Till Death Do Us Part: Episode 13

Pametta Pollovic, nee Doyle, jumps from Bethida's coach and runs into the Sime Center. She's ~~ worried ~~ about her husband, but is also ~~ enjoying ~~ herself immensely.

Pametta always loved stories about Adventures, and now she's living one!

Gerrhonot is in the lobby, drinking trin, trying to stay awake. He had a very long day looking after Seruffin at the wedding reception, then all the excitement with Senator Pollovic and the almost-berserker.

Pametta walks through the front doors in a ~~ determined ~~ fashion.

Gerrhonot: Oh, hi Pametta. Uh, Mrs. Pollovic.

Pametta smiles.

Pametta: It's going to take a while for me to get used to being "Mrs. Pollovic"

Gerrhonot smiles back.

Gerrhonot: Yeah, I guess.

Pametta: Is my husband here? Is he all right?

Gerrhonot: Um. He got a little banged up -- he fell off the horse. But Hajene Seruffin worked on him and he'll be okay.

Pametta: Good. Did the boy survive?

Gerrhonot: Yes, but it was really close. Senator Pollovic took an awful chance -- a few more seconds and the boy would have killed him.

Gerrhonot keeps a professional calm, but even he can see that a Sime killing a Senator on the grounds of a Sime Center would be a political disaster.

Pametta frowns.

Pametta: He said there was plenty of time.

Pametta is under the illusion that her new husband knows what he's doing around Simes.

Gerrhonot: Um. Well, I don't think he's an expert on that. It could have been a real disaster. Hajene Seruffin practically pulled the boy off the Senator.

Pametta: But it all worked out all right?

Gerrhonot: Yeah. I guess so. The boy's okay, he's sleeping now. The Senator didn't get killed or even burned.

Pametta: Good.

Pametta is ~~ relieved ~~.

Gerrhonot doesn't think Pametta understands just how far from good it almost was. He'll tell Seruffin, who can explain it better.

Pametta: So can I see him?

Gerrhonot: Sure. He's just down the hall here.

Gerrhonot leads the way down the hall to the treatment rooms.

Pametta follows ~~ anxiously ~~.

Pollovic, who has lived far too many Adventures of late, is napping in a ~~ fog ~~ of painkillers. He opens one eye at the sound of approaching voices.

Gerrhonot stops at a partly open door.

Gerrhonot: Um. Senator, your wife is here.

Pollovic: (weakly) Pam... etta??

Pametta sweeps into the room in a disgustingly healthy manner, her wedding dress somewhat the worse for wear.

Pametta: Brenn! I"m glad you're all right.

Pametta reaches out to hug him -- they are married now, right?

Pollovic gasps. ~~ pain ~~

Pametta: Oh! I'm sorry. Where are you hurt?

Pollovic: Ribs, mostly.

Pametta: I thought berserkers went for the arms?

Pollovic isn't really up to complete sentences.

Pollovic: Horse. Threw.

Pollovic manages to focus both eyes on his bride.

Pametta: The horse threw you?

Pollovic: Yeah. You... O...kay?

Pollovic discovers that talking and trying to sit up don't mix well.

Pametta: I'm fine. I flagged down a passing coach and got a ride. I brought along that man whose horse we appropriated, too. He should be all right, but it might be better if one of the channels took a look at him, just in case.

Pollovic: Yeah. Owe him. ~~ worry ~~

Pollovic lets his head flop back down.

Pametta: I left him in the coach. He was a little reluctant to come inside.

Pollovic: Dunno... what. Happened. To horse.

Pametta: You fell off, Gerrhonot said. It ran off?

Pollovic turns his head slightly to look at Gerrhonot.

Pollovic: D'you... Know?

Pollovic has been called many things: idiot, Sime-kisser, headline-stealer. But never before horse-thief.

Gerrhonot: I don't know. It was scared. Maybe it ran home?

Gerrhonot knows that horses are pretty good at finding their way home .

Pollovic: Gotta... find out. Repay. Got name? Ad... dress?

Pollovic looks back to his bride.

Pametta: His name is Ressell, and he's outside in the coach.

Pollovic: Must... see. Him.

Pollovic struggles to sit up. ~~ pain ~~

Pollovic: Must.

Pametta: Stop that, Brenn.

Pametta helps her husband to sit up.

Pollovic swings his foot down, making the trailing dog-chain clank.

Pametta: Brenn, you should rest. I can handle Ressell. That's what a wife does, right?

Pollovic is sweating, and struggling not to show how much it hurt to sit up.

Pollovic: 'kay. Tell him... sorry.

Pametta: I will. I'm sure he'll understand.

Pollovic looks at his new wife from right way up and smiles.

Pametta: And I'll assure him that we'll replace the horse if it is lost or injured.

Pollovic: My. Wond...'ful... wife.

Pollovic leans forward as if to kiss her, and almost does a headfirst dive off the treatment table.

Pametta grabs him, trying not to hurt the ribs.

Pametta: Careful!

Pollovic: Sorry.

Pollovic is very ~~ dizzy ~~ .

Pametta: Just sit still for a moment.

Pollovic concentrates on just breathing. But not too deeply.

Pametta: Are you all right, Brenn? Should we call somebody?

Pollovic: 'M o...kay.

Pollovic shakes his head, making it spin. He sways.

Pametta: No, you are not.

Pollovic concedes reluctantly.

Pollovic: Down.

Pametta helps him to lie back down.

Pollovic pulls his leg back up onto the bed with another loud clank. He just breathes for a bit. Slowly, his head clears. He tries for a complete sentence.

Pollovic: Some wedding night.

Pametta smiles with all the charm of youth.

Pametta: You know, Brenn, while it might not be what we'd planned, I wouldn't change it for the world. Saving that young boy's life...well, how many girls have a genuine hero for a husband?

Pollovic makes a face.

Pollovic: Genuine idiot. Risked you.

Pollovic raises a hand to trail it across the delicate fabric of Pametta's ruined sleeve.

Pollovic: Should never... have risked you.

Pametta: You didn't risk me. You were the one in danger.

Pollovic: Brought you along.

Pametta: Do you honestly think you could have stopped me?

Pollovic: Should've tried. Didn't... even try.

Pollovic starts to take a deep breath, but quickly changes his mind.

Pametta: That shows you have a realistic approach to life.

Pametta leans down to kiss him.

Pollovic responds enthusiastically, clumsily, but still with some evidence of skill.

Pametta pauses and straightens after a moment.

Pametta: Should you be doing this?

Pollovic: Def...nitely.

Pollovic manages a smile.

Pollovic: Jus'... try'n... stop me.

Pametta grins, and leans back over.

Pollovic loses himself in happy sensation for a few minutes.

Pollovic: Mmmmm.

Pollovic raises a hand to comb his fingers through what's left of Pametta's elaborate hairdo.

Pametta shakes her head ~~ impatiently ~~, scattering pins around the room.

Pollovic: Honeymoon. Trip. Have to... postpone. But...

Pametta: A honeymoon is what you make of it, right?

Pametta has somehow lost interest in spending her honeymoon reading books.

Pollovic manages a smile that ignores the pain and the brainfog.

Pollovic: You. Us. That's the... 'mportant part. Th' rest...

Pollovic lets his eyes drift closed.

Pollovic: 'll still happen. Later.

Pametta: Yes.

Pametta settles down on a chair next to the bed, holding her husband's hand.

Pollovic's smile gradually goes slack, and his breathing slows into sleep.


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