Absolute Zero (58 page)

*****

“That’s highly irregular. We never do that,” Dr. Michaels replied several days later.             

Ian relaxed back into the chair situated in front of her desk.

“That’s why she stares at the sky. She did that before any of this happened. Just let me stay. One time, please?”

“Let me think about it,” she finally answered.

“Think about it quick. It’s supposed to be clear tonight, and a full moon,” he stated.

She shot him a strange look.

“Listen,” he started in his most authoritative tone, “What’s more important? Your rules or helping Anne? I’m telling you, this might spark something. It’s worth a try. How can ya be so selfish?”

“I’m not being selfish. I’m just trying to keep things consistent,” Dr. Michaels replied.

“The sooner she gets better, the sooner
I’m
out of here,” he tried a different tactic.

“Now
there’s
an incentive,” she stated before releasing the laugh she was holding back.

*****

“Nice night, hmm?” he stated as he watched her. Her eyes were firmly fastened to the darkened sky above as they sat in the courtyard later that night.

“You know, an asteroid could come barreling toward earth at any moment              , knocking the earth from its’ rotational pull and plunging us all into another ice age. It’s verra scary when ya think about it,” he said with a slight smirk to his lips. “What do
you
think, Anne?”

She continued to stare even as he gently plucked one of her hands from her lap and laced his fingers through hers.

“You know, I
really
need to get back home. If you’d be so kind as to get yerself together, that would be fantastic. There’s so much going on right now, but I can’t leave, they won’t let you come with me, so…Aww Annie,” he breathed out, “can’t ya just help me out here?” he pleaded softly, watching her profile intently.

He lifted her fingers and pressed a gentle kiss to her hand before pressing her palm to his cheek.

“Where are ya, darlin’? What’s going on inside that head of yours? Are ya scared? Because if you are, I’ll take care of that. You come back to me, and I’ll keep you safe,” he whispered. “All you have to do is look at me. Look at me and say something. It doesn’t even have to be something nice. Hell, you can yell at me if you want. I miss your mouth. I miss you arguing with me. Do you remember the first time we kissed?” he asked softly. “I want to kiss you again. I’ll be honest; I want to do lots of things again, but for now? I’d be happy with a look. So could you just…?” he trailed off before placing a firm kiss to her palm before settling it against his cheek once again. “I’m not a verra patient man, but I’ll wait forever if I have to. I won’t like it, but I’ll do it. If it means we can be together, I’ll do it…”

He didn’t miss it. Her lips opened slightly and closed, a small puff of breath escaped.

“Are you trying to tell me something?” he his head lifted from the back of the chair as he studied her closely.

She repeated the motion with her lips, her eyes still attached to the sky above.

“Annie?”

A long breath whoosed from her lungs through her open lips.

*****

“One more time,” he demanded.

“What is that?” the Doctor indicated the box tucked beneath his arm the next day.

“Portable stereo,” he answered.

“Why do you have a portable stereo?” she asked with a strange expression on her face.

“I thought I’d do a little break dancing for the staff,” he replied deadpan.

She blinked several times during the ensuing silence.

“I’m joking,” he finally said.

“Thank god,” she breathed out. “Seriously, why do you have a portable stereo?”

“Well, she has this thing she does. She likes this music playing when she’s staring at the stars. Don’t ask, she just does it, and she likes it. I thought maybe we could try again, see what happens.”

“What is that?” she indicated the CD in his other hand.

“Pink Floyd, the Wall. It’s her favorite,” he held it up. “I swear we made progress last night. She moved her lips a wee bit and I could tell she wanted to tell me something. She even let out a loud breath. It just seemed like she was frustrated. Let me try again, please?” he added with a hopeful expression on his face.

“Ok,” she responded simply.

“Ok? Aww, yer an angel, Dr. Michaels. I’ll buy the whole staff lunch today…”

“You have to stop bribing us. This is
not
normal procedure, Mr. McClellan,” she admonished but her small smile was hard to contain. “We like pizza, though,” she added with a small shrug.

*****

“You know? I never really listened to the lyrics before. They mean something to you, don’t they?” he asked as the music played softly in the background. Her eyes were firmly attached to the sky above as they sat in the exact same spot as the night before.

He watched her eyes blink every few seconds like clockwork, but she made no other movement.

“Dr. Michaels asked me why I brought a stereo with me and I told her I was going to break dance for the staff. Isn’t that funny? She believed me for a second, I swear. You should’ve seen her face. Remember when you told that lady in the lobby that you blew up a man’s penis?” he asked. “I knew in that precise moment that I
had
to get to know you. Look how good my instincts are,” he stated before turning his head to look up above.” I had a feeling about you, Anne. It’s like I knew we had to be together. Who else would put up with either of us? Hmm?” he asked in a flippant tone.

He let out a slow breath as the haunting music washed over him.

“You fired me.”

His heart stopped for a split second as his eyes slowly traveled toward her. Was he hearing things? Was his mind playing tricks?

“What?” he breathed out after a moment.

“You fired me,” she said again, a bit louder.

“Annie?” he tried to keep his voice calm as he turned his head toward her. She was staring at him.

She let out a long, shaky breath. “How long?” she asked softly.

“How long?” he asked, clearly confused.

“How long was I floating?” she asked through barely moving lips.

“Almost two months.”

She seemed to consider that for a moment. He sat frozen in his own chair, afraid to make any sudden movement when all he wanted to do was grab her and hold her tightly to him.

“Hmm,” was her only response before her lips clamped shut.

“Do you feel…all right?” he prompted.

“Yeah. You know? When this happened the first time, when I was a teenager? The Doctor said I was in my ‘happy place’, that’s how I dealt with what I saw, but she was so wrong. There’s nothing happy about it. It’s like being in a jungle, constricted on all sides. You fight to get through it but it never ends. It’s extremely frustrating,” she said before sighing loudly.

“I should probably go and get a Doctor,” he stated as he watched her closely.

“No. Not yet,” she huffed out before pushing up from the chair. At his sudden movement, she held up her hand. “Don’t. Don’t get up, just sit there,” she ordered before turning her body and seating herself across his lap. His arms immediately clasped around her, his heart swelling as he tucked her head beneath his chin.

“I’m sorry, I have to do this. I’m not much of a crier, but I feel like I need to bawl for a few minutes, if that’s Ok,” she stated softly. Her shoulders gave small jerking movements as he held her, trying to keep himself from squeezing too tightly.

He planted long, soft kisses in her hair as his hand rubbed her arm rhythmically. After a few minutes and several sniffs, she finally lifted her head to look at him. His fingers immediately rose to wipe the moisture from her cheeks.

“Sorry about that,” she stated before sniffing again.

“No problem. Perfectly understandable.”

“I need to talk to the Police,” she breathed out. “I need to tell Shay and Irene…he told me everything. He was so arrogant about it, almost like he was proud. He was a complete sociopath, Ian.”

He didn’t want to talk about Rand, afraid it might set her off. He changed the subject. “They’ve all been here several times. I’ll call them tomorrow morning. Right now, I just want to hold you.”

“Ok. Ian?” she asked.

“Aye?”

“Do I have any dignity left?” she asked quietly. He pulled back to study her face.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m wearing a diaper, Ian. They put me in a diaper,” she shifted on his lap uncomfortably as a grimace appeared on her face. “Please tell me you didn’t have to change my diaper…”

“No.” he shook his head, trying to fight back a laugh.

“Ugh. Good. Please tell me I didn’t…ahh…geez, never mind.”

“It wouldn’t matter if you did. I’d still love you,” he tipped her face up to his once again.

“Ian?” she asked as a comforted smile turned her lips up.

“Hmm?”

“Could you kiss me?” she asked almost shyly.

“You don’t have to ask, hen,” he slowly, gently pressed his lips to hers, the sensations flowing through his body were almost numbing at the first touch between them. She responded by threading her fingers in his hair. He reluctantly pulled his lips from hers as an almost frustrated ‘mmm’ sounded from her throat. Their eyes held as a small smile spread across her lips once again.

“Two months and that’s the best you’ve got?” she whispered.

“I was trying to hold myself back,” he admitted softly before he felt her pull his head towards hers.

“I’m so sorry,” Anne whispered, looking from Shay to Irene. Their tear-stained faces were almost unbearable to her but they needed to know. Ian sat beside her the next afternoon, holding her hand pretty much as he did the entire night before and all throughout the next morning. It was as if he were afraid to let go.

“I can’t believe it,” Irene whispered as the tears seemed to flow in a steady stream down her cheeks. She made no effort to wipe them away. “All that time,” she breathed out before sniffing loudly. “I’m glad I know. I always hoped she would come back, at least now I know…” she trailed off.

Shay sat in silence, numb no doubt to the information Anne gave her. Anne purposely held back the more unpleasant things Rand told her. Shay’s heart was already broken; she didn’t need to tell her that he never loved her or their children. Anne sat in silence, her mouth working but no words forthcoming. She was tired, exhausted really, between the talking and the attention from the Doctors and nurses that seemed to visit steadily throughout the morning.

The Detectives had already come and gone earlier, armed with a suspect to investigate – one David Sommerville, and all of the missing pieces they hadn’t been able to decipher on their own. Financially, a rather clear picture emerged of transactions made during the two year time frame, but the trail ran cold as to where that money ended up. David was probably unaware of the world of trouble he was in. She would almost like to witness it firsthand. Not only did he use her, he knowingly put her in the path of his psychotic friend. In her mind, he was just as bad as Rand. Once he was behind bars, she would breathe easier again.

The nurse came in and politely reminded them that visiting time was almost over, prompting Shay and Irene to slowly remove themselves from the edge of the bed. Ian stayed firmly rooted as the nurse shot him a disapproving look to which he rolled his eyes.

Anne watched as the two women wrapped one of their arms around the other as they wandered toward the door, turning to look once more. The sorrow on their faces was unmistakable and it caused tears to gather in Anne’s eyes. “Thank you,” Irene mouthed before turning and assisting Shay from the room.

A long sigh escaped her lips before Ian’s grip tightened slightly. “I need some rest,” she breathed out as she rested her head on his shoulder. She felt him stiffen up ever so slightly.

“I promise I’ll wake up,” she added. “I have to. You have to get me out of here. The food sucks, place is full of crazy people,” she mumbled as her eyelids fluttered closed.

“That was mean, I’m just kidding. Not about the food, though…” she whispered.

*****

“You’re like a furnace,” she stated days later, her eyes shooting him an amused look before his arms loosened from around her and the leg he had slung over her sometime during the night finally lifted. They had finally released her after two more days of testing and observation.

“You act like I’m going to wander off. I’m not going anywhere,” she stated. He shifted his body to raise his head above hers.

“I know,” he said decisively. “I’ve been deprived for two months, I can’t help it. Humor me, eh?” He lowered his lips to hers for a soft kiss before rising up again.

“It’s all your fault, you know. All this doom and gloom about the Universe. It makes me realize how precious life is, and how damn
short
it is. I feel like I have a second chance with you. I don’t want to waste a moment.”

She smiled before raising her hand to caress his cheek.

“We leave for Scotland tomorrow,” he stated softly. Her smiling face quickly morphed into surprise.

“Wait. What?”

“The Police said they’ll call when they need you. I’ve got a facility to move. Lachlan still needs your help with the Oxford project. We need to get back.”

“I’m not…I’ve decided not to…I’m going to practice again. Neurosurgery, I mean, if they clear me,” she stammered out.

“What?” It was his turn to look surprised.

“I’m done with Pharmaceuticals,” she declared resolutely.

“When did you decide this?”

“Right after you fired my ass,” she shot him a glare.

“I take it back.”

“You keep firing me and hiring me back. This is the strangest relationship,” she breathed out before her eyes took on a serious glint. “I mean it though, Ian. I’m done.”

“I had plans for you. I refuse to accept your resignation. What do you think about that?” he kissed the tip of her nose and offered up a smug smile.

“Hmm. Three days back in the land of the living and already you’re ordering me around,” she pondered out loud as their eyes locked and held.

“I have a question to ask you,” he said after a few moments.

“No. I will not work for you.”

“Not that, Mouth,” he huffed out as he turned his body away from hers. He was grabbing something out of the nightstand next to the bed. He turned back to reveal a small white box. Flipping it open, he fixed her with an intense look.

“I wanted to take you someplace special and do this, but…I figure now is as good a time as any, eh?”

Her eyes traveled toward the contents of the box. Her heart stilled as she gazed at the massive, twinkling diamond nestled into the interior.

“When did you do that?” she finally stated as her eyes watched the prisms catching from the sun shining in through the window.

“While you were floating. I’m the eternal optimist,” he whispered softly. “So… Annie? Darlin’ would you do me the honor of marrying me?”

Her eyes were still fixed on the ring and everything it represented. It was something she had always secretly wanted but convinced herself she could do without most of her adult life. That was before she had met Ian. Before everything was bared to him, and yet he still wanted her, still loved her…

“Annie?” she could hear his voice and yet she still couldn’t answer, couldn’t really take her eyes off the obscenely large diamond winking at her.

Suddenly it was gone and his hand was gently turning her face to look at him.

“Anne, the proper response is…”

“Yes!” she answered enthusiastically before he could complete his sentence.