K Darblyne - Unbroken Season 1

The pediatrician knelt down beside Sam, holding a single finger up in the air for her to focus on. “Sam,” Terri smiled slightly seeing the concentrated effort of the young woman as the blonde turned her attention to the woman before her. “Hi, can you do something for me? Can you follow my finger?” Terri watched as green eyes took a moment but eventually did zero in on the finger she held in front of Sam. Carefully, Terri watched as Sam’s slightly dulled response adjusted to her moving digit. “Brooke, why don’t you go over and give the police the information that they need while I stay here with Sam?” Terri stole a glance away from her patient, directing it to her sister.

“Yeah, I guess I can do that.” Brooke kissed Sam’s forehead softly, then looked her in the eye. “I’m going to be right over there if you need me. How about if Terri stays here with you until I get back?”

Sam gave a little smile. “Love you, Brooke. Hurry back, I need my pillow.”

Brooke smiled as she kissed the knuckles on Sam’s hand, then she left her lover in the trusted care of her sister.

“Okay, Sam,” Terri smiled at the young woman, “what do you say I have a look at you and make sure you’re not hurt anywhere?”

The dazed woman started to nod, then stopped as she watched Brooke go over to the two people in uniform and began talking in hushed tones. Sam strained to hear what was being said, but she couldn’t quite grasp more than a word or two. Even then, nothing seemed to make much sense, not with the constant gibberish that seemed to be coming from the radios that the police carried with them.

Terri painstakingly covered every inch of Sam’s visible body, with her soft, sensitive hands, stopping here or there and asking if it hurt when she touched it. Even though she was examining the blonde, the physician didn’t hesitate to keep a watchful eye on her older sister. Nearing the end of her initial survey for injuries, Terri heard the excited speech of her sister Brooke, and turned to see what was happening.

“That’s him. That’s his car, Officer.” Brooke’s face turned deadly serious as her finger pointed to the radio on the officer’s hip. Suddenly, the anger came bubbling to the surface. “Don’t let him get away. God damn it, he didn’t even get more than a couple blocks from here.”

The officer picked up his lapel mic and keyed it. “Detain that driver on a reported breaking and entering.” He looked over to the blonde on the floor. “And some more possible charges to follow. I’m taking the complaint now.”

“That’s James.” Brooke leveled a stare at the cop. “I know it is. That description fits the car he was driving perfectly.” She looked back over to Sam as the officer talked on the radio with the other patrol car officers on the traffic stop and their dispatcher. When she sensed that he was done, her gaze came back to the man. “Well?”

“You can rest assured that he won’t be back tonight, ma’am.” The officer said softly as he jotted down a few more details on his report.

“I don’t want him back any night. I don’t want him anywhere near us.”

“Well, you could always file for a PFA if you’d like to. That’s protection from abuse. It’s a domestic violence protection act. That should keep your…ah…” the male officer stumbled, not wanting to use the wrong word, “him away.”

The female officer finally spoke up, offering, “You’ll need to come downtown to have one sworn out from a judge.”

A raised eyebrow and a hurried glance toward her sister and Sam caused Brooke to state her hesitancy toward leaving. “Does it have to be done tonight or can I do it in the morning?”

“The morning will be good enough. He’s not going anywhere tonight,” The man in blue stated.

“You could even have a lawyer file it for you. Do you have a lawyer, Ma’am?” His partner chimed, in trying to help.

“Why yes, I do.” Brooke thought of her older sister, Randi, immediately.

“Well then, let them do it and you can stay to take care of your friend. Now, if you could just sign right here to press charges, the court will do the rest.” He held out the form to Brooke and waited.

With a quick glance to Sam, the tall woman reached for the form and signed her name. Handing it back, she walked the two officers to the door and thanked them for their help. As soon as the door was shut, she hastened back into the living room to check on Sam.

Kneeling down on the floor by Terri, she reached out and held Sam’s hand in her own. “How is she?” she asked her sister, trying not to startle her lover.

Terri took a deep breath, then turned to look into Brooke’s worried, blue eyes. “Well…it’s hard to say without a CT san. I think that she’s probably got a concussion. Nothing seems to be broken, but she damn sure got her bell rung.”

After placing a kiss on the back of Sam’s knuckles, Brooke looked up to her sister, and asked, “Should I take her to the ER?”

“You want this all over the papers?” Terri asked, reminding Brooke that no matter how bad she wanted to be, she wasn’t the normal, everyday, girl-next-door. And the same went for the people who were associated with her.

Brooke hung her head at the predicament they found themselves in. “No, but I’d rather know that she’s safe. Terri, I don’t care what happens to me. I just want to make sure Sam’s alright.”

“Then let me do my best to keep it down to just a low roar.” Terri patted her sister’s hand. “Excuse me while I make a couple of phone calls and set up a private ER visit.”

The older woman nodded her consent, feeling the love in her sister’s gentle touch as she laid a hand on her shoulder. Pausing for a moment to regain her composure, Brooke turned her attention toward Sam. “You still with me, Baby?”

“Yeah…” Sam answered, groggily. “Tired though. What happened? Why do I feel like I have one hell of a headache?”

The questions put a smile on Brooke’s face, knowing that her lover was regaining her senses. “Probably because you do, Sweetheart. James tried to punch me and hit you instead. You lost your balance, fell and hit your head on the wall.”

“Ouch…” Sam made a face as she rubbed the bump on her head. “I guess that’ll teach me to start wearing a helmet indoors. Do you think Terri could give me some aspirin or something?”

“We can ask her,” Brooke placed a kiss on Sam’s cheek and each woman drank in the closeness of the other in silence until Terri returned.

“Okay, here’s the deal. I’ve got it all set,” she started out as she crossed the room toward them. “Sam’s going to be seen as a private patient in my hospital’s ER. I’ve already arranged for a CT scan and she wont’ be registered under her name.” Terri smiled at her achievement of keeping the news out of the magazines. “Ah… Brooke, you’re going to have to pay cash… just to keep any record free of her name.”

Brooke’s eyes never left Sam as she answered, “That’s not a problem, Ter.”

“I figured you would say that. Come on…let’s get her in the car and go for a ride.” Terri offered her sister her hand and smiled when it was accepted.

Once standing, Brooke nodded her head, then helped Sam to her feet. “Baby, we’re gonna take a little trip and get you checked out with some special pictures. Do you think you could stay awake just a little longer?”

Sam couldn’t help but sigh at the thought of having to do anything involving movement and rolled her eyes. “Okay, Hon…” she slowly got up, pausing once to rub her furrowed brow, “but I think dessert is going to be called off tonight. I’ve got one terrific headache here.”

Brooke smiled at Sam’s sense of humor. “That’s okay, Darlin…I’ll just pamper you for a change.”

Sam’s eyes grew round at her misunderstanding of the words that Brooke had spoken. “Why would you want to pamper me? Brooke, I may be small but are you really sure that they come in my size?”

“Oh boy,” Brooke rolled her eyes. “I can see now that it’s going to be a long night.”

“… When you’re in the system, will you care that you are missing from the prophets that we are?… I know it… `Cause you were once a Gone Street Poet…”

The darkened guestroom was not very conducive to the tall woman’s body as she sat with her back against the brass headboard, her lap filled by tussled blonde hair which her long fingers fondled in a soothing way. Brooke wasn’t about to register any complaints. She was just thankful that the last twenty-four hours were over. It was a day that she definitely didn’t want to relive in her lifetime or any other, for that matter.

What had started out as an impromptu rendezvous for the two lovers had suddenly exploded into a heated argument ending with blows being exchanged. Now, in the aftermath, the tall woman had blamed herself for the violence that had ensued. Nothing she did now would change the outcome, but Brooke held herself responsible for the damage that had been inflicted on her young lover.

Mentally, Brooke chastised her lack of openness. You should have told her, or at least warned her about James. She’s a part of your life and you haven’t even told her what or whom you’ve overcome to get here. Brooke resigned to the fact that she wasn’t at her best operating speed in her sleep-deprived state. Closing her eyes, the heart-saddened woman pushed all thoughts from her head for now, hoping that after getting some rest, her mind would be able to think a little clearer.

The vibrating sensation on Brooke’s hip aroused the woman swiftly from her attempt to doze. Being careful not to jar the soundly sleeping form on her lap, she grabbed her phone, flicked the cover open, then held it up to her ear knowing that her eyes wouldn’t be able to focus on the caller ID. In a hushed tone, Brooke cleared her parched throat and whispered out a raspy, “Hello?”