Rivalries: Chapter Twenty-Six, Part One

 Notes: Back to John's POV, and now we really are winding down, my darlins. I figure I'll carry this through September, then start up the next story in October. Which will be set in the Bonded universe, but only loosely connected to previous characters, since I've got a LOT of editing to do as I get ready to release those books on the world.

Title: Rivalries: Chapter Twenty-Six, Part One

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Chapter Twenty-Six, Part One

 

Seeing Dr. Mullins appear at the door of the interrogation room was jarring in a way John didn’t anticipate. He’d been expecting his lawyer, or someone else’s lawyer, or a cop who was finally going to take him off to a cell to wait instead of the “not-quite-a-cell” room he was in right now. Heck, if he’d been indulging his wildest dreams, he might have expected Charlie, stalwart in the face of endless, grinding bureaucracy, demanding to see John before he was dragged off to prison.

But Dr. Mullins? She just made him nervous. “What are you doing here?” he asked, sitting up a little straighter.

“Delivering the good news!” she said, not bothering to close the door behind her. “As of a few minutes ago, you’re officially a free man, John. The assault charges have been dropped.”

What? How? “You mean Mrs. Patterson is awake, then?”

“No. Her husband dropped them on her behalf. I’m pretty sure it’s all part of a ploy to get the judge to go lighter on her during sentencing, but—” She winked at him. “Can’t argue with the results, right?”

Had he fallen into some kind of alternate dimension? “Sentencing? What?”

“Oh, John. You seem half asleep. Do you need caffeine? A little jolt from the old cattle prod?” She chuckled at her own joke. “Yes, her sentencing. Reckless endangerment, criminal conspiracy, child abuse—the list goes on and on!”

“But…how?”

Dr. Mullins smiled. “I happened to have some pertinent information about Linda Patterson’s research. My meeting with her lawyer, and yours, went very well for you as a result.”

“But how did you even know to come and meet with our lawyers?” John sure as hell hadn’t called her. He didn’t even have his…

Phone.

Oh, no. “You talked to Charlie?”

“I sure did.”

Oh, no. “What did you make him give you?” John demanded, surging to his feet. “What did you make him do in exchange for your help?”

“John, John.” Dr. Mullins shook her head. “Where is all this suspicion coming from, hmm? When have I ever made anyone do anything that wasn’t explicitly agreed on?”

John gritted his teeth. She had a point. He might hate her methods, but he had signed up for them. “What did Charlie agree to for your help, then?”

“Nothing too dire,” she said soothingly. “I’m not going to start inviting him into the lab, if that’s what you’re thinking. He’s figured out a very nice workaround for his little knack difficulties, but it’s not quite novel enough for me to spend time on. No, John, I’m just going to be…hmm, holding an IOU from him for the moment. Something I might redeem on a rainy day if I figure out an experiment I do want to try out on him, or if I need help with a particular recruit, or something like that.”

“That’s unethical.”

“It’s perfectly ethical,” she replied, unconcerned. “Charlie was quite firm about leaving this future favor open-ended as long as it meant I brought the hammer down on the Pattersons and Principal Cross. Which I have, quite effectively.” She rubbed her hands together. “Heavens, this is the most fun I’ve had outside of a laboratory setting for years, it seems like! There’s nothing like putting the fear of science into people.”

The longer he knew her, the more disturbing Katherine Mullins became. “Let me take on the favor for him.”

She shook her head. “No, no, that wouldn’t be fair. He made the deal, so he’s going to honor it. Besides, he made it for you! Don’t negate his work on your behalf by taking that choice away from him.”

“He didn’t make it knowing enough facts!” John insisted. “He doesn’t know what you might make him do!”

“No, he doesn’t,” Katherine said. Her expression was serene. “But then, neither do I. That’s a problem for both of us in the future. For now, he’s just going to be happy that you’re all right, John.” She smiled and clasped her hands in front of her chest in an “aww” gesture. “And so am I! Not that I couldn’t have gotten special exemptions to make use of you if you had gotten prison time, but it’s nice I won’t have to.”

John swallowed. “You could have done that?”

“I swear, it’s like no one really reads the contracts these days,” she said with a sigh. “Let’s not go there. You’ve got a very anxious lover waiting for you out in front of the building. School is cancelled for the rest of the week. Charlie’s responsibilities with Ari are officially put on hold, possibly indefinitely. Sounds like a perfect recipe for some ‘alone time’ to me!”

“Ew.” Not what he wanted to hear out of Dr. Mullins’s mouth.

“Oh, don’t be a baby.” She stepped out of the way of the path to the door. “Go and rescue your man from the panic attack he’s building up to.”

“Thanks, Dr. Strangelove,” he muttered as he brushed past her. Her laughter followed him all the way down the hall and into the lobby of the police station, where…

No one tried to stop him. No one even bothered talking to him, just let him go like he hadn’t been cooling his heels and eating bad vending machine snacks for the past twelve hours waiting for something to get resolved so he could at least know where he stood. That was a fail on the part of his court-appointed lawyer, but he’d shout at the guy later. Right now, all John wanted was Charlie.

He was easy to find, too, pacing in front of a bench right outside the front door. He looked up as soon as John exited, and the worried lines in his face gave way to joy and relief.

The lecture John had been planning in his head died a quick death as he jogged forward into his boyfriend’s embrace.

Oh god, oh fuck. The trauma and pain of yesterday felt like a million miles away, yet now that the high of both their narrow escapes was wearing off, John realized just how lucky they had both been.

“Holy shit, you could have died yesterday.” Charlie could have died—could have been killed by that stupid, arrogant son of a bitch Applegate, and this would never have happened again. He’d never have held him again, never have pressed his face against Charlie’s shoulder and inhaled, feeling like his lungs were made of knives, as tears sprang to his eyes. “You could have died. In front of all of those kids, too, oh my god.”

“You were almost thrown into jail,” Charlie replied, his voice shaky. “Katherine Mullins is the scariest person I’ve ever met, I think, and I’ve met some really fucking scary people in my time, but I’m so glad she was able to help.”

John opened his mouth to revive the lecture, then shook his head. Later. He could be scared later, he could be angry and upset later. Right now he wanted to revel in the fact that both of them were alive, and safe, and together. Finally together.

“I love you,” John said. “And I really, really want to go back to your place right now. Is that okay?”

“Yeah. Shit, hang on.” Charlie let go for a moment to wipe the corners of his eyes before grabbing John’s hand. “It’s more than okay. Let’s go.”

“Thanks.”

“Don’t thank me for being there for you,” Charlie chided gently as he turned them toward a distant parking lot. “Don’t thank me for trying to help you. Never thank me for being in love with you, that’s all your fault anyway.”

And John would never, ever take it for granted.