Gun Brooke - Course of Action

Carolyn nodded briskly. "Yes."

They moved into position, Carolyn standing below a concrete staircase that led up to Erica's apartment and Helen upstairs, behind a green door. The crew rustled around them.

"All right, people. Look sharp. Camera!"

"Camera running."

"Silence! Scene twenty-two. Take one. Action!"

Carolyn hurried up the stairs and knocked on the door.

"Cut! Sorry, Carolyn, the mike was in the picture. Again, please."

Walking back down, inhaling deeply, she braced herself for the next attempt.

After a few adjustments, Regina gave her command again. "Take two. Action."

Carolyn repeated her maneuver and reached the top of the stairs. "Good. Let's move on to the next scene while you're still up there, Carolyn. You ready, Helen?" Regina said after the third take.

"Yup."

Swallowing against her nausea, Carolyn prepared for Helen to initiate the quarrel scene.

At the director's command, Helen yanked the door open and glared at her. "Diana, what a surprise," she said resentfully. "Working around the clock as usual. What's up?"

Carolyn leaned against the door frame, staring at Helen with narrowing eyes. "You left in the middle of our conversation."

"Conversation?" Helen huffed. "You were lecturing. I swear, if you ever talk to me in that condescending tone of voice again, I'll—" Her voice broke off, completely falling out of character. "Carolyn?"

Sweat was pouring down Carolyn's back under her shirt and black leather jacket. Everything blurred, and the stairs to her left swayed. She tried to move away from them, but her legs wouldn't cooperate. Nausea made her swallow hard, and she began to fall.

"Oh, God. Carolyn!"

As her pain became unbearable, taking away her vision, she felt hands clutch at her jacket. She fell, expecting to slam into the concrete steps, yet unable to stop herself. In the distance she heard loud voices shout her name.

***

Helen watched Carolyn go beyond pale. In fact, she quickly turned gray. When she began to fall toward the long stairs, Helen acted on impulse. Reaching out, she managed to grab the lapels of Carolyn's leather jacket and pull the other woman toward her.

Carolyn's body slammed into hers as they both fell into the hallway of Erica Becker's apartment. Landing painfully on the floor, Carolyn on top of her, Helen lost her breath for a minute.

When Carolyn didn't try to move, Helen managed to make her voice work. "Carolyn? You okay?" Then she freed a hand and touched Carolyn's cheek, which was cold and damp. "Carolyn!"

Chapter Seventeen

Keep the change." Annelie pressed some bills into the cabdriver's hand and jumped out of the car. She wanted to scream with impatience when a family of at least six cut her off at the hospital entrance.

Inside, she frantically looked for the emergency room, her heart pounding. Half running toward the ER entrance, she clung to what Regina had said. Carolyn was awake when the ambulance drove away from the studio. She had to be all right.

The nurses' station in the ER was as crowded as the front door. Trying to draw even breaths, Annelie waited in line. She fought an overwhelming urge to push the people ahead of her out of the way, knowing they had equally pressing concerns.

"Annelie? Over here!" A familiar male voice made her whirl around, and Gregory walked toward her. "They're over here."

She forced herself not to run. "How is she? And what do you mean by they ? What's happened?"

"Helen's here too. She needed a couple of stitches in the back of her head after the fall."

"What fall?" Annelie felt confused and unable to focus. "What're you talking about? I thought Carolyn fainted. What happened to Helen?"

Gregory gently took her by the elbow and led her farther down the corridor. "Carolyn did faint. From what they told me, she already looked pale this morning. After running up and down some stairs several times during rehearsal and later, during the takes, she passed out."

"Oh, God," Annelie murmured, stopping outside the curtains. "And who fell?" The door behind them opened, and Helen stepped outside, dressed

in pants and a hospital robe. "We both did. Carolyn landed on me when she collapsed." She walked up to Annelie and hugged her. "She's okay, Annelie. She just came down from X-ray and the doctor's with her now." She gestured toward a door across the corridor.

"Helen saved her," Gregory added, drawing a stern look from the actress. "Well, you did. Regina said if you hadn't pulled Carolyn toward you, she could've fallen down the stairs."

Annelie felt her knees buckle and, for a second, only Helen's strong arms held her up. "What?"

"Gregory! You've got the tact of a bulldozer." Helen turned back to Annelie. "She scared us all for a minute. At first I couldn't tell if she was breathing or not."

"And then?"

"People came running from all directions. The staff nurse made everyone leave Carolyn alone and not move her while she examined her. When they finally moved her, Carolyn woke up, dizzy and with a headache, but able to stand on her feet."

"Can I see her?" Annelie's eyes brimmed with tears.

"The doctor should be out soon." Helen kept her arm around Annelie, who welcomed the comforting touch.

When a doctor finally appeared, Annelie approached him, eager to see her lover. "Doctor, I'm Annelie Peterson. Is my—is Carolyn all right?"

The doctor peered at her over his reading glasses. "Are you next of kin?"

"No, but…yes, in a way."

"I can only answer questions from immediate family members. Sorry." He started to walk away.

"We…she's my…We're like family, doctor." Annelie felt a jab of pain in her stomach while she tried to explain.

"Sorry. Unless you're her sister, I can't share any details." As he began to walk away again, Helen grasped his arm.

"Can we see her?"

"She really needs to rest. Until her family gets here, there's nothing I can—"

"Doctor, these are my friends, and Annelie's right. She is my family," a husky voice interrupted. "I realize you're only protecting my privacy, but, in this case, it's unnecessary."

Annelie pivoted and saw Carolyn standing in the doorway, looking pale and smaller than usual, but with a familiar firm expression in her eyes. The doctor frowned.

"Ms. Black, you really should rest and not—"

"I'll rest, and my friends will keep me company. It's up to me to decide who can stay or not, don't you agree? I feel a lot better, thanks to the medication you prescribed. Start the procedure of having me released, please." Annelie recognized Carolyn's commanding tone of voice.

Not caring if anyone saw them, Annelie walked over to Carolyn and put her arms around her, holding her tight. "You scared me."

"I'm sorry." Carolyn's voice was a mere whisper. "I didn't mean to. God, another hospital, another scare. We can't keep doing this." She tried a smile.

"I know."

"Gregory and I'll find some coffee. See you ladies later." Helen pulled Gregory with her toward the waiting area, tucking the hospital robe tighter around her.

Returning to her room, Carolyn sat down on the gurney, still holding Annelie's hand. "I'm so glad you're here."

Annelie examined Carolyn's face, raising her free hand to touch her lover's lips. "I'm devastated you're here. You scared me. Regina called and all she could say was that you fainted, were unconscious for a while, and they called the paramedics. I…Apart from going with you to see Beth, I haven't really been in a hospital since my mother died."

"Oh, love, come here." Carolyn pulled Annelie closer. "This doctor, in spite of his harsh manners, is very conscientious. He's going to refer me to a different neurologist."

"A neurologist? What does he think is wrong?"