It felt good to just chill out. Kerry felt a little guilty as well, but not enough for her to get up and do anything about it.
Chino came over and rested her jaw on the edge of the waterbed, snuffling at Kerry's slack hand until she reached over to scratch the Labrador's head. She licked Kerry's fingers, then hopped up onto the waterbed, making the surface move as she picked a spot and curled up against her owner's body.
Kerry sighed contentedly, taking in a breath and catching Dar's scent, still clinging to the pillow her arm was wrapped around. She was a little surprised when the phone rang, but reached over and snagged it, cradling it between her shoulder and ear. "Hello?"
"Hey, Ker!" Colleen's voice sounded through the phone. "You there?"
"Um." Kerry cleared her throat. "You called my home number and I answered, didn't I?"
"Ah, heh. Yeah." Her friend said. "So, what's the deal? I heard you got hurt?"
Kerry snorted softly into the phone. "Yeah. I was a klutz last night in kickboxing class. The guy I was sparring with slipped and kicked me in the head."
"Oh, Jesus!" Colleen blurted. "So it was some guy? Not Dar?"
"Dar?" Kerry chuckled. "Of course not. She's got more control than the damn instructor." She paused. "Why?"
"Well, that makes more sense." Colleen replied. "No, it was just how I heard it. For some reason it sounded like it was Dar who'd been involved. Boy, she must have been pissed."
"To put it mildly." Kerry felt her brow crinkle as she reviewed her friend's words. "She took me to the doctor, had my head x-rayed, cursed the dumbass who clocked me, and then rocked me to sleep on the couch last night. I can only imagine what she'd have done if it'd been her."
"Aw." Colleen's smile could clearly be heard through the phone. "She's such a sweetie."
Kerry relaxed. "Yeah." She sighed. "So, anyway, I've got this black eye and I can hardly read a screen. Dar made me stay home."
"Darn right." Colleen stated. "You need anything? I've got to go pick up my car so I'm leaving early. I could stop by."
"Nah, I'm fine." Kerry reassured her. "Listen, do me a favor? Make sure whoever's talking about what happened gets the story straight. If
Dar hears people thinking it's her, she's going to have a heart attack."
"No problem, girl," her friend said. "You leave it to me."
Kerry sighed. "God damn it."
"What?"
Her temper flared. "Why in the hell would anyone think she'd done it? That really pisses me off."
The phone crackled a little as though Colleen had shifted or moved. "Hey, hey, relax." She said, in a lower tone. "Listen, I don't think anyone though it was on purpose, Kerry. Just an accident, you know?"
"Bullshit." Kerry rolled over and scowled at the ceiling.
"Kerry." Colleen replied. "Would you take it easy? Honest, no one was mean. It was just...I don't know, I guess people thought it was kind of funny that..."
"Funny?" Kerry growled. "There is nothing funny at all about it. Even if it had been Dar, it wouldn't have been funny. People getting hurt is funny? Me getting hurt is funny? Wow. Nice."
There was no answer for a few seconds, then Colleen sighed. "That's not what I meant."
Kerry plucked at the soft down comforter draped over the bed. "Yeah, I know. It's not your fault." She admitted. "I just really hate when people talk bull, especially about her."
Colleen cleared her throat, then chuckled. "Well, I do know that Kerry, me lass. That's how I knew you were falling for her way back when. You nearly took my head off when I dared to call her a rude name."
Had she? Kerry studied the plaster ceiling, a faint smile tugging at her lips. Yeah, she had. Even at the very beginning after she and Dar had bumped heads just once or twice, she?d started defending her. Many of her co-workers had thought, and probably still did, that she was just sucking up.
Maybe even she thought that, back then, or maybe it was just survival. But the instinct to protect Dar had kicked in very, very early. "Yeah," she said. "Sorry, Col. It's just a button of mine." She continued. "And it really hurts, especially after how sweet Dar was last night. I felt like I was being swaddled in silk. Don't even get me started on this morning."
"No problem, girl." Colleen sounded happier. "Listen, let me go finish up a report I've got due. I'll give you a buzz later, okay?"
"Sure." Kerry agreed. "Thanks for calling, Col." She hung up the phone, her relaxed mood gone despite her reassuring words to her friend. "Man that does really piss me off." She reached over to scratch Chino's ears. "Why do people do that, Chi? Why can't they just be nice?"
"Growf." Chino licked her fingers and snuggled closer again.
Kerry regarded the ceiling for a few moments more, then she reached over and hit the speakerphone, dialing Dar's private office number without looking. It was answered after two rings. "Hey."
"Hey." Dar's voice sounded reasonably chipper. "How are you feeling?"
"Like a grumpy warthog," Kerry said. "What's going on there?"
A soft creaking came through the phone, surely Dar taking a seat in her leather chair and leaning back. "I'm going to be interviewed in about a half hour," she said. "Mark's still trying to track down that damn device, we've been hit by a dozen more attacks, and we're out of milk in the cafeteria." She paused. "So, how's your day been so far?"
Poised on the verge of spilling her concerns, Kerry hesitated, hearing the stress in her partner's voice. "Boring," she said instead. "I can't really use my laptop, so Chi and I are just lying in bed, listening to Modern Trends in Network Design."
"Ah. Light reading." Dar chuckled softly under her breath. "You could go watch Animal Planet. How's your headache?"
"Better." Kerry felt slightly foolish at bothering her busy partner. "Listen, sorry to interrupt. I was just...um..." She paused. "Anyway, why are you being interviewed?"
"Ah." Dar grunted. "Fallout from that goddamn Telegenics glory hunting with Discovery Channel or whoever the hell that is. Now this woman from the Washington Post wants to talk to me."
"Oo. Make sure she takes a pretty picture for the front page." Kerry teased. "Given what they usually have to put up, getting their hands on you will definitely be a pleasant change.
"Pfft." Dar made a rude noise.
"Same to you." Kerry replied. "Hey, let me let you get back to work. I'm going to laze around here for a while, then maybe catch some sun outside on the porch." She stretched a little. "Talk to you later?"
"Absolutely." Dar answered warmly. "And you weren't bothering me. I'm glad you called."
Kerry smiled as she hung up the line, but the smile faded after a moment and she rolled up out of bed and sat on the edge of it, leaning her elbows on her knees. After she stared at the floor a minute with her good eye, she pushed herself to her feet and trudged into the bathroom.
She didn't really want to look in the mirror, but she did anyway, watching her face twist into a grimace as she examined her reflection. Around her eye, almost in a perfect circle, was a dark, mottled bruise that would have almost been comical if it hadn't hurt as much as it did.
Her eye was puffy and half closed, but that, at least, was an improvement over what it had been last night. With a sigh, Kerry used the restroom then wandered into the living room as Chino jumped off the couch and joined her.
Now that she was stirred up, the thought of lying in bed was almost intolerable. Instead, Kerry went into the kitchen and made some herbal tea, stifling a yawn as she opened the refrigerator to find herself something to nibble on.
Removing a bottle of juice, she poured herself a glass and replaced it, turning in surprise when she heard a soft knock at the door. "Now, who the heck could that be?" she asked following Chino into the living room as the Labrador bounded ahead to guard the door for her. "Oh, pooters. Must have forgotten to tell Clemente not to come in today."