Time to breath again (Valekin)

[valekin]

"Alright. Come on. Let's go for a ride in the Bat-Mobile."

He wasn't sure whether to take her to her house, or his house. So he drove her to his. Which was probably a safer enviroment. Despite the machinery and explosives. He didn't drive as recklessly as he usually did. It could always be worse though, it could be raining. Or snowing. He didn't have any snow chains for his tires.

At least the vehicle was armor plated.

"We'll go back to my place, and have some dinner, and we'll hang out for a while. Then take a long nap until the sun comes up over the ocean, da? Then we'll go to the beach and wash those wounds in the sun."

[Kate]

Numb. She felt so numb...like there was no emotion left inside of her. Kate just kept a hold of Vale's hand and followed, slowly walking until they got to the car.

She slid in, not saying a word. Kate felt as if she was the one who was dead. Merely nodded to Vale's words, not really hearing them.

Her memories were on repeat in her mind. The scene of her first mother being shot down...and then replacing the Scottish native with the woman from India. Over and over, the two trading places... the blood getting all over little Kate. And she couldn't do anything...hadn't even guessed what the warm, red liquid on her was. But she knew now.

[valekin]

"Come on, talk to me Kate."

He said after a little while of silence. It was obvious she was in much pain. He didn't stop the car to take care of it, he kept driving. They were entering the industrial quarter. Factories and Chemical plants surrounded them. It was taking him a lot longer to get home from the hospital than it normally would have.

But that wasn't the point.

The point was her mental health. He wanted her to be alright, he wanted her out of the shock, and back in her body. Where she belonged. Where she was supposed to be, mourning, not reliving it. Reliving it was for right after a tragedy. It was good that she finally passed, no more suffering.

"You know.. she's not suffering anymore."

[Kate]

"Yes...she's not suffering anymore..."

Quiet words, more like repeating what he had said. The blood, the groceries falling on the ground. The ice cream spilling anywhere. If she hadn't asked for it.... if she just hadn't asked for a treat for getting a good grade on that damned exam... they might both still be alive.

And she wouldn't have gone to the hospital. Ever. The white walls would have never held their last breaths. It was all her fault. All hers. And her fathers...but he was dead, and there could only be one person to blame...even if it had originally happened when she was a mere child.

She was the one to blame in her own mind.

"Not suffering...anymore...good."

[valekin]

Eventually they reached Valekin's home, the factory. He lead her up to the only room that could be said to be comfortable, and had her sit down on the bed. On a mini-stove, some gasoline was boiling. He turned it off and brought it out of the room, a moment later he returned with a few candles to burn away the lingering scent of fuel. He lit them, and placed them around the room. Then sat on the bed next to her.

"What do you want for dinner Kate?"

He had a few things in mind. Maybe some spaghetti, or some soup. Or hot dogs. Whatever he had in his fridge in the other room, he'd cook for her. And it would be edible indeed! As he had to cook most of the time when he lived in Serbia during the war. Because no one else had the nerve to, or the family that knew how.

"Hmmm? Some Spaghetti? Hot dogs? Soup?"

[Kate]

"I'm not hungry Vale."

She wasn't, in fact she felt more sick to her stomach. The pain meds the doctors had given her were beginning to dwindle in her system. Kate slumped, before curling up in a ball on the bed. Her bright eyes shut and she pressed her face into the blanket.

There was nothing more to think on. Just the events playing over and over in her mind. Other things were being added. How disappointed her mother would be at her...for everything she had done. All the sins... sleeping around, drinking, partying, those damned speeding tickets. The phone call from her father...

She hated him. She hated her father's memory. He was dead as well...and she was glad. Kate hated him more than anyone on the planet, dead or alive. With a sigh, her body shuddered... and that made her wince. The pain was coming back.

[valekin]

"Do you need something for it?"

He asked gently. Remaining in a seated position on the bed. Eventually she'll come out of the slump, eventually. It was only a matter of time. It took him a little while to come out of the slump when his family died. All things were a matter of time.

"Something sensitive for your stomach too?"

Pain medications mess with your stomach badly. If you take too many, you could get an ulcer, and have some serious internal bleeding. It would be best to take something for one's stomach if your taking pain medication as well.

[Kate]

"I...just want to lay here..."

Her mind was blank, and her limbs were frozen in place. At least that was how she was feeling. There was nothing to think about. Just memories on repeat.

At moments she felt like crying again, but then she didn't. Kate was bruised from the inside out as well...though that was more her fault than anything. Had to egg Hiroko on. She had been feisty and put up a good fight... too bad for some people that was a damned turn on.

One deep breath. So much happened in 24 hours. Getting the shit beat out of her, waking up in a hospital, being dragged home by Hiroko, then getting the shit beat out of her and getting raped, followed by going to another hospital...and her mother dying.


"Life's a bitch."

[valekin]

"Pay back is a bitch too. It wasn't your fault. Whoever put her into that coma with those guns will get theirs, if they haven't already."

He snuggled up with her. From behind. Everyone likes that, it's comfy and reassuring. If she did want pain medication, all she'd have to do is ask. He'd hop her up on the strongest stuff he had. Wait.. that'd be a bad idea, the babies! If there were any. Best be careful now considering all of that. Hmm... now there were some things she shouldn't eat. Like certain kinds of fish, and poison.

[Kate]

Reassuring... Vale was helping her, even if it was hard going at the moment. When he snuggled her, her body relaxed. Not so tightly wound up in a ball. They hadn't cuddled like this since.... getting stuck at his apartment in New York back when they had been romantically involved.

"Thank you Valekin...My father already died."

Dead. Tormented from his mind. Suicide. Hung himself with his own bed sheets. All because the mob had messed with him for years. Fucking years.

And he had deserved every second of it. There was no revenge to be taken. He was already dead. And if anything she had learned in a gang was, you mess with them...you get fucked. And the grunts only did what the leaders told them to. And the leaders only did what they had to so they wouldn't get fucked by other gangs. Look weak for a moment and you were screwed.

So no, she didn't fault them at all.

Only herself and her father.

But once again...he was dead. Six feet under. Life was a bitch.

[valekin]

"Things'll be fine. We'll just wait for the blood test to come back, and we'll heal the damage. As long as it takes, I'm here."

He meant what he said, and he said what he meant. All the damage was to be healed. No matter how long it took. Valekin was in a gang once as well, but that didn't go over too well. War called to him before anything had really happened. He wrapped his arms around her, and hoped she'd be alright.

[Kate]

Her hands wrapped around Vale's and squeezed. He was here for her. Minus the time he had been gone, he was here for her. Always. She slowly began to fall asleep, feeling...safe.

Despite the pain...she'd sleep well and long. A nice deep sleep as blank as her mind. Feeling safe and sound wrapped in Vale's arms.

At least, no one could find her here right? She was safe here at his place... maybe she'd even stay here for awhile... until she felt good enough...to be alone.