and the rest of Martin's family just had to put
up with him not being available for anything. They were happy for the
couple, and they knew he would eventually pay attention to them again.
 
    For her part, Cat had a hard time concentrating on her
school work, which was, for her, an important issue, since she was
already having a bit of difficulty with her classes. Still, Martin
spent hours working with her, even after spending hours doing his own
homework. After that, they spent hours relaxing in purely physical
efforts that involved little to no thinking.
 
    At the end of that week, real life decided to intrude on
Martin's wonderful little world. The truth was that it didn't so much
intrude at that point as reassert itself, for the problem had always
been there; it was simply one Martin had chosen to ignore.
 
    Coming out of the cafeteria one afternoon, he was, of
course, walking with Cat. She was laughing at a joke he'd told, and he
was looking around at the fall colors. As his eyes swept the quad, he
caught sight of another pair of eyes, staring back. Their eyes locked
for a moment, before the other person turned away.
 
    Martin's body language changed, and Cat noticed. "What's
the matter?" she said, her voice still light, but concerned.
 
    "Nothing, really... but I do need to go talk to someone.
Can you make it to class on your own?"
 
    She sensed that he wasn't telling her the whole truth, but
that it wasn't meant to hurt her, and so she let it slide. "Sure." She
kissed him hotly for a few seconds, and he eagerly returned the kiss.
Then she moved off down the path toward her next class.
 
    Martin made his way over to a fountain. There was seating
around the fountain, and the person who owned the pair of staring eyes
was sitting on the other side of the fountain. Right now, all he saw
was red hair. He walked around the fountain, and sat down.
 
    "Hey, Georgia," he said quietly.
 
    "Hey, Marty!" she said brightly. She worried that he might
be mad; it might seem as if she was stalking him, but she was happy to
see him, anyway.
 
    "What're you doing here?" he asked conversationally. He
didn't want to accuse her of anything if it had happened to be a
coincidence.
 
    "Oh, well, you know, all my friends are here, and it's a
nice place to sit and read." This was a weak excuse at best, and she
knew it. Martin saw right through it, as well.
 
    Taking a deep breath, Martin said, "Hmmm. Do you think you
could take a break from your book? There's something I'd like to talk
to you about."
 
    Georgia had already closed her book, which Martin noted did
not contain a bookmark. She turned to him, her attention fully on him.
"What's up?"
 
    "Not here," he said. "Too many ears. C'mon, we can go to my
room."
 
    "Okay," she said, trying - and failing - to keep the
enthusiasm out of her voice. Martin smirked at her, but his head was
turned so she couldn't see it. They got up together and headed for the
dorms, walking quickly, but each for a different reason. It took only a
minute before they were outside his door.
 
    Martin let them in, and closed the door, locking it. He
absolutely did not want to be interrupted during this conversation.
During the few moments he'd considered what to do about Georgia over
the past days, his resolve to turn her loose had only increased. He
couldn't ask her to give up her life for him when he wasn't willing to
do the same.
 
    Georgia finally got the sense that this wasn't playtime, or
she would already have been half-naked. She still hoped that something
good would come from whatever was going on, though. She smiled as
Martin turned to look at her. The look on his face seemed to be one of
dread, but she couldn't imagine why he'd be feeling that particular
emotion. He stared at her for a long moment before he finally came over
and sat beside her on his couch. She noted that he didn't sit all that
close, and that he immediately turned to face her.
 
    For another long, almost unbearable moment, no one spoke.
Finally, Martin shook his head and laughed at himself ruefully. He
looked back up at her. "This is hard," he said, which was obviously a
colossal understatement. Georgia smiled, but kept quiet.
 
    "Georgia... you might have guessed that I'm not very good
at reading girls. I almost never know what they're thinking, or what
they want, or... well, anything, unless they tell me. I'm pretty lame
in that one area."
 
    Georgia thought to defend him from himself, but realized
that this wasn't the thrust of what he was saying, so she let it go.
Martin continued, "That's why it took Sarah to beat me over the head
with what should have been obvious to me... I guess it should have
been, anyway... I think I know how you feel about me. Do I?" he asked,
rather dumbly, he thought.
 
    "Probably," she managed, blushing. It was the way she
turned her head down just slightly that told him that he did have the
complete picture.
 
    "And you came back here..."
 
    "To be near you, yeah."
 
    *Shit*. He didn't really know what to tell her. Everything
he had to say was going to hurt her in one way or another. He didn't
want to do that, but he knew that hurting her now would save her from
even more pain later.
 
    "I want you to know that I like you a lot. You're a
wonderful, beautiful, caring girl and you're everything a guy could
want."
 
    "But?" she asked, the tears already beginning to mist her
eyes. A sentence like that one only had one purpose: to ease the blow
that was coming.
 
    "But. Yeah, there's always a 'but,' isn't there?" Martin
suddenly got up from the couch and paced the room.  He looked at the
pictures of his family for a second, suddenly realizing that he needed
to add photos.  He realized he was stalling, and he also noticed that
Georgia was letting him.  He looked to her, and saw that she was crying
already, her tears streaking her face.  The pain had begun; it was his
job to get them both through it as quickly as he could manage.
 
    "If things were different, there's nothing I'd like better
than to have you as my girlfriend.  Who knows, maybe we'd even go
beyond that... I don't know."  He only had vague ideas in his head
about "beyond that", so he let it drop.  "But things aren't different,"
he said after a long pause.  His last sentence was spoken with a
finality that almost thudded into Georgia's brain.
 
    "You love Cat that much?" she asked, crying openly now. 
This was the point of no return.  Martin could simply answer that
question 'yes,' and that would be the end of it.  But it would be a
lie, and he wouldn't insult Georgia with a lie.
 
    "It's not just Cat," he said.  She turned her eyes to him
in confusion.  He walked over and sat down beside her again, taking her
hands in his own.  "What I'm about to tell you is a family secret, and
I need you to promise me you won't tell anybody."
 
    Georgia nodded forcefully.  "Anything."
 
    "Our family is... weird.  There's this thing that happens
to us when we turn eighteen... at least with the boys.  The girls are
weird in a different way.  Anyway, this thing... it makes... Shit, how
do you explain this to someone?  Well, hell, you've already felt it. 
Do you remember the day we practiced your interview?"
 
    "Wasn't much of an interview," she said with a sniffle and
a smile of remembrance.  Martin smiled warmly at her.
 
    "Do you remember how that felt?  Not the sex," he added
hastily, blushing.  "I mean, when you walked in, and shook my hand?  Do
you remember?"
 
    "I got all flushed.  I thought it was just because I
thought you were hot."  She blushed at her admission.  Martin was a
little startled at it, but he shook it off; such realizations wouldn't
help his cause right now.
 
    "Okay, well, what you really felt that day was... I call it
the 'warmth.'  No one else seems to have given it a name, so that's
what I call it.  Anyway, that day... Sarah was trying to teach me how
to control it.  You were... um... a guinea pig."  He blushed crimson at
that admission.
 
    "So that's all I am?" she asked, her tears renewing afresh.
 
    "No," he said firmly.  "You're not.  If I didn't care about
you as much as I do, this would be a lot easier.  I mean it, Georgia. 
I really could have fallen for you as my girlfriend... in a heartbeat. 
But there's more."
 
    "Okay," she said, sniffling.  Martin reached back and
grabbed a Kleenex.  She wiped her nose as he continued.
 
    "Well, you know about Sarah and me... you know what we've
done, and who we are.  Honestly, I didn't know that she was my sister
the first time we made love... but she told me right after.  And we
still have sex pretty regularly."
 
    "Even with... I mean, does Cat know?"
 
    "Oh, believe me, Cat knows.  There's more."
 
    "Okay."
 
    "You see, when I first discovered the warmth, which was a
total accident; my parents didn't tell me anything about it until
*after* I found out I had it.  Anyway, when that happened... see, under
certain circumstances, the warmth is temporary.  What I did to you that
night, that was temporary.  If you remember when we had our date
later?"  Georgia nodded, and he continued, "well, you might remember
kind of a chill passing over you?  That was me removing all of the
warmth from you.  Even though its effects are mostly temporary... you
were... um... a guinea pig again.  I was learning how to take the
warmth away."
 
    "Why bother?" she asked.  Her voice wasn't hurt or angry;
she was more confused than anything.
 
    "Because... well, because I don't want a bunch of Martin
worshipers walking around campus."
 
    "Oh," she said, understanding coming to her eyes.  After a
moment, though, her expression changed.  "You said the warmth was
temporary 'under certain circumstances.'  Does that mean that at other
times, it's-"
 
    "Permanent.  Yeah.  If you intentionally or accidentally do
a certain thing... actually, have *her* do a certain thing *to* you,
then the warmth has a permanent... and strong... effect.  That happened
the very first time I used the warmth.  Of course, I didn't even know I
was using the warmth at the time... had no idea what was going on...
and the woman... well, it was a very unusual night."
 
    "Who was it?" she asked, curiosity taking over for a moment.
 
    Martin hesitated, but figured he'd gone this far, and so he
took a deep breath and said, "Dr. Preston."
 
    "You slept with your *teacher*?" she asked in shock.
 
    "I didn't exactly mean to, but... yeah."
 
    "Wait a minute... you said the effect was permanent... you
mean, she's... you still sleep with her?"
 
    "Frequently.  Georgia, Lianna... that's Dr. Preston's first
name... she's... shit, I hate this word, but it's the only one you'll
really understand how things are... Lianna is my slave."
 
    "What?" Georgia said, sitting back slightly from him.  He
nodded.
 
    "Think how *I* felt!  I didn't mean to do it... didn't
really want to do it... but when it happened, I didn't know that I was
doing it.  And there's no way to undo it, either.  The permanent kind
can't be undone like I undid yours."
 
    "So... I mean, can't you just like tell her to go away? 
Won't she listen to that?"
 
    "When I came back from last Christmas break, Lianna was in
the hospital."
 
    "I didn't know that.  What happened?"
 
    "She tried to commit suicide.  She did that because she
*thought* I didn't want her anymore.  That was just a
misunderstanding.  Can you guess what would happen if I *told* her that
I didn't want her anymore?  That our relationship was over?"
 
    Georgia paled at the thought.  "Shit... so... you're kind
of stuck with her, aren't you?"
 
    "For the rest of our lives.  Yeah.  Truth is, she's a very
nice woman, and I don't mind being around her at all... but dammit, I
would have liked to have had some say in the matter!"
 
    "So... Cat... and Sarah... and Dr. Preston," Georgia said,
summing it up, or so she thought.
 
    Martin shook his head.  "There's more.  A lot more.  Do you
really want to hear it?"
 
    Georgia nodded slowly.
 
    "I have another sister.  Her name is Becca.  Becca and I
have been close all our lives... very little fighting... we'd tease
each other, the way brothers and sisters do, you know?  But no real
arguments or anything.  I looked out for her.  I know now that I was
*expected* to look out for her; that it was actually my job.  Last
Christmas was the first time I slept with her."  He carried on through
Georgia's pale expression.  "This is another part of the family
secret.  Though the girls are immune to my warmth, it doesn't much
matter, because they're stuck with me anyway.  Neither girl will ever
desire anyone other than me... or at least, that's what I've been
told.  It was made clear to me that I was required to look after Becca.
 
    "Also, before I knew about the warmth, I enslaved one other
girl.  She lived in Albuquerque.  That was a big problem... Do you
remember Jen, Peter's girlfriend?  I don't know if you ever met..."
 
    "I saw her, but I never met her," Georgia confirmed.
 
    "Well, the girl I enslaved was Jen's sister.  I was staying
with them before I caught a flight home, and, well, like I said, I
didn't have control back then.  So, I had two slaves before I even knew
what was going on.
 
    "I don't want to drag this out too much... I don't want to
get into the dirty little details... but I ended up with Jen, Jen's
sister, *and* their mother as slaves.  Also, there's a woman I rescued
in Las Cruces... she was a prostitute and a drug addict.  The only way
to save her from one addiction, unfortunately, was to give her another
one."
 
    "An addiction to you."
 
    "Right.  Anyway, what do we have?  Katie, Jen, Monica,
Rachel and Lianna... they are all my slaves... they have to do what I
tell them to, it's part of who they are.  Me trying to leave them is
out of the question; even if they didn't commit suicide over it, it
would destroy their lives.  Sarah and Becca are my sisters, and they,
too, are completely devoted to me.  I have a hard time accepting that
occasionally, but there's nothing I can do about it...  Then there's
Cat."
 
    "Cat knows all this?"
 
    "Cat comes from a family similar to mine.  We met while I
was on vacation.  She knows everything, but it was something she was
raised to deal with.  Unlike my parents, her family tells them about
the warmth early on.  Anyway, yeah, she knows."
 
    "So... I don't get it," Georgia said.  "You had me under...
why didn't you just keep me, if you like me so much?"  Her tone sounded
a little wounded.
 
    "Because I *do* like you so much!  Dammit, Georgia, I never
*wanted* to have slaves!  I'm not cut out for this!  I spend my days
worrying about them, about whether they're happy, about whether I'm
paying enough attention to them... the only slaves I took truly
willingly were Jen and Katie.  I took Jen to save Peter from Hell, and
I took Katie because her daughters asked me to... and because it turned
out to be the right thing to do," he said, reassuring himself of that
at this point.
 
    "That doesn't really..."
 
    "Don't you see?  No, you don't.  I'm sorry, this is all
clear to me, but it must be confusing as hell to someone else.  I love
Cat.  Even if I *could*, I wouldn't put Cat under.  Because I love
her.  I care too much for you to strip you of your ability to tell me
to go fuck off.  I feel bad about the twice I did it to you already."
 
    "So... you don't want me, because you love me?  That
doesn't make any sense, Marty!"
 
    "I don't want you to give up a normal life for the small
piece of me that you'd get.  I can't devote myself to you, Georgia. 
Even Cat can't take *top* priority all the time, because, unlike the
other girls, she can walk away.  Cat can find someone else if I become
too much of a jerk for her.  The others don't have that choice.  Cat
walked into it with her eyes open; she knew what I was.  That's the
only reason I can ask her to stay with me at all.  I can't ask you to
give up your chance at real happiness just because I'd enjoy having you
around."
 
    "Shouldn't that be up to me?" she demanded, hurt and crying
again.
 
    "Maybe," he said noncommittally.  "But when you really
think about it, I don't think you're going to want to be around me.  I
had to tell you.  I couldn't let you go on thinking about an 'us' that
couldn't be what you thought it would be... *ever*.  There can't ever
be a 'just us', Georgia.  You deserve that, but I can't give it to
you.  You need to let me go."
 
    Georgia was crying fiercely now.  "Damn you, Martin
Gallagher," she cried.  "You can't tell me... Damn you!"  She got up
and flung herself at the door.  She yanked at it twice before realizing
it was locked.  Before Martin could rise from the couch, she had opened
the door, and was gone.  She ran down the hallway, and outside before
he could get to his door to stop her.  He didn't follow her mainly
because he didn't know what to say.
 
    *I'm sorry, Georgia.  I did the best I could.*
 
 
 
-----
 
 
 
    Martin had gone back into his room for only a minute or so
before that space seemed claustrophobic to him. He made his way up to
the rooftop lounge. It was a windy and slightly chilled day, and so
there was no one else up there. He zipped up his windbreaker and
slumped down onto one of the benches. He rested his foot on the bench,
his elbow on his knee, and his forehead in his hand. He cocked his head
to stare off into the distance, not really looking at anything.
 
    As Martin sat, he pondered whether he had done the right
thing with Georgia or not. *She wouldn't have been happy with me,* he
told himself repeatedly. Logic told him that this had to be true.
Unfortunately, logic didn't manage to rationalize away the hurt and
anguish he had caused in her that day. He knew she would probably hate
him now, and really had every right to. Martin didn't actually like
himself very much at the moment, and wished life wasn't so damned
complicated.
 
    Life, however, was not through with Martin that day. As he
sat there in his sorrow, he was unaware of events happening on the
campus beneath him. His first awareness of a problem came when the door
to the roof slammed open against its stop. He turned, startled, to see
who was in such an all-fired hurry.
 
    "Marty! There you are! Shit, I've been looking all over for
you!" Sarah nearly yelled.
 
    Martin hadn't seen his sister panicked before, and he rose,
sensing danger. "What's the matter, Sarah? Calm down-"
 
    "It's Cat. She's been in an accident in the lab!  They've
taken her to the hospital!  We need to go!"
 
    Martin's world seemed to stop spinning on its axis at that
moment.  Unfortunately, no one had decided to tell Martin's brain that,
and so it kept spinning, at a rate much faster than the planet ever
could.  He became dizzy, and he lurched into the bench, reaching out to
support himself.
 
    *Cat... oh, God no...*  He was hyperventilating, and he
could barely stand.  Sarah was immediately at his side, holding on to
him.  She gave him a few minutes to try to catch himself, but she knew
where he needed to be, and where she wanted to be.
 
    "C'mon, Marty.  I'll drive.  We need to get going," her
voice was soft, but firm.  She had a tone of authority born out of her
desperation.  People she cared about were going through hell, and it
wasn't fair, wasn't fair...
 
    But life is seldom fair.  Marty lurched his way down the
stairs, and she managed to get him to the car, but he gave out on her. 
She had to drag him into the car, unconscious.  Sarah was now worried
about her brother; Martin wasn't the kind to overreact to things.  She
moved into the driver's seat, and started the car, gunning it out of
the parking lot, leaving a squeal of noise behind her.
 
 
 
-----
 
 
 
    When Martin awoke, he was lying on a hospital bed in the
emergency room.  There was a nurse in close attendance, and his sister
was at the foot of his bed.  He sat up, too quickly, and was just as
quickly lying back down again.
 
    "What happened?" he asked.
 
    "You passed out," Sarah told him.
 
    "You apparently had a massive spike in your blood
pressure," someone said.  Martin turned to see what must have been a
doctor.  "Understandable, given the news you'd just received.  Your
body overcompensated.  You'll be okay, but you should take it easy for
a couple hours."
 
    "Cat!" he yelled, remembering 'the news' he'd received. 
The doctor held him in place, then let him up, slowly.
 
    "Does she have any family here?"
 
    "I'm her boyfriend... that's about as good as you're going
to get," he said.
 
    "Can you walk?" he asked.  Sarah moved over to help him up,
and stayed at his side to steady him.
 
    "Doc, what happened to her?  Is she okay?  Where is she? 
Can I see her?"  Martin was about to bombard the doctor with about
three dozen more questions, but the doctor raised his hands to silence
him.
 
    "There was some kind of accident in the chemistry lab.  She
inhaled a sizable amount of a toxic gas.  From what I gather her lab
partner was something of a fool, and was mixing things he shouldn't
have.  He paid the price for it, too.  He didn't make it to the
hospital."
 
    This was the wrong thing to say to Martin.  "Where is Cat?"
he nearly screamed.  "Is she.." he couldn't finish the sentence.
 
    The doctor hurried to calm him.  "She *is* alive.  She is,
however, in a coma.  We're dialyzing her blood to remove any remnants
of the gas... that probably is pointless, but we're doing it anyway. 
We've stabilized her, but... but it's a coma.  Our EEG showed brain
activity, but we can't tell how much at this point.  She isn't brain
dead.  She could wake up in the next few hours... the next few days..."
 
    "Or never," Martin rasped out in a hoarse whisper.
 
    "I'm afraid so."  The doctor hated giving news like this. 
It was all the worse for the obvious pain he was causing not the victim
at this point, but a loved one instead.
 
    "Can I see her?" he choked out, fighting back tears.
 
    "Yes.  This way."  The doctor led them down a hallway,
around a corner, and into a room.  It was a semi-private room, but
there was no one in the other bed just then.  Upon seeing her, lying in
the bed, so normal-looking, as if she was only asleep, Martin raced to
her side, heedless of his own condition.  He collapsed on top of her,
hugging her to himself.
 
    "Cat, oh my God, Cat... Cat, Sweetheart, I'm here... I know
you can hear me... I'm here."  His voice was barely a whisper, and
neither of the others in the room could hear him.  He could hear the
conversation they had, but he ignored it.
 
    "If you like, I can have them put in a bed right next to
hers.  We don't normally do it for boyfriends, but quite frankly, I'd
like to keep an eye on him.  He looks very rocky."
 
    "It's been a rough year for him, Doctor.  Very emotional."
 
    The doctor nodded.  "I'll get that bed now."
 
    Martin heard all, but listened to none of it. 

 
 
...---=== http://ericstorm.wolfpub.org ===---...
 
 
 
    Martin woke up very early.  In truth, any sane person would
consider it the middle of the night.  He looked at his watch, and
wished he hadn't.  He didn't know what had happened to him.  It was bad
enough that Cat, the wonderful and special woman he loved, had to be
lying in a hospital bed, tubes stuck in her to feed her and keep her
healthy - he almost laughed out at that thought - it was bad enough she
was here, but to have fallen apart like he had...
 
    *I thought I was better than that.  I need to be here for
her, I can't be passing out and falling to pieces.*  Martin's mind
raged at him.  He made a trip to the restroom, and splashed some water
on his face.  He returned to find Cat lying as still as before.  He
moved over to her, and adjusted her body, to make it as comfortable as
possible.  He hated hospitals; nothing good happened to him in these
places.  Still, he ignored his surroundings and sat down in the chair
next to her bed.  He took hold of her hand, and began to speak.
 
    "Cat, I'm here," he said, his voice soft, but stronger than
it had been for hours.  "I'm not going to leave you.  We'll get through
this together, somehow.  I know you'll wake up soon.  Hell of a way to
get a vacation," he added with rather maudlin humor.  "When you get out
of here, we can go to The Garden again.  Better yet, I know a place...
probably two hours from here... it's a nice, secluded little lake.  We
can spend the day there just goofing off and, well, you know what
secluded lakes are good for."  He squeezed her hand, forcing a
cheeriness into his voice that he did not feel.
 
    For three solid hours, Martin continued a stream of
one-sided conversations.  Each time a nurse had come to the door to see
what was going on, they found him, staring intently at her, holding her
hand gently, and speaking softly.  Each time, they turned away with a
sorrowful smile, that a couple so in love would have to go through so
much pain.
 
 
 
...---=== http://ericstorm.wolfpub.org ===---...
 
 
 
    "Marty?  Marty, you need to get something to eat.  You need
to get cleaned up, you..."
 
    "I'm not hungry," he said.  His gaze never wavered from
Cat's face.  The doctor had been in earlier, and had not been able to
give Martin any additional hope for Cat's condition.  Sarah was now, by
doctor's instruction, trying to get him to go somewhere - *anywhere* -
other than this room.
 
    Martin was having none of it, however.  He nearly ignored
his sister, and he did ignore her pleas.  She knelt beside him and
looked up into his face, but his eyes barely moved.  There was the
slightest flicker of movement in her direction, as if his mind was
automatically cataloging her position near him, but consciously, she
doubted he had any clue what was going on around him.
 
    Nor did he much care.  Martin's good humor had waned, and
his high spirits were sinking like a lead balloon.  It had been a week
since Cat had entered the hospital, and she showed no signs of coming
out of her coma.  Still, Martin remained by her side.  He had showered,
once, in the bathroom in Cat's hospital room, but he could not be
convinced to leave.  His answer to every entreaty was, "I want to be
here when she wakes up."
 
    The truth was, Martin was worried that something bad would
happen if he left.  His mind went over dozens of options, over and over
again as he sat guard over his girlfriend.  He was guarding her from
Death; he would chase the bastard up a tree and keep him there for
eternity if he had to, but Cat was not going to die while Martin lived.
 
    The only glimmer of good news, not that Martin ever
considered it, was that there was no way he could blame himself for the
accident.  He'd had nothing to do with it, and had no way of preventing
it.  This was just a terrible, ugly tragedy, and he would have to deal
with it as best he could.  Meanwhile, he would watch over his beloved,
and keep her safe.
 
 
 
...---=== http://ericstorm.wolfpub.org ===---...
 
 
 
    When the doctor walked in, he was very startled.  He'd been
gone over the last two days, and a change had taken place.  It was not
a good change, either.  The patient remained the same.  Her boyfriend,
however, was much, much worse.
 
    "Good morning, Martin," the doctor said after a moment.
 
    "Is it?" he asked in reply.  The doctor wasn't quite sure
if that was a snide comment about it being a good morning, or if he was
actually asking if it *was* morning.  He checked the patient's chart
briefly, to find that there had been no change in her condition.  Then
he focused on his *other* patient.
 
    "Martin, may I be blunt?"
 
    "Why not?" Martin replied.
 
    "You look like shit.  I know you want to be here for her. 
I understand that.  But honestly, if she woke up right now and saw you,
your appearance would probably scare her."
 
    Sarah walked in, or was about to, just as Martin made his
reply to the doctor.
 
    "Mind your own damned business," Martin said, rather meanly.
 
    "This patient *is* my business," the doctor replied.  "And
you aren't helping things."  Just then, the doctor saw Sarah standing
behind him.  "Oh, good.  Now, I'm going to tell you this, and if he
doesn't listen, I'll instruct the hospital staff to have him removed. 
*He* needs to rest.  Take him home.  Get him a nice warm shower, or
bath, or something.  He looks like hell.  Right now, I give him worse
chances than I do his girlfriend.  If things don't straighten up, he is
going to wind up both sick, and mentally incompetent.  Now, get him out
of here."
 
    "I'm not going anywhere!" Martin shouted.
 
    "Martin James Gallagher, get to your feet *right the fuck
now*," Sarah said, very sternly.  It had the desired effect: no one
used his middle name unless they were pissed.  Martin staggered to his
feet dumbly.  Sarah turned to the doctor, who had been writing
something on a sheet of paper.  He handed it to her.  Martin didn't
really see any of this, he was still looking down at Cat.
 
    Sarah walked over and grabbed Martin's arm.
 
    "But..." he tried to protest.  Sarah ignored him, and
hauled him bodily out of the room, down the hall, and out the hospital
doors.  She nearly threw him into the car - something she wouldn't have
been capable of doing to him only a week ago - and slammed it shut.
 
    *You should have done this days ago, Sarah*, she thought to
herself.
 
 
 
...---=== http://ericstorm.wolfpub.org ===---...
 
 
 
    When Martin awoke, he felt very groggy.  His eyes seemed to
take a long time to focus.  He was lying in his bed in the Sarento
home.  There was a soft arm curled over him.  A brief and gentle
investigation told him that it was Rachel.  She murmured softly in her
sleep.
 
    He vaguely remembered the ride home from the hospital, and
being what amounted to force-fed.  At any other time, he'd have been
enraged to be treated so much like a child.  Now, he felt next to
nothing about it.  He also remembered being given some kind of pill and
told, in no uncertain terms, to swallow it.
 
    After that, he remembered... waking up, a few minutes ago. 
And nothing in between, including any dreams he might have had,
registered in his memory.  He looked at the clock, which said it was
ten in the morning.
 
    *I slept for over twelve hours,* he told himself.  He
wondered how long Rachel had been with him, but wasn't going to wake
her up to find out.  He slipped carefully out of bed, so as not to wake
her up, and went into the bathroom.
 
    Forty-five minutes later, Martin emerged, awake and
scrubbed clean in every way he could manage.  His three-day growth of
facial hair was gone, his teeth were brushed, and he had showered under
water hot enough to turn him pink.  Physically, he felt almost human
again.  Emotionally, he felt nothing at all.
 
    Martin made his way out to the kitchen to get some coffee. 
Two sets of eyes greeted him.  They belonged to Sarah and Katie, who
was apparently taking the day off from work.
 
    "School holiday I don't know about?" he asked, reaching for
a bowl in the cupboard.  Sarah got up and took it from him, waving him
to a seat at the table.  They both looked at each other warily, but
didn't say anything at first.
 
    "What?" he demanded.
 
    "Marty, it's Saturday," Katie said quietly.
 
    "What?" he cried, in an almost panic.  "I've been asleep
for..." his mind faltered at the calculation.
 
    "Thirty-eight hours straight.  I called the doctor last
night, because we were scared.  He said you were exhausted, and that
you needed the rest.  Marty, you've been scaring us for a while now. 
You're hurting yourself.  That isn't going to help Cat."
 
    "Has she..." he started, but Sarah shook her head.
 
    "No change.  I'm sorry, Marty."  Sarah refused to mention
the *other* phone call she had made.  He didn't need to know about that
one yet.
 
    "Shit," he said, his voice cracking.  For the first time
since this had all started, Martin wept.  Katie and Sarah sat on either
side of him, and held his hands, giving him all the love and support
they could muster.
 
 
 
-----
 
 
 
    When Martin walked back into the hospital, the doctor was
in Cat's room, looking her over.  He looked up when they walked in and,
seeing Martin's steadier appearance, smiled.
 
    "Well, you look a damn sight better than the last time I
saw you."
 
    "Look, Doc, I... I'm sure I said stuff that wasn't very
nice to you..."
 
    The doctor waved it off.  "You've had a very bad couple of
weeks.  I know the kind of stress you're under.  My wife was in a car
accident once, scared the living shit out of me.  I wasn't awfully
pleasant to be around, either."
 
    "Is there any good news?" Martin asked hopefully.
 
    "I'm afraid not.  Her brain is functioning, all the normal
rhythms are there, the scans don't show any damage... but she shows no
signs of waking up.  We're just going to have to wait this one out."
 
    "What are her chances... *really*?"
 
    The doctor inhaled deeply, and let his breath out in one
long, slow sigh.  "The longer it goes, the worse her chances are.  But
it's only been two weeks.  In the way of comas, that's not an extreme
amount of time.  I'm still very hopeful that she could wake up at any
moment."
 
    Martin nodded, but said nothing.  The doctor looked to
Sarah, and they shared a silent communication.  Seeing Sarah's resolve,
he nodded, and left the room.
 
    Martin had already returned to Cat's side, taking her hand
and whispering to her softly.  Sarah sat in a chair, watching the two
of them and aching in her own grief.  Martin had to watch only one
friend suffer; Sarah had to watch two.  She pulled out a book from her
purse and opened to the page she'd stopped on.  She couldn't help Cat,
except by keeping an eye on Marty.  She would do that, and she would
make damned sure that he never got in the shape he'd been in.  The
extra bed that he'd been sleeping on had been removed at her request;
he would go home every night from now on.
 
 
 
...---=== http://ericstorm.wolfpub.org ===---...
 
 
 
    Martin had protested leaving Cat that night, but he
couldn't argue effectively with his sister, because he loved her too
much to get nasty.  He insisted they arrive early, though, and she had
consented to that.  She left the two alone to get some errands run. 
She had a sense that there would be trouble later in the day.
 
    She was right.
 
    When the trouble started, she thought Martin was asleep,
still holding Cat's hand.  She was sitting in her chair, reading her
book, when the trio walked in.  She looked over and saw a man in his
forties with receding blonde hair, a woman in her late thirties who
still looked pretty nice, and a snot-nosed brat of a teenager.  She got
this attitude just by looking at the superior smirk on his face.
 
    *So you're the asshole that Cat keeps talking about,* Sarah
thought to herself, rising from her chair.
 
    "Mr. Walker, Mrs. Walker, I'm Sarah.  I'm Marty's sister. 
Cat and I are good friends.  I'm sorry-"
 
    "Her name," the teen interrupted, "is* Caitlyn*.  You will
call her by her proper name!"
 
    The parents didn't admonish him for this, so Sarah figured
she'd do it for them.  She stepped close to him, to emphasize that she
was seven years older than he was.  "*She* told me to call her Cat. 
Since I have no reason to do otherwise, I will *continue* to refer to
her by that name."
 
    The teen - his name was Andrew - pushed Sarah back, and
hissed, "I don't have to put up with this shit from you, you slut.  I
don't take orders from a woman."
 
    "I suggest you get your hands off me, *now*, little boy,"
Sarah warned.
 
    The slap was very loud in the room.  "No *bitch* is going
to refer to me that way!" he shouted.
 
    Everyone in the room thought Martin was asleep.
 
    Everyone was wrong.
 
    Martin was not sleeping, and hadn't been when the Walkers
had entered the room.  He simply didn't feel like dealing with them and
figured that feigning sleep would be the easiest way to handle things. 
He'd been upset when Sarah had told him they were coming, but he
figured he would handle it as best he could.
 
    No one saw Martin move.  In fact, they could have sworn
that he had suddenly appeared, because there was no way he'd vaulted
over the bed that fast.  In the blink of an eye, his hand was wrapped
tightly around Andrew's throat.
 
    Martin slammed the teen intensely hard into the wall behind
him.  Andrew's eyes rolled slightly from the impact.  Martin didn't
care.  He squeezed until the veins began to stand out in Andrew's neck,
and he was struggling to breathe.
 
    "That," Martin said, his voice clearly containing barely
controlled rage, "is my sister.  The last person who hit one of my
sisters wound up with a broken arm and some broken ribs.  I have told
you this already.  *No one* calls my sister a bitch.  If you do it
again, to her or any other member of my family, you will be in this
hospital long after Cat gets out.
 
    "If you ever even *consider* hitting anyone in my family
again, and whether *you* like it or not, that includes Cat, they will
not find enough pieces of you left to do an autopsy on."  Martin
stepped very close, his eyes boring in on Andrew's.  "Do you believe
me, ass-wipe?"
 
    Andrew struggled to move at all.  He was very close to
passing out.  He managed a very small nod, the terror in his eyes at
being confronted with someone who had just threatened - and he believed
him - to *kill* him was clear.  A dripping noise made it clear that the
boy had just pissed his pants in fear.  Martin grinned viciously.
 
    Martin let go of the boy, and watched him slump down onto
the floor, gasping for breath.  Martin rounded on the parents, who
involuntarily took a step backward at the look on Martin's face.
 
    "If I see him in here again, I'll put him through that
window."  They were on the third floor, and such a fall would be
fatal.  The parents nodded.  Martin couldn't stay in the room; his
anger was bad for Cat.  He knew that, and so he stormed out of the
room.  Sarah wisely did not follow.
 
 
 
-----
 
 
 
    Martin sped out of the hospital parking lot, and drove. 
His anger was bleeding off as he sped through town.  He didn't really
know where he was going until he got there.  He pulled into the parking
lot next to his dorm, and shut the engine off.
 
    The drive had cleared his head of the anger, for the most
part.  Still, he was tense and stressed out.  For the last two weeks,
Martin had dealt with a living Hell, and his emotional breakdown hadn't
relieved anything.  Today's little rampage had only added to the stress
he was feeling, and he was in a state of hyper-anxiety when he walked
into his dorm room.
 
    When Martin turned the key in the lock of his door, his
mind was nearly blank.  When he heard a voice behind him, he jumped. 
The voice was familiar, and friendly, but it was as if someone had
taken a file to every nerve in his body.  He turned to see Georgia
standing across the hall from him.
 
    Martin didn't know that she had been spending a lot of time
with his across-the-hall neighbor, trying to catch Martin so they could
talk.  She knew about the accident, and she really wanted to be with
him, to help him.  She was hoping they could talk it out.  She stepped
closer to him.
 
    "Marty, I was hoping we could talk..." she said, not really
understanding the somewhat crazed look in his eyes.
 
    When Martin saw Georgia, a huge pressure built up inside
him.  Martin had been in no state for physical activity the last two
weeks, and suddenly the warmth exerted itself, reminding him of a
pent-up need within him.  His primal urges suddenly and completely
overrode his thought process, and he snapped.
 
    Martin grabbed Georgia by the blouse, and yanked her
roughly inside his dorm room, closing and locking the door.  Before
Georgia even had a chance to catch her breath from being so roughly
handled, Martin took the hand that was still holding her blouse and
yanked violently down and away.  The move was so harsh that her blouse
tore cleanly away from her body, leaving only sleeve ends hanging from
her arms.
 
    Georgia became very concerned about what was happening,
until Martin pushed her up against the closet door and pressed his lips
to hers.  Though his lips were mashing hers, he was also flooding her
body with more of the warmth than she had ever encountered before.  Her
mind spun, and her body reacted as it had to; her heat rose, her
nipples hardened, and her pussy became wet.  She moaned against his
lips, her hands coming up to caress Martin's sides.
 
    Martin barely noticed Georgia's moves.  He continued to
kiss her, forcing his tongue into her mouth.  Not that it took much in
the way of force, since Georgia was beyond the point where she could
have resisted if she'd had a mind to, which she didn't.
 
    Martin pulled her against him, and his hands worked behind
her back.  Suddenly, he pushed her away from him, but his hands held
onto the bra that they'd just unfastened.  She looked down at it, and
felt her nipples tingle at the way he was staring at them, a hungry
look in his eyes.
 
    Georgia had already unfastened her own jeans by the time
Martin reached for them and yanked them down off her hips.  She tried
to step out of them, but her shoes prevented it.  Martin stepped on her
pants, put his hands around her waist, and lifted.  Her shoes popped
off her feet, and she was now wearing only panties.  These were soon
torn to shreds by her almost maniacal lover, who then spun her around
so she faced the wall.
 
    Instinctively, Georgia knew what he wanted, and she bent
over, her hands against the wall.  This pushed her ass into the air,
and presented her pussy to her lover.  Martin didn't yet notice, as he
was quickly stripping his own clothes off.  His shirt was ruined in the
process, as were his briefs, but he didn't care at this point.
 
    When he refocused his attention on Georgia, he saw her
pussy, ready, wet and waiting.  His cock was long past hard, and he
stepped up behind her, grabbed her hips, and thrust.  He missed on the
first two tries, which only made him thrust harder.  His third attempt
found its mark, and he rammed himself fully into her in one powerful
plunge.
 
    Georgia screamed in ecstasy mixed with a small amount of
pain.  She was as aroused as her lover, however, and at this point,
pain was completely overlooked.  Martin set up a furious pace, slamming
deep into Georgia's cunt over and over again.  His hands slid forward
from her hips, taking her nipples between his fingers and twisting
them, rolling them, pinching them.  Georgia screamed and bucked in her
pleasure, lost in wave after wave of warmth and physical bliss.
 
    Martin continued to rut into his mate, lost in animal lust,
stroking faster and harder as he went.  Georgia thrashed her head from
side to side, her eyes squeezed tightly shut in the wondrous feelings
pouring through her body.  Finally, it was more than she could take. 
With a final cry of pleasure, Georgia came, hard.  Her juices gushed,
washing over Martin's balls and down both their legs.  She came more
than she had ever come in her life.  Martin continued to thrust
throughout her orgasm, prolonging it and pushing her higher and higher.
 
    When Georgia came down from her climax, it was clear that
Martin was not through.  He pulled out of her, and his cock was still
iron hard.  He took her and nearly threw her onto the bed.  She had
only a brief moment to note that, rough as her treatment seemed, he had
aimed his throw well enough that she didn't hit anything hard.
 
    Martin was on her in seconds, pulling her legs up so her
ankles were over his shoulders.  He leaned into her, folding her neatly
in half as his cock found its mark.  Again, he began to slam down into
her.  Georgia, not yet ready for such pleasure so soon, screamed and
came immediately, her body twisting beneath him.
 
    Taking no notice of his partner's pleasure, Martin
continued to plunge his cock deep into her gripping cunt.  No sooner
had Georgia finished one orgasm than it seemed another was upon her. 
Though she didn't think it was possible, Martin began to move faster. 
He pulled her legs out from between them, letting them fall open, and
he was now looking down at her, a strange, intense look in his eyes. 
He pummeled her cunt for all he was worth, filling her with his hard,
strong dick.  She was lost to the pleasure, as he was lost to whatever
had come over him.
 
    Georgia could feel the tension building in Martin, she knew
he was close.  She also knew that another of her own orgasms was
brewing, and she wasn't sure she could take another one.  Finally,
Martin screamed out, and slammed himself to the hilt in her pussy.  As
his cock pumped spurt after spurt of cum inside her, Georgia screamed
with him.  The two thrashed around on the bed, and their cries filled
the room, and probably the hallway, and the upstairs as well.
 
    Finally, Georgia's senses overloaded, and her mind began to
shut down.  She gave one last cry, arched her back, and then went limp,
unconscious to the world.
 
    Martin, however, came down more steadily.  As his cock
deflated, his mind seemed to return from the locked box it had been
in.  He looked down at his lover, the beautiful, wonderful girl beneath
him, and he began to shake.  He withdrew his shriveled dick from within
her, and he sat back.  He pulled his legs out from under himself,
having to spread his legs to make room for Georgia's prone form.
 
 
 
-----
 
 
 
    Several minutes later, Georgia began to come to.  She could
feel the after-effects of the warmth in her system, and she relished
it, as she always had, because it made her feel wonderful.  This time,
however, the warmth had paled in comparison to the orgasms that had
repeatedly washed over her body.
 
    Georgia looked up to see her lover.  He was sitting at the
end of the bed, staring wide-eyed at her.  It took her a long moment to
realize that he was shaking like a leaf.  It took her a longer moment
to realize he was crying.
 
    "Marty?" she asked softly.  She pulled herself together and
sat up, her legs tucked under her.
 
    "I... I can't believe I just did that..." he said, his
voice hoarse and quivering at the same time.  "I'm so sorry, Georgia...
I..."
 
    "Marty, it's okay," she said with a soft smile.
 
    "It's *not* okay, dammit!" he shouted at her.  "I just
*raped* you!"  He looked down at his hands, which were shaking worse
than the rest of him.
 
    Georgia quickly crawled over to him.  She was very near him
now, and he could feel her hot breath on his cheek.  "You cannot rape a
woman who has been wanting you to fuck her for weeks," she said
breathily in his ear.  She stroked his chest with her hand, until he
looked up into her eyes.
 
    "But you didn't necessarily want to *now*!  I never asked,
I..."
 
    "I *did* want to now.  I want you any goddamned time I can
get you naked!"  Her hand reached down and fondled his prick, which,
despite his dismay, was soon growing hard.  She continued to stare
deeply into his eyes, while her fingers worked over his length.  When
he was fully hard, she moved.
 
    Georgia crawled closer to Marty, spreading her legs to make
it on either side of his own.  She pushed his legs in a little with her
knees, to give her room to work, and then she settled down onto his
hard cock.  She sighed as he penetrated her depths, and she smiled as
she felt her clit rubbing up against his curly pubic hair.  He was
speechless, to say the least.  She had bigger surprises in store for
him, and his actions actually helped her plan.
 
    "Marty," she said, moving her hips in circles to keep them
both fully stimulated.  "I've thought about it for two weeks now...
actually, I haven't had much else to do, and I couldn't keep my mind
off it.  Please let me stay with you."  She moved her hips just then,
sliding gently up and down his shaft in small movements.  She would
tempt him as much as she could until he said yes.
 
    "Georgia, you can't really mean that!  Shit, the lack of
respect I just showed..."
 
    "Shhh," she said.  "You've been under a hell of a strain. 
How long's it been since you had sex?"
 
    "About ten minutes or so, I guess..." he said, looking at
his watch.
 
    Georgia squeezed his cock with the walls of her cunt. 
"*Before* that."
 
    Martin shrugged.  "Before the accident."
 
    "Marty... God... Sarah's told me a little more about your
family secret... going without for that long... all the stress... shit,
I'm surprised you weren't fucking every nurse on the goddamned floor!"
 
    Martin blushed crimson; he had thought about it.
 
    "So, I was here, you were having a bad day... and we had
sex.  You did *not* rape me, because I was more than willing.  Even
without the warmth, which felt damn good, by the way, I would have
happily stripped off my clothes and jumped into bed with you in a
heartbeat."  She continued to move on his shaft.  They were making love
now, not having sex.
 
    "But what about..."
 
    "About me having someone to myself?  The only guy I want is
you.  Marty, I've never been in love before.  I've had a few
boyfriends, but they were purely physical.  I hung out with them to
have someone to go to parties with, to take me to the movies, and to
get fucked by.  The first time you and I did it... that was pretty
good.  The time we did it before I left to go home... *that* was
incredible.  That time, I thought I felt something from you... and I
know I felt something *for* you, and that actually scared me a bit...
but now I know it was just because I love you."
 
    "But you might love someone else..." he said weakly.  It
was getting very difficult to refute her arguments, since she was
making his dick feel so wonderful.
 
    She shook her head.  "I doubt it.  Despite how fast you and
I became close, I don't make friends easily, and I don't trust easily. 
Had anyone else told me what you told me about the way you live, I'd
have slapped them, walked out the door, and never thought about them
again.  I can't get you out of my head, and it ain't the warmth,
either.  Please, Marty?  Say yes.  Hell, I'll even become your slave,
if that would make it easier..."
 
    "No!" he said forcefully.
 
    Georgia smiled at him.  "But I'd be a good little slave,
Master..." she cooed into his ear, riding his cock a little faster.
 
    "Dammit, Georgia, this isn't funny..."
 
    She put her arms around his neck.  "I know it's not.  I'm
deadly serious.  I'd give anything to be a part of your life.  I want
to be with you, I want to be yours.  What's one more girl?" she asked
with a cute little pout in her voice.
 
    *Yeah, right... what's one more girl for me to worry over,
feel scared to death about and panic over when they don't show up when
they say they will?  What's one more girl to stress over whether I'm
paying her enough attention or not?  What's one more girl to... make me
feel *really* good...*  That thought came about from a sweet little
something that Georgia did with her hips, pussy, and her tongue all at
the same time just at that moment.
 
    "I should warn you, Marty... I'm going to fuck you until
you say yes."
 
    "Hmmm," he said, looking at her with a smile for the first
time that day.  "Perhaps I should hold off on making any decision for
another hour or so..."
 
    "Be my guest," she said huskily.
 
    "Can we do it the right way, this time?" he asked, taking
her into his arms.
 
    "However you want it, lover," she said softly.  Martin
pulled his legs in and sat up, holding Georgia to himself.  He set her
down very gently on the bed, and then he leaned in and very tenderly
kissed her lips.  Georgia responded with passion.
 
    It actually took longer than an hour before Martin said yes.
 
 
 
-----
 
 
 
    Three hours later, Martin was sitting at his desk typing a
paper for one of his classes.  The paper had been due last week, and he
was wondering if there was really any point in finishing it, but he
couldn't think of anything better to do.  He had no idea what the
assignments that were due *this* week were.
 
    Georgia was sitting over on the sofa, playing music softly,
so as not to distract him.  Her appearance was quite enough to do that,
as she only had on her socks, and one of his dress shirts.  Her blouse
had been irreparably destroyed, and this was the best he could do for
the moment.  She hadn't minded a bit, and he thought she was sexy as
hell dressed like that, but they'd worn themselves out.  Now they were
trying to relax.
 
    Martin had thought that Sarah would call when the Walkers
left the hospital.  Of course, he didn't know whether they would leave
the hospital now that they were here.  He was sure he was going to have
to deal with them again, but he hadn't expected it to be so soon.
 
    When someone knocked on his door, Martin looked up in
slight surprise.  He wondered briefly if it was one of his friends, and
glanced at Georgia, but didn't say anything.  He would have to explain
it away somehow.
 
    When he opened the door, the explanation became
unnecessary.  It turned out to be Cat's parents, though their son was
nowhere in sight.  They both saw Georgia sitting on the couch.  Mr.
Walker frowned.
 
    "Is this another one of your sluts?" he asked, using the
term as if it was normal, and not a major insult.  Martin took half a
step back and kicked the man in the nuts.  Mr. Walker fell to the
ground, groaning in pain.
 
    "I'm sorry, what did you call her?" Martin asked, standing
over the man, obviously ready to put him through a wall.
 
    "Shit!" the man screamed in agony.
 
    "So.  You don't really give a shit about my daughter, do
you?  While she's lying in bed in a coma, you're here fucking some
other girl to get your jollies."  The woman kept her voice low, but
there was obvious anger in her eyes.
 
    "What I do, or don't do, with the girls in my life is none
of your goddamned business.  However, as far as your daughter goes, up
until today I have spent nearly every waking moment with her.  Not that
it's any of your fucking business, but I was nearly in that bed next to
her because I pushed myself to exhaustion and beyond it, hoping and
praying that she would wake up.  I don't really care if you believe me
or not, but I love your daughter, and I would do anything for her."
 
    Mr. Walker was finally beginning to struggle to his feet. 
"Well, she'll no longer be your problem.  We'll be taking her home-"
 
    "If you attempt to force her to go with you when she leaves
the hospital, I will have you charged with kidnapping and thrown in
jail.  If you attempt to remove her from the hospital before she wakes
up, I will have you charged with attempted murder due to criminal
negligence.  If you don't think I'll do it, *just try me*."  Martin's
voice was dripping with malice, and his body was tensed for yet another
fight.  Mr. Walker surveyed this from a safe - or so he thought - five
feet away.
 
    "You're bluffing."
 
    "I don't believe in bluffing, and I don't play poker.  I've
hurt people before to protect my family, and I *will* do it again.  Cat
decided to come here *of her own free will*."
 
    "Right.  And you had no part in talking her into coming
here, dishonoring her family..." Mrs. Walker started.  Martin cut her
off with a single sentence.
 
    "I didn't even know she was coming until she got here."
 
    "Bullshit," Mr. Walker opined.
 
    "Believe what you want.  When Cat wakes up, *she*, not you,
will decide what she wants.  And if she chooses to stay here, and you
try to force her to leave... I will hurt you."
 
    It wasn't Martin's words, but his matter-of-fact tone.  It
wasn't a threat; it was a statement of absolute certainty.  Mr. Walker
eyed the boy crossly, and the mother looked at him with an inscrutable
expression.
 
    "Do you plan on returning to the hospital?" Martin asked,
finally.
 
    "We'll be back during visiting hours tomorrow," Mr. Walker
said.
 
    "Fine.  Then I am going to go see her now."
 
    "Visiting hours are over," Mrs. Walker objected.
 
    Martin looked at her as if she had announced the sky was
purple.  "What's your point?"
 
 
 
...---=== http://ericstorm.wolfpub.org ===---...
 
 
 
    Martin established a routine of getting up, showering, and
heading directly to the hospital.  He remained there day in and day
out.  Now he had someone to protect Cat *from*.  Someone he could see,
hear, smell, and hurt, if the need arose.  This was a task he felt
better suited to; he'd been protecting Becca all his life, and this was
no different to him.
 
    Andrew Walker had only attempted to enter Cat's hospital
room one more time, at his parents' encouragement.  Martin had
physically hauled him out of the room and thrown him across the hall. 
The resounding thump he made when he hit the floor after bouncing off
the wall was very satisfying.  He looked at the boy one last time with
contempt and said, "That's your final warning."
 
    The Walkers were very taken aback by Martin's forceful and
belligerent behavior.  They had not encountered someone who would so
blatantly insult their superiority.  Only the mother tried to avoid
confrontation, but even she often received a tongue-lashing from
Martin.  The father seemed to delight in infuriating Martin, and had
more than once been threatened with another kick in the balls, which
usually shut him up for a good hour.
 
    Sarah was actually rather glad that the Walkers were
there.  The way they focused her brother's attention meant that he was
active, and paying attention to his condition.  He couldn't protect Cat
from them if he wasn't able to stand up for himself, and that meant
that he ate when he was supposed to, slept when he was supposed to, and
paid attention to his hygiene.
 
    His school studies were another matter altogether.  Sarah
had already related events to their family in Florida, and they had
completely understood that Martin was not really concerned with his
grades at this point.  It was a bad situation, and they would deal with
it as best they could.
 
    The important thing, everyone around Martin agreed, was for
him to be there for Cat when she woke up.
 
    When it happened, he wasn't.
 
 
 
...---=== http://ericstorm.wolfpub.org ===---...
 
 
 
    Martin walked into the hospital room as he had every
morning for the past three and a half weeks.  It was seven o'clock, and
well before visiting hours would start.  The doctor had not questioned
that Martin would be here beyond visiting hours, and the staff had
never once even mentioned it to him.  The family, on the other hand,
got dirty looks if they stayed later than the usual times.  It was an
odd case of the hospital staff understanding the situation without
being told.
 
    What Martin saw that morning caused a smile to creep slowly
across his face.  It felt as if it kept going, up over the top of his
head, and then down his spine until his smile reached his toes.  As he
walked over to the bed, he wasn't sure if he was actually touching the
ground.
 
    "Hey, Sweetheart," he said to a now wakeful, if drowsy,
Cat.  "It's about time you woke up."  She gave him a smile that she
reserved entirely for him, and lifted her arms weakly.  Martin embraced
her in a tight hug, and then he kissed her gently.
 
    "I missed that," she said softly.
 
    "You had a chance to miss that?" he said with a smile.
 
    "Well, you know... comas... dreams... that sort of stuff. 
You weren't in them, so... I missed you."
 
    "I missed you, too, Baby," he said, his voice on the verge
of cracking.  She squeezed his hand tightly, and he blinked a couple of
times, then smiled.  "Have you told anyone yet?" he asked.
 
    "Who would I tell?  I don't think the press cares..." she
smiled at him, to show she was teasing.  He marveled that she could be
in such a good mood after three weeks in a coma.  "What day is it?"
 
    "Are you sure you want to know?" he asked.
 
    "Has it been that long?" she asked.
 
    "Three weeks, Sweetheart," he said in a whisper.  "Three of
the worst weeks of my life."  There were tears in Martin's eyes now,
and Cat hugged him again.
 
    Just about then, a nurse came in to check vitals.  She
stared at the couple for a moment, wondering if the boy had picked up a
comatose girl.  Just as she was about to say something, they broke
their hug.
 
    "We have company," Cat said to him softly, indicating the
nurse with her eyes.  Martin turned around, and grinned sheepishly.
 
    "How long have you been awake?" the nurse asked, still
trying to recover from the shock.
 
    Cat shrugged.  "No one told me what time it was when I woke
up.  Come to think of it, I don't know what time it is now."
 
    "Just after seven," Martin said.
 
    "Well, it was dark out when I woke up... probably at least
an hour..."
 
    "And no one came in... I have to call the doctor..."
 
    "Doesn't he get in at eight?" Martin asked.
 
    The nurse turned, and realized that Martin knew their
schedules.  She smiled.  "Yes, Mr. Administrator.  What about it?"  Her
voice was light and teasing.
 
    "Is there really a point in calling him in early, when
he'll be here in about forty-five minutes, anyway?"
 
    The nurse pondered for a minute, then realized that Martin
just wanted to spend time with his lady friend alone.  Over the last
weeks, the nursing staff had come to like Martin, though they had all
worried for him the first week, as he'd deteriorated.  She smiled at
him in surrender.
 
    "Okay... but he'll be in as soon as he gets here.  You've
probably got... oh, forty minutes, safely."
 
    "Thank you," Martin said with a smile.  As the nurse left,
he turned his attention back to Cat, who smiled at him.
 
    "Three weeks?"
 
    "Actually, about three and a half."
 
    "Shit," she opined.
 
    "Yeah.  Tell me about it."
 
    "Did you... I mean..." she stumbled on her words.  Martin
knew what she was asking.
 
    "I was here all but one day.  I'll let someone else tell
you about that... I'd rather not think about it, if you don't mind." 
She nodded at him.  "I have some bad news, though."
 
    Cat sat up a little straighter, her eyes focusing clearly
on him.  "What?"
 
    "Sarah called your parents."  Cat paled at the thought.
 
    "What they'll want to do..."
 
    "I won't *let* them, Cat.  That is, if you want..."
 
    "I *do* want to stay with you, Marty."
 
    "Then you'll be allowed to.  That's your choice to make. 
You're an adult now, and what they want isn't really important, legally
speaking."
 
    "But, if they pack up all my stuff..."
 
    "Rachel is watching your stuff, and Karen promised to call
the cops if your parents cause trouble.  I hope you don't mind me
stepping in like that."  Cat shook her head.  "You're as much a part of
my family as theirs.  I'll protect you as long as you want me to."
 
    "How's forever sound?" she said as she embraced him again
for another kiss.  She didn't give him time to answer.
 
 
 
-----
 
 
 
    The doctor had to cough politely to announce himself when
he came in a half hour later.  Though they'd talked a lot in the
intervening time, they were kissing again when he came in.
 
    "Well, I'd ask you how you are, but that smile on your face
is a fairly convincing answer.  What do you remember of your
accident?"  The doctor knew that, if Cat had brain damage, the events
in her short term memory would have been one of the first things to go.
 
    "We were doing an experiment... mixing two chemicals...
Please don't ask me to name them, I can never remember those stupid
chemistry names.  Anyway, Eddie... that was my lab partner... was
basically fu...uh, fooling around, and he mixed two things together
that I guess he shouldn't have.  There was this cloud of gas, and we
didn't have time to get away from it... I remember turning, but... I
don't remember anything after that... just sort of a vague impression,
but I couldn't put my finger on it."
 
    "That's normal.  It was probably at that point that the gas
began to affect you, and so you were probably unconscious before you
hit the floor.  You had some minor cuts and bruises, nothing major.  We
think you'll probably be fine.  We are going to want to keep you here
for several more days, to run tests and for observation."
 
    Cat nodded.  Martin asked, "Will there be any impairment
from the gas exposure?"
 
    The doctor shook his head.  "I don't think so.  We'll run
another brain scan to be absolutely sure, but her alert behavior and
her good memory - despite not remembering all those nasty chemistry
names," he added with a chuckle, "means that she probably will come
through okay.  I don't want to raise false hopes, but I don't
anticipate problems."
 
    Martin nodded, and Cat squeezed his hand.  Martin asked,
"So, when will she be able to go home, if all the tests come out okay?"
 
    "Another... four days, five at the most, assuming that
nothing untoward shows up in the test results.  Of course, we may ask
her to stay a day or two beyond that for physical therapy."  Seeing the
look on both their faces, he said, "She's been lying in that bed for
nearly a month.  She will have difficulty walking for a little while."
 
    "If I help her with that during the day..." Martin offered.
 
    "It will speed things along, yes.  Just be careful to be
right there in case she falls."
 
    Martin nodded, and held out his hand.  "Thanks, doc.  You
put up with an awful lot of crap from me."
 
    The doctor smiled.  "That's okay, son.  Like I told you
earlier, I was no better when my wife was hurt.  Now, I have a serious
question to ask.  Technically, your next of kin are here, but I've
gathered that there is... a problem.  Who do you want me to list as
contact for medical purposes?"
 
    Cat pointed to Martin.  "Him."
 
    The doctor nodded, and wrote something on his chart.  "I
thought so."  He put the chart back, and then smiled at the couple. 
"Young lady, I'm glad to see you awake.  I'm sure he's happier than I
am.  You have a very devoted boyfriend, who worried us a bit.  He was a
bit rocky at one point, but with some help, we all came through okay. 
I'll leave you two alone to... uh... finish getting reacquainted. 
Please don't scare the hospital staff," he said with a chuckle as he
walked out the door, smiling.
 
    Martin turned to Cat, and they embraced again, a strong,
loving hug shared between people who have been through Hell together,
and emerged victorious.
 
 
 
...---=== http://ericstorm.wolfpub.org ===---...
 
 
 
    Their victorious mood didn't, in fact, last very long.  The
last few days of Cat's hospital stay were one long fight between her
and her parents.  The real blowup came on the last day, as Cat was
being released.
 
    "Caitlyn, the car's outside.  Your grandma is looking
forward to seeing you."
 
    "She can keep on looking forward to it.  I'm not going back
to Salt Lake."
 
    "Now, listen very carefully, young lady," Mr. Walker
started.
 
    "You heard her," Martin said.  He kept his voice very calm.
 
    "You stay out of this.  You've confused my daughter
enough!" Mrs. Walker shouted.  To Cat, she said, "Sweetie, you don't
know what you're doing.  You're disgracing our entire family.  You
could destroy a long history, our way of life."
 
    "So what?  Your way of life sucks."
 
    "Now, that's quite enough of that."
 
    "I'm not living with that asshole, and that's all there is
to it.  I've found where I belong.  You can either accept that, or not,
but I'm staying here."
 
    Andrew, who had been allowed to stay for this one last
meeting, couldn't hold his tongue.  "Who you calling an asshole?  Look
you little stuck-up bitch, I'm supposed toaaackghergh!"
 
    Martin grabbed the boy by his throat and lifted slightly. 
He was a big kid, but Martin was both strong and angry.  He stared at
the boy, rage flashing in his eyes.  Cat gasped at the sight of her
little brother, feet barely touching the floor.
 
    "What did you call her?" Martin snarled.  His free hand
slid back along his hip, readying for what everyone in the room knew
would be a very painful punch.  "I warned you about that once already,
didn't I?"
 
    The boy nodded, his eyes bulging in pain and fear.  He
tried to turn his head, to shy away from the blow he knew was coming. 
Martin didn't hit him in the face.  The punch was delivered directly to
the boy's solar plexus, and then Martin let him drop naturally to the
ground.  He knew his arm would hurt like hell later for holding the kid
up like that, but it was worth it.  The boy writhed on the ground in
pain, groaning and clutching at his stomach.  Martin turned back to the
parents.
 
    "Got any ugly names you'd like to call her now?" he snarled
at them.  Both took an involuntary step backward.  Dealing with Martin
was like dealing with a caged tiger, only the door to the cage wasn't
quite latched, and if the tiger wanted out bad enough, you were going
to be lunch.
 
    "I don't think you understand this, young man," Mrs. Walker
tried.  "She's destroying our way of life!"
 
    "Bullshit.  You seem to forget, I'm just like you.  My
family has the same little secret.  The only difference between us is
that we're not stuck-up bastards about it."  Turning to Mr. Walker, he
said, "You see our secret as some god-given right to treat people like
shit, like you're better than everyone else."
 
    "We are," he said simply.
 
    "No, you're not.  You're just different.  All you care
about is *power*.  I have the same little secret, but I was raised to
understand *responsibility*.  The fact is, you have no power over Cat
anymore, and it infuriates you.  The fact is, I have a responsibility
to protect her from you, and that, also, infuriates you.  You know
what?  I'm beginning to *like* infuriating you."  Martin noticed that
Cat was fully deferring to him.  He looked back at her, wondering where
the line was, but she just smiled encouragingly at him, so he turned
back around, and said what was on his mind.
 
    "Cat's *mine* now, and you can't have her back.  Try to
take her from me, and you will have something like a war on your
hands.  And I've already proven I'm a better fighter than you are. 
Just so you know, I'm not actually this nasty most of the time... but I
will *not* let you take away my girlfriend's rights just because you
don't like the choice she made.  And it is *her choice to make*."
 
    "But..."
 
    "There is no 'but' in this conversation.  She is an adult. 
She is immune to your son's 'charm'.  She has the right of every
American to decide her fate.  She has chosen one different from what
you wanted.  Okay, that makes you unhappy.  Tough shit.  Live with it. 
Nobody asked me if I wanted this special little *thing* in my head, but
now I have it, and I will do with it what I've been taught to do all my
life: take care of the people I love.  That includes your daughter.  If
she'd wanted to go home with you, I would be helping her put her stuff
in your car right now.  She *doesn't* want to go home with you, and so
she *isn't* going home with you.  End of conversation!"
 
    The Walkers stood in silence, looking at each other, their
son, who was still on the floor in pain, and their daughter, who
refused to say anything, but continued to stare at Martin with love
beaming in her eyes.
 
    "Caitlyn?" her mother tried.  She ignored her completely. 
Mrs. Walker was astonished at how completely her daughter had attached
herself to this... this interloper, who regardless of his background,
really didn't understand the way things were.
 
    "This is it, Caitlyn," her father said.  "If this is the
way you're going to be, then I no longer have a daughter.  You're on
your own."
 
    Cat's eyes shifted to her father for a very brief second,
and then back to Martin.  She looked one last time at her father and
replied, "No, I'm not."
 
    The Walkers helped their son to stand, and then walked out
of the room, not looking back.  Cat didn't notice whether they did or
not; her eyes were focused on Martin.
 
    "Shit, Cat, I hope I didn't say anything stupid... I mean,
I said what I thought they would understand, I don't really think..."
 
    "Marty," she said, putting her finger to his lips to stop
his rambling.  "I *am* yours.  And I love that you stand up for me."
 
    "I'm really not this violent... I promise... it just
seems..."
 
    "That whenever your family is in danger, you react.  I
know.  What you don't know is that it's one of the things we all love
you for, and depend on.  We know we're safe, as long as we're with
you.  No one's ever cared so much for me, Marty.  I love you."
 
    Before he could speak - and he was prevented from doing so
immediately by Cat's lips engaging his - the doctor came in with an
orderly and a wheelchair.  They waited quietly while the two kissed.
 
    When they finally broke their lip lock, the doctor sighed. 
"Makes me want to go home to my wife," he said with a smile.  The two
blushed.  "Well, young lady, I'd like to say it's been nice having you
here, but I always prefer seeing patients leave than stay."
 
    "I'm sorry about my parents.  They really are a pain in the
ass."
 
    The doctor waved it off.  "Your boyfriend took care of most
of the problem for us... you might want to hang on to him.  Most guys
don't stand up against parents too well."
 
    "I plan on hanging on as long as I can," she assured the
doctor.
 
    "Well, that's good.  I'll let you two get going, then.  You
take care, and... well, I hope if I see you again, it's at a social
function."
 
    "Thanks, doc," Marty said for both of them.
 
    "My pleasure.  Take care."
 
    Martin helped Cat into the wheelchair, and then walked
alongside it as the orderly pushed it to the elevator, and then to the
front door.  Martin had parked close, so that he wouldn't have to leave
her to get the car.  The orderly stopped the wheelchair, and Martin
helped Cat up.  He thanked the orderly, who nodded politely and left.
 
    A short walk later, which was the longest walk Cat had made
in a while, and they were in the car.
 
    Cat sighed, and leaned back.  "Take me home, Marty," she
said softly.
 
    Martin started the car, and backed out.  He said, "I'll bet
Karen will be glad to see you."
 
    Cat turned to him, and shook her head.  "No.  Marty, take
me *home*.  I could use some of Katie's cooking right about now."
 
    Martin's head swam a little at the message she was trying
to convey.  "Cat..." he said, not quite able to put his thoughts into
words.  She put her hand to his cheek.
 
    "I love you, Marty, and I'm yours.  Now, can you find your
way, or should I drive?"
 
 
 
...---=== http://ericstorm.wolfpub.org ===---...
 
...---=== http://ericstorm.wolfpub.org ===---...
 
 
 
    

