Time And Time Again
By Dimples
Disclaimers:
The many characters in this story are all mine, though the main ones may resemble the X:WP characters, which are not mine....unfortunately. The song in the story is all mine as well.
Love/Sex/Language:
Yes to all of the above. This story depicts an explicit loving relationship between adult women. There is a scene that might seem like voyeurism but it's not....exactly...There is also a scene of self-gratification. The language gets a little rough from time to time but so does the sex...so if you're ok with that.... So if you're under-aged or live in a place that this isn't allowed or this isn't your cup of tea, I suggest you move along and look for something else to occupy your free time.
Violence:
There are some scenes that contain pretty graphic violence but I don't consider them to be much. But if you're of the fainter heart, I'd suggest you don't read 'em. They're really not bad though...Not worse than any regular Xena episode..
Thanks:
To my beta-readers Erin Jennifer and Cindy AKA "ForevaXena" for everything. Starting with beta reading my stories and finishing with posting my stories and giving them a chance in the first place.
To all the readers that took the time to write to me and telling me what they thought, you encouraged me to keep on writing.
And to all the great bards around and their amazing stories that I loved reading and gave me the inspiration to start writing my own.
Author's comments and Feedback: This is the first story I've written of this length. I hope you'll like it. Everything in this story is meant purely for fun and I hope you find it funny (in places it was meant to be funny), dramatic (the same) and so on. I would really appreciate knowing what you think of my stories. Tell me if I'm doin' alright or if I royally suck. Some plot ideas would be very much appreciated also. Actually, come to think of it, any comment would be very much appreciated :) mailto:Dimples_2000_fr@yahoo.com
© Dimples 2001
Part Four
Ch. 10
As Audry relaxed, Madam Lia tried to explain things to her, as best she could, "Well, I think I know where this is heading...I'm still not sure yet so I'd rather not tell you...You see, if I do tell you and the pattern changes the next time you go back...The impact might be too strong.."
"Alright...I don't understand it but ok...I can wait until tomorrow..right?"
"Yes, I would like to meet with you again tomorrow and finish with this. Tomorrow I'll be able to tell you for sure if my assumption of the situation is correct and we can start our way to recovery."
"Same time?"
"Yes."
"Bye, Madam Lia."
"Bye, sweetie." "Get some rest!" Lia yelled to her from the doorway.
Audry stepped into her car and buckled in. She was a little shaken from everything, which was quite understandable under the circumstances. She wanted nothing more than to get home and go straight to bed. She was too tired to do anything else.
Unlocking her door, she went inside, pulling her shoes off and throwing them next to her bed. She was tired, she was hungry and she was emotionally drained...She needed a vacation. Undressing quickly, she stepped into the shower to take a nice long hot bath, something she hasn't done in a while. It was already pretty late so when she finished with her bath, she wrapped herself in a towel and went to grab something to eat. Making for herself a bowl of cereal, she took it and sat in front of the TV. Flipping through the channels, she found an old rerun of a comedy show she loved, it was at exactly the right time too. She needed a little laughter to vent her frustration of...everything. When the show was over and her snack was gone, she went to bed. Tomorrow was supposed to be a big day. She would finally, she hoped, see this thing come to an end... One way or another.
As the first rays of sunshine came through the almost shut blinds in Audry's bedroom, she didn't pay much heed to them. She just turned on her other side and pulled the blanket over her head. The alarm clock shrieked, Audry again didn't move and just blocked the sound from her subconscious. An hour passed, then two and still she hadn't made any move to awake. Her appointment with Madam Lia was supposed to be in less than a half-hour, which meant she was already running late. Another hour passed and the first stirrings of Audry's body could be seen. The blanket that covered her head and most of her body moved. Then you could see a few strands of blonde hair peek from one end of the cover and then came a leg...This went on for a couple more minutes until a groan sounded and the cover was thrown aside. The sleep tousled hair was sticking to her head in all kinds of weird angles, her eyes were bleary and bloodshot, and her face could be the poster image for the pillow-face look. Besides all that, she looked quite good.
But she felt terrible.
Her head was pounding like a jack-hammer took permanent residence inside her skull and she could barely see anything through her eyes. She felt awful too, she couldn't explain it but she felt...Wrong, she knew something was wrong.
Glancing at the clock on her night-stand, she noticed what time it was and knew she had missed her appointment with the psychic. Picking up the phone, she dialed her number and waited to be answered.
"Hello..." Greeted the psychic.
"Hi, Madam Lia It's Audry.."
"Audry! Where are you? I've been worried when I saw you hadn't come and didn't call me...Is everything alright?" Asked the worried psychic.
"I'm sorry Madam Lia, I just woke up and I feel terrible...I'm sorry I missed my appointment and didn't call you, I think I've caught a bug or something...Could we reschedule? I really don't feel well.."
"That would be of no problem, child...But what is it that you have? You think it just might be the flu? Maybe you should go see a doctor?"
"I don't know..My head hurts and I feel dizzy, my whole body hurts, actually and I feel like I swallowed sand-paper..."
"Oh honey, I'm sorry...Why don't you go to the doctor and check it out, maybe he could give you some medications to make you feel better?"
"Yeah, I think I'll do that...Thank you Madam Lia...I'll talk to you after I do and we'll reschedule then, alright?"
"You do that, and as soon as you feel better we'll make another appointment but first thing's first. Feel better, honey."
"Thank you, Bye Madam Lia."
"Bye Audry."
Placing the phone back into its cradle, Audry flopped down on the bed and fell asleep as soon as she hit the pillows.
Not more than a hour or so passed and she woke up. Putting a loose fitting shirt on and a pair of shorts, she went to her kitchen for a small breakfast, hoping she could keep that down. She felt a little relieved when the breakfast she downed had indeed gone down and stayed there. With nothing to do, all alone in her apartment and feeling crappy to top it all off, she decided not to delay the inevitable any longer. She picked up the phone and called the doctor's office . Waiting, after three rings the phone was picked up.
"Doctor Johnson's office, how may I help you?"
Audry didn't particularly like this doctor, but there wasn't anyone else to go to in such a short notice.
"Hi, this is Audry Haven, I'd like to make an appointment, please?"
"Yes, Ms. Haven...One moment please."
A couple of minutes passed with the irritating music that usually plays when you're put on hold.
"Yes, how about next Monday?"
Audry was constantly shocked by these things. She figured that if someone was calling a doctor to make an appointment with him, they must have a problem of sorts, a health problem. Nobody wants to go to the doctor for the hell of it...Unless the doctor's really cute...But I'm digressing...The fact is they need it. So what the hell is it with all the doctors around the world, I'd presume, that want to schedule you a week, a month, a year later when the fact is, you need them right at this moment!
Exhaling a loud, long breath into the mouth piece, Audry argued "No, next Monday's not good! I need the appointment no later than tomorrow!" Audry also knew that it didn't really matter to these doctor's secretaries if you blew a gasket right on the phone, while speaking to them. She needed to be calm and address her nicely, so she'll be accepted...This year.
"Um..Alright...Let me check with the doctor again.."
Then again, yelling always worked well too.
"Ms. Haven? How about tomorrow at 10:00AM?"
Now smiling, Audry said "That would be just fine, thank you." "Goodbye."
With an abrupt "bye" from the secretary the line was disconnected. Well I guess the secretary doesn't like me much but I do have an appointment...Thought Audry happily, not feeling so terrible as before.
Spending the day at home, time actually flew by until Audry barely noticed that the sky had darkened and the soft glow of the moon started showing. A few hours later, she tucked herself into bed, feeling much better than in the morning but still a little groggy. Relating it to the "flu" she relented and let herself drift into another night of dreamless sleep. Since she began the sessions with Madam Lia, her nights had been much more relaxing. She hadn't experienced any dreams these last couple of nights and that was just fine with her.
Ch. 11
Waking up in the morning, Audry felt refreshed. Her headache was almost completely gone, her eyes cleared and her throat felt much better. It must have been one of those twenty-four hours thing. But after making the appointment and getting it her way, she decided there won't be any harm done by going to the doctor anyhow.
Getting dressed after a quick shower, she grabbed her car keys, her usual bagel and a cup of coffee. Juggling the three items in her hands when she reached the car, she put the coffee cup on the car's hood and opened the door. Starting the car, she picked up her coffee from the hood. Closing her door, she sat in the car for a few minutes, heating the engine, drinking from her coffee and nibbling on the bagel. Afterwards she headed for the doctor's.
"Hello Ms. Haven, please have a seat...The doctor will be with you in a moment."
Waiting in the sterile waiting room, Audry felt a sense of deja vu. Not from another lifetime but one from this lifetime, not so long ago before she knew anything.
"Ms. Haven, you can come in now." Said the nurse.
Waiting in the examining room for a few minutes, just like last time the same doctor walked in, still looking at her chart. Can he be more dull?!
"Ms. Haven, you're back.."
He didn't sound so enthusiastic to see her...Oh well...
"Yes I am.."
"What seems to be the problem this time?"
Trying to control her rising temper, she answered him tersely "Well, yesterday when I woke up, I didn't feel so well. My head hurt terribly, my eyes were bloodshot and my throat felt a little sore. I think it was just the twenty-four hour flu but I wanted to make sure."
Running a quick check up on Audry, he asked "Did you see Doctor Hopkins?"
"Yes I did but It didn't work out...She wasn't what I needed.."
"Oh...Then I assume you found what you needed?"
"Yes."
"Good...Good..."
"I may run some other tests also because of the circumstances. After what you went through with those...flashes? you called them...This headache you had concerns me a little...Did you feel anything else...dizziness...stomach ache...nauseous?"
"Yes, I felt a little dizziness and a little nauseous but nothing real bad..."
"Did you ever experience headaches or dizziness before?"
"Not really...Well, sometimes after a really strong flash, my head would hurt a bit...but nothing serious, why?"
"Well, just to make sure I'd like to send you to do a CT scan, alright?" said the doctor, writing the order down and signing it. "Here you go, I would like to have the results right away if you could bring them over?"
"I would like that as well. It won't be a problem."
Leaving the doctor's office, Audry drove to the hospital. She waited for quite a while there until she was permitted into the room where her test would be done. Afterwards, she waited for a few more hours for the test results. It apparently didn't matter much there that her doctor wrote "urgent" on the test order. After spending most of her day at the hospital, she picked up her results and without further ado she drove to her doctor's office, who has been waiting for her.
Entering the office, she gave the results to the nurse who in turn handed them over to the doctor. Waiting for a while longer, the doctor finally came out and called her in. He didn't look very happy...Even less than usual...
"Audry..."
Starting at the fact the doctor had never used her first name before, she quickly looked him, in the eye, she knew there was something wrong.
"What is it doctor?" Asked Audry, frowning.
"I've looked over your test results and...Um..." Audry never heard him stutter before, that only made her anxiety grow.
"Please, tell me what's wrong?!"
Deciding to cut to the chase and tell her straight out, the doctor told her "Audry, you have a brain tumor."
Ch. 12
Audry blanched at his words and almost fell off the examining table she was sitting on. "But...But...I...You..."
"I don't know what to tell you..."
Regaining her composure slightly, Audry spoke "But last time I was here, you had me go through the same tests and you said everything was alright? How can it possibly appear so suddenly?"
"Ms. Haven, I know all of this and you were alright the last time, the results were perfect. I don't know what to tell you, I know it may sound strange coming from a doctor's mouth but I really have no idea what happened...You were healthy and suddenly...It's like it appeared from no where..." Said the doctor. He looked very pale also and dumbfounded.
"You're not making me feel any better, doctor." said Audry.
The doctor looked down and apologized. He was so rattled by this that his professional training flew right out of the window.
"How bad is it?" Asked Audry.
The man looked even paler after that question and averted his eyes to the floor once again.
"Doctor! Snap out of it and tell me!" said the now exasperated reporter.
Dr. Johnson was new at this, he started practicing medicine only a few years ago, after getting out of medical school. He was never taught in medical school how to act or what to say in these kind of situations. "It's, uhh, It's bad...It is of considerable size..."
"What does all of this mean? Is it operable?"
Audry was getting agitated, she wasn't exactly in the mood to calm the doctor...She needed calming, damn it!
"It is of a size and in a place which doesn't enable us to operate...I'm sorry." Again assuming his previous position of looking at the floor...away from Audry.
"Then...What can I do? Is there anything to do? Is it...umm...fatal?"
"I'm afraid it is. I can't tell you how much time you might have left...It might be a month, six months, a year maybe longer...There's no way to tell...I'm sorry."
With these words the doctor left the room and let Audry soak in the information. Audry didn't cry, she didn't want to cry. If this was how it's supposed to be than so be it. She'd just have to make the most out of this time and she didn't want to spend it having these flashbacks. She decided to go home and call Madam Lia so they could reschedule the appointment she missed. She wanted to know what caused these flashes and if that meant finding her soulmate in the process, that would only make her remaining time in this world all that better.
"Madam Lia speaking..."
"Hi, It's Audry."
"Hello there child, did you go to the doctor? Do you feel better?"
Snorting slightly, she answered "Yeah I went to the doctor but I don't feel better..."
"But why? What's the matter, dear?"
Worrying her lower lip, she said "Her ran a CT scan and found that I have a brain tumor," matter of factly.
Audry could hear her loud intake of air and the shocked and concerned tone in Madam Lia's voice "A tumor? Was he sure? I mean...How is it possible that no one noticed it before...?"
"I don't know what to tell you...He didn't either. He said he was shocked to see it, he said it was like it appeared from no where..."
"Appeared from no where?! He's a doctor, what the hell does that mean?!"
Audry had to smile, since she got acquainted with Lia, she had never heard her swear. It felt very nice knowing that someone cared for her and was concerned for her, someone she barely knew.
"Yeah I know...Before I went to have the test, he said he thought the headache might have had something to do with the flashes...But I don't know..."
"He said that, huh? Well, I'll tell you what...How about you come by as soon as you can and we finish this? One last time, we need to send you back one more time to see a pattern and then...Hopefully everything will be alright.."
"Yeah...Hopefully..."
"How about you come over tonight?"
"I'd like that, Madam Lia..."
"Good, I'll see you in a hour or so then?"
"Yes, see you then." Said Audry before she hung up.
Driving quickly to Madam Lia's place, Audry got there in record time. As soon as the door opened, Audry was embraced by the psychic. Madam Lia pulled her inside the house and closed the door. Looking in Audry's eyes, she asked again "Are you alright?"
Audry just nodded slowly and then was pulled into the hug again. Feeling the slow rocking motion that Lia started made Audry go back to her childhood, remembering her mother. How she would rock her to sleep when she had a nightmare or didn't feel well. Audry's parents lived on the other side of the continent from her. She left home to go to college and afterwards just remained there, pretty much losing her connection with her parents that wasn't all that tight from the beginning. Her parents were hard workers. They never planned for an extended family, she was a...mistake, plain and simple. Of course they never actually told her that but deep down, she knew it. They never had time for her and she was an only child, meaning she never had anywhere or anyone to turn to when she needed it. Nevertheless, her parents were not bad people and she definitely didn't blame them. Actually because of her childhood experiences, she grew up to be the woman she turned out to be. Strong willed, sharp minded...A tough cookie. Lia was stirring up one of those few good memories that she had of her parents. The tears were unexpected though. She didn't realize she just needed somebody to care for her to bring the tears to the surface.
Madam Lia led her to the couch and sat her down, still cradling the softly crying Audry. Rocking her and making soothing sounds, it didn't take long for Audry to calm down.
Wiping her tears, she said, smiling sheepishly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to break on you like that...."
Smiling, Madam Lia said "It's alright, dear. You needed that..."
Thanking the sweet woman, Audry laid down and told the psychic she was ready for round three. Taking her watch out of her pocket, Madam Lia started the ritual, again.
Audry was swooped in the turbulence and as the dizziness faded she found herself on board a ship...The greatest ship to ever set sail.