Kwai Chang Caine found himself once again in a hospital room, sitting next to his son and waiting for him to awaken. It was becoming a disturbingly familiar habit; one he desperately wished Peter would allow him to break. LoSi waited just outside the door and Kermit had gone to collect Annie. As much as it broke his heart, he knew that Annie, not himself, would be of greater assistance to Peter's recovery this time around.
Peter stirred. Caine moved closer to his son and gently brushed the hair away from his forehead.
"Peter. Peter, everything is alright, my son."
Familiar hazel eyes opened slowly and blinked once.
"Pop? Wh...what has happened? Where are we?"
"You are once again in the hospital, my son. The drug in your system has been counteracted and the doctor said you will be fine." Caine's hand rested on Peter's head. He was reluctant to lose even the slightest contact with his child.
Peter scanned the room, confirming his father's words. For a blissful moment, he found himself unable to remember what had occurred that would have landed him back in his least favorite, though often visited, hangout. And then reality crashed down on him.
"Mother? Dad, what...how..." Confusion and anger forced Peter to break off his question. He was not even sure what it was he wished to ask, much less if he wanted to hear the answer.
"Shhh, Peter. We will speak of this after you have regained your strength," Caine assured him. 'Not to mention after I have had a chance to figure it out for myself,' he added silently.
Just then the door was pushed open to reveal a very worried Annie Blaisdell. She moved over to Peter's bedside, guided by Kermit. Caine stood and indicated the chair. Kermit complied, moving Annie to the now-vacant chair and placing her hand on Peter's. He hovered protectively over his "little brother" for a moment, visually scanning Peter to satisfy himself of the kid's relative health.
"Well, kid, it looks like you're gonna pull through. I'm gonna go call the precinct and let everyone know you're okay."
"Thanks Kermit. For everything."
Kermit nodded once and left before Peter could see how worried he actually was for the younger man. Kermit had easily seen the deep pain and anguish in his friend's eyes. Not that he could blame him, the emotional trauma Peter was going to have to deal with was unfathomable. Kermit quietly vowed to be there for Peter, as Peter had been there for him in the past. As he dropped the necessary coins into the pay phone, he mentally dared Laura Caine to cross his path, even once.
*******
Annie stroked Peter's hair until he fell asleep once again. The doctor had told them that Peter would be released the next day provided he get plenty of rest and promised to take at least a few days off work. Peter's immediate protest to this was effectively cut off by Annie's determined declaration,
"Don't worry Doctor, he will be coming home to stay with me for the next couple of days. Believe me, he won't even be thinking about going into work."
She turned immediately to Peter and laid a finger gently on his lips. He swallowed his complaints and grinned sheepishly at the doctor.
"Would you want to go up against that?" he queried.
As soon as she was certain Peter was sleeping soundly, she asked Caine to take her to the cafeteria for a cup of coffee. Caine leaned down and kissed Peter's forehead and then took Annie's arm to lead her out of the room. He knew that what she really wanted was an explanation of what had occurred. He only hoped that he could provide one without falling apart. His control, since the moment he had laid eyes on Laura and learned what she had become, had been tenuous at best.
*****
The nurse entered Laura's room to administer the second round of medication. The doctor had assured her that Ms Caine had been sedated, so she was surprised to see the patient not only awake, but out of her restraints. She barely had time to register her shock before a blur of movement caught her eye and a sharp pain in the back of her neck drew her into darkness.
Laura Caine quickly stripped the young nurse and slipped the white uniform on. She knew she only had minutes before the doctor, making his rounds, found the unconscious girl and put two and two together. She had to find Peter and get him out of this horrible place. Patting the uniform pocket, she felt reassuring weight of a set of keys, and smiled wickedly. She moved smoothly to the door and walked out of the room without a soul being the wiser.
*******
Caine sat next to Annie and sipped his tea. Quietly, he began to relate last night's events.
Annie sat listening in shocked silence. By the time Caine finished, she had moved far past outrage and bordered on ballistic.
"His mother did all of that to him? Oh my God, Caine. How could any mother be so...so...vicious to her own child?"
"Laura is sick, Annie. I do not know what is wrong, but I felt an impenetrable darkness surrounding her soul. She believes that her actions concerning Peter are justified, that she was doing what was best for him." Caine shrugged. "I do not know what to say to my son, to our son, to help him get through this. I do not know how to get through it, myself."
Annie reached across the table to grip his trembling hand. She squeezed it in gentle support and replied,
"You'll get through this with the help of those of us who love you, and so will Peter. Now, let's get back to our son. Call me a worry wart, but I don't want to leave him alone for very long."
Caine grinned slightly. "You are not a...worry wart? You are a mother. His mother."
As they exited the cafeteria, neither Caine nor Annie sensed the woman watching them and leveling a stare of hatred at Annie that would have chilled even Kermit to the bone.
END Part 1
