"The Unlikely Caregiver"

Kendall Green grasped his lawyer's elbow -- tightly enough to cause the man wince -- and pulled him away from the others. In a low growl he asked, "Tell me that again?"

"She wants you to take responsibility for the accident," the lawyer said, prying his arm away and massaging the pained joint. "You were at fault. You said so yourself."

"Well, of course I did," Kendall answered, glancing toward the woman reclined back in the wheel chair with that same, constant look of hatred for him that she'd shown ever since she leaned it was he who had struck her in the intersection three weeks earlier. "But I thought I could throw some money at her and make her go away."

"She doesn't want your money, Ken," the lawyer said, unfolding a sheet of paper and presenting it to him. "This is what she wants."

Ken read the document, his eyes widening as he scrolled down the lines. He summarized, "She doesn't think that paying her off ... or paying for a caregiver ... will teach me about being responsible for my actions ... so ... she wants me to care for her...?"

"You move her into your home," the lawyer began in a professional voice, obviously having already negotiated the deal with the woman's lawyer. "You provide her with 24/7 nursing care but you have to be available 12 hours a day to fulfill her every whim--"

"Every whim?" Kendall spat out, catching the attention of several of the court attendees standing about. Softer he growled, "What the hell does that mean, her every whim?"

"If she wants a bowl of ice cream, Ken," the lawyer said, his tone becoming insistent, "You get her a bowl of ice cream. If she wants a movie from Red Box, you get in your car. If she needs a foot massage... You get my point?"

"Bullshit," he said, turning the lawyer again and leading him toward the court room's exit. "Pay her off. A hundred grand ... two hundred. Just ... make it go away. Make her go away ... or I will!"

"Careful, Ken," the lawyer warned, glancing about for eavesdroppers. "This is the closest you've ever been to being outed. You don't need public scrutiny. You've spent the past two decades hiding your identity to protect your career. Then this. So far, no one had had a reason to fingerprint you. But if you push this ... if you go against the judge--"

"The judge?" Kendall growled, looking back to the woman in black talking to the bailiff and plaintiff's attorney. "She's backing this insanity?"

"You need to take this deal, Ken," the lawyer said. "Unless you want to abandon everything you are and disappear. There's too much heat. The only reason you aren't in jail now is you were sober when you blew that stop light and witnesses say she shot her bike down the center line, creating a third lane where only two existed. She may have contributed, but you were still found to be at fault."

Kendall looked to the woman he'd nearly killed when he slammed his Lincoln into her motorcycle, sending her over the hood of his sedan and out into the middle of the intersection to almost get run over by a Freightliner. She looked so pitiful, with casts encasing an arm and a leg and her body relaxed back at forty five degrees in the motorized wheel chair as if lounging in a recliner for the big game.

I did this, he thought to himself. Jesus, I almost killed that woman.

"I can't do my work," he whispered, "With someone living in my home."

"You can't do your work," the lawyer clarified, "Sitting in a cell after they take your prints and match them to the incident in '94."

The lawyer had a good point, of course. He stared at the woman for another moment, then met the eyes of the glaring judge, who had made it clear that she thought there was something more to Kendall than to which he'd been willing to admit.

"How long?" he asked with resignation.

"Until she's on her feet."

"That could be weeks!"

"Try months," the lawyer corrected, handing a settlement page to him. "After that, you pay for as much as three years rehabilitation, you replace her bike with a similar year and make, and you pay both her lawyer's fees and a $50,000 settlement."

"Jesus Christ!" he mumbled, taking the settlement, glancing it over, then snatching an ink pen from the lawyer's suit pocket and signing the document. "And all because I didn't see a stop light."

"Which happened because you were driving recklessly while trying to meet a time commitment.

Linda Bellview was a 22 year old college graduate who had bought her bike after graduation. She had plans to travel the countryside for at least the summer before she decided to get a job and settle down. Her boyfriend had hated the idea so she had broken up with him. She knew neither one of them were in love to begin with and this trip was something she had been looking forward to all school year.

Now sitting here looking at the man that had put her in this wheel chair, she had hatred in her heart. Something she had not felt up until she had found out who had hit her when she had been out riding. If that wasn’t bad enough, she had the bike only several days and at first they had tried to say it was her fault. Unfortunately all she could remember was riding up to the intersection and the next thing waking up in the hospital with pain soaring thru her broken body.

Again she glanced at this man, Kendall Green, who had tried to buy her off with money. Either that or find someone to take care of her so he didn’t have to himself. He had no idea who he was dealing with when he had hit her, but he would learn eventually. She didn’t want his money, all she wanted him to do was pay for it with his life, literally by taking care of her himself. The man probably never thought about anyone else but himself, she thought to herself.

This man had robbed her of her good looks, broken her young tender body nearly in half, filling it with uninterrupted pain, and postponed her long awaited trip for who knew how long, if ever. This wasn’t about money she had told her lawyer, this was making a man feel as close to what she was feeling everyday she was stuck like this in the wheel chair…a prisoner, one who was in a lot of pain and had no where to go with it. She had just learned a hard lesson that aged her enough to realize life wasn’t filled with those happy dreams she had once thought of.

Despite the Judge's order to be hands on, providing his personal attention to the needs of Miss Bellview, Kendall stayed away for the entirety of the young woman's move to his home. He'd arrived just as the Medical Transport vehicle was pulling out of the drive way and listened from around the hallway corner as the day and night nurses were given instructions by the doctor that the hospital has assigned to occasionally look in on Linda ... on Kendall's dime, of course.

He wasn't concerned about the money. That was the least of his worries. The money he'd be putting out on doctors, nurses, rehabilitation specialists, medications, and so much more paled in comparison to the money he'd be losing by not being able to do his job. He'd already refunded a fifty thousand dollar Euro deposit for a job that was supposed to start in Greece in six days, as well as taken his name out of the running for two others, one in Britain and the other right here in Portland.

His lawyer, Marcus Swanson -- who had represented Kendall in the discussions with the medical professionals -- bid farewell to most of them, then took the night nurse to Linda's room, telling the two of them, "Mister Green should be home shortly. I'll send him in as soon as possible."

"What the hell am I supposed to do here?" Kendall asked when the attorney came to the Den to talk to him. "I don't know anything about caring for a cripple."

"Okay, first thing," Marcus said, pouring himself a drink and offering his employer a refill of his own. "You never, ever refer to her as a cripple. She's injured, and you injured her. So, unless you want to put out a cool three million right now, I would suggest that--"

"What?" Kendall exclaimed, almost spitting his rum all over himself. He swallowed and asked, "What are talking about, three million ... as in dollars?"

Marcus donned a sheepish grin and asked, "Did you read the settlement like I asked? The whole settlement?" Seeing the tell-all expression on Kendall's face he explained, "If at any point in time you do not live up to the spirit of the agreement that you signed, Miss Bellview can petition the court to void the agreement ... and you pay a settlement of up to three million dollars. I told you to read it thoroughly."

The two went back and forth for several minutes about the situation, with Kendall looking for ways to get out of the deal and his legal professional shooting each of them down with very good arguments. A long moment of silence passed, broken only by a knock. Marcus opened the door, revealing the Night Nurse. "Yes...?"

"I need a few minutes to move into the room I was assigned next to Miss Bellview," she explained. "I was told that when I wasn't with miss Bellview, Mister Green would be ... yes?"

The private nurse looked directly at Kendall, but without the obvious animosity that he'd seen in the eyes of Linda, Linda's lawyer, the accident scene witnesses, and the Judge. That told Kendall that the Night Nurse hadn't yet been informed of the true story behind why her patient was here in his house at this time ... or of how Kendall had tried to get out of this by tossing a few bucks in Linda's direction. He thought to himself, at least one of them doesn't hate me ... at least, not yet.

Kendall started, "I have something I need to--"

"Mister Green would be more than happy...!" the lawyer cut in, turning to glare at his client. "--to watch Miss Bellview while you are situating yourself ... wouldn't you, Kendall?"

Kendall glared at the man for a moment, then looked to the nurse and smiled. "Of course I would. Can you give me five minutes?"

The nurse agreed and departed. Marcus turned to Kendall and was about to speak.

"Get out," Kendall said, trying but failing to sound harsh. He finished his drink, slamming down the tumbler, and headed out the door, saying as he passed his long time legal adviser, "But if this doesn't go well ... I'm still considering the whole disappearing her into the swamp idea."

The lawyer let him depart, then said comically, "Portland doesn't have swamps. It has wet lands."



Kendall has intentionally put Linda up in the bedroom at the far end of the home from his. It was quite an impressive abode, especially considering the lay low lifestyle of his occupation. He hadn't chosen the home, of course; he'd sort of assumed control over it after he'd dealt with its former owner. He didn't see any reason to let the home go to waste -- or worse, back to the finance company that had held the title -- so he'd moved in, and that was that.

When he arrived, he found her asleep, which didn't surprise him. Marcus had told him that the Doctor had given her a larger than normal dose of sedatives and pain killers for the transport. He entered the room and approached the bed slowly ... then just stood there for a long moment, staring at her. She seemed to peaceful, passed out this way; the anger and hatred was gone, revealing to him ... her beauty.

He stepped closer, looking her up and down. She was quite beautiful laying there -- sexy even -- when you ignored the casts, supporting pillows, and various braces. If she hadn't been all broken up -- and asleep, of course -- he would have been undressing for a woman in bed under his roof, and he could see him doing just that for a woman of this extraordinary attractiveness.

He wasn't sure what he was supposed to be doing here, so he quiet pulled a chair over closer to the bed, sat in it ... and within minutes had closed his eyes for the first sleep he'd enjoyed in almost three days...

Throughout the move into Mr. Green’s home, Linda had been in and out of consciousness, but mostly out of it. The drugs her doctor had given her saw to that, keeping her heavily sedated. That was her only relief and to think, she had never taken a pain pill or used any drugs in her life until now. She had not been one of those people that had experimented much with things, focusing her goals on her education and making plans for after graduation.

Now she practically lived for those pills that gave her much needed relief from the pain, although rarely was she given enough to knock her out. With making this move, that was why she was given such a heavy dose and very thankful for it. All her doctors and nurses had been kind and extremely helpful towards her without the selfishness Kendall Green had shown her.

She opened her eyes, blinking several times as things came into focus at least a little bit. Linda didn’t know how long she had been out of it, but did realize she was in a very spacious room. It smelled nice and clean, fresh, with a hint of lilac in the room. That’s when she noticed the lilac cut flowers in a vase beside her bed. That was also when she noticed that Kendall himself was sitting in a chair next to her bed and sleeping.

Her first thought was to yell at him and startle him awake, but she decided against this as she tried to focus what he looked like, especially while he slept. At least he was finally here in the room with her, she thought to herself. He was one of the tallest men she had ever seen and guessed that he was well over 6 foot, probably closer to 6 ½; this she had realized the first day she had seen him.

Right now he didn’t look so angry and wasn’t giving her that sickening look of ‘please lady, stay away, don’t touch me,’. She had seen it on his face almost every time he looked at her which wasn’t often. Those dark teddy brown eyes would have looked so much happier if he hadn’t felt disgusted by her broken body. His hair was dark brown and parted on the side, short and cropped to his neckline, which she rather liked. He did seem to keep himself in good shape and she figured he was either outside a lot or went to a tanning salon and a gym. She liked a man that took care of himself so well, clean shaven face and even having nails trimmed neatly, not one to chew on his nails which she found disgusting. Although his personality was a bit to be desired as he was bold and arrogant and thought money was the answer to everything. At least right now she could look at him without feeling that sickening hatred she had for the man. She could actually admire his looks a bit while he slept and she was sure he needed it.

Although now she was beginning to focus more on her pain as the drugs were slowly wearing off.

“Hey you there, sleeping on the job already!” she exclaimed, although her voice was soft, it’s harshness was well understood. “I’m surprised you’re even here to tell you the truth. Go get me some pain meds before these others wear off.” she demanded.

“Hey you there..."

Kendall started with a jolt at her sudden exclamation. His arms had been closed over his chest, and instinctively his right hand grasped the grip of the small semi-automatic .380 under his left arm pit, the weapon of choice when he was inside his own home and didn't want the burden of the larger 9mm or .45 he carried on the job.

He set his eyes upon her for a moment, then quickly scanned the room for others. They were alone, of course -- except for the Night Nurse, who was still situating her room down the hall -- but it was instinctive for him to survey his surroundings when unsure.

"...sleeping on the job already!” Linda continued. “I’m surprised you’re even here to tell you the truth. Go get me some pain meds before these others wear off.” she demanded."

He studied his house guest for a moment, wanting so badly to make a rude and crude comment about their one-sided arrangement. But he restrained himself, pulled his hand away from the pistol in an inconspicuous method, and stood.

"As you wish, m'lady," he said in a mocking tone, just before giving her a harsh glare and turning away. "Maybe something to help you sleep, too...?" He thought to himself, for about a thousand years. He was almost to the door when the Night Nurse came through the door and asked if there was anything she could do. "Miss Bellview needs some pain relief."

He departed without giving either one of them a chance to speak or act on the fact that it was he who was supposed to be providing care for Linda. Isn't it...? he wondered. The Night Nurse -- and the Day Nurse, for that matter -- were in charge of her medical needs, not him. Kendall's job, as his attorney had so professionally pointed out, was to be her ice cream man and window shades operator and...

Jesus, what have I gotten myself into.

He went to the kitchen and opened a bottle of beer, taking a long draw from it. He ran the accident through his head again. He'd been close behind his target when the man sped up to catch the end of a yellow light. Kendall checked traffic and knew -- or didn't -- that he'd be okay to run the red, as the traffic in all lanes was stopped and even when they got their green, wouldn't be up to speed earlier enough to cause an accident. So, he blew the red -- and smacked Linda as she flew out from between the two cars parked to his right.

His first thought had been to flee the scene. It wasn't because he didn't care about the rider he'd just hit; it was because his fingerprints were on file with the FBI, and the charges he faced could easily put a needle in his arm. But even before the motorcycle had ceased its skid across the blacktop -- even while the rider, a woman, was still sliding off the hood of his car -- blue and red lights had illuminated as the patrol car flew out of a parking lot a block away and sped quickly to the scene.

The witnesses were divided upon whether Linda had been in a legal lane or not, but it hadn't really mattered then and it certainly didn't matter now. Kendall had very quickly told the Officer he was at fault, presented the appropriate papers, and called his attorney, who had done a stand up job of keeping ink off the ends of his fingers.

The Night Nurse came into the kitchen, saying with a smirk, "You're up."

Kendall chuckled, responding, "Just remember who is paying your above average wages ... for now."

The Night Nurse's smirk disappeared quickly.

Kendall sucked down the rest of the beer, retrieved two more from the fridge, asked where Linda could have one considering the drugs she was taking, was told it wouldn't hurt, and dismissed the Night Nurse, telling her, "Get some sleep. I'll wake you at 5am. I have an appointment."

At the door of Linda's room, Kendall paused, studying her again in silence. She was a remarkable woman, beautiful and intoxicating, even broken. His stomach turned over for a moment with sympathy -- genuine sympathy -- for what she was going through, for what he had done to her. He realized that, for the first time, the thought of what was going on here and his regret about it was based on how it was affecting her life, not his.

You're getting soft, Ken, he told himself, heading into the room as she looked up and spotted him. You can't afford to get soft, buddy boy. He sat on the stool the Night Nurse must have moved next to the bed to deal with Linda and offered out one of the bottles, saying, "She said you could have one. And ... I think that maybe ... maybe we should get to know one another a little bit, seeing how we're going to be spending some time together. A lot ... of time together."

He smirked knowingly, and raised his bottle to his lips.

The way Kendall looked at her on the way out of the room didn’t get past her although it did make her grin. Let him make all the expressions he wants, roll the eyes, even give her that poor girl look of sympathy she didn’t feel was sincere, she thought to herself. It wasn’t going to change their agreement and she was giving him some pretty harsh looks and demands herself.

“Thank you,” she said taking the opened beer bottle he had handed her with the only hand that was free to move around. “I’m sure this will help me go back to sleep, which should make you happy enough.”

She took a sip of the beer and coughed a bit before taking another one. Linda wasn’t use to drinking anything other than an occasional glass of wine now and then.

“I suppose you’re right, we should get to know each other a little bit since I will be living under your roof for who knows how long. Maybe we could start out with a bit of what each others needs are. I mean, I’m sure there are things you won’t be able to avoid doing during this time and I’m willing to accept that. So long as it keeps you here most of the time.” She swallowed another sip of the beer, “This taste pretty good, at least to someone who isn’t much of a drinker.”

Linda watched him taking swallows of his drink, noting a bit of tension in the way he sat on the stool and probably from having to talk to her. She was surprised he even wanted to know anything about her considering what she figured he thought about her.

“I enjoy the morning paper although I’ll need help with that, or perhaps you could just read me the articles I usually read. Once a week I have to take a trip to the hospital which the transport will take me and I need you to go with. I want you to be there when they tell me of my improvement or no improvement, whatever. This way you won’t be in the dark at all about my condition and with me being slightly out of it by the drugs they will give me for the trip, you will be able to relay to me what they said. I most likely won’t remember.”

She watched closely to see how he was taking all this, grinning at him, wondering when he would break his composure and say something negative or deny her what she needed. In fact, she was doing her best to see how much she could push him. She even laughed to herself, him hating this idea, she wondered how he would have felt if she had let her father know what was happening and let him deal with it. That had crossed her mind several times and she was sure, for him, this actually was the better deal than letting ‘daddy’ handle it.

As far as my meals, I’m not a picky eater so you can cook pretty much what you like, but I insist you eat in here with me. I don’t like eating alone.”

She saw his eyebrows raise and waited a moment before continuing, “As for me, I’m 22 and just graduated high school and WAS planning on a trip until you hit me. Now I’m not sure if I’ll ever get to take that trip. In fact, my doctors can’t even say for sure I’ll ever get out of this damn wheel chair.” This time her eyes were harsh as was her voice when she looked at him. She hoped between the beer and the meds, they would kick in soon where maybe she could relax more around him. Truth be known, hatred was an awful feeling, but so was being imprisoned in this wheel chair.

“So what about you? Any girlfriend or wife I should know about, maybe some particulars about your life?”

“Thank you,” Linda said, taking the bottle. “I’m sure this will help me go back to sleep, which should make you happy enough.”

He suppressed his smirk as best he could, remembering suddenly the story of Rumplestiltskin and his long long nap. As he watched her sip at the beer -- wondering whether or not she'd ever had a good full flavored brew, as opposed to that cheap yellow piss water popular at college Frat parties -- he couldn't help but fantasize about simply drugging her into a lasting, near comatose state, as he'd done with that Iraqi terrorist while he'd been waiting for the CIA to come up with the hundred grand that he'd demanded for the man's capture.

She agreed that they should get to know what another and began describing how she saw the days ahead unfolding. It was obvious to Kendall that Linda was planning on taking full advantage of the Judge's order that he serve her well for as much as half of the day ... each and every day.

When she started getting into the nitty, gritty details, Kendall suddenly realized that, for the first time since his early 20s, he was in a what could only be called a relationship with a woman. Reading the paper to her...? Trips to the doctor, as if a pregnant wife going in for checkups...? Sitting down to dinner with her, albeit here in her bed as opposed to the kitchen table? My god ... I'm married!

“As for me," she continued, pulling Kendall from his reverie about living the domesticated life, "I’m 22 and just graduated [college] and WAS planning on a trip until you hit me."

Kendall's stomach turned over, followed quickly by an almost painful chill running up his spine. I hit her. Blame aside ... I hit her. I did this. He listened much closer to the rest of what she said, knowing that all of this had been because he'd slammed his car into her. The judge faulted him; many of the witnesses faulted him; the cop hadn't ticketed him because there had been reasonable doubt as to the legality of Linda's driving, but even he, Kendall knew, had faulted him as well.

Suck it up, Kenny boy, he said, listening to Linda go on. Suck it up ... make the best of it ... make up for what you've done ... and hope to god that this all works out and you don't find yourself sneaking off in the middle of the night for ... Argentina ... or Angola.

"Now I’m not sure if I’ll ever get to take that trip," she continued, driving the guilt home. "In fact, my doctors can’t even say for sure I’ll ever get out of this damn wheel chair.”

Kendall could feel his emotions getting the better of him, and -- knowing that his expression was going to give him away -- raised his beer bottle to his mouth, hiding himself a bit as he took one, two, three slow swigs at the bottle as she asked about his own personal life.

Bottle empty, he stood and headed for the door without answering her. He stopped at the entry, hesitated, then turned back. He studied her for a moment; she was stunning, with flawless pale skin and a head of fiery auburn. She reminded him so much of an operative he'd worked with the previous year, a woman he'd so nearly fallen in love with, just before she betrayed him, forcing him to put her down. The similarities went beyond looks, of course; Kendall had so nearly killed Linda as well.

"No wife," he said simply, deciding to expand on his answer only with, "No one'll be walking through the door, if that's what you're asking."

He turned away, ready to leave, when something made him stop. His mind was full of thoughts, thoughts foreign to him. It wasn't typical for him to care about other people; this was very unusual -- and uncomfortable -- for Kendall Green. But ... he knew this situation called for him to care about Linda. He looked back to her again, his gaze falling on the casts on her arm and leg.

"You'll get out of that chair," he assured her, almost in disbelief that he was talking this way to another human being. "You'll be up and around in record time ... back on your bike, your new bike ... taking your trip to where ever my money will take you. I guarantee it. And not just because I want you out of my hair--" He smirked a bit, just before he headed out of the room, adding, "--although I most certainly do."

As he headed down the hall, another round of chills crawled up his spine. What the HELL is wrong with you, Ken? He wasn't sure whether he was chastising himself for showing the existence of a heart behind that solidly built chest, or for not showing more of it. He met the Night Nurse again, telling her, "I have a quick errand to perform. See that she had what she needs to sleep, and tell her I will be back and by her side, like the Judge ordered, before she wakes up in the morning."

The Night Nurse donned an expression that told him she was about to object; it was her job to look out for Linda's medical needs, not baby sit her.

Kendall cut her off before she could get a word out, though, saying sternly, "This is all new to me, dammit! Give me a chance to ... to settle in. I'll be back in two hours."



He returned just after midnight to find Linda asleep in the hospital style bed that had cost him almost $9,000. She looked so peaceful; he wasn't sure whether it was drug induced or simple exhaustion, but she truly seemed to be out cold. He stepped up close to the bed, looking down upon her. Magnificent, he mused to himself. She truly was a beauty. It was such a shame that such an attractive woman was laid up in this way.

A smile widened his lips. How do you fuck when you're broke like this? He almost chuckled, trying to imagine someone in a body cast or wired up in traction went about satisfying their sexual urges. He let his gaze drop a bit lower, to her smooth skinned neck, to her rounded breasts, and downward to one of her fair skinned legs laying outside of the bedding, likely searching for relief in the too-warm room.

He moved to the recliner he'd had moved to the room and laid back in it as quietly as he could. He laid the chair back, getting comfortable, and as he unfolded a blanket over him, he realized that his dick was swelling at the thoughts of his new room mates sexual appetites ... or more specifically, how she would deal with them in the days and weeks to come.

Let it go, Kenny boy, he said, taking one last look at her before he closed his eyes and pulled the blanket to his neck. One service she WON'T be asking of you is to service her NEEDS.

As he drifted off for a well deserved sleep, his last thought was, Too bad...

Linda knew when she had finally gotten thru to him. When she had mentioned her trip and possibly not going on it again. He could have hidden behind that beer bottle forever, but she saw the look of emotion on his face. She could tell it was just dawning on him how fucked up he had made someone else’s life, him and only him had done that.

She wasn’t surprised when he got up and walked to the door after she had asked him to give her some personal information about himself.

"No wife," he said simply, deciding to expand on his answer only with, "No one'll be walking through the door, if that's what you're asking."

Well at least she knew he was alone, just as much as she was. She wondered more about family or anything but he was remaining closed mouthed about himself. So much for getting to know each other, she thought, I sure ain’t going to fall for that again. She had thought he really wanted to know something about her, but apparently not so much and definitely he wasn’t about to share anything about himself to her. It made her wonder what he was hiding, or perhaps he was just afraid to open up to anyone. Although there usually was a reason for that too.

When he stopped at the door and seemed to be looking at her, trying to figure her out perhaps she thought. What had he really expected, that she would be nice when he had changed her whole life. Then he surprised her.

"You'll get out of that chair," he assured her, almost in disbelief that he was talking this way to another human being. "You'll be up and around in record time ... back on your bike, your new bike ... taking your trip to where ever my money will take you. I guarantee it. And not just because I want you out of my hair--" He smirked a bit, just before he headed out of the room, adding, "--although I most certainly do."

So he did have somewhat of a heart at that, she thought to herself as he walked out of the room. She almost called him back, but then decided to let him go for now. Linda wasn’t any happier about the situation herself, but she grinned half heartedly at what he says, hoping he was right.
Shortly afterwards Annie, the night nurse came in to give her her meds and something so she could sleep hopefully all night. That was another thing that really bothered her, actually grossed her out were these bags attached to her so she never had to worry about using the bathroom. They were just so embarrassing, so humiliating. This flared her anger once again.

“What do you mean Mr. Green left and won’t be back for awhile, he knows he’s to stay here and see to my needs.” she replied to Annie who told her what Mr. Greens exacts words were. Linda grinned, well at least he left with his blood pressure raised a bit.

Many thoughts circled in her head about her predicament and how much she hated it. Although soon the medicine was beginning to work and she relaxed, she had a pep talk with herself telling herself to quite feeling so damn sorry for herself. “Concentrate on making Kendall Green’s life miserable, make him feel like you,” she told herself.

Those were the thoughts she fell asleep to, pretty much comatose as if she was dreaming, she never knew it. Sometime during the night she moaned, the pain coming back and the night nurse came in with a shot for pain. She noticed Kendall was sleeping in a recliner that he apparently brought into the room. That was all she thought, the shot knocking her back out quite quickly.

It was barely light out when she woke up. The sun had already come up and was casting a shadow over Kendall as he slept. He looked extremely peaceful for the first time. Taking advantage of the situation, she studied this man who had hurt her so deeply. How could someone that peaceful, that handsome, even cute with his hair a bit tangled and almost covering his eyes; how could he be so callous, so angry. Who hurt him, she thought, to make such a man so filled with himself than anyone else.

She knew she probably would never hear the answers to that, she had also realized when he told her she would get better that somewhere deep inside was a heart. As she continued looking at him, her eyes traveled his lengthy body, his feet hanging off the recliner. Then as she glanced at him, she noticed the very large swell in his pants. The more she looked, it seemed to grow even bigger producing a good size tent in the crotch of his pants. Realizing he had a pretty good hard on going for himself she felt like she should look away, which she did.

Just as suddenly as she had seen this, she felt small stirrings herself and groaned softly. “Damn this is all I need. Having any kind of urges was totally not in the program and wouldn’t be for however long it took her to get better. Sure, at least he could go relieve himself, but what about her, just another thing I have to push aside like so many other things.” she thought to herself, anger setting in now.

“Mr. Green it’s time to wake up….Mr. Green wake up…” she said trying to stir him from his slumber. “Kendall wake up!!! Right now!!” this she shouted to him and was looking at him, actually her eyes were more focused on his pants than anything.

Kendall stood on the boardwalk, looking out over the pounding surf. Looking left, looking right, he saw no one; the entire Jersey shore was his and his alone ... except for the body lying in the sand, attracting hungry little crabs that scurried over it, and a flock of seagulls that seemed to be flying a choreographed spiral pattern that reminded him of the laser lights and other devices at the dance club where he'd met his now-dead contact.

The rumble of a Harley Davidson caught his attention. The big bike moved up slowly behind him, stopping; the engine went quiet, the kick stand clicked to the concrete ... and high heeled boots moved slowly up behind him. He casually slid his right hand across his belly, up his chest, until it grasped the grip of a comically huge revolver that, even in his dream, he realized looked like something out of a Roger Rabbit cartoon.

“Mr. Green..." a sexy voice called, the near-whisper carrying to Kendall in the wind at his back. "...it’s time to wake up."

"But I'm not asleep," he said, glancing down to the sand, the body, the 20 shot revolver he held before his chest. "I'm working."

"Mr. Green," the voice returned. "Wake up…”

Kendall turned, allowing the weapon to slip down to his side in a non-threatening posture. His eyes swelled, as did other parts of his body. A tall, auburn haired temptress -- wearing nothing but thigh tall boots and a thong with a triangular patch that wouldn't have covered a missing eye -- walked toward him with the showmanship of a runway model. She was just a few yards away and walking steadily toward him, yet ... she never seemed to reach him, always remaining just a few yards out.

Her eyes dropped from his to his body. Kendall looked down at himself; where earlier he'd been gripping the over sized pistol, now -- naked -- he was gripping his over sized penis, swollen as never before, and twitching anxiously at the approach of--

Linda Bellview, his mind screamed suddenly, my nemesis. He was in danger; extreme danger. He tried to lift the revolver, forgetting he was grasping a different gun now. He jerked at it, as if it would come apart from him, as if he could somehow use it to fend off the enemy approaching, hips swaying, breasts bobbing, mouth opened as she laughed and pointed a long finger at him saying--

“Kendall wake up!!!"

Kendall flinched out of his dream.

"Right now!!” he heard Linda yell at him.

Without having even formed the though, his hand had instinctively reached for his weapon again. He'd stored it before coming to her room this time, and finding no holster panicked him for a moment. He looked about, finding only Linda looking at him with an expression of satisfaction at having woken him so cruelly.

Then another panic set in. The dream came back to him; he remembered having had his dick in his hand, naked before Linda. He took a moment to shift his body, ensuring that he was indeed still fully dressed and concealed down there. He thought about it for a moment and realized that both hands had been on his chest, so at least he hadn't been subconsciously playing with his crotch.

Oh, I just don't need this crap, he thought, reaching to the recliner's handle to shift himself to an upright position. He was about to toss the blanket aside when he realized that he was still hard as a rock down there. Instead, he stood with the blanket dangling before him and turned away from her, grumbling, "Coffee..."

He gave her a moment to request some for herself, but he was still so wrapped up in the dream that was already dissipating that when he got to the kitchen, he couldn't honestly remember whether she had asked for some or not.

He found the Day Nurse in the kitchen, putting together what appeared to be the day's doses of this med and that med, along with several other tasks. As he headed for the coffee pot, which on the time had already filled the kitchen with the most wonderful of aromas, the nurse was going on about this thing and that thing.

Kendall heard it all subconsciously, but as it wasn't his duty to take care of the medical side of things, he wasn't really paying that much attention until--

"Say that last part again!" he said, turning suddenly to find the woman staring at him expectantly. "What sponge bath?"

The Day Nurse held out both hands, one with a small empty bucket and the other with a set of small rags. "I said the water shouldn't be too hot, but not so cold as to be uncomfortable. Look for goose bumps, and for god's sake, look for her reactions. She may not tell you something hurts, but you'll see it in her reactions ... her expressions. If she's in pain..."

The Day Nurse stopped, staring at the shocked looking Kendall for a moment before asking, "Did I miss a step...? Do you need me to go back over something, Mister Green?"

"Yeah ... I think so" he said with a great deal of disbelief. "You're saying that I am giving Miss Bellview her sponge bath?"

The Day Nurse surged forward, slapped the towels into his free hand, took his coffee -- which she took a sip from before setting aside -- and replaced it with the small bucket. "Were you not listening to a word I said?"

Her rant flooded from his subconscious to his conscious: she had an emergency to which she had to attend, and since Kendall had slipped out on the Night Nurse, Annie, he was going to make up for it by giving Linda her bath. Oh My God! he thought, just before cringing at the thought that he'd thought the phrase Oh My God!

The Day Nurse continued hurrying around the kitchen, talking the whole time about drugs and times and diet and No more beer no matter what that idiot Annie said! And, a moment later, Kendall was standing there alone ... rags and bucket in hand ... with no caffeine in his system.

Oh ... my ... god...

He set the sponge bath items aside and returned to his coffee, draining it once, then again. He ate a quick cold breakfast, then looked back to the rags and bucket. Oh, she is NOT going to like this. He remembered the Day Nurse's words, "She can do her private areas. You just have to do what she can't reach. You'll be fine. You're both responsible adults, regardless of what her lawyer said when she hired me."

Kendall glanced downward again, then rolled his eyes as he realized he was getting hard again. He shook his head and returned to the coffee pot again, mumbling, "Fuck."

When his lower body allowed him to do so, he headed for Linda's room with the tools in hand. He stopped at the door and waited for her to look up at him. He smiled timidly -- embarrassed -- and said, "Sorry. I forgot whether you wanted coffee or not, but ... I brought these."

He stepped into the open door and displayed the sponge bath devices, feeling his face flush red.

She had a winked grin on her face when she finally had awakened him. She could tell he was out of sorts and when she had replied “Yes, coffee would be fine,” she got the impression he hadn’t heard a word she said.

When he walked in carrying her bath stuff she looked at him directly ready to pounce and then noticed his red face. That was enough for her not to say anything, just grin.

“I would prefer a cup of coffee before bath time and it sure looks like you could do with a cup or two for yourself. Give me the warm sponge and I’ll take care of….of my private parts while you get us some coffee.”

She waited for him to hand her the wet soapy sponge and she waited for him to just get to the door, “We can have breakfast after we’re done with my bath and don’t forget the newspaper.”

She thought her mumbled something but she couldn’t hear what it was she said.

Linda grinned wide at his obvious discomfort, which didn't at all help Kendall deal with the situation. The things you've done in your life ... with people ... TO people ... and THIS is bothering you...?

“I would prefer a cup of coffee before bath time," she said, making him think of the You could at least buy me dinner first jokes about men moving too quickly with women they wanted to bang. "And it sure looks like you could do with a cup or two for yourself."

"Done that," Kendall mumbled.

"Give me the warm sponge," she went on, "and I’ll take care of….of my private parts while you get us some coffee.”

He had no problem with that! Kendall was no prude; he'd once fucked a woman against a dance club wall in sight of dozens of cheering, wasted dancers simply because she'd reached down and went to work releasing him. Another time he'd slept his way through a series of women for whom he'd had no desire or concern, simply to get close to their boss, who he subsequently killed while he himself was getting blown.

So, washing Linda's privates shouldn't have been that hard. Listen to yourself ... THAT HARD...? Did you really just think that about a beautiful woman? The fact was, of course, that this wasn't work. It wasn't even pleasure, although he knew that it probably would be once they got started. No ... this was ... this was something undefinable, and he simply didn't know how to deal with this quite yet.

He gave her the sponge and set the bucket atop a small rolling table near her working arm.

“We can have breakfast after we’re done with my bath," she said as he departed, adding, "and don’t forget the newspaper.”

He hesitated at the door for a moment without turning back. He drew a deep breath, reminding himself that he was, essentially, a slave ... twelve hours a day for ... eternity.

"Right," he mumbled, leaving. He returned to the kitchen, poured two cups of coffee, and put on another pot, knowing it was going to be a long day. He snatched up the phone and called Julio's, putting in his regular breakfast order times two, with a sampler platter of just about everything the former Four Star Chef turned caterer made. Might as well find out what she does or doesn't like now, he thought.

Kendall set the phone down and turned away, only to hear it vibrating on the table. He looked at the Caller ID: Mom He hesitated, looking toward the hall that led to Linda's room. He answered simply, "Yes?"

A female voice said, "The client's disappointment is manifesting."

Kendall's stomach turned over. Even a professional killer didn't want to hear that a hit had been put on his head, especially before he'd enjoyed a healthy, catered breakfast. He considered his reply for a moment, then asked simply, "Do they have a location for this disappointment?"

"No," the voice answered, letting him know that his location was secure. After a slight pause, she added "Not yet, but our building needs an exterminator."

That meant they had a mole, and it wouldn't be long before Kendall's identity and, possibly, his location were known. If he'd been on his own, he would have simply walked out the door and disappeared. But...

He glanced toward the hall again, thinking about Linda. He away from her direction, down a second hall, requesting, "You'll keep me in the loop?"

"Of course."

The line went dead just as he was entering the home's library and pocketing the cell. He went to a book case, pulled a specific book to unlock a latch, and pulled the case out. He entered the small room, behind it and began inventorying his armory, ensuring that all was just as he'd left it ... cleaned, loaded, and ready for action.



Twenty minutes later, Kendall's cell phone vibrated again, indicating the Julio's driver had activated the gate and was coming up to the house. He met the man at the door -- using the security camera to ensure that it was a face he recognized -- and took the beautifully wrapped food boxes from him, giving him a twenty for the tip and reminding him to charge the meal.

He stopped at Linda's door, knocked, waiting until she invited him in, and opened it. He hesitated, unable to prevent his eyes from ogling her in her less dressed state.

My god ... this is going to be either much harder ... or much easier than I expected.

He casually shifted the food boxes to in front of his body as he felt his groin coming into action once more.

Linda was able to take the hospital gown off her body and lay it down on the bed for now. The cool air in the room sent several shivers down her spine and made her nipples erect almost instantly. Luckily she had done this several times already and was getting it down. She ran the sponge over the swells of her breasts, the warm water feeling so soothing against her skin. She couldn’t wait until she could soak in a tub, she longed for that. Just as she longed to have her hair washed, something as simple as that she longed to be able to do under a steamy shower.

She dipped the sponge in the bucket and washed her breasts, rubbing over her nipples harder than usual making them erect and tingling. She didn’t care at this point, it just felt so good. Then after wetting the sponge again, she ran it down her belly and then washed between her legs taking her time, as this felt extremely good too. That’s all I need, to be obviously turned on by my bath, would he blush then I wonder, she thought to herself.

Once she was thru washing and rinsing, she reached past the bucket to get one of the larger towels, knocking the rest to the floor. She patted herself dry and then was able to use the towel to mostly cover up from her breasts down to her pussy. She barely had herself covered when he walked in with the boxes.

“Mmmm, that smells delicious whatever it is.” She hummed as her belly anxiously growled. She also was beginning to get a bit chilly laying there with nothing but a towel over her, which barely covered her lightly trimmed pussy. The hair had already begun to grow back after they shaved her before surgery.

“Well don’t just stand there, finish washing me so I can get a clean gown on and we can eat.” Feeling very vulnerable and humiliated, there was a distinct sound of frustration in her voice. I can’t believe he’s really going to do this, I actually thought the nurse was going to help and now he is going to touch me, hell see me practically naked. Damn, maybe I hadn’t given this as much thought as I could. Would he be turned on by it, or turned off by her broken and bruised body. Dammit girl, do you even care, get your thoughts back to remembering who put you here.

“Mmmm, that smells delicious whatever it is.”

Kendall just stood there, managing to pull his gaze off her body and back to her face.

“Well don’t just stand there," she pushed, "finish washing me so I can get a clean gown on and we can eat.”

"Right," he mumbled, his mind lost again as his gaze shifted downward again. He had expected ... well, honestly, he didn't know what he'd expected; that she'd still be fully dressed, or redressed in something a little more covering that a single towel laid flat from just above her nipples to just below her...

He dropped his eyes to the boxes in his hands, feeling a blush flood his face. Get a grip, god dammit! She just a woman. You've seen one before.

"It's, um, Julio's," Kendall explained, telling her about the little catering joint as he hurried to set out the boxes on the long, stretcher like rolling cart pushed up against the far wall. He opened the boxes and began setting things out; each item came in a sturdy plastic bowl or plate with a lid, making the meal several steps above your typical take out fare.

Kendall glanced up into the mirror on the wall ... and realized he was looking right into the dark cavern created by the meeting of Linda's upper thighs and the too-short towel. He couldn't see anything -- shade and all -- but as he went back to his work, he imagine it all.

He stopped his work, turned -- keeping his eyes off her unbelievable form -- and retrieved the towels on the floor. He fluffed one out and laid it across her upper body, then did the same for the lower, covering her sufficiently. He stood back and examined his work; she was presentable to a stranger now -- as presentable as she could possibly be, considering under those towels she was stark naked -- and yet Kendall's mind was still fully aware of how much of her he'd seen, of how sexy she was, and of how god damn hard his dick was at the thought.

He turned away, trying to be inconspicuous, and headed for the door to the attached bathroom with the bucket in hand, saying, "Going for warm water."

He stopped suddenly in the door, feeling stupid. He set the bucket aside, returned to the rolling cart, quickly filled a plate with several items, and returned to Linda, almost dropping the plate upon her belly as he said, "Start here. I'll be back."

He headed away again, into the bathroom. The water ran hot right away, which was disappointing as Kendall was hoping for a long moment to let his erection wane. It didn't. Finally, resolved that if she looked at his body as he he had hers, she would get an eyeful, he returned to the room and asked, "I've never done this ... not really. What do I do?"

She had nothing to do but look and watch him. He seemed a bit uneasy, although she saw how much he kept looking at her. She knew her state of undress wasn’t the best for a stranger but did he have to stare like that, she thought to herself.

As he explained about the little dinner, she got the feeling he was stalling with giving her the bath. Especially when he covered her up with two more towels, although she was a bit warmer then. He’s acting like he never saw a half dressed woman, my goodness, weren’t we both adults her, she thought. Or was it the fact of how awful she looked, so bruised up and in these damn casts.

“Thank you,” she remarked as he handed her some home made danish which she was glad to take. She was starving and her stomach was beginning to growl louder as the morning wore on.

When he came back out of the bathroom her mouth dropped open for just a moment before she quickly shut it. The bulge in his pants let her know she must not look too bad if she had that effect on him. Inside, she was smiling, realizing this, but on the outside she ignored it and took another few bites of the wonderful danish.

"I've never done this ... not really. What do I do?"

“Well surely you’ve taken a shower or bath, I just need my arm and leg washed, easily it’s still sore. Then perhaps you can help me turn a little on my side so you can wash my backside. I can’t hold myself like that to long or stay that way too long or it will become very painful. Do you think you can do that?” she asked rather sarcastically, although had a slight grin on her face as her eyes dropped down to that tent in his pants and then back to his face.

Kendall detected the sarcasm in her voice, but contained his smirk ... for the most part. He stepped forward, took the plate of food, and setting it aside said, "Yes ... I think I can do that."

He soaked the sponge in the newly warmed water and moved down the bed a bit. Slipping his hand under her knee, he gently lifted her unbroken leg and put the sponge to her foot, saying softly, "Hope you're not ticklish."

Kendall ran the sponge over her skin softly, slowly, following the curve of her calf, slipping between her toes and under to the sole. He was touching her in ways that he had always envisioned only proper for a lover. He kept his eyes on his work, not wanting to see her reaction; not wanting to know whether this was doing to her what it was doing to him.

He gently set her leg down, moved to the other side of the bed, and began working -- ever so cautiously -- on the leg the crash had so horribly damaged. He repeated the slow, methodical washing there, pulling back anytime he saw her grimace or heard her moan.

Kendall moved to her side and hesitated, looking her up and down and contemplating how this was done. Why reinvent the wheel? he asked himself, before asking her to explain how the Nurses had handled moving her about. He did as she directed, pressing his torso against her, intwining his working arm with her casted one, and gently -- ever so gently -- shifting her slowly onto her side...

...at which point, of course, all of the towels -- which had totally left his thinking -- slipped off her and fell to the floor, exposing the most beautiful of firm buttocks Kendall had had the privilege to spy in a while...

Linda had to admit she was a bit scared that he would hurt her when he went to wash her. What she found out was that he had the softest touch, soothing and even pleasurable. She had lay there quietly and closed her eyes enjoying his ministrations to her body probably more than a person in her situation should have. She could almost imagine herself with a lover and how he would touch her. Dammit girl, it’s just a bath and from the man the put you here, keep saying that, just a bath, open your eyes and don’t look like you’re enjoying it in any other way, she yelled to herself. Although she did open her eyes, but had a hard time not enjoying it. She kept her expression a bit rigid and every once in awhile she would wince, although he hadn’t hurt her much at all.

She didn’t answer him about being ticklish, although she was a bit, his touch wasn’t tickling her, at least not where he was washing. It definitely was sending tickling and tingling sensations to several parts of her body although she chose to ignore it. It’s just a bath, just a bath, she kept reminding herself.

As soon as he had gotten her on her side, which was indeed a bit painful but bearable, the towels all went to the floor. It was then that it dawned on her, not only was he going to get to see her bare bottom, but now he would see her totally naked. Naturally she blushed a rosy pink and felt embarrassed as well as a bit humiliated. Although ever since she had gone to the hospital she had gotten use to people looking at all parts of her body and she told herself this was much the same. Sure, try convincing yourself of that, but this is a good looking, single man who walked in here with a hard on. Did any of the doctors look at you that way,” her thoughts continued on this line as he began washing her back.

“Well I suppose I have nothing to hide from you now, but don’t be getting any ideas.” she finally managed to say, only this time her voice was soft, trembling a bit and there was a slight grin on her face. What else could I say, I did put myself in this position. What did I expect? It’s just a bath and he’s just like an intern doing his job, that’s all this is. So what if my pussy is getting tingling sensations, just deal with it. she told herself over and over.

“Well I suppose I have nothing to hide from you now..."

Her tone confused an already flustered Kendall. He'd expected a shriek or a few dirty words for his incompetence, not a soft-toned, almost cute comment. He wanted to do something about her sudden exposure, but he was all wrapped up in just supporting her in her awkward position; to suddenly let go of her to retrieve towels was simply impossible.

"...but don’t be getting any ideas,” she finished, handling the situation so much better than Kendall was.

"Of course not," he said quickly, then -- just as fast -- wish he hadn't. He realized that the tone in which he'd said it made it sound as if he'd meant With you...? Are you kidding? Kendall had come to the conclusion long ago that, had the situation been different, Linda would most definitely have been a woman he would have wanted to bed. He tried to make up for what he thought were poorly spoken words by chuckling, "I mean, what kind of ideas could this bring to me, right?"

He tried to figure out how he was going to carefully lay her back down, cover her up, then tilt her back over again ... when he decided, "Screw it, we might as well finish. Sorry. I'll keep my eyes where they belong."

He reached for the sponge and returned to his work, starting at the base of her skull and working gently down her back. As he did, occasionally shifting his grip on her, he simply couldn't help but let his eyes look places he had no reason to look. She was so beautiful; the flawless, fair skin -- with a hint of freckles, which he'd always so enjoyed -- that he'd been washing on her back and shoulders was just as perfect at her firm, youthful breasts and rounded buttocks.

His view of her was pretty much PG-13; she strategically used her arms to hide her nipples and from behind he didn't have the angle to even determine whether Linda was au naturale or shaven, as was such the norm anymore. And even though he was trying to keep the bath as innocent and clinical as possible, he -- and his ever hard dick -- couldn't help but want to witness these additional attractions as well.

"Not getting any ideas," he reminded her with a light chuckle as the sponge found its way to the roundness of her buttocks. Kendall's penis twitched, then again, as he tried so hard to remind himself repeatedly, It isn't going to happen, it isn't sex, it's a bath, let it go, it isn't going to happen...

He reached the lower curves of her wonderful tush, then dropped the sponge into the bucket with a splosh of finality. "Done."

She wasn't as clean as she probably wished she was, but she was a whole lot cleaner than Kendall should have been making her, he thought. He hesitated for a moment, his arm still wrapped up in hers, before saying, "We need to lay you back ... but..."

He knew that this next maneuver was going to leave her absolutely exposed to him. He laughed -- this time seriously nervous, certain that Linda had to be hating him for this -- and said, "I can close my eyes if you want."

From the sound of it, Kendall was having just as hard a time as she was with this. Especially when he made the comment "Not getting any ideas," she almost laughed right then if she wasn’t afraid that could lead to tears being as tense as she was. When it finally came to washing her bottom she could feel herself blushing and she was holding her breath. She was pretty hopeful that he had no idea how much she actually was enjoying his touch. She hoped he wasn’t the kind of guy that could smell the scent of a woman’s arousal or she would be blushing a deep red.

Linda heard the sponge hit the water and heard him say that he was done. Finally she let out her breath, having held it thru the ordeal. It took her several more deep breaths before she actually was breathing normally again.

"We need to lay you back ... but..."

Her heart was pounding and her pulse racing…but then he’s going to be able to see every inch of my body not just the backside which was bad enough. Not that it was bad, his hands were wonderful and it had been a very long time since a man had touched her. Damnit! They were both adults…yeah with normal urges too,” she thought.

"I can close my eyes if you want."

“I was just thinking the same thing,” she laughed letting go of the tension, “only I was thinking I would be the one to close my eyes so I didn’t have to see your expression when you saw me naked. I know I’m a sight with these bruises, casts and braces.” she had stopped laughing and turned her head, looking him directly in the eyes, “I’m not the first woman you’ve seen naked and I’m sure I won’t be the last so let’s just get this over with.”

She winced a bit and let out a soft moan as he turned her body and lay her back down on her back.

“Just quickly recover the towels and then I can dry as much as I need to. My clean gown is over there on the other side of the bed. Just help me into it and we can finally eat.” she said, but her voice wasn’t as sharp and demanding as it had been. What the hell, if I’m going to get thru this I better start with not worry about the embarrassment it might be. Course getting a bit stimulated or rather I should say aroused was another thing, something I need to stop. It was only a bath, just a bath…but his hands felt so good……..just a bath, damnit!
She covered herself best as she could when he handed her the towels and while he went for the gown, she patted herself dry as best she could. It seemed like both of them were avoiding to look at each other until he had gotten her gown on her and then covered her up with the blanket.

“That wasn’t too awful bad, and thank you for being such a gentleman,” she said sincerely, then her eyes dropped down to his pants and saw that he was sporting a bulge in his crotch. She looked back up into his eyes, “I’ll take that food any time your ready, it still smells really good.” She said making no comment on what she saw, but letting him know with her eyes that she knew what was going on in his pants.

He served her the other boxes and plate of food, that seemed to have everything she could ever dream about eating. She mostly ate the scrambled eggs, bacon and toast while drinking the warm coffee. She was finally starting to get warm herself, although inside she was just getting over the heat that she recently experienced from her bath.

Breakfast was a quiet affair. Linda seemed to enjoy it, as Kendall knew she would; Julio had been one of the most talked about Chefs in the city, but he'd burned out on the demands of the clientele, tiring of the glitz of the famous and pressure of the powerful. Catering allowed him to continue cooking but only for those he truly liked, or in the case of Kendall, those who had done him a life changing favor.

Kendall kept his eyes on his plate for most of the meal, only occasionally looking Linda in the eyes and usually only when he retrieved another of the many food items for her or took away something she didn't truly appreciate. Each time he met her gaze, he quickly looked back to his plate. Kendall didn't often feel this awkward with women. In fact, he'd never felt this awkward with a woman in his life.

It had been her comment about the condition of her body. Her words had truly shown the difference between them, and it made him feel self conscious about his job, and his life in general. While Kendall was sure that Linda had felt the same awkwardness about being so exposed to him, it had been her battered and bruise state that had embarrassed her so much. And yet, all Kendall had seen was the perfection of a beautiful and erotic female. Bruises, cuts, scrapes, broken bones; these were so common to him in his line of work that he hardly even noticed them on her.

Which only made him even more self conscious now, after she'd pointed it out. He did this to her! He bruised her ... broke her. This was his fault. Any thought that she'd been at fault in the accident had dissipated totally from his mind. This was his doing ... and he was going to make right by Linda if it was the last thing he did in this life.

He flinched, startled by the unexpected vibrating of the phone in his slack's pocket. He stood, checked the Caller ID -- Mom -- and walked toward the door, saying, "I have to take this. It'll only be a moment."

In the hall and out of her sight, he hurried away, toward the library, answering, "Yes?"

"I think you should take a few days off," the computer altered female voice began, "maybe get out of town ... see the countryside ... maybe the beach."

Kendall lowered the phone and grumbled a few choice obscenities under his breath. Take a few days off meant he was in danger and needed to disappear -- the mole had done his or her damage -- and the beach meant the people after him -- his jilted clients -- didn't have his exact address but did have enough that they'd be able to figure it out soon enough. He looked about himself, as if expecting to find a kill team already flanking him, then headed off for the hidden arsenal as he asked, "How many bags should I pack?"

"None," the woman said flatly, adding, "Use Global Travel. They'll take care of everything for you. Have a nice day."

The line went dead, and Kendall reared back and threw the cell against the wall so hard that it shattered and rained down upon the library floor all about him. None meant get out now, and Global Travel meant get out of the country.

What the hell was he going to do about Linda? He could leave her behind; she didn't know anything about his life or the people coming after him. But, those people has a tendency of shooting first and asking questions later. That was why they hired him; he was a bit more subtle in the way he did things, typically making his hits look like accidents or simple muggings or anything other than a professional assassination.

Two ... maybe three days, he thought to himself. They'll have me in...

He knew that was wishful thinking. He'd be lucky if they weren't here by sunup tomorrow. He really had no choice; he had to leave ... and he had to take Linda with him, too, or she was as good as dead.

He spend a few minutes in the arsenal, picking out the weapons he wanted to take with him, inventorying a manageable amount of ammunition, and loading it all up in the back of the SUV parked in the garage. He spent another few minutes going through the IDs and credit cards -- all real, but none in his true name -- and through them into a bag that also contained close to a hundred thousand dollars. He didn't usually take this kind of cash on the road with him, but there was no way right now of knowing just how much the mole knew about him, including the existence of him many bank accounts here in the States and abroad.

Feeling pretty good about what he'd accomplished, he went to the bathroom, opened a secret drawer in the wall, and pulled out a syringe and vial. He filled the syringe ... and headed for Linda's room.

She'd finished her food, setting it aside, and was looking at the newspaper that he was supposed to have been reading to her. He donned an apologetic expression as he headed slowly around to her broken side, saying, "Listen ... earlier ... you were asking me about ... well, about myself. And ... well, I guess I avoided the question with my little remark about no one coming here ... no woman, at least."

He stopped close to her and reached up to gently touch the cast on her arm, then her arm itself. He tried to be inconspicuous in what he was doing -- searching for a vein -- but he could see from her reaction that she thought he was either being flirtatious or ... creepy.

"So..." he continued, content that he'd found what he was looking for in her immobile arm. "I'm going to be honest and up front with you, because ... well that's the kind of guy I am."

Kendall squeezed gently on her arm, causing the vein to pop out a bit, and quickly inserted the needle deep into it as he said, "Linda ... I kill people for a living, but...! ... that's not what I'm doing to you now."

Her reaction was pretty much what he'd expected, and he felt horrible for what she must be thinking. But it was really the only thing he could do if he was going to save her life.

"You're going to go to sleep now," he continued, being very careful with her as he pumped the sedative into her. "And when you wake up, we'll be someone where else ... and you'll be safe, and I'll be able to take care of you ... just like I promised."

It would take about a minute for the drug to knock her out. All Kendall could do was pull out the needle and deal with what ever Linda threw at him ... figuratively and literally.

Linda was completely full and satisfied with breakfast, she had been surprised that he had went out of his way to order it for her. Although, she thought, for all I know he doesn’t even know how to cook.

She hadn’t minded the awkward silence between them, it was something she was use to, besides she hated when people ate with food in their mouth anyway. So when the phone rang and he excused himself, she had just nodded. When she finished eating and pushed the rest away, she grabbed the newspaper that was left sitting on the table beside her bed and started glancing thru it.

"Listen ... earlier ... you were asking me about ... well, about myself. And ... well, I guess I avoided the question with my little remark about no one coming here ... no woman, at least."

Linda looked up at him, a bit confused by his sudden interest in telling her about himself. And what did he mean about ‘no woman at least’. Before she could ask him he had moved closer to her and was now touching her arm with the cast. Okay, something is going on here, he didn’t get like this when she was completely naked and now he’s warming up…probably cause the scars are mostly covered….

"So..." he continued, content that he'd found what he was looking for in her immobile arm. "I'm going to be honest and up front with you, because ... well that's the kind of guy I am."

“What is it you’re doing with my arm, I’m glad you’re going to be up front but…” she then felt the needle enter her arm, stinging a bit, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” now she was beginning to get scared.

"Linda ... I kill people for a living, but...! ... that's not what I'm doing to you now."

“You do what!!!” she was immediately frightened especially since he had just given her some sort of shot. Even though he said that wasn’t what he was doing, she didn’t believe him now.

"You're going to go to sleep now," he continued, being very careful with her as he pumped the sedative into her. "And when you wake up, we'll be someone where else ... and you'll be safe, and I'll be able to take care of you ... just like I promised."

“You lousy son of a bitch, take that out of my arm now! Carol, Carol come quick, I’m being attacked” she called for the day nurse, but it didn’t matter she could already feel herself relaxing from whatever it was he put in her arm. “You’ll pay for this, I swear….”

She tried using her other hand to push him away but he was out of her reach and she couldn’t the arm that he had hold of. She threw the newspaper at him, and then the remaining food she had put aside.

“You won’t get….away….with….this….” was the last thing she said before she fell into a deep sleep.

Linda had opened her eyes several times during the trip, but Kendall knew -- or at least hoped -- that she was disoriented and sedated enough to neither understand what was happening nor feel the pain that the consciousness would have allowed. The transport had been as gentle as Kendall could offer, considering the territory they were traveling through, but it still worried Kendall that Linda would be feeling discomfort. It was a long three days...



Kendall looked to the Doctor and nodded. The medical professional -- fallen from grace after a botched surgery and now hiring out to people whose names he never asked -- depressed the syringe, sending the fluid down the tube leading to Linda's arm. It took less than a minute; she opened her eyes just as if waking from a long sleep.

"Don't be afraid, Linda," Kendall said, trying to reassure her. "You're in a safe place. This--" He gestured toward the only other man she would see for quite a while. "--is Doctor Hamm. He will be caring for you when I'm not with you. But for now..."

He looked to the Doctor, then nodded toward the door. The Doctor stood and departed without a word. Kendall looked back to Linda and said, "So ... you probably have questions."

Waking up she saw Kendall and another man who she was informed was the doctor that would be treating her along with Kendall himself. She looked around and found nothing that was familiar other than the bed she was in. She wasn’t sure if it was the same hospital bed, but it was a hospital bed and she noticed a wheel chair in the corner of the room.

"So ... you probably have questions."

Her mind was flooded with thoughts and questions as she looked at Kendal. If looks could kill, Kendal would have been dead. She thought back to what had happened and had he really told her he killed people for a living.

“So you’re a hit man, who has kidnapped me to who knows where. Which says you are in control now, not me any longer.” She spoke matter of fact, her words held the same anger as the look in her eyes.

“I have a lot of questions, like how can I be safe when you just told me you kill people for a living? How the hell are you supposed to take care of me here and where the hell is here?” She said more angrily.

“What’s to keep you from killing me since I now know you’re true identity and ….and…how the hell am I suppose to get better and feel relaxed in this kind of situation?”

Her eyes had grown cold, dark and dangerous, what the hell have I gotten myself into now? I’m actually his prisoner now instead of him being mine and that wasn’t the way this was supposed to go, she thought to herself.

“How do you know I won’t be missed and someone might be looking for me right now?” she said, although knowing that was not to be true, at least not yet. Her and her father had made a deal several years ago, that she would remain anonymous and out of sight when she had moved back to the states. He remained in his country, and took his position as prince in line to be crowned King within several years. Linda was the result of an illicit affair that her mother and her father had had, while she had been visiting his country. So when her mother died three years ago, it had been quite easy to disappear as no one really new she existed, or rather knew she was a princess. She had moved to the states, leaving that life behind her. Unfortunately, she had remained a loner, not making friends, just getting thru her education. Although she had been given a large chunk of money before she left and was still living on that, making small deposits on and off.

“Whatever trouble you are in now, you really have no idea how much more trouble you could be in after I get thru with you. Why the hell did we have to leave so suddenly and what kind of danger have you put me in?’”

(OOC--He's going to do something down there a bit, and I am going to "god mode" Linda for a brief moment ... concerning taking something from him. If she wouldn't have done that, please tell me and I will rewrite it.)



“So you’re a hit man," she began, her anger obvious and, of course, expected. "who has kidnapped me to who knows where. Which says you are in control now, not me any longer.”

In control...? As she continued with her tirade, Kendall thought about that word ... control. There were so many levels of control in their current situation. Back at his home, she had been in control so long as the law was looking over Kendall's shoulder. He hadn't really thought too much about how dragging her away from there would change their situation; he'd only been thinking about doing something that would keep them alive through that situation.

“What’s to keep you from killing me since I now know you’re true identity," she went on, "and ….and…how the hell am I suppose to get better and feel relaxed in this kind of situation?”

Her expression grew cold and hard, and Kendall could only imagine how hot the blood was coursing through her. She was, indeed, in a very vulnerable situation. Before, in the house of a man she didn't know with the Doctor and Nurses and the weekly visit by the court representative, she could have at least gotten help if she felt poorly treated or, worse than that, mistreated. Now ... well, she could be disappeared, and no one would ever know what happened to her. Especially if Kendall did it. He had a knack for making people vanish from the face of the planet.

“Whatever trouble you are in now," she continued, her tone taking a threatening nature to it, "you really have no idea how much more trouble you could be in after I get thru with you."

Kendall could only imagine that Linda meant When I sick the Law on you! He had no idea of her international connection, let along her international stature, albeit a secret one. Had he known that someday he might be dealing with the security forces of a foreign head of state, Linda would never have lived to hear the Judge's sentence of him; they would have found her dead in her bed, the symptoms of a stroke to blame.

If he had known, it would have been too late now. Ignorance is bliss wasn't a saying he lived by -- he'd seen too many people die in ignorance -- but for now, ignorance was going to be a friend to him.

"Why the hell did we have to leave so suddenly and what kind of danger have you put me in?’”

When she went silent, Kendall found his mind spinning with the myriad of questions and how to deal with them. Or, whether or not to deal with them at all. In the end, he decided to be simple and direct. He reached inside his unzipped wind breaker, pulled the small, semi-auto .45 caliber from the holster ... paused for a moment, looking at it, then flipped it around in his hand so that the butt was to Linda and the barrel was pointing directly at his chest.

"Take it," he said softly. When she simply stared at the weapon, he took her hand, forced the gun into it, and leveled it again at him. He waited a moment, then said in a steady, serious tone, "Linda ... I am sorry this happened to you. The accident ... the judgement that stuck you with me--" He glanced about the room, which by the log walls and hunting motif screamed mountain cabin. "This... everything. I'm sorry it all happened. But ... it did. I'm sorry that you feel vulnerable ... and I'm sorry that you feel so ... controlled."

He reached his second hand up and pulled the hammer back with an ominous click.

"Am I, uh..." the Doctor said from the door with obvious nervousness. ...interrupting anything?"

"No, Doc," Kendall said quickly, half glancing toward the door. "Perfect timing, actually, as I want you to hear this, too." He looked back to Linda and said with obvious seriousness ... and deep sincerity. "If you want to do so ... you can pull this trigger right now. I won't stop you. The Doc won't stop you--"

"Hey, listen, I--"

"The Doc won't stop you," Kendall said sternly, cutting the man off. He looked back to Linda again, continuing, "The Doc will take care of you until you are ready to move. You can go anywhere you want ... just not back to my house. That world is over." He glanced toward the distant dresser, then back to Linda. "There is almost a half a million dollars in the floor under that dresser, along with all the details you need to get into a bank account with twice that. Code word, Omnibus."

He pulled his hands away from her, leaving her holding the gun, still pointed at his chest. He smiled, trying to inject a little humor into what was obviously a tense situation. "I am but your servant, Linda. Just as the judge ordered. Just as you were hoping to be ... you know, for your payback. Nothing has changed there. Ask ... and you shall receive."

He waited a moment, then chuckled a bit, adding, "And by the way ... I've never said sorry to someone that many times in my life ... let alone in a single conversation."

Linda had been looking at him with blood boiling and hatred in her eyes. When he handed her the gun, before he started talking, she was prepared to shoot him. Actually, knowing how to use a gun, she wanted to just blow off his head, but then she started listening to all his apologies.

She glanced around realizing this was just some cabin probably out in the woods. Obviously now with anyone around since the gun didn’t have a silencer on it. Her father and his men had taught her much about guns and how to use them, although she never kept one herself.

When he told her of the money and the code word, her eyes relaxed and started really listening to him. He sounded so sincere and the look in his eyes, was that honesty, from a man that not so long ago wanted to buy his way out of helping her. Okay, she thought, so he had actually been saving her and by drugging her, it would have been the best way to travel for her to not be in pain. The man had some sort of morals, or at least he did now. She didn’t quite understand them, especially since he could have just disappeared and left her for whoever was after him. They would have killed her and he would have been off the hook, at least as far as his concern for her went. But he didn’t, he actually was keeping her safe.

"I am but your servant, Linda. Just as the judge ordered. Just as you were hoping to be ... you know, for your payback. Nothing has changed there. Ask ... and you shall receive."

“Just location right!” she said a bit sarcastically and moved the gun, aiming for his head.

"And by the way ... I've never said sorry to someone that many times in my life ... let alone in a single conversation."

“And I’ve never heard it said that many times to me in one occasion.” She releasing her finger from the trigger, she held it out for him to take back. “It would do me no good to kill you, not that I didn’t want to at first, but…well I’m sorry, there I’ve said it. If it weren’t for me wanting you to pay for what you’ve done I wouldn’t be here. So now we are both in a situation neither of us likes. The way I see it, we need to try and put up with each other until this is over. Right now I need some pain medication and something to eat, do you think you can handle that?” she asked, this time her voice was soft and feminine, her eyes held no more of the vindictiveness that it had earlier. “And for goodness sake, take this damn gun before I give it another thought.” she chuckled, letting down her guard a bit around him.

With a great more care than he'd taken when he thrust the weapon into her hand, Kendall took the .45 back, returned it to safe mode, and holstered it ... wondering to himself, Was that just one of the stupidest things you have ever done in your life or what...?

He signaled Hamm over. The doctor -- still licensed in this state, but barely -- looked less fazed by the incident than either Kendall or Linda; since his fall from grace, he'd dealt with just about every type of criminal scum out there, so seeing a woman pointing a gun at a man -- or dealing with the aftermath of a taken shot -- was no big deal to him.

Hamm began checking Linda's vitals while Kendall stood back and studied her. She was a remarkable woman, he thought; he sensed she had a great deal more life experience than he'd first assumed. No spoiled rich kid here after all.

Suddenly, that began to worry him. He knew nothing about Linda he realized. He hadn't expected to take her on the road with him; he hadn't had her investigated by his regular sources. For all he knew, she was a current or former employee of one of the governments he'd worked for ... or against. Or a criminal in her own right. Hell, she could be some fairy tale princess hiding out in the world of the Commoners.

That last one made him smile a bit. If he'd only known how close he was to the truth, he might have been a bit more worried than he actually was. He shrugged it off in his mind; no one had come to her rescue following the accident, which meant no one was concerned for her ... or simply hadn't seen a danger for her.

As he watched Hamm administering some pain medications, he excused himself for a moment and went to the cabin's other public room; it was a kitchen, dining room, and living area all combined. He opened the ice box and found only a single, warm beer and a lot of empty space. He'd have to make a trip to town soon he thought, opening the cupboards and remembering that during his last stay here, he'd eaten himself out of house and home.

Kendall and Linda had slipped away from his city home cleanly, using every trick in the book to shed any evidence that could be used to track them. They would be safe here, unless he made a mistake in town. It was summer, so the wilderness hikers sometimes wandered through the area. But the dogs usually dissuaded people from getting too close to the house.

"Who is she?"

Kendall turned at the old woman's voice. He smiled politely, then turned back to stare at the empty ice box. "I'm not sure, Mother."

"She's beautiful."

The octogenarian -- who wasn't his mother but was very much responsible for his professional upbringing -- made her way slowly his direction.

Kendall laughed aloud as she stepped up beside him and patted him on the cheek like he remembered his own grandmother doing when he was just a little, more innocent lad. He looked into the woman's worthless eyes, their cold, aimless stare setting upon him at about his left ear. "And how would you know she's beautiful."

She slapped him -- softly, playfully -- and laughed, saying, "I can hear it in her voice."

"You were eavesdropping?" Kendall said with mock accusation. "Shame on you."

"I didn't have to eavesdrop to hear you in there," she replied, turning and making her way through the never changing cabin's layout as well as any seeing person could. "This little hut of your ain't that big."

"Speaking of my hut--"

She cut him off as she headed out the door, immediately flanked by the dogs. "I don't live here. Buy your own groceries."

Kendall just shook his head as he watched her snatch her cane from the porch and head off for a slow walk down the bark path, the dogs loyally flanking her. He loved how she could anticipate his every thought and question. His smile faded at the thought of the one thing his trainer and mentor hadn't anticipated, the bomb that had taken her sight fifteen years earlier.

He turned back to the empty ice box, thinking Shit happens ... and then you run out of food.

"She's resting," Hamm said, his steps on the wood floor announcing his approach to Kendall before his words did. "But she wants to see you. And she needs a bath. It's been three days."

Kendall's stomach turned a bit and a chill ran up his spine. He remembered the last time he'd helped to clean Linda. It had been before he kidnapped her, before he told her he was a professional killer, before she realized that her life had again changed at his hands.

"Yeah ... I'll take care of it," he mumbled.

Hamm stepped up close to Kendall, waited for his sometimes employer to face him, and asked pointedly, "Is this the job that's going to get me killed?"

Kendall studied him for a moment, then went to a bag and pulled out an envelope thick with cash. He handed it to the doctor and said with a serious tone, "I need you alive, Doc. She needs you alive. You don't have to worry about me killing you. But--"

Hamm turned away, waving off Kendall's same, old warning as he gathered his things. "Yeah, I know. Keep my mouth shut, watch my back, cover my trail ... there's always someone out there yadda yadda yadda..."

He headed for the still open door, turned and asked, "Is there anything I can do for you, Kendall? You look horrible."

Kendall just shook his head, said his goodbyes, made plans for Hamm to return the next day, and returned to the bedroom. He studied Linda for a moment; she looked much more peaceful with the pain killers rushing through her body. When they'd arrived at the cabin, Hamm had helped him dress her in ... well they weren't really clothes, Kendall thought, but they would keep her warm and be easy to remove or at least push aside for baths.

He felt a little guilty ... again. Although Hamm had seemed unaffected by it, Kendall had been very much affected by seeing Linda fully nude during the clothing change. She hadn't said anything about it earlier -- of course, she'd been coming out of a near coma and had a gun in her hand -- but Kendall knew it was only a matter of time before she said Waaaaait a minute...

His smile returned as he entered the room, sitting down on a stool in front of her. "I have to make a trip to town for food. You'll be safe here. There is someone else on the property -- her name is Vivian -- and she has dogs, so no one is going to come close with out you knowing about it. Besides ... we're ... I guess the word is isolated up here."

He stood, retrieved yet another weapon from a nearby drawer -- this one a smaller 9mm -- and returned to Linda's bed. "I got the feeling you knew how to handle one of these, so..."

He leaned in close to her, slipping the gun into the blanket folds next to her. He hesitated, hovering over her; their faces were just inches apart as he met her gaze. He wanted to badly to simply press his lips to hers. He didn't know why. Yeah, cuz she's beautiful and sexy and vulnerable and you've seen her naked is why rushed through his mind quickly.