Radclyffe - Safe Harbor

"Wheres Conlon?" he asked, his voice gruffer than he intended.

"Out looking for the man who assaulted your daughter."

He nodded, intending to step past her. She moved purposely into his path.

"I have several messages for you, Nelson. The first one is from Reese. She wants you to stay with Brianna. She said, and I quote - Thats where youre needed. Youll taint the case if youre involved in any way. She promises she wont rest until she gets him. I have no doubt she means that." She paused until she was satisfied that he agreed. "The next message is from me, and you can be sure I mean it. You broke her ribs tonight, Nelson. If you ever lay a hand on her again, youll never wear a badge in this or any other place as long as you live. Now get out of my clinic - and stay out of my sight."

"Ill resign tomorrow," Nelson said, his face gray.

"Reese wouldnt want you to do that," Tory said as she turned away. "Id rather you face her every day knowing that."

He stared at her retreating back, feeling smaller than he ever had. In the last hour he had seen what love between women was made of, and he knew that he would never discount it again. He only hoped it was in him to love so well. He walked out to the ambulance holding his daughter's hand, praying she would forgive him.

**********

What happened that night was the thing legends were made of, and as this story was told and retold by every cop on the Cape, and every person in Provincetown, the story grew. Only the two young officers who answered Reeses call for back-up could really say for sure, and even they couldnt agree on what really transpired.

Certain facts were indisputable. Reese waited in the dark, in her patrol car, on the edge of Route six, watching the few vehicles leaving Provincetown in the middle of the night. When a black pickup truck with a single headlight passed her, going five miles over the speed limit, she flicked on her lights and siren and chased him to the outskirts of Truro. He finally pulled over and Reese pulled her car in front of him, angling onto the shoulder so that he could not drive off. She sat in her car, looking at the fresh dent in the right front fender of his truck. She remembered her promise to Tory, and she radiod her position and requested back up. They were five minutes away. She did everything by the book, as she believed they should be done. Then she made a mistake.

She thought about Brianna - of her brave young spirit and her beautiful face, unrecognizable now. She thought about the finger marks on Bri's neck and her breasts, the gouges on her inner thighs. She thought about Bri's terror with him battering for entrance to the places only her lover had ever touched. She thought about Bri out there alone, bleeding into the sand, because some man did not like whom she chose to love.

She stepped from the car and unsnapped the strap that secured her gun.

Chapter Twentytwo

Hospitals in the dark hours of the night were places like no other. Hushed with unnatural silence, punctuated by the moans and murmurs of the ill and dying, they were places to pass through, not to linger. Lives were changed forever here, for the dead as well as the living. Tory walked down the dim hallway toward the ICU carrying her third cup of coffee of a long night that promised to be a longer day. It was just after five a.m., and she welcomed the activity she knew the morning shift would bring. Shed had too much time to think the last few hours, sitting with Caroline, waiting for word from Reese.

At the end of the hall, Caroline stared at the closed doors of the intensive care unit, automatically wiping the tears that overflowed her eyes, waiting until seven AM when she could see Bri. Watching her, Tory reflected on the clear and simple passion between the young women. Untainted by disappointments, untarnished by the accumulated experiences of loves gone wrong, their devotion was unrestricted, their commitment complete. They were brave and fearless and so pure in their loving. They trusted in tomorrow, believing nothing could come between them. They were glorious in their innocence.

Sadly, Tory knew there had been a time when she had loved like that. She knew too, as did all those whose first loves withered with change, that she could never love that way again. Some part of her would always be afraid. She wondered if she could ever truly give herself to love again. She wasnt sure she could, or even that she wanted to.

She glanced into a small dark waiting room just down the hall from the harshly lit main sitting area. Reese was standing at the window, her back to the room. She was still in her uniform. The sky beyond was just beginning to lighten with the dawn. The tense stillness in Reese's figure signaled to Tory that something was wrong. She went to her, slipping her arms around Reese's waist from behind, laying her cheek against Reeses strong back.

"Im glad youre here," Tory murmured against her.

"How is she?" Reese asked, folding her arms over Torys.

"Theyre still running tests. Her head CT was clear, thank god, so shes just got a bad concussion. We should know the rest of the results within the hour."

Reese nodded, not turning.

"Did you get him?" Tory asked quietly.

"Yes."

"Are you all right?"

"I dont know," Reese answered hollowly. She took a shaky breath. "I kept thinking about her- lying alone out there in the night, what he had done to her for no other reason than she loved another woman. Jesus! Shes just a girl!"

Reese pulled away abruptly, sinking into a nearby chair. She stared at her hands, dangling between her knees. Tory went to her, standing between her legs, placing her hands lightly on Reese's shoulders. Reese was trembling.

"Tell me," Tory said gently.

"I got out of my car intending to kill him," Reese admitted in a low voice. "I knew it when I walked up to the vehicle. If it was him, I was going to kill him."

Torys chest constricted in fear, but her voice was steady. "What happened?"

"It was him," Reese laughed grimly. "His nose was halfway over to his ear, and he had cuts from pulling her through the brush on his face and hands. I asked him to step out of the truck. I could hear my backup coming, and so could he. He didnt put up a fight. As soon as he was out, I spun him down onto the hood. When the other patrol car pulled in I had my gun against the back of his head."

Tory nearly stopped breathing, but she tightened her grip on Reeses shoulders. She would not leave her alone with this. "Keep talking, sweetheart," she whispered. "Its all right."

"They just watched me. I knew theyd never say what happened. This was the Chiefs daughter. I thought about him ripping at her clothes, on top of her - oh, Jesus -" she gasped, her voice breaking. "I could hardly see him any longer. My arm ached from not pulling the trigger. Finally I holstered my weapon, and as I reached for the cuffs, he made his move. He came at me fast, but this wasnt Nelson. I broke his arm. But God, all I wanted was to kill him! I came so close, Tory, so close! What does that say about me?!!"

Without thinking, she reached out in her pain for Tory, wrapping her arms around Torys waist, burying her face against her. Clutching her, she wept.

"Oh, my darling," Tory whispered, pierced by Reeses pain. She stroked her hair, ran her hands tenderly over her quivering shoulders, held her fast. Reeses need was so clear, her emotions so raw. In her own way, Reese was as innocent and vulnerable as those two girls down the hall. If ever there had been a barrier to Tory loving this woman, it was gone now. This was Torys chance at love again, the simple, fresh, untarnished love of the young. She had likened her frighteningly valiant, frustratingly honorable lover to an innocent, and in the uncompromising way she loved, she was.