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Chapters
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
 
 
 

Zero Tolerance: No Man or Woman has the Right - REVIEW THIS STORY

Written by Cat Smith
Last updated: 01/02/2007 02:01:11 AM

Chapter 2

Several hours later, Remy awoke with a jolt as the plane landed in LA airport. Blinking, he shook his head to clear away the cobwebs. His first thoughts were for his daughter, but a quick glance down at her reassured him - she was sitting very happily, colouring in her new book. Letting his breath out in a sigh, he watched as the seatbelts sign went out, but the ‘No smoking' sign remained on. The ghost of a craving irritated slightly - he had stopped smoking when Belle was pregnant, but he had then been smoking for six years, and it'd been Hell to give up.

Watching with mild interest as the people started bustling about, gathering their things, and trying to be the first out in the open air, he stopped Terri trying to get up, and waited until the crowds had gone. Then, after having made sure she had all her things, he let her get up, and smiling, they made their way off the plane. Stretching his lanky bones, Remy yawned. He hated flying with a passion, as he got terrible jet-lag, and even worse cramps from the small space. Wincing, he looked down at Terri as they made their way to passport control. With a frown, he noticed her wheezing.

Kneeling down, he asked her, "Y' okay, ma cherie?"

Clouded blue eyes looked at him as she nodded. "‘m just a bit tired, da." She then yawned, as if puctuating the comment. Nodding, unbelieving, Remy just started wondering where the nearest hospital was.

After passing easily thru passport and baggage control, Remy hurried Therese to a taxi. Climbing into the yellow cab, with it's torn, brown upholstery, and its scruffy, dazed looking driver, Remy smiled slightly at him, politely.

"De nearest hospital, please."

The taxi driver snarled at him. "Que?"

With a surprised look, Remy nodded. Okay den, an illigal immigrant. Best start ‘memberin' y' Spanish classes, bo'.

"Umm... hay un hospital por aqui?"

"Sí." With that, the taxi driver started off, grumbling in Spanish. Remy pursed his lips, the surprised look still nestled on his handsome face.

Okaaay. I don' actually recall dat I jus' said I wan'ed t' go to de hospital, but hey! Smiling and shaking his head, Remy swept a hand thru his hair, hoping the rest of his stay in LA would be a whole lot better than this. A feeble cough roused him, and he looked down at Terri worridly. Her breathing was again laboured, and she was leaning against him heavily.

"Terri?" She didn't answer him. On the edge of panic, he pushed it down, and cupped her head up to see her face. It was blanched white, and her eyes were closed. "Merde! We nearly dere?!"

The taxi driver only glared back at him, not understanding a word. A few moments later, the taxi pulled into a parking lot filled with ambulances, which Remy assumed to be the hospital. Handing the cab driver a twenty, and grabbing his daughter and his bags, he hauled himself out of the car and into the hospital. Nodding, and taking in the clerk's indication that it was upstairs, he dropped the bags in the waiting room with a kindly looking old man, and ran up the stairs. Running into the paediatric, a nurse stared at him.

"M' daughter, she stopped breathin', an' I can't wake her up."At her confused look, he explained, "De ER guy sent me up here wit' her."

"Damn," he heard her mumble under her breath. "Can ah have a doctah heah?!" Guesturing for him to lay her on a nearby bed, he did so, and she started examining her. She looked breifly up at Remy. "What's her name?"

"Therese. But, but ev'one calls ‘er Terri."

Nodding, "Okay. Terri, honey, can ya hear me? She asked as she started CPR. Within a minute, a doctor came up, pushing the nurse out of the way, taking note o the girl's condition, then looked up at Remy, then the nurse. Murmuring for a few seconds, he nodded, then another nurse came running up.

"Take care of the father, will you, Nurse?" He asked, as he and the other nurse wheeled Terri away. Remy tried to get past the nurse, but she held him back. "Dat's my daughter! She needs me!"

"Raht now, suh, what she needs is medical attention. Please let th' doctah give her that."

With a frustrated sigh, Remy nodded and let her lead him off to another room. Biting his lip, he blinked back the tears that threatened to erupt. As he entered the room, the nurse sat him down. She looked at him, big green eyes imploring.

"Suh... how'd this happen?"

Remy paused a minute, gazing at the nurse, wondering what to tell her. If he told her the truth, it would sound like he was lying. But, if he told her anything else, and it was proved to be wrong, then they would take her away from him, suspecting him of hurting her. Within a second, his decision was made.

"It... it was m' wife." He watched as the nurse blinked, not quite believing him. "She... she a master o' many martial arts, she... I don' t'ink she quite right." He added, in a whisper, pointing at his temple. The nurse looked at him, her mouth parting slightly, wondering whether to believe him. Then she nodded.

"Alright..." Then she looked him over. "Did... is that what happened ta ya arm?"

Looking down, surprised, at his arm, he moved his little finger, the only one not broken. "Oui."

"A doctah seen it?"

Remy shook his head emphatically. "Non. I had t' get ‘way from Belle - m' wife, ‘cause if she catches up to us..." Involuntarily, a shudder ran down his back. "I don' even want t' think what'll happen t' us."

After a moment, the nurse nodded, and started to take a look at his hand. "Where ya from. Cajun, ain'tcha?"

Remy nodded. "Oui. ‘M from N'awlins."

"Oh, ah visited there when ah was li..." Her eyebrows raised in shock as she felt his hand. It was soft - broken, and she could feel the muscles ripped thru his skin. "Mah God!! What the Hell happened ta ya!"

He shrugged, his eyes streaming from the pain. "She stamped ‘er foot on it."

Her expression one of horror, she carefully took off the bandage around his arm, and looked at it. Remy himself winced at that. It was purple, and swollen horribly. When the nurse didn't do anything, he looked up. She was just staring at it in aversion.

After a while, she managed to whisper; "That’s gotta hurt."

"Had more important t’ings t’ worry ‘bout, chere."

"Ah... ah guess... Is there anythin’ else ah should know about?"

Remy paused. "Not really."

The nurse shook her head, used to bad patients. She walked over to a sterile tray, and picked up a syringe. Having filled it with something Remy couldn’t see, she walked back to him, it in her hand. "Now, this might hurt a l’il."

Remy squinted at it. "What it be?"

"It’s a anaesthetic. It’ll make ya feel better, sugah." She gently took his arm in her hand, and looked at him. For a moment, he felt the urge to push her away -- the last time he had been syringed, it had been Belle. He eventually persuaded himself that the nurse wouldn’t hurt him, so he nodded gently -- seeing the state of his arm had started to make him feel the pain. Inserting the needle gently into his arm, he imagined he could feel the cold liquid shoot up his arm.

"Y’all are gonna need this X-Rayed, hell, ah’m not even sure if ya gonna be able ta use it again..." She looked up at him. She scowled, and removed his sunglasses. The drug already slowing his reflexes, Remy tried too late to stop her. The glasses cluttered to the floor as she stared at him in what he thought could only be fear. But she didn’t run. Slowly bending down to pick up the Ray-Bans, she asked if he was a mutant. Feeling giddy, he laughed.

"Mmm-hmm. What gave it away?"

She cocked her head, and smoothed his hair away from his face so she could see his eyes. "Ya eyes... they’re beautiful."

Even thru his drugged intoxication, Remy was surprised at that, and he looked at her, his eyes now going cloudy as his consciousness faded. "Really? No-one ev’ say dat ‘fore..." He caught her hand as he fell back onto the bed.

The nurse slapped him lightly, trying to revive him. "Damn," she muttered. "Th’ drug shouldn’t a’ worked like that..." She shook her head, then released her hand. As she did, she brushed past his stomach. She frowned, finding the material to be damp. Gently, not wanting to hurt him more than he already was, she lifted the shirt, and felt her heart sink. The bandage that covered his well defined abs was viscous with blood, and as she removed the material, she saw the deep wound that lay beneath. She looked at the door -- she needed help, Remy was badly hurt. But she knew the ER and OR wards were busy, as were every other ward, thanks to a seemingly deaf ambulance driver that thought "Take ‘em to St. Bernadette’s, we’re full!" meant "Bring ‘em on in, and bring ya friends!" With a shaky sigh, she went out anyway, to try and find a doctor.

As she opened the door, she found herself face to face with Doctor Wu, the manager of paediatrics. He was a diminutive, yet wise looking Chinese man, and he seemed out of place in the hospital, he should have been in 'Kung Fu' or something, the nurse thought.

"Oh, doctah! I’m glad yoah heah..."

His cold, clinical eyes looked at the man asleep on the bed. "Is that the father of the young girl just brought in?"

The nurse nodded. "Yeah." Then she added, sick fear suddenly overwhelming her, "Is... is she okay?"

The doctor nodded, then walked up to Remy. "I believe so. She has some internal bleeding, but we managed to stop it. If she makes it thru the night, she will live."

The nurse nodded, relieved - the father seemed so close to his baby girl, she felt... touched... by the love they shared. Watching as the doctor examined the man on the table, she winced as he prodded his arm. "I assume they got into a patch of trouble? What was it? Gangs?"

"Atch’ly," she started, walking up to him, "He said it was his wife." At that, the doctor looked up, an incredulous expression on his face. "He says she’s a martial arts master, and that she was, ummm, not quite right in th’ head."

"Indeed," he mumbled, and rumaged in Remy’s pocket. The hand emerged with a black wallet, and he handed it to her. "Take this down to reception, and have his medical records checked. His daughter's too." She did as she was told, albeit reluctantly, and hoped that the little girl -- Terri -- would be alright.

 

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