The more distressed a person is, the more small comfort items will make a difference. Not wearing diapers or a catheter improved Cat’s mood by a great degree. The day after the interview with detective Martinez was the first day of physical therapy. Cat rode a wheelchair as a nurse took her to the “gym” as they called it. Two cops followed her. So long her privacy was respected and she was kept without handcuffs, Cat was fine with that.
There she found the true condition of her body. Four months and the damage from the fall sapped all strength from her and even small movements were almost impossible. The therapist had to resort to electrical stimulation. The shocks weren’t painful but the buzzing and muscle twitching surely were bothersome.
“Please don’t mind me mumbling to myself,” she told the therapist and started to chat with Catherine to distract themselves from the ordeal.
Two hours later, she was covered in sweat as she was brought back to the room. The nurse gave her another towel bath and a fresh change of underwear but happily conjectured that in a few days she could take a bath by herself.
The next day she had physical therapy in the morning and more exams in the afternoon. The doctors were astonished by Cat’s recovery but she was getting some itches where the titanium pins were inserted into her bones. “Your body is rejecting the implants and trying to grow bone over them. You’ll need surgery to remove them,” they told her. They scheduled a procedure to remove the titanium because her bones were too healthy. The bone tissue was attempting to grow over the pins, causing a condition called “metal hypersensitivity”.
She had Oliver come over after he finished interviewing people for the position of PR and social media manager. After Cat signed the forms for the implant removal surgery, he showed her some resumes and asked her opinion on the people. They decided to hire a young lawyer girl fresh from college who had experience as a social media influencer. Before he left, he informed her the PI was already digging what they could regarding Catherine’s assailant. He was hopeful they would find someone else to hammer another nail into that monster’s coffin.
A week after the start of physical therapy, the police visited Cat (with Oliver present, always) a few more times to ask other details about her assault. They did mention the DA would want to talk to her about her suicide attempt and William’s death after her discharge but both the detective and Oliver assured her it was just to get her testimony on the subject. In private, Oliver told Cat to leave the doors to a plea of insanity open. But he had a few cards to play to stave off the criminal charges away, including a press conference. Cat would have to tune up the drama a bit but she felt confident in pulling it off.
----------------------------------------
“Catherine, this is what the prosecution is offering,” Oliver started to explain his plea bargain negotiations. “You’ll plea guilty of criminally negligent homicide, a class E felony. You’ll face two hundred hours of community service, no less than twenty hours a week or six hours a day for up to ten weeks. In ten years your records will be sealed, meaning only a few select law enforcement agencies will be able to see them. The internet, however, never forgets.”
Cat sighed. “That’s a crappy offer.”
She had no intention to do any time, in or out of jail. Being under constant watch by the cops was enough for her.
“Yes, but it is their opening offer. They took incarceration out of the table right away. They know it is a weak case. I contacted William’s fiancée and--”
She whimpered and grunted a sob, “Dahlia.”
Oliver raised an eyebrow, probably curious as to how Cat knew the name of her former life's fiancée. He didn't ask though.
“Yes, her name is Dahlia. Oh, Catherine. Do you want some time alone?” Oliver offered when the girl started to bawl.
Cat took a few minutes to regain a modicum of composure and waved the lawyer's worries off. “No. No. Please continue.”
“Sure. I contacted Dahlia and she is willing to meet with you. If you can get her on our side, the prosecution will lose interest in the case. We still have a few lawsuits from the building and other opportunists among the onlookers but the firm can swat them like bugs. Don’t worry.”
Cat nodded and wiped the tears. Combined with her recuperative blessing, she’d regained use of her right arm after a week of therapy. “Yes. I want to meet her very much, Oliver. Please bring her here.”
“It will be for the best,” he said to himself. “I’ll move forward with our selected hire for the PR position and have her present during your meeting.”
“Schedule the meeting to a week from now,” Cat suggested. “I need a new phone and a laptop computer. Get me a PC one without any O.S. preinstalled.”
“I will, though it will be hard to convince the police to let you have internet access. They will relinquish custody of your personal items in a few days. I’ll try to expedite the process.”
Even though she was heartbroken at the thought of meeting Dahlia, Cat tried to beam a smile for Oliver. “Thank you, Oliver. You’re a godsend.”
“You’re paying my team two hundred bucks an hour, Catherine.”
“Only that?”
Oliver smiled, “You might not know, but I was a friend of your father. We lost contact soon after you were born but I visited your house a few times when you were a baby.”
“Oh,” Cat teared up again. They couldn’t transmit thoughts between one another but Cat’s body retained some of Catherine’s instinctive reactions and muscle memory.
“He was a good man and an even better friend. One of the best among us. I regret losing contact with him but life happens. You know that, don’t you?”
“All too well, Oliver,” she sniffled.
“You are too young. You should be laughing and doing silly stuff. Shopping with your friends. Fawning over Korean boy band members.”
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
“Let’s not get too specific,” Cat cut him abruptly, then grinned.
They both laughed. “Fair enough,” Oliver conceded. “You might have earned a 'friends and family discount',” he winked and the subject of rates never came up again.
“Thank you, I really appreciate it. Dad was everything to me,” Cat cooed and Catherine agreed.
“Moving forward with our schedule. I talked with the building administration, they’ll drop the lawsuit against you,” He reported with a comedic streak. “I threatened to sue them for negligence, after all a teenager with a set of pliers had all the time in the world to cut a significant hole in their fence. After that, they agreed to drop the case.”
Cat found a sliver of mirth and laughed at Oliver’s antics.
“What do you think of bringing the prosecutor here? With the surgery to remove the titanium implants, you are going to stay here more than a month.”
“Yes, if they are open to coming.”
“Detective Martinez suggested it. I think she wants to focus efforts on the sexual assault case.”
“Is that why you didn’t even bother paying the bail?”
“Correct. No need to give them money. Not like you can leave the hospital anyway, and you’ll undergo extensive surgery. There’s another thing. You are officially under custody. The time you spend here counts against your sentence, including the months you spent in an induced coma. You already ‘paid’ them five months out of the maximum of four. I talked to your attending doctor, she said you’ll stay here another two months after they remove the implants.”
“That sucks but not too much. All I have is time,” Cat said, considering what the angel told her to be true. Combining all the lifespans she would live well into her second century barring some accident.
“I took the liberty of visiting your school at your mother’s request. You are in your senior year and missed winter,” Oliver explained. “The school year ends in less than three months. Your attendance record will suffer if you try to go back now and probably will be held back a year.”
“Why?” Cat asked the girl but didn’t want to mumble. People were taking notice of her strange behavior already.
“Sorry?”
“Just a moment, Oliver,” she raised a finger. Then to get Catherine's attention and coax an answer out of the ghost, she started to do Kegels.
Cat had to turn her head away. [Explain yourself,] she sub-vocalized hoping Oliver’s white noise would cover her.
Cat rolled her eyes and turned back to Oliver. “Sorry. I’m a little dizzy from the painkillers. So, I need to graduate without losing a year. Can I take the TASC?”
“Let me check,” the lawyer said and took his phone. Browsing online, he came up with an answer. “You need to submit an accommodation request to the educational board and the standard delay is sixty days to process this… not good. I think I need to pull a few favors to expedite the situation. Don’t worry, it shouldn’t be too hard. I have powers of attorney, do you want me to move forward?”
“Sure. I can take the exams tomorrow if I need to,” Cat answered. William had a college degree in economics and Catherine seemed like an honor student. With their combined knowledge, the exams should be easy.
“Then it is settled. I need to see when you’ll have surgery and then schedule the exam at the best moment. If you are that confident in taking it, you’ll get your diploma before your classmates.”
“You’re a sweetheart, Oliver. Thank you.”
They talked a bit more and adjusted a few minor points of their battle plan before Oliver left Cat alone.
----------------------------------------
Her next visit happened a few days after hearing the prosecution bargain. Dr. Esther Hill came to talk to her. The obstetrician entered the room and sat next to Cat without a word beside the basic greetings. The girl was halfway into her guilt trip when the doctor grasped her good hand, brought it to her cheek, and started to cry into it.
“I’m sorry, Esther. This stupid patient caused you trouble, didn’t I?” Cat conveyed Catherine’s words with minor changes.
“Damn right you did. But I’m so happy you are still alive.”
Cat found it easy to connect with other’s emotions in a female body. She was more sensitive and flighty than William’s former self. Again it was a matter of biochemistry. The drivers of her biological “hardware” were that more attuned to such stimuli.
“I heard you did a lot to help me while I was out. I truly appreciate it.”
“Don’t mention it. It was partly my fault for not noticing your mental state and letting you out.”
“No. It was all me. Don’t blame yourself. Catherine can be such a bitch when she wants it.”
The person in the spotlight didn’t like the comment at all,
The two women remained silent for a while, enjoying each other’s company while Cat studied the obstetrician. She conveyed whatever Catherine wanted to say until she found an opportunity to broach a subject she was interested in.
“They didn’t let me access the web or watch the news. How was the fundraiser?”
Esther perked up, “Great! We partnered with a charity that helps victims of sexual abuse. The crowdfunding campaign was split eighty-twenty for the institution and twenty to help pay damages from your... accident,” she paused to measure her words at the end.
“We can call it a suicide attempt,” Cat offered ruefully.
“Anyway,” Esther continued, ignoring Cat’s self-derisive remark, “We had merch sales, even a small rally in front of my office building. Some of William’s friends and coworkers came to help and I met miss Dahlia there.”
Cat let out a sigh of surprise. “How’s she?”
“She was about to marry him,” Esther said slowly trying to measure Cat’s reaction. The girl nodded and mouthed “I know,” before the doctor continued, “But she doesn’t blame you. Dahlia is a sweetheart and she wants to meet you. Look, Catherine, you need to open up. Let people understand you and don’t take everything on your shoulders. I know you feel responsible to carry the weight of the Wallenstein dynasty on your shoulders but you are not alone. You are not alone.”
Another bout of tears.
The doctor startled, “What do you mean?”
“I’m sorry, that’s just me being silly. Silly Catherine speaking stupid things. Didn’t you see my medical report?” Cat added her own question. “I lost my womb,” she explained at the physician’s negative.
“Let me see if I can phrase it properly, does the loss of a womb make you any less of a woman?”
Catherine protested but the body’s controller refused to repeat it.
“Maybe?”
“It doesn’t!" Esther affirmed adamantly. "You still need to check for breast cancer and we still need to make sure your other sexual organs are healthy. A hysterectomy isn’t the end of the world. We already have five confirmed cases of a successful womb transplant worldwide. I demand you come to see me at least once--”
“Once a month?” Cat asked just to tease her and ease the tension.
“Every semester,” Esther snorted as she corrected Cat and playfully poked the girl's nose. “I need to make sure you are not getting in trouble.”
The older woman hugged the hospitalized girl and whispered, “I also need to see you. I’m sorry I’m not being professional here.”
“This is a personal visit, Esther. You are off the clock and hopefully not billing me for your time,” Cat grinned.
Esther frowned for a while then burst into a peal of laughter. “Maybe I should.”
“Please don’t. Oliver is already dragging my budget through the mud,” Cat sighed. “Worth every penny.”
“I bet he is.”
“True. Can I bother you to help with a meeting between Dahlia and me? I really want to talk to her. Oliver is supposed to contact him.”
“I have his card, I’ll give him a call. Sure, I’ll make time in my very busy schedule for you,” she bopped Cat’s nose again.
In their mind, Catherine swooned.
“You’re a sweetheart, Esther,” Cat voiced both soul-roommates' opinions.
The obstetrician grinned and nodded in thanks for the compliment.
“You’re tired, don’t try to hide it from me. Go to sleep, Catherine. I’ll see you soon.”
“Please do. I appreciate all you did. Tell your partners at the charity I’m eager to meet them too.”
“I will. They can offer what help they can to people like you,” Esther said and stared seriously at the girl. “You are not alone. Remember it.”
Cat nodded and closed her eyes. If there was one thing she learned during her hospital stay was how to fall asleep on demand. She just had to stop fighting the medicine.