THE REASON
By Missy
(missy@lexicon.net)

The characters that you recognise from ER are the property of Michael Crichton, Warner Bros, Constant Productions and Amblin Television and to the actors who so marvellously portray them. Many thanks must go to my editors Clotho, Susan Drake and Carolyn Delaney for their tireless and marvellous editing. Season 6 spoilers.

Spoilers up to The Peace of Wild Things or thereabouts. This story is rated R due to its content. It contains rather disturbing descriptions and is probably best read during daylight hours. My editors have informed me that it is rather chilling, creepy and does evoke some of those thoughts about things that go bump in the night and one of my editors has knicknamed it "The VeryScaryFic".

PART 2/14

The scream that she wanted to bellow came out as a mouse-like squeak and the knife she had held so tightly in her hands clattered to the ground. The man let out a full bellied laugh. The chilling effect was that the laughter didn't reach his eyes. Looking into the icy blue pools reminded her of looking into the depths of hell. Kerry shrivelled under the penetrating gaze, his eyes stripping her of everything. He gave a cold grin of pleasure as he slowly drank in her form, running his tongue over his lips in anticipation.

"Get up." The voice held no emotion; just a barked command that begged obedience. Kerry did not even run through the thought of not obeying it. She was no match for the immense bulk of her intruder from her curled up position. As she rose to her feet, she felt the deaden weights of her legs which had lost their circulation in the time she had been crouched down. She winced as they began tingling once her blood started coursing through them, the shooting darts of pain a welcome diversion from his frigid eyes.

"Move." A large hand grasped her upper arm roughly, pushing her forward, towards the stairs. "You should have come out when you had the chance."

Climbing the stairs slowly, she used the beam of light from the flashlight he was holding to guide her way. Stairs had never been easy for her and were made all the more difficult with the waves of fear coursing their way through her, her fingers shaking as they grasped the crutch all the more tightly to still the involuntary movement. Kerry knew things were not going to get better when they got to the top of the stairs. Gathering her wits about her, she began reciting a mantra designed to calm her and give herself the confidence that she would get out of this dilemma.

Rounding the top of the stairs, she startled the man when she whipped her crutch in the air and caught him with the aluminum rod under the chin in a move which replicated the one Randi had made in her early days in the ER. The intruder's jaw cracked under the pressure and his neck snapped backwards with the force of the attack. Kerry was surprised that the move had been so successful and stood there watching the effect of her assault. An indignant bellow of pain tore through the air and it was her turn to be caught unawares when the intruder's hand crashed the flashlight into the side of her skull. In an explosion, pain seared through her head. Her eyes rolled back as she lost consciousness and sank to the ground.

*************

Kerry groaned as she slowly opened her eyes. The room was dark except for the muted lighting coming from the small lamp off to her left on a bedside table. She found that her whole head was aching and she shut her eyes again in an attempt to help ease the pain. The slightest movement only served to set off a chain reaction of searing jolts. Holding completely still, she attempted to once again open her eyes. Her eyes adjusted to the soft light. She found that she was in her own bedroom. Thinking that she had turned on a good drinking session, she fully expected a bottle of scotch to be sitting on her nightstand. Cursing herself for her stupidity to sink into drink again, she attempted to roll over and found that she couldn't.

Awareness came back to her abruptly as she discovered herself bound, spread-eagled on her own bed, dressed only in a lacy negligee. She swore to herself, ignoring the pain tearing through her skull, as she pulled against the restraints. Panic filled her and as she struggled to break free of the constricting bonds, which only tightened in response to her movements, the rough cord chaffing at her soft wrists. Tears welled in her eyes and spilled over, despair filling her. She stilled her movements, the fruitlessness of the situation sweeping over her.

As she finished her bout of crying, Kerry realised that she wasn't alone. She sensed more than saw the man sitting there, watching her, taking pleasure in her discomfort and fear. A turn of her head confirmed her suspicions. Gritting her teeth together, she was angry with herself for succumbing to the self-indulgence of tears. Especially with someone watching, and all the more because it was the cause of her fears that had led her to her breakdown.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Kerry's strident voice carried across the room with only the smallest quaver of fear tinging the questions.

"Is that any way to speak to the person who has taken care of you?"

"Care. You call this care?" Her voice rose a notch, indignation dripping off each word as she spat them out. She pulled at the bonds that held her fast.

"That's for my protection, Kerry. You shouldn't have attacked me. I wouldn't have had to tie you up like this if you hadn't." He moved over from the white wicker seat he had been sitting on, the cane giving soft groans as it was relieved from the weight of his body. Approaching the bed, he ran a finger over the top of her small foot, enjoying the shiver that ran through her leg at his touch. His words were slow as his finger leisurely travelled up the delicately shaped calves. "In any relationship there must be trust."

"We don't have a relationship!" She tried to pull her leg away as far as she could from his touch.

"Not true. I've known you for some time now. I've been looking forward to this day for some time now." The way the man allowed those last words to drip off his tongue shook Kerry to her core, the raw anticipation of desire in his eyes stripping the words of their innocence.

Kerry narrowed her eyes and looked at the man more closely, the initial familiarity of his face beginning to sink in. It wasn't that she knew him per se; it was the fact that he had been in her presence so many times, that her sub-conscious had registered who he was. Doing her grocery shopping, travelling on the El to work; going to the theatre; at the music store. The number of places that she could recall seeing his features had her squirming away from him as far as she could, whimpering in fear at the man who had been so obviously stalking her for some time. Yet, not once, had her clinical judgement recognised that he had been doing so.

"You remember, don't you?" He sat down on the bed, leaning over her and softly running his fingers up and down her side. His touch was light and feathery yet dangerous. His demeanour rippled with controlled desire. "The way our hands met when you dropped the packet of soup mix. The smile you gave me on the train as we travelled together and the final invitation was that stunning black outfit you wore for me last week to the theatre. The way your leg showed each time you took a step. I knew right then that you were ready."

Placing a hand on the bed, one on each side of her body, he brought his head closer to hers. Kerry was powerless to pull away as his mouth slowly inched forward towards her own, the odour of his cologne repulsing her. She could detail every inch of his face, from the pronounced roman nose to the marks left from a bad case of acne. She turned her head away, trying to avoid the thick lips that were only millimetres from her own.

He grasped her chin roughly and ground his lips against hers, his teeth grazing her delicate skin. He teeth nipped at the fine flesh, his lips suckling at them. Pushing with his tongue he sought entrance into the soft recesses of her mouth, his strength no match for Kerry. His tongue plundered her mouth and Kerry clamped her teeth down hard on the large fleshy piece of meat. A contorted scream of agony filled the room. Kerry only released her hold when he blindsided her head with his fist.

She moaned at the further rush of pain filling her head, wishing that she would lose consciousness again just to be released from the nightmare. She began to get worried about the damage he had inflicted on her when a rising and falling wail filled her head, it's insistent drone repeating itself over and over again and gaining strength.

The man heaved himself off the bed, nursing his sore mouth and disappeared from the room. Kerry had no idea where he had gone to. She had seen the furious anger that had changed his eyes from flat plateaus to blazing fires when she bit on his tongue. If she had thought she was in danger before, she knew that her attack had just tipped her intruder over the edge.

Time seemed to have ground to a halt. Silence reigned and Kerry strained to hear what was happening. The lack of noise worried her and she twisted at the coarse rope again, frantically trying to release herself from the bonds. This man seemed intent on dragging her though an emotional torture, enhancing and manipulating her fear to its fullest extent until it was so taut that the slightest amount of pressure would cause her to snap.

Her doorbell rang, followed quickly with a pounding on the door. Kerry stilled her movement, waiting for whoever it was to realise that something was wrong. The glass in the front door was broken, surely they would figure it out.

A commanding voice called out; "Police."

"Please. Help." Kerry almost didn't recognise the whisper of a voice which escaped her throat. She found herself repeating the same words over and over, the words fading as she lost hope of anyone ever finding her. She could hear footfalls, the sounds sometimes heavier and at other times, fading until there was silence once again. Kerry feared that they would leave without finding her, leaving her to the mercy of her attacker. Tears of relief flooded down the sides of her face when a police officer rounded the doorway, his gun drawn and scanned the room.

He paused a moment as he took in Kerry's tethered position and a look of shock passed over his face. He quickly doused his thoughts, continuing his visual sweep of the room. "Is he still here?" The officer asked the question quietly.

"I don't know. Please untie me." Kerry had never heard herself be so unassertive, begging for assistance. The police officer ignored her pleas, just indicating with a finger to his lips for her to be quiet as he entered the room and checked it fully.

Another officer appeared at the doorway and the two collaborated in hushed tones. Kerry strained to hear what was being said, only catching the odd word here and there. The first police officer returned to her side. He was a tall, slim, young African-American by the name of Mac he told her as he cut the coarse rope from her hands with a pocket knife. She flinched at the light touch of his fingers. He softly reassured her, "You're safe. He's gone. He's not in the house anymore. Everything will be okay."

Kerry wasn't sure if he was right. Was everything going to be okay?

End Part 2/14