A heart on the run (Rachel, Danny)

[runrachelrun.insanejournal.com]

Harley woke her up a little before five in the morning. He tried to be gentle, but when he loomed over her with a "Rachel? Rachel," she sprung from sleep so violently she shrieked. Bolt upright, the blankets clutched to her chest, she stared at him, panting and on the verge of a panicky cry.

"I gotta get to work," he told her, in a really bad whisper, as if there was some reason other than the hour for secrecy and quiet. "Gonna be there till six. Didn't wantcha to wake up alone."

Rachel look around her at the unfamiliar room. She'd gone to sleep soon after they'd arrived at the motel, her body and mind completely drained of energy. She still felt drained, but she must had slept a long time. All day, and most of the night. A bright orange light was coming in through the thin curtains, an electric dawn. She couldn't count the number of times in her life that she'd woken up up in a strange, hired bed. "Are we still in London?"

"Yeah, princess," he said, sitting on the side of his bed as he lased up his shoes. "Gotta job here, can't just pack up and leave. Why, you wanna?"

Rachel shrugged, then shook her head a little, then shrugged again. "Dunno," she said.

"We'll talk bout it later," he said, then kissed her forehead and left. He smelled like stale breath.

"Brush your teeth," she reminded him, and he turned at her doorway and saluted.

Rachel settled back down into the bed, though she kept the top blankets off. It was hot, the air in here felt close, and she was sticky with sweat from the warm night. This warm night and the night before. It had been warm in jail. Uncomfortably warm. It was uncomfortable warm again, but she didn't want to shower yet.

Her dad left by half past five; she listened to the car leave. The walls were thin here, noises everywhere, from the street outside her window. Imogene's house had been quiet, the walls thick and the house set well back from the street. When she first moved in there it had been too quiet, and she had trouble sleeping. Now it was loud, and she wondered if Imogene was still going to be a problem in her life. She wondered where Indigo was. She hoped they would just leave her and Harley alone. She hoped for a clean break from her old life...

Except her old life contained people like Zoe and Danny, like Cai and Liz. Rachel didn't think they would want anything to do with her now - except, she hadn't really done anything wrong, had she?

Just used her dad's credit card one time. Like he'd said, there was no crime in that. Rachel covered her mouth to stop herself making some cry of relief. She hadn't done anything wrong. She was the victim here, the victim of Imogene's crazy ideas. Danny and Zoe knew that Imogene and Indigo were monsters. They wouldn't believe the Dumires if they told them Rachel was a criminal.

They'd believe Rachel. She was sure of it.

They'd believe her, because they had faith in her. Real, proper faith like no one had had in her before. Hope welled up inside her, filled her up. To think that just two nights ago she'd been thoroughly devoid of hope, completely ready to die... the idea was so stupid now! And it scared her, because she knew that place wasn't gone. It was still inside her, somewhere. She was just a little further away from it now.

It was so early in the morning, but she wanted to call Danny. She didn't think he'd be mad if she woke him up. He'd understand, because Danny understood everything.

Rachel kicked her way out of bed and began to search for her phone. It wasn't on the surfaces beside the bed and it wasn't anywhere easy to see in the tiny living room slash kitchen where her dad had made a nest on the couch. Well, she thought, it's probably dead anyway. Two days without charging was a really long time. But there was a phone on the cinderblock wall of the motel, and she knew Danny's number. Out of all the things in her mind, she was glad she remembered that. But of course she did - it was Danny. She still remembered his timetable, every day of the week, and they hadn't had classes for more than a month

She rang his number, sinking own to sit on the floor and press her hot back against the cool painted stone.

Comments

[daniel_marlow]

Danny had hardly slept since learning his girlfriend had been jailed. It was terrifying and horrible and wrong and he was so worried it made him sick.

When the phone rang, he practically leapt towards it, answering it in a rush. It wasn't a number he recognised and with Greg on the loose that might have given him pause before Rachel was arrested. Now, he didn't care. Fuck he hoped it was her.

"Hi, it's Danny, hi. I mean- Hello?"

[runrachelrun.insanejournal.com]

"Danny," Rachel nearly laughed in relief. "Danny it's me, oh my god," she clutched the phone close to her ear, like he was psychically there.

[daniel_marlow]

The moment he heard her voice, it was like finally taking a breath of air after nearly drowning. "Oh my god," he said, his voice heavy with relief. "Oh my fucking god, Rachel. I cannot believe- Shit, are you okay? Where are you? Can I come see you?" He jumped up and rushed around, trying to find his shoes. "Rachel, I love you okay? Please- I love you."

[runrachelrun.insanejournal.com]

Danny's words lifted her up, and she laughed softly again. "I love you," she said, feeling the shape of the words leave her mouth, mysterious but good - amazing. "I love you, I'm - I'm in a motel. Danny, she tried to have me locked up."

[daniel_marlow]

"She's a stupid fucking bitch," Danny hissed, locating his shoes in Wolf's bed. "I can't- It's so stupid! Zoe, Cai and I all went over there to try to find you because we were so scared for you. And your bitch step-sister wouldn't tell us where you were. I hate them. Are you safe in the hotel? Can I come see you? God, I want- Is it okay?"

[runrachelrun.insanejournal.com]

"Yes - yes - it's okay, Dad's out all day and I don't want to be alone anyway, I don't..." She looked at the bandage on her wrist, stained with yesterdays breakfast, and sweat. "Danny," she said, her voice a little softer and a little more serious. "Can - can you bring your first aid kit? I'm okay now I just... did something stupid."

[daniel_marlow]

Danny expelled a shaky breath at that, ignoring the seizing of his chest. "Of course I can," he said quietly. "I don't blame you." He went to grab it and throw it into his bag. "We'll take care of it, okay? I'll either have my Mum or whoever is watching the house bring me to you okay? Can you tell me the address?"

[runrachelrun.insanejournal.com]

"Uh... I don't know the address..." Rachel was stumped, sitting on the floor and staring at the living room in front of her. "Dad bought me here, I don't actually know where we are. Shit, Danny, where am I?" Panic started to thump in her chest. How long had they driven from the prison? Where was the prison anyway? Her dad had said they were still in London but what if he was lying? Rachel drew a total blank about what to do next.

[daniel_marlow]

"O-okay, it's okay! Just find a sign maybe? Tell me which hotel it is and I'll Google it! I'll find you, Rachel, it's going to be okay." She sounded so panicked and all he wanted to do was make her feel better.

[runrachelrun.insanejournal.com]

"Oh God, I'm a dumbarse!" Rachel berated herself, scrambling off the floor and leaving the phone hanging from its cord as she poked her head through the door. "Crouch end apartments," she said, picking Danny up again. "I guess that's in Crouch End, um, I'm room sixteen I think."

[daniel_marlow]

"No, you're not, you're just panicking." he said, grabbing his laptop so he could look up the address. He typed away for a second and then said, "okay, I got it. I'll be there soon, love, okay? Can you lock the door and only open it when you hear me? I just want to make sure you're safe."

[runrachelrun.insanejournal.com]

"Yes, yes, absolutely, yes," Rachel said, looking over at the door wide eyed, wondering what else might come through. But only Danny knew where she was, Danny and her dad. Though it occured to her a moment later that people wouldn't need to be looking for her specifically in order to be dangerous. She didn't know anyone in this area, and though it was really, really early in the morning, there could still be dangerous people about. Even so, the main reason she locked the door was because Danny told her to, and because doing something that Danny said kept her safe made her feel like he was closer than he was.

Her stomach fluttered with nerves as she said goodbye. He'd be here soon and she was filthy, but after a rudimentary look around the motel she'd found no shampoo. None! There was an empty bottle of free motel shampoo/conditioner in the shower that her dad must have used, but nothing else.

She showered anyway while she was waiting for Danny, real quick to scrub all the sweat off her. Keeping the bandage dry was a challenge - it was super hard to shower with one arm sticking out of the stream, and she ended up getting it wet anyway. Such a failure. But it wasn't so bad, because Danny was coming. At least her clothes weren't hard to find - her dad had filled up a bag of them, and it was only the third one she looked through in the living room.

When Danny finally arrived, the sky was starting to get light and she was ready, so ready, and unlocked the door as soon as she saw him.

[daniel_marlow]

Deirdre had driven Danny to see Rachel, though he told her she could simply lurk about once he was in the door.

The door was unlocked and he stepped through, rushing forward to take Rachel into his arms. He held her tightly and kissed her hair before saying, "oh god I love you so much."

[runrachelrun.insanejournal.com]

Rachel clung to him, refusing to let go even though holding him so tight made the pain blossom in her wrist. She'd been practically hovering near the door as she waited for him, her hair loose and drying quickly in the warm morning. "Oh my god, Danny, I love you," she whispered into his neck. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry."

[daniel_marlow]

Danny didn't much want to let go of her either. "No, you didn't do anything," he reassured her. "You didn't do anything and it's okay. I'm just glad you're safe."

He held her for another minute before pulling away and looking her over. "What do I need to fix up?"

[runrachelrun.insanejournal.com]

Rachel let herself sink into him. It was so much easier to believe him that it was to do anything else. "I need you to fix everything," she said, melodramatically, hesitating for ages before pulling back so she could show him. The bandage had lasted through its intended use, plus two breakfasts and a long and sweaty sleep then a really awkward shower. She'd tried to keep it out of the water by wrapping her wrist in a plastic bag but it had still gotten damp. Underneath her skin was scratched and a mottled mess of little scabs and raw patches. So gross, Rachel thought, though she looked at it with fascination. It didn't feel like she'd done it.

[daniel_marlow]

Danny took her arm into his hands gently. "Come over here, I'll clean it up." They moved over to the bed and he pulled his little kit out of his bag to start disinfecting the wounds. "Are you okay now?" he asked quietly as he worked.

[runrachelrun.insanejournal.com]

Rachel had her eyes squeezed shut against the stinging of the disinfectant. How could something that was supposed to be good for you burn so much? "I'd be better if it didn't feel like cold fire," she said, not quite whimpering. This what what she got for trying to die when Danny was still in the world, wasn't it? "You're here," she added. "I guess that makes me okay. I don't know... dunno what's going to happen now, though."

[daniel_marlow]

Watching her wince away from the disinfectant made him feel horrible for inflicting it on her, but it was for the best. He just hated seeing her go through any kind of discomfort. "We'll figure it out," he promised her as he finished cleaning up her arm. "Whatever happens we'll figure it out because we love each other." In his young and naive mind, that was all that mattered.

[runrachelrun.insanejournal.com]

Rachel leaned her face against his shoulder, her arm still outstretched across his lap because she didn't want to move that arm at all. "I thought I was going to be there forever," Rachel said. "How dumb is that? I thought... I thought it was all over. I got so bad so fast that I can't believe I'm actually here now, you know?"

[daniel_marlow]

"It's not dumb," he said, trying to remain calm. "I would have thought the same. I just wish you hadn't had to go through that." He started bandaging her arm with expert attention, and then when he was finished he leaned down to plant a kiss on top of it. "I'm so happy you're here."

[runrachelrun.insanejournal.com]

Rachel grabbed his hand with her unbandaged hand, squeezing it tight. "I don't know what I did to deserve you," she said, leaning in fast to kiss him on the mouth. "Thank you, thank you thank you."

[daniel_marlow]

"I feel the same way about you, you know," he whispered, blushing at the feeling of her lips on his. She made his heart beat so fast and his skin felt all too warm. He looked at her from under long eyelashes and then reached out to kiss her again.