Insight

by Jennis Slaughter

  Raelin blinked her eyes twice before she closed them and drifted back to sleep.

  Del watched her witch slip back to sleep and sat heavily in her chair. It was hard seeing Raelin so frail and not herself, but she knew she had to be strong and help her lover heal. She was just starting to nod off when she heard a soft knock on the door. She sounded a quiet come in and was happy to see Jenny and Kasey come through the door.

  “Hey you guys. Thanks for coming by,” Del said quietly, hoping not to disturb Raelin.

  Jenny was carrying Del’s go bag in her arms, and for some reason it looked a bit fuller than she remembered. “Hey, we brought you a change of clothes, but someone decided that they wanted to come and see for himself that Rae was on the mend,” she unzipped the bag and Rori popped his head out.

  “Do you know how degrading it is to be in the same bag as your underwear?” The feline shook himself before he jumped out and carefully walked up to rub his head against Raelin’s cheek.

  “Why am I not surprised? She’ll be glad to have you here Rori, but for the love of everything sacred, do not get caught. Thanks for the clothes guys, scrubs are comfy, but clean underwear is so much better.” Del took the bag and set it next to her chair while she motioned for the other two to have a seat in the remaining chairs. “She just went back to sleep before you came in. She can’t talk because of the tube though so she’s spelling things out in my palm.”

  Jenny went over to hug the blonde and just to hold her close for a few minutes. She understood that sometimes someone just needed physical contact to make things feel a bit better. “Why don’t you go take a shower? Kasey and I will sit with Rae. I promise that she won’t be alone.”

  “Yeah, I think I will,” she nodded, returning Jenny’s hug. “The nurse might be in to check on her, so keep an eye out. The last thing we need is them finding Rori.”

  Del picked up her go bag and headed into the bathroom for a quick shower. She opened it up and smiled when she saw that all of her clothes had been freshly washed. Sending up a quick prayer of thanks for whoever sent her these friends, she started the water, stripped out of the scrubs she’d swiped last night and stepped in.

  Jenny walked over to the bed and brushed Raelin’s hair from her face. Rori had already made himself comfortable on the pillow above his human’s head. Smiling at the sight, Jenny softly spoke. “She looks better than I thought.”

  Standing next to her girlfriend, Kasey looked down at their friend. “Yeah, she looks good. I’m glad she’s going to be okay. She has a lot of people who love her, surrounding her and rooting for her.” The ex-agent smiled, her hand resting gently on Jenny’s back.

  Jenny looked up into chocolate eyes. “Thanks for being here. I don’t know if I could have handled everything if you hadn’t been.”

  “Trust me, there’s nowhere I’d rather be. You’re sure you want to stay here instead of going to Julliard?” Kasey asked, working softly at the tension she could feel in Jenny’s lower back.

  Leaning into the gentle touch, Jenny smiled. “I can make music here just as well as at that school, and who’s to say that I won’t do it better? We just need to see what’s going to happen with the town now to see where we can stay. I think that Del might want us to stay at the house as long as Rae’s here. Would that be all right with you?”

  “Yeah sure. Whatever I can do to help,” she smiled. After a few seconds, her smile faded a little. “Jenny, I’ll have to go back to New Orleans at some point. My apartment is there, and now I need to find a job,” Kasey said, sitting heavily in the chair behind her.

  Jenny’s smiled faded a bit, and she swallowed the lump that rose in her throat. “Oh, sure...you don’t have to stay. I didn’t mean to make plans for you,” she turned back to her friend and petted Rori.

  “Jenn, I’m sorry. That didn’t come out right. I just mean that I’ll need to find someone to take over my place, and I’m not going to stay here and mooch off anyone. If I’m going to live here, I’m going to pay my own way. That’s all. I want to live here with you, but I don’t want to be a burden,” Kasey replied, standing to wrap her arms around Jenny from behind, dropping a kiss to the top of her head.

  Sniffing, Jenny shook her head and leaned against the taller woman. “I’m sorry too. It’s been an emotional couple of days, and I’m taking it out on you.”

  “It’s okay. I’m not exactly good with words or anything. You have every right to be a little off balance right now,” the ex-Fed whispered, tightening her hold just a little.

  Del stepped out of the bathroom, still toweling her hair. “You guys are saints. Thanks for washing my clothes and having the foresight to bring our own soap. How is she doing?”

  “Still snoozing...why don’t you and Kasey go down and get some sandwiches? I’m sure that you forgot to eat last night and that will piss Rae off to no end. You need to get out of the room every once in a while,” Jenny suggested, content to stay in Kasey’s embrace in front of her friend.

  Del frowned a little at the thought of leaving Raelin. “I’m okay. I’d rather stay in case she wakes up.”

  “Delaney...” Jenny stepped forward to place a hand on the blonde’s arm. “Raelin wouldn’t want you to confine yourself in this room. It isn’t good for you, and you said yourself that she had just fallen asleep before we got here. I’m willing to bet that she stays asleep for the next couple of hours. And if she does wake up, it will be fine. I’ll be right here and Rori is here. She’ll be okay.”

  The detective knew Jenny was right. She would be doing no one any favors by running herself into the ground as well. “Okay, she’s still pretty heavily medicated so if she wakes up she might be a little groggy. I’m just going to run to the cafeteria to grab a snack or something. Do you want me to bring you back anything? Rori?”

  “Hospital food! Goddess no...Kasey and Jenny were kind enough to give me some salmon this morning. That shall be enough to last me most of the day. Thank you though for asking.” The gray cat nodded his head at the trio.

  “Can’t say I blame you,” she thought back at him with a grin. Turning to Jenny, she asked, “You need anything?”

  “Hospital food is a lot better now. If they have a roast beef sandwich that will be fine with me, and a Coke,” she kissed Kasey on the cheek. “Don’t forget to get something for yourself.”

  Del approached the bed, leaning down she placed a gentle kiss on Raelin’s forehead, gave Rori a loving scratch behind the ears, and headed for the cafeteria, Kasey in tow. “I believe I was just muscled out of my girlfriend’s room by a twenty year old,” she laughed. “I think you’re going to have your hands full with that one Fed.”

  “No kidding, I just wish I had a grasp of my own situation first. I don’t want to live off her, Raelin, or you. I’m glad I resigned, but I just should have thought it though first. Do you know what I mean?” Kasey was walking alongside the shorter blonde with her hands in her jeans pockets.

  “Yep, I feel the same way about Raelin. P.I.’s don’t make much money and honestly, I rely on each job to pay my bills. As you can probably guess, I’m not going to get a dime out of the Kingsleys. You could do some work with me if you want. I’ll be moving my shop to somewhere in Leroy,” Del offered as they reached the cafeteria.

  “Hey, who knows? Maybe you will get a lot of work once all of this gets out. After all, how many people bring down a slave trafficking ring almost single handed...well, you had Rae and the Feds, but you were definitely were our leader.” They now stood in front of the cafeteria looking at the menu. “Wow! They have improved the menu. Steamed salmon, cream of broccoli soup, stir fry...what a change!” Kasey exclaimed.

  Director Jacobs’s voice came from behind the two women causing them to turn around quickly in surprise “It could be Spaulding. And for you too Ms. Delacroix. I’ve had a long talk with the Governor about the situation in Leroy and we’ve come up with a solution that just might work for everyone involved.”

  “Director Jacobs, I thou
ght you would be busy sorting the town out,” Del said, stepping out of the line they were standing in.

  “We are in the process of getting everyone that was involved thanks to AJ Kingsley. Since the death of his mother, he has been most helpful. Unbeknownst to his mother he kept meticulous records on who did what, where each girl sold for down to the penny, and where they went. We have already gotten in touch with our counterparts in foreign countries and they are helping us as we speak.” Jacobs led them over to an empty table far away from everyone else.

  “That’s great news. So Regina is dead then. I was too worried about Raelin to notice anything else,” Del said evenly.

  “I shot her as soon as I walked into the room,” Kasey said quietly, looking down at the table.

  “It was a justifiable shoot, Spaulding. Don’t blame yourself whatsoever. She would have taken out more innocents, me included if she had the chance. I still think that you would make an excellent agent, but I now understand you reasons for quitting.” Jacobs smiled at the brunette.

  “Thank you Director,” Kasey said. “I’m glad you understand. I’m sorry about lying to you about Jenny.”

  Del sat back and watched how this was going to play out. She’d heard the tail end of the first lecture Kasey had gotten about getting too close.

  Jacobs looked down at the table. “It’s hard keeping things secret.” Clearing her throat, she looked back up. “At any rate, I have been talking to the governor, and we came up with an idea. Delaney, if I may call you that. How would you like to be Chief of Police? We want someone we can trust, and who knows the area. You are both,” she continued on with her explanation. “Normally replacement Chiefs are appointed by the Mayor, but since the old Mayor is under investigation, the governor is asking my opinion on the matter and has agreed.”

  “You may, and I think you’re mistaking me for a cop. I’m not,” Del said evenly.

  “You don’t have to be. As long as you have knowledge of the law and swear to uphold it, you’re good.” Jacobs smiled. “I know for a fact that you will do a better job than Brito.”

  “Wouldn’t exactly take much, would it?” Del sat back and rubbed her face thinking. It would mean stable work and a way to support herself without having to travel all over the state and away from Raelin. “I’ll do it on one condition.”

  “What is your condition?” Jacobs sat there waiting.

  “The Lone Ranger never traveled without Tonto. Spaulding gets to be my Deputy Chief,” Del said firmly.

  Kasey’s eyes went wide and she waited to see what Jacobs would say.

  “Deal. In fact, I insist. She knows the law, and she has an honor that cannot be matched by anyone other than yourself. You will be under very close scrutiny, but I have faith that you will pass every test.” Jacobs pulled out a legal paper for each of them to sign.

  “Haven’t even signed nothing yet, and she’s threatening me to toe the line,” Del chuckled. “You okay with this, Kasey? You don’t have to. I just figured it’s a good way for you to avoid what we talked about earlier. You’ll have a reason to stay here and a steady income.”

  “Del, it’s perfect. Thank you for this. I would love to be your Deputy Chief,” Kasey said smiling.

  Del nodded and read over the document before signing. She pushed it towards Kasey who also signed and then handed it back to the Director. “There you go. I guess I should ask you when you want me back in town.”

  “We have the National Guard there right now, but we need either you or Kasey there by the end of the week. All you need to do is make an appearance right now. I know that you want to be here for Ms. Montrose right now but every other day, come in and be visible. That should be enough. There will be plenty of paperwork for you to go over.” Jacobs witnessed the documents and put them back into her briefcase. She smiled at both women. “Good work, the both of you. I’ll check in every once in a while. Don’t forget to get something to eat,” she got up and walked out of the room.

  Del watched as the Director walked out before turning to Kasey with a grin. “Well, I guess I’m not too sad I can’t call you Fed anymore. Tonto works just fine.”

  “Yes, Kemosabe...you do realize that the expression means horse’s rear end don’t you?” Kasey was trying to keep a straight face, but was failing spectacularly. “I can just call you Kemo if worse comes to worse.”

  “Whatever, wise ass. Let’s just get some food and then head back,” Del mock growled, not even trying to hide her grin.

  j

  This time when Raelin fought her way to consciousness, she heard someone humming softly. Then she felt something soft flick her cheek. Turning her head ever so slightly, she caught a glimpse of Rori’s tail.

  “What are you doing in here?” she thought.

  “I was worried child. It was driving me crazy not being able to talk to you to make sure you were okay.” Rori said as he shifted so his witch could see him. He rubbed gently against her cheek, purring softly.

  Jenny saw that Raelin had awoken and Jenny rose from her chair to approach Raelin’s bed. ”Hey, I just thought I should tell you that Director Jacobs stopped in. Since you were still asleep, she told me that your father’s funeral was going to be in a few days and that not even she had been able to convince your doctors to let you out of the bed for it. I arranged with her to have him put to rest next to your mom, but if you want something else, I can call her and let her know. I’m sorry Rae,” she said sadly.

  Rae reached for her niece’s hand to spell out her response. “N-O-T-H-A-T-I-S-G-O-O-D-U-W-I-L-L-B-T-H-E-R-E.”

  “Yeah, Kasey and I both will be. We are going to have the ceremony open to the town, but the graveside ceremony private so that the whole town isn’t tramping around your yard. Is that okay?” Jenny asked, relieved when she felt Kasey’s hand on her back.

  Del let her fingers play with Raelin's hair, letting the witch know she was there for her.

  “D-E-L-P-L-E-A-S-E-G-O.” Raelin looked up at the blonde with tears in her eyes.

  Del used her free hand to wipe away the tears before they had a chance to fall. ”I’ll go if that’s what you want,” she said quietly. “But I don’t like you being left here alone.”

  “P-L-E-A-S-E-G-O-4-M-E”

  Rori rubbed his head against the witch’s cheek. “Let her stay with you child.”

  “I’ll go as long as you agree to let Rori stay with you,” Del compromised.

  “Rori, please tell her that I would like for her to go and leave a rose on both his and Momma’s grave for me.”

  Del looked at Raelin, eyes wide. “I heard. Is that normal?” she asked, looking at Rori.

  “No, but this relationship is way outside my own knowledge of magic,” Rori answered back.

  “Please Delaney, go to the funeral, and stand in for me.” Rae looked up at her lover.

  “Okay Darlin’. I’ll go,” Del said quietly, leaning down to kiss Raelin’s cheek.

  “Thank you.” Raelin’s eyes smiled up at the blonde.

  “You are very welcome. And perhaps I can cheer you up with a bit of good news?” The blonde smiled back.

  “What?”

  “Kasey and I ran into Director Jacobs on the way to the cafeteria. That’s what took us so long. Looks like I’m the new town Chief and Barney Fife over there is the new Deputy Chief.” Del smirked. “I took it because it means I’m not going to have to rely on unsteady jobs to pay my bills. Raelin, it also means my work isn’t going to take me all over the state like my P.I. work does. I won’t be on the road for ninety percent of the time like I used to be.”

  “Wait a minute...what happened to her being an F.B.I. Agent?” Raelin’s forehead bunched up.

  “She resigned.”

  “Why did she do that?” The brunette squeezed Del’s hand.

  “Because she knew it was her decision to let you in that house. Now I know what you are going to say. We all know that you would have found a way in there with or without Kasey’s permission, but the bureau wou
ldn’t see it that way. She decided to resign as a way to accept the consequences of her actions,” explained the detective, running her free hand through Raelin’s dark hair. “You must be getting tired. You’ve been up for a while.”

  “I don’t want to sleep. She shouldn’t have done that. It wasn’t her fault.” Raelin started to get agitated. “Tell her to ask for her job back.”

  “Raelin, shhh...none of that now. You’re getting yourself worked up for no reason and you’re going to end up hurting yourself. She would have caught a lot of shit from her bosses anyway. It worked out in the end. She wanted to stay in Leroy, and she wouldn’t have been able to do that traveling around with the F.B.I. She’s happy with Jenny,” she leaned over and gave Raelin another kiss. “Now I know you don’t want to sleep, but you need to rest anyway. You’re not going to get better if you don’t sleep properly.”

  Closing her eyes, Raelin shook her head and then opened them back up with tears in them. “I don’t like that I sleep so much. I don’t want to be away from you.”

  “Don’t think of it that way. I’ll be right here the whole time. I don’t plan to leave your side unless I have to. Okay? Rori is here too. We all are.” Del reached over and tucked the sheets tighter around Raelin. “Try to get a little bit of sleep for me. Just a little.”

  “I love you Delaney...I’m sorry I’m acting childish.” Raelin held onto the blonde’s hand and rubbed her thumb across her knuckles.

  “I think you’re entitled to a tantrum or two considering. Now, sleep already,” Del said, pretending to be exasperated, a big grin on her face.

  “Okay,” she closed her eyes and drifted off.