SERIES/UNIVERSE: SG-7
DISCLAIMER: M7 characters belong to MGM, Trilogy, CBS, and TNN. The characters from Stargate SG-1 belong to MGM, Gekko, and Showtime. I'm notmaking any money from writing this story, I just love to write. Adriana is mine, as are Priscilla Meadows (and her students, except Will and Charlotte Richmond, who also belong to Trilogy, et al.), Carly Tucker, and Dawn Jackson (okay, so is Detective McCoy). You're welcome to borrow them, as long as you ask first, and return them intact.
SPOILERS: Mainly my twisted version of Wagon Train, Manhunt and Vendetta, references to The Collector.
WARNING: Original characters, some violence, nasty language in certain sections, and this is gonna be a LONG story. I'm covering three years in this story, so it's gonna be long. It's not gonna be 'day by day,' just the highlights, but it's still gonna be long.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This begins in 1992, eight and a half years before the events in The Light in the Distance.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Carly jumped the gun. What she finds out in this chapter wasn't supposed to come out until a later story, but she decided it should be now, since that would explain why she was practically hysterical when she found Vin, and threw a rock at Adriana's window to get her attention. Meanwhile, there are still a few secrets which she doesn't know yet, and that's how it will stay. (Glares at Carly)
"Adriana?" Dawn asked as she returned to the waiting room. Carly indicated the room where Kevin Tanner now rested, and Dawn continued with a sigh as she handed a cup of coffee to the girl, "Good. She was starting to drive me crazy out here. Dr. Meadows says that she talked with Will Richmond. Carly, we were wrong about this ... it wasn't him. Do you remember Adriana mentioning someone named 'Boudreau' from the dig?"
"No, but honestly, Dawn, she doesn't confide in me that much. Was it this 'Boudreau' who beat up Vin?" Carly asked and Dawn nodded, sitting on the edge of the chair. Carly fought back a surge of rage as Dawn explained the confrontations involving Charlotte, Will, Adriana, and Vin during the dig, and how Boudreau had tried to dump his responsibility on a girl half his size. Big baby. And now, he was trying to destroy the lives of all those concerned.
Carly didn't give a rat's ass about Charlotte, but she did care about Adriana, and Vin ... There was a phone call she needed to make. She was angry, and sick, and ... confused. God, she was so confused. Until the previous night, Carly's life had been ordered and stable. Not neat, as such, but stable. But all that had changed in an instant. She had been able to cover her shock easily, because Adriana was so rattled, then took off to the store to buy beverages.
The walk gave her time to settle down and figure out what to do. She had promised herself that she would find out the truth later, but later ... later never quite came. Carly was nineteen years old, and the sight of that young man in the doorway had rattled her as few things in her young life had. That had been the first shock. The second had come when they learned that Vin Tanner was only nineteen years old.
A quick check with Dr. Meadows told her that Vin's birthday was March 17 ... the same day as Carly's. She had pushed it out of her mind, telling herself that she needed to worry about other people. Adriana was still pretty shaky, and Carly had focused on her friend instead. It had been a relief, for that had made her world a little less topsy-turvy. But Adriana was in Vin's room, and Carly couldn't hold on much longer.
She asked, slipping to her feet, "Would you mind holding down the fort for me? There's a phone call I meant to make last night, and got distracted. I promised my mom I would call last night, and she gets a bit fussy when I don't. I'm her only child, and she's kinda hyper-protective of me. Being away in college, when she lives in Chicago." Dawn smiled and patted Carly's arm, motioning the blonde sophomore to make her call.
Carly smiled back, a smile she didn't really feel, and made her way to the payphones. Her hands trembling as she grabbed the receiver, then began dialing. Her fingers seemed to be moving in slow motion, but at the same time, she heard the phone ringing almost immediately. She wasn't ready for this ... but she couldn't wait any longer for answers. Her mother answered on the third ring, asking anxiously, "Hello?"
"Mother, it's Caroline," Carly answered in a clipped tone. Her mother's quick intake of breath told her that she understood at once this wasn't a social call, and that Carly was not in a good mood. The girl continued, "I'm at the hospital ... I'm fine."
Oh God, how did she say this? How did she ask it? How did she find out if her entire life was a lie? She continued, "This morning, when I went out for my morning, I found someone lying just outside our dormitory, unconscious and badly beaten. You may know of him, or at least his mother. Kevin Tanner ... son of Julia Tanner." There was dead silence on the other end, and Carly asked, "Mother, please ... tell me I'm wrong. Tell me that this boy, who was born on my birthday, also in 1973, is my cousin ... and not my twin brother."
That had been at the root of her fear, ever since she had seen Vin this morning. Once she had determined he was still alive, the chorus in her mind had taken to taunting her. She found herself both hoping and fearing he was her brother, and thus, her screams for Adriana and Dawn had bordered on sheer panic. He had been so very ... still. As still as her mother was being now, and Carly whispered, "Please, Mom. Tell me that you and Aunt Julia just gave birth on the same day. Tell me that you haven't lied to me for nineteen years."
"I can't do that, baby. I can't," Jessica Tanner Tucker answered and Carly felt her knees give way. She clung to the booth housing the payphone. Roaring filled her ears. She had feared this as soon as she had seen him, as soon as she heard his name, as soon as she heard him talking about his mother, about her aunt, Julia Tanner. Aunt Julia had been five years older than her mother ... or the woman she thought was her mother. Carly's earliest memories were of the house in Chicago, where she and her mother lived with her grandparents.
Jessica had married when Carly was twelve, and her new father had adopted Carly as his own. And Jessica said now, heavily, "Your mother couldn't keep both of you, Carly. She wanted to, so badly, but she just couldn't. She was only twenty-one when you and Vin were born. Mother and Father offered to take you, and raise you as their own. You grew up believing I was your mother because it was less confusing. And I formally adopted you as mine when I married Robert ... we both adopted you at the same time."
Carly was shaking. She wasn't cold ... yes, she was. She felt as though she had been stuck in a freezer, like she had seen in the movies sometimes. How many other lies had she been told? Why did Carly have this sudden sick feeling that her mother hadn't told her the entire truth, that there was more just waiting to attack? Her mother ... her aunt ... her mother ... Jessica was saying something now, something about telling Vin. How could she tell Vin?!?! He had just been beaten within an inch of his life, they still had to deal with Boudreau ... she couldn't put this on him.
"I won't tell him, Mother," she said dully, "you don't have to worry about that. Good-bye. I need to go see about my brother." She hung up, not really caring about the fear in Jessica's voice. She couldn't bring herself to think of her as her mother right now. There was a part of Carly which understood she was being an immature brat, but there was another part which didn't care. She had a brother! A twin brother, whose life was being threatened.
She almost ran full tilt into Will Richmond, and he started to give her a hard time, about watching where she was going. But she fixed him with a glare which caused him to back down almost immediately. Carly said in a hoarse voice, "Just because you didn't cause Vin to get hurt, doesn't mean I'll take any crap from you, buster."
He wasn't Boudreau. He hadn't tried to kill her brother. But he had created the circumstances for it to happen, and that made him responsible. Morally, if not legally. Carly continued in that low voice, "Now. If you have any sense left in your head, you will start doing right by your wife. I don't give a rat's ass about her, but I will not have the people I care about being hurt because of your pride. The same pride which drove your wife away. And be sure you keep her away from Vin."
"It's too late. She's here somewhere," Will answered. Carly's glare must have intensified along with her fury, because Will hung his head and added, "She doesn't know it's Boudreau, she thinks I'm responsible for this. She thinks I had those guys beat up Tanner. She told me if anyone else got hurt, she would ruin my life. And she's here now. Somewhere. I've been watching for her, but haven't ... "
Carly, however, was thinking about something else. If Charlotte didn't know Boudreau was responsible, if she thought that her husband's friends had hurt Vin, then she wouldn't take the threat to Adriana seriously. She said, "Come with me, then. We've got to find Charlotte. Adriana is with Vin now, and Dawn can look after them. But we've got to find your wife, before she accidently endangers Adriana's life."
Richmond fell into step beside her, asking, "So what's your stake in this? I know Adriana's your friend, but what's Tanner to you?" Carly stopped and looked at him. She looked around, at the people coming and going. Then she looked back at Richmond again. What was Vin Tanner to her? He was a broken heart, and a healing spirit, a beloved child abandoned because of death and by the family who had raised Carly. He was family.
She raised her chin, her bright blue eyes blazing, and she had no idea how much she looked like her brother in that moment. In a low voice which carried all of her fear, her hope, and her love, she answered, "He's my twin brother. And if I have to move heaven, earth, and hell to protect him, I will. And because you created this situation, you owe him. You will not tell him the truth. That's for me to do. He's my brother!"
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Should have mentioned this earlier, but I chose a name randomly for Will and Charlotte's little girl. I was getting tired of writing 'the baby,' or 'their daughter,' etc, and Lindsay was the name which popped into my head.
Will hadn't seen his wife, but she had seen him. Charlotte knew if Will, or anyone else, saw her near Vin, there would be trouble. So she waited, smiling faintly in spite of herself as she watched Adriana emerge from his room, walking into the arms of her 'den mother.' However, she didn't move, knowing that in just a few minutes, Adriana would return to Vin's room. While Dawn had been getting coffee earlier, and while Carly wasn't paying attention, Charlotte walked by, overhearing Adriana sing to Vin.
Charlotte wondered if Adriana's roommate Claire, or Carly, knew that Adriana always sang when she was nervous. It was her way of calming herself down, of remaining focused. It was a habit which Charlotte had noticed in the last two weeks of the dig, the way Adriana would sing and rock herself, as if she didn't realize anyone was watching. Which was, she had to admit, entirely possible. Charlotte wondered what else Adriana did when she thought no one was looking.
Was she the only one who had noticed the way Adriana seemed to flinch away from touch? She was all right when she was touching someone else, when she instigated the contact. But there was the barest quiver, before Adriana caught herself. Charlotte had noticed it on the dig, when she had put her arm around Adriana's shoulders. There were other instances, and Charlotte wondered why she had been more ... why she had noticed it then, rather than earlier.
Maybe it was because she was focused on something other than getting her husband's attention. Will. Charlotte sighed and returned her mind to the plan. According to what she had overheard, Vin would be kept for a few days then released. Charlotte thought that was a terribly short amount of time, but as long as he was resting and not moving about, the doctors saw no reason not to discharge him.
The last time frame she had heard was three days. Three days of avoiding Will, of remaining hidden. She thought she could do that. That also meant she had three days to finish planning things. Her mother had left her a cabin in a secluded area. Charlotte smiled for the first time ... she loved Texas. It was big enough to have anything you wanted ... mountains, desert, forests. Her mother's cabin ... her cabin ... was in the forest. A secluded area where Vin could get his strength back, and Charlotte could get passports for both of them.
She also had to figure out how she would get the hospital to release Vin to her care. Charlotte sighed and slid slowly to the ground, removing a notebook from her purse. She would end up losing track of what she was doing, and she simply couldn't afford to make those kinds of mistakes. Charlotte had been existing for the last two years, and since her attempts with her husband failed, she had a new mission. It gave her an energy and determination she hadn't felt since Lindsay's death.
She began scribbling in the notebook, listing what had to be done. Ever so often, she would peek out of her hiding place, keeping an eye on Will. Adriana had returned to Vin's hospital room, and Charlotte had no doubt whatsoever that sooner, rather than later, she would hear the girl singing to him. She loved the old Irish ballads ... Charlotte had asked her about that once, if her mother had taught her. Adriana had replied, no, her older brother taught her. Her mother had been Dutch, not Irish. And the pain in her hazel eyes had been so fierce when she spoke of her mother, Charlotte hadn't dared to ask more.
And so she wrote and she planned. She kept an eye out for her husband, to ensure that he couldn't hurt Vin or Adriana. But she never saw the eyes watching her. The gray eyes which she would have, most likely, recognized as belonging to Richard Boudreau.
Vin Tanner had learned a lot in the last three days. He learned that Adriana Wilmington sang to calm her nerves as well as to soothe someone else. He learned that Carly Tucker was a viciously protective lady, who tended to take it personally when one of her new friends was beaten up practically in her backyard. And he learned ... no, he remembered that he hated hospitals. So when it came time for his release, he was more than ready.
It had been decided that he would stay with Dr. Meadows and her husband while he was recovering. She didn't have classes for another few weeks, and Vin knew she wouldn't fuss over him. Honestly, he thought the only thing that had prevented Adriana from taking him in for that time period was the fact she lived in a dorm, and she had to be real careful. Dawn didn't have a problem with him, but rules were rules, and Vin didn't want to get Adriana into trouble.
He had learned a lot more facts about Adriana during the last three days. He learned that she was originally from Colorado ... that she was half-Dutch, things which hadn't come up in conversation before. She stood five feet two inches, and weighed about a hundred pounds. Soaking wet, he had offered with an impish grin, and she scowled at him before dissolving into laughter. He didn't tease her about her weight, though. Weren't somethin' she could help.
Vin reckoned she could probably eat more, but she simply had other things on her mind. Other priorities, as she put it. She ate enough to get by, then returned her attention whatever was most important to her at the time. Whether it was a dig or whatever. What really made her eyes light up, however, wasn't talking about the kinds of music she listened to (primarily classical), the movies she watched (whatever held her attention while she was flipping through the channels), and it sure as hell wasn't her job (which she hated). It was talking about her classes. Adriana Wilmington loved college. She loved learning, and her passion set a part of him achin.'
He could barely read ... just enough to get by, and really, wasn't much. This girl, however, revelled in it. Her eyes lit up when she talked about reading, about various pharaohs in Egypt (a fancy term for a king, he learned, but more than a king too), kings in ancient Africa, about warriors and common people. She loved history, she loved the understanding that the names were more than names ... they were people, people with stories.
And when she talked, it was like Vin knew them, too. He had never much cared one way or another about readin' or writin.' Never thought he was missing out on that much. Until he heard Adriana talk about what she was learnin.' Vin knew that he had an education which Adriana hadn't ... but he was glad that he knew those things, that it had been him who was forced to learn those things, and not this girl. He didn't want no one else learnin' stuff like that.
He couldn't admit to Adriana that he could barely read, and so he learned by asking her to tell him more stories. She asked him once if he would like to borrow one of her books. Such faith she had in him, that he could read one of her fancy college books. But he had smiled and answered, no, he liked hearing her tell them instead. Her delighted grin had been the best part of that conversation.
On the third day, he was released into Priscilla Meadows' care. Adriana had received a call from her older brother unexpectedly ... Dr. Meadows had seen the way her eyes lit up when she got the call. From what the professor said, Adriana didn't often have a chance to talk with her brother. Vin didn't begrudge her that time at all. Especially not if it made her happy. She had spent the last three days brightening his life, possibly at the risk of her job.
Dr. Meadows' lightly tapping foot prevented him from arguing about the wheelchair, and truth be told, he wasn't feeling real terrific, either. With the help of the orderly and the resident, he managed to get into the wheelchair, and Dr. Meadows began wheeling him toward the exit. They would go to the elevator, then head over to the dorm to meet up with Dawn, Carly, and Adriana. Except ... it didn't work out that way.
Vin would never be entirely sure what happened ... one moment, he was rolling along, weakly joking with Dr. Meadows. Then, all hell broke loose. There was a flash, then smoke, then Vin found himself falling as the wheelchair tipped over. Agony threatened to stop his heart as he landed on his bad side. He could barely breathe, and couldn't see anything. Voices, shouting. Then hands pulling at him. He batted at those hands, trying to free himself. Dr. Meadows? Where was Dr. Meadows?
"Vin, honey, it's me, it's Charlotte. Hang on, I'm gonna get you outta here. This is my fault, shoulda been payin' better attention. C'mon, let's get you outta here, and we'll call Adriana on the way. We're gonna need help," a voice said. Vin found himself being lifted, an arm snaking around his waist. He bit back a groan of pain as her arm brushed his battered ribcage ... at least, he thought he had bitten it back, but Charlotte whispered, "I'm sorry ... but I've got to get you out of here. Damn, how could I have been so stupid?"
She was coughing as she spoke, but continued to propel him forward. Or somewhere.
It became easier to breathe, at least not as smoky, though the pain resonating in Vin's chest made breathing difficult anyhow. Charlotte was half dragging him, half supporting him, and Vin was relieved as his eyes began to clear. Just in time to see they were heading down stairs. Aw hell, no wonder he was in so much pain! Charlotte's coughs were becoming less frequent, and she was muttering, "I'm not gonna let Boudreau get you, Vin. That won't happen."
They were reaching ground level now, and Charlotte propelled him from the hospital. Fresh air filled his lungs. They were hurrying toward the car, Charlotte almost seeming frantic as she softly chanted, "Almost there, almost there, almost there ... c'mon, Vin, c'mon, honey, we're almost home free." And then he was being shoved into a car, if you can gently shove anyone. His head was shielded from any more blows by her hand, then she swung his legs into the car.
A half second after that, Charlotte was on her side of the car, starting the engine, silently praying. He thought she was praying, at least. She breathed a soft sigh of relief. Vin finally managed to focus on something other than the pain. Charlotte was pulling out of her parking space, her eyes flickering behind them, watching something in the rear view mirror. Her face twisted with terror, and she pulled him toward her, slouching in her seat.
The bullet tore through the car, where his head had only been a moment ago. But Charlotte kept driving with one hand, keeping her free hand on his shoulder to keep him from raising. Not that he could. The pain had incapacitated him again. Wracked with pain, exhausted from the events of the last few moments, and worried sick about Priscilla Meadows, Vin finally gave up his fight and passed out.
Charlotte Richmond thought she had been angry a few days earlier, when she found out that Vin Tanner had been beaten up to keep him away from her, and Adriana Wilmington threatened. That was nothing compared to the rage she felt now. She gently stroked the back of Vin's head, now resting in her lap. It hindered her driving, but better that than a bullet in him. And she thought back to what had led her to this point.
Over the last three days, she had been stocking the cabin with supplies and continuing to learn more about the post-release plans. She had discovered that Vin would be staying with Dr. Meadows, and Charlotte revised her own plans, especially after learning that there would be a small party for Vin at Adriana's dorm. That was when she began questioning her own conviction that her husband was behind the beating. She knew Dr. Meadows loved Vin, she had seen evidence of that over the last few days. Why, then, would the archaeologist be trying to warn the man who had instigated the beating?
There was something else. Will wouldn't have sent men to beat up Vin. That was too impersonal, too ... indirect. Will would have wanted to settle things between the two of them. Something she had forgotten in her anger. And Charlotte began to realize she had made a terrible mistake, possibly even fatal to the young man in her car. Plans underwent yet another revision as she began to consider that taking Vin away might prove to be a bad idea.
She had been at the hospital today to talk to Dr. Meadows and Vin before he was released from the hospital, but it was then that the real criminal had made his move. Charlotte had just reached the second floor, where Vin had been staying these last few days, when it began. It wasn't until she saw the big man that she realized just how big her mistake had been. It hadn't been Will at all who attacked Vin ... but Richard Boudreau.
Charlotte had nearly fainted from shock and horror. It was only the sight of Dr. Meadows deliberately tipping over Vin's wheelchair, to make it harder for Boudreau and his goons to reach the young man, which snapped her out of it. There wasn't time for her to be swooning like the heroine out of some godawful romance novel! Especially not after Boudreau backhanded the woman. Charlotte growled under her breath, and used the smoke to her own advantage to reach the fallen guide. She didn't know where or when, but Boudreau would pay for that!
As she drove away from the hospital, Charlotte realized how lucky she had been. Apparently, Boudreau and his goons hadn't thought to protect themselves from the smoke bombs they had used, and they were blind. Charlotte could barely see herself, but she had spent so much time in the hospital during the last three days, she could navigate the distance between herself and Vin. With trouble, yes ... but she had done it.
She needed help, though. Not right away, she had to get to some place safe before she headed up to the cabin. Maybe a diner, or the truck stop where she, Will, and Doug had met Adriana two years earlier? Perfect. Charlotte headed in that direction, checking over her shoulder every few minutes for someone following her. Yes, she would call Adriana from the truck stop. God knew, that girl had no reason in the world to help her, but she would help Vin. Charlotte had faith in that.
About an hour and a half later, she pulled into the parking lot of the truck stop, and began dialing the number for Adriana's dorm on her cell phone. Bless that girl's heart ... on the last day of the dig, Adriana had quietly slipped her telephone number into Charlotte's backpack. Just in case. Adriana answered on the first ring, but before she had a chance to say anything other than 'hello,' the words were rushing out of Charlotte's mouth like water from a dam.
"Adriana, I've been such a fool, I need your help. It was Boudreau all along, Adriana, I thought it was Will, but it was Boudreau, and he just tried to kill Vin at the hospital. I was there to talk to Vin and Dr. Meadows, and ... " Charlotte began, but the words ran out as reaction finally set in. She had been running on pure adrenaline during the last few hours, and now, that adrenaline rush was over. She couldn't stop shaking, much less start talking again.
"I know, Charlotte ... just calm down. Did you get Vin out of there?" Adriana asked.
Her voice was unbelievably calm, as if they were talking about a mildly interesting movie she had seen the previous week. But it was exactly what Charlotte needed. She took a deep breath, then replied, "Yes. I used the confusion to get him safely away from Boudreau. I may have hurt him more, he hasn't woken up since we left the parking lot, but I had to protect him somehow. Adriana, I need your help."
"You've got it. Where are you now? According to the news report, the attack at the hospital was almost two hours ago," Adriana replied. Charlotte's breath caught as she heard something new in Adriana's voice. Fear. The girl continued, the strain of the last few hours now more pronounced, "Dr. Meadows is okay ... according to the news I got, she has a bruise alongside her face, but nothing beyond that."
"At least she's okay, I saw her go down. She tipped Vin's wheelchair over, to make it harder for the goons to get to him. Uhm ... where I am. The ... the truck stop where you used to work, where you were working when Doug, Will, and I first met you. I'm heading to my cabin, the one my mother left me. Here are the directions," Charlotte began, some of her own tension beginning to ease. She wasn't alone any more. Someone was here to help.
It had been a helluva day. She had heard from Dr. Meadows that morning that Vin was to be released, and it had been Adriana's plan to dove-tail her own visit with his release. However, those plans were sidetracked when Buck had called. It had been a good six months since she had talked to him last, and Buck was full of news. His little godson, Adam Larabee, was growing by leaps and bounds, and Chris and Sarah were so happy.
Funny. There had been a time, not so long ago, when hearing that would have hurt. But Adriana had other things on her mind these days, and for some reason, her earlier crush on Chris had eased back into the brother-sister relationship of her early teen years. And so she listened to Buck chatter on about Chris and Sarah and Adam, about what he had been doing lately. He paused for breath long enough to ask how she was, and Adriana had told him a little about Vin, which prompted her brother to tease her immediately.
They talked for more than an hour, before Buck finally had to hang up. Work was calling after all, he said, and Adriana could just about imagine his eyebrows waggling suggestively. She had bit back her laughter. Bucklin would never change. He was still bigger than life, big-hearted and so optimistic that even his unattractive little sister would find someone to love her.
Adriana had smiled as she hung up the phone, still thinking of Chris. That fierce Larabee protectiveness had caused a few arguments between Chris and herself. That was how she found herself inured to the infamous Larabee glare, in fact. There had been countless times in the year before she finally ran away from home, when she had decided she would do something and Chris tried to stop her. He had tried to talk her out of it ... then glare her out of it ... then finally gave up.
Only a few minutes after she had hung up the phone, Adriana was startled to hear Carly screaming from down the hall,"Adriana! Turn on the tv, now!" Swearing under her breath ... what now, dammit ... she did so. Her blood ran cold as the newscaster told of the attack at the hospital. Second floor. Where Vin was. Vin was being released today, had probably already been released. Ohhh, shit!
She had wanted to go to the hospital immediately, but both Dawn and Carly had talked her out of that. Actually, it wasn't even really talked ... it was more a matter of them threatening to tie her to her chair if she didn't stay put. Chris may have threatened it, but he wouldn't have followed through. Not after the last time he had tried that, when she was fifteen. Dawn and Carly, however, would follow through, and Adriana wasn't angry enough to risk hurting them.
And so, she had remained in her room, with only Carly and Dawn keeping her company. She would have preferred to be left alone, but that wasn't about to happen. So she quietly accepted the company in the spirit it was offered, at least Carly and Dawn wouldn't try to make conversation. They both knew her better than that. She had finally quit her job at the beginning of the week, unable to handle much more. Something she had forgotten to tell Vin. It was from Dr. Meadows that she learned Vin was missing.
Dr. Meadows didn't know where he was ... she had been backhanded for trying to protect him. Upon hearing Adriana's distressed gasp, the woman immediately reassured the girl, she was fine, just a bruise on her cheek. Not to worry, Vin was the one who needed them now, and a weakness had hit Adriana then. She had scoffed at the sudden realizations faced by heroines in romance stories she had read as a young girl.
But now she understood, because that simple statement, that Vin was missing and needed them, forced her to realize something. She cared about Vin Tanner. A lot. And she just didn't want to think about what her world would be like if he was dead. Adriana was a practical girl, she didn't believe in dying for the love of someone. She didn't even believe in dying of a broken heart, and the 'I can't live without you' sentiment wasn't one she understood. She had spent the vast majority of her life doing without people ... the idea that someone could mean so much to her that she would die if they did, was totally foreign to her.
But she could see now, how someone's presence could brighten things. Vin Tanner was such a person. He was quiet, not one given to flash or drama, but that was one of the things she liked about him. She liked his smile, the way he listened and didn't judge. Liked the way his eyes were focused on only her when she talked about history. While Vin had said that he liked it better to hear her talk about history, rather than read it, Adriana had a suspicion about that. She remembered the way she put her foot in her mouth at the library, so she kept that to herself.
And dammit, he could make her laugh! For that matter, she could make him laugh, which really surprised her ... and alarmed her a little. She didn't want to make him laugh, not when he was healing from a beating. Adriana had asked him about firing a rifle ... she could use a handgun, it gave her more control, from her perspective at least. Vin, she had learned, was what had been called a 'sharpshooter.' Dead accuracy, and from a distance.
Intrigued, she had begun peppering him with questions about shooting a rifle compared to shooting a pistol. When she admitted that she was a decent shot with a handgun, but absolutely miserable with a rifle, Vin had blinked and asked, "Why? It's just like licking butter off a knife." Adriana had raised her eyebrows and observed that was a real good way to cut your tongue. Vin had stared at her for a split second, then burst out laughing.
Of course, that didn't help his battered torso much, and it took her several moments to calm him down, from the laughter and the pain. At last, he gasped, "Damn, girl ... warn a body next time you figger on sayin' somethin' like that! Ain't you never heard 'bout butter knives?" Adriana had giggled, pointing out that he didn't specify a butter knife. He thwapped her in the head with a pillow, using his good hand, and Adriana promised retribution when he wasn't a cripple. Which set them off again.
Adriana had been lost in her thoughts for so long, when the phone began ringing, she nearly fell off her bed in shock. The second shock came from the discovery that Charlotte was on the other end of the phone, she had Vin. And she needed help. Well, after hearing the first two, it was a better than even guess that she would need help. The police were still sorting things out at the hospital, and Charlotte's story confirmed Adriana's fear. It had been Boudreau who caused the attack at the hospital.
She listened intently to the directions, hoping against hope that Boudreau wouldn't realize Vin was with Charlotte, but the way their luck was running, she wouldn't bet on it. After reassuring the other woman that help was on the way, and urging her to get moving, Adriana made two quick decisions, and hoped she wouldn't regret one of them. She grabbed her pouch and keys, double-checked to make sure her wallet was inside, and ran lightly down the hall to Carly's room.
As usual, the door was open when Carly was in, and the blonde girl looked up as Adriana crossed the threshold. The archaeology major said, "Charlotte rescued Vin at the hospital, she saw the attack. She's taking him to her mother's cabin for safety. I need you to call the police, my bet is that Boudreau knows that Charlotte took Vin, and that he's following her. I'm on my way there." Carly was on her feet as soon as Vin's name was mentioned.
"These are the directions?" she asked and Adriana nodded. Carly asked almost hesitantly, "Did you know Will Richmond is on his way here?" Adriana blinked ... huh????? Carly continued, "Yeah, when he heard about the attack at the hospital, and Vin turned up missing, he thought it was you who rescued him, and brought him here. He hung up on Dawn before she could tell him that it wasn't you." Which took the other decision out of her hands, even though she had decided against excluding Will Richmond from this.
Perfect. Adriana squeezed the other young woman's hand and said, "Not to worry, I'll deal with Mr. Richmond myself. Take care, and watch your back." It was a phrase she had heard from Chris, warning Buck to take care when Chris wasn't around, and it seemed appropriate now. Carly nodded and Adriana strode to the stairs, then jogged to the main lobby of the dorm. She knew that when Will arrived, that would be his first stop.
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