The Daily Dormouse. (aka Bike, est. 2007) Part 2571 by Angharad Copyright© 2015 Angharad

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This is a work of fiction any mention of real people, places or institutions is purely coincidental and does not imply that they are as suggested in the story.
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Bleary eyed I did my stint watching James. His temperature and blood pressure were pretty well normal and his colour looked better as well. I gave him a little drink and he looked at me in confusion. “What are you doing here?” he said to me.

At stupid o’clock in the wee sma’ ’oors I am rarely at my most scintillating, especially wearing a jogging suit over my jammies and ugg boots. “I live here,” was my honest if unoriginal reply.

“No, this is my house, what are you doing here?”

“Jim, you’re not at home, you’re here in my house—you were stabbed and the knife was poisoned—you’ve been very ill, remember?”

“You’re lying,” he snapped and jumping out of bed grabbed me firmly on the jaw and back of my head and twisted violently. As I felt myself slipping into oblivion he let me drop—and I woke with a pain in the neck having fallen off the chair while sitting in with him.

He stirred and I offered him a drink which he took. “What are you doing here?” he asked and my tummy flipped.

“James, it’s me Cathy, remember?”

“Cathy? Cathy who?”

“Cameron, remember you work for me occasionally?”

“Do I? I can’t remember.”

This was going swimmingly. “You were tailing someone and you got stabbed. Remember that?”

“No.”

“You remember who you are?”

“Of course I do.”

“Who are you then?”

“James Beck, who’d ya think I was?”

“Jim. I know who you are, I’ve been nursing you for the last couple of days since you got stabbed—the blade was infected with some strange bug which nearly killed you. Stella had to get antibiotics from the hospital for you.”

“Did she?”

“You don’t believe me do you?”

“No. You’re lying.” He got out of the bed and I felt my life pass before me. “Where’s the toilet?”

“Across the landing where it’s always been.” I allowed him a very wide berth and he walked past me and into the loo.

I watched from the bedroom and just as the toilet door opened Trish wandered out from her bedroom. “What time is it?” she asked as Jim emerged from the loo. “Hi, Jim,” she said yawning.

He looked curiously at her then lunged and grabbed her she shrieked and brought her elbow back into his groin and he turned to shake her giving me a moment to attack. This man was friend, he’d saved my life but he was acting very strangely and worse he was threatening my child. I simply threw myself at him shouting as I did. In the melee he released Trish as the two of us went sprawling into the toilet finally ending with him being knocked out as his head hit the side of the loo, me landing on top of him.

Simon came lumbering out of our room, Trish was hysterical and he went to hug her and in her panic she punched him in the goolies and he sank down to his knees gasping for air. “Sorry, Daddy,” she squealed while I tried to disentangle myself from Jim’s inert body.

Julie and Phoebe emerged asking what was going on. I had a nasty bruise on my arm and hip from landing on Jim. His head was bleeding slightly and he was groaning. “What the hell happened?” he asked as he tried to sit up. “You okay, Si?” he mumbled seeing Simon walking around on his toes trying to get his breath. “Cathy, what happened?”

“You attacked Trish so I attacked you?”

“What? You’re joking—I wouldn’t hurt anyone’s kids, especially yours.”

“You did you big ape,” shouted Trish which brought the remaining members of the family from their beds.

A yawning Stella checked all the combatants over and pronounced us well enough to go back to bed. She went back to hers laughing at the story of Trish decking her dad. I don’t think Si found it very funny, however he managed to follow us down to the kitchen for a cuppa—that was James, Trish, Julie and I. Tea is described as the cup that cheers, I think that might have been a slight exaggeration this time but it helped everyone deal with the recent trauma.

James suggested he felt like he was in a dream grabbing a small robot when someone knocked him flying and he felt a blow to the side of his head. Si sat there sipping tea and shaking his head. He watched Jim holding an ice pack to his injured bonce and I felt glad he was there in case Jim went sleep walking again.

Trish had some milk and I sent her back to bed. Julie finished her tea and went off to complete her beauty sleep while Simon, Jim and I talked. Jim had no recollection of what had happened regarding the stabbing or his subsequent illness. He looked concerned and times frightened. “Geez, Cathy, that’s scary stuff. I don’t remember a damned thing. Not a thing.”

“Well I’m going back to bed, I suggest you both do the same,” I said rising from the table. It was three o’clock and I felt shattered. When I pretended to make amorous overtures to Si, he didn’t think it was very funny.

“How would you feel if you got punched in the tit and I wanted sex?”

“Okay, you’ve made your point, night night,” I said rolling over onto my side.

“God that girl packs a punch,” he grumbled moving very gingerly into the back of me while I lay there trying not to laugh. Mind you it was quite a thump she gave him, though he did startle her. Then again Jim’s credibility is going to be shaky getting knocked out by a woman.

It was with difficulty that I awoke the next morning. It was a Saturday and Danni Trish were supposed to be playing football for the school at ten. I glanced at the time it was eight thirty. I practically flew out of bed and into the shower remembering the antics in the night as I felt the warm water spraying over my various bruises. They hurt.

The two soccer stars were checking their kit when I crawled into the kitchen to make some tea and piece of toast. “Oh you are up, then?”

“Don’t pick on Mummy,” Trish chided her sister.

“What happened last night?” asked Danni.

“Jim went all strange and grabbed me an’ Mummy dived on him, knocked him out.”

“Wow, really—she took Jim out—like wow and double wow.”

“I had softened him up by elbowing his goolies and Mummy took him down.”

“What happened to Daddy?” Danni asked.

“Um,” blushed Trish.

“Trish punched him in the groin.”

“What for?” Danni was agog.

“Well I didn’t know it was him, did I? Coulda been anyone.”

“C’mon, let’s get you to school.”