Faun Over You Ch. 06

I know I said the last chapter was long and it was only 2 pages on here, but this time I mean it. This chapter is 3x the length. I checked.

Starting to get into the really heavy sides of things, so get comfy, because this roller coaster is climbing the hill, and once it crests, be ready for a wild ride.

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"Come on, pick up. Please."

Danny was drumming his thumbs on the steering wheel. Rose was sleeping in the seat next to him, curled up in blankets, and occasionally she would groan in pain. He hadn't thought about what they might do if she ever got sick, and with the whirlwind of her memory returning, there was so much to process and no time to do it. A sudden click from his Bluetooth earpiece pulled his attention back to it, followed by a voice he hadn't heard in years.

"Rochester Veterinary Clinic, this is Doctor Waters. How can I help you?"

"Uh, hey Rachael...it's Danny."

There was a long pause and then a loud sigh. He wasn't surprised to hear it. The last time they had spoken was when they broke up a few years back, and they hadn't kept in touch with each other at all.

"Danny, look...I don't want to try and patch things up with y-"

"Rachael this isn't about reconciling. I need someone I can trust, and you are the first person that came to mind. I need a doctor...or a vet...I'm not really sure but please, I need someone to help me with something."

Another long pause, and another sigh. He heard a door shut after a moment, and only after did Rachael resume speaking.

"Danny, what is this? I know your sense of humor is weird but this strange, even for you."

"I need you to do an exam for my...girlfriend. She's sick and we don't know why. She was coughing up blood last night before she passed out. I'm on my way back to New York now, and should be there in a few hours. Please Rachael, I need your help."

"Jesus Danny, what are you doing, fucking a sheep? I'm a veterinarian! I treat animals, not people! If this is some sick joke-"

Danny started as the earpiece got pulled out, not realizing that Rose had woken up. He could still hear Rachael going off as she held the device up to her ear.

"Rachael?" she said weakly, her face grimacing.

There was a moment of silence from the other end, followed by a faint "yes?"

"Please, help me."

The silence was even longer that it had been before, and Danny caught the long, defeated sigh from the other end.

"Ok" came her reply. "Pass me back to Danny."

Rose extended her hand and Danny took the headset and put it back in his ear.

"Rachael?"

"...if this is a joke, I swear to God I will neuter you. I'll send you my address, so meet me there. Call when you're 30 minutes out."

The line went dead before he could even thank her, but it didn't bother him. He reached over and started to rub on Rose's back through the blankets, and she groaned softly as she adjusted under his touch. The trip home would take them close to Rochester, so it wasn't much of a detour to begin with, but Danny had no idea how Rachael was going to handle all of this.

They had dated for a little over a year about 3 years back, but they hadn't been as compatible as they had believed. Rachael was extremely outgoing and social, while Danny was almost the exact opposite. It had been a struggle for the latter half of their relationship, but eventually they both had decided that they weren't a good couple. He was just glad that she wasn't into him only for his money like several of the ones that had come before her.

His phone dinged with a notification, and he tapped it to see an address. He held his finger down on it for a moment until the options popped up, and he poked 'Maps' so he could get an accurate timeline. It thought for a second, and a few taps later he saw they were roughly 2 hours out. He had called shortly after the clinic had opened for the day, having left in the early hours of the morning. He was tired, but far too anxious to sleep until he knew what was wrong with Rose.

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Rachael lived east of the city and a decent drive out from it. Her property looked like a small farm set a short ways back from the country road she lived on, and there were a few animals running around when he pulled up. Standing next to her truck, which had the clinic logo decal on the door, was Rachael Waters.

Rachael was about the same height as Rose, but she was lean and muscular from wrangling her own animals and those she treated at her clinic. Her dark auburn hair was pulled back into a tail, and her face looked stern and annoyed as he pulled up. She was wearing a baggy old shirt and jeans, and once he had parked she strode over to his jeep.

"Alright, spill. Why does your clearly human girlfriend need a vet and not an actual doctor?"

Danny didn't respond, instead hurriedly making his way around to the passenger door to help Rose out of the car. Rachael stood back and watched him, the annoyance on her face only increasing at the lack of response. Danny unbuckled Rose and carefully helped her get onto her feet, while Rachael just tapped her foot on her gravel drive. Once Rose's feet touched the ground, she stopped tapping.

"Alright, this is clearly some kind of prank. Hooves? Is she wearing a big rubber horse mask and a fake tail, too?"

Danny helped Rose all the way out of the jeep, and her blankets finally fell away from her face as she stood up straighter, using Danny to try and keep her balance.

"Hi Rachael, my name is Rose. I need your help, please. Something is wrong with me and I don't know what."

Rose looked like every word was a piercing stab into her side, her face betraying the amount of pain she was apparently in, despite her voice sounding far calmer than it should. Danny made sure she was ok as she leaned against him, and looked back over at Rachael. Her entire face had confusion written all over it, and Danny wondered for a moment if he had had that same look on his face the first time he had seen Rose. She stared at Rose unblinking for almost a full minute, before finally looking over at Danny.

"What in the actual fuck?"

"I'll explain more once we get her inside. It's been a long 4 days for us both."

"Yeah..."

Rachael came over and helped steady Rose as they went around the back of her house. She led them into a small on-site clinic that looked to have been a garage at one point, and helped Rose up onto her exam table. They unwrapped her blankets, peeling them off in layers, and Rachael could only stare in wonder once she got to see Rose completely. Danny helped her lay back while Rachael prepped equipment, and they all remained silent, save for an occasional groan from Rose.

"A quick blood draw first" Rachael said as she prepped a small needle. Rose took in a sharp breath as the needle went in, and in no time there were 3 small vials drawn. After putting a wrap over the draw site, Rachael took them and began to do several things neither of them could see, but Danny assumed she was about to do some tests.

He looked around as she worked, seeing multiple pictures of her and various animals, likely all patients at some point. There were a few others that weren't featuring animals, like one of her with her parents at her graduation, and a few she seemed to have taken while on a vacation. A sharp click and a low hum brought his attention back, and he saw Rachael put a few things away before turning back around with another needle.

"Ok Rose, this is a bit of tranquilizer that'll also help with the pain, at least until I get a better idea of what I need to look for. It's a low dosage and it's safe for...human use, so there won't be any adverse effects, ok?

Rose weakly nodded her head, managing a breathy "ok" as she squeezed Danny's hand. She didn't flinch as the needle went in, and after a few minutes her grip loosened and her breathing began to sound less burdened. Danny brushed a finger against her cheek and she leaned towards it, and he could tell she had fallen asleep.

He sat there, watching her sleep for how long he didn't know, until he felt something warm touch his cheek. He looked over and saw Rachael with a steaming mug, and took it with a silent smile. It was tea, made just the way he liked it, which surprised him. He drank it in silence, and once he was done he handed her the empty mug.

"Thank you. So much."

"Don't thank me yet. I'm still not even sure what the hell is going on, and I better get some answers from you here soon. Clearly this isn't an elaborate joke, so spill."

Danny looked over at Rachael, who was leaning back against her work bench. She looked annoyed still, but he could see a bit of concern on her face now as well. He leaned back and took a deep breath, and started to talk.

"Ever heard of Gen-U-Tech?"

"That big pharmaceutical company?"

"Same one. You been keeping up with their more recent stuff in the news any?"

"Not really. I know they had some big genetics thing they were investing in for advanced medicines, but it got shuttered last year. A few of my friends at the hospital were talking about it."

"And did you hear about a girl from the team that went missing right after that that had been working on the project?"

"No I...what?"

Rachael was looking at him, confusion all over her face now.

"...no, there wasn't anything about anyone going missing."

She looked over at Rose, who was sleeping soundly now, and she just shook her head.

"No. No, this is ridiculous. You're telling me this girl was on that team, was used as a subject, and then no one said anything about it after she went missing?"

"It's a bit more complicated than that. She wasn't a willing subject for one. One of the lead scientists apparently injected her with whatever it was they were developing. That was after he shot her."

"But...why?"

"She said he was drunk and that he blamed her for getting the project shut down, despite her finding the breakthrough that helped years of stagnated work move forward. It's all a mess."

"So...you just found her a few days ago then? And she just felt like she could trust a complete stranger to all this insane information?"

"No, she's...been staying with me since October. When I met her she had been living in the woods for over a month, and she had no memory of what had happened. It was a slow process, us getting used to each other. I had no idea what she was, but she kept coming back to my cabin. She would come by in the morning while I had my breakfast on the porch, and I left her some food to eat, to show that I was...I don't know, kind?

"Things were going along slow but well enough that she wasn't jumpy around me, that is until a really bad storm rolled through, and I brought her inside out of the rain when I found her curled up on my porch in a panic. Found out when her memory came back that it had been storming the night she was attacked, so she had an associated bad memory of sorts with storms. I got her dried off and she fell asleep by my fire, and later we..."

Danny cleared his throat awkwardly before continuing, and he noticed Rachael give him a weird look.

"Let's just say that week was a lot of very strange and awkward experiences for both of us. She asked to stay and has been living with me ever since. She would randomly remember things and seize on them, and that was what led us to visiting her childhood home. She didn't remember anything, and last night while we were getting ready to call it and eat dinner before bed, a series of sounds must have caused her memory of the night she was attacked to trigger."

Danny reached out and put his hand against Rose's cheek, his concern for her washing over him anew.

"I want to help her, to get back at the bastard that did this to her, but first I need you to help her. I don't know what's wrong, and I'm afraid. I don't want to lose her."

Danny shut his eyes to stop them from filling with tears, and he took several deep breaths to calm himself. He didn't hear Rachael walk over, but he felt her hand on his shoulder. He took in another deep breath, and despite his efforts, the tears started to fall. He felt her pat him on the shoulder, and then a gentle nudge from her to get moving.

"Come on. She's going to be out for a bit now that she isn't in pain, and you look like ass. Let's get you comfy and rested so we can all have a clear head. I have a few things I still need to do and you won't be of much help to me in this state."

Danny didn't say anything back, instead just nodding and letting her steer him inside. He paid no mind to his surroundings, and was only barely aware that she had helped him get his shoes off before finding himself wrapped up in warm blankets. Within seconds, he had drifted off to sleep.

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When Danny woke up, the first thing he noticed was the distinct smell of a hot shower in the air. He rolled over from the bed he was in, realizing it must be Rachael's, and looked around. He saw the bathroom door standing wide open, and it took him a few seconds to process that Rachael was standing in front of her mirror. It wasn't until she turned and walked out that he realized she was completely nude. He quickly averted his eyes, and he heard her scoff at him.

"Not like you haven't seen me nude before, so don't know why you're looking away. There's nothing new to see."

Danny kept his gaze turned away as he heard her rummage around the room, not wanting to seem like a creep. He was already remembering past feelings, but they weren't a couple anymore, and he didn't want Rose to get a wrong impression either.

"So uh, how is Rose?"

"She's fine. Woke up a little bit ago and I helped her move inside to the couch so she would be more comfortable, and then gave her some painkillers since she was still hurting a little. And you can turn around now, dork."

Danny hesitantly turned and saw that she was now fully clothed, wearing lounge pants and a baggy shirt. She walked over and sat on the end of the bed, giving him a look as if she was assessing him, but said nothing for a moment.

"So we talked some while you were off in snoozeville. She's nice. Asked her to tell me what all happened and she backed up everything you said, so that was a shock. Not that I'm saying you lied or anything, but it's soooo...out there. It sounds like some indie movie, only with a LOT more sex."

Danny glanced over at her and noticed that she had a coy grin on her face. He figured after he had not so smoothly skipped that detail that she had asked Rose about it when they talked, though he had honestly hoped she wouldn't. While the two of them had been intimate before, he didn't like the fact that his ex was talking about his performance in bed with Rose. He wasn't self-conscious about his ability to perform, but it just felt awkward not knowing what had been said.

"Anyhow, jokes aside, I finished up a few of my tests. The results are weird as hell, which I expected given her state, so I've been nose-deep in some of my books and the internet to try and get answers, and I might have a few. Unfortunately, anything else I need to have done will require an actual hospital for the equipment, and as luck would have it, I have a few favors I'm owed from a doctor on staff."

"What all needs done?"

"Blanket tests mostly, but I did contact my friend on staff and have him look and see if he could find her medical records. He has his own connections, and I told him this needed to be kept on the low since we don't know what all is going on with her on the other side of things. The simple fact that she went missing and no one has gone looking for her is suspicious as fuck. Given that Gen-U-Tech is headquartered in New York, this would've made the rounds locally for sure."

"Did the blood work tell you anything useful?"

"For a woman of her size and build, she was normal, save for a spike in white blood cells. Nothing to worry about though, as stress can make that one go up, and it sounds like the last 48 hours have been pretty damn rough on her. If we can get her medical file and run some tests, then we might be able to find out more, buuuut there's a catch."

"...you need your friend there to do the tests."

Rachael gave him a wry smile and double finger guns. He had been afraid of that as soon as she brought it up. He didn't want Rose to be treated like some lab animal, paraded around in front of a bunch of white coats while she was repeatedly needled and tested.

"There's no other way, is there?" he asked, his gaze falling to the floor.

"Afraid not. The only consolation is that we can go later tonight when the staffing is at a minimum, but he's taking a risk by helping us as well. None of these tests are going to be properly authorized, so we have to be quick and careful."

Danny sat for a few minutes, processing things and wondering about all the risks involved. He also needed to make sure that his goal of getting justice for her got rolling. Now that the truth was known, he was not about to sit by and let those involved get away with it.

"When are you wanting to head that way?" he asked, mind still contemplating.

"Probably closer to midnight. Less traffic in and around the building, and it's after shift change."

"Okay" he said, mind still going over options.

He needed a way to get info he could use against the company without drawing any attention before he was ready, but how to go about it. He sat and thought, looking around aimlessly, until his eyes settled on a pile of mail at the foot of the bed. He hadn't noticed it earlier, but now it had his attention for some reason. He was staring at it for nearly a full minute when it hit him.

"Where's my phone? I need to look something up!"

He was patting his pockets but didn't feel it, and then he saw it hooked up to a charger on the nightstand. He wondered if Rose had asked her to hook it up since he clearly had given it no thought to do so. He grabbed it and unlocked it, tapping on his browser and beginning to type. It only took him a few tries to find what he was looking for.

"Here, Lauren Stern. She's a journalist for the Times" Danny said triumphantly.

"Okay, and?" Rachael retorted.

"She's constantly speaking out about the things Gen-U-Tech has been doing with their medical testing. Some of it is just conjecture, but she is top notch at digging up their dirt. If I contact her, maybe she can help us get back at them and bring this entire thing to light!"

"Hold up there, boy scout. What if Rose doesn't want you to put her out there like that? If you bring this to light, you will never be rid of the press for the rest of your life. You will be praised by some and vilified by many, just for even daring to have a relationship. God forbid they find out the two of you actually have sex on the regular. You might end up doing more damage than if you just left it alone."

"Contact her" came a quiet voice from the doorway.

Danny and Rachael both turn to see Rose standing in the doorway, neither of them having heard her approach. She still looked to be in pain, but not nearly as much as before. She had her arm across her stomach and was holding onto the doorframe to steady herself, but despite it all, she looked determined.

"Let them take their pictures and ask their questions. They can judge me all they want. So long as I can make them pay for what they did to me, then it'll be worth the inconvenience. Contact this Lauren person and tell her you want to meet. That you have a former employee that can give her the juiciest secrets they've got and is willing to give her exclusive interview rights on anything involving them and the company. They'll try and hush us with money of course, but I don't want money. I want vindication and recognition for everything that's happened, and I intend to get it."