Samantha was there alone...

I found out that Samantha had posted a poem thanking me for phoning the hospital when she and Stacey were hurt. The truth was that I hadn't been too happy about that. It happened right after I'd gone to Hell to help rescue Percy from what they used to call a fate worse than death - though he'd have been dead fast enough if he'd stayed there.

( gig )

I'd phoned Samantha and Stacey to tell them exactly what I thought of them for not turning up and when I'd kept on getting the answering machine I'd been angry enough to go to the apartment. Nobody came to the door but I'd sensed someone inside, possibly hurt. Samantha would have been wearing charms that made her mind almost invisible to me, anyway - and that is one damned creepy feeling even once you know what's causing it. By then I'd just run out of patience. I'd dialed 991 from a store and gone away to see my own healer.

I hadn't heard how bad it was until afterwards, and then I hadn't gone to see her. Sometimes a medley will have a wrong feeling built right into it from the start - the best thing to do then is take notice and steer clear. However, I'd heard that she'd moved into Joan's place after she was discharged from hospital. I was passing anyway and just dropped in to see how they were.

Samantha was there alone - and it was just as well. Joan's place turned out to be so small that I felt as though I was wearing it. Every time I moved there seemed to be something in the way. Samantha was wandering around looking worried, and Xena was underfoot - except when I tried to sit down and found the cat had got on the chair first.

Apparently, the two women were trying to share a place the size of an understudy's dressing room so that Joan could protect Samantha from the thugs that had beaten her badly enough to put her in hospital. Now that Joan and Astraeia had gone to rescue Willy and Grant from some kind of cult leader in LA. Samantha was there alone and sick with worry.

There wasn't a thing we could do to help, either. Casting anything or even trying to check on them could have messed up whatever they were doing. We had nothing to do but wait. I hate that. It was already fraying Samantha's nerves, too - so I talked her into coming dancing.