Chapter 25

Paul and Andi were soon cuddling in a hospital bed in the Atherton’s mansion’s mini-hospital, the saline solution and vitamin shots were helping Andi recover, but as far as Andi was concerned, the real help was knowing Paul was safe and uninjured. She told Paul the dream she had, including the dreams within the dream, often breaking down in tears. “It was so real!” she gasped. “I still can remember everything. You know how dreams fade on you? Not this one. Every moment is still there in my mind ... underwater, waiting to drown and watching you swim toward me ... seeing the knife slip on the rope and cut your leg ... It was awful.”

“Shhhh, it’s ok. We’re all here, we’re all ok, and we’re going to honeymoon here on Nisi Arcadia if you want to stay. Lucy and Gus and John can fly home straight from here, and the girls just love Yi. Did you know that she’s trying to teach them fractions?”

“Fractions?” Andi perked up. “They’re so much better at math than at reading.” She was silent for a long time. “Are you mad at me?”

“No, honey, we’re on vacation! I tasted that lemonade. It’s really good, I can see why you got carried away.” Paul gave her a kiss on the top of her head.

“I haven’t been that drunk in so long ... I think the last time was when I married Frank.”

“That explains a lot,” chuckled Paul, who received a swat for that statement. “But what you said about how he treated you ... how he’d beat you ... I understand so much more now ... honey, there’s something we need to talk about.”

Andi cringed. The words “there’s something we need to talk about” never have a good connotation. “Might as well say it...” she said, dreading the response.

“I don’t know how you found out. Judge Atherton just told me this morning, but videos exist. Frank really did video tape how they treated you and he released them to a porn distributer. Nicoletta and I are coming down like rolling thunder on those websites that have access to the videos, and they’re being very cooperative, because if they’re not, we’re going to be very, very rich. Denver PD has a warrant out for Frank’s arrest...”

“Oh God,” Andi said in a tiny voice, and buried her face in Paul’s chest.

“Judge Atherton invited all of us to stay here for a few days while she and I get the legal ball rolling and take care of that ex of yours, ok baby?”

“Your clinic!” she wept. “They’re going to find out and close your clinic.”

“Baby, this is not going anywhere, there will be nothing to find out, and besides, it’s not my clinic, it’s the VA’s clinic. The VA doesn’t close anything. Besides, it’s a pulmonology clinic. I’m not a pulmonologist, it’s your clinic - you’re going to be the lead.”

“Lead? Me?” She looked up at Paul, her eyes brimming with tears, but a smile of determination bloomed.

Looking in on the couple from the doorway, Miss Nicoletta smiled. “Well, I think my work here is done. Care to join me in a drink, doctor?” and she elbowed Lucy and gestured with her head toward a room at the end of the hall with a large teak bar.

“I think that would be an excellent idea,” said Lucy.

“Good, because I think our friends Macy and Gus have beaten us to the punch.”

“I’m hoping for something a little stronger than punch,” said Lucy with a rueful grin.

Macy was indeed sitting at the bar, as were Stan and Sunny, while Gus stood behind the bar serving drinks. As Nicoletta and Lucy found a seat at the bar, Gus poured something cold and frothy into margarita glasses. It tasted of citrus and vodka and whatever it was; it was exactly what Lucy needed.

A thought occurred to the ER doctor, and she set her drink down and turned to Miss Nicoletta. “You said ‘my work here is done.’ Are you implying that you manipulated the events of the past hours?”

The judge just smiled at Lucy and took another sip of her Gus-arita. “My dear doctor, that would imply that I have powers that verge on the divine. That would be impossible, or possibly blasphemous.”