A/N: In the middle of finals, but I'll just leave this here… Thanks for reading.
A Family Matter
Chapter One (Part 2/2)
Clutching tight to the home phone in her right hand – her left, her cell – Amy began her zillionth lap from the living room to the kitchen and back, the front door centered between each pass. Buttons trotted at her side with each back and forth, thinking it was some sort of new game, though even the energetic puppy could sense something was wrong and whined a little on their next pass by the door. Only this time, the distinct sound of a key turning in the lock broke her out of the pattern, sending her running to the door and both phones absently to the floor. Amy landed in Lucy's arms, a broken sob just barely masking a surprised groan.
Normally when she returned home from work, Lucy would find Amy holed up in her studio working on some assignment or another, but always with a warm welcome home when she meandered that way. Hysterics… that was new. Not that she couldn't guess why…
Regardless, worry laced her tone. "Amy?"
Amy replaced words of explanation with a tightening hold, turning her head into her lover's neck and letting her sobs come out more freely.
Lucy pulled her in closer despite the intense pain radiating from anywhere the blonde touched, offering a protective embrace through the confusion. "Hey, it's okay. Cry it out if you need to."
For a moment, Amy did. But pulling herself back and wiping at her face a little, she finally explained, "Th-there was news… a bomb- one of the ships at the harbor. It-t was one of yo-" A hiccup cracked the word, bringing Lucy's hand up to touch the blonde's cheek. "-one of yours…"
Lingering wetness clung to Amy's cheeks, swiped off by the pad of Lucy's thumb as she looked her over. "I'm right here. The news was hyping that up a bit. No one-" She paused slightly, her muscles twinging, "no one was hurt, honey."
Amy didn't seem to hear as she choked out, "A-and you said this morning that you w-ere supposed to be on one today." She fought in a breath, choking it back out again. "I kept calling you, but you wouldn't answer. I even went down to the marina and saw your boat burning. You weren't anywhere! And now you're finally home…" She seemed to run out of words and nestled into Lucy's neck, her arms tight around her girlfriend as she slowly controlled her crying.
Something twisted in Lucy's gut, worry perhaps, pain most certainly, but she pushed it from her mind, concentrating on the here and now. On Amy. She stroked softly along her back, trying to ease the lingering sniffles. When that didn't work, she tried words.
Yet none she could share came to mind. Her mouth closed again as she worried her bottom lip. A small lie isn't the end of the world…
She started out soft. "I was the one to dial 911, Ames. They needed me to stay on the line and I eventually handed it off to Mario to go help. I promise I'm alright. I'm here. One piece even," she tried to joke.
Amy's head emerged from her neck, her tears having cleared, but an undeniable redness still clinging around her eyes. Eyes that were suddenly looking her over in worry. With spy-like precision. Shit. Nothing she could really do at this point but smile reassuringly and wait.
"Your clothes…" Amy frowned deeply, perturbed she was just now noticing this. "They're almost damp."
"Uh…" Double shit. "Yeah. Lots of spray from the fire truck hoses."
Smooth, Diamond. Nothing like being bodily thrown against the dock and into the water from an explosion to test your lying abilities.
Worried eyes slowed to a stop atop cuts on her forearm, Amy's fingers softly holding the surrounding skin. "This was from when Buttons got a good scratch in, right?"
"Uh-huh." It didn't sound confident – because she wasn't – so she nodded too.
Amy's eyes lingered on hers, unreadable.
C'mon. Stay strong.
Her tone was questioning, inner indignation adding a touch of anger as her fingers feathered upward with none of the feelings they normally aroused, stopping along a smaller cut. "That was this one. Why are you lying, Luce?"
Lucy sighed heavily, the act alone making her hiss out the rest of the breath in pain, Amy's worry skyrocketing. "If you say you just had an exhausting day, I swear to God, Lucy Diamond…"
"So it's been a little more than that…"
"A little?" Her look was becoming downright murderous. "You're hurt, Lucy. God knows how badly… What's worse is you've been hiding it while I- …clung all over you. Geez, are you okay?" She reached for Lucy's shirt, disheveling it enough to catch a glimpse of purpled skin before Lucy weakly pulled it back down, biting back the pathetic noises that went with the action.
"Amy, please…"
Amy's mouth had gone dry, but she managed to intone, "Lucy…"
This time, when she reached for Lucy's shirt, she was allowed to raise it up, gasping at just how thoroughly bruised she was – angry purples, blues, greens, and yellows marring what seemed to be every few inches of her skin.
In an instant, the blonde's face was stone cold, almost mortified before she finally lifted her eyes back up to Lucy's, the realizations apparent.
The light jacket for the past few days wasn't to ward off an oncoming cold. She didn't want to stay up reading, she wanted to go to bed after me.
Her eyes slipped to the floor as thoughts just kept assaulting her.
She locked the bathroom door to keep me from seeing the bruises she couldn't – wouldn't – explain. No wonder we haven't been—
"Hey. Look at me." Lucy took the hem of her shirt from Amy's hands, dropping it back into place again. "I'm okay. In need of a first aid kit, but okay."
That seemed to get Amy's attention, refocusing her thoughts. The two slowly, painfully made it up to their master bathroom, Amy coming up with supplies and pausing before reaching for her shirt again. It was carefully removed amid gasps and sharp howls, allowing Amy to start cleaning some of the fresh wounds. "This is more than what could have happened today – some of the bruising is almost healed - so whatever this is has been going on for a while. Talk to me, Lucy."
When nothing was said, her eyes sharpened in the slightest, Lucy hissing at the slightly harsher dab against a cut. "Something's going on and you're keeping it from me like I'm some innocent you have to protect."
"No, I know- I know you aren't. It's just… We're finally settled in here. A new life, a new start, a new us. …and I didn't want to bring up old worries, especially when it could just be harmless pranks from someone around here."
"Harmless pranks, Lucy, really?" The tone made Lucy flinch, then wince at the pain even that caused.
"That theory's kind of shot after tonight, I know, but that doesn't mean I have a clue who it is either. It's not like half, if not more, of the underground world doesn't want me dead for my own brand of treason, not to mention the plentiful enemies my family and I had before that."
"So tell me about the harmless pranks that have you coming home bruised." Her very face got quiet, meek. "…How long? How long have I not noticed you're coming home hurt this badly?"
The response was pretty quiet too. "No more than a week. It was just small things at first. Slippery bows as if someone waxed them. Steering shot to all hell in one of the yachts. Tampered electrical wiring that I regret trying to personally fix. Anything to cause me pain or stress, it seemed. But bomb is a bit past a "we don't want your business in this neighborhood" warning.
"The bruises, Lucy," Amy reminded.
"…And then some slightly bigger stuff started happening. Stuff that was probably my fault from all the stress. I don't really see a need to reevaluate my stupid actions…" Lucy carefully regarded the heavy sigh she got in response, knowing Amy was worried, concerned, and even angry all at once. A hard trio to navigate with her. She took a moment before asking, "Do we have strong pain meds somewhere?"
"The hospital does." Regardless, Amy was already searching through the medicine cabinet.
"You know how I feel about hospitals…"
And she did. Amy knew she wouldn't go even if she got shot, God forbid.
"Have you at least called Scud?"
Lucy downed a few pills, nodding. "From the driveway. Just long enough to stop his circling of the hospitals. It's like he doesn't know me either."
The look she got wasn't very impressed. Neither was the sigh. "What's next then?"
"Next is curling up in bed and sleeping like the dead."
At least she got a slim smile at that. "That's not exactly what I meant… but you're right. We can figure things out in the morning." Amy carefully released the hooks of Lucy's bra, lifting it off and down her arms before just as carefully removing her jeans, all traces of the humor dropping when the trail of bruises continued down her thighs and lower. Each uncovered inch revealed another shade of discoloration. As gentle as she could, Amy pressed a kiss above each of Lucy's knees before finishing and fitting loose boxers in place. She lingered when pulling out one of the baggy t-shirts Lucy'd taken to wearing lately, but the brunette's own shake of the head made her put it back. She helped Lucy settle in before getting ready for bed herself.
Lights were turned off and blankets readjusted around them as Amy gently settled in on her side, trying not to jostle the bed too much. They both remained quiet, neither quite knowing what to say. A careful press of lips to Lucy's temple and a slow shift back to her side conveyed the mix of relief and worry flowing through Amy while Lucy's own thoughts remained distant and unknown, not even Amy's brief touch calming her nerves that something huge was coming their way.