This is a work of fiction, using characters from the film, “Proof of Life”.  No insult or invasion of privacy or infringement of copyright is intended. The story is for readers over the age of 18 only, and contains adult language. The writer is not responsible for any "discomfort" caused to the reader by this language and these situations.

Full Length Of The River

©2008 by: Darrin

Chapter Two

The landing was sweet as a biscuit and refueling began shortly after.  Terry heard the mechanics at work as he checked on Stephanie who was still asleep, thank fuck.  He fetched fresh flannels and soapy water and made quick work of her remaining arm, then her face and gently but quickly finished cleaning her thighs.  Checking on her once more before starting where he knew he wouldn’t be able to touch her if she was anywhere near consciousness and after seeing she was still completely asleep, he went slowly and tenderly, horrified at how raw and bruised she was there.

He wished he had some clothes to get her into and thought maybe he could put something together.  He knew he was pressing his luck with how much longer she’d be out, since she’d woken up so soon after the first shot in the hut.  She must have built up quite a tolerance to be able to wake up so quickly after that initial dose, but he didn’t want to exceed the normal amount, not knowing what it might do to her.

He got his and Dino’s cases out of the bulkhead above and found a pair of underwear and workout shorts that he could pin to fit.  Next he got several safety pins and a shirt that would be huge on her but she’d probably like that.  Then, putting the cases back, set to work getting her dressed.

Meanwhile, he heard a small commotion outside at the bottom of the gangplank.  He heard Dino’s voice and let him handle it.  Christ knew he was as good a negotiator as Terry, though he’d never admit it to Dino’s face.  Probably some over-eager pissant wanting all their passports.  That wouldn’t be a problem, as long as they didn’t board the plane.  He trusted Dino to make sure that wouldn’t happen.  He counted heads just to be certain and smiled, noting that Artenza and Boswell were missing, so they were in position at either end of the Lear, making sure no one came near the windows either.

He got her into the underwear and shorts but left the chemise on her for now, wanting to leave her back for when they were in the air.  He covered her with the blanket again and then went up front to see if he was needed.

He looked out the doorway just in time to see Dino blocking some fuckwit from climbing onto the gangway and stepped out to make sure the bloke knew there was a lot more coverage than he might have thought.

There was some rapid-fire Spanish exchanged between him and Dino that Terry caught most of and then finally the surreptitious shaking of hands, money being exchanged with it.  The bloke felt the thickness of the wad being pressed into his palm and decided the better part of valour was being paid.  Especially when he noticed it was American dollars.  Those always went over well in this part of the world.  Terry chuckled to himself thinking at the rate the market was going though, they’d have to start carrying Canadian cash.

The refueling team disconnected the hose from the jet and Terry was just heaving a sigh of relief when he heard a sharp gasp and small cry from the back of the plane.  Stephanie was struggling with the door latch for the lav and getting more agitated by the second.  What the hell am I supposed to give her to keep her unconscious? was his first thought, the second being, fuck, she saw the soldiers outside, and walked quickly to where she was, remembering just in time to stop a good distance away from her.

Just as she got the door opened, she saw Terry and gave a short anguished cry that he thought wanted to be a word, but he couldn’t make it out.  And then she was locked in the lav.

“Fuck!” Terry cried out and ran for the door.  “Stephanie, luv, we’re taking off, you need to come out so we can get you buckled into your sofa so you’re safe for take-off.”

An unintelligible and strangled cry came from the other side of the door that sounded like a very firm “No!” but again, Terry couldn’t tell.  But given the circumstances, it surely was a form of “No!” that was the best she could muster in her current state.

Dino came up behind him.  “What the FUCK, Terry?  We gotta take off!”

“Do it,” Terry growled at him.  “We need to get the fuck out of here.  She’ll be okay in there.  It’s too bloody small for her to get hurt from a take off, for fuck’s sake.”

“Okay fine, get your ass in a chair though, I’ll tell the pilot we’re a go.”

Dino left and Terry shouted through the door to Stephanie that they were taking off and to hold onto anything she could and when he felt the plane begin to move, got into a chair as close to the lav door as possible, buckling in just as the nose went up.  As soon as they were in the air, Terry ripped his seatbelt open and went straight back to the lav door.

“Stephanie?  Luv, you okay?”

A small frightened whimper this time.  Good, she was calming down.  Must have put two and two together that they had taken off and no one was on board who wanted to hurt her.  Hoped she knew that anyway.

Dino had walked back and was sitting nearby.  The rest of the crew were watching the back to see if Terry could negotiate his way out of this one.

“We’re back in the air, luv.  It’s just me and my crew again, no one’s going to hurt you.  There’s no one out here who wants to hurt you.  I promised I’d keep you safe and I will.”  He bent closer to the door.  “You need to trust me, Stephanie.  I’m not going to let anything or anyone hurt you.  Okay, luv?”

There was silence for a long time, it felt like they were all collectively holding their breath, waiting for one scared little sheila to open the door.  She had every right to lock herself away, but that wasn’t the solution and it was dangerously close to what Terry knew would be her undoing.

They all sighed with relief as the door opened a small crack.  Terry smiled when he heard the very soft whisper, “N-n-n-nuh-never?”

He leaned so she could see his eyes and smiled, reaching out his hand to her.  “Never, luv.  I promise.”  He could feel Dino shaking his head.  But what choice did he have?  Sometimes you had to make unreasonable promises when negotiating.  They all knew it, even Dino, especially Dino, who knew first hand about that.

He saw Stephanie staring into his eyes, searching for the truth.  Then her eyes dropped to his hand and her little one began to move, past the door and shaking, at last into his.  “There’s my sheila.  Good girl.”  He helped her out and slowly back to the sofa, while Dino and the crew went back to the business of sleeping off another successful mission.

She looked up at Terry and he noticed the little bear still in her hand against her chest.  That made him smile.  “Cl-cl-cl-cleaned m-m-me,” she said in a tremulous whisper.

Terry sat on the floor next her and held her hand, feeling his heart speed up a little when she didn’t flinch as he closed his hand around hers.  “Yes, I did.”

“A-a-a-all o-o-of m-me.”

“Yes, luv.”

She buried her head behind her knees and cried.  Terry rubbed her knuckles with his thumb and let her, whispering softly, “Go ahead, luv.  You deserve it.  Cry all you want.”

Dino came by and got him a beer.  The look in his eyes made Terry nod to him and they passed a silent conversation of reassurance that they’d work this all out once they landed.  Somehow.

When he finished his beer, Stephanie’s tears were petering out and she sighed heavily.  Terry hoped it meant she’d sleep a little.  But first he needed to take care of her back.  He whispered to her that he’d be right back, he just needed to talk to Dino again quickly.  Her hand held onto his for a moment, but then she finally let go, clutching the little bear tighter to her as he stood.

He went up front and told the crew and Dino what he was going to do and made sure they understood not to make their presence known in any way while he was.  She’d be half naked all the while he was tending to her wounds and the last thing she needed to feel was anything akin to how she’d been treated at the compound.  Everyone agreed.  Terry went back to Stephanie.

“Okay, luv.  Just one more thing to do and then you can eat some more.  Bet you’re still hungry.”  She looked up at him and then realizing what he wanted her to do, got scared again, looking around wildly.  Terry took her hand immediately.  “Shh, no luv, it’ll be okay.  It’s just you and me and no one’s gonna interrupt.  I need to take care of your back, luv.  Make you feel better, right?”

Her eyes were as big as saucers and he could see tears welling up in them again.  Terry’s heart was going to break soon if he didn’t get her past her terror.  “Please, luv.  I need to know I’ve done everything I can for you.”

Shaking her head no, she nonetheless put her arms out so Terry could pull the chemise off her body and that’s when he saw the real reason she hadn’t wanted him to see her.

There were two distinctive burns, one on each breast, where it was obvious a cigar had been taken to her.  Terry wanted to curse, and bit the insides of his cheeks to keep from scaring her with his anger.  Instead he smiled, making sure the smile was in his eyes too and put the chemise behind him.  “Okay, luv, that’s it,” he whispered softly.  “You’re doin’ great.  So proud of you.”

The burns were weeping pus and completely infected.  It’s a wonder she didn’t die of sepsis, Terry thought angrily, keeping the vehemence from his face with difficulty.  “Okie dokie, let’s get those cleaned up first then.  I didn’t know about this part.”

Stephanie nodded.  Her body was trembling as he first cleaned the wounds, then sprayed antibacterial spray on them and finishing up with bandages.  He smiled at her the whole time, ending with a caress to her cheek when he was done.  “You did so well, Steph.  So well.  Now, let’s take care of your back and then we’ll get some food for you,” he said, reminding her of his promise of another meal.  She nodded again and scooted forward a little and Terry sat behind her.

It was all he could do not to gasp.

Welts covered her back.  They were in multiple stages of healing so he was able to surmise she’d been treated to weekly beatings and wondered at the cruelty of her captors.  He simply could not fathom the ability to whip another human being to this extent.  So he shut down that line of thought and methodically cleaned, disinfected and bandaged the wounds to military precision and taking great care not to hurt her as best he could manage.  Her reactions ranged from jerking away from him when he touched a particularly raw spot, to simply trembling and whimpering through his ministrations.  Finally though, he put the last bandage in place and patted her shoulders gently, whispering softly to her that he was finished and again, how proud he was of her.  She turned her head slightly and he saw the corner of her mouth go up and that look of gratitude in her eyes once more.

Christ, he needed a smoke and a beer and a break.

Instead, he grabbed the shirt he’d found for her to wear, one of his T-shirts that would fit like an oversized short dress on her and pulled it over her head.  She fit one hand through each sleeve and laid back against the pillows, looking decidedly better, though pale.

Terry fetched her a bottle of sports drink from the fridge and gave her four Tylenols to take.  Then he found the best of the prepared meals in the galley and heated it up for her, bringing it to her on a tray once it was done cooking.  She had her knees up to her chest again and was rocking back and forth once more, but at least no tears were accompanying this now familiar action he returned to each time he left her side.

“Time to eat, luv,” he said cheerily, which also let the blokes up front know it was okay to chat again.  After laying the tray on her lap, he watched as Stephanie fell to with as much gusto as she had earlier.  This made the other blokes hungry and Terry found himself on KP duty since it was best there wasn’t a lot of traffic back and forth near Stephanie.

Finally he got to sit with her and have a sammie while she had some more ice cream and Terry was pleased to see the colour returning to her face a little.  As he took the last bite of his own meal, he was very happy to see her eyelids begin to droop and took her tray from her, helping her get comfortable with the pillows and blanket, switching off a couple of the lights so she could sleep.  He did a quick clean up of the galley, then stretched out on the sofa opposite hers and watched her sleep, at last drifting off himself.

He woke a short time later, taking in a deep breath, knowing something was wrong.  He looked over at his charge and she was shaking violently, her whimpers and cries becoming louder.  Shit, nightmare, Terry thought and went to her quickly, taking her hand.

“Shh, luv, shh, it’s okay.  Wake up now, Steph, it’s just a dream.”  He kept whispering to her and caressing her cheek with his free hand but it was no use.  She was stuck in her dream.  He sat her up and patted first her cheeks then her upper arms, trying to get her attention.  Stephanie pulled away from him, trying to dig her way into the corner of the little couch, her whimpers becoming actual cries that would soon turn into screams from the increasing volume of them.  Terry pulled her out of the corner to face him as gently as he could but still firmly turning her around.

“Steph!  Wake up, it’s just a dream!”

She gasped and was suddenly awake, her eyes flying open and looking into his, imploringly.

“Yes, luv,” he answered her unspoken plea, “just a dream.  Not real.  You’re safe now.  I’ve got you.”  She collapsed against him, weeping wretchedly as her legs surrounded his hips and her arms snaked around his shoulders.  She buried her face against his neck, crying, her body wracked with desperate sobs.

“H-h-h-hurt m-m-m-me,” she managed to get out between hitching breaths.

“Yes, they did.  But never again.  They won’t ever touch you again.  No one will that you don’t want.  You’re in charge, Stephanie.  You say when.”

She tightened her hold on him, still shaking, but calming down by slow degrees.  Terry looked up and saw Dino and nodded to the question in his eyes.

“Nightmare,” he said, “but we’ll be fine.  Won’t we, Steph?”

She didn’t reply, but Dino nodded, half smiling and Terry saw the look in his eyes, warning him he was getting far too close.  He suddenly didn’t care.  He’d gone on this mission for a reason and Stephanie was it.  The set look on his face made Dino sigh and Terry knew he was breaking every protocol his training had given him, but if it meant Stephanie would survive, then he was quite all right with it.  Dino would have his back.

Terry tried to settle Stephanie back into her little bed, but she would have none of it.  She held onto him even tighter at just the lightest tug and he stopped trying, settling back on his sofa, holding her close, hoping she’d fall asleep again.  They still had several hours before they reached Ontario airport where David would be waiting.  He didn’t relish either of the two tasks in front of him.  Prepping Stephanie for the landing and telling David his sister had been murdered.

“Steph?  You awake still, luv?”  He felt a little nod against his neck.  “You know we’re flying back to the States, right?”  Another nod.  “Okay, so when we get there, I’m gonna be with you, don’t you worry about that.  But we’re gonna take you to the hospital, you know, hafta get you taken care of, make all those hurts go away.  You want that, don’t you?”  Slight hesitation this time, before a single nod.  “Now the thing is though, I have to tell David about Daphne.  He’s my mate and it should be me to tell him, you know?”  Now he felt her tightening around him again and he felt the denial despite her continued silence.  “Yes, luv, I need to be the one.  So, while I talk to David, we’ll let the medics prep you for the trip to the hospital and then I’ll ride along with you, so it’ll just be a short time I’ll be away from you, okay?”  Her head began shaking before he’d finished speaking and he sighed to himself.  “It’ll be better this way, Steph.  If you’re there, you might get scared again.  I don’t want you to have to get scared ever again.”

Stephanie pulled back from him a little and Terry turned his head to look into her eyes.  She looked terrified already anyway and he pulled her back against him.  “Just think about it, luv and we can decide later.”

“O-o-o-k-kay,” she whispered against his neck.  He felt her clutch the little bear against his back and smiled, hoping she would be okay when the time came, because no way did he want her to have to hear him tell David about his sister.  It would bring it all back to her again and while he knew she would be reliving her agony for quite awhile, he wasn’t about to bring it on her himself.

They must have slept for awhile because the next thing Terry knew, Dino was tugging at his sleeve to wake him.

“What is it?” Terry whispered, immediately awake and alert, very aware of the sleeping girl in his arms, thankful she was asleep and apparently without dreams.  Her hold on him was still just as tight as before when she’d been awake though.

“We’ve got about forty minutes before we land.  David’s there with his mom and paramedics are scheduled to arrive when we do.  I think given the current situation, I better tell David and you take her to the hospital.  I know you want to do it,” he continued as Terry was about to interrupt, “but you can’t take care of everyone, Terry and right now Stephanie needs you more than David does.  You’ll get a chance to talk to him later.  He’s my friend too, I can tell him.  Besides, you know you’ll be too distracted about her while you’re trying to deal with him.”

Terry sighed and nodded.  Dino was right, as much as he wanted to take care of both situations, it would work out better this way.  “Okay, mate.  Make sure David understands.”

“I will, hermano.  It’ll all be okay.  I’ve called the FBI too and they’re gonna have someone meet us at the hospital in the morning.  So get some more sleep.  I doubt you’ll get another chance any time soon.”

“Yeah, you too.”  Dino nodded and gave him an odd smile.  “What?”

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were on your way to getting a little domesticated.”

Terry raised a ‘brow at his brother-in-arms and Dino chuckled.  To tell the truth, Terry was happy Dino had taken the piss with him a little.  It meant he was more supportive of what was happening now.  After Terry shrugged his shoulders in a “What else can I do?” gesture and he told him, “Nothing else, pal,” Dino left Terry to fall asleep.

But of course he couldn’t.  His mind was whirling through all the things he needed to do to care for Stephanie.  Would she need to stay in California?  Or would they release her so he could take her back to New York?  Would he be able to take her to his flat or would she be required to spend some time in the hospital before they released her?  Would they even release her into his care in the first place?

Too many questions and not a single answer until he could get the ball rolling with the agent.  Terry sighed, then felt Stephanie hitch a little in her sleep and his attention was suddenly fully focused on her, concerned this was the onset of another nightmare, determined to wake her before it took full hold of her like last time.

He was right.  Steph became extremely agitated very swiftly after that first hitch and Terry sat up with her, telling her to wake up as he pulled her away from him so she’d see his eyes as soon as she opened hers.  It took only a moment or two this time and she woke up, still breathing heavily, but not nearly as bad as the previous episode.

“There ya are, luv.  It’s okay.”  Before he could say another word, she was wrapped around him again and he was struck by her willingness to let him hold her.  Despite the fact that it was men who had brought her to this point, she was content to allow him access to her and he couldn’t for the life of him figure out why, despite the sudden memory of something the little brunette stew had told him once.

“There’s something about you, Thorne.  You’re as tough as steel, but there’s something amazingly tender about you.  Something almost… feminine.”  That had brought about a tickle fight that he’d naturally won and she confessed she’d used that particular word on purpose to tease him, but she’d been serious up to that point.  Terry mentally shrugged.  Whatever it was, he was glad it was helping Stephanie get through this.

“Hey, babygirl… You hungry again?  I saw a nice pound cake in the fridge, maybe a slice?  And some milk?  We need to fatten you up, you know, otherwise you’ll never fill out my shirt.”  He chuckled as he felt her smile and nod against his neck.  “Okie dokie.  You okay to wait out here for me while I get it?  I’ll just be a few steps away in the galley and you’ve got your little friend in your hand.  And Dino’s just up the front there, he’ll keep you as safe as I do.”

She sat back slowly and though the smile was gone, her eyes had a little sparkle to them, enjoying his patter with her as if she was just a little girl.  He stood up to see which way she’d go and she slid from his grasp on his body, dutifully walking over to her sofa and pulling herself into her knees-to-her-chest position, rocking slowly.  Terry smiled and chucked her under her chin.  She looked like a little girl and he didn’t mind treating her like one at all.  Kind of liked it, really.

He went into the galley after making eye contact with Dino so he’d know she was “alone”, getting the cake and a glass of milk for her.  Cut a slice for himself while he was at it.  He saw strawberries in a container and brought those with him too, silently thanking whoever had stocked the fridge.

“Here we go, Steph,” he said softly on his return, chuffed to see she was just rocking, not looking nearly as scared as she had just a short while ago.  He watched her eat, almost giggling as she carefully sliced one of the bigger strawberries with the fork he’d given her and laying it out across her cake before eating it.  He wolfed his down in three bites and helped himself to a few of the strawberries too.

When she was done, he cleaned up again and got her buckled in, knowing they’d be landing soon and figured this way there wouldn’t be a struggle to separate her from him since she was already contentedly sitting on her own.  He sat down next to her and she took his hand quietly.  That made him grin at her.

“Oh, Dino said he’d talk to David so you and I can go straight to the hospital together as soon as we land.”

That was when he saw her smile for the first time, relief flooding her eyes with bright tears.  He reached out a hand and tucked her hair behind her ear.

“Aw, babygirl, were you really worried about that?  I’m sorry.  I’m gonna be with you as much as I can so no worries, luv.”

She nodded at him, still smiling and he was struck by how brightly her smile lit her face.  That those fucks had almost taken that away from her got his blood pressure right back up and he concentrated on his breathing to keep her from knowing what he was thinking.

They sat quietly together.  Terry trying to let his mind go blank and just rest, while watching Steph play with her little bear, walking him up and down her legs.  It wasn’t too long later that the pilot announced that they were on final approach and Terry pulled her hand up to his, kissed the back of it and laid it on top of one knee, then getting up and settling into his sofa, buckling up.  She watched him all the while, the smile gone, her breathing increased but nothing close to the terror that had been there before.

After another smooth landing, Terry unbuckled himself and started pulling everyone’s cases and bags from the overhead compartments which the blokes fetched one by one.  As they came by, they smiled at Stephanie and she returned their smiles shyly but shrunk back if they got too close.  Dino was the last one and he grabbed the last two cases, waiting while Terry unbuckled her and covered her with the blanket.

“You wanna walk, luv?”

She looked warily past Dino and thought for a minute, then shook her head, bottom lip trembling a little.

“No worries then, the Thorne Express is available.”  He picked her up as Dino laughed and she wrapped herself easily around him, happy again.  “Bloody wanker,” he tossed at Dino’s back and Dino chuckled again.

“No, that’s gonna be you for awhile, I can tell already.”

“Pisshead!”

“As soon as I find a bar, pal!”

Verbally sparring as they always did, the two friends made their way off the plane.  Dino headed over to David and his mother immediately while Terry hung back at the door, letting Dino give him the news first, before stepping out to carry Stephanie over to the waiting paramedics.

Chapter Three