Fallen From Grace

Five

The day had been long and depressing. As the women arrived back at Danielle's house they silently walked in and Kristine, dropped onto the couch. Danielle let Duke outside while she carried in groceries from their last stop while in town. She put away the food and began boiling water to make pasta. Duke whined and nudged her thigh as he trotted back into the house. She pat his head and filled his food dish.

Danielle worried about Kristine, but there was nothing she could do for the woman. She stood at the edge of the living room and debated saying something. "Stop that" Kristine suddenly said, tossing the pillow she held over her face.

"Stop what?" Danielle asked confused.

"Standing there all creepy like watching me. I don't want your pity." She mumbled and sat up, shooting a look over her shoulder.

"Sorry. I just uh wish there was something I could do for you." Danielle whispered back.

"You already have. I would have died alone in the woods. Really you've done so much" Kristine said softly. She stood from the couch and walked over. After a moments debate she wrapped her arms around Danielle, resting her cheek against the woman's chest. "Thank you for taking me in. And thank you for staying with me today."

Danielle rubbed Kristine's back, a little shocked by the embrace. "You're welcome."

Kristine looked up at Danielle and pressed her lips gently to the woman's cheek, which immediately turned a deep shade of pink. "I'm going to soak in the tub, if that's ok. I feel absolutely disgusting."

"Oh yeah, of course it's okay" Danielle said as they pulled away from each other. "I'll set out some clothes for you and dinner will be ready when you're done."

Kristine smiled softly and headed towards the bathroom. She sat on the edge of the tub as she ran the water. She poured an ample amount of lavender scented bubble bath under the stream and swirled her fingers through the bubbles. She undressed and slid in with a sigh, sinking down until the water hit her neck. She laid her head back and relaxed as best she could, letting the hot water soothe her aching muscles.

She paid no attention to how much time went by, but got out with shriveled fingers when the water no longer held it's warmth. She wrapped a towel around her and walked across the hall to the spare bedroom. Folded neatly on the bed was a pair of sweatpants and a tshirt. She felt odd wearing someone else's underwear, but considering she didn't have her own, she made do.

She pulled her hair over to one shoulder and found Danielle in the kitchen eating chicken alfredo. The woman turned to face her and spoke with a mouthful of food tucked in her cheek "Mm sorry I didn't wait, I was really hungry. Food's on the stove."

Kristine smiled and made herself a plate. "No problem. I felt like I was in there a long time." Danielle shrugged and continued to eat, not worried about how long of a bath she took.

After dinner, Danielle cleaned up the dishes and suggested a movie. She changed into pajamas and joined Kristine on the couch. The movie served as a welcome distraction for both women. By the end, they were both tired and ready for bed. They said good night to each other and went into their separate rooms.

A few hours later, Danielle woke to the sounds of screams. She hurried out of bed and followed the sound, saddened by the sight of Kristine fighting invisible enemies in her sleep. She called out to the woman who continued to thrash and scream. She moved to the bed, reaching for Kristine's shoulders to wake her.

"Hey, hey. It's just a dream, you're safe, you're okay" She said jostling the woman a bit. As it turned out, that was a huge mistake. Kristine in a state somewhere between asleep and awake threw an elbow, which caught Danielle in the face. "Oh fuck!" Danielle cried out, clutching at her nose as blood began to pour. She scurried off the bed as Kristine came to full awareness.

"Oh my God! Oh my God! Danielle, I'm so sorry!" She cried tossing the covers aside and running after the bleeding woman who was fleeing to the bathroom.

"I think you broke my nose" Danielle whimpered, trying to clean the blood to assess the damage. She wasn't mad or upset, just shocked.

"Oh I'm so sorry, let me see" Kristine whispered, turning the other woman to face her and pulling her hands away from her face. She grabbed the hand towel and ran it under cold water, reaching it towards Danielle's face, who flinched away. "Stay still. I don't think it's broken" She said, gently wiping the blood away.

"How would you know?" Danielle said frustrated.

"I've had some medical training" Kristine responded. She closed the lid of the toilet and ushered Danielle to sit. "Lean forward" She said holding Danielle's hand to the bloody towel. "I'm going to go get you some ice." She left and was back quickly with an ice pack. She eased the towel from Danielle's hand and noticed the bleeding had slowed. She replaced the towel with the ice pack wrapped in paper towels. "Hold that in place" she instructed and Danielle obeyed.

"Medical training, huh?" Danielle squeaked.

"Mhm basic first responder kind of stuff...I'm so sorry, you'll probably be swollen and have a black eye." Kristine said.

"I'll be fine. It's not like I've got a hot date" Danielle laughed softly.

"Are you dating anyone?" Kristine asked curiously. She rinsed out the bloody towel and cleaned off the countertop.

"Nope" Danielle replied, popping the 'P.'

"Why not? You're a beautiful woman."

"Uh thanks. Um well that's a loaded question." Danielle laughs softly.

"Why do you say that?" Kristine asked tilting her head.

Danielle sighed "Well I'm not really one for dating. Plus I like women and it's not always easy meeting women considering I spend most of my time out here."

"Women? You're homosexual?" Kristine said, sitting back on her heels and scooting back a bit.

"Yeah, is that a problem for you?" Danielle replied with narrowed eyes.

Kristine shook her head, eyes wide. "No. No. I guess I just didn't realize."

"Well I don't feel the need to broadcast my sexuality...so are you going to condemn me to hell now?"

"No Danielle. We're all God's children. I believe love is love. Not every religious figure is anti-gay." Kristine said.

Danielle stayed quiet and nodded slowly. She didn't believe in God, but she still didn't want to get into that conversation. She pulled the ice pack away from her face and stood to study her reflection in the mirror. The bleeding had stopped and her nose didn't look crooked or anything crazy. Kristine stood beside her, looking at her reflection.

"How does it feel?" She asked hesitantly.

"It hurts, but I'll be fine." She replied opening the medicine cabinet and taking a couple Advil.

"I really am sorry."

"I know" Danielle smiled. "It's alright. It was my own damn fault for trying to wake you."

"Still not a good reason to elbow you in the face." Kristine chuckled. "Especially considering how nice you've been to me."

Danielle laughed and pat Kristine's shoulder, walking past out of the bathroom. "Really, it's fine. I'm going back to bed."