Author’s Note: Hey Guys! Long time no see! I hope you hadn’t forgotten about the lovely Kate and Ben. It’s been quite an interesting few months for me. I moved house in January, broke up with my boyfriend of five years in February and trying to get myself back on track ever since. Please excuse the lack of pictures in this chapter. One of the things that kept putting me off posting this chapter was the lack of enthusiasm to fire up my game and do a proper photo shoot. However the story had already been written a few weeks ago and I just felt like I can’t put it off any longer. So I’ll leave some bits up to your imagination! I hope you’ll still enjoy this update. 🙂

As he lay on the bed in the dimly lit room, her warm body pressing against his Ben started to doze off. Sadie snuggled closer and her silky hair tickled his neck. He inhaled her sweet scent. The sudden ringing noise shattered the peaceful moment. Sadie jolted upright and Ben felt his heart beat against his ribcage.

“Who is –?” Sadie murmured as her eyes slowly focused. The phone kept on ringing. She planted a kiss on Ben’s cheek before grabbing her cardigan and leaving the warm bed. “I’ll be back in a moment,” she said, and winked as she disappeared behind the door.

Ben lay his head back on the pillow and listened to her voice. He couldn’t hear her words, but she sounded cheerful when she answered the phone. In a moment that changed. Ben was fumbling with his jeans when Sadie came back to the room. One look at her face told him that something bad happened. Her daughter? Was it an accident? But the blue eyes seemed to tell a different story. He opened his mouth to ask her what was wrong, but she hurried over his side and took his hands into her.

“Mike called,” she said, and her voice quivered. “Something happened, he doesn’t really know much. But Ben… It’s Kate. I’m sorry.”

The walls seemed to rush at him and suddenly there was no air in the room. Ben saw Sadie’s lips moving, but the words didn’t reach him. Kate? What happened to Kate? Last thing he knew she was on a date with Reuben Moreno. Car crash? The amount of wine he drank earlier did not help keep his mind straight. Sadie was still talking, pulling out drawers and getting dressed.

“Ready? I barely had any wine, so I’ll drive you there,” she said and crossed the room to give his hand a squeeze.

“Where?” Ben asked. Sadie bit her lip. Ben continued. “Sorry, I think I wasn’t listening… I just felt… I don’t…”

“Of course,” she said and let out a big sigh. “She’s at the Pine Creek Hospital.”

“She’s here?” Ben was bewildered, but he followed Sadie. “What happened?”

“Mike wasn’t sure. We’ll know soon.”

Without even thinking about it Ben picked up his phone from the kitchen table and stepped out in the ice cold darkness.

The car ride to the hospital was no longer than twenty minutes, but for Ben it seemed to take ages.

“Thirteen missed calls,” he muttered. “Jesus.”

Sadie kept her eyes on the road while Ben listened to Kate’s voice message for the fourth time. He gritted his teeth when he heard the muffled scream and the heavy thud of her body hitting the ground. He brought his fist down on his thigh.

“I should have noticed she’d been trying to call me!”

Sadie put a hand over his hand. “It’s not your fault! You shouldn’t –“

“Don’t,” Ben said, surprising even himself how cold he sounded. Sadie pulled her hand back like she was burned and Ben regretted immediately his outburst. He knew he should apologize, but couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Sadie fixed her eyes on the road and drove on.

*

The hospital waiting room was full of people in various conditions: bleeding noses, broken limbs, quiet suffering with no visible symptoms. Ben ran his eyes across the crowd, looking for a nurse, or any staff member who could tell him anything about Kate, when Office Simmons rushed up to them.

“This way,” he said as turned and marched down a corridor. Ben followed him without a word, too afraid to ask for details, and nearly ran into the officer when he suddenly stopped in front of a closed door.

“She’s still in there with the doctor,” said Officer Simmons. Ben tried to peek inside, but couldn’t see anything from the curtain that was pulled around a bed.

“How is she?” Sadie asked, and Ben was ever so grateful for her.

“She has a concussion, and needed a few stitches, but the doc says she’ll be out in a few days. She was lucky we found her so quickly, could have frozen to death out there! What was she thinking?” Officer Simmons shook his head in disbelief.

She’s alive, Ben thought. That’s all what matters. Now that he knew, he felt more composed. “What exactly happened? I listened to her voice mail, but…” He’s eyes were pleading for details.

Officer Simmons kept shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “We are not exactly sure. You see, she called me for the arrest warrant, and –“

Sadie interrupted him. “What arrest warrant?”

The officer scratched his neck. “It hasn’t come through yet. She wanted me to meet her at the Meyers house once I had it. But instead we got a call from Vera Meyers. Poor woman, she thought there was another murder! In her own garden! I was the first on the scene, got there before the ambulance. Detective Robbins was unconscious. It appears that someone knocked her out cold.”

“Oh, God,” Sadie said, and Ben felt her hand slip into his. He gave it a little squeeze.

At that moment the door opened and a doctor – according to his name tag Doctor Hassan – gave them a curious look.

“Can I see her?” Ben asked and tried to push past the man.

Doctor Hassan stopped him with an upturned hand. “She needs some rest, so I can’t allow you more than five minutes. Please bear in mind that she might appear confused, which is perfectly normal in her condition, so try not to tire her out too much. I’ll be back shortly to check on her again.” With that he disappeared behind the next door.

Ben felt worried and relieved at the same time as he approached the bed behind the curtain. He was aware of Sadie hovering at the door with Officer Simmons but he didn’t invite them in, and they didn’t move. He hesitated for a moment.

“Ben?” her voice was weak, tired.

He pulled back the curtain and swallowed hard. Her face was gone, covered in a red and purple mess, one eye barely open. She seemed so small as she lay on the bed in a thin hospital gown.

“How are you feeling?” Ben asked as he grabbed her hand. It felt cold.

“Been better, I guess,” she said, and winced when she tried to smile. “Please tell me you nailed him.”

Ben looked behind his shoulder at Sadie and Officer Simmons, then turned his attention back to Kate. “Nailed who?”

“Pierre!” Kate said, her voice getting agitated. “I mean Peter! Mendosa was supposed to send me the arrest warrant. But I guess Peter heard me on the phone when I called you, and tried to silence me. Stupid idiot, like that will help him.” She was panting by the time she finished, and Ben put a hand on her shoulder.

“You need to rest. I’ll see what I can find out about the warrant, but you promise me you will relax. All right?” When a frown appeared on Kate’s bruised face he added, “I’m serious. The doctor will be back soon and he’ll kick my ass if he thinks I upset you.”

Kate nodded and slowly closed her eyes.

Ben was pacing up and down the corridor for the past ten minutes. Sadie’s eyes were burning holes in his back, but she didn’t say anything and he was glad for that. He wasn’t sure he wouldn’t just snap, so better keep his mouth shut until Officer Simmons found out just what the hell was going on.

Just when he was about to go and look for the officer, Mike Simmons was back.

“I phoned the station. The warrant finally came through, so two officers went out to arrest Peter Meyers. We have no information about his whereabouts, so it might take a while, but we’ll get him.”

“Good job, Officer!” Ben said, and gave a little nod to Simmons. Turning to Sadie he continued, “He won’t get away with this! I go and tell the news to Kate.”

Ben started towards Kate’s room. Then he stopped and turned around like he forgot something. “Thank you,” he said to Sadie, and pulled her into a hug. “I’ll meet you at the car.”