Rachael Pt. 03 Ch. 20: The Rebound

Rebound

Sam had gone to the liquor store and bought a bottle of vodka. He went home and drank all of it over the course of the afternoon and evening. He did nothing else, drank on his vacated stomach and sat in his kitchen. Finally, he passed out and remembered nothing.

The next day was Monday and he managed to clean himself up and make it into the office on time. He had a monumental hangover, and one earth shaking headache, but he was there on time and went to work.

Lunchtime came, and his head cleared enough for him to start thinking about what had happened the previous morning at George's. He still had a hard time believing what he had seen. Something was wrong. His beautiful Rachael had become a zombie whore. That's the only way he could describe what he had seen. He knew a little about pain killer drugs and he thought that she might be taking them to eliminate the pain of the sex and maybe the pain of her life. He was determined to fix the problem.

He called Dave Barnett that afternoon and asked if he would meet him after work?

Dave remembered Sam and they agreed to meet at a bar on the ground floor of Dave's building.

Sam told Dave what he had seen on Sunday morning and Dave was shocked. He didn't know why she had moved out and quit her job.

"Was she doing okay at work?" Sam asked.

"She was awesome at work, I had great plans for her and wanted to groom her to become part of my executive management."

"I don't know what to do?" Sam said.

"What do you want to happen?"

"I want her to be free of that asshole and come back to me as the woman I loved."

"I would welcome her back in the company." Dave added.

"What do you think we can do?" Sam asked.

"I am not sure. Let me check on a few things and I will get back to you. I agree we need to do an intervention, but I am not sure how to go about it. Meet me here on Friday after work and I will tell you what I find."

Tuesday morning, Dave flew to Radford and completed a sale of some downtown property that he owned. When he got back on the plane he set the autopilot for Charlottesville and looked at the check in his hand for two and a half million dollars. The price ended up more that he asked for because several investors wanted the same building. Dave smiled as the little airplane flew north east.

He did a stopover in Charlottesville which enabled him to visit with an old classmate and friend from college. His friend had gone on to medical school and then opened a small sanitarium just north of town. He was dedicated to helping people with addictions and that's why Dave went to see him. The place was all brand new, small and on the side of a mountain just west of the Charlottesville city. Not far from the airport as it were.

The two old friends greeted one another and sat down to a late lunch. Dave told him a much as he knew about Rachael and that he wanted to bring her here as soon as he could get her out of her situation. Doctor Richards said he could take her any time and then Dave asked him if he needed any money for expansion.

"I always need money." He replied.

"I have a check in my pocket for two point five million dollars and I would like to invest it in your little hospital on the mountainside."

Doctor Richards was flabbergasted and began to think all he could do with that much infused cash. "How much stake do you want?" he asked.

"Whatever the numbers work out to be. I don't know how much you have invested but it would have to be considerable."

"Yea, I am in about two million of my own money and I borrowed half a million from the bank."

"How about you pay off the bank, grant me a 40% partnership and take care of my sick friend."

"Dave, that's a more than fair offer. I don't know what to say."

"How about, yes?"

"Yes." And Doctor Richards offered his hand.

Dave signed the check and gave it to him and said, "I will be back in Richmond tonight, call me when you have the paperwork done and I will let you know when I can bring Rachael."

"Dave, I can't thank you enough. With you as a partner I think we can do some great things."

Dave flew back to Richmond. He had just unloaded a building in far off Radford and bought a piece of a business in the intellectual capital of Virginia. It's been a good day, now I must get Rachael out of the jam she is in.

During the flight into Richmond, Dave called another classmate. Burt lived in Northern Virginia and owned a lot of businesses himself. They discussed the situation with Rachael and Burt said he could do the extraction that week. Friday might be a good day.

Dave hung up the phone without knowing the details of the plan but had confidence in his friend and his capabilities.

Dave was at work Friday morning wondering what was happening with Rachael. He didn't know any of the timing or what would happen, and it worried him.

Burt called at ten that morning and said he had the girl and was headed to the hospital with her. She was severely malnourished, dehydrated and high on pain killers. The medic on his extraction team said she needed immediate hospital attention. The other three girls there were in better shape, but he was taking them to the hospital as well. The prostitution ring was broken up, the State Police had taken George into custody and it was doubtful he would ever see the light of day again.

"Burt, I didn't know it was a whore house."

"Nobody knew, we went in for the girl about five this morning and found the mess. Girls were everywhere so to speak, and George was belligerent. We subdued him and called the State boys. I have friends on the force and this guy had been on their radar before, so they were happy to come and help. Come to the hospital later this afternoon and Rachael should be ready for transportation to your sanitorium."

"Burt, I owe you big time." Dave said.

"Yes, you do, but it looks like your doing something good here."

Later that day, Dave went to the hospital and saw Rachael. She looked a little brighter than he thought she would, but she was sedated and having trouble talking. He talked to the doctor and asked when she could travel to Charlottesville?

"If you can wait until morning it would be better. She needs some rest and some nourishment. We are giving her all the calories and fluids we can, but it will take some time."

"Will she be able to fly in a small plane?" Dave asked.

"Yes, the plane won't bother her unless she is afraid of flying."

"She has been in the plane before, so I think she won't be afraid and I will bring a friend so if necessary I have extra hands."

"That's good, we should let her rest now and I will see you in the morning." The doctor said.

Dave met Sam after work and filled him in on the days happenings.

"Dave, I can't believe you got all this done so quickly."

"Not a problem, can you fly with me to Charlottesville in the morning?"

"Of course, I will be happy to help anyway I can."

"Good, meet me at the hospital at nine and we will take her to the airport and then on to Charlottesville."

They had dinner and went their separate ways that evening.

The next day everything went as planned and just after noon they delivered Rachael to Doctor Richards and his recovery clinic. Dave brought copies of the hospital records, so they knew what had happened since her extraction. She still had IV lines and fluid bags attached to her.

Sam was quiet and helpful, he pushed the wheelchair to the room where she would stay and sat by the bed as she settled in.

"Honey, how do you feel?"

"Hungry."

"I think someone ordered breakfast for you and it should be here shortly."

"Why are you here Sam, you and Dave?"

"We knew you were in trouble at Georges, so we planned an intervention to free you from his control." Dave replied.

"I don't know what happened. It's all a blur to me."

"Don't worry about that now. Let me introduce you to Doctor Richards. He runs this little place and will oversee your recovery."

"Hi." She said weakly.

"Hello Rachel, please relax, sleep as much as you want and when you are stronger we will talk about a recovery plan. Is that okay with you?"

"Sam, why are you and Dave here?"

"We love you Rachael and we want you to be safe and healthy."

"Oh."

She fell asleep and the three men walked out into the corridor to confer about the future.

"This is going to take six months of recovery and it will be difficult if once she is stronger she doesn't want to change her lifestyle." The doctor said.

"We understand that, and we will visit as much as we can and try to lend all the support we have." Dave said.

Sam looked lost and said, "All I can say is you two are the best I have ever met, and I will do everything in my power to help."

Dave and Sam flew back to Richmond that night and made plans to come back the next weekend.

Sam went home and on Sunday, drove to Charlottesville to see how far it was and what the lay of the land around the sanitorium was like.

On Monday he went to work and asked his boss for a transfer to Charlottesville. The company had an office there and he wanted to be close to the facility. His boss agreed to the plan and Tuesday he packed his office up and loaded the car. The company would give him a hotel accommodation for 30 days but after that he had to find his own place to live.

The move was easy, the hotel was close to Doctor Richard's and the following night Sam went to see Rachael.

"Hi Honey, how are you feeling?"

"Like a ton of bricks landed on me." She replied with a grin.

"You really look a lot better."

"Thanks, you look pretty good yourself."

Sam leaned over her and offered her a little kiss. She reached up and pulled his face to hers with both hands and washed his lips with her tongue. "God, do you ever taste good."

The months went by, the treatments worked and by the end of Summer Rachael was ready to go home. Sam took her to the small apartment he had rented in Charlottesville and she said it felt cozy. That night they ate dinner and watched tv from the couch in the living room.

"Sam, you stuck by me when I treated you badly. I won't forget that."

"I already forgot all the things that went before. All I know is the here and now."

She swung her leg across his lap and slowly lowered her lips to his, washed his lips with her tongue and searched for an entry point.

"You sure you want to do this?" Sam said.

"I never wanted anything more than I want you right now."

"I love you Rachael."

"Make love to me Sam."

"Will you marry me?"

"Yes, now take me to bed. Please."

This is the end of Rachael's story. She and Sam are still in Charlottesville and still together. She went back to Doctor Richards sanatorium and volunteered to work with his patients. With her degree in biology the University made quick work of her nursing credentials and she accepted a position with Dr. Richard's institute. Sam made his transfer permanent and they bought a small house in the suburbs.

Dave comes to visit when he can, after all he has a business interest as well as friends there.

THE END