T is for Taken (Kate)

[Paige Owen]

Kate Donaghy

Continued from here

When Paige woke up in her own bed, it was as if nothing had even happened. Like something out of her darkest nightmares. For a split second, she almost wondered if it really had been just a horrifying dream. But then the pain set in, like reality crashing down on her. Her arms ached from having been positioned above her head for so long. Her wrists and ankles burned, where the rope had cut into her skin. Her neck hurt from where he had pressed his hands to her throat, choking her.

She sat up slowly, finding that her head ached and her body was stiff and sore. She felt shaky and weak, and for a moment, she wasn't even sure that her legs would support her if she stood up. She took a few shuddering gasps and tried to slow her breathing. After a few moments, she was able to get to her feet. The first thing she did was to walk over to the dresser and pull out a vial of anti-anxiety potion, something she hadn't needed in months.

She felt steadier after she had taken it, but she could tell her blood sugar was low, so she made her way slowly to the kitchen and made herself some toast. She was barely able to choke that down, but as soon as she did, she began to feel a little better. After washing it down with a glass of water, Paige thought about her next move.

The first thing she wanted to do was owl Austin. She needed him desperately, to feel his warm arms around her and to have him tell her that everything was going to be all right. But she also needed to contact the authorities, and the sooner she did, the better. So even though she really just wanted to forget about what happened and let Austin comfort her, she knew the first thing she should do was go to the Ministry and talk to the Auror in charge of the investigation. Kate Donaghy.

She took another swig of the anti-anxiety potion before throwing on her baggiest pair of jeans, a baggy t-shirt and a heavy black robe. She grabbed her wand and her purse and headed over to the Ministry.

She had to argue with the woman at the front desk of the Ministry for several minutes, but finally, they gave her a pass and sent her up to the Auror office, where she was assured that Kate would be waiting for her.

[Kate Donaghy]

Kate was in her office. She was more than a little run down, the ministry was still a bit of a mess after M's attack using their portrait alarm system, they had also just lost a high profile witness, and one of their Aurors was in critical condition at St. Mungos. M was turning into a very prolific serial killer, and he was laughing at the Ministry. Kate did not have time to argue with a reporter, particularly this reporter with whom she had already gotten off to a rough start.

She barely received the message that Paige would be coming up to her office when the door opened.

She raised a brow, "Can I help you?"

[Paige Owen]

Paige was still shaking, and although she had expected Kate to be less than thrilled to see her, something about the way Kate spoke to her, raising an eyebrow at her like she couldn't believe she had to waste her time talking to her, it hurt a little. She even almost regretted being so aggressive the last time she met the woman. Clearly Kate was bracing for a fight, and Paige was not here for a fight. She was here for help.

Her eyes burned with tears as a reality struck her--she was alive. She had faced the devil and survived. It wasn't luck, or her own ability to to survive. She lived because he wanted her to live. And if she ceased to be useful to him....

"I promise I'm not here for a fight," she said, her voice sounding thin and high to her ears. "I'm here to report a kidnapping." She hesitated just a moment, then held out her rope-burned wrists for the woman to see. "Mine."

[Kate Donaghy]

Kate didn't want to talk to Paige. Though she was intrigued by the fact that the woman was reporting a crime, she just didn't have time right now. She sighed, "Look, kidnapping isn't my department, Danny Osmand is just one floor down he will-" Kate cut off when she caught Paige's eyes.

Other things began to click as well, Paige's wrists, the baggy clothing, the thin high voice, and the fact that she prefaced the conversation in a conciliatory way. Kate realized she was reacting off of what had happened the last time they met.

While she would have been correct in directing Paige downstairs, Kate didn't work that way, and she was appalled that she would act that way now simply because she didn't like the girl.

She took a moment, then after coming to a decision stood and went to the door, "Mary, cancel my two o'clock, and clear me out for the rest of the day."

She started to shut the door then paused, "And if it's not too much trouble some cof...some tea please." she shut the door then and sat in the chair next to Paige. She set a quill to writing and a recorder to recording, "Alright Miss Owen, start from the beginning."

[Paige Owen]

Paige nearly started crying when it looked like Kate was going to send her away. Perhaps this other man was good at his job, but she had come to Kate for two reasons. One was simply that she was a woman, and might better understand the fear, the feeling of helplessness that she had felt. But the other was that Kate was handling the case of the serial killer, and Paige was certain that the man who'd kidnapped her was the killer.

But Kate relented, and Paige practically collapsed into a chair in relief. Her knees were wobbling and her stomach was churning. Back in her dancing days, she would have probably gone to empty her stomach and not eaten for three days. She was determined not to let this incident cause her to relapse on her eating disorder, but the way she felt right now was so familiar. The shame, the fear, the loss of control... Most people thought eating disorders came from a desire to be thin or perfect. But Paige knew it was more about a need for control of your own body when everything around you was swirling out of your control.

"Thank you," she whispered. "You'll understand why I came to you in a minute... I know you don't normally handle kidnappings, but this was more than that."

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself before she began to tell her story. Her voice was still shaky and high as she spoke. "I was in my bed. Nothing seemed strange, I didn't notice anything... I went to sleep, and when I woke up, I was somewhere else. Somewhere dark and cold. I was on a table, tied up. My wrists were tied together... above my head. My feet were tied so that my legs were slightly apart.... I couldn't move. But there was a mirror or glass or something over my head... I could see parts of the room. And... there was a body on the floor. A girl. I didn't get a very good look at her, but... I could tell she was dead."

[Kate Donaghy]

The more Paige spoke, the less Kate remembered about their last meeting. Paige wasn't a pushy reporter trying to interfere with Kate's investigation, she was a victim of the man who Kate was trying to hunt down.

Kate listened to Paige as she told her story, until there was a knock on the door which broke Kate's concentration.

"One minute." she paused getting to her feet and taking the cups of tea from Mary. She shut the door again and brought a mug to Paige.

"I may have some questions for you, but for now, just tell me everything you can remember." she said sitting back down.

[Paige Owen]

It was actually a relief when the knock on the door interrupted her story for just a moment. The more she thought about it, the more rattled she felt, and a cup of tea would help soothe her just a little. Or at least give her something to hold, because she needed to do something with her hands, and she doubted that Kate would appreciate her tearing off little bits of paper from the notepad on her desk.

She closed both hands around the mug, feeling its comforting warmth against her shaky hands. She took a long sip from the cup, realizing that her throat was raw and parched. She shuddered, remembering the feeling of the man's hands around her throat.

"I don't know how long I was alone with the body," she said. "Actually... I'm not really sure I was alone. I feel like he was there the whole time, hiding in the shadows and watching me as I panicked and tried to escape. It must have been hours, or maybe it just felt that way. When he... when he finally came out... He had his face and body hidden. He was wearing a mask and a robe, so I couldn't make out any details. He taunted me... asking me horrible questions, and hurting me if I didn't give him the answers he wanted."

She hesitated, taking another sip from the tea as tears began to fill her eyes again. She wasn't even sure she wanted to tell her the humiliating questions he had asked her, but then something told her Kate would understand. She was a beautiful woman, after all... she couldn't be a stranger to the way men treated women.

"He asked me... he.. he asked me if I'd ever been raped, and when I said yes, he asked me... if I liked it." The disgust was now evident in her voice as she continued, "Of course I told him no... he didn't like that answer and tried to get me to say I did. He tried to choke me..." She extended her neck to show her the bruises on her throat. "But I still wouldn't say it."

She was near tears now, and she set the mug down on the desk as she wiped at her eyes. "I thought he was going to... And I almost would have rather he killed me. But he didn't do either. He had other plans for me. He said... he wanted me to do 'what I do best'. To write... the truth. His story. He poured this horrible potion down my throat... it was thick and almost gelatinous and tasted bitter. And then he left me alone again until I fell asleep. And I woke up in my bed again."

[Kate Donaghy]

Kate listened. She knew from personal experience how hard it was to talk, and at the end of the day even if there was this voice screaming at you to say something, it took a lot of courage to do what Paige was doing. So she listened. Sympathized. Swallowed when Paige's story hit a little too close to home.

When she was done Kate reached out slowly to the other woman and took her hand.

"We're gonna get him Paige." she promised. It wasn't about the job at this moment. It was a personal promise Kate was making to another woman who had been hurt.

Kate returned to her tea.

"Have you been to see a doctor?"

[Paige Owen]

Paige was grateful for the woman's kindness, and she squeezed her hand back. She seemed like an entirely different person from the woman she'd met at that first crime scene, and she felt guilty for behaving as she had. Both of them were just trying to do their jobs, and now Paige had a greater understanding of the stress that Kate must be facing with this case.

"Thank you," she said softly.

Strangely, the thought of seeing a doctor hadn't even crossed Paige's mind. She'd been through things like this a few too many times, and she had never gone to a doctor. In fact, she'd never gone to the police before, but this was definitely a special circumstance. Usually when a guy knocked her around, she just took off, but then, it had always been easier when she was touring with a ballet company. She could just go off on another tour somewhere and leave the creep behind.

But this was different. She was different. She couldn't run away this time. She had a life here, and she was finally starting to build it up. She was finally starting to become someone she liked. Sometimes she thought that her knee injury was the best thing that had ever happened to her.

She shook her head. "I came here first. I wanted to make sure I told you right away. We can't help that poor girl... And I wish I had more information about him, but he was careful to hide himself. He even wore gloves so I couldn't see his hands."

[Kate Donaghy]

Kate nodded, "That was really courageous of you. We can't help her, but you're here. I'm going to get one of the detectives working on the spell he used on you to find out what's going on. But we're taking you to the hospital now, to make sure you're really alright okay?" she commanded more than asked.

Kate had been losing to this serial killer for a while now. There was a lot of pressure on her, but no one was pressuring her more than herself. She looked at Paige as a small victory. Paige had survived, and maybe that was this killer's purpose, but it didn't matter. Paige would survive, Kate would make sure of it.

[Paige Owen]

Paige did not want to go to the hospital. She had never been good at having other people take care of her--not that she'd been good at doing it herself, either, but it was what she was used to. After her knee injury and her anorexia had broken her down to the point where she wound up in the hospital... she had fought with the doctors, fought with the therapists, and had generally been the worst patient ever... until she finally collapsed and realized that if she didn't do what the doctors said, she might die.

At this moment, she knew that there would be no arguing with Kate, and she wasn't sure she had the strength to fight it anyway. Besides, Kate was right--they needed to make sure that the killer hadn't done something to her that she didn't know about. For all she knew, that potion was some kind of poison that was slowly killing her from the inside out.

She nodded quietly. "OK. Let's go." She got to her feet slowly, finding that her legs were still a little wobbly. "Kate... can I call you Kate?" she asked, looking at the detective with tears in her eyes. "Thank you."

[Kate Donaghy]

Kate stood as Paige did, her hand out to steady the other woman. The tears, gentle question, and words of gratitude did Kate in.

"You're welcome...yes, please call me Kate." she said withe a soft smile. She guided Paige to the door and retrieved her coat from a peg on the wall. She locked her office and called to Mary, "I'll be out for a while, if anyone needs me tell them to find Grayson, he'll know how to get to me."

She put a hand to Paige's back, hovering between protective, but still allowing Paige her independence.