Tribulation Bay Chapter NINE

Rachael put the box down and fished around in it until she came out with Clark's handgun, she then pulled back the hammer, aimed it at the raccoon and pulled the trigger-- the hammer came down with an irritatingly faint “click” when there should have a loud “bang”.

“I think you need this,” Clark held up the gun clip and waved it back and forth between his thumb and forefinger. There was a look of complete disbelief at Rachael for what she was doing.

“Gimme that!” Rachael grabbed at the clip and slid it into the handle of the gun and pulled the slide back so one of the bullets would enter the chamber.

“What do you think you're doing?” Dawn asked as she stepped between Rachael and the raccoon.

“Shooting a rabid rodent!” Rachael was still in control of the gun and had the raccoon's head in the gun's sight.

“It's not a rabid rodent; it's a pet. Now, put that gun away for crying out loud!” Dawn glare at Rachael, as she took the raccoon in her hands and it settled into a comfortable position unaware of the danger it was actually in.

“Rachael,” Clark put his hand in the barrel of the gun and felt around for the safety to stop her from being able to pull the trigger. “It's not like that large rabid raccoon we had to shoot the other night because it was coming after us with a vengeance.”

“It's my pet,” Dawn yelped, as she began to pet the raccoon, “you were about to shoot my pet!”

“Ugh!” The gun found its way out of Rachael's hands back into Clark's, then looked at the raccoon in disgust. “Whatever!”

“Listen, it's been a long couple of days,” Clark pulled out the clip and ejected what was in the chamber, “we both need time to detoxify from the last few days.”

“And,” Cordelia said as she came up from behind the trio, “I know the perfect way to do that. A private beach party!”

“Cordelia,” Dawn said, “it's below 15º out, you know that right? We'll be out in our parkas while having a beach party.”

“Just...” Rachael stare at Cordelia as she shook her head, “...who are you anyway?”

“Oh, I'm Cordelia Rhodes, I'm friends with your sister.”

“Of course you are,” Rachael mumbled, “which means we'll be seeing a lot of you.”

“Of course you will,” Cordelia said very enthusiastically as a smile came to her face.

“Of course we will,” Rachael parroted a lot less enthusiastically and a frown came to hers.

“You seem to have taken an instant dislike to me,” Cordelia observed, “why is that? Was it something I said?”

“It's not what you said,” Clark said, “it's what I said.”

“And what did you say?” Cordelia looked at Clark curiously.

“That you're a perfect 10!”

“That's what set you off?” Cordelia looked at Rachael. “You're not too far away from being a 10 yourself.”

“Not too far,” Rachael stressed, “but just not close enough either!”

“I don't think that's what she meant!” Clark said, then turned to Dawn. “Which rooms are ours?”

“It's just one room, mom decided to let you two share a single room.”

“Lovely,” Rachael grunted out as Dawn lead them up to their room, was one queen sized bed and a window that looked out at the beach just a few yards away. Dawn left them to be by themselves.

“What's gotten into you?” Clark asked as Dawn closed the door behind her. “Not 20 minutes ago you were all bright and cheery, now you're as moody as anything. And don't say it's got to do with what I said about Cordelia.”

“You said it yourself,” Rachael said, “the past few days have been toxic for the both of us, and you calling her a perfect 10 was just the very straw that set me off for a minute.”

“About you almost shooting Dawn's pet raccoon, I think you should apologize to her for that.”

---

Dawn scooped Bandit back up into her arms as she stormed towards her parents. “Did you see what she tried to do?”

“I saw,” Andrew said as he gave Bandit a gentle pet, “but how much foreknowledge did she have that you had a pet raccoon?”

“None, I guess.” Dawn frowned.

“And after her dealing with a giant rabid raccoon back in Philly, and many of those days being toxic to both of them and the fact that Rachael hadn't taken her medication during that time, all of that added up.” Carolyn said.

“How do you know she hasn't been taking them?” Andrew asked.

“Because, I have her bottle of pills in my hand,” Carolyn held up the pill bottle of so Andrew could see it, “we forgot to make sure she had them when we left her back in Philly.”

“And basically,” Dawn concluded, “with Rachael off her meds, she's having one of her weird anxiety attacks.”

---

Clark stood at the window and took in the view, which was of the tiny beach. He estimated that he could see the sunrise from the balcony pretty much every morning. Rachael picked her side of the bed which allowed her to sleep facing away from the window and lay there on her side facing away from Clark.

“You can't beat the view,” Clark watched the waves gently beat along the beach, “I can say that much.”

“If you say so,” Rachael sighed.

“What is wrong with you?”

“Nothing. Everything. It doesn't even matter.”

Clark gave Rachael a look and was about to say something when he heard a gentle knock on the door. “Come in.”

Carolyn opened the door and stepped in, holding the little bottle of pills. “We forgot to give you these the other day.”

“What are they?” Clark asked.

“Just medication that helps her control her anxiety and mild depression,”

“Must you tell him that bit?” Rachael didn't look up from her laying position but turned her face so it went deep into the pillow.

“Rachael,” Clark sat on the side of the bed next to Rachael, “We're working on spending our lives together and this is exactly the kind of stuff I'm going to need to know.”

“I guess you're right,” Rachael muttered into the pillow.

“You know he's right,” Carolyn said as she opened the bottle of pills and dumped out the required dose, “now take these.”

“How long will it take before they affect her?”

“Taking these isn't like taking an aspirin, there's no immediate effect,” Carolyn watched Rachael take her pills, “but it has its effect over time.”

“I see.”

“And there is an exercise she is supposed to be doing,”

“Oh, not that stupid breathing exercise,” Rachael groaned, “I feel so silly doing it!”

“What is this breathing exercise?”

“It's just some silly routine,” Rachael quickly said.

“It's just a simple breathing exercise that helps you stay grounded and you can do at any time you have the need to.” Carolyn encouraged Rachael to sit up along the edge of the bed.

“Alright,” Rachael reluctantly sat on the edge of the bed.

“Plant your feet on the ground, put your hands on your knees, then breathe in through the nose, hold it there for a minute, then let the air out through your mouth. And repeat a few times.”

“It is relaxing,” Clark said as he found himself doing.

“It's stupid!” Rachael barked as she settled back into bed. “What I really need is a couple of hours of sleep.”

“Fine,” Clark said, “get some sleep. I'll start unloading the truck.”

“Is there anything in the truck that won't keep until tomorrow?” Carolyn asked.

“Not really,” Clark shrugged.

“Everything will still be in that truck in the morning then,”

“But it's only 3:00 in the afternoon.”

“But we did have a long toxic weekend,” Rachael reminded Clark, “just lay down next to me in the bed and sleep with me.”

Clark began to chuckle.

“That so did not come out right!” Rachael muttered.

“That came out perfectly fine,” Carolyn said, “you're an adult, with adult needs.”

“I know that, but...” Rachael began.

“Just because we're sleeping together, doesn't mean we're SLEEPING together.”

“I know that!” Rachael groaned out.

---

Dawn sat in the living room next to the fireplace with Bandit cuddled up next to her enjoying the warmth of the fire. Carolyn came down the steps and took one look at the raccoon.

“I thought I told you I don't want to see that thing in this house!” Carolyn barked.

“Come on mom, it's 15° out, feels like it's -10.” Dawn looked at her mother.

“That thing is a wild animal!”

Dawn looked at Bandit, who was sound asleep. “Does he look like he's being wild?”

“I guess not. But he'll still be better off outside.”

“If we're cold, they're cold. Isn't that how the saying goes?”

“Oh,” Carolyn knew she wasn't going to win, “just until this cold snap gives way.”

“Which may not be for a few weeks,” Dawn muttered.

“Is Cordelia still around?”

Dawn shrugged. “Why do you want to know?”

“So, I know how many people to prepare dinner for.”

“Will dumb-dumb and Clark be joining us?”

“Don't call your sister that, you know better,” Carolyn scolded, “and the answer is no. They both need some extra sleep.”

“I see,” Dawn looked out the window towards Clark's truck, someone was messing around with Clark's truck. “HEY!”

“What's the matter?” Carolyn looked out the window to see Clark's truck moving without a driver. “Oh Lord!”

Dawn raced out the door towards the door, being on the high school track team back in Philly had its benefits, but she wasn't fast enough to catch up with it before it went over the low cliff, towards the beach where Cordelia was standing. “LOOK OUT!”

Cordelia looked up just in time to see the truck going over the edge straight at her....