My Split Conference

Jordan knocked on the door, her mood foul and her attitude even worse. When the door didn't promptly open, she banged harder.

"Just a second; I'm coming! I've got a kid asleep in…"

A shrill wail filled the air, and Jordan heard a grunt and a moan from behind the door.

"One more minute," Elliot called. She'd just gotten Jack to sleep too. Sighing, she resigned herself to the awoken toddler and glanced at the clock. It was only ten-thirty at night.

Elliot scooped the small boy into her arms, mussing his blond hair soothingly. Exhausted tears ran down Jack's face as he wearily wrapped his arms around her neck.

"Blondie, if you don't open this door in the next minute, I'm going to break it down with my shoe and then beat you with the splinters!"

"Hold on!" Elliot blew a piece of hair from her face. "You demonic woman," she muttered under her breath. Hitching Jack on her hip for better balance, Elliot finally yanked open the door.

Jordan looked at her son, whose face was still slightly red and tear-stained. "What are you doing to him; beating him?"

Elliot glared at her. "He was asleep until some banshee started screeching at my door," she hissed back.

"You really don't want to tango with me right now, princess," Jordan replied with a steely grin.

A frayed temper and lack of patience began to wear on Elliot's nerves as she didn't back down from her glare. She had stood up to Dr. Cox; surely Jordan wasn't any different?

"Just give me Jack and we'll be off," Jordan snapped wearily.

Jack tugged his arms tighter. He was tired. He raised a wet glare to his mother and decided petulance was the only option at this point.

Elliot began to hand the child to his mother, but Jack squeezed his arms harder around her neck.

"Come on, Jacky," Jordan said as soothingly as possible, but the hard note still hadn't left her voice. She began to pry his arms from Elliot's neck.

And then Jack began to scream again.

"He'll tire himself out," Jordan reminded Elliot, who looked like she was about to cave in as it was. She slipped her hands over Jack's arms again, feeling Elliot stiffen as the space between them grew closer. "Oh, stop it, precious. I don't bite."

Elliot snorted at that as Jack cried. "He can stay the night, if you want," she finally mumbled. "I don't think he wants to leave."

"Of course he doesn't," Jordan replied irritably. "You've probably fed him candy and sugar all night with a couple of cups of coffee for good measure."

Elliot wondered if she should bother to argue, but then Jordan shot back with a yelp.

Jack glared at her as Jordan nursed her bitten hand.

"You may not bite," Elliot said caustically. "But he sure as heck does."

Feeling more tired and wary then before, Jordan rubbed at her temple as she finally shut the door behind her. "He'll fall asleep quicker if you put a movie in," she finally offered up. "You have anything child-proof here or is it just the old home videos you watch when you’re home alone on Friday nights?"

Biting her lip against a reply and nerves, Elliot trudged back over to her couch and sat down with Jack.

Jack nuzzled his head triumphantly into Elliot's shoulder. The movie was a bonus; he would've gone to sleep if they'd just shut up for more then three seconds.

Jordan threw in the first movie that looked kid-friendly and plunked down beside of Elliot and Jack. Elliot, for her part, looked exhausted as well.

Jack pushed a thumb into his mouth and tried to focus on the bleary, cartoon images on the screen.

"You sound like you've had a crappy night," Elliot mumbled.

"Don't bother, princess," Jordan replied dully, too tired to snark at this point. "I don't want to talk about it, and there's nothing you can do to help."

Elliot shrugged. "Suit yourself. I was just going to offer to listen." She leaned her head back. "Have you heard from Dr. Cox yet?"

"No," the older woman retorted curtly as she watched Jack's eyelids droop. "I'm not concerned over who or what he wants to do with his free time."

"Is there anything you'd want to talk about? You just sound…stressed."

"I'm allowed to be stressed, Blondie. It's none of your business."

Elliot only gave another roll of the shoulders and shifted Jack in her arms. He stirred drowsily, but looked at the TV again where Chicken Little danced on the screen.

"I don't like my mom either," Elliot finally said after a moment of silence. "She never thinks I'm doing the right thing."

"I don't really want to hear about your pre-adolescent issues of mommy-dumbest telling you how you couldn't go see that wonderful older boy of your dreams that liked you just enough to get in your pants, precious."

Elliot felt the sting hard, but still went on. "What's so bad about your mother then?"

Jordan sidled a glance in Elliot's direction now, eyes narrowed and mouth drawn tightly in a thin line. "Other then I'm Danni's role-model for America’s Next Top Slut and I never told Ben enough to get a check-up after he went into remission, nothing."

Elliot thought of Jordan's sister with mild distaste, and the sympathy was there for Ben. She didn't offer either, sensing that both would go bad.

"Yeah?" Elliot sat her head up a bit to try and see Jack's face. "That sucks."

Jordan looked at her, and seemed to think about something. Then she shook her head and checked Jack's eyes.

"He's asleep. Hand him off."

Gently, Jordan took Jack from Elliot's arm. "Thanks, Blondie, for watching him," she finally muttered after a minute as Elliot retrieved Jack's bag.

"Any time," Elliot said before she thought, and wondered if she could buy one of those watches that could zip back five seconds.

Jordan grinned at that. "I'll remember it." She looked at the blonde girl again quietly.

It struck Elliot hard at that moment just how bone-weary Jordan seemed at the moment. She reminded herself that Jordan would be back to normal after a good night's sleep.

"Blondie."

Elliot shook her head from her own fatigued daze. "Yeah?"

Jordan didn't look at her as she turned for the door. "Sounds like your mom sucked too." She shuffled the door open and left without saying anything else.

Feeling slightly odd at the warm feeling that tinged her stomach, Elliot shook it off and shut the door behind Jordan.

Turning, Elliot walked to her bedroom, stripping clothes on the way and folding them neatly over her arms. The need for sleep had been hard earlier, but as she slipped under the covers in boxers and a tee-shirt, she found she had trouble laying still.

With a sigh, Elliot finally got up and lay on the couch to watch the rest of the chicken movie, and grinned when he danced.

She still didn't sleep that night.

XXXXXXXXX

"I think I’m losing feeling in my fingers permanently," JD muttered in the bathtub.

Neither man had moved since Thomas’s last visit, and JD had kept his eyes trained now on the camera. He wondered idly if there was some sort of fairly sardonic pleasure that the man was getting from keeping an eye on them.

JD shook his head and struggled to rub his arm against something to alleviate the itchy pain.

"Just keep moving your fingers, Jessica."

Perry’s voice sounded tired to both their ears, and JD sighed hard. This really sucked. He tapped his foot on the wet tub’s floor, feeling some of the excess rainwater splash against his leg.

"Hey, we’re already soaked," Perry snapped at him. "You mind not making it worse? It’s your fault we’re in this mess as it is, Gina."

"We already talked about that. How is this my fault again?" JD snapped back, tension winding through his body like a coil.

"You care too much," Perry snapped at him. "How the hell do you think he knows your name in the first place?"

"He was drooling all over himself; I’d have done the same at Sacred Heart."

"And you’d probably have gotten us both fucked then too, Newbie."

The nickname had the desired effect once more, and Perry felt JD stiffen against his legs and yank away.

A series of thuds later, and JD had tumbled from the bathtub into the floor with a muffled grunt.

"What the hell are you doing?" Perry snapped, his own temper beginning to fade.

"Getting us out of here before that psycho can do anything worse," JD retorted smartly, and threw his shoulder into the door.

"Stop that, moron!" Perry hissed, and began to clamber out of the tub himself.

By this time, true fear had begun to settle into JD’s system, and even though he knew it’d do little good, he still threw himself into the door in an attempt to shove it open.

"All you’re going to do is make him think he’s got to come back in here; sit still!" Perry struggled to push in between JD and the door. He grunted hard when he succeeded and JD slammed half onto his shoulder and half into the door.

"Move!"

"Do you really want to give him a reason to come back?"

"Better then just sitting here and waiting for him to," JD snapped and struggled to push Perry out of the way. Twisting blindly in the darkness, JD shoved hard at Perry’s shoulder and managed one more good thud against the door before Perry finally knocked them back to the ground.

"Yeah? Well, I really don’t want him coming back in here. Who knows what else he’s going to do to you or me when he gets back?"

JD sat still on the ground as the nausea built. He knew if he didn’t calm down, his stomach was going to be emptying itself of what little content was still in it. His breath came hard in the small room, and though he couldn’t see him, he could feel Perry sitting down nearby.

"There’s no reason why we can’t take him when he gets back in here."

"There’s a lot of reasons why that’s a dumb idea, Layla."

"Beats doing nothing."

Perry sighed. The kid had a point. Neither of them had tried to undo the intricate knots around their wrists yet. Finally, Perry turned and scooted towards JD on the floor.

"Turn your back this way," Perry muttered and carefully felt for JD’s fingers. He couldn’t feel much by his fingertips, but finally felt cold hands slip over his own.

JD felt his way to Perry’s wrists, and began to tug at the nylon cording. He slid his hands over it and tried to feel the anatomy of the knot like he would feel for an abdominal mass.

Perry felt JD tug at the cording, and then felt it grow inexplicably tighter. "Stop it," he winced. "You’re only making it worse."

"Fine, try mine if you’re so smart."

"You’re getting to be a real smart ass."

"I learned from the best," JD muttered irritably as he felt Perry’s hands slide to his wrists. JD let out an undignified yelp when the cords tightened, and he felt Perry’s fingers fall away.

A soft tapping at the door drew both their attention. "I know where you’re hiding," a voice called out with a touch of song to it. The tapping held a rhythm to it, like the drumming of fingers. "Daddy’s not gonna be happy with you boys. He’s gonna make you do stuff. He can see you; I’m a good seeker. I know where you’re hiding!"

Perry felt JD’s back stiffen in fear against his own, and his throat grew tight as they heard the pattering of feet outside the door. The metallic sound still didn’t come, and the drumming of the fingers tapped on the wood again.

"He’s really mad at you two now," the voice chided again. It definitely belonged to Thomas, but held a childish quality that hadn’t quite been there before.

A loud, sudden thud made both Perry and JD jump.

Perry felt JD’s back jerk away from his own as he scooted away from the door towards the toilet. The loss of contact was immediate, and Perry wasn’t sure what to make of the fact that it made the fear harder to swallow.

But then the light was flooding the room, and he hadn’t thought to close his eyes again.

JD twisted, eyes shut as he shoved his back against the wall he felt against his tired arms.

"He’s right, you know," the calm voice came. Thomas rubbed at his aching head where a large bruise was flowering across his hairline.

"Tommy?" JD tried as a last resort when he heard the clack of metal against tile.

Thomas only snorted at that though. "You don’t think I know what you’re trying to do? Christ, you’re a sad fuck. You get a couple of cuts in your arm, and you’re whining like a little baby."

"Leave him alone," Perry snapped. "He cries no matter what you do."

Thomas only looked down at the bound, older man. "You’re just as bad, Petey."

"Perry."

It was the sharp fist that brought the reality of the situation crashing down on them both. Perry hit the tile hard from the bony punch, feeling his temple smack the floor and blood fill his mouth.

"Peter," Thomas went on, tapping the knife against the countertop. "You’re just as bad, walking around like some gift to God when we all know your dirty secret. Fuck, Petey, you’re just as sad as he is. He’s over there crying like a little girl, and you’re sitting there pretending to be some macho man when we all know what a sick little pussy you really are."

Perry was still reeling from the punch as he struggled to sit up, but he felt a sharp kick to his side that had him staying down again. Pain shot through his ribs, and lights exploded behind his eyes at the second kick to his hip.

"Christ, leave him alone! He was just trying to protect…"

Perry looked up just in time to see a kick land square across JD’s face. The younger man’s head hit the wall behind him hard, but the kid was still awake.

"Yeah, he was just trying to protect his buddy-fuck pillow-biter," Thomas spat at him, spit flying over JD’s throbbing jaw. "You two are the worst kind. You know the world’s going to hell in a handbasket when even the doctors are turning into a bunch of fruitcake queers."

"It’s going to hell when they let the loonies out of the crazy bin, but you didn’t let that stop you," Perry snapped to get him away from JD.

Thomas whirled and glared at him, but didn’t move from JD’s wobbly form. He kneeled down beside the pale, sweating young man and grabbed a hold of his head by the nape of his neck. His nails dug sharply into JD’s scalp, fingers tugging at the hairs harshly.

"You sure you wouldn’t get a better kick out of beating up the bigger guy?" Perry asked, stomach shaking with fear and anger. "I’m the one that makes you feel threatened, not the kid. He’s just a wimp."

"And you’re easier to break through others then yourself," Thomas replied, the anger beginning to sift from his voice as his temper faded. "You’re just like your bitch of a stepfather; always trying to play the inept, bungling hero. Quite the expert at taking everything upon yourself just so other people can get ahead of you. I’m not threatened by you at all. You’re weak."

JD pulled frantically against Thomas’s hand, but Thomas only jerked his head back to a painful angle. JD felt the hurt immediately in his scalp, squeezing his eyes shut as his throat immediately constricted with the new ache in his body.

"And you," Thomas went on, as if suddenly remembering the younger man he held in his grip. "You’re just pathetic. Willing to let someone else take it for you just because you’re not man enough to handle it." He threw JD’s head back down, the thud reverberating through the room.

Thomas sat on the countertop again, twisting the knife’s tip into his forefinger. "So what to do with you two? It’s no fun if neither of you scream, you know. Nice show of bravery yesterday."

"You could just let us go," Perry mouthed out before he could stop himself. The blow to his head was beginning to make him nauseous, and he knew he was going to vomit soon if the room didn’t stop spinning.

JD was feeling a similar emotion as he struggled to hold his head upright. He closed his eyes against the dizziness, praying it would stop. The light hurt his eyes, but he was able to focus now at the least.

Thomas eyed them surreptitiously. He eyed the bloodstains in the floor with glee for a moment before turning his eyes to the injured men lying near them. It seemed there was never enough blood for his liking, even when the older man spit more into the floor.

JD felt blood trickle from his mouth down his chin, but he didn’t want to move his head enough to wipe it off. His stomach was holding a tenuous grip as it was.

"Oh my dear god; you’re both about to puke, aren’t you?" Thomas suddenly realized as he looked at the ashen, faintly green faces. "Christ, you two are fun." He looked between them, as if trying to make a decision.

JD still shut his eyes tight as his breathing came harder. He could already feel his stomach turning in circles, and he kept his lips shut tight as he swallowed against the rising lump in his throat.

But then a hand was jerking him forward again. Chest and chin met the floor in a hard blow, and it was enough to finish the job. Feeling sick and humiliated, JD vomited into the floor, gagging as his stomach emptied itself on the tile.

JD rolled away as best he could, wiping his mouth on the dirty carpet on the floor as he rose again.

Thomas clapped lightly. "That was fucking brilliant, Tommy. You take two hits, he takes three. You puke, and he’s still holding strong." He kicked his feet in an almost childish fashion against the cabinets. "And to think, I was just going to make you slice each other up again when I came in here. This is so much more fun."

But when Perry didn’t keel over, Thomas frowned.

JD struggled to find it in his mind to remember that Thomas’s moods had begun to chang both swiftly and dangerously. He shut his eyes as he struggled to control his panicked breathing.

Perry felt his stomach slowly begin to calm. It wasn’t a glassy sea by any standards, but he at least no longer felt like if he moved, he was going to really embarrass himself.

"Yo, Tommy-boy," Thomas said idly.

When JD didn’t answer, Thomas jerked him forward again. JD grimaced as he felt his knees hit the mess in the floor. He was dragged nearer to Perry.

"Johnny," Thomas said again, not aware of the slip-ups he’d made in their names.

Neither JD nor Perry doubted it mattered at this point.

JD coughed, his acidic throat aching and his mouth tasting awful. He raised a squinted glare to Thomas’s direction.

Thomas slipped a hand over his hair almost tenderly before jerking at the sensitive strands again near the nape of his neck.

"You know what you’re going to do for me?" Thomas asked menacingly, drifting a finger up to wipe the blood from JD’s chin.

JD jerked away at the cold hand.

Thomas slapped him quickly, the aforementioned blood now streaked over JD’s pale face. "Do you?" Thomas licked the remaining blood from his finger as he gave JD’s scared expression a returned look of unholy glee.

JD shook his head, not trusting his voice.

"You’re going to kick him in the ribs for me. Or the stomach, your choice. Whichever makes him puke faster, or slower if that’s your fancy," Thomas hissed at him, and threw him to the floor so that his feet were within distance of Perry’s side.

Perry glared at him, that age-old stare making JD shrink away slightly. That was The Look, the one that meant if JD did whatever he was about to do, he was going to regret in nine different ways (two of which would affect him for life).

Thomas brought the knife into view again and jerked Perry’s tee-shirt up. "You do it or I just start going to town on his chest, Johnny-boy."

JD looked at Perry’s face, his insides quivering and stomach already threatening to upturn itself again.

Perry’s glare slipped off his face then and he shut his eyes hard. This was probably one of the few things that he hadn’t thought the guy would do. Apparently, some crazy guys were smarter then others.

JD suddenly realized he’d hesitated too long as a streak of red suddenly appeared over Perry’s stomach. It was deep enough to make Perry cringe audibly.

"Stop it!" JD yelped before he could help himself.

That was when Thomas pulled the itchy rag around Perry’s neck back to his teeth. He secured it tightly around the curly hair.

"He’s going to need that when you’re done," Thomas said with a mocking grin that suggested blatantly that JD should’ve just done what he’d asked. "Turn around now. Or do you really want me doing this?"

"I’ll do it," JD hissed in frustration.

Thomas seemed to think for a minute. "Golly, Tommy, I don’t know." He dragged the knife deeply across Perry’s chest again in a painfully slow manner.

Perry made a muffled sound against the rag, eyes rolling back as they shut hard.

JD looked from side to side, struggling to figure out what the damn man wanted.

Thomas watched him idly for a minute, preparing for the next cut. Without warning, there was a pair of feet headed his way.

JD felt his sneakers connect with a body, though he couldn’t see whose. The gagging noises he heard next, however, indicated he’d hit Perry.

Thomas stood and banged the handle of the knife against the door. "Wonderful, Johnny-boy; you’re learning! I didn’t think you could!"

Perry desperately moved his head up and down to get the rag from his mouth as he struggled to throw up into the floor.

Thomas pulled it off for him. He wasn’t cruel, after all.

"I’m surprised you two haven’t tried screaming yet," Thomas mentioned in that same calm tone of voice that suggested he was completely in control, or at the very least, Eric was.

JD looked at his mentor in horror as the older man gagged into the floor, and then raised a desolate glare to Thomas’s direction.

"Look, we’ll do whatever it is you need," JD snapped, trying to keep the waver from his voice. "Just let us go."

Thomas shrugged and headed for the door as he flipped out the light again. "I’ll think about it, Tommy. Make sure to help Petey clean up after that; looks pretty messy." He slammed the door shut and plunged them into darkness once more.

Perry spit into the ground once more before he struggled to his knees. He heard JD moving around sloppily in the darkness even though he couldn’t see.

A thump on the floor indicated that JD had thrown something down over the mess they’d both made.

"Sorry I kicked you," JD mumbled suddenly, making the other man jerk in surprise.

Perry frowned at that, even though the terror was still fresh in his blood. His skin stung where his shirt had fallen back down, and he could feel the fabric already sticking to the fresh wounds.

"It was either that or the alternative, Carol," Perry muttered back in a hoarse voice.

"How’s your stomach?"

"I’ll live." Perry hobbled back to his feet, feeling his ribs and hip give a loud scream of protest as he fell back into the tub. If the injuries kept becoming this fresh, he wouldn’t be able to get in and out of that tub soon.

JD felt the panic rising slightly when he couldn’t reach out and touch something. That black little closet didn’t seem so bad now compared to this.

Perry jumped when he felt and heard the thunks as JD fell in with him.

"We’ve got to get out of here," JD said quietly. "Or he’s going to kill us."

Perry felt sick again at how right the kid was. He resolutely went about calming his stomach down, and decided silence was the best reply for JD right now. He shifted his arms again and let his legs relax to keep them from growing stiff in the tub. A small part of his mind growled that he’d be a hell of a lot more comfortable if JD hadn’t climbed in with him.

But as JD’s knees and legs touched his own, Perry didn’t move either. He let his head fall against the side of the tub again, staring at the darkened mirror in the room. If he squinted, he could barely make out the top of his head and JD’s.

The panic faded slightly at that, and JD seemed to be relaxing slightly. Hunger was becoming a problem, though they’d managed to get water from the leaky faucet in the sink and tub.

The pain in his body kept him from sleeping, and at JD’s occasional hisses, he guessed JD wasn’t sleeping either.

For his part, JD had begun to settle into full-fledged terror. The pain wasn’t so bad if he pulled away from it, but the fear was keeping him from blissful sleep. He was beginning to feel the guilt of the situation.

If he’d just checked the stupid peep hole in the hotel room door, this never would’ve happened.

JD shut his eyes tightly, feeling his sore jaw protest at him. He moved his mouth slightly, trying to gauge if a bone had been broken or not. It moved with a large amount of pain, but didn’t seem to be fractured.

He felt Perry’s legs against his own, moving with each breath the man took. He looked up as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, head pounding with an awful headache.

"I’m sorry I kicked you," JD suddenly said again, louder this time.

"Drop it, Newbie."

"I’m not going to be scared of that forever."

Perry kicked him lightly across the leg. It wasn’t hard enough to hurt exactly, but definitely firm enough to let him know that he should shut up.

"I’ll kick your ass just as hard as "Me, myself, and psycho" out there will," Perry snapped at him. "Just drop it. You did what you had to do."

"It doesn’t make it right."

This time, Perry did kick him hard and he heard the kid cringe. "There. Now we’re even."

"God, you’ve got a sick mind." JD felt his stomach roll again at the pain that was currently shooting through his thigh. Damn the older man…he’d managed to hit right on a pressure point with a booted-heel.

"Maybe next time, you’ll shut up, Lisa."

They sat in silence after that, and the steady thrumming of the rain came back. When it dripped this time, it periodically smacked one of them across the knee. Still, neither moved out of the way.

It kept the water from piling in the tub.

"We’re going to die here, aren’t we?"

"Who’s the fatalist now?" Perry muttered, wishing on one end that the kid would just shut up, but glad all the same that he could concentrate on something besides what their fate might ultimately turn into.

The smell of the room was beginning to sting his nose. No matter how long someone had been around vomit, it still smelled vile.

"Realist," JD insisted, but didn’t hear a reply. He sighed and worked his fingers against the tight bonds. He’d become long-accustomed to the burning around his ankles and wrists, but the numbness was bothering him.

Perry frowned when the kid didn’t say anything for a while. "Hey, Jennifer…you’re not going to be an idiot, waste all of your medical training, and fall asleep after you took a hit to the head are you?"

His fears were confirmed when JD still didn’t answer.

With a reluctant sigh, Perry edged his foot harshly into JD’s ribcage.

"Ouch, what?"

"Stay awake, Newbie. You know better than that."

"M’sleepy."

And even though sleep was clawing at his own pounding head, Perry struggled to lift it now. "You fucking girl, stay awake," he snapped at JD, and toed him hard again. He took the opportunity to concentrate on the twisting pain it caused his knee to do so.

"I’m awake," JD mumbled drowsily.

"Well, we’ve both got to make it for twenty-four hours. Stay awake."

"M’trying," the younger man mumbled petulantly, mostly because some part of his dim mind knew that he had to stay alert. He sat up a bit straighter, trying to concentrate on the smells and quiet sounds around him, no matter how much they made his stomach roll. The awful taste still coated his mouth; combining with the coppery taste of blood to form something no human in their right mind should have to taste ever.

"I know I’m going to regret this one, Gretchen…but talk."

"About what?"

"About anything. I usually can’t get you to shut the hell up. Talk."

"I was a geek in high school."

"Tell me something I don’t know," Perry muttered, a rusty chuckle escaping despite himself.

"What were you?"

"Quarterback on the football team until some jack-ass ripped my ACL."

"Football’s dangerous."

"It was after the game, Newbie," Perry grunted reluctantly, and spit something into the floor. "And I was at home."

JD didn’t say anything after that, taking the time to think in his head before he said anything else. He focused on the steady burning in his arm and the sharp twinges in his jaw and skull. The tightness in his muscles was a distant memory compared to everything else, and the guilt was hard on his stomach.

"We need to get out of here."

"Tell me something I don’t know."

It was when Perry realized he didn’t know who’d said what just then that the lazy sleepiness turned to panic. They really did have to get out of there. One of them was bound to crack if they didn’t.

And JD seemed to know it as well as he did too. Perry wondered if that made them both crazy.

Continues with Chapter 5