story picks up from there.
I am going to put this particular story on hold for a little while, but Billie and Kateri
will be back fairly soon. Thank you, again for your support! ~Clara.
Author's Note:Thank you for all the comments, critiques and encouragement. I truly appreciate it. ~Clara.
This version of February Fantasy Fridays: 6 has been updated with many corrections towards spelling and grammar.~Sephrena.
Image Credit: Image created through the use of ai at https://perchance.org/beautiful-people .~Sephrena.
Chapter 6
Suddenly, the door behind them slammed shut.
"No need to call the police," a dark shape that had been hiding behind the door spoke. Both William and Kateri were too shocked to say anything, but the shape spoke again. "So, you're a lesbo, huh?" It laughed. They could smell the liquor on its breath. "That explains a lot."
"Who are you?" Kateri demanded, but her voice was shaky with fear. "What do you want."
"Ask your little bitch girlfriend," the voice said, angrily. "Because of her, I lost my job. My really cushy job. I really liked that job. But she made a big deal out of a little flirting and now I have to move into a more affordable place. Return my car to the dealership. Sell my boat. Now... she's going to pay for being a big mouthed cunt who couldn't mind her own business."
"Shane Harris?" William asked, more confused than frightened.
"That asshole from Bunker Hill Investors?" Kateri asked, as the figure moved into the light from the one working lamp in the room.
Harris laughed. "Did you just call me an asshole, bitch? You have no idea how big an asshole I can be."
"You're drunk," Kateri said. "Just leave now and we won't say anything to the police. Just go."
"No chance." He pointed at William. "She ruined my life. Now, I'm going to ruin hers." He grabbed William by his hair and pulled him close. "But first - maybe we can find some good use for that big mouth of yours."
Kateri ran at Harris, her arms raised, ready to attack, but Harris used his free hand to back hand her across the face, knocking her to the floor. Before she could stand again, Harris grabbed a hammer he must have set down at some point and held it high over his head.
"Down, girl!" He shouted, stopping Kateri. "If you want me to beat you or this one to death with this hammer, then go ahead and try to attack me, again."
Kateri looked at the anger in his eyes and knew he wasn't bluffing. He was angry and drunk enough to kill William without a second thought. "Don't hurt her," Kateri muttered. "Please... don't hurt her."
William, for his part, had been pushed to his knees, his hair being painfully pulled by Harris, who now yanked William's head back so he looked up into his face. "Listen to me, you self righteous bitch. You couldn't keep your mouth shut, so I'm going to fill that noisy hole of yours with my cock. Then, if you do a good job on that, I'll fill up another hole for you, too."
"Never," William said with as much force as he could muster.
Harris yanked his hair again, much more painfully than before. "You'll do it, bitch, or I'll kill your dyke girlfriend. Won't that be nice? Watching your girlfriend's brains splattering all of the walls? And then I'll still make you suck my cock."
William looked up into the insane eyes of his attacker and knew that he meant every word.
"Ok. Ok. Alright. I'll do it," William said, the fear in his voice obvious. "But, please, let her go. I'll do whatever you want, just let her go."
Harris smiled. "I like it when you beg, bitch. You look so much sexier on your knees, begging. But she's not going anywhere and neither are you until you learn your place."
"I know my place, honestly..." William tried to negotiate with the crazy man, but he just pulled his hair all the harder.
"No you don't!" he screamed into William's face. "All you uppity cunts are the same. Thinking you have the right to take jobs and money away from hard working men like me. Women are only good for two things - Taking care of men in the kitchen and taking care of men in the bedroom. Maybe, after your belly is full of my jiz you'll understand that. If that's not enough, I'll fill up other parts of you, too."
As a small guy in a public school, William had experienced fear before. He'd been beaten up pretty badly at least a dozen times in his four year high school career. This was different, though. This wasn't a bruise that would heal in a few days. Harris wanted to change him. To make him something he'd never even considered he could be before. He wanted to make William a victim. A rape victim.
"Look, Mr Harris," Kateri called said from the couch, trying to save William from what Harris had planned, or at least buy some time in the hopes of coming up with some kind of a plan of defense, or escape. While she spoke, she surreptitiously started the video camera app on her phone and placed it on the end table next to her, pointed towards the spot where Harris held William. She hoped that she had them in frame, but even if she didn't, she'd record his voice, so that even if she and William ended up dead, whoever found their bodies would have a recording of the event to convict Harris of his hateful acts. "What's your plan here? Rape us? Then what? You get your job back? I doubt it. You'll go to jail, more likely."
"Shut the fuck up!" He screamed at her, raising high the hammer in his left hand, again. "I swear to God, if you don't shut your fucking mouth and keep it shut, I will shut you up myself."
"No, no, no!" William raised his hands in panic. "Please, Shane, please. Don't, please. I'm ready to learn my lesson, just, please, don't hurt her. Let's just get this over with and you can go. Please."
Shane Harris smiled an intoxicated, triumphant smile. "See. That's how a good girl behaves. Now, lower my pants and do what God put you on earth to do."
William's shaky hands began undoing Harris' belt, but Harris stopped him with another hard pull on William's hair. "And behave yourself, little girl, or it'll be the last thing you'll ever do."
William readjusted himself to kneel a bit taller and sit back on his heels. His hands still trembled as he reached for the belt buckle, again. He undid the belt, then unbuttoned the front of Harris' jeans and lowered his zipper.
"That's a good girl," Harris cooed, as if speaking to a child. "Pull them down, now, baby."
Reluctantly, but fearful of what might happen to Kateri if he didn't do as he was told, William lowered, Harris' jeans to his knees, then pulled his boxers down to the same level, allowing Harris' penis to spring forward, nearly erect.
William looked at the offending appendage and felt nausea rising within him.
"Take it," Harris grunted, excited by anger and lust.
William hesitated for a moment, then raised his hand to gasp it and run his hand along its girth. Maybe, if he touched it, Harris might ejaculate quickly and go on his way.
"It's big, huh?" Harris gloated.
William declined to answer.
"Trust me, it is, but since you're a dyke, you probably don't have any experience with one, do you? Believe me, lezzie, it's big."
In fact, it wasn't that impressive. It was probably slightly larger than average, but nothing worth bragging about. William's own penis was probably, in proportion, just as big and he'd never felt the need to advertise that.
"Is this the first time you ever touched a cock, cunt?" Harris' ugly voice asked, pushing William's head closer.
"No," William shook his head, then shocked Harris by saying, "I've touched my own a million times."
As William had hoped, that confused Harris for a few seconds. As Harris tried to process what the cute little woman he had forced to her knees had just said, William took advantage of the moment, lunged forward and opened his mouth and bit down hard on Harris' inner thigh.
"AHH!!!" Harris screamed in shock and pain as he raised the hammer high in order to bring it down on William's head, but that didn't happen. In one movement, William pulled hard at the knee high waist of Harris' jeans and slammed the side of his head into Harris' groin, causing the intruder to scream, lose his balance and fall backwards, slamming his head against the front wall of the living room.
Not wasting the opportunity, Kateri jumped up and grabbed a broken leg from the shattered coffee table in front of her and, as Harris tried to stand back up, she swung the wooden cudgel as hard as she could and it slammed into the side of Harris' head. At the same moment, William found his footing and, once again, yanked on Harris' jean waist. This time, with the momentum of Kateri's swing and the unbalancing impact of William's pull, Harris fell straight backward, but this time, his head missed the wall and crashed through the triple panel front window of Kateri's cottage, creating a shattering noise on the street, outside.
William grabbed Kateri's hand and his purse and they both ran out the door, where they ran into Kateri's middle aged neighbor who was running up her sidewalk path.
"Kat!" The fit man shouted as he approached. "Are you ok? What's going on? I was just getting out of my car and I heard..."
Kateri grabbed the man as she passed and pulled him after her. "Frank! Don't go in there! A guy tried to attack us. Come on, we have to go."
The man glanced back at the broken window, then ran with Kateri and William. "Come on into my place. We'll call the police."
He hurried them across the street and into his home. "Sit down, ladies," he said in a rush, then he looked back through the door's windows to see if they were being followed. Beyond the light post near the end of the driveway, things got darker quickly, but he didn't see anyone coming towards his house. He did think that he may have some movement near Kateri's front door, but that was all.
"Yes, my friend and I were attacked in our home," William was saying into his phone. "He tried to rape me and threatened to kill us both. No, we got out and we are in a neighbor's house, now. I don't know. We knocked him down and ran out. He may still be there, I don't know. No, I don't know if he was conscious when we left. We knocked him down and ran." He gave them the address and disconnected the call.
The neighbor, Frank, looked at his guests and asked, "Are you ok?"
Kateri nodded. "I'm ok. Billy? Are you ok?"
William looked at her, then at Frank. He nodded and said, "I'm ok," but as he spoke the tears of fear and rage rose in his eyes. He wiped the tears from his cheek, but managed to control himself enough to keep the sobs at bay. "I can't believe he did that. He was going to rape me. For what? For sticking up for myself and the women I work with!? What the hell is wrong with him!?"
"So you know this guy?" Frank asked.
William shook his head. "Not well. He worked for a company that does business with the company we work for. I met him a few of times and he was a creep each time. My boss complained about him and, I guess, he got fired."
"Wow. What a Jackass," Frank shook his head in disbelief. Then, as if remembering that he was being a poor host, he said, "Can I get either of you something to drink? Water? Soda? Wine? Something stronger?"
"Water would be great, thank you," William said as blue lights started flashing through the blinds.
Frank went to the kitchen as Kateri stood and peaked out the blinds. "The police are here. They're in my house, looking around."
Frank reappeared with two bottles of Avian water. "What's happening out there?" He handed William a bottle, then walked over to where Kateri stood peeking out.
"There's three cars and five or six police officers." She took the offered bottle of water. "Thank you."
"Nothing like this has ever happened in this neighborhood before," Frank said, just trying to keep the conversation going. "Maybe I should go talk to them and let them know you two are safe."
A moment later, red flashing lights appeared as well.
Frank turned to William and said, "Looks like the guy needs some medical attention. I guess that means it's safe for me to go talk to them. I'll be right back." He walked out the door.
"Great," William shook his head. "If we hurt him too badly, he'll probably sue us. This is never going to end."
Kateri returned to the couch and put her arm around William's shoulders. "No, I don't think so. I mean, he broke into my house. He knocked me down and was about to rape you. Even with a lot of money and a good lawyer, I don't think he can get out of this. He's going to jail for sure, Billie. I'm sure of it."
"A trial... great. Now, the world will hear all about poor Shane Harris and 'His Tragic Obsession With The Transvestite Accountant.' Won't my mother and her church friends just love that?"
They sat on the couch, sipped their water and said very little for what seemed like hours, but was, in fact, only about forty five minutes, before Frank returned with a woman in a warm coat who introduced herself as Detective Reyes. She opened a notebook, set her phone to record and asked William and Kateri to tell their story, which they did as well as they could.
"So, you both returned home and this... Mr Harris... had broken into your home?"
Kateri nodded. "Yes."
"And neither of you had invited him to come over this evening?"
"No, of course not!" Kateri said.
"Why? Is that what he told you?" William asked, disgusted that Harris was trying to wriggle out of this.
"Mr Harris didn't tell us anything," the detective said, matter of factly. "Mr Harris is dead. When you pushed him through the window, his neck was sliced through by the shattered glass. He'd bled out before we even got here."
"What!" Both Kateri and William gasped in shock.
The detective nodded. "That's right. So this is either a self-defense case, a man slaughter case, or possibly, a murder case, and until we get this sorted out, I'm afraid that both of you will need to accompany me to the station. So please stand." She opened the door. "Jacobs, please drive these ladies to the station."
"Wait! What? What are you talking about!?" William stood and looked up into the detective's face. "That asshole broke into Kat's house, tried to rape me and threatened to kill us both! He pushed me to my knees and was planning on putting his dick in my mouth and then threatened to take me AND Kat in other ways. Are you seriously accusing us of intentionally killing him!?"
"Someone has died, ma'm," the detective said in a serious tone. "I apologize for the inconvenience, but until we get this straightened out, you will both be guests of the city. Jacobs, take the women downtown, please."
"This is ridiculous..." William started to rage, but the detective held up a finger and interrupted.
"Miss, you can go with Officer Jacob's as our guest, or we can take you out of this house in handcuffs. It's your choice."
"Come on, babe," Kateri walked up behind William and rubbed his back. "Let's just go and explain everything. We didn't do anything wrong."
"I know that and so do you, but they're not listening to us, Kat! How can they even suggest..."
"Babe. Take a breath and let's just go."
William's rage had made him red in the face and he knew that he had no choice, but it still took him a few deep breaths to get a handle on himself and get enough control to say, "Yeah. Yeah. Ok. Let's go, then."
"Listen, Kat," Frank said, "I'll make sure that your house is ok when they're done. I'll put some plywood over the window and lock everything up."
"Thanks, Frank. I appreciate it." Kateri smiled at the man.
"Oh, and, hey," Frank stopped them from leaving, "should I call your lawyer for you?"
William and Kateri looked at each other. Then Kateri said, "I don't have a lawyer. I used one that the bank recommended when I bought the house, but I don't think she does criminal law work."
"Ok," Frank assured her. "My brother-in-law is lawyer and he does a little of everything. I'll call him and ask him to go to the station."
"Is that necessary?" Kateri asked Detective Reyes.
"I think it's probably a good idea," she responded.
When they arrived at the station, Officer Jacobs ushered them into an interview room. "How long will we have to wait?" William asked, as politely as he could.
"Until the detective arrives," Jacobs said dismissively as he pulled the door closed.
They sat there, holding each other's hands and waited in silence, each afraid that the police might be recording any conversation. It didn't matter, though. Both were thinking the same thing. They'd accidentally killed a man. Yes, they'd intended to hurt him and make their escape, but neither had expected things to have turned as serious as they had.
William had the added concern of his true sex. Would he have to reveal to the police that he was actually a man and how would that play out? If they put him in a cell with other men while he looked like this, he knew how that would go and he was petrified that his night would actually end in being raped after all.
The door opened and a balding man with a red face and a grey fringe of hair entered. "Kateri?" He asked.
"Yes." Kateri answered, nervously.
The man extended his hand as he took a seat opposite them. "Al Matin," he said in a hurry. "I'm Frank's sister's husband. I'm very sorry about what happened earlier this evening. Now, if you could let me know what happened..."
The couple told their story quickly and succinctly, not being over elaborate or dramatic.
Just as they finished, the door opened again and Detective Reyes entered with a handsome man in his thirties.
"Attorney Al Martin," Al introduced himself.
"Detective Reyes. This is Assistant District Attorney Flanders."
Al nodded towards the man. "We've met."
When everyone was seated, William and Kateri were asked to once again retell the tale of their harrowing evening, this time for the ADA. When they were done, Flanders nodded and looked at Al. "You do understand that, until our preliminary investigation is over, your clients will need to remain in custody."
"That's absurd!" Al said, shocked. "They were attacked in their own home. You can't possibly think that this is anything other than self defense! They returned from dinner and were attacked. They defended themselves and the attacker was accidentally killed in the process. You have to let them go."
"No, I don't," Flanders was very superior. "So far, we have not found any indication that the departed broke into the house. We do know, from your own client's statement, that he was disliked by both of your clients and, you may not be aware of this, but one of your clients recently took on an alias and has been living as a woman, when, in fact, she is a man."
Al gave the two very natural looking woman a look of shock. "Is this true? Is one of you living under an assumed name?"
"Not really," William stared at the ADA. "Yes, my name is William and I have been living as a woman for about ten days, but my 'Alias' is just a normal nickname. I know dozens of men named William who call themselves 'Billy.' I'm not trying to hide anything."
"I'm sure," Flanders condescended. "Nevertheless - Assumed identity, previous encounters with the deceased, no sign of breaking and entering and a dead body. Neither of you is leaving for the time being."
"You can't just hold them..." Al started to say, but Flanders interrupted.
"In fact, I can. Your clients are going to be guests of The Commonwealth until we make a decision as to whether or not to charge them. As you know, we can hold them for up to seventy two hours without charging them. So, make yourselves at home, 'girls.' You're going to be here a while."
Just as the detective and ADA were walking out the door, Kateri shouted, "Wait! I just remember! My phone! My phone was on the end table by the couch. I turned on the video camera. I don't know if I got the fight into the picture, but you can at least hear what was being said. I'm sure of it."
Reyes looked at Flanders and raised her eyes. Both of them knew that video like this, video that was meant to exonerate people, frequently led to the conviction of those very people. Were these two foolish enough to have staged this whole thing and then recorded it? Quite possibly!
"Jacobs," Reyes called into the room beyond. "Find out if they found a phone near the couch. If they did, have it brought here."
"Wait," Al said. "Maybe I should see that video first." He knew as well as Reyes and Flanders that video could be misleading.
"If the video actually exists," Flanders scoffed, "then I think it would be best if we watched it all together. Unless, of course, there is something that you don't want us to see."
Al looked at Kateri with a warning look, but she shook it off. "No. We have nothing to hide. We'll watch it together."
It was more than an hour later when Flanders and Reyes returned carrying an official looking, Ziplock baggie with writing on it and Kateri's phone within. Reyes passed out latex gloves to everyone saying, "Forensics has pulled the prints from the phone, but even so, one touches it except Kateri and she only touches with gloves on. Are we clear?"
Everyone nodded.
Kateri removed the phone from the baggie and typed in her password using a stylus provided by Detective Reyes. It opened to the camera app and she turned it so that everyone could see before she pressed play.
Had she taken the time to look at the picture and adjust to properly capture the scene, she could not have done a better job of framing Harris as he stood above William, pulling his hair and holding the hammer. As they watched, the scene they'd experienced a few hours earlier replayed before their eyes.
Kateri could be heard off camera. "What's your plan here? Rape us? Then what? You get your job back? I doubt it. You'll go to jail, more likely."
"Shut the fuck up!" He screamed at her, raising high the hammer in his left hand, again. "I swear to God, if you don't shut your fucking mouth and keep it shut, I will shut you up myself."
"No, no, no!" William raised his hands in panic..."
It went on until William bit Harris and knocked him down. Then Kateri appeared in the screen as she tried to help William to his feet, but stopped to wallop Harris with the table leg, just as William pulled the man's pant legs again. What they hadn't seen before, though, was Harris' head breaking through the window and his attempts to free himself as blood gushed from his neck. Both Williams and Kateri paled as they watched the man's life drain from him.
"Well?" Al Martin asked as the recording was finally stopped. "Are my clients free to go?"
Reyes deferred to The ADA, who thought for a moment or two before speaking. "You can go... but don't leave town until the case is officially closed."
"Thank you," Al said as he stood and looked at his clients. "Ladies. I'd be happy to drive you wherever you'd like to go, but I doubt that you'll want to go back to your house until it's been cleaned."
"We'll go to my mother's house," William said, as he and Kateri stood and made ready to go.
They were nearly to the door when the ADA said, quietly to the detective, but still loud enough to be heard, "Too bad, really. That little one would probably have enjoyed a couple of nights in the holding tank with a bunch of men."
William, who was behind Al and in front of Kateri, stopped, shocked at the words of the court officer. He turned to confront the man, but Kateri tried to intervene. "He's just a moron, baby. Let's just go."
"No!" William would not leave that remark alone. He turned and returned to the table, leaning over it so that he was as close to Flanders as possible.
"Is this how you treat the people of this city, Mr Flanders? Are you somehow better than everyone else because you have a moderately well paying, politically appointed job? Does that somehow give you the right to be dismissive of other people's pain and suffering? To imply to an attempted rape victim that they might enjoy being raped? Are you really so small and filthy a man, Mr Flanders?"
Even Reyes, who had initially smiled at Flanders' remark saw the cruelty in it now and straightened up in her seat and spoke. "Oh, hey, look, I'm sorry you heard that. Mr Flanders is not really the kind of guy who..."
William turned his fury towards her. "Oh, don't give me that 'locker room talk' bullshit. This is as much your fault as it is his. Assholes like Harris and you two perpetuate this kind of violence by making light of it and dismissing it by saying 'the victim had it coming' in one way or another."
Both Flanders and Reyes were taken aback by William's passionate words. "Right now, I'm going to go to my mother's house, take a shower to wash all the filth of the last six hours off of me, try to stop shaking, get a little sleep, then I'm calling the police station and the District Attorney's Office to find out how I can file complaints against both of you jackasses. You don't have to like me, Detective Reyes and ADA Flanders, but you will at least show me the common decency due to every person in this community."
"Listen..." Flanders started, but William could not be stopped.
"No, you listen to me. I know what you saw at that scene - you saw a filthy-rich dead guy and immediately assumed that the women who'd been there had murdered him for his money. Then, when you found out that I had a dick, you knew what you had on your hands - A crazy little fairy in a dress. Well, I've got news for you two. This crazy little fairy respects women and people like me enough to stand up to Shane Harris, Detective Reyes and ADA Flanders, even if you all are better connected and more powerful than I am. Now, I'm leaving and I hope to never lay eyes on either of you worthless excuses for human beings again!"
William turned and pushed his way out the door, followed by Kateri, leaving Al standing by the door, smiling. "Detective Reyes. Mr Flanders. Always a pleasure."
They arrived at William's mother's house just as his mother was leaving for Sunday morning services. When she saw the rumpled condition of William and Kateri, even she became alarmed and asked what had happened.
William explained as quickly as he could and asked if they could stay for a few hours to shower and get some sleep. Al assured everyone that he would have the police retrieve Kateri's purse and he'd inquire about getting some clothing for them. He also said that he knew of a cleaning service that specialized in crime scenes who he'd call and arrange for them to clean Kateri's house as soon as the police allowed it to be done.
"It may take a few days longer than normal," Al confided. "The police and the District Attorney's Office don't like being threatened."
"Neither do I," William muttered. "Thank you for all your help."
Al nodded. "Look... I know the DA pretty well. I'll give him a call and tell him what a jackass his guy was. Maybe he can help us get you guys back into your house quicker, too, but for now... try to get a little rest."
William and Kateri went upstairs where they ran into Angela who was just getting dressed. After a brief summary of the night's events and some loving and supportive hugs, Angela told them to get out of their clothes and shower. She'd bring them something to sleep in and, while they slept, wash their clothes for them.
"Thanks, Angie," Kateri said, exhausted. "A shower and some sleep sound great."
So, Kateri headed into the bathroom to shower and William headed into his room to undress. Moments later, Angela knocked on his door and found him sitting on the bed in just his bra and panties, his forehead in his hands.
"Hey," Angela said quietly as she entered. "Are you ok?"
Without looking up, William shook his head from side to side. "No. I'm not. Not at all."
She sat next to him and pulled him close. "Oh, come on, now, Willy. You didn't mean to hurt him..."
William made a strange, guttural sound that could have been a groan or a sad laugh, but it stopped Angela.
"Angie... I wish that he hadn't died, but he created that situation. I was just trying to make sure that he didn't hurt Kat. That's not what is getting to me."
Suddenly, Angela became aware that her brother was trembling under her arm. "What is it then?"
"Angie..." he gasped as he formed his words. "I've never been that scared in my life and I was petrified that he was going to... penetrate me. I mean... what if he had?'
"But he didn't."
"I know, but he could have, Angie! My God, I never thought I'd ever feel that way! I didn't just feel vulnerable, I felt... defeated... like... like... he was about to take everything that made me ME away from me!" Now, his trembling was joined by sobs. "What kind of a person does that to another human being?"
"An asshole, Willy," she squeezed him tighter.
"I swear to God, Angie, I am going to spend the rest of my life making sure that I... that you... that Kat... that mom... that every other woman I know... never... never feels like I did last night."
When they woke in the mid-afternoon, after only a few hours of sleep, Al had called William's phone and left several messages. He'd spoken to the DA and no charges would be filed against either of them, he'd spoken to Kateri's insurance company and secured a cleaning company to clean the house and a carpenter to replace the window and casings. Kateri's house should be cleaned and ready for them to move back in by Tuesday evening. They could, however, enter the house to get some clothes and personal items, if they needed to.
As they sat in bed and listened to the messages, both wearing nightgowns provided by Angela, a tear rolled down Kateri's face. "I don't know if I'll ever be able to go back into that house, Billy.'
William took her hand in his. "Don't say that, Kat. You love that place. Don't let Harris take it from us."
She squeezed his hand. "I did, but..." she breathed deeply and let out a long, sad sigh. "I guess it'll take awhile to get past this, huh?"
William leaned his head on her shoulder. "I guess, but... we'll do it together."
Kat smiled. "We will." She leaned into him as well. "I don't think I can go in there until it's cleaned, though. Let's get something to eat, then go pick up a few things to get through the next few days. Maybe we could book a room at a nice hotel for a couple of days."
"Ok," William nodded. "I'm sure we could stay here, though, if you wanted."
Kat snickered. "I think we have enough on our plate right now, babe. We don't need to add the inevitable arguments with your mother. I think we need to just be together for a bit."
While Kateri dressed, William called her neighbor, Frank, and asked if he could go into the house and get Kateri's purse for them. He explained the legal situation to him and Frank not only agreed to get their purses, but to bring them to William's mother's house so that they wouldn't need to deal with even seeing the house until it had been returned to its normal state. He also said he'd have his son drive Kateri's car over so they'd have that as well.
By dinner time, they'd gone shopping, purchased enough clothes for a few days of work, some makeup and checked into a nice hotel downtown. At seven that evening, two chicken salads were delivered to the room and by seven forty five, they were in bed, exhausted.
Just as he was drifting off, William sensed a slight shaking from the other side of the bed. He listened to hear if Kateri was getting up, but just the gentle shaking continued.
William rolled over saw that his girlfriend was shaking and the shaking was becoming worse, nearly to the point of convulsing .
"Kat? Kat? Are you ok?"
"I... I don't know, Billy. I... I can't stop shaking!" She was obviously having a hard time speaking, too.
He wrapped his arms around her and tried to hold her, but she shook on.
Not knowing what else to do, he reached for the switch to turn on the bedside lamp. Almost immediately, Kateri's spasms stopped and she was able to calm down. Her breathing was still labored, but she was calming down.
"Are you ok?" William was very concerned. The last twenty four hours had been a torrent of emotions. He wasn't sure he could deal with having to have Kateri rushed to the hospital.
"I think so." She was still breathing heavily and her skin was shining with sweat.
"What happened?"
"I don't know. I... as soon as the lights went out, I was back in the house last night and that guy was there." She shook head. "God, I must be going crazy."
William spooned in beside her. "No. You're not crazy. I think it's just how trauma works. We can sleep with the lights on."
She shook her head. "No. It's too bright. I'll just turn on the light in the bathroom and leave that door open a little."
"I'll get it." William climbed out of bed and turned on the bathroom light, then closed the door until it was about eight inches open. "How's that?"
Kateri nodded. "I think I'll be ok like that."
It was a fitful night for both of them.
"What the hell are you two doing here!?" Loraine said in a shocked voice as she saw William and Kateri enter the offices. They were both dressed well, Kat in a new pair of tight fitting jeans and a simple top, William in a simple, dark blue shirt dress he'd found on sale, but both looked tired.
"Where else would we be?" Kateri asked, genuinely confused by her boss' question.
"In bed, or at least someplace else, recovering. Why on earth would either of come in today?"
"Because working is normal and normal is what we need right now," William said as he headed towards his office.
"How did you know what happened?" Kateri asked, realizing that the story on the news had not mentioned their names.
"Angie has been here for a while. She came in early to do something or other in accounting because she assumed that Billie wouldn't be here today. I think she just wanted to be sure that I knew that she could cover for Billie. To tell you the truth, I'm shocked that you are here. I can't believe that Harris took things so far, Kat. I'm so sorry."
"Yeah," Kateri nodded. "You should have been there Saturday night. We couldn't believe he was there, either."
Loraine shook her head. "Look, Kat, I know I've said a few harsh things to you lately, but... whatever you need... ok? If you need some time off or any help - you know, financially, or anything - just let me know. We're all here for you."
Kateri gave her a small smile. "Thanks, Loraine. Just... please... don't treat us like victims. Ok?"
"Of course," Loraine nodded. "In that case... get your lazy ass in there and get some work done."
Kateri laughed at that. "Thanks."
The work week seemed endless, but at least Kateri and William felt safe among their coworkers. Eventually, all of them learned of the harrowing evening the couple had experienced, but the people at Firefly were all nice enough to offer support, while still giving them the space they needed to heal and find their way back to normality.
It was finally Thursday that Kateri felt up to going back to her house.
"Look, before we go in," William said as they sat in the car in the driveway, "I am making a really nice salary, now. So, if you never want to go in there again, that's fine. We can afford to buy a new place."
"Thanks, babe," Kateri nodded. William could tell that her unease had been rising the whole time they'd been driving to the house. Then she let out a little laugh. "I wonder what the market value would be on a little craftsman style house with nice woodwork, renovated kitchen and the ghost of a dead intruder."
"It wouldn't matter," William said in all seriousness. "If you don't want to go in, you don't have to."
They sat and stared at the house for what felt like ten minutes until Kateri let out a big sigh and said, "Well... let's get this over with."
As they walked to the front door, they looked at the window that had been broken in the confrontation. The carpenter had done an excellent job and there was no sign that any confrontation had taken place.
They found the inside to be much the same. They knew that Harris had bled out right there by the front window, but there was no blood damage evident on the wall or the floor. The inexpensive rug from IKEA that had been in the living room had been thrown out. So had the broken coffee table, the wall mounted TV that Harris had shattered and a curio cabinet and the Hummel statuette's that it had contained, which Kateri had seen shattered on the floor the previous Saturday. All of those things were gone. Other than that, though, everything looked ok.
"No so bad, I guess," Kateri said at last, as she completed her inspection. "I guess the two most important things are still here and safe."
"What things are those?" William asked, looking around.
"You and me, babe. We're still here and we're still ok. That's all that matters." She put her arm around his shoulders. "What do you think? Can we move back in and be happy here?"
"We can," William smiled and hugged her. "Kat, I could be happy anywhere, as long as we're together."
"Hey! Can I come in?" Angela's voice came from the front door.
"Of course," Kateri called back. "We're in the kitchen."
When Angela entered, she was looking around and inspecting the house for signs of the attack. "Everything looks ok," she said, relieved. "Are you guys ok to stay here?"
"Yeah," Kateri nodded. "Yeah. I think we'll be alright."
Angela smiled. "Good. Umm... hey... I know that this has been a hard week and you haven't had the time to think about the last Fantasy Friday, so... come into the living room. I got something for both of you."
When they entered, they found two costume boxes on the couch. One marked 'Kat' and the other 'Willy.'
"Oh, Geez, Angie," William shook his head, "I don't know if we're up to dressing up tomorrow."
"Oh, come on," Angela sounded like a spoilt child, which, in many ways, she was, especially when she was dealing with her brother, who tended to always give in to her. "At least look at them."
"Alright," Kateri agreed, "but if Billy isn't up to it, then that's that. Ok?"
"Sure, sure," Angela agreed, readily. "Here. Stand by your box. When I count to three, pull off the top and see what I picked out for you."
William smiled at his sister's enthusiasm. No matter what was in the boxes, he already knew they'd be wearing it to work the next day.
"All set?" Angela asked.
"All set," Kateri and William responded
"Ok. One. Two. THREE!"
They pulled off the lids and saw the iconic costumes inside.
"Oh, wow!" Kateri shouted. "This is awesome!"
William looked at the layer after layer of gold material in his box and laughed. "You are hilarious, you know that?"
"Oh, come on, Willy!" Angela was immediately in brat mode again. "You'll wear it, won't you?"
"Of course I will," he chortled. He shook his head. "Remember back to just last month, when I was a normal, macho guy?" He asked, joking.
"No," both women replied in unison with no hint of humor in their voices.
"No, I suppose I don't, either." He kissed his sister's cheek. "Thanks, Angie. It's a great choice."
Being the last day of the February Fantasy Fridays celebrations, everyone at the office had gone a bit over the top. Several other men wore women's clothing, but none seemed to be as campy as they'd been at the beginning of the month. It seemed as if William's total conversion to a feminine ideal had inspired them to try their best as well. A couple, actually looked pretty good.
"Attention, everyone," Loraine said in a loud voice, as the staff assembled for lunch. "I just wanted to make a couple of announcements, today. First, starting Monday, our office space is being enlarged substantially. By the time we come back in on Monday, this wall will have been torn down and Firefly will occupy ALL of this floor. That means more work space for everyone and I know that is good news for a lot of you who have been pretty crowded for a long time."
There was a round of applause for this news.
"Secondly, as you know, there have always only been two partners here at Firefly - Tess and me. Well, for a lot of reasons, we have decided to elevate one more employee to the level of partner. I hope that you will join me in congratulating Billie - our new partner and head of accounting."
There was some applause, but there was also some confused muttering as music blared through the office PA system. As sound began to fill the area, the crowd applauded at the sight of Kateri entering from the right side of the room with a fur suit, a well made headpiece and a blue jacket, while William appeared from the left in the gold, sleeveless gown with the tiered, elaborate, multi-petticoated skirt. Just as Angela Lansbury's voice sang, "Tale as old as time..." they met in the middle of the pit and Kateri bowed as William curtsied deeply. Then she took him in her arms and they recreated the beautifully romantic dance from 'Beauty and The Beast.'
A few peopled 'Aww-ed' at the romantic moment, but most began applauding at how the couple had managed to own the moment.
They didn't continue dancing past the first verse, of course. Besides the fact that they would have been demanding a lot of time and attention from the colleagues who had been so good to them all week, but in the animated film, the couple doesn't dance for all that long. Instead, Kateri and William stopped and repeated the courtly bow and deep, feminine curtsy, which once again inspired some applause and the music faded out.
Laughing, Loraine said, "Well, that's not going to be easy to follow, but, as I was saying, Billie is now a partner along with Tess and me and I hope that you will all show her the same respect that you show to Tess and me."
"Better yet," Tess called from the side of the room, "show her a lot more than you show us!"
That elicited a big laugh from the staff.
Many colleagues came over to congratulate William, and many of the women came over just to touch the dress and wax rhapsodic about how they'd grown up longing to wear Belle's dress. They actually seemed almost envious of the small man's ability to look like such a perfect little princess in the gown.
For her part, Kateri moved to the side of the crowd, happy to see William smiling. It had been a long, long week, filled with emotional highs and low. This was nice and strangely normal - a bunch of nerdy people enjoying themselves, dressed in cosplay costumes and showering praise and affection on a quiet man in a gold ball gown. The head piece was hot, though, so she did pull that off as she poured herself a drink of soda and watched the goings on.
"Are you ok?" Tess said quietly to Kateri.
A little surprised that Tess had snuck up on her, Kateri smiled. "Yeah, I think we're both doing ok, now."
"I'm glad," Tess nodded. "You guys are a nice couple. I've been thinking about you all week. I hope that everything works out for you."
"That's nice," Kateri smiled. "Thanks, Tess."
They both stood in silence, watching William. God, he was just so adorable - accepting all the attention from the other women and enjoying the flattery. He was almost like a bride showing off her dress on her wedding day.
"Can I ask you a personal question?" Tess whispered.
"Sure."
"The dresses, the makeup, the perfume and jewelry... are you enjoying it?"
Kateri thought for a moment. "Yeah, I guess, but... it's Billy that I really enjoy. He's not like anyone I've ever been with before. He's smart and sweet and thoughtful... he's just... wonderful."
Tess nodded. "That's great. I'm glad you're happy."
After another moment or too, Tess whispered once more, "I know this is probably none of my business, but... what's it like to be with a man who's... well... who's got soft skin, and soft hair and smells of perfume? I'm used to my husband smelling of shaving cream and sweat. It must be nice to be with someone as concerned with beauty as you are."
Tess thought for a moment, then a broad smile formed on her lips. "Honestly? It's amazing. I've gotten to love the way he feels - his soft skin in soft clothes." She stared at her little beauty for a few seconds, then admitted, "And looking at him dressed like that... I can't wait to get him alone tonight and feel those petticoats underneath me. Honestly... there's nothing like it, Tess."
Author's Addendum: I'm going to take a little break from this story, but I will return to William and Kateri's story soon. I hope you've enjoyed it to this point. There is more to come. ~Clara.
Status - Hiatus
