Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Chasers: 2075 ❯ Chapter 18

Chasers 2075: Part Seventeen

'Oh god,' Jen thought, looking blearily into the bathroom mirror with badly bloodshot eyes. She felt like she had been run over by a truck, repeatedly. "I am never," Jen quietly vowed, "drinking that much again. Ever."

Wincing in pain at the sound of her own voice Jen rummaged around the medicine cabinet for the pain-tabs and hangover patches. The tall, normally graceful blonde clumsily popped them both out of their safety packets and slapped them on her arm, wincing at the slight sting as they accessed her blood stream. In only a few moments her head wasn't pounding quite so bad and she no longer felt like being violently sick.

Jen stumbled into the kitchen, pouring herself a cup of black coffee and sitting down at the table while she tried to decide if she wanted to risk making some breakfast. From the feelings in her stomach, she wasn't going to chance it just yet. 'What happened last night?' she wondered, trying to recall what had happened after Kate bet she could drink everyone under the table. Sadly, she was drawing a total blank.

The phone rang, tearing into the silence and hammering down on Jen's sensitive head.

"Call receive," Jen quickly said to try to cut off that infernal ringing, though she was smart enough to add, "but no visual, please." Not to mention the fact that it might be Gwen calling from work, and she didn't want to let the boss see her looking this bad.

"Jen?" the quiet voice asked softly.

Jen's eyes grew wide with shock and surprise, so much so that she sagged bonelessly up against the counter that she was leaning on. 'Why on Earth is she calling me? And why now of all times?' she thought dazedly.

"Jen? Are you there?" the voice sounded a bit anxious.

"Yes, I'm here," Jen managed to get out. She shook her head to try to get the cobwebs out, "Karen, I wasn't expecting you to call."

"No, I guess not," Karen's voice was quiet. Silence for a few beats, "I was wondering if I could see you, so that we could talk?"

"I don't think there's anything left to talk about," Jen said quietly.

It was quiet on the other end for a few more moments. "I know I handled things badly," Karen finally said, "but I'd really like to see you, Jen. Please?"

Jen sighed softly. Karen always could wrap her around her finger whenever she chose to. "All right," she nodded, "when and where?"

"My place?" Karen suggested softly.

"Oh, no," Jen quickly shot that down, "lets pick some kind of neutral territory. You remember that cafe we used to go to?"

"Yeah, on the corner by my apartment," Karen answered her, "can you make it after work?"

"May not be until after seven," Jen said apologetically.

Karen gently answered, "Then I'll see you then."

Jen heard her disconnect and sighed in relief. Picking up her cup of coffee she noted it had gone cold, but she chugged it down anyway and poured another one. "I hope that today gets at least a bit better," she groaned. The call reminded her of something else, so she asked her computer, "Were there any new messages?"

"Five telephone solicitors which were automatically erased, there was a previous message left by Karen, and two calls from your mother," it answered crisply.

"No, this day isn't looking good at all," Karen made a face. "All right, let's hear what my Mom has to say..."

Over at the Chaser's department in the police station, there were also several hangovers being delicately cared for. "More coffee?" Beth offered cheerfully.

Gwen gave the energetic redheaded officer a murderous glance, "How is it you can be so damn cheerful after all the drinking you did last night?"

"Beer doesn't really bother me," Beth grinned as she poured Gwen some more of the strong, black coffee. "Now tequila or vodka," she shuddered.

Gwen's face went a interesting shade of green on the mention of the other kinds of booze. "Out, now," the normally quite dignified Asian woman growled.

"I'll go see how Kate's doing," Beth gave a cheery wave. She closed the door behind her before shaking her head slightly. Gwen should know by now that trying to keep up with Kate in drinking was a very bad idea.

Kate's office was empty, but asking Jamie at the command station yielded the news that Kate had been last seen headed to the vehicle bays. Beth soon found Kate under the hood of her favorite cruiser, doing a full system's check. With the onboard AI gutted the way Kate had done, it couldn't do those things for itself, leaving the job to Kate.

"Hi!" Beth cried out from right behind her.

CLANG!

Kate's head went right up against the hood, then she staggered out cursing a blue streak.

"Uh oh," Beth backed away from the glaring Kate. Her eyes widened as a trickle of blood came down from Kate's hair, "You're bleeding!"

Kate reached up, then came down stained red. "Shit," she sighed.

"I'm so sorry," Beth ran for the medical kit, then came right back. "Sit down," she quickly instructed Kate, popping open the kit.

"I can do it," Kate scowled.

"Not easily," Beth said firmly. Her expression softened, "Please, to make up for my startling you in the first place."

Kate hesitated, but nodded finally, "All right."

Beth stepped up carefully, leaning over just a bit to minister to Kate's head. A hand rested on the shoulder to steady her as she cleaned the wound with surprising gentleness. "It doesn't hurt much, does it?" Beth asked Kate anxiously.

"It's fine," Kate answered gruffly.

Jen brought her car to a halt, climbing out of the vehicle and then stretching out gingerly. She collected her shoulder bag and strode off to make her way into the station. She came around a corner and stopped cold in surprise. Kate was sitting in a chair by one of the cruisers, Beth leaning in so that Kate's face was nearly pressed into her pert breasts.

"Well, isn't that an interesting sight," Jen smirked.

It took only a second for both women to get what she meant and jerk apart. "It's not what it looks like," Kate blurted.

Jen laughed. "All I saw was someone getting a cut cleaned. Whatever do you mean?" she batted her eyes innocently. Leaving the two blushing officers behind, she made her way inside to eventually reach Gwen's office.

A knock, and Jen blinked as Gwen growled, "Beth, if you're here trying to make me get sick, you will most certainly regret it."

"It's Jen," she answered tentatively.

A sigh, "Come on in." As Jen went in she noted that Gwen did not look good, bloodshot eyes and all. "Sorry about that," Gwen gestured with a cup of what looked like very black coffee.

"Do you want to borrow a hangover or pain tab?" Jen offered solicitously.

"I'm allergic, can't use them," Gwen sighed. She noticed the clock and quietly added, "You're here early."

"I wanted to ask a favor," Jen looked a bit uncomfortable. "Would it be all right if I left work at six tonight?" she asked

"Considering the amount of unpaid overtime you've put in," Gwen said dryly, "I doubt it will be a problem. May I ask why?"

Jen made a face, "An old... friend wants to see me."

To be continued...