“What else is there?”
“Most of the rest of this stuff, I can’t read at all. Would you care to play translator?”
“Certainly. But I promised Teren that I would make you get some food.”
Right on cue, there was a loud gurgle from Alex’s stomach, and she blushed slightly as she rubbed it. “Yeah, that may be a good idea.” She turned serious. “How’s Teren?”
“Much more alert. Her head is still aching, but that’s to be expected. But all her responses have been normal, and she’s staying awake for longer periods of time.”
“Good.” Alex felt again the little shiver that had passed through her at Teren’s whispered, “love you.” She had to wonder if it was due solely to the circumstances.
“So, shall I order a late lunch for us? We could eat it while we go through these papers. Oh,” he snapped his fingers, “the BKA has taken possession of all files found in the offices of St. Luther’s. You are welcome to join them at their offices tomorrow morning and go through them. They also requested that you bring these with you.”
She nodded. “I can do that, but I’m hoping that they’ll let me take some back to the States. Do you think they will?”
“I don’t see why not. At the very least, they will give you copies, and a statement affirming that the originals are in their possession.”
“Great. I don’t know if we’ll ever bring these guys to trial, but I want enough evidence that if we do it will be a slamdunk.” She stood and stretched, yawning as she did so.
“Are you sure you got enough sleep, Alex? You still have circles under your eyes.”
“I’m okay, Gerd. Just worried about this mess.” And Teren. “Think we could go eat lunch with Teren?”
“Sure. She might have gone back to sleep, but we could at least be there. Shall we take the papers?”
“Some of them. Why don’t you grab a stack that looks interesting to you, since I can’t read them. I’ll take the letters that contain English, and go over them again. Then we can eat, and read, and keep Teren entertained if we have to.”
Gerd laughed. “Keep Teren entertained. That’s a good idea. She already tried once to get out of bed without help, and the doctors threatened to strap her down and put a catheter in if she tried it again.”
Alex shook her head. “I can imagine her doing that. What did she say to the threat?”
“She didn’t say anything. Just growled.”
“Growled?”
“Yes. You know that face she makes?” He demonstrated, with his jaw clenched and his lips pulled back over his teeth. He tried to imitate Teren’s intimidating stare, while forcing a gravelly noise from the back of his throat.
Alex collapsed on the couch laughing. Gerd chuckled as well, relaxing his features.
“She’s much better at it, isn’t she?”
Still laughing, Alex nodded. Finally she started to calm down, her laughs turning to soft chuckles. “Oh, boy. I needed that. Thanks, Gerd.”
“You’re welcome.”
“But you can’t imitate her. No one can.”
He nodded. “I know.” Gerd glanced at Alex’s face, which had softened for just a moment. He had seen that same look recently on a person with darker features. Smiling inwardly, he sent a mental congratulations to Teren.
“Well, let’s go.” Alex scooped up the letters, sliding them into a folder. “I’m hungry.”
Gerd picked up a stack of papers as well. “So I heard.” The German smiled at Alex, and led the way to the door.
Teren was frustrated. Unable to get out of bed, and not allowed to read or watch television, she was finding herself increasingly bored. Her choices, it appeared, were to sleep, or to count the small squares on the ceiling, of which 247 were visible to her. She had estimated that another fifty or so were hidden from her line of sight.
Add to that a hill-sized headache, and it equaled a mountain of frustration.
She was seriously contemplating trying to at least sit all the way up when Alex and Gerd entered her room. Gerd was carrying a tray of food, while Alex held a stack of papers.
“How’s your head, Teren?”
“It hurts, Gerd, what did you expect?”
Alex smiled at the sound of Teren’s voice. The irritation was evident, but the tone was strong and clear, and Alex had missed that smooth sound.
She put the papers down on the small nightstand beside the bed, then leaned over to give her friend an awkward hug.
“Glad you’re feeling better,” Alex whispered. She felt one of Teren’s arms wrap around her shoulders, and pull her as close as the woman could. Gently, she dropped a kiss on the forehead, and eased herself out of the embrace. Teren’s hand slid down her shoulder to grab Alex’s fingers, holding them tight.
Teren was surprised at her own reaction to the hug. It was a comforting feeling, knowing that Alex had been concerned, but the jolt of emotion that spread through her during the gentle embrace was something she hadn’t expected. As Alex sat up, she held on to her hand, not wanting to break that slim connection.
As she looked at her friend, she could see the exhaustion that hid under the green eyes and wide smile.
“You didn’t sleep, did you,” she said. Alex shook her head once. “Nightmares?” A nod. Teren frowned, resolving to be out of the hospital bed by that evening, even if she had to do it at gunpoint. She wanted to be there for Alex.
Gerd had placed the tray on the rolling table that had been moved into the corner. He rolled it back over towards Teren’s bed, and lowered it.
“Teren, let the woman go, so she can eat some lunch, eh?”
“You haven’t eaten?”
“Wasn’t hungry ‘til now.” Her stomach growled, and Teren laughed.
She immediately put a hand to her head. “Owww. Don’t make me laugh, it makes my head hurt.”
“I’m sorry, Ter.” Alex leaned forward and kissed her forehead again, then moved off the bed to the chair she’d claimed the night before.
She completely missed the look of awe that crossed Teren’s face.
After they finished eating, Gerd took the dishes back down to the small cafeteria, leaving Teren and Alex alone.
Alex crawled up on the bed next to Teren, and gently stroked her cheek.
“You know, you really scared me.”
“I’m sorry.” Teren’s blue eyes met the sea-green ones that stared back at her in concern. Taking Alex’s hand in hers, she smiled, and gently squeezed the fingers. “I’m sorry I scared you, and I’m sorry I got us in so much trouble.”
“What do you mean?” Alex asked.
“I mean, it was my fault.” Teren shifted her gaze away from Alex. “I should have been paying better attention. If I had, we could have snuck around them, hidden or something, until —”
“No. Don’t you start that.”
“But —”
“No. What happened was not your fault. It wasn’t anyone’s fault, it just happened. I’m okay, and you’re going to be fine. The two of us got out of there safely, mostly thanks to you hearing those guys before they got within shooting range. You are not going to blame yourself for this.”
Teren was quiet, her eyes drifting around the room. She knew Alex was wrong, and that if she had been just a little more cautious, the gun battle wouldn’t have taken place. But she couldn’t bring herself to tell the FBI agent that she should have been able to hear the men as soon as the two women left the tomb. She was still angry at herself for letting her skills slip so very much.
Alex finally decided enough was enough, and she took Teren’s chin in her fingers, bringing the blue gaze back to hers. “It wasn’t your fault, Teren. And if you want someone to blame, then blame me. I’m the one who convinced you to get involved in this case. You would probably have been better off declining that dinner invitation from Sarah.” Her eyes teared up a little as she said it.
Teren’s mouth dropped open, and her eyes widened. “Is that what you think? You’d rather I’d have stayed out of it?”