Everyone had arrived at the Spencer house for the group meeting.
Lucky and Lizzie B. were sitting together on the couch; Laura was seated
next to the twosome while Luke stood directly behind his wife.
Brenda sat
in the chair next to the sofa with Jason and Sonny standing on one
side and
Mulder on the other.
Bobbie came down the stairs, and sat on the couch next to Laura.
"Lulu
went right to sleep." She said, as she settled into her
seat.
"Okay, we¹re all here, now what¹s going on?" Sonny
asked briskly, looking
directly at Lucky and Elizabeth.
Lucky glanced at Lizzie B., "You¹re on, Baby." He said.
Elizabeth similes back at him before she launched into her explanation.
"I
know where Helena and the others are." She said bluntly,
"And I think if
we hurry, we can still catch them before they disappear."
"Where?" Both Mulder and Jason asked simultaneously.
"There¹re all still on Spoon Island." She said, shortly,
"They never
left."
Everyone seemed confused by this announcement.
"But how is that possible?" Laura asked. "We
all heard the explosions,
and saw the estate as well as the island go up in smoke."
"Maybe you should start from the beginning." Mulder suggested,
looking at
LizzieB.
She nodded, and then launched into the story, "Well, when
I was on my way
back to the house with Emily, I noticed that there was a trip wire
at the
entrance of one of the tunnels that wasn¹t there when I¹d
gone through the
first time. That¹s when it first occurred to me that I wasn¹t
alone."
Lucky looked at her in surprise, "Is that why you decided to go
back after
you¹d brought Emily up?" He asked.
"Yeah." She confirmed with a nod, "I thought
maybe I could find
something or someone that would help us track down Helena, so after
I
dropped off Emily, I made my way back down. I was almost to the
clearing at
the bottom of the catacombs when I tripped and fell on a wire that
was
stretched across the floor, which is when I bruised my ribs."
She said
turning to look at Lucky.
At this point, Luke chimed in, "Let me guess, the wire wasn¹t
there when
you went up with Emily?" He concluded.
Lizzie B. turned to him, "Exactly, which is why I didn¹t
think to expect
it when I came back down." She said, "Anyway, I tripped
over it and ended
up sliding into the pool of water in the middle of the clearing.
My fall
triggered a loud noise, which I assumed was another explosion, and
when I
recovered and went around to go back through the tunnel that lead to
the
house, I found that it was closed off by rock as was the tunnel leading
to
the outside."
"Then how did you get out?" Brenda asked, amazed at how calm she sounded.
"Well, I searched around in the other tunnels for a while, but that
really
didn't do much good because there was gas everywhere. I couldn't
see
anything least of all a another way out." She informed
them, "After
about an hour of wondering around, I decided to head back to the clearing
and try to find my way out through the underwater tunnels, which I
must say
were much easier to navigate since there was no smoke to deal with."
Lucky, as well as Luke, Laura, Bobbie, and Brenda looked at her in
amazement.
"That still doesn¹t explain why you think the island, not to mention
the
house is still standing after the explosion we heard."
Sonny reminded her,
"And why would you think that Helena would stay on the island
during all
of this? She could have easily hired someone else to wire the
place, while
she took the others and ran for the hills."
Lizzie B. turned to address Sonny, "That¹s what I thought
at first too,
but while I was searching around the tunnels looking for another way
out, I
heard voices, both female and male. One of them was definitely
Dr. Scully,
and she was arguing with another woman about Nikolas, whom I assumed,
was
also down there somewhere. Anyway, Dr. Scully was saying something
about
Nikolas to this other woman. I¹m not completely sure, but
it sounded like
Helena to me. I also heard two male voices but I didn¹t
recognize them."
She explained, then paused to catch her breath, "And as
far as the
explosions are concerned, I was still in the catacombs when they went
off,
and I can assure you they were all bark and no bite. All they
did was set
off gas and smoke bombs everywhere, which is why the entire island
is still
covered by the haze. Trust me, Helena is still there, and she
is using that
haze as cover."
"Does Cassidine know that you know where she¹s hiding?"
Jason asked
LizzieB.
"No, she thinks that I drowned when I tripped and fell in the pool."
She
replied, "I heard one of the men telling her as much."
"And you¹re sure that neither one of the voice was Nikolas?" Laura asked.
"Yeah, but I¹m pretty sure if they were talking about him then
he¹s probably
down there somewhere." Lizzie B. assured her.
"What about Carly?" Bobbie asked anxiously.
A pensive look came over Lizzie B.¹s face. "I don¹t
know. I didn¹t hear
her, but I think it¹s reasonable to assume that if Helena is holding
Nikolas
and Scully down there, then that¹s where Carly is too."
She said, giving
Bobbie a re-assuring smile.
A small silence settled in the room, as everyone was thinking similar
thoughts. Jason was the first to break the stillness.
"Look, we¹re wasting time. We need to start working on a
game plan." He
announced sternly, looking around the room at everyone. "Sitting
around
hoping and wondering if they¹re still alive is only giving Cassidine
more
time to cover her tracks and disappear. If we¹re gonna get
to them before
she makes her move, we need to go right now."
"I agree, but we¹ll have to wait until dark," Mulder
informed him,
"Otherwise, we¹ll have the police to deal with. They¹re
still searching the
water around the island."
"Aren¹t we gonna have to deal with the police anyway?" Luke
asked Mulder,
"They¹re probably on their way over here right now to question
the little
darlin' here, about what happened."
"Actually, no, I made sure that the Commissioner doesn¹t question
Lizzie B.
until she checks out of the hospital." Mulder informed him,
"And since she
was listed as a Jane Dow, as opposed to Elizabeth Webber, it¹ll
take the
police a little while to put two and two together and come looking
for her."
Curious, Lucky turned to her and asked, "Why on earth did
you check in
under Jane Doe? Surely, that wasn¹t the most creative alias
you could come
up with."
Elizabeth looked sheepish for a moment. "IŠuhŠdidn¹t
actually check in, I
sort of just arrived, and they took me in." she explained,
being
deliberately vague.
"And what exactly does that mean?" he probed, carefully studying
her
expression.
"Oh, nothing, I¹llŠuh tell you later." She replied
putting him off.
<Maybe he¹ll forget by then.> she thought, hoping that
was the case.
Lucky decided to let it drop, knowing that now wasn¹t the time.
<I¹ll get
it out of her later.> he promised silently.
"Elizabeth, can you remember how to get back to the catacombs using
the
underwater tunnels?" Sonny asked.
"Yeah, but in my present condition, I won¹t be able to show you
the way."
She said indicating her side, "I can give directions, like Mr.
Spencer did
with me."
Just then, something occurred to Brenda. "How big are the
tunnels?" she
asked, "Are we gonna have the same problem getting through
them as we did
with the tunnel leading down to the catacombs?"
"Fortunately, no, they¹re Śone size fits all¹." LizzieB. replied.
"Good." Jason said shortly, "I say we, that
is Sonny, Mulder, Luke, and
I, pay the island a visit come nightfall. If Cassidine thinks
that Lizzie
B. is dead then she won¹t be expecting us. We¹ll catch
her off guard, and
that definitely tilts the odds in our favor."
"I¹m going, too" Lucky announced.
LizzieB. looked over at Lucky in surprise. Although she was unnerved
by his
words, she said nothing.
Laura, on the other hand, wasn¹t nearly so tactful.
"Lucky, no, it¹s bad enough that your father, your brother, and
your cousin
will be at the mercy of that madwoman. Not you, too."
She lamented, "I
won¹t have my whole family lost to that witch."
"Mom, I have to." Lucky returned, "Just because
Elizabeth only heard two
guys, that doesn¹t mean those are the only goons that Helena has
at her
disposal. We saw four at the party alone."
Luke looked down at his wife with resignation. "Lucky¹s
right Darlin', we
need every available man." He said, "Don¹t worry,
the five of us can
handle this."
Laura remained unconvinced, although she didn¹t put up any further protests.
"Well I, for one, refuse to just sit around and shoot the breeze while
you
guys do all the dirty work." Bobbie said, "We¹re
all liberated women
here, so what can we do to help?"
"You¹re a nurse, aren¹t you?" Mulder asked her.
"Yeah, why?" she answered.
"As much as I hate to bring this up, but Nikolas, Scully, and Carly
might be
in need of medical attention when we find them. So, it¹ll
probably be good
if you¹[re nearby when we all get back to the docks." Mulder
told her, then
looked over at Lucky and LizzieB., "LizzieB., you¹ll be
our eyes. Lucky,
looks like it¹s time to get the communications back online."
"Uh, that¹s gonna be hard to do in less than twenty-four hours.
I left my
earpiece and my receiver on the island, and I¹m pretty sure Elizabeth¹s
was
destroyed by the water." Lucky said.
"I¹ll take care of the equipment and supplied." Sonny said shortly.
"What can we do to help?" Brenda asked, indicating herself and Laura.
"You two, run interference." Sonny ordered, looking from
one to the other.
"Laura, you¹re the lookout on the pier. Let us know
when the coast is
clear, after that you can hang out with Lizzie and Bobbie in the van
and
help them with whatever. Brenda, you¹re on duty at the police
station, keep
your eyes and ears open, at some point we might need their help."
"What van?" Bobbie asked, looking at Sonny.
"Ah, the van that¹s going to house LizzieB. and all the equipment
and
supplies." Sonny informed her, "It¹ll
look suspicious if she¹s just
standing on the docks talking to herself, especially if the cops recognize
her. And plus it¹ll give you the chance to keep an eye on
her ribs and make
sure she¹s not over-doing it."
Lucky looked over at Sonny and smiled gratefully, while LizzieB. rolled
her
eyes playfully. <Is everyone in this cursed town overprotective
or is it
just me?> she thought to herself.
"Okay, let¹s recap, just so everyone¹s clear."
Luke suggested, "Laura¹s
on lookout duty at the pier, Bobbie and LizzieB. are stationed in the
van
near the docks. Brenda¹s stationed at the PCPD in case we
need back up,
while us men are, of course, over on Spook Island beating the crap
out of
Public Enemy No. 1. Is that right?"
"Well, I think that about wraps it up." Jason said, smiling slightly
at
Luke¹s humor, "Why don¹t we all meet back here
at dusk, and put the
finishing details on everything."
Everyone murmured in agreement, and began to disperse.
Chapter 42
The group meeting had just ended, and there were separate conversations
going on in different areas of the house. Luke, Laura,
and Bobbie were in
the kitchen. Lizzie B. still sat on the couch surrounded
by Lucky and
Mulder, while Sonny, Jason, and Brenda stood outside on the front porch..
On the porchŠ
"Why don¹t you take the car and head over to the penthouse."
Sonny
suggested to Brenda, "Jason and I need to take care of
something, so we¹ll
catch up with you later."
Brenda looked at him disapprovingly. "SonnyŠ" she said.
But he cut her off before she could finish, "It¹s safe,
and it¹s legal."
He assured her.
"Then how come you don¹t want me to go with you?" she asked.
"Okay, maybe it¹s a little shady, but there absolutely no danger
involved."
He said humorously, looking at her to see if she was buying it.
She merely continued to look at him with a disapproving stare.
Sonny sighed in frustration, "Look, I could do it the legal
way, but we¹re
on a clock here." He explained.
She finally gave in, "Well, since it¹s for a good cause."
She said
reluctantly.
He pulled her into his arms, and looked down at her. "This
is the last
time, I promise. Why don¹t you go visit with Ronnie and
Emily, and I¹ll be
waiting at the penthouse when you get back." He suggested,
then bent and
kissed her forehead.
"Okay, but you¹d better be there when I get back." She ordered playfully.
With that, she left. Sonny and Jason left shortly after in a limo.
In the living roomŠ
"Where are you headed, Boss?" Lizzie B. asked.
"Back out to the Bay." He answered, as he walked toward
the front door.
"After the hell I raised to get assigned to the search party, it¹ll
look odd
if I just blow it off now."
"Good thinking." Lucky said in agreement.
"I have my cell, so call me if there are any new developments."
Mulder
said.
"Sure thing, Boss." Lizzie B. said, as Mulder exited the house.
Lucky looked over at her and smiled, "Alone at last,"
He said roguishly,
"The perfect time to get you into bed."
Lizzie B. giggled, "Lucky!" she said in mock
horror, "Your parents are
in the kitchen, and your little sister is asleep upstairs."
"True, but you¹re still going to bed." He told her,
as he scooped her up
in his arms. "You need to rest, we have a long night ahead
of us."
She pulled a face before she answered. "I¹m not sleepy."
She returned
childishly.
"Nevertheless, it¹s nap time for you." He insisted
as he headed up the
stairs.
"Can I at least take a shower first?" she asked.
"Sure." He said, stopping in front of the door to his old room.
He looked down at her expectantly, "You know the drill."
He ordered
lightly.
She smiled as she reached out and opened the door. He carried
her into the
room, and sat her down on the bed and joined her there a moment later.
"It doesn¹t look like anyone¹s been in here for a while."
She observed,
then asked, "Where did you sleep last night? I just
assumed you spent the
night here since you weren¹t at the hotel."
"I slept on the couch downstairs. I didn¹t want to be too
far away from the
phone or the door in case the police came by or the hospital called."
He
explained.
"Oh." She said shortly, her forehead creasing with renewed guilt.
He knew exactly what she was thinking. "No, don¹t.
Don¹t do that." he
ordered, "I don¹t blame you, and I¹m not mad
at you. Hell, I probably
would¹ve done the same thing if it had been me down in those catacombs."
"That¹s not the only thing that I¹m feeling guilty about."
She admitted
with a smile, then she grew serious, "You know I wasn¹t
planning on
telling you that I¹d been in the hospital until after we¹d
rescued the
others off the island."
"Yeah, I kind of figured that." He returned, calmly.
"It was fairly
obvious that the comment you made about the hospital was a slip-up
on your
part."
She looked at him trying to gauge his reaction. "Normally,
I wouldn¹t have
hid it from you, but I didn¹t want you to worry. You¹d
done enough of that
already." She explained, "You know, since
I¹m confessing my sins, I
might as well get all of them out. IŠuhŠI didn¹t just
waltz into the
hospital like I implied a little while ago. I collapsed
on arrival in the
middle of the Emergency Room, which is why they had me under a different
name."
Lucky didn¹t turn a hair at her announcement. "I kind
of figured that,
too." he said, smiling, "You nearly fainted
in the living room a couple
of hours ago, and just so you know, I didn¹t buy that medication
story for a
minute."
"Well. Maybe we should just call you Sherlock from now on."
She said,
slightly annoyed that he¹d figured her out so easily.
He laughed, "Come on, Elizabeth, you have to admit, it wasn¹t
that hard to
figure out." He said.
"True." She admitted.
"Okay, play time is over." He announced as he stood,
"You need your rest
if we¹re going to pull off this rescue mission tonight."
"Hey! You promised me a shower." She reminded him.
"Would you settle for a bath?" he asked, "I
don¹t want you standing too
long, especially by yourself where no on could catch you if you
fainted
again."
"Okay." She agreed, holding out her arms to him.
In the KitchenŠ
"Listen, you guys I have to go." Bobbie said,
"I told Lateasia that I¹d
be back long before now. She probably thinks that I¹ve run
amuck."
"I¹ll sayŠ" Luke muttered under his breath, as he touched his eye.
"Tell Lucas that we said Śhi¹" Laura said as Bobbie made for the door.
"Will do." Bobbie replied, then looked over at Luke,
"I¹ll catch your act
later."
"Bye Sis." He called out as Bobbie walked out the door.
Luke sighed as he looked out the door at the departing form of his sister.
"Man, I hope Caroline is alright. I don¹t think Barbara
can handle losing
another kid." He said, almost to himself.
"I hope so too." Laura said wistfully.
ElsewhereŠ
"PUT ME DOWN!!!" Carly screamed as she struggled against
the much larger
henchman that carried her. He ignored her protests and
continued toward
his destination.
He took her to where Scully was already seated on the stone floor, he
then
flung her down on the stone, carelessly. This action caused Carly
to scream
even more.
Scully immediately went to her aide. "Are you alright?"
she asked
immediately, "Where does it hurt?"
"Ugh!! MyŠmy shoulderŠ." She panted, obviously in pain.
Scully examined her left shoulder, and soon concluded that it was indeed
dislocated.
"Your shoulder, Carly." She explained, "I¹ll
have to put it back in
place."
"Gonna hurtŠbad?" she panted in broken English.
"I¹m afraid so." Scully said, bracing herself for the task.
"Just hurry upŠugh!!Šmake it quick." Carly ordered.
With that Scully grabbed Carly¹s shoulder and arm, and forces the
bones back
into its socket. This action, however quick, caused Carly to
scream in
earnest.
Helena, who stood a few yards away, turned and looked down at the twosome.
"Be quiet or I will have your tongue removed." She directed
at Carly, "I
will not have my grandson¹s rest disrupted by your bellowing."
Scully stood up, and looked at her with disgust. "It¹s
your fault that
she¹d in this condition. Why don¹t you tell your goons
to be more careful."
She told her.
Helena laughed humorlessly, "You two should have thought
of that when you
engineered your little escape attempt." She returned.
"Surely, you knew
I would not be pleased when I found out what you were planning.
And of
course since Ms. Bensen is completely expendable, it is only natural
that
she should bear the burden of my displeasure."
"YOU DEMENTED OLD HAG!!!" Carly yelled, as she tried to
stand and attack
Helena.
Scully rushed to help Carly as she staggered back down to the floor,
in
pain. "Carly! Take it easy, okay." She
ordered, "Just sit down and
rest."
Just then, Robin entered the tunnel and walked over to Helena.
"He¹s calling out for Emily, again." She said.
Scully looked over at Helena, "We have to get him to a hospital,
now. This
damp air, along with the remnants of that gas you exposed us to, are
not
good for him." She said, "He¹s delirious,
and if you don¹t do something
about it soon, he¹ll probably slip into a coma."
"That is why I have you here." Helena reminded her,
"You are to keep
that from happening, until it is safe enough to admit him into a suitable
facility. Robin, would you be so kind as to escort Dr.
Scully to my
grandson¹s quarters?"
Robin inclined her head to Scully, "Follow me." She stated blandly.
Scully didn¹t move an inch. "I¹m not going anywhere
without Carly." She
informed them, "She¹s just been injured, and she should
be receiving the
same care as your grandson."
Helena looked at her in horrified amusement. "Caroline is
the worthless
daughter of a common whore, and not fit to breathe the same air as
my
darling Nikolas." she said coldly, "However,
if you require her presence
in the care-taking of my grandson, then she may accompany you, provided
that
she refrains from any further boisterous outbursts."
Carly, having become accustomed to the pain, took noticed of Helena¹s
comments. "Nikolas obviously doesn¹t share your low
opinion, because he
risked his life to save me." Carly informed her spitefully.
Taken aback, Helena whipped her head around to face Carly.
"What are you
talking about?" she asked.
"You mean, you don¹t know?" Carly taunted, laughed
at Helena¹s ignorance,
"This whole thing was a set-up. We knew you and Boy Wonder
over there,
were behind the murders. All we had to do was prove it, and what
better way
to do that then to catch you in the act. Nikolas was in on the
whole thing,
in fact, he helped to plan it, along with half the town, including
your
son."
"You¹re lying." Helena accused, "Stephan
is one thing, but Nikolas would
never betray me in that way."
"Why not? You killed his aunt, and his friend, Katherine Ball.
And if he
hadn¹t interrupted Saint Robin in the ally, you¹d have killed
his brother,
too." Carly spat at her, "Your grandson is
probably the only person in
this town who hates you more than I doŠ.well except maybe Luke and
LauraŠor
your sonŠ or anyone else who¹s known you for more than an hour."
"CarlyŠ" Scully began warningly, but Carly ignored her.
"If there¹s anyone who¹s not fit to breathe the same air as
Nikolas, it¹s
you honey, not me." She concluded nastily.
"Perhaps I shall have your tongue removed after all." Helena
suggested
menacingly, "It has become a nuisance again."
At this point Scully decided to mediate, "We¹re wasting
time. Nikolas
needs my attention." She said to no one in particular.
Helena immediately lost interest in Carly and looked over to Robin.
"Escort them to my grandson¹s room, and take the usual precautions."
She
ordered.
ElsewhereŠ
Lucky had just arrived back home. He¹d gone to the PC Hotel
to pick up some
things for Elizabeth while she had her bath.
"Lucky! Is that you?" Laura called from the kitchen.
"Yeah, mom, I¹m back." He replied, as he headed for
the stairs. "I¹m
gonna go check on Elizabeth."
Once at the top of the stairs, he headed straight for his room.
He knocked
on the door lightly, and when no one answered he opened it quietly
and went
inside.
"Elizabeth?" he whispered.
But she didn¹t hear him, she was on his bed sound asleep.
He thought she
looked so beautiful lying there, in his too large shirt, her hair fanning
out on the pillow, still holding what appeared to be one of his favorite
books in her right hand.
He sat her things down by the door, and walked over to where she lay.
He
took the book from her hand, laid it down on the table next to the
bed, and
bent to kiss her cheek. He then departed and went across
the hall to check
on Lulu. She, like Lizzie B., was also sleeping, so he
went downstairs to
the kitchen to get himself something to eat.
ElsewhereŠ
Veronica has just open her hotel room door to find her daughter standing
there.
"Brenda? Sweetheart, what are you doing here?" she asked.
"Oh, I just came from the hospital. They wouldn¹t let me
see Emily, so I
thought I¹d come by and see how you were doing."
Brenda told her, as she
stepped pass her and walked into the room.
"I wasn¹t expecting company." Ronnie said nervously,
"Why don¹t you give
me an hour to freshen up, and we¹ll have a late lunch downstairs."
"What¹s going on, Mom?" Brenda asked, looking around
suspiciously, "Why
are you trying to get rid of me?"
Veronica shrugged, trying to appear blasé. "I¹m
not. I just didn¹t want
you to see what a pig I am." She said, "Come,
have a seat on the couch.
How is everything? Did the meeting go okay?"
"Yeah, everything is set." Brenda replied, "We¹re
all supposed to meet
back at the SpenŠ"
"Why don¹t you tell me about it over dinner Brenda,"
She suggested,
"This hotel room is kind of small, IŠ.uhŠYou know how I feel about
being in
closed places."
Just then, a loud thud came from the bedroom.
Finally seeing the whole picture, Brenda looked at her mother in
realization. "Okay, who¹s back there?" she asked
matter-of-factly.
"Back where?" Ronnie said, feigning ignorance.
"Don¹t play with me, Mother." Brenda ordered,
"I know you¹ve got a man
back there, so you might as well tell me who it is so I¹ll know
what to tell
security when I have him thrown out."
Brenda didn¹t wait for her to answer, she just headed back towards
the
bedroom. When she opened the door she was shocked at what
she saw.
Stephan Cassidine was lying, facedown on the floor.
"MOTHER!" she yelled as she backed away from his still form.
Ronnie walked into the room calmly. "Brenda, there¹s
no need to shout.
I¹ve loss my mind not my hearing." She said evenly.
"What is this? What did you do?" she asked, frantically
gesturing towards
Stephan¹s body.
"Oh, good heavens, stop being so dramatic. He isn¹t dead,
he¹s just taking
a nap." Ronnie explained.
"On the floor? Fully dressed?" Brenda asked.
"Well, if you hadn¹t interrupted me, he¹d have been quite
comfortable in his
pajamas on the bed by the time he fell asleep." Ronnie
shot back, slightly
peeved.
"Yes, but you still haven¹t told me how he got this way."
Brenda reminded
her.
"It¹s simple. I drugged him." Ronnie admitted.
Brenda looked at her with an incredible expression on her face.
"YouŠyouŠyou drugged him!" she stammered,
"Dare I ask why?"
Ronnie sighed in exasperation. "Don¹t you remember?
You called me this
morning, doing which time you and Sonny asked me to keep my eye on
Steffy,
and make sure he wouldn¹t interfere in your rescue plans."
Veronica
reminded her, "At first, things were going fine, we had
brunch, we
compared stories. He talked about his nephew, I talked
about youŠ"
"Could we just cut to the chase here." Brenda said impatiently,
"When
and why did you decide to slip a Mickey into his drink?"
"Actually, I gave him sleeping pills, and he took them of his
own accord.
You see he had a headache, and he asked me for aspirin, so naturally
I took
that opportunŠ" she began.
"Get to the point, Mother." Brenda ordered tensely.
"Well, after brunch, I went to the ladies room to powder my nose, and
when I
came back he was on the phone talking to someone about searching for
Helena
and Nikolas, AND he was planning on bugging the Spencer¹s House
to find out
what Luke knew, ..uh.. knows... I can never get my tenses right.
Anyway, "
She explained, "I did you guys a big favor by waylaying
Steffy before he
ruined anything. If it hadn¹t been for me he would¹ve
got quite an earful
about your rescues plans. A Śthank you¹ would be nice."
Brenda sighed, "Thanks, Mom, for the help."
She said, then added,
"Look, Mom, I don¹t mean to be critical but we still have a problem."
"What now?" Ronnie said in exasperation.
"UhŠthat would be Steffy." Brenda said, pointing to
his unconscious form.
"What are you going to tell him when he wakes up and realizes
what you
did?"
"You call that a problem?" she replied, flippantly,
"He isn¹t going to
realized anything, I¹ll simply tell him that he collapsed in my
room, and
that the doctor gave him a sedative to help him rest. And
even if he does
find out what really happened, he won¹t care because by that time
his nephew
will be back, safe and sound. End of problem."
Brenda rolled her eyes, "If you say so, Mom."
She said, giving up trying
to reason with her.
"Good, we agree. Now, help me get him into bedŠ"