The Doctor and the Witch's Spell Ch. 02

Virgil nudged his nose against the back of her hand, resting it there as she scratched his muzzle. His hind leg mirrored her movement, as he itched a scratch on his side as well. The display made Veronica giggle.

"He's incredibly smart. Well, they're both intelligent, it's just Virgil somehow teaches Dante without having to display any sort of gimmick of any kind. No dominance, just patience and understanding. It's incredible. I knew both of them would be perfect for each other when Virgil practically housetrained him. Definitely my pride and joys here. But, Billy watched them for me while I cleaned my home from top to bottom. So, that's why I'm picking them up to bring them back to the house. I seriously don't think it's been this spotless since Clinton was president." She chuckled to herself, softly scratching behind Virgil's floppy ears.

Dante trotted up to Veronica, planting himself directly in front of her, letting out a small bark to grasp her attention.

"Oh. Well, look who's fond of you. This is too precious, where's a camera when you need one." Sherron guffawed at her puppy, shaking her head mildly at the temerity of the animal. Veronica placed her hand on Dante's head, to which he became incredibly still, closing his eyes and wagging his tail.

Sherron was so perplexed by this; she tilted her head at the spectacle, hoping maybe a different perspective of the scene would shed some light. Vonni was a little astounded with the animal's behavior, but she paid no mind to the sudden calmness that came over him; dogs were a mammal she was definitely familiar with, she's had several throughout her life.

The beeper in her pocket chimed once again, alerting Veronica that she was incredibly late for work. She gave Sherron a half-smile, hoping to be able to see her later on tonight. Everything about last night changed something inside Veronica, down to her core. For one, she learned that magic exists, another being that demons and witches exist, too. It was all just a very complicated story to her, not exactly sure if she did believe it or if she should waste energy convincing herself she did not. Why is it that we result to such fanatical thinking, if we see something we cant explain? She's gone to such extents before to persuade herself that the paranormal she's witnessed, the magic she's experienced, and the supernatural she's felt in the past were just a play on nerves, a trick of the lighting, an illusion.

And, somehow, it made her feel safe being alone and isolated from the truth. To live in a lie is somehow more comfortable to us then to be freed from its confines with the unveiling of the truth.

It was in that split in time as she came to this conclusion, that she would try something new. As she gazed her thanks into Sherron's eyes, she allowed herself to feel the possibilities that lied in wait for her. And, it was when they kissed, not caring where they were, that Veronica promised to herself she would never throw away this feeling again, no matter what could befall them. After sharing a kiss, she smiled and nuzzled into Sher's shoulder with a last, fulfilling hug.

Veronica closed her eyes in a euphoric bliss, catching a certain smell in Sherron's hair. She murmured into it, trying to memorize the aroma so that it would linger with her throughout the day. Sherron asked her something, too faintly for Veronica to comprehend. Are those roses? She sniffed again. Lilac? What is that?

"Hmm?" Veronica inquired dreamily, breathing in deeply and sighing as the perfume seduced her senses.

"It's Jasmine." Sherron whispered, kissing Veronica's neck. Vonni stood there in her dreamy state, taking in the scent a last time, as she felt one of Sherron's hands leave her, hailing down a cab.

This is all so familiar to me. Jasmine in her hair, a cool breeze, morning... I've experienced this before. Veronica opened her eyes to look down, catching both dogs staring at her.

I'm not the only one who remembers, then.

* * * * *

"So you're telling me the reason you walked in on Sherron and I is because you thought you left something of Allen's laying around? What a crock -- where'd you pull that out? Your arse?" Veronica sassed into the receiver, as her heels clicked on the pavement towards the entrance of the emergency center.

"It's not as though I just stood there and watched you two go at it! However, now that I think about it, that wouldn't have been half bad to witness. Catch my drift?" Chloe chimed from her mobile, a hint of mischief to her words.

Veronica smirked, waving to Jerald the police officer on duty, as she walked through the sliding double doors into the trauma center. A middle-aged woman with a grey streak through her dark auburn hair rose from behind the off-white counter in a huff, whispering in a hushed tone.

"Sutherland! Come here! Now!" Helen seethed, pointing a stubby finger at the floor directing her to stand there.

"Chloe, I gotta go. My boss is gonna murder me if I don't get in scrubs pronto." Veronica said while signing to her boss that she was on the phone with a very important call. She reminded herself to treat her soul later on in the evening with a bottle of wine for all her tireless efforts of not trying to kill her boss.

"That bad, huh? Wait, I thought you said you were a psychiatrist. They don't wear scrubs."

"Chloe, I'm a trauma surgeon. Allen just assumed that I was a psychiatrist when he met me last night because he himself likes to get inside people's minds and decided to pick my own brain to see if I could get into his. I really don't know or mind if I make sense to you, hun, but no, I'm not a psychiatrist; I'm a doctor who works on a trauma ward, an emergency room, the place where hurt people go if a friend is being clumsy with machinery and they accidentally chop off another mate's limb with a hacksaw, or stab their neighbors because their music was too loud. Got it?"

Veronica's mind pinged at her again with her flaring temper, reminding her that the random spurts were happening more frequently, which worried her.

"Chloe... I'm sorry. My emotions are just kind of out of wack. I've got a lot on my mind. Not to mention, I just met you last night and I feel as though I'm telling you my life story." She chuckled at the end with a half smile, trying to prolong time with joining Lucifer's company, as her chief in command medical doctor's face began to ripen into a shade of blue from holding her breath.

"It's okay, Von. It's nothing to get flustered at. You go tame the tiger before all hell breaks loose." Chloe's voice turned to a softer tone when she mentioned, "And, Von, let me know if you see Allen pop up at all... You could say we're going through some difficult times and I'm not exactly sure it would be wise if Dylan keeps hanging around him."

The line became silent for a long while, their breathing the only sign of another ear listening.

"Define difficult times." Veronica responded after the half-minute pause. She noticed her boss skulking near the pane-glass windows like a lioness stalking her prey, mouthing threats that fell upon deaf ears. Vonni torched the cigarette she placed between her lips to Helen's dismay, counting the seconds it required Chloe to respond to what she asked of her.

"Look... I know you've perhaps seen some things you weren't prepared to see within the last twenty-four hours, and I can only fathom what went through your mind when you first met Allen. I can't speak of him over the phone."

"Why not? Something up?" Veronica inquired, genuinely curious with what Chloe was telling her.

"Von... I only recently have learned who Allen really is. And, the news I learned was shocking in itself. Just... just promise me that you'll tell Sherron, Meg, or myself what goes on with Allen or Dylan." Chloe said. Her voice seemed more lased with concern to Veronica than before.

"Chloe, would you just tell me what's going on? You don't know how confused I am here, I mean..." Veronica replied exasperated. She looked around herself to avoid Helen's stare from the entrance of her work, shaking her head mildly as her cascading hair tickled her jaw. "Just please tell me what's going on, Chloe. Please. Let me in the loop here."

There was another long pause of silence over the line as Chloe tried to piece together her next words as constructively as possible.

"You should meet me for coffee. There's an international café a block and a half south of your workplace. Do you think you could meet me at eleven on the nose? Let me pick you up from the entrance of the hospital, it'll be swifter that way." Chloe explained with sincerity, Vonni noted.

Taking a drag from the cigarette, she noticed her red lipstick stained the butt as she exhaled, nodding her head.

"I think I'll be able to escape for a half-hour... Just an early lunch break."

"Wonderful. I'll see you then, Veronica."

The call ended with a muted tone, signaling Veronica to stub out her cigarette as she witnessed her boss become ever angrier with her. Holding her chin high, she steadied her pace through the short corridor ending the walk abruptly with a face-to-face greet with the woman who was the incarnation of humanity's nightmare as a whole... At least that's what I think about the bitter, old prune, Veronica thought.

"You've got a lot of nerve coming in an hour late! What if there was an emergency?" Helen exclaimed through clenched teeth. She slammed the overstuffed binder labeled 'PATIENT LOG' onto the counter in front of Veronica, repositioning the cover to face Veronica herself.

"That's why I schedule these meetings as early as possible because death does not sleep. And, life wont wait for you to get your beauty rest either, next time you think slumbering in bed beats saving a life. Buy a watch! Keep an eye on the damn clock! That, Ms. Sutherland, is your only job. Not to shine that ring on your finger five times a day to your little heart's content. This. Being here. And, if not for yourself then do it for your fellow residents, sweetheart. Grow some balls. It's slow in here right now, but that'll change if I'm perfectly honest. Next emergency, Veronica, I swear to you, if you're not on shift rotation, I will personally make it worth your while to my own benefit. Am I understood?" Helen's bottom lip quivered as Veronica blinked her eyes out of boredom. After a short yawn, she feigned a look of surprise, beckoning for her mentor to continue.

"Oh, are you done? Good, good. Your pause of shock due to my ...well, you'd call it insolence, but I refer to it as smarts, has verified to me that you were not expecting that.

As I was saying, since you're done rambling on about non-existential happenings, or I at least hope you are, then I can enlighten you with undeterred enthusiasm that your words literally mean nothing to me. The most they could inspire a living thing to do would be to roll over and die, which, I regret to inform you, but a grand handful of people can testify that your breath could finish the job if your intellect couldn't."

Her employees, despite the fact that the person who compensates them was the one being ridiculed, let out a few snorts of muffled laughter from behind the counter.

"Now that pleasantries are out of the way, I can get to the fun part. What was it you said for the umpteenth time in that pathetic attempt of a monologue? Oh, that's right. The phantom emergency. And, that damn word, if. If.

Exactly. If. There wasn't an emergency, so I wouldn't be needed nor welcome in any room within the same vicinity as you because for many reasons unknown to the vast majority of my coworkers including myself. With that simple note, I'm going to get to work -- that is if you're done, Mrs. Turner." Veronica said in a cool voice devoid of neither sympathy nor empathy. Using her late last name was the icing on the cake, as Veronica watched her boss's smug smile from before transform into a scowl, causing her cheeks to resemble more of a dog's jowl's.

Helen gaped her mouth, unable to process the recent schooling by a woman more than thirty years her junior, as she gripped the counter with white knuckles. Veronica smirked, clicking and clacking down the hall towards the locker room, collecting the patient log as she started for the only safe haven.

Using her ID pass, the security system chimed with the recognition of her identity, turning the idle light near the door handle green signaling entry. Once the door was shut close behind her, Veronica laid her back against it and closed her eyes in the small moment spared to her to regain her senses.

Looking around, her eyes settled on the last locker on the left, no. 237, as she began turning the dial of the padlock. The latch unhitched with the final turn of the combination, granting access to the confines within: some civilian clothes, six spare pairs of scrubs in an assortment of colors, an extra pair of trainers, several socks, hair-ties, toiletry items, a brush, a tin box to keep her jewelry in for safekeeping, and a quaint poster of Pink Floyd to add her character in a place so bland and meek.

She began undressing, ditching her bra and knickers for a fresh pair concealed in one of the mini drawers. As she stood there nude, she sensed a presence behind her, as well as heavy breathing.

Before she could react, powerful hands grasped her wrists and held them firmly against the lockers with force, a groin pressing into her backside. Wide-eyed, her heart raced and began beating faster after learning that her voice had left her with the recent fright.

"Oh, that's a good, lass'. No fuss. I tried calling you last night but your phone just quit sometime in the middle of the early morning. It's no matter, cause I've got you now." Dylan whispered in her ear, sending involuntary shivers down her spine.

"Dylan, how did you...? Please, I'm at work." Veronica attempted to free herself from his hold, but he resisted, pinning her against the cold framework. She let out a shock, feeling a rush of lightheadedness as she felt her feet being spread apart by leather shoes. A zipper unfastened when she heard another sound, deep in her mind. It was Dylan's, cutting out all other sound.

Want it.

"Dylan, wait-"

Her hands were bound behind her back with one of his hands alone, clutching with purpose. The strangest feeling overcame her as she felt him inside her, her heated cheek pressing against the cool surface of the locker, repeatedly. Even as she felt fear grip her with the inhuman strength her fiancé possessed, it faded into nothingness, till she felt numb to emotion itself.

His panting was a faraway sound, a ticking she could focus on to aid time to move faster. However, as unnatural as it sounded in her mind, it felt nonetheless true; time was not on her side this day. For there was dark happenings at work, one of which affecting the dodgy sluggish pace. The seconds crept into what felt like prolonged hours, his voice always speaking to her, feeling him close.

She closed her eyes, knowing it would be a while before he was finished. His uncontrollable might forced her to her knees, bending her over the steel bench. Veronica let out a gasp, feeling paralyzed as her limbs locked of their own accord. She knew what was coming as her hips were raised higher, her legs spread further by his cold hands grasping her inner thighs.

"Dylan. I can't. Just let me get back to work!" She practically screamed out of desperation, her throat still feeling weak after the initial onslaught. He answered in reply with a thrust, hitching Veronica's breath as she grasped the bench tightly. His hammering, grunts, and sweat soaked into her, as time slowed to what one would describe as torture.

Dylan manifested himself in her mind once more, chanting in a tongue she did not understand. She felt drawn into a bubble that was impenetrable by her discomfort's maker, her body not her own, as she began to smile into the thrusts. A voice that was not her own was released from bondage as she moaned in a wanton way, pushing back onto him, inviting his rough hands to take hold of her hips.

Helplessness was the epitome of her inner feelings, locked away inside a shell, watching through masked eyes at the world outside from the small window in front of her.

* * * * *

The clock to the left of the motorcycle accident patient's room read 10:55 A.M. when Veronica's phone buzzed in the pocket of her green scrubs. The other intern in the room with her kept nudging her shoulder with the clipboard, pestering her to look over a hasty diagnosis by her mentor. Veronica gave her a half-assed assessment as she stepped outside, shutting the curtains over to grant her privacy.

"Oh, please tell me you're here?"

"I'm parked right in front of the ER sign. Veronica, what's wrong?"

"Stay right there." Veronica ended the call, walking back towards the room she grew to loathe even more within the past three hours than she had within the past six months.

Veronica quickly changed into civilian clothes shortly after ending the call with her new found friend, knowing she'd feel more at ease with being able to blend in rather than stand out in a crowd. After snatching her bag before leaving the locker room, she jogged past the elevators and spare beds collecting dust in the corridors. Even in heels, she could outrun most women, not including her remarkable ability to dance with heels. There was something else that was pushing her towards Chloe, helping her with speed; however, she did not know what force she felt. All she knew was that it was helping her. Veronica made quick pleasantries with the janitorial and security staffs, not forgetting to nod to the EMT on smoke break near an idle parked ambulance.

A silver Porsche was parked near the entrance like Chloe said, the blond fussing with her hair in the rearview mirror. She entered the vehicle, feeling the smooth leather seats accommodate her comfortably in her fragile state.

Chloe looked at her with a passing glance, then a second time with visible concern etched in her features.

"Veronica, honey. What's wrong?" Chloe said to her in a sympathetic tone.

Within moments, Veronica began tearing up, her bottom lip beginning to tremble as the sports car shifted gears, kick-starting the engine to life with Chloe speeding down the exit lane of the parking lot.

"What's the number to the ward you work on in the hospital?" Chloe asked immediately following Vonni's silent sobs.

"What?" Veronica replied. Confusion gripped her; as she herself gripped the door handle to keep balance incase she felt carsick.

"The digits to your dear ole' boss. You're taking a small vacation over the weekend." Chloe chimed in her breathy voice, patting Veronica's shoulder before placing her cell phone to her ear. She looked to Veronica for a quick answer. Bewildered, however trusting, she imparted the number to Chloe. Wasting no time, she dialed the number, weaving in and out of traffic one-handedly.

"Yes, hello. Am I speaking to Helen? Oh, there's no need to know my name, ma'am, I'm just doing my job. There should be an envelope on your desk to better understand this spontaneous call, because that's what it is. It concerns a doctor that works under you. You should find an acceptable reasoning to her absence this Friday morning following Sunday evening. If there are any problems with this, you can read the bottom line of the third paragraph in the letter disclosed once more to help out in case you get stuck." The call ceased as she flipped it shut, sighing in relief when she realized they had reached the interstate to Long Island in more of a timely fashion than Chloe had originally presumed.

"How did you leave an envelope on Helen's desk if you were in the car the whole entire time?" Veronica inquired, ultimately bewildered with watery eyes, trying desperately to wipe them away.