On Hallowed Ground, Chapter 8 - Xena

[calliopes_muse]

AUTHOR'S NOTE: So, I'm a little late doing this.  This was submitted for Ralst's Epic Proportions challenge.  I thought I'd do a little self-pimping.  This is more or less an original fic that I have been meaning to write for a long time, but I used the basic charactistics of Xena and Gabrielle for our main characters.
AUTHOR'S NOTE 2:  I will post this in chapters for those who like it that way, but the link to the full story is below.
THANKS: To my primary beta, Sofia Lindsay, for listening to my insecurities and reading and re-reading this fic. It wouldn’t have been done had she not poked the daylights out of me. That sounded very wrong! Also, thanks to my secondary betas on this fic, Darkbardzero and Sinjenkai. Last but not least, to my partner Michelle for puttng up with my late nights working on this.

SUMMARY: Young and ambitious journalist Riley Jacobsen returns home to Alabama for an undercover story on her town’s former church and opens the door to more than she ever expected.

RATING: Mature, for descriptions of violence, abuse, and f/f sex.

CHALLENGE: Submitted as part of the Epic Proportions challenge.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.

©April 2009

Feedback is crack, folks.  Let me know what you think.

ON HALLOWED GROUND (link to full story)

By Calliope’s Muse

 

CHAPTER 8

 

While the dark suit was looser than it had been before, Sam felt constricted and suffocated in it. It wasn’t her style, but fortunately, the will reading wouldn’t take long. John sat next to her in the matching high back chair in his standard dark suit and red tie. His “power suit” as he called it. Ironic that it was the suit he always wore for his Sunday sermons. The only thing that would change would be his ties – the design would be different, but they all had red in them. Funny the things she noticed now about John that never occurred to her before.

 

The lawyer and his secretary entered, shook their hands, and sat behind the enormous mahogany desk. John commented on its ornate design, softening up another potential supporter. The lawyer held back a smile but was clearly pleased that John noticed.

 

“Thank you, it was a hand-crafted desk imported from Italy.”

 

Sam cleared her throat, not wanting to prolong this anymore, “Yes, let’s get started.”

 

He shuffled some papers and pulled out the primary document, “I, Reverend John Isaac Porter, Sr., being of sound mind and body do by bequeath the family home and church to my son, John Isaac Porter, Jr. To my daughter, Samantha Renee Porter, I bequeath all of my financial earnings, life insurance, and equity in sold property. Both of my children are entitled to do with these matters as they see fit.”

 

Sam chanced a glance at John, his jaw clenched. Sam fought back a smile. The lawyer shuffled a few more papers.

 

“Miss Porter, I have documents on the current financial standing of your father. There was little in earnings to pass along, except a small standard savings account and a CD that has steadily earned equity. However, it looks like your father played it safe with his investments so the total earnings on this were small around…$20,000.”

 

Sam heard John fight back a snicker next to her and she dug her nails into her palm to stop from smacking him right there in the lawyer’s office.

 

“The life insurance policy, on the other hand, was one of the largest I’ve ever seen. He, apparently, took out a policy that maxed out at $500,000.”

 

Sam gripped the arm of her chair, “What the…? Are you kidding me?”

 

“No, I don’t kid my clients about money.”

 

“Holy shit!” The lawyer reached across his desk, a white envelope in hand.

 

“He also left this for you. Only to be opened in the event of his death.” Sam took it without saying a word.

 

John squeaked out, “What does it say?”

 

“I don’t know. There were explicit instructions that no one was to open the letter except your sister.”

 

The remainder of the session passed by in a blur. Sam refused to open the letter in front of John. When it was over, she raced to her car and got home easily ten minutes before her brother. She picked up the mail on the floor, extracting what looked like a personal letter for her, before heading upstairs. She stripped and got into a pair of shorts and tank top before opening the letter.

 

My Dearest Samantha,

 

If you’re reading this, then I guess I’m dead. Don’t worry about that though now. I’m going to make this quick. By now, you know about the insurance policy I took out and how much it’s worth. Whatever you do, do NOT let John get a hold of the money in this policy. As much as I loved him because he is my son and my blood, he’s toxic. He had a volatile and hostile streak a mile long and unfortunately, I covered for him too many times. I can only guess that he’s made the past few years horrible for you. I want you to take this money, pay off whatever debt you have, and start over. Anywhere you want to go, anything you want to do, just be happy and free. I know that you are meant for so much more than this town. Do something amazing!

 

I will love you always,

Your Father

 

P.S. See you on the other side, sweetie.

 

By the time she got to the end, she couldn’t see the words on the page for the tears in her eyes. She heard the door slam downstairs and quickly she hid the letter in the back corner of her closet.

 

John came bursting through the door, the veins in his head threatening to pop from the anger pumping through him, “Where is it? What did he say?”

 

“Get out! This is none of your business anymore.”

 

“Like hell it isn’t.” He stepped forward menacingly, and Sam dropped back automatically into the stance Riley had shown her.

 

John started to laugh, “Oh, what’s this? Your girlfriend show you some moves that didn’t involve dry humpin’ on the sofa?”

 

Sam wouldn’t let him get to her. She smiled, “At least I got laid. All you got was drunk.”

 

He barreled at her full force and she easily side-stepped him. She felt the rush of adrenaline in her veins and fought the impulse to take him on, but her logical side knew she wouldn’t win that battle. Instead, she stepped back out of his reach, gaining a moment to think.

 

He made a move to come after her again. She held up her hand, “Don’t even think about it. Right now, you really don’t need assault added to your record. Imagine what that would do to your precious program.”

 

He glared at her, “You wouldn’t.”

 

She stood up straighter, “Oh yes I would. You don’t have power over me anymore, John. The days of being your personal punching bag are over.”

 

John gathered himself, sneering at her, “Fine, go ahead. Run off and play the carpetmunch game with her. She doesn’t give a shit about you, you know that right? If she had, she wouldn’t have lied to you in the first place.”

 

She stopped him as he headed out the door, “This isn’t about Riley. Just to clue you in, John, I’ve always been gay, and I always knew it deep down. I didn’t have words for it when I was a kid, but I learned quick that night Riley’s mom came to see Dad. I also learned real quick to keep it to myself. With or without Riley, I would still be walking out this door eventually.”

 

He simply looked her up and down, a look on his face that was hard to discern, before turning and leaving. Sam flopped down on her bed, the fight completely gone from her. She felt an envelope underneath her and pulled it out. It was the mail she had gotten earlier.

 

She rolled over and ripped it open. Inside was a plane ticket, what appeared to be an invitation, and a short letter.

 

“What the…?”

 

Sam,

I know you don’t know me, but my name is Al Perkins and I work with Riley at the paper. She misses you. She won’t admit how much this is bothering her, but I can tell you that she’s not herself. She’s being honored for her work on the article about your family’s ex-gay camp at a banquet in two weeks. She’s waited her whole life for a moment like this, but she doesn’t even want to go. What does that tell you? Please, come to Chicago. I’ve included a plane ticket and an invitation. A room is reserved in my name at The Omni. I hope you will come.

-Al

 

“Well, this day is getting crazier and crazier.” She looked at the invitation and crawled over to her closet and pulled out her dad’s letter. “This can’t all be some weird coincidence. This has to mean something.” She looked up at the ceiling, “Right?”

 

*********

 

Sam was restless. She couldn’t sleep, and she kept getting up and re-reading the letter from her father and the mail from Riley’s friend, Al. Eventually, she gave up and decided one way or another she had to make a move. The door was wide open and there was nothing to stop her now, so she took it.

 

Slipping on some shorts, she tiptoed quietly downstairs. It was a little after midnight so John was probably passed out in his bed. It occurred to her that she’d never have to live like this again if she left, sneaking around so John wouldn’t hear her so she wouldn’t incur his wrath. The thought made her smile and she grabbed the keys to the church with a little pep in her step.

 

She followed the path of the flashlight in front of her until she got to the backdoor of the fellowship hall.

 

“Hey.” Sam nearly jumped out of her skin at the voice behind her.

 

“Bobby! What are you doing here? It’s the middle of the night.” He stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets.

 

“I was going to ask you the same thing.”

 

“Well, I do live here…for now. You don’t, so why are you hanging out behind my house. That’s kind of creepy.” Sam leaned against the metal door as Bobby mirrored her and leaned against a tree.

 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare ya. I was just…thinking.” Sam shuffled a foot nervously. She didn’t really want to have this conversation with him, but apparently, it was inevitable.

 

“About?”

 

“You…me. So much of it makes sense now.” Sam let out a sigh she didn’t realize she had been holding. She thought she was going to have to fess up to him about why they really broke up, but someone had already taken care of it.

 

“Who told you?”

 

Bobby motioned to the top floor of her house, “Who else?”

 

“Figures.”

 

He shrugged at her, “Don’t worry. It was just me he said it to. He never did like me that much, even though he pretended to, so I think he got a charge out of rubbing it in.”

 

Sam put her head back against the cold metal, “Bobby, I’m sorry. I should have told you the truth. I was still figuring everything out, and I had to be sure.”

 

“Hmmmm, so it is true. It wasn’t just the drunken ramblings of your crazy brother.”

 

She looked down at the ground before looking back up to meet his eyes, making sure he had no doubts, “No, it’s definitely true.”

 

Bobby took a deep breath and smiled at her unconvincingly, “So, I guess you’re leaving to be with her?”

 

She chuckled a little at the thought, “No…I’m…I’m just going. I’m not sure what’s going to happen, but I have to leave. I can’t stay here.”

 

“I understand.” She saw the sadness, and something else, perhaps envy, in his eyes.  He did understand, probably better than most around here, that’s there’s a larger world out there for her with so much potential for her.

 

She pushed off the door and motioned with her head to the doors, “Mind helping me get some boxes out?”

 

He smiled for real this time, “Sure.”

 

********

 

The sun had been up for a little over an hour when Bobby pushed the last of the boxes against the wall of Sam’s room. He stood up and dusted off his hands, stepping back to stand next to her in the nearly empty room. Her whole life was in those boxes. It was amazing how little can constitute a life when you see it all so neatly tucked away.

 

“You okay?” He bumped her with his shoulder.

 

“Yeah, I think so. I’m really scared. I haven’t even traveled outside of the state before and now I’m moving, like…far away.” They had talked about a lot of things during the night. Mostly about all the good times they had together and some about Sam and Riley. To her surprise, Bobby dealt with the conversation very well. He even asked a couple of questions about Riley. They never did talk though about what she was going to do or where she was going. In her mind, it was a foregone conclusion and not one she had to think about much.

 

“So, where are you going anyway?”

 

“Chicago.”  His eyebrows rose at that.

 

“So, you are going to be with her.”

 

Sam sighed and sat on her bed, “No. I’m going to see her, yes, but not be with her. We have unfinished business. What happens after that…well, a lot depends on what she says.”

 

Bobby was about to say something when sirens started coming down the street. They looked at each other curiously and then went to the window to look out. A lone police car was pulling into the driveway.

 

“What in the world is this about?”

 

Sam shrugged, “I have no idea.”

 

She went down the stairs before she heard the knock. The officer only got one knock out before she pulled it open.

 

“Ryan, what’s going on?” The cop was a member of their church, not a regular one because of his work schedule though.

 

“Hey Sam.  Is John home?”

 

“Yeah, I think he’s asleep. Why?” He looked at her sadly.

 

“I’m afraid he’s under arrest.” In spite of what had transpired between her and her brother yesterday, she was still shocked to see cops at the door calling for his arrest.

 

“What for? What are the charges?”

 

He looked around as neighbors started coming out of their houses to see what was going on, “Maybe we should talk about this inside.”

 

“Yeah, sure.” She stepped aside to let Ryan in.

 

“The family of Phillip Dwyer demanded access to his full autopsy report and they found that he had been severely beaten during his time here.” Sam put her hand to her mouth.

 

“What?”

 

“And it was obviously covered up because if we had seen that report at the station, you could bet there’d be some investigatin’ goin’ on.”

 

Sam looked to Bobby who was holding back his own form of shock, “And they think that John had something to do with it?”

 

“If he didn’t do it himself, he was at least involved somehow.”

 

“Why do they think that?” John’s voice came down the stairs.

 

Ryan turned and reached for his handcuffs to get ready to arrest John, “Because your fingerprints were found on his body, most notably…around his neck. Now, turn around. Let’s make this easy.”

 

John went without a fuss as Ryan read him his rights. Bobby turned to Sam who was still stunned.

 

“Do you want me to drive you to the station?”

 

She shook her head, “Um, yeah…sure.”

 

An hour later, Sam sat at a table in the Birmingham metro jail listening to John’s lawyer explain the charges and the evidence. She had to admit that it was pretty damning evidence. There was even a whip found in a box in their shed with blood and skin tissue on it. Sometime tomorrow, they should know if it matched Phillip’s DNA. Deep inside, Sam had little doubt that it would. She had seen the monster in John, witnessed it first hand. Now the rest of the world would see it too.

 

The lawyer walked her out of the jail. John had made a point to tell him about the insurance money from their father and insist that he convince Sam to post his bail. He made the suggestion, but made no push for her to do it, which she made clear she had no intentions of doing. It was moments like this of defending the most baseless of humans that made him hate his job.

 

Sam, on the other hand, was going home to sleep and to think. The last 72 hours had been some of the most emotionally draining of her life, right next to the moment she found out Riley had lied to her. When she crawled into bed, she slept for what felt like the first time in weeks.

 

********

 

Riley adjusted her skirt for the third time and reapplied her lipstick because she kept chewing it off. She looked in the mirror again and she almost didn’t recognize her own face. The dark circles wouldn’t seem to go away no matter how much Al’s wife, Patti, tried to cover them with concealer. In a couple of hours though, it would all be over and she could change back into the jeans she brought to work with her and head out for a mind-numbing drink alone. Al and Patti had tried to convince her to go out with them, but she knew she wasn’t good company now and didn’t want to ruin their night.

 

All told it had been about a month, actually 28 days, 12 hours and 33 minutes, since she had left Alabama, but who was counting? Every night though she dreamed of Sam and it was taking a toll on her. Al had even offered to buy her a plane ticket to go back so they could work things out, but Riley refused it. She had cause Sam enough pain and she was pretty sure with turning her brother over to the police that she wasn’t high on Sam’s must-see list.

 

The trio slid into the car, with Al and Patti up front, “Did you bring your acceptance speech with you?”

 

She pulled a set of notecards from her purse and waved them at the rearview mirror. “Good girl!”

 

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s just go already so we can get this dog and pony show over with, ‘kay?” The couple exchanged looks but left it alone.

 

When they arrived, the valet took the car and they entered The Omni Hotel and took the escalator to the ballroom upstairs. Riley felt terribly out of place with the wall-to-wall monkey suits around her. There were faces she had only seen on the news watching her and she rubbed at the collar of the lapel of her suit.

 

“I hate this,” Riley mumbled to Patti.

 

“I know it’s not your cup of tea, honey. But think about it? You are being honored for all your hard work.”

 

“I can’t believe it was even noticed. It wasn’t that great!”

 

Patti fused at her bleached blonde hair, before glaring at the taller woman, “Now you stop it. You hear me? Look around you. There are some wonderfully talented people here tonight, people that you’ve put to shame with that article. They’re worried about the next Brangelina and you’re writing about these huge social issues. Hold your head up. They can only wish they had half your talent.”

 

Riley sighed as the words of encouragement deflated her, “I know. You’re right! I just hate the way it all went down. It wasn’t supposed to happen like that. I was a complete ass.”

 

The blonde rubbed her arm motherly, “I know, but it’ll all work out somehow. It’ll get better. You’ll see.”

 

Al came back from the sign-in table with badges and drink passes, “Here you go, ladies. Ready?”

 

They found their table near the front of the room.  Jack and his current girlfriend, Roxie…Roxanne, Riley really couldn’t remember for sure, were already seated at the table. Roxie was already pretty inebriated, but Jack didn’t seem to mind in the least. Since Riley had come back with a gym membership in tow, Jack had quit the cigars and started working out. That’s where he met Roxie…Roxanne…whatever. She was an aerobics instructor at the gym.

 

Riley chuckled at her boss as she sipped her wine. The head of the national and regional journalist association came up to speak. A couple of other awards were handed out, including one to Jack for his innovative, socially-conscious stories. Jack was the lead in to Riley’s award and when she saw the balding man head up the dais, her hands started to sweat.

 

She took a deep breath, “I can do this. I can.”

 

When her name was called and the crowd erupted into applause, she slid her chair out and carefully made her way up to the podium. Please God, don’t let me trip. Turning, she squinted into the bright lights shining in her eyes. Looking down, her eyes went wide with fear. Shit! The notecards!

 

She closed her eyes and wished she could teleport herself out of there like they do on Star Trek. When she opened them, she couldn’t believe her eyes. Leaning against the wall in the back of the room, in a green dress and heels, her blonde hair pulled up but pieces falling in curls around her face, was Sam. She swore everyone in the room must have left because all she could see was Sam and all she could hear was her own heartbeat thumping steadily faster against her chest.

 

Sam tilted her head to the side a little and she smirked at the stunned brunette.

 

For Sam’s part, she deliberately had shown up late so she could slip in the back quietly and leave again if it was too hard to be there. When Riley made eye contact with her though, she became permanently rooted to the floor. It was like the world stopped spinning for a moment and the only people there were the two of them. She tilted her head and stared up at the dumbstruck look on Riley’s face while she fought back a laugh at catching her off guard.

 

While Riley tried to gather her wits to speak, Sam took a good look at her. She was thinner and she looked tired, but even then, Sam couldn’t help but admit that she was the most astonishingly beautiful woman she’d ever seen. The sides of her hair were pulled up in a simple barrette while the remainder cascaded down around her neck and shoulders in loose curls. Sam flexed her fingers at the immediate need to run her fingers through the dark hair. Riley wore a simple dark suit with a white blouse underneath, unbuttoned far enough to tempt, but not enough to show anything.

 

Sam sighed and wondered for the first time if coming here was the best idea. It took all her will power not to race to the podium and smother Riley in a kiss.

 

Riley cleared her throat and shifted the microphone, “Thank you all for this honor tonight. It’s amazing to stand here before people I’ve only heard about or seen on television, and be recognized as a member of this community of professionals. However, this award isn’t about me or even Jack’s paper. This is about telling the truth, telling it in all of its sometimes ugly and complicated ways. It strikes me as odd that journalism is supposed to be about revealing the truth in our world, even if and especially when, we don’t like to hear it, yet here I am tonight being honored for getting a story dishonestly.”

 

She looked up and saw Jack and Al exchange a concerned look, and when she caught Sam’s unflinching eyes burning into her, she decided the only way to see this through was to barrel right on through.

 

“Don’t misunderstand me. The story’s real, the people are real, the situations are horrifyingly real, but to gain the truth, I lied about me and about who I am and mostly about what I feel. I pushed on with the lies even when I knew the results were going to cause others pain, and that was inexcusable. It certainly wasn’t professional, and it was barely human. I told lies and I kept telling lies to get the story, and I hurt someone very important to me, someone I had come to…love. I hope she can forgive me because I’m finding it hard to forgive myself.”

 

She smiled up at Sam, her hands shaking with the confession, and Sam matched her look, tears shimmering in her eyes.

 

“So, this award isn’t about me or the paper or even journalism. It’s about the truth. It’s about facing the truth and all its consequences, being true to yourself and honoring the love you have for others. If that’s the case, then this award belongs to every young man and woman, like Phillip Dwyer and Samantha Porter, who dared to tell their truth and faced the consequences. Thank you.”

 

Riley stepped away from the podium, the silence deafening in the large room, until slowly claps started from all over the room, eventually melting into a roaring applause and standing ovation. She stepped down, but instead of going back to her table, she walked to the back of the room.

 

She smiled at Sam and brushed a tear from her cheek, “I’m tired of making you cry. I need to stop doing that.”

 

“Yeah, you do, but we have a lot of time for you to make it up to me.” Sam stepped up to Riley, put her arms around her neck and pulled her down into a deep kiss.