~ Living with her...again ~
by Scribingbard52
For Author notes see Part 1.
What do you Bards out there think?? Shall I keep trying or not?? Email me. All comments welcome and hugs will be returned.
scribingbard52@yahoo.co.uk
Part 3 Chapters 8 to End
Chapter 8
It was 2 weeks later. The two women were enjoying the late spring sunshine sitting on the bench, on the promontory, outside the croft. Alex had made the bench made from driftwood she had collected from the Applecross bay and it fitted in perfectly with the rugged surroundings of the Croft. She had positioned it about 20 feet from the cliff edge to take most advantage of the view, and it was a favourite place of both women when the weather was fine. The back of the bench was made from two spars crossed to emulate the Saltire of the Scots national flag of St Andrew, they were lashed together with rope and Alex noticed that the sea air had begun to rot the rope...
Each held their favourite drink of choice: Strong dark coffee for the Texan and equally strong tea for the Scot.
By this time in early May, .the sun was rising higher over the horizon with each day and the spring flowers in the tubs outside the croft were blooming. Everything was so much later up in the Highlands and Ellie always laughed when Alex described the flowers in her tubs as 'backward in coming forward'!!
Ellie's book had gone to the publishers and Alex's commitments to the university were fulfilled for the time being, so they had time just to be together and enjoy their life together.
Suddenly, and for no apparent reason, Alex felt a shiver go down her back and, as she looked over at her soulmate, she saw her reaction mirrored there.
"What was that?" asked Ellie quizzically...
"Och….nothing, darlin'....someone walking over our grave??"Alex offered
"Which one?" asked Ellie and gave a small giggle….however she didn't feel like laughing and was glad when the strange, cold feeling diminished.
Over the next two or three days each felt this sensation again, but neither mentioned it...
It was Saturday…the early summer weather was fair; only a soft onshore breeze from Raasey disturbed the wispy clouds above the Croft. Some dark clouds were gathering over the Sound and they were forecast a storm by mid afternoon but for the moment, it was a delightful Highland morning. Alex was servicing the generator which supplied the croft with power and she looked every inch the mechanic, right down to the grease marks on her face!
Ellie emerged from the Croft with a steaming mug of tea for her girl, actually she referred to the mug as Alex's bucket because it was nearly as big, and she smiled as she paused to watch her soulmate.
Whatever that gorgeous woman wears looks soooo good on her! I bet I'd still want to take her to bed if she wore a sack!!
Alex had donned a pair of blue, all in one coveralls in a vain attempt to keep herself clean but there was almost as much grease on her as there was on the generator. Even as Ellie watched, Alex rubbed her dirty hands down her ribs, then ferreted about in a pocket for a tatty piece of tissue and attempted to wipe her face with it.
This simple gesture filled Ellie with such a wave of affection; she had to lean on the wall.
Inside that tall, dark and handsome frame, there's a five year old trying desperately to hide!!.
A giggle escaped from Ellie and the dark head turned to her.
"Hey….what you laughing at, Texas? I'd like to see you do this job and stay clean." grumbled the tall Scot, looking down at herself.
Ellie put her tea on the shelf by the door and dropped a kiss on the only part of Alex that was free of smudges; .the very tip of her shapely nose, and smiled.
"Hon, do you know how cute you are when you are playing grease monkey?"
She shrieked as Alex's greasy hand came towards her, and she danced out of range...
"Pax….Pax!!....anyways…Uncle J has just phoned, he wants to know if you can go fix the boiler again…he says it's on the 'blink', whatever that means!!"
"It means, my sweet, that I will be staying greasy for the foreseeable future!!"
Alex collected her tool kit and, kissing Ellie goodbye, disappeared over the rise towards the hotel.
Ellie had some calls to make to her publisher and she was actually glad of the time to do it without Alex around. The little Texan was planning a big surprise for her girl and she had a snowballs chance in Tartarus of achieving her aim, when Alex was around. The big Scot had the hearing of a bat and to her keen eyed Scot, Ellie was an open book.
Ellie went inside to get the phone and settled on the driftwood bench to make her calls. Her only company were the gulls wheeling above her and she was pretty sure, that even a woman who had as many skills as Alex Wallace, wouldn't have Gull spies working for her!!
Over at the hotel, Alex was in the cellar of the Applecross Hotel, with her head stuck inside the boiler. She could hear the beginning of the storm rolling around the hotel and realised she hadn't brought a jacket…
Ellie would give her such a hard time if she arrived home soaking wet. Alex grinned. At least she'd get fussed over ….AFTER the row!!
She cursed as she skinned another knuckle when a spanner slipped, but she had finally coaxed the mechanical disaster area back into life for the umpteenth time, and stepped back to check the pressure gauge.
When in Hades would Uncle J accept that a 30 year old boiler had finished its life and that a new modern one would be a good investment?
Suddenly, she felt as if she had been kicked in the solar plexus. The blood drained from her face and she dropped the spanner as her hands lost their ability to grip.
For a split second, she had no clue what was happening and then just one word escaped her lips as she sprinted up the cellar steps.
"ELLIEEEEE!!"
She felt sheer terror invading her body and the adrenaline pumped through her. She could see nothing, hear nothing and feel nothing but the overwhelming need to get to Ellie. She pushed past Uncle J and nearly knocked him over, he called after her but she leapt over the table in front of the door and heaving it open; ran full tilt from the bar.
With tunnel vision borne of sheer determination, she ran through the car park, vaulted the five bar gate on the far side and hit the shortcut to the Croft at full speed. The wind and rain tore at her but she was unaware of either.
As she stumbled over the rise above the Croft, Alex stopped dead, her legs suddenly felt weak as she took in the tableaux before her. The wind and rain lashed down and obscured her view for a moment but then she saw a tall, thick set man, standing below her. She squinted and, in a brief window, the rain eased sufficiently for her to recognise him. It was Kevin O'Brian. He stood on the promontory in front of the Croft….and between him and the cliff edge, Alex could see her beloved Ellie. She was crouched in her Kick boxing ready position, but kept retreating as her Father moved towards her, step by step.
He stood with his hands at his sides; but he was ready to stop the woman in front of him if she attempted to pass him. He exuded dark, evil strength.
In a moment of searing clarity Alex saw this same scene, in another time, as if in a dream. The tall, dark leather clad warrior holding aloft another smaller woman dressed in a white robe and all her nightmares became clear. It was her….she had tried to kill her soulmate sometime, someplace and it was this, which had haunted her all of her life.
She shook her head and, realising she had no time to digest this, stood to her full 6 feet and issued an ear splitting Highland War cry at the top of her voice. It carried the short distance to the promontory and echoed around the hills. It was sufficient to distract him and she saw the dark, giant of a man turn to the sound. By then, Alex was already running at full tilt towards him, her feet flew over the rough ground and all she could think about was getting between Ellie and the danger.
As she got closer, she yelled
"Ellie, get away darlin'...RUN!!" but her voice was caught and swept away by the howling wind.
She could see in her peripheral vision the pale face of her love; she registered, but would not allow herself to react to, the blood coming from Ellie's nose or the livid purple bruise over her right eye.
Alex threw her entire 180 lbs of bone and muscle into the body of the Irishman. Although he had seen her coming, the arrogance of the bully would not let him expect a mere woman to attack HIM. She took him by surprise and he overbalanced with the force of her momentum. Alex rolled to her feet quickly and looked for a weapon; she knew that if she was to defeat O'Brian, she would need one. He was bigger than her, and stronger, but his movements were slow and lumbering and Alex had speed and agility on her side. She looked to the driftwood bench she had made, and moved towards it. She quickly pulled off one of the loose back rails and found she had a stout staff about 5 ft long. She tested the balance of it and again, moved towards the attacker.
Seeing the weapon appear in her hands, O' Brian's muddy eyes narrowed and he crouched as if to ready himself...
Alex knew she had to keep his attention so she spoke in a low voice and emphasised the disgust she felt.
"What's up….ya big brave man....Am I too big for you....Huh?? Only used to beating up women smaller than you? Huh? Big brave man that you are...…huh??"
She circled him and waited...
She heard the deceptively soft brogue of the man before her.
"Did you really think I'd let you take what's mine...Did ya? You're neither man enough nor woman enough to qualify....you're a twisted sick dyke…. and you will not take what's mine….I'll kill you and your little whore first, before I let that happen."
Alex shivered at the evil in this man and wondered how he had anything to do with the gentle soul of the terrified blond, crouching behind her.
With a roar, O'Brian leapt for Alex; she parried his first blow with the staff and as she span around, she locked the staff in the crook of her arm and swept it at his knees. Something deep in Alex was awoken, and she felt the staff become part of her as she danced out of range of the flailing fists swung by the enraged animal before her. She kept Ellie in her peripheral vision and saw that she was beginning to crawl away, cradling her left arm across her chest. Alex knew that she had to keep her head; O'Brian had got up after her first attack and was circling around to try to get behind her, but Alex quickly changed her position so she blocked his path and again, began to taunt him.
She swung the staff round and round until it became a blur and she wished, with all her heart that she had the Claymore, leaning uselessly against the wall of her study, in her hands right now.
"So....I'm not man enough, am I. O'Brian?? Who put who…. on their ass?? Huh….You stupid, dumb bastard?" she emphasised each insult and laughed wildly as she spoke.
The face of the man in front of her was suffused with the red of the berserker and his fists clenched and unclenched.
Got to keep his attention….keep him away from Ellie….one lucky hit and I can take him out. Focus Alex....concentrate…concentrate….keep eye contact….watch for the signs...
Alex was not hoping for help….whilst there was every reason for Uncle J to be concerned about her abrupt departure from the hotel….any sounds from the promontory would be blown away by the raging winds whistling around her. She knew that only she stood between this evil force and the woman who had made her whole again…He would not get to Ellie, even if she had to die to prevent it...
O' Brian had taken this time to regroup his thoughts….he simply continued to pace the promontory in front of Alex, looking for an opening. He could see clearly, the blond head of his daughter, and looked forward to showing her what it meant to defy him. He had got a couple of good punches in before she eluded him, but they were nothing compared to what she was going to get, when he had dealt with the Bull Dyke...
Since his release, he had carefully and craftily gained the information he had needed to find his daughter and the big dyke, Doctor Alex bloody Wallace.
Hadn't been difficult, he sneered to himself….an internet connection at the hostel, supposedly to help him write his résumés for jobs. He had googled Dr. Alexandra Wallace...Scotland …he knew she had to be either a medic or some sort of professor and, after a few phone calls, he had isolated the Dyke and where she lived. After that, he had used his prison connection to get a false passport and some money. The rest had been easy….he had been watching Applecross for a couple of days from the hills above. He soon saw where the two queers had set up their twisted love nest.
He turned away from Alex and made as if to walk away...
"OK Wallace….you win…..I'm leaving."
Alex no more believed this, than if someone had said she could change history by wishing it. She maintained her ready stance but, for a second, she lost Ellie from her peripheral vision. She moved her head just a few degrees from the front and located Ellie, but by the time she returned her head to front and centre….the raging man was upon her...
Although she parried his first and second punches with the staff, the third one caught her on the side of her head and she fell. A flurry of kicks and punches rained on her head and body, and pain exploded through her...
"Thought YOU could beat ME, did you ...DOCTOR Wallace."...Each word prefaced a vicious kick to Alex's unprotected head and body.
Then she heard the sound of Ellie's voice.
"Leave her alone, YOU BASTARD!" and Alex felt O'Brian pushed away as Ellie's straight leg kick caught him in chest. Alex heard the breath pushed out of him and his attack stopped. She rolled over and, swallowing the searing pain in her temple, picked up the staff again. She swung it will all her might, felt it connect, and heard the bone of his jaw crack, then she felt the spray of hot blood across her face.
She heard his roar of anger and frustration and knew she had done some serious damage, but her strength was gone….she fell to her knees and called in anguish.
"Ellie….Ellie!"
As she reached out to her soulmate…she lost consciousness.
The whole thing had lasted only a few minutes but for Ellie it replayed like an old movie. As she held Alex in her arms and attempted to wipe away the blood from her face, she tried to make sense of the last few minutes....She had come out of the Croft to refill the newly serviced generator with diesel as usual, but the dreadful sense of premonition that she had felt for the few days became tangible; she had seen the movement from the rocks, recognised the man and knew that she was in trouble.
She recognised that snarling face, that sinister soft brogue….and her soul had cried out to Alex…..in desperation.
Back in the present, through the howling wind and lashing rain, she saw the figure of her father stagger away up over the rocks behind the croft and she heard a dreadful scream....it tore at her very being and she realised it had come from her own mouth….she cradled Alex's head and screamed.
"NOOOOOOO….not again…NOOOOOO"
She screamed as hands touched her and she held her love more tightly and cried out
"Leave her alone, you bastard….take your filthy hands off her….I'll kill you if you hurt her."
Only when her tortured soul saw the face before her did she even dare to feel any release...but there, in front of her was Hamish and, behind him, Donald. Their dear faces full of fear, as they tried to quieten the tiny blond woman...
As Alex had run from the hotel in response to some silent message, J had sensed that something terrible was happening. His heart filled with dread and he had run to the radio and called Hamish. As luck would have it, the Police Sergeant was on his way home and only a heartbeat from the Croft. Donald had just finished his shift and, as he stepped through the door of the hotel; he was met by J, his eyes aflame with fear. Donald was still in his paramedic uniform carrying his medical kit, and he needed no second call when J yelled.
"The Croft... Now Laddie!!…now!"
Donald felt that he was running with lead in his boots and he willed his feet to move faster. He took the shortcut path and as he crested the rise, he saw Alex swing a makeshift staff at the head of a huge shadowy figure. The wind was blowing the rain horizontally and Donald held his hand to his eyes to get a clearer view. He saw Alex go down and yelled with all his might.
"Alex…Noooo", and he ran on as if the very god of hades was at his heels.
As he reached the promontory, he saw his brother arrive with blue lights flashing, and leap from his motorcycle.
They both reached Ellie at the same time and heard the keening scream that filled the air and echoed around the hills. It froze their blood and filled them with terror. Ellie fought them and protected Alex' bloody body until she recognised them.
More people began to arrive. They were villagers and guests from the hotel mobilised by Uncle J, and the promontory flashed with the light of dozens of torches.
When J and Jeannie arrived, they were met by a scene of chaos. Donald was kneeling next to the still form of Alex and Hamish was holding Ellie in his arms...still she screamed and strained to reach her soulmate. Alex's blue coveralls had been cut off, Donald's medical kit was open and someone held a torch so that he could see, to work on Alex.
Jeannie took the sobbing girl from Hamish who ran to his motorcycle. He too, had seen the last scene play out before him and he could only guess that the shadowy figure he saw leap over the rocks was the attacker. He clicked his radio and heard it crackle in to life.
"This is Alpha Romeo 2 calling base…come in please…over."
The crackled response came back.
"Go ahead Hamish."
"Dougie, I need the Air ambulance dispatched to Applecross, and get hold of Tam at the Mountain Rescue centre on Skye. I need him and his team here, soonest. .Over."
"Roger that, I'll send out the emergency signal to Skye. But Hamish, the Air ambulance can't fly. The wind speed is over safe limits. It'll have to be the all terrain ambulance, it's the best we have."
Hamish stifled a curse and, not for the first time, damned the bloody weather.
"Roger that Control….just do it fast, Dougie"…he felt his voice waver. "it's Alex….Over"
There was a moment of silence as the message was absorbed.
"Roger, Hamish. Loud and clear. I'll keep this frequency clear in case you need anything. Over and out."
James Wallace stood watching, he couldn't take in what had happened here and he was frozen. It was the voice of Donald that shook him from his panic.
"Uncle J…get some blankets from the croft ….Now Uncle J!" Donald raised his voice when J didn't move...
This wonderful gentle giant of a Scotsman, who had been a vital part of his and his brother's lives for so long, was a helpless baby in the face of what he was seeing. Donald knew that he needed to get J doing something.
James Wallace turned and stumbled towards the open door of the Croft. The light shone from the windows and it was reflected in the rain drops still falling; J thought it strange to see something of beauty in the face of such pain.
He gathered up the tartan rugs thrown over the back of the leather couches and returned to Donald. The few moments it had taken to get the blankets had allowed J to compose himself, but still he was dismayed to see the bloodied and bruised face and body of his niece. Donald had immobilised her neck in a brace and with the willing hands of friends, he was easing Alex onto a small collapsible back board he carried in his Med kit.
Covering her with the tartan blankets...he nodded to the people around him and spoke firmly.
"On my count of 3….one …two … three." They stood as one and turned to take Alex into the Croft, out of the cold, lashing rain
At the same time, Jeannie lifted Ellie from the ground and, without a word motioned to J. He moved quickly to gather up the tiny bundle in his arms and followed the stretcher carrying its precious cargo.
The next few hours were a blur for Ellie….she knew that she was safe and surrounded by family….she knew that Alex was getting the best possible care and she knew that Hamish had men out combing the hills for her father. The all terrain ambulance had arrived in record time, more paramedics and a doctor were working on her love....but she was numb and could feel nothing but emptiness....where was Alex?
Jeannie knew that Ellie was in shock and tried to keep her warm....she pressed her to drink a mug of sweet tea which Ellie did, as if by remote control, her eyes never leaving the motionless form of her soulmate.
Eventually, she called softly.
"Donald…"
The paramedic left Alex to the doctor and came to sit next to her...he took her hand and willed his strength to her. Her tearstained face tugged at his heart as she whispered.
"Tell me really. Donald…...Is she dead? I can't feel her…" and she put her hand over her heart. " here….I can always feel her ....here....but she's not there…."
It broke Donald up to see the woman he considered as much a sister to him and Hamish as Alex, so lost and afraid but he knew that she needed him to be strong for them all at this dreadful time.
"
"I won't kid you Ellie….she is in a bad way, .but her pulse and blood pressure are stable…she has broken ribs, a fractured skull and we are looking for signs of internal bleeding. "
When Donald saw her eyes overflow with tears he was, strangely, glad to see a normal reaction. She had been too shut down since he and his brother had pried Alex from her arms and he feared for her mental state.
"Let me be near her…..please, Don….I need to touch her."
He nodded and after a quiet word with the doctor, he led Ellie to where Alex lay.
She laid her head on Alex's chest and held her breath....she heard the slow but steady beat of her heart and sighed with relief.
"Stay with me, my love I will not lose you….not again."
Chapter 9
The hours had passed and Ellie, J and Jeannie were sitting in a hospital room. On the bed was the still form of Alex Wallace, monitors beeped around her and she had two drips, one in each arm. She was breathing without help but wore a nasal oxygen canula and her face was very pale.
The journey down the sheer face of the Applecross pass had been a slow and steady one. Doctor Angus Fraser, the Accident and Emergency registrar sent out by the Hospital, wouldn't risk jostling Alex for fear that her injuries would be worsened. The same Doctor had insisted that Ellie be examined: She had tried to resist but when Jeannie had led her to the emergency room, she gave in without an argument. She had a hairline fracture of her cheekbone, a mild concussion and a broken bone in her wrist from when she had blocked the first blow from her Father. She was prescribed some pain killers but she refused, she wanted to be alert in case Alex woke.
The door opened and Donald walked in. Ellie ran to him and hugged him hard.
"The doctors say you may have saved her life, Donald….if you hadn't' been there….."
"Yes …I know....but I was there Ellie, and she will be fine….she's tough and she has a reason to wake up. You! You are her reason for living now. You have to believe in her, Ellie, now more than ever. Sit with her, talk to her, and let her know that you're near."
It was 2 hours later when Hamish arrived. He was drenched from head to foot and the strain of the last few hours showed on his face.
"How's she doing?" he asked, after hugging Ellie, then his brother and smiling at J and Jeannie.
"Holding her own" answered the doctor.
Hamish nodded, "J, can I see and you Donald outside...?"
They followed the Policeman out into the corridor…
J looked at him anxiously.
"What is it, Laddie?"
"We've found the attacker….he was face down in one of the tarns on the top of the pass."
"Dead?" asked J
"Oh Yes Uncle J….he's very dead."
"Thank God for that because after what that bastard has done to our girls, I would have had to kill him myself." He almost crumpled but Donald supported him.
"That's not all, Uncle J….there's more…..We found his car. He must have been sleeping in it for a few days; we found some information on Alex in the car and some other documents. They included a false passport… and a real one...His name was Kevin O'Brian."
.
Hamish waited for the information to sink into the big Scots tired and befuddled brain.
"Ellie's' father" he asked incredulously.
He watched as Hamish nodded.
"Oh….by all that's sacred…..how do we tell her??.."
The two brothers exchanged a knowing glance...
"She already knows, Uncle J."
When the three men returned to the room, they were met by the unwavering green gaze of the blond woman, holding tightly to Alex's limp hand
"What!" She demanded." What have you found?"
Hamish dropped his eyes….
"TELL ME Hamish….I need to know what you know….all of it, and now….please..."
The tired Policeman nodded wearily.
"We found the attacker."
"You've got him….is he in custody?? Her voice began to quiver but then it grew stronger again. "You have got keep him away from Alex....Hamish….listen to me....he's mad and capable of anything….promise me you'll keep Alex safe..." her gaze rested unwaveringly on the policeman's face.
For a moment, Hamish hesitated and then he spoke in gentle measured tone.
"Don't worry, Ellie… he'll never hurt you... or Alex, .ever again."
She looked into his eyes for the longest time and he held her gaze. She saw the love in his eyes and realised what he was saying….she turned back to the bed and laid her head on her girls still hand...
"Thank all the gods….it's over….finally….Thank you, all of you...so much"
Then to everyone's surprise, she climbed on to the bed next to Alex. She was careful not to disturb the drips or the monitor leads as she rested her head on Alex's chest and was immediately asleep. The strain drained from her face and the doctor motioned to the family to leave the room.
"This is what they both need right now….let's leave them."
When they were all outside the room, the Doctor Fraser briefed the nurses.
"Monitor the vitals from the read out at the Nurse station, inform me of any change. As for the rest of you, I promise if there is any news, I will let you know. Try to get some rest "
The family murmured their thanks. J and Jeannie settled down in the waiting room. Donald brought them hot drinks from the vending machine that tasted of nothing, but as neither had had anything for several hours, it was welcome enough. Hamish had to return to check that the crime scene investigators had done their job... He promised to secure the Croft and let the staff at J's Hotel know what had happened.
Donald went to check in with his dispatcher.
As he entered the office suddenly, the impact of what had happened hit him, and he just got to a chair before the room began to swim.
His boss saw this, and came out of the radio room. He knew what had happened at Applecross and it had been he, who had dispatched the ambulance, with the news that it was Alex Wallace in need of medical care... He came to sit next to the big Scot and put an arm around his shoulders.
"You're a hero, Don. Well done, Laddie"
Donald leant against the man who was his boss and his friend, and whispered.
"She's doing OK, Gordon, the CT scan shows some swelling in her brain but it's not as bad as I've seen. Her vitals are stable and there is no internal bleeding. The next few hours are crucial, but she's strong. She should wake up soon… if she's going to."
Gordon nodded and held his friend a little more tightly.
Back in Alex's room, Ellie's blond hair mixed with the auburn of her girl and the rise and fall of their breathing, was in synch. Ellie's arm held Alex across the chest and her leg was thrown over Alex's thigh, in their usual sleeping position.
Nurse Caitlin Sutherland had been watching the monitors at her station since the family had gone to the waiting room. She could see the concern on their faces. Her job often brought her into contact with families faced with the dreadful injuries of accidents, but the fact this tragedy had been caused by the conscious action of another human being, filled her with anger. She rose to stand outside the window of Alex's room and smiled as she saw the two women entwined. She wished that one day, be it in the arms of a man or woman, that she would find that kind of love: What those two had was special.
As Caitlin returned to her station, she noticed that the monitor showing Alex's brain waves was beginning to flutter. To her experienced eye it was not enough to call the doctor, but it was a good sign. She prayed again to any god listening ..."Help her…please."
Back in the room, Alex's eyes began to move beneath her closed lids as, in her dreamscape, she found herself again on the promontory. In her arms she held the white robed body of another woman, and the spray from the waves below the cliff edge moistened her face. She tried desperately to put the bundle down, for she knew it was her soulmate, but somehow she couldn't, and saw herself move toward the cliff edge. She knew she had done something so terrible in a past life that there was no redemption, and that she must remain here forever to atone, living her crime over and over. She did not deserve the happiness that she had found in this new life...she knew that now, and she receded still further into the darkness.
Ellie wakened as she felt the vibration from her soulmate, .she looked closely at her face but saw no change. She sensed that some battle was, again, raging in Alex and gripped her more tightly. She whispered.
"Come back to me, Alex….I can't do this again…so many times we have left each other to finish that life alone… to wait for the next. Just this once, my love let us live a long, long life and die together in old age. "
She felt her tears fall on Alex's face and desperate to be closer to her love, she found the opening in the robe that Alex wore, and slid her hand on to the warm smooth skin of her lover's stomach. She began to stroke her gently, and traced the outline of the high cheekbones and strong chin with her lips, moaning softly.
"I need you Alex, I want you so much….Please come back….Don't leave me, .Alex… can you hear me..?"
She moved her hand up to cup Alex's breast and fondled it. She remembered so many times that she and her beautiful Amazon had made love, .and sobbed at the loss.
Then, almost imperceptibly, she felt the nipple of Alex's breast harden and push into her hand.
Hardly daring to hope, Ellie spoke again.
"Yes, my love, .let me love you..." and she repeated the gentle stroking.
In Alex's misty world, she felt the call of her body responding to a touch. The soft words, and the insistent caress, cut through her self indulgence and she let herself hear another voice. It was a dear and familiar voice calling her and she wanted to listen, so badly.
She saw herself, as an armoured Warrior with a sword strapped to her back, put down the white robed body, laying it softly on the ground. She knelt beside it and pulled away the material covering the head. There was the beautiful face of her soulmate, not bloodied and beaten by her Warrior hand, but smiling at her with love in her eyes. The small hand that came up rested on her breast and in a rush there was a blinding light….
Nurse Caitlin had noted the changes in Alex's vital signs and paged the doctor; she was already on her way to the room when she heard Ellie's cry for help. She saw the blond woman looking at Alex whose head was moving from side to side, as if searching for an escape route. Caitlin took her torch and, lifting Alex's eyelids, flashed the light and checked her iris response; she was relieved when both eyes were equal and reactive.
The door flew open as the Doctor and two other ICU technicians came in. Caitlin stroked Ellie's blond hair and gentled her trembling shoulders.
"This is good, Ellie" She whispered.
Ellie would not leave Alex's side, but as it became clear that the patient had not suffered another crisis, the atmosphere in the room lightened and even Dr Fraser smiled
Alex could see a soft light penetrating her eyelids and she felt the warmth of another body next to her. She instinctively knew that it was Ellie and willed her arms to move to hold her love. It was the softest of touches but Ellie felt it, and held her breath. She raised her head to look at her love and gradually, saw Alex's eyes open. Ellie saw the beautiful blue pools and exhaled a long sigh of relief.
She cupped Alex's face and smiled.
"Hello, my love…. there you are...I have missed you so much."
She was rewarded with a croak from Alex.
"Darlin', we have to stop meeting like this."
Chapter 10.
It was another week until the medics agreed to release Alex from hospital... During this time, Ellie had refused to leave her lover, unless it was for a shower. As Alex improved she chafed against the constraints of the hospital and ached to be back out in the fresh air of the Highlands.
When, finally, Donald and Hamish came to bring their girls home, they were both in buoyant mood and the journey home passed by quickly.
Even J and Jeannie knew that the two women needed time together to heal and, although fresh food was delivered every day to the Croft, they were left alone.
Alex was so pleased to be home, but Ellie still sensed a disquiet in her partner, she was loathe to broach it when Alex had been so sick, but she knew something was eating her up inside. In unguarded moments, Ellie would see the pain etched on the tall Scots pale face, and it worried her.
There had been many phone calls to America. Hamish had handled most of them and he had left the authorities in Dallas in no doubt as to his opinion, of their monitoring of O'Brian. Deep down he knew they had an impossible task to do, but bugger it!….this was his Alex, they were talking about. There had been an autopsy on O'Brian, and the cause of death had been agreed as accidental death. He had stumbled into the deep tarn in the darkness and the cold had quickly overcome him made it impossible for him to get out. The damage that Alex had done to him was deemed to have been self defence. The body had been flown back to America with no ceremony to a pauper's grave.
Dany and Ann had also been kept in the loop by Jeannie. She knew that neither Alex nor Ellie were up to telling the story, but the girls sent messages of love and support which were gratefully received by the two women in the Croft.
Five days after Alex's release from Hospital, she was beginning to feel much better. Her ribs were less sore and her headache had receded to a dull roar. It was a sunny morning and Ellie suggested they took their breakfast on to the promontory. She knew that Hamish had repaired the driftwood bench and, preparing a tray in the kitchen, she carried it through to the living room where Alex was sitting.
"I don't think that's' such a good idea, my love." Alex whispered.
"Why not, love." asked Ellie hoping that she was about to get to the root of the problem but proceeded slowly.
Alex stood and went to the window.
Ohh shit….how do I say this...I have to do this for her sake.....it isn't fair on her...
She turned and looked at her lover, soulmate and friend.
"I think we should move from here, my love...I think it's about time we got away, don't you?? There are too many bad memories."
Ellie stood in stunned silence and then gradually, she realised what Alex was offering for her sake. She picked up the tray and, without a word, walked past the tall Scot, through the door and out to the promontory. She walked with confident steps, head held high, to the driftwood bench and waited patiently. It was several minutes before Alex emerged and made her way slowly to the bench. She sat next to her girl and glanced sideways. Ellie gaze was gentle and full of love
"Is this, what's been worrying you, Hon" drawled the Texan, and she indicated the promontory
She felt Alex steel herself, take a deep breath and when she spoke her voice was soft and controlled.
"Ellie, I promised that you would be safe here ….and I let you down more badly than I could ever have feared. ..and it's not for the first time…I found out what the nightmares were about, darlin'. .I have tried to kill you ....hear me Ellie....I have tried to KILL you before, I tried to throw you off a cliff....somewhere just like this."
Her voice failed her and the tall confident Celt just crumpled before Ellie's eyes.
Ellie moved to kneel in front of Alex and pulled her tearstained face up to meet her eyes.
"First of all, my beautiful big Scots Lass….you did not let me down. You brought me to a place where I am loved and protected better than I ever have been, in my whole life… Don't you see that?.... You risked your life without a second thought to rescue me. Donald and Hamish moved heaven and earth to rescue us. J and Jeannie are the strength behind all of us. What that bastard did….no-one could have foreseen .How do you legislate and prepare for the actions of a madman, Alex….think about it Hon? Huh??"
She felt Alex take a shuddering breath and saw some of the tension leave her, .but there was still more to come…. she knew…..but it had to come from Alex.
"But I have still hurt you in the past."
"Don't you think that I know that? Hon."
This time, Alex's gaze snapped to her lovers face.
"What do you mean? You know."
"I know this, my love…we have each hurt the other Alex...sometimes deliberately in anger, sometimes with the best of intentions and sometimes for the greater good…and we will probably hurt each other again in the future. It goes with the territory."
She waited until she saw Alex's eyes clear and assured herself that her words were being absorbed.
"This is our home, my love and I want to live here with you until we are old and grey. I want to sit on this bench, in the summer sunshine, when we are 80 and look back on the good times and the happy memories."
Alex took hold of Ellie's hand and kissed it gently. Then she took a deep breath, accepted the gift from her soulmate….smiled and spoke.
"Shall we have our breakfast, Ms Ellie O' Brian-Wallace?"
Alex saw her beautiful lover's face fall, but after a few seconds the green eyes rose to meet the anxious blue ones.
"Shall we just make that….plain old Ellie Wallace, Alex..?? New beginnings….again…..Huh? What do you think, big girl?"
Alex recognised the final closure on the pain and fear and picking Ellie up, she swung her round and round. Their laughter echoed around the hills and reached the ears of the watching couple, on the rise above the Croft.
James Wallace's' anxiety had become so great, that it had been all that Jeannie could do, to stop him from dragging his wee girls to the safety of his hotel, so that he could watch over them. She had been able to hold him off for several days, insisting the bairns needed time, but finally she could restrain him no longer and he had insisted on seeing them for himself. As they saw the happy scene below, J smiled and reached out to hug his oldest friend, and whispered in her ear.
"Will ya never listen to me, Jeannie, my darlin' girl?? He gloated, his voice trembling with relief. "I told you they'd be fine...Did I not?
Jeannie just smiled affectionately at this impossible man, whom she had loved with all her heart, for most of her life and replied with a resigned tone.
"That you did, my Jimmy boy….that you did!!"
The End.