Chapter One

We been dancin' with Mr. Brownstone
He's been knockin'
He won't leave me alone
No, no ,no, he won't leave me alone
I used ta do a little but a little wouldn't do
So the little got more and more
I just keep tryin' ta get a little better
Said a little better than before
Mr. Brownstone
Guns ‘N Roses

November 3^rd

It was just over a month ago Daniel Jackson decided he wanted his wife back and from that point on he’d been planning and scheming to do just that. Now his efforts were paying off and Calla was back with him but now came the hard part, the part he didn’t have any actual experience in but Annie, David and Dr. Adams did and they all had a boat load of advice for him.

Adams and Annie wanted him to send Calla to rehab but David, Nicholas and Colleen did not. Daniel agreed. A clinic or hospital was not the place for her now, it was too cold, too impersonal and she’d be surrounded by strangers 24-7. Maybe they were the ‘experts’ but she’d be afraid of them and who knew what would happen when she started coming down. Maybe her powers would return, maybe she would become a danger to the staff and other patients. Maybe they’d be afraid of her, dope her up, tie her down and Calla would really freak out. So, on all levels, the Jackson family dismissed the idea of sending her away some place to dry out and sober up.

Long before Calla actually came home Daniel was making plans for their future. It was in the middle of a lonely night about three weeks ago that Daniel had a brainstorm. If he ever got her back he was going to take her away, far, far away, to Scotland. Kitty always wanted that castle where all of their family could come and live with them and where they would make love each summer night in the garden by the wishing well. If he took her some place like that she’d know how serious he was about working everything out. She’d be happy and comfortable in a place like that. Daniel got online and started looking within hours he found, not a castle, but something almost as good. The great stone mansion had once been home to a long line of Scottish Lords, it was near the Isle of Skye where Calla spent the first five years of her life and according to the description one could see the Castle Dunvegan from the upper quarters on the West side of the mansion. It had a garden and a wishing well. It was also outrageously expensive and in need of repair.

Sort of like their relationship.

It was perfect. Daniel got on the phone and made inquiries about the place. He arranged to be able to spend a few weeks there before making a decision on buying it.

Today he’d gotten back on the phone and told the real estate agent in Scotland that he was coming by the end of the night and wanted everything ready. He needed the house stocked with food and wood and wanted it dusted and cleaned with fresh sheets and towels. The agent had no problems, after all, Daniel did send a $10,000.00 deposit when he made his initial inquiry and from then on all the agent was really waiting for was Daniel’s phone call telling him that they were coming.

The agent assured him that everything would be ready for his arrival and that the care taker of the old mansion was very good at his job. The are taker lived in a small cottage on the property and the old man hoped to keep his job when/if a sale ever went through. Daniel didn’t see a problem there. The property was far away from what resembled a town and Daniel told the agent he’d need to have a car at his disposal when they got there and again he was told there was no problem. It seemed everything was in place and ready to go.

And not a moment too soon. One of the morning news shows told him the body of Andrew Hartley washed up on the shores of the Hudson River. They further told him—and the world—Andrew Hartley was last been seen on a flight headed to Colorado from Italy. So far the police were aware that Hartley safely landed in Denver the afternoon before his body was found and he’d rented a car. After that they had no idea where he’d gone, who he saw or how his body was found 3000 miles away in the Hudson River in New York. Daniel knew it wouldn’t be long before they found out Hartley was chasing Calla and they’d start looking for her. With Hartley’s rental car still sitting in the driveway it wouldn’t take long before they were questioning her. As it was the goddamn reporters were already starting to call the house. Callas’ cell phone was ringing off the hook and he’d shut it off. It was best to get her out of here as quickly and quietly as possible.

Early this morning he told Nicholas to get rid of the car without touching it or getting inside it. Nick smiled wickedly and the car and he disappeared. Nick came back a few moments later. “What’d you do with it?” Daniel asked.

“I parked it at the bottom of the Grand Canyon all nice and shiny. No one will ever know how it got there.” Nick laughed and so did Daniel. Yeah, let John E. Law try and figure that one out.

Calla slept all night after her leg cramp, she hardly even moved about. Daniel skimmed through the diary and noticed that she didn’t have much to say about Andrew F. Hartley but he’d read it more in depth when they reached their destination. Today she was still sleeping and the kids and Annie stayed with her while he went off to the SGC to talk to Jack and Adams, both of whom continually expressed their dismay at his idea of taking her away and doing this on his own.

In the end Adams gave him a list of instructions and what to expect. She was apt to say and do anything to get her next fix but no matter what she did he had to stick to the schedule Adams laid out for him. She was apt to hallucinate vividly and he had to be ready for anything….literally. She was going to be in a great amount of pain some of which would be physical and some of which would be mental and there was little differentiating between the two.

“Anything.” Adams stressed and reached behind him to produce a set of restraints. “Don’t be afraid to use these on her, Daniel.” Adams handed them to him but Daniel didn’t take them right away so Dr. Adams put them on his desk. “You can’t be afraid to subdue her if the situation calls for it.” Adams warned. “If you have any doubts about this, Daniel, you need to put her into an inpatient care facility.”

“No doubts,” Daniel said sheepishly and picked up the set of soft leather restrains. They were much like the ones he had worn at one time. It was a leather belt which went around the waist and to which the restrained persons’ wrists were then secured to so they couldn’t punch or scratch. Inside the soft leather was soft sheep hide. They wouldn’t hurt her.

Adams went on to further warn that Calla was going to be completely unable to care for herself in all manners for several days if not weeks and Daniel would also have to take care of all that for her. Dr. Adams’ best advice was to keep her asleep though the withdrawal process as much as he could. Daniel left Adams’ office with a brown paper bag and small stack of paper. Within the brown paper bag were two amber bottles of sleeping pills, a supply of methadone and a few other prescription drugs Adams said would alleviate her suffering through the withdrawal process.

Jack offered to come along, so did Sam and Teal’c for that matter but Daniel felt it was best if the two of them did this alone. If he needed them he’d call. They wished him the best of luck. Of course all of their well-wishes and hopes, all of the hard work Daniel was set to do didn’t mean a damn thing if Calla didn’t want to get off drugs to begin with. No matter how much he might want to, Daniel couldn’t make her do it, all he could do was offer her a safe haven and the help she needed.

“Jack, I need you to do something for me,” Daniel said as they sat in Jack’s office.

“Anything just name it.”

“I want you to have someone look into Hartley’s estate, find out if he left a will and who….”

“Who’s gonna get control over Callas’ paintings now that he’s dead.” Jack finished.

“Yeah, ordinarily I wouldn’t care but there could be millions of dollars at stake here and I have to know what to do when I get back.”

“No problem.” Jack told him. “I’ll have everything you need to know by the time the two of you come home.”

“Thanks, I knew I could count on you.” Daniel said and rose from his seat.

“Daniel, you don’t have to do this alone you know that, don’t you?” Jack asked and Daniel nodded. “So why are you doing this? We’ll all help it’s not like we want to see you fail or Calla get worse.”

“I didn’t mean to imply that you did,” Daniel explained. “Look, I got her into this….”

“You did what?” Jack asked in surprise.

“She got this bad because I took her little stash of pills away before we left,” that was hlf true. Nicholas told him about them and Daniel found them before they left but he was going to wait to confront her until after they got back. Kitty beat him to it because she wanted to show him that she could be trusted so she’d tossed them in order to impress him. In this day and age when half of Planet Earth was on one Happy Pill or another-Prosac, Zoloft, Xanax, you name it—Kitty had a little stash of Valium and pain killers. Who didn’t? Big fucking deal. He really should have gone about it differently, he should have been more supportive and understanding than he was. “She got worse because of what I was doing there on that planet with those women. She knew Jack she just didn’t want to believe it. That whole thing opened the door for Hartley.” Besides, he thought, I’ve got a bit of experience in dealing with the DTs. And he did, a little bit, from when he came down off the booze not to mention all that time he’d spent in the sarcaphocous so many years ago. Coming down off of that was no fun at all. ”If I just left her with those pills….”

“What? She would have told Hartley to take flying fuckin’ leap? Don’t be so sure, Daniel. She’s got an addictive personality and you’re not responsible for that.” Jack told him.

OK so she did have an addictive personality. Kitty was always looking for ways to make things a little easier and a little better, always looking for something to take the edge off her life. That didn’t mean she had to live like this or that any of it was any the less his fault. “I’ll see you in a few weeks.” Besides, once upon a time, it was Daniel that took the edge off her life and made everything bearable. With any luck he’d be that again.

“Good luck.” Jack told him with a sad smile. “If you need anything you know where I am just call.”

“I will.” Daniel walked out of the office and off the base.

When Daniel arrived home Calla was awake and Colleen and Annie had managed to get her dressed but now she seemed not to know where she was or who the people around her were. She just huddled on the floor in the corner of their bedroom looking scared, scratching at her chest and her arms, twirling her hair or shaking her head. Annie said it was ‘stage one paranoia’ brought on by the cocaine withdrawals and she was right. Calla’s cognitive systems were breaking down and she didn’t recognize anyone though if Andy were here Daniel was certain she’d recognize him because he was the one with the goods. Nick once accused his Father of being his Mother’s pusher for twenty years and not only was he right but it was time that Daniel found a way to resume that role but this time it wasn’t his touch he was offering but the drugs she wanted.

“Come on, Kitty,” Daniel said softly as he reached out to pick her up from the floor. Calla bit his hand. “Ow!”

“That’s just the start,” Annie said, “you sure you don’t want to stay here, Doctor J? I mean it was hard just getting her dressed, ya know?”

“I’m sure.” Daniel shook his hand and tried again. “Get up, Calla.” He said in a stronger voice. “Come on get up.” She sat there staring up at him from beneath a mass of newly grown auburn hair. OK, he said to himself, time to be the Master. From here on out. “Agu dup, ginan d'uk,” (Get on your feet). The Shankuk language cut through the haze in her mind and now there was a spark of recognition in her eyes. “Maen.” (Now)

Calla used the wall for support as she pushed herself up on her own two feet.

“Te yan ny'kwe.” (Come with me). Daniel grabbed her upper arm firmly but not harshly and pointed to the bedroom door. Shaking and starting to sweat, Calla followed him when he began to lead her and clung to his arm as they went down the stairs with the three teenagers following them.

“Are you sure you’re ready for this, Dad?” Nicholas asked.

“No,” Daniel smiled and laughed a little, “but it’s time to get this show on the road.”

“OK,” Nicholas agreed and held onto his Mother’s hand.

“You three, I want you to unpack all of her stuff and put it all back where it belongs before we get back.” Daniel told them and watched them not in response. Looking down at the suitcases at his feet he wondered if he had everything they were goin to need. Whatever might be left behind he could either call for or purchase in the small Scottish village.

“Where we goin’?” Calla mumbled and laid her head on Daniel’s shoulder as she started to rock on her feet.

“I told you, some place beautiful and quiet.” Daniel no more finished the sentence than the house phone started ringing again. “Jesus don’t they quit?” Daniel grumbled.

“No,” Colleen said with a smile, “they don’t give up too easily, Dad but that’s all right. We can handle them.”

“No going into labor while we’re away.” Daniel warned and hugged his Daughter. Since Colleen was half Olympian and the baby she was carrying was three-quarters mortal, Dr. Adams didn’t know just how long until Colleen delivered. He said the baby was a good size but hadn’t moved into position yet all they could do was wait. “I love you, Cole. If you need anything you just come get me.”

“I will, Dad.” She said and kissed his cheek. “Love you Mom.” Colleen kissed Callas’ cheek. Calla looked over at her Daughter and gave a weak smile. It was so obvious she had no idea where she was or what was going on around her that it stabbed at Colleen’s heart. “Be good for Dad.”

“We’ll all be here when you get back Mrs. J.” Annie said softly and gave a little smile. “If you need any advice Doctor J, just call me.”

“I will, Annie.” He probably would be better off calling her than Adams after all Annie did have more practical experience in this area than the good doctor. “You sure you can do this, Nick?”

“Piece of cake.” Nick said off-handedly.

Behind Nicholas was a quiet flash of red light. “I will take them.” Ares said as he came into the room.

“Father,” Calla stuttered as her eyes lolled upward toward him and she held her arms weakly to him like a little girl begging to be picked up and that’s just what Ares did. He reached down and picked her off the ground. Callas’ arms wrapped around his neck and she nuzzled her face in his long wavy hair while her legs encircled his waist, not in a sexual way at all. At this moment she didn’t look like anything more than a sleepy eight year-old girl. Ares’ onyx closed as he hugged her tightly and his lips curled into a small smile as she whispered something in his ear. Daniel heard the muttering of her voice but he couldn’t make out the words she said.

“Say good-bye, kiddies.” Ares said to the young people around him.

“Bye,” they said in unison.

“Take my hand, Jackson.” Ares ordered. Daniel looked at the extended open palm and the other hand which was busy under Calla’s butt and holding her firmly to him. “I won’t bite you.” He scolded.

“Yeah, right.” Daniel mumbled and slipped his hand into Ares’ bit mitt. The three of them along with the suitcases and box of goodies disappeared from 1 North Cemetery Drive, Greenbrier, Colorado and reappeared on the green hills of Scotland.

“This is where you’re going to keep her?” Ares asked as he held her close to him, to Daniel Calla appeared to be sleeping in her Father’s arms. In Colorado it was only eleven in the morning but here in Scotland it was almost 7 o’clock in the evening and all was hushed and darkening.

“You don’t approve?” Daniel asked as he reached down and picked up the suitcases.

“Mortals,” Ares huffed in disgust and zapped the bags to the front door of the old stone mansion. “I approve, Jackson. When she returns to her senses she will like it here.” They walked up the cobblestone walk under the cover of the early Scottish evening.

“That’s what I was hoping for.” Daniel returned and held his arms out for his wife as they got to the large wooden door which was surrounded by brambles. Looking up at them he thought, no they weren’t brambles, in the spring it was Wisteria which surrounded the front door and he wondered if it was purple or pink. “And by the way, I’m Immortal now.”

“Yes, but it will be a long time before you behave like it.” Ares grumbled in return but didn’t hand her over to him.

“Doctor Jackson? Is that you?” Asked a voice with a thick Scottish brogue. “I can’t see a damn thing in this light.”

Daniel shot Ares a harsh look but only got a blank stare in return. “The sword doesn’t blend.” Daniel hissed.

“Oh,” Ares mumbled. Suddenly the customary black leather vest and pants along with battlements were gone and Ares God of War was standing on the cobblestone path with his Daughter in his arms clad in black linen slacks and a black sweater.

“It amazes me how you can look so gentlemanly sometimes,” Daniel sneered.

“Is that a compliment?”

“Doctor Jackson, I’m sorry, sir, I didn’t see you come up the drive.” The care taker was coming up close now.

Daniel and Ares turned around to see an older man toddling up the cobblestone walk. Daniel remembered the place had a care taker. He also remembered he didn’t have a key and hopefully this kindly looking old man was about to let them in. “Yes, I’m Daniel Jackson. You are?”

“Angus McGee,” the old man said kindly and held out his hand. Daniel shook it while Angus looked up at Ares and the woman in his arms. “Tuckered out is she? Was it a long trip?”

“My wife is ill. We came here so she can rest.” Daniel explained quietly. “This is her Father….Ares.”

“Aye, nice to meet you, sir.” Angus said and squeezed through the two of them with a ring of keys in his hand. Yep the woman looked sick as a dog to him. “Here I’ll get the door for you.” He slid the key into the lock and the heavy oak door swung open. Angus reached down for the bags.

“I’ll get those, Mr. McGee.” Daniel told him. The old man didn’t look like he could handle carrying the bags inside. “If you’ll just give me the key.”

“Don’t you want me to show you around?”

Calla started to stir in Ares’ arms and Ares cleared his throat to signal Daniel to get things moving along. “No, I’m sure we’ll find everything.”

“All right, sir. The kitchen is stocked just as you asked, everything’s been spit and shined and there be fresh sheets on all the beds. Hearths are ready to light in all the rooms too.” Angus McGee handed over the keys. “If ya need me just hit *8 on the phone and it’ll ring the gate house.” Angus pointed across the way to a four car garage. “You can use any of the cars in there keys are on the ring. Have a nice evening, gentlemen.” Angus gave a slight nod and made his way back down the cobblestone path.

“Seems nice enough,” Ares remarked as took Calla inside. “The place is big enough.”

“You’re not staying, Ares.” Daniel told him as he picked up the suitcases and put them inside the door.

“Where do you want her?” Ares asked briskly as he ignored the comment.

Daniel had thought about that. “Second floor, follow me.” He’d studied the lay out of the place online and then using the papers the real estate agent sent him two weeks ago. There were several bedrooms and wings to this place but the Master bedroom was on the second floor and it had a Master bathroom and she’d need to be close to such facilities so keeping her on the first floor was out of the question. Suitcases in hand they went through the main living area and up the wide and sturdy hand-carved mahogany staircase. There was a huge stain glass window in the minstrel’s gallery before the stair case turned right and then went up another flight. The window was filled with images of flowers and birds and looked out on a granite path leading to one of the many gardens. After the second set of steps there was a hallway which branched off left and right, Daniel led them to the right and three doors down.

Opening the door he was greeted by a bedroom big enough for all the members of the Jackson family to comfortably camp in for a week. Like all the rooms in the house the walls were stone and the floor was hand laid hard wood. There was a four poster mahogany bed big enough to sleep four, it was covered with soft pillows and hanging from the posts were layers of sheer fabric. Flowers and ivy grew from a great bronze pot sitting on a mantle over the bed. The ivy stretched out in long tendrils as it grew up the stone walls branching out to three of the four walls in the room. The bedroom had all the amenities one would expect of such a lavish home, windows which looked out onto the gardens—complete with wishing well—and the sea beyond them. There were two very large and heavy-looking armoires on the left all, a free standing beveled mirror in one corner, two dressers and a vanity table. At the foot of the bed was a large hope chest which could be used as bench and over which a blue and gold tartan was draped. Directly across from the bed was a hearth to rival the one in Ares’ cave. Around it was a very comfortable sitting area with couch, chaise, three very plush chairs and assorted tables. Hanging over the hearth was a large Scottish tapestry which Daniel supposed showed some of the history of the family which had lived here.

All in all the place was as close to perfect as he could get. “Lay her down on the bed.”

Ares climbed up on the bed and laid his Daughter down in the middle of it. Looking over at Daniel he saw him with a pack of matches in his hand. “You’re just as stubborn as she is. Why don’t you ask for help?” He grumbled and then pointed at the fireplace which sprung to life at his command.

“When I need it I’ll ask for it.” Daniel returned.

“You want me to leave?”

“If you wouldn’t mind.”

“You still have to deal with me, Jackson.” Ares warned. “If you pull this off we’re going to be seeing a lot of each other for a very long time so you might as well just get it off your chest.”

There wasn’t anything left to say. He’d said it all already the only thing left to do was find a way to get past his anger. “Just go.”

“You want a free swing?” Ares asked and stepped away from Calla to stand in front of Daniel. “I already gave you one but if you’d like another…”

“This isn’t going to get us anywhere,” Daniel was starting to get angry and Kitty was starting to come around as she lay on the bed. “Would you just leave?”

“You better take care good of her, Jackson.” Ares threatened.

“I will.”

“I’ll be back to see how you’re doing.” Taking one last look at the woman who was now trying to sit up Ares blew her a kiss and then disappeared.

“Poppa,” she muttered as she continued trying to sit up. “Poppa?”

“He left Calla, he’ll be back later.” Daniel said easily and sat next to her. Calla hadn’t had a boot, a snort, a pill, a toke or anything else in just over 12 hours.

“Andy?” Weak little hands—which matched her weak little voice—kept working and attempting to push her upward. “Andy?” There was panic in her tone and her eyes.

“Hartley’s dead, Calla.”

“No,” was her jittery reply as she shook her head. “No, I need….”

“I know,” Daniel told her. “Listen to me, he’s dead Ares killed him.” He watched her as she tried to take in the information. “I’m going to take care of you now but you have to do what I tell you to do.”

Callas’ hands clutched at the light sweater and closed the collar around her throat in a protective manner. “I…I …I can’t….” she shook her head while they rest of her trembled. “d-do th-that.”

“Yes you can but that’s not what I mean.” Daniel told her. “Do you want a life with me, Kitty?”

“With Daniel?”

“Yes, with me, Daniel.” He clarified.

“I need,” she said again and held her arm out to him.

“I know but answer me first. Do you want our life back? Or do you want to live like this?”

In her mind she mulled her options over for a moment while she tried to figure out where she was and why. “Back.” She stuttered and pushed her arm out to him.

Like any good junkie Calla was just telling him whatever she thought he wanted to hear, whatever would get her that next fix the quickest. Daniel wasn’t interested in being placated. “Are you sure? Look at me.” He demanded and she did her best to focus on his face. “I won’t have a junkie for a wife, Calla.” His voice was stern as were his eyes. Calla put her arm down but soon started scratching at her arms and chest. “I’ll help you, if you’re serious and you want to quit this shit I’ll help you. That’s why we’re here. But if not you can walk out the door now and you don’t ever need look back because I won’t be here.” Daniel warned and watched the light fade from her watery eyes. He felt like an asshole but he had to get through to her, she couldn’t live like this and he wouldn’t.

Callas’ nose was twitching and stuffy she wiped at hand under it and then went back to scratching again. “Give.”

“No,” he told her.

“I--I be good,” she stammered and swallowed hard. Daniel realized she must be very thirsty she hadn’t had anything to drink since Jack & Danny last night and he had no idea when the last time she ate. It was certainly sometime before yesterday. “Give.” She reached out to grab his crotch but Daniel grabbed her hands before she could there, it wasn’t hard since she was moving so slowly. “I be good!” She yelled. “Give!”

“Cohanze!” Daniel shouted and pushed her hands away from him. Calla frowned and backed away. All right a different tactic. “Kitty, we have a new grand baby coming anytime now. Don’t you want to see her?”

“Her?”

“Yes, Colleen knows the baby is a girl. Don’t you want to hold her?”

“Yes.”

“In those arms?”

Calla looked down at her body and saw how much she was trembling. She couldn’t hold a baby in these arms. Who would ever trust her to hold a baby again? “Andy’s dead?”

“Yeah, Kitty he is.”

Daniel wasn’t likely to dole the goods out with the ease that Andy did no matter what she tried on him. “You stay?” She scratched harder until there were several red lines on her arms.

Daniel grabbed her hands and made her stop. “I’ll be right here.” Daniel promised. “I won’t leave you but I won’t lie to you its going to be a lot of work, Calla. You’ve been strung out a long time.”

“Hurts.”

“What hurts?”

“Everything. Legs, tummy, head, all….hurts.”

“So what do you wanna do? You want to stay strung out or do you want to get clean?” Everything hurt all right and they were just getting rolling, she was probably hungry and those cramps were coming back.

“Promise stay.” She stuttered. “Swear.”

“I swear.” Daniel reached out and brought her close. “I won’t leave you alone I won’t let you do this by yourself.” Kissing the top of her head he added. “But you have to listen to me and do what I say for a while, all right?”

“And then we….you…you…will take…me back?” She was shaking like a can of paint in a mixing machine she could hardly get the words out. “Forever.”

“And always.”

No she didn’t want to live like this anymore. If Daniel was serious and he was going to help and stay with her and not only that but there was the promise of having their life back then even in her drugged out mind she was willing to try. “Yes.”

“Yes what?” Daniel asked softly. She had to say it to make it real in her own head.

“Y-y-es I…wa…want…t-t-to…stop. H-h-help me, Dan-nie.” The breath was hitching in her chest as her nose continued to run. “I—I—I—I love you.”

“I mean it, Kitty. This is not a joke. No more drugs, no more pot, no more pills, no more booze. Understand?” Calla looked very confused and as though she were in a lot of pain he didn’t want to drag this out anymore than he had to it really was past time to ease her suffering a bit. “I love you, Kitty.”

“N-no more d-d-drugs.” She agreed.

“That’s my girl, my good girl.” Relieved Daniel kissed the top of her head once more. “We’ll get through this.”

“W-why?” Calla was sweating now and shaking so hard he thought she’d never stop.

Daniel smiled and hugged her tight. “Why?” He said with a smile as he looked her straight in those withdrawing eyes. “’Cause, tramps like us, baby we were born to run.” Calla let out a giggle and a genuine smile. “You stay here, ok? Your bag is over there if you want to change.”

“Wh-where go?”

“I’m going to get you something to eat and something to drink. I’ll be right back and I’ll give you little bump, but no more needles, ok? We’re going to do this slowly, I promise I’ll try and make it not hurt too much.”

“wh-where…”

“I told you, I’m going to the kitchen I’ll be back in a….” Daniel stopped Kitty was shaking her head and trying to talk again.

“wh—wh…:”

“Where are we?” He asked for her and she nodded her head. “Scotland.”

Calla smiled and let out a small grunted sigh. “Y-you al-ways t-take m-me home, Dan-nie.”

“Always.” He agreed. “Stay here, ok?” Calla nodded her agreement and he got off the bed and left the room. In the kitchen Daniel opened the cupboards in the pantry and opened the refrigerator to see how well stocked the place was and was not disappointed. Adams said to give her high-carb high-protein foods. Annie said to give whatever she wanted to eat at first mostly things high in sugar and soft on the stomach because she was apt to toss out anything that went down at least for the first few days. Daniel settled on scrambled eggs and toast. At least if it came back up it wouldn’t be too hard on Calla and wouldn’t make too much of a mess. The eggs in a skillet he went over to the table where he’d left the closed box he brought with them. From it he took out a lock box the key was around his neck. Opening it he looked at the stash of drugs inside and took out Adams’ schedule and instructions. Compazine first to settle her stomach then the eggs and then her first round of methadone. Awhile after that came the Haldol to make her sleep. In between if she had bad cramps or Charlie horses he had a supply of Zanaflex to give her. Daniel took out the proper amount of pills and locked the box. Along with the prescriptions Adams’ gave him there was a small amount of illicit street drugs from Hartley’s Happy Kit in the box as well. Annie told him the Compazine might not work and, as much as he might not like it right now, he should probably let her smoke the pot to keep her nerves and stomach calm. He might do that.

There was a bottle of Valium which he might have to use for the same purpose and a large plastic bag of dried mushrooms. Daniel didn’t have any plans on making her mushroom tea by any means and he didn’t know why he brought them with him other than to say he didn’t want to leave them at home. Which was foolish on his part since it wasn’t like the kids were going to brew up a big pot of it.

Thinking of them, Daniel fished the cell phone out of his pocket. He supposed one day he’d get used to using his mind to call them and talk to them but for now the cell phone was good enough. “Hey, Nick, how’s everything?”

“Fine, Dad. How’s Mom?”

“At the moment not so good but I’m going to give her something to eat and….”

“Her first round of pills, huh?” Nick asked. Daniel could hear Colleen in the background asking if that was Dad on the phone. Nick’s muffled voice answered that it was and to be quiet. “Don’t feel bad, Dad, you’re helping her.”

“I know but it just feels more like I’m enabling her than anything else.”

“Do you want me to come there?” There was something that sounded like hope in Nick’s voice. “I can help.”

“I know, Nick. We really have to do this on our own. How’s Colleen? No labor pains I trust.”

“Not yet. She’s doin’ good, here.”

“Hi, Dad.” Colleen said cheerily.

“Hey, pumpkin. Everything ok?”

“Yeah, ok. I love you, tell Mom I’m thinking about her.”

“I will. We love you too. Bye.” Daniel hung up and put the plate of eggs and toast on a silver serving tray. He’d like to give her good old water but Calla wouldn’t want it. However, he did put a small glass of H2O on the tray and next to it a 20 ounce bottle of cold Coca-Cola. Calla would like that. She should have juice or something but she’d want and readily drink the soda. Daniel wanted her to eat more than just the eggs and toast and he didn’t want to go up and down the stairs leaving her alone. There were several boxes of butter crackers in the pantry and he put one of them on the tray along with a jar of raspberry jelly. High sugar, high carbs, good taste. She’d eat that. Daniel stowed the lock box in the pantry behind several boxes of cereal. Picking up the tray he went back up the stone stair case to the bedroom where he’d left his wife.

Daniel hadn’t been gone more than fifteen minutes but by the time he got back up the stairs Calla was naked in the middle of the bed. She was shaking and sweating and clutching the covers as though they’d keep her from falling off the face of the world if she just held on long enough. Her legs were flailing wildly while her upper body stayed perfectly still except for the tremors. “H-h-hurts,” she grunted when she saw him. “h-h-hot.”

Yep, here we go. Hold on Danny-boy ‘s gunna be a ruff ride. Soon she gone tell yew she’s freezin’. David advised.

Taking a deep breath and pushing it out Daniel steeled himself. Yep, here we go. “It’s ok Calla,” he put the tray down on the large table by the bed. “Where does it hurt?” That was obvious those pretty legs of hers weren’t just flailing about they were knotted up and the muscles were standing straight out. “Breathe, Calla, you have to breathe and relax or it won’t stop.” She looked up at him like he was crazy. Calla was soaked head to toe with her own sweat as he slid her up on the pillows to a half sitting position. “Drink some of this,” he uncapped the Coke and held it out to her. Now those emerald eyes lit up and she reached for it but he wouldn’t give it to her instead Daniel held the rim of the bottle to her lips and let her take down a long swallow before it he pulled it away. “Slowly or you’ll get more cramps in your stomach.” Speaking of which. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the Compazine. “Take these.” Daniel held the pills out to her.

“Wh-wh…”

“They’ll help your stomach.” He was supposed to wait to give her the muscle relaxers until after she ate something but looking at her he just couldn’t do it. “These too, ok? They’ll help with the cramps.” Calla held her hand out for the pills but it was shaking so badly he thought she’d drop them and her legs just kept jumping uncontrollably back and forth and round and round on the bed. In his research Daniel discovered this was where the term ‘kicking the habit’ originated and now he saw why. “Open up,” Daniel told her and Calla did. He dropped the Compazine into her mouth and then held the Coke bottle to her lips, he repeated the motion with Zanaflex and then put the bottle of soda down. I should have given her the water. Doesn’t matter she took them that’s what matters. Turning back to her he saw she was trying to tell him something.

“Ma—mad—“ Calla grunted and then cried out as her legs stopped thrashing about and stiffened into something akin to hardened steel. The spasm didn’t stop with her legs it gripped her entire body. Calla’s head slammed back against the headboard and her hands curled into talons. Deep guttural sounds came from her closed throat and her eyes rolled back in her head.

“Kitty! Come on, Kitty, it’s all right.” Daniel scooted in the bed next to her. “I’m not mad, it’s all right.” His hands caressed her pain racked body. “Breathe honey, please try and breathe for me.” Callas’ nose was running again but it wasn’t snot this time it was blood and when she started to cough a fine mist of red sprayed onto the white coverlet. “Shit,” he muttered and began to seriously question his decision to bring her here and do this on his own. He tried to sit her up but she was stiff as a board in his arms. Her flat stomach began to expand and contract, she was going to vomit up the pills he’d given her. Before he could get the wastebasket she did just that all over his shirt. It wasn’t much since there wasn’t much in her stomach to begin with it was just the pills and the few sips of Coke. “It’s ok,” he soothed. Daniel got up and ripped off the shirt, he used an unstained portion of it to clean her face before tossing it to the hardwood floor. Looking down at her he saw there was a very large and very fresh puddle of yellow on the white coverlet. Calla hadn’t been asking him if he was mad at her, she was trying to tell him that she’d made a mess on the bed. Sure enough on the floor were her blue jeans the crotch was soaked and that was why she had taken them off.

Standing there looking down at her he felt about as helpless as a newborn puppy there just wasn’t anything he could for her until the spasm passed and eased its grip. Meanwhile she thrashed about on the bed grunting and groaning, and, he noticed, trying not to look at him. She wasn’t so far gone that she didn’t feel humiliated by the situation and she didn’t want him to see her like this. “It’s all right, honey. Don’t be afraid I’m here. Don’t be ashamed, I’ll love you no matter what.” Daniel sat on the messy bed and held her in his arms because he didn’t know what else to do for her.

Five agonizing minutes later Calla finally lay still on the bed. She was breathless and covered in sweat and her own urine. Daniel put her into a very shallow tepid bath and quickly took the blankets off the bed. Not knowing exactly where fresh ones were kept he just went down the hall to the nearest bedroom and took the sheets and blankets from that bed.

Feeling sicker than she ever had in her life and more scared and humiliated than ever before as well Calla sat in the lukewarm water shaking and trying to clean herself while she listened to her husband puttering around in the next room. How does he stay with me? Why does he even want me? She asked herself. Having to use the toilet both to puke and urinate again she climbed out of the bath very unsteadily and sat on the throne with the waste basket in front of her. Calla hurled and pissed and then shat and hurled some more. Wishing she were dead by the time the wave of nausea and borderline incontinence passed she willed her body off the porcelain throne and stumbled through the door. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” Calla croaked from behind him as he finished laying down the fresh blankets and was thankful that it hadn’t soaked through to the mattress. She was standing there still naked and dripping wet and shaking because she’d forgotten to dry herself off.

“Don’t worry about it,” Daniel said softly and smiled at her. “I’ll get you a towel.”

“Hum?” She looked down at her wet body. “Oh I forgot….I’m sorry.” Calla started wringing her hands and trembling again.

“Honey, please, stop apologizing to me.” He couldn’t wait any longer to give her the methadone. “We’re going to try this again, ok?” Daniel took the methadone pills from his pocket and handed them to her with the water. “Take these.” She didn’t question him she took the pills from his hand and swallowed them down. Her eyes were watery and she was weary, Daniel grabbed a towel from the bathroom and dried her off before sliding her back into the bed. He looked over at the eggs. Cold eggs, yuck. “These are cold,” he told her. “I’m going to heat them up and I’ll be right back.”

Daniel went down the stairs to the kitchen popped the eggs into the microwave and got the lock box and another supply of Compazine and Zanaflex. He still had the sleeping pills in his pocket. This time when he came back to the bedroom Calla wasn’t thrashing around on the bed she was clad in a big T-shirt—one of many Annie packed for her because she felt it best that Calla not wear restrictive clothing--sitting by the fire and staring into the flames with a strange little smile on her face. The methadone didn’t take long to kick in.

Sitting by the fire, Calla took the Compazine and the Zanaflex and then Daniel sat there with her while she fumbled with the scrambled eggs trying to get them into her mouth. Finally Calla pushed the eggs onto the toast because it was bigger than the fork and in the end she ate half the eggs and all the toast. “Better?” Daniel asked and took the tray away and hoped that she’d be able to keep the food down.

“Thank—thank you.” Calla looked at him with big sad eyes. “I’m sorry I made a mess.”

Yeah and you’re going to make a few more but---“That’s all right, Kitty. It’s part of the process. Don’t worry about it.” Calla seemed fairly lucid and with it at the moment but it wasn’t time to talk just yet, maybe tomorrow or the next day. Right now he just had to concentrate on getting her well again. She looked tired but not quite ready to go to sleep although he had to get them both on Scottish time and here it was a little after eleven at night. The Manor House came equipped with several televisions all hooked up to satellite companies, each with its own DVD and supply of movies. He couldn’t vouch for whatever was available on the satellites but she loved movies. “Do you want to watch a movie?” Calla shook her head she looked so worn out. “Ready to go to sleep?”

“Read to me?”

“Read to you?” He repeated. Eighteen years together and that was a first. “What shall I read?”

“Anything.”

There was a bookcase in the room and it was filled with books. “Come on, climb into the bed and I’ll find something.” Daniel guided her over to the bed and tucked her in before going to the bookcase and pulling Canterbury Tales from it. “How’s this?” He asked and she nodded her compliance. She looked so tired, as though she’d been laboring in the fields for days, still Daniel wanted to make sure she slept through the night and wasn’t bothered by the DTs interrupting her rest. “Take these, honey.” He told her as he took the sleeping pills out of his pocket. Calla took them from his hand and swallowed them dry before he could hand her the Coke. She laid her head down on his chest and wrapped a leg around him.

Three pages into the story she was sound asleep. Daniel put the book down and wondered if he should stay or go. Maybe she’d be more comfortable if she had the entire bed to stretch out on. He got up and no sooner did his weight leave the bed than she reached out for him.

“Stay?” She said in a soft begging voice. “Please, Dan-nie, stay.”

Danny, it was so rare that she called him that and she’d done it so many times today. So many times she reached out and begged for his help. “Ok, honey. I’ll stay right here if that’s what you want. I won’t leave you, not ever.” Daniel kicked off his shoes and lay back down on the bed. Calla curled up on his side. “I love you, Kitty. You just rest everything will be all right, you’ll see. I’ll take care of everything.” He promised with a kiss. Calla shook and fell back to sleep but she didn’t stop shaking.

Daniel wasn’t tired though he should be completely worn to the bone. When she started to snore he crept out of the bed for a moment, opened the suitcase and took out her diary. It was rude to read it next to her while she was sleeping but maybe she wouldn’t mind and he was too wired to doze.

Kitty’s diary began two days before graduation. While she didn’t talk much about him in her diary Daniel knew Hartley was a real ass to her. What kind of man did that? How despicable did you have to be to take a man’s wife away without really wanting her? Daniel never thought about that before then again he never had need to. He’d suckered her into leaving home, into leaving Daniel and then he hadn’t taken care of her at all. He plied her with drugs and alcohol and told her she wasn’t good enough for him when her scars returned. Hartley wouldn’t stay with her, wouldn’t sleep in the same bed with her and comfort her the way he’d promised to when he got her to leave Colorado for New York. When Kitty realized that he didn’t love her, even though he once said he did, and that he would never love her she stopped writing about him. Either that or she discovered Hartley was reading her journal and he’d gotten angry over it. Considering what he did with her e-mail and her cell phone reading her journal wasn’t anything out of the ordinary for old Andy. Nope, like the needle and the toot it was just another way to keep her in line and under control.

Upon leaving the Swiss clinic for the first time, Calla wrote that Hartley had flowers and balloons in the hotel room waiting for her and she’d felt happy about that. She wrote about how pleased both of them were with the results of the surgeries on her back, breasts—well Calla didn’t seem to be happy with the new rack but she wrote that Andy liked very much-- and area between her thighs but they’d have to wait to find out if those inner scars healed. Still, when she asked him to lay with her, to comfort her and sleep with her that night—not to have sex because that was out of the question then but just sleep and cuddle—Hartley refused to stay with her. Instead he went off and worked. Cold hearted son of a bitch. Daniel became enraged as he read that passage. All that shit she went through for him, to make herself good enough for him if not ‘perfect’ all of that pain and suffering for HIM and that bastard wouldn’t even hold her in his arms while she slept or stay with her in the clinic. No Calla wrote that he ‘came to visit often’….big fucking deal.

Daniel put the diary down, wrapping his arms around her and bringing her in close he vowed he would never, under any circumstances, turn her away like that ever again. Kitty was shaking and sweating and mumbling in her sleep about Hartley she was asking him to stop hurting her. Daniel didn’t need to ask what that was about he’d read about their incidents in the shower and in the limousine when Hartley took her away from graduation. If Daniel had had any idea at all that was about to happen in the back of that limo he would have chased after her and decked that little bastard right then and there. But he was under the mistaken impression that she was happy with him.

What a fool he was thinking that Hartley was being good to her, that maybe she was even better off with him. Kitty could never be happy with a man like that. She would never feel loved by him or wanted and Daniel chastised himself while she slept, he should have known that and he never ever should have turned his back on her. Not for a second. One thing was for certain that was a mistake he’d never repeat.

End Chapter One
Tarnished Heroes:Detox Mansion
Continue to
Chapter Two