Margie smiled at her, "You look like you feel better."

"Yes, I do," Rainey, said, going over to put the bag by the recliner, "Thank you for suggesting the shower. I really needed one. I hadn't noticed how dirty I was."

"You were focused on Katie," Margie said.

Rainey looked at the sleeping Katie, "I guess I was."

What Margie said next, surprised Rainey. She looked at Katie and back at Rainey and said, "My granddaughter is gay. I can only hope she finds a love like the one you two have for each other. You were all Katie talked about this morning when we were alone."

Rainey did not know what to say. She had not thought about being a lesbian role model. Rainey could not tell Margie she had known Katie less than a week. She at last said, "Katie is a special person. I do hope your granddaughter finds someone like her."

Margie smiled at Rainey, saying, "I wouldn't mind if she found someone like you, a woman who carries a gun. I'd feel like she was safer and you're a special kind of person yourself, and pretty, I might add."

"Thank you, Margie. That is nice of you to say," Rainey said, feeling her cheeks blush.

"Well, I'll leave you two alone now. I'll bring you fresh coffee, the next time I come in. There's water and ice in the pitcher there, if you get thirsty. If you need anything, just push the call button."

Again, Rainey was alone with Katie. She sat in the recliner and turned the TV on. She watched the news channel, with the volume turned off. Rainey was not surprised to see her name go by on the news ticker at the bottom of the screen. They even showed an old FBI photo, from a very early field office assignment, years ago. She was much younger then and smiling. Then the image of her grim face appeared, pushing by the reporter and being accosted by JW.

Rainey was glad the volume was off, so she did not have to listen to the two analysts discussing her case. Pictures of Katie, from the school web page, and a few of her in public settings, standing with JW, faded in and out on the screen. Then JW's official State Representative photo zoomed in and stayed on the screen, while the analysts seemed to be discussing his political career.

Rainey turned the TV to an episode of The Andy Griffith show. She did not need volume. She knew them all by heart. Rainey thought to herself how nice it would be if they all lived in Mayberry, where the worst criminal was Otis, the drunk. Nevertheless, Rainey did not live in Mayberry, with the kind sheriff and goofy deputy. She looked at Katie's brutalized body and wished it so with all her heart.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR.

Mackie arrived two hours later with Rainey's clothes and laptop. The lab was finished with Rainey's car, so Junior drove it to the hospital. Mackie gave her the keys and told her where it was parked. Mackie had updated Ernie, who was presently shopping for all the things Rainey would need, when she brought Katie home from the hospital. She remembered taking care of Rainey and knew what it would take to care for Katie. Ernie had the code and was going over to change the sheets and clean up the cottage. She needed to do something and that was all she could really do at the time.

"Ernie said your mother called," Mackie told Rainey, while they stood outside Katie's door.

"What did Ernie tell her?"

Mackie laughed, "No comment."

Rainey laughed, too. Drawing looks from the nurses in the hallway. They quieted down, well as much as possible for Mackie, whose bass voice seemed to rumble down the hall.

"Thank you, for doing all this," Rainey said.

"I was glad to get out of here. I stopped by the house to check in with Thelma," he said.

Thelma was Mackie's wife. A long suffering woman, who was used to Mackie vanishing for days, and let him do it with no argument from her. Thelma knew she could not tie Mackie down. Their marriage was a happy one, for the most part, and they had recently celebrated their thirty-five year anniversary.

"How is Thelma?" Rainey asked, being polite. She was not expecting the long story that came next.

Mackie answered, "She's overloaded with tomatoes from the garden right now. They are everywhere in the house. I went to take a shower and had to take the tomatoes out of the tub first. I'm serious; there are hundreds of tomatoes in that house. She's canning as fast as she can, but she can't keep up. She sent a bag with me to leave at the cottage. She said to tell you her prayer group has you and Katie on their list."

A nurse passing them in the hall said, "Bring some tomatoes up here, we'll help her get rid of them." She laughed and walked away.

"Thank Thelma for me," Rainey said, "the next time you talk to her."

Mackie said, "I will," then asked, "Have you heard anything from Danny?"

"He sent me an email with Taylor's picture attached. I need to look at it," Rainey answered.

"Well, I'll let you get to it," Mackie said, preparing to leave. "I'll be in the waiting room, if you need me."

Rainey told him good-bye and took her things into Katie's room. Katie was still sleeping, so Rainey went into the bathroom, taking her belongings bag with her. She took the pistol out of the bag and redressed this time in the jeans and two tee shirts Mackie had brought her. He knew about the undershirt she always wore to hide the scar. She tucked the pistol back in her pants and covered it, with the FBI jacket she retrieved from the bag. She was not totally ready to believe that Danny had the killer with him. He could be turned loose any minute, if he asked for a lawyer. Rainey was taking no chances. She put her hair back up and went back out to the recliner.

Rainey used the Wi-Fi signal from the hospital and got on line. She pulled up her email and found the one from Danny. She clicked on the attachment and the picture of a dark haired, blue-eyed man appeared on her screen. He was handsome and had a dazed look in his eyes. Rainey zoomed in on his face and tried to imagine it covered in leather. She stared into his eyes. It could be him, but she was not sure. She looked at his body hair, trying to recognize a pattern of growth, anything that might spark a memory. Rainey simply had not seen enough of her attacker's face to make a positive identification. It was a dead end.

"What are you looking at?" Katie was talking to her.

Rainey set the laptop aside, closing the lid so Katie could not see the picture of Taylor.

"Hey sweetheart, you had a long nap," Rainey said, standing up and going to the side of the bed. "How do you feel?"

Katie touched her face. "I think the pain meds are wearing off."

"I'll call the nurse," Rainey said, reaching for the call button.

"Wait," Katie said, stopping her. "What day is it?"

Rainey let go of the call button. "It's Tuesday afternoon."

"Did someone call my school and tell them I wouldn't be there?" Katie asked.

"I think they knew, Katie. You were taken from the school Monday night," Rainey reminded her.

Katie thought for a second, trying to remember. "I forgot about that. Why can't I remember?"

Katie was growing agitated again. Rainey said to her calmly, "Katie, the drugs you were given can cause amnesia for the time just before, during, and after you have been injected. Don't try to remember. It will come to you slowly or not at all. Pray for not at all, you don't want to remember what happened to you, take it from one who knows."

Katie was not affected by Rainey's suggestion that she not try to remember, she said, "It's so frustrating."

Rainey tried again to make her understand, "Katie, please concentrate on getting well. You need to not waste your energy trying to remember something that will probably always be a black hole for you."

Katie looked at Rainey, "Is that what happened to you? You don't remember."

Rainey saw that Katie was trying to come to grips with the fact that she may never remember the man who attacked her. Rainey spoke softly, "I don't remember very much at all and I was given a whole lot lower dosage than you received. I've come to terms with not remembering, because the parts I do remember are bad enough. I don't want you to remember. Do you understand that I'm trying to help you?"

Katie accepted what Rainey was saying finally, "I understand. You're trying to protect me."

Rainey squeezed Katie's hand and said, "I don't want you to hurt anymore than you already are. I want you to get well and come live with me for the rest of my life."

Katie smiled, letting the memory issues go for the moment, "Why Rainey Bell, are you asking me to marry you?"

Rainey laughed at herself, "I know it's crazy, we haven't known each other very long, but I can't think about a day without you in it. I've completely lost my mind over you, so yes, if you'll have me, I'll spend every moment making you happy. We'll eventually forget about all this, and I would like to live happily ever after with you."

Katie teased Rainey, "Well, that's a lot to process and I probably shouldn't make life changing decisions, in the condition I'm in."

Rainey was not deterred, "I'll wait. I'll wait as long as it takes. You've stolen my heart."

"Do you think you could steal my clothes from the house, so I don't have to see JW ever again, except when we go to court to end this sham marriage," Katie said.

Rainey smiled widely, when she asked, "Does that mean you're saying yes to living with me?"

Katie switched subjects, "I think I remember him arguing with you in a hallway. I told a nurse to keep him away from me. Did I dream that?"

"No, actually you called him an asshole. The nurse kind of picked up on the fact that you didn't want him around," Rainey said, still wondering about Katie's answer to her question.

"Even out of my mind on drugs, I didn't want him near me, I remember that," Katie said.

"He won't be coming back. I sort of threatened him," Rainey said.

Katie looked alarmed, "You didn't threaten to kill him, did you? He'll have you locked up for threatening a public official."

Rainey was proud of her answer, she thought she had handled JW nicely, "No, I just told him he didn't want me digging up skeletons. He got the picture pretty quick."

Katie was relieved. Then she asked, "What about my family, has anybody talked to them?"

"I'm sorry Katie, I don't know the answer to that, but I'll find out. I'll call them myself, if you want me to."

"Yes, please. Tell them I'm all right and not to come. I really don't want my family hovering over me in that little cottage."

Rainey brightened, "Does that mean you are saying, yes?"

Katie touched her face again. She said, "Yes, I want to live with you, now please call the nurse, my face is throbbing."

Rainey immediately pushed the red call button. Margie appeared almost magically at the door, syringe in hand.

"I bet it's time for another pain shot," she said, knowingly.

"Yes, please," Katie, said in desperation. Her pain level had increased significantly, in the short period she had been awake.

Margie inserted the needle in the tube and Katie visibly relaxed as the drugs began to circulate through her blood stream.

When Margie was finished giving the shot, she threw away the syringe and turned, calling Rainey to her. She said, "I'm going to bring you some ice bags. I want you to hold them on her face for ten minutes. It's time to get that swelling down. We couldn't do it before, because a side effect of one of the drugs she was on is hypothermia. Her body temperature is stable now, so we can start the ice."

Rainey did as she was told, holding ice bags on the sides of Katie's face, while she drifted under the effect of the pain medication. After ten minutes, Rainey removed the bags.

Katie whispered, "Thank you," without opening her eyes.

Soon, Katie returned to a deep sleep. Rainey went back to her laptop and shot Danny an email explaining that she could not identify the man in the photo. She also wanted him to get her the contact information for Katie's sisters and parents. Rainey was not going to call JW for their phone numbers, and Danny had more resources than she did at the moment. Rainey had forgotten to ask Katie what their names were. She spent the next few hours alternately holding ice bags against Katie's bruises and trolling the internet, reading everything she could find on Dr. John P. Taylor. Rainey also checked her email for a response from Danny.

Rainey got Katie's family contact information from Danny about five o'clock. She called the numbers from the bathroom and got voice mail on all of them. She left a brief message, giving them Katie's room number and an update on her condition. She told them to call back on that number to speak to Katie. Rainey hoped that was enough to keep them away from Chapel Hill. Katie had to understand, Rainey could not stop them, if they wanted to come.

Katie reawakened shortly after the phone calls had been made. She felt better this time and the swelling had gone down quite a bit. Katie felt like eating so she was given some soft foods, so she would not have to chew. Moving her jaws hurt. Rainey ordered a chef salad from the cafeteria and ate with her. More pain meds were administered and the cycle began again, Katie sleeping, Rainey applying ice packs and searching the internet. Night fell and Rainey finally went to sleep in the chair, waking when Janet, who was back on duty, came in and out, and when Dr. Marsden came by to check on Katie several times. He thought her progress was remarkable and thought she may be able to go home Wednesday afternoon. Rainey became very excited at the prospect of getting out of this hospital room.

The rest of the night, when they were alone, Rainey slept with her arm stuck through the railing, holding Katie's hand. For the first time in a long time, Rainey had sweet dreams.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE.

Rainey awoke again at sunrise, this time before Katie. She was standing over Katie's bed looking at the swelling that appeared to have mostly dissipated, in the night. Katie looked more like herself now, only with different shades of bruising on her beautiful face. Katie's eyes fluttered open. She stretched and smiled up at Rainey.

Rainey said, "Good morning."

"Good morning to you," Katie said, sounding much stronger.

"You sound like you're feeling better this morning."

"I do actually," Katie said, "and I think I could eat a horse."

That was good news to Rainey. The more food Katie could consume, the stronger she would feel. Maybe they would get to go home today. Rainey did not want to get Katie's hopes up, so, she did not mention it.

"Your face looks better," Rainey said.

"I haven't looked in a mirror," Katie said. "I know I must look terrible."

Rainey smiled, again, "You look great, to me."

Margie walked in with Janet. Margie said, "Okay, Rainey, you'll have to leave for a few minutes. We're going to remove these IVs and the catheter and let you take Miss Katie here, for a walk before breakfast. How does that sound?"

Katie answered for Rainey, "That sounds fantastic. I'm ready to get out of this bed."

Janet beamed, "Katie, you seem so much more alert today. That's wonderful."

"No offense ladies, but I'm ready to go home," Katie answered.

Rainey laughed at Katie, who was so much more herself and entertaining the nurses, while they poked and prodded. Rainey stood outside the door, waiting. In just a few minutes, she heard Katie moan loudly. Rainey burst through the door, to find Janet and Margie changing the sheets. She turned toward the bathroom, to see Katie sitting on the toilet. That sound Rainey heard was the pure moan of ecstasy Katie let out, when she was finally able to urinate on her own. Rainey remembered well her own experience with the catheter and laughed aloud at Katie's contented expression.

Rainey took Katie for a couple of spins, up and down the ICU hallway. They went as far as they could go, without being seen by the reporters, who were constantly coming and going, to get their shot of the glass ICU doors for their evening newscasts. Rainey held Katie's gown closed in the back, at Katie's insistence, while Katie held on to Rainey, when she felt a little woozy. Disconnected from the tubes, Katie's arms reanimated as she talked.

Katie waved her hands around, punctuating her plea, "Please, Rainey, you have to convince them to let me go home with you, today."