Disclaimer : My name’s not Aaron Spelling, so I don’t own them. But I really, really, really like to write about them.

The Broken Bond
by Freaky Fan

Part 1

“What about….” Rion narrowed her eyes, carefully examining each of her options before finally pointing. “That one?”
“Hmmm.” Darryl arched one eyebrow. “A rabbit.”
“What?”
“A rabbit.”
“A rabbit?”
“Yeah. You know, one of those cute little woodland creatures that….”
“I know what a rabbit is, but that’s what you said last time.”
Darryl shrugged. “That’s what the last one looked like.”
“Two in a row?”
“Yep.”
“All right.” Rion pointed again. “How about that one?”
“A rabbit.”
She smacked him. “You are SO not being cooperative!”
“No.” He tightened his grip on her. “I just have better things to watch than clouds.”
Rion grinned. “Well, when you put it that way.”
“I was referring to the waves out there.”
“Brat!” She smacked him again.
Darryl laughed. “Come here, you.”

Rion felt herself being pulled off of the elbow she was propped on but did nothing to stop it. She ended up with her head on his chest, his arms wrapped tight around her. She stayed there for a moment, drinking in what they shared before lifting her head and covering his lips with hers. He responded by deepening the kiss as he rolled her onto her back, unbuttoning her shirt as he went. She did the same as mere kisses gave way to something more. In no time they were a mess of tangled limbs, all thoughts of clouds and waves forgotten as their passion was unleashed.

“Wow.” Darryl pulled the blanket tight around them as he held her close. “I swear you get a little better at that every time.”
“Better?” Rion snuggled closer against his side. “Are you saying I wasn’t any good to begin with?”
“Hell no. I just meant….”
“I was joking, honey.”
“Oh.” Darryl nodded. “I knew that.”
“Sure you did.”

They let a comfortable silence fall between them. One interrupted only by the sound of gentle waves lapping against the shore and the occasional call of a bird. Rion didn’t even realize she had drifted off until she heard Darryl’s voice again.

“We should do this more often.”
“What?” She stretched against him sleepily. “Four times a week suddenly isn’t enough for you?”
“No. I mean….”
Rion grinned, picturing the blush spreading across his cheeks. “Easy there stud muffin. I was just yanking your chain. I knew what you meant.” She sighed contentedly. “This is nice, isn’t it? Just the two of us, a picnic lunch, a blanket and the beach.”
“Yeah.” Darryl put his chin on top of her head as he looked up at the sky. “But I think it’s getting ready to rain on our parade.”
“What?” Rion looked upward too.
“Yep.” Darryl pointed at a patch of clouds. “Thumper and his buddies over there look like they’re brewing up a pretty wicked storm.”
“Well damn.”
“Not that we can’t continue this back at the Manor. Or better yet my apartment. No sisterly interruptions.”
Rion waggled her eyebrows as she sat up. “Sounds like a plan to me.”

They both giggled as they retrieved their clothes.

“I can’t find my left sock.”
Rion looked around. “Hmm. Maybe the beach took it as payment for services rendered.”
Darryl looked up again as the first roll of thunder sounded. “Well it can keep it.” He slipped on his shoe before grabbing the picnic basket in one hand and her hand in the other. “Let’s go.”
“Not so fast.” Rion stood her ground, making him stop in his tracks.
“Rion….” He frowned.
“Oh come on. It’s not like either one of us will melt.”

Darryl rolled his eyes, readying himself to get angry, but seeing her tilt her head back and try to catch the first few raindrops as they fell quickly put a stop to that. How could he possibly get mad at her for being spontaneous? It was one of the many things he found irresistible about her.

“Give it a try.”

Her words were garbled seeing as she had her tongue stuck out, but he got the point. He tilted his own head back, laughing when a raindrop splashed on his nose. He found himself sputtering a second later as the light shower turned into an all out downpour.

“Oops!!”

Rion gripped his hand and started toward the car. They were both soaked to the skin by the time they reached it and Darryl got the passenger side door unlocked. She climbed in, quickly reaching over to unlock his door before settling back in her seat, ready for a very angry ex-cop to slide in beside her. Much to her surprise he got in laughing, a radiant smile on his face.

“Now THAT was fun!” Darryl tried to wipe some of the water off of his face, laughing even harder as water from his sleeve rewet it.
Rion smiled and shook her head. “I swear I’m rubbing off on you.”
“And that’s a bad thing because….”
“I didn’t say it was a bad thing. As a matter of fact, making you into a kid again instead of the stick in the mud you can be sometimes seems like a good thing in my book.”
“Ha, ha, ha!” He shook his head as he put the keys in the ignition. “All right, dry towels at my place coming right up.”

Rion looked out the window as he started back to the city. Today was just what her love life doctor had ordered. A day alone on a secluded stretch of beach with the man that she loved.

A smile played across her face as she glanced over at him, trying not to make it obvious that she was staring. Sometimes it scared her, the way it made her feel just to see him. Knowing that she was one of the few people fortunate enough to have found the one she was meant to spend the rest of her life with. To have found her soul….

“Damn!”

Darryl’s words brought her out of her thoughts and back into the here and now just in time to see what was happening in front of them. One car had smashed into the side of another as the driver tried to switch lanes way too soon. But it wasn’t them she was worried about. It was the semi right in front of them. The one that slowly started to jack knife on the wet pavement as the driver slammed on his brakes.

“Hold on!”

She did as she was told, grabbing the door handle as Darryl tightened his grip on the steering wheel. Slowing down wasn’t going to do anything but draw them into the accident. She felt her stomach drop as Darryl gunned the engine in an attempt to whip around the semi on the shoulder of the road. They were almost home free when the semi suddenly started to tip.

“Holy shit!!”

The last thing she heard was Darryl cursing before the sound of metal on metal and then nothing.
Prue kept a close eye on Tricia as she played with the plastic workbench her Aunt Rion and Uncle Leo had bought her a few days before. She was still shaking her head over that one. The two of them went shopping in the hopes of finding come cute new stuff to surprise Piper with for the nursery and came home with said stuff and a huge box with a pink bow on it. The instant Seth helped Tricia open it, she was in love. She carried the plastic hammer and screwdriver with her everywhere, sometimes using them to ‘fix’ things but mostly chewing on them. Right now she was standing over the workbench, using the pliers to hammer plastic nails into what was supposed to be a piece of wood with one hand as she tried to hold up the tiny tool belt looped around her waist with the other.

“Look out Bob Villa.” Piper chuckled as she sat down on the couch next to her big sister. “Has she stopped playing with that thing yet?”
“No.” Prue sighed as she leaned against the back of the couch. “She even threw one of the teddy bears out of her crib to make room for that hammer at night.”
“It’s perfectly healthy for kids to play with what are considered opposite sex toys.” Phoebe looked up from the magazine she was reading when she felt her sisters staring at her. “What? We learned about it in psych class. Do you know how many parents give their little boys a Barbie to play with? It’s supposed to help limit their inhibitions when they get older. You know, show them that it’s all right to be a little girly sometimes.”
“So what does that bench teach Tricia?” Piper furrowed her brow. “That it’s all right to wear pants that show off your butt crack when you bend over?”
“No, that would have been the plumbers play set.”
Prue groaned. “Pheebs.”
“Sorry, I couldn’t resist.” Phoebe grinned. “Seriously, playing with something like that is just showing Tricia that she can be anything she wants to be when she gets older. Not to mention how much it helps with hand-eye coordination.”
“Hmph.” Prue nodded. “I hadn’t thought of it that way.”
“That’s our sister.” Piper tapped her finger on her temple. “Always thinking.” She suddenly looked at the grandfather clock. “Speaking of which, when is she due home?”
Prue shrugged. “I don’t think she said.”

Phoebe opened her mouth to speak just as Tricia let out an ear piercing scream. They all three jumped out of their seats, Prue reaching her first.

“Oh, sweetie.” Prue picked up her wailing daughter. “What happened?” She concentrated on comforting her daughter as her sisters inspected her for injury.
“There’s nothing here.” Piper rubbed her niece’s back.
“There has to be something.” Prue sounded frustrated as her efforts had no effect on Tricia’s sobbing. “She never cries for no reason.”
“There’s not, Prue.” Phoebe shared a concerned, ‘what the hell is going on?’ look with Piper.
“I’m going to take her upstairs. Try rocking her.” Prue threw her comments over her shoulder as she started up the stairs. “It always works for Rion.”

*************

“We’ve got one in here!”

The sound invaded the blackness around her, bouncing off the invisible walls holding her down to the point that it felt like her head was going to explode. She furrowed her brow, trying to shove it away but all that did was bring more sounds with it. Feet on blacktop. Garbled voices. Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens.

Where the hell had that come from? She didn’t even like The Sound of Music. Right now, she didn’t like the sound of anything. All it did was drive the steely edged sword of agony in her head further into her brain, making it impossible to think. Maybe that was where the raindrops comment had come from. That or the fact that she could feel cold drops of something soaking through her clothes.

“I think we can get her out without the jaws!”
“Get a backboard and c-collar over here NOW!!”

Great, just what she needed. A second shouting voice to join the first one. Didn’t they realize what they were doing? She tried to open her eyes, intent on telling them to pipe down or else. At first her eyelids didn’t want to cooperate. And when they finally decided to flutter open the light that greeted her eyes flooded her senses, blinding her to everything but the pain enveloping her very being.

“I think she’s coming around!”

The voice drew her out again. Just in time to see a hand reaching toward her. She grabbed it in a vice-like grip, the effort robbing the oxygen from her lungs.

“Easy, ma’am.”

The owner of the hand, a middle aged man in a dark blue uniform came into view.

“My name is Mark. I’m a paramedic. You’ve been in an automobile accident.”

Her head swam as it tried to take in the information he was giving her. She got that his name was Mark but it went down hill from there. Probably because she couldn’t shake the image of him standing next to a table in some ritzy restaurant, a bottle of expensive wine in his hand. ‘Hi, I’m Mark. I’ll be your server tonight. You’ve picked an excellent year.’

She tried to shake the image away but got another jolt of pain for her troubles.

“Don’t move, ma’am. We’ll have you out of there in no time.”

There was something about his hazel eyes that made her trust him. That and the fact that he wasn’t shouting anymore.

“Would you hurry up with that backboard and collar?!”

She would have mentally kicked herself for giving him too much credit too soon, but knew it would only cause her more pain. So she watched as Mark took the stethoscope from around his throat and placed it against her chest. The slight pressure he applied felt like a forty ton weight, causing her to gasp.

“Ma’am?”

She was too busy trying to breathe to even think about answering him.

“I need some oxygen over here!!”

Not even his shouting could interrupt her concentration this time. Suck in some air, let it back out. Suck in some air, let it back out. All of her energy was consumed with the normally simple task.

“Ma’am?”

The blackness started to eat away at her again. She blinked, trying to keep it at bay. But it did no good.

“Stay with me ma’am.”

She looked at Mark, confused by the concern she saw on his face as the blackness continued its trek across her vision.

“Stay with me!”

One last thought came to mind as she was pulled completely under. Where the hell was Darryl?
Piper shook her head as she looked up the stairs. “She’s still at it.”
Phoebe sighed. “How long has it been now?”
“An hour?” Piper looked at her watch. “An hour and a half? I lost track a long time ago.”
“This is starting to freak me out a little, Piper. Tricia NEVER cries. Not even when she’s hungry.”
“I know.” Piper sat down next to her little sister on the couch.
“I have a feeling something’s going to happen. Something bad.”
“Don’t think like that, sweetie.” Piper frowned as she put her arm around her sister. “You’re shivering.”
“I’m scared, Piper.” Phoebe’s eyes brimmed with tears as she looked at her big sister. “Really scared. I think Tricia knows something we don’t.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t now. But like I said, it’s something bad. Really bad.” Phoebe put her hand on her chest. “I can feel it.”

*************

Matt tapped his hands against the steering wheel in time to the music on the radio. He had no idea what the name of the song was or who sang it, but it had a good beat. That and this was the only radio station he could get that wasn’t playing elevator music. The only other option was to turn the radio off. And everyone knew how important music was on a road trip.

He sighed when he saw the taillights ahead of him. Great, a traffic jam. Just what he needed when all he wanted to do was get back to the city. A week of fishing in the mountains had been wonderful, but he was anxious to drop by the Manor. To see the girls. To hear what kind of week they had had. What demons they had vanquished. He knew they would each give him a hard time about showing up on their doorstep the instant he came back to town, but he didn’t care. They had all become like sisters to him.

His eyes drifted toward the accident scene being worked across the highway with the practiced ease of a cop. No wonder traffic was backed up. It looked like a real doozie. Two smashed up cars in the front. A semi on its side. And the crumpled remains of a third….

His breath caught in his throat as his eyes fell on the third car. He did a double take, confirming his worst fears. That was Darryl’s car. He instantly turned the steering wheel and stomped on the gas, cutting across the median. A uniformed cop was at his vehicle before he had a chance to stop.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Matt threw open his door and scrambled out of the truck. “What….”
“I asked just what in the hell you think you’re doing, pulling a stunt like that.” The cop sounded impatient as he pointed to the track the truck had made across the median.
“No, I wasn’t asking you what you said. I was asking what happened here.”
“Well what does it look like? We’ve got ourselves one hell of a chain reaction accident to clean up. Not that it’s really any of your business, Mr….”

Matt grabbed his badge out of his pocket, thrusting it under the cop’s nose as he continued to look at Darryl’s car.

“Oh, sorry Inspector.” The cop instantly simmered down. “I didn’t mean any disrespect. It’s just we get all kind of crazies hanging around whenever something like this happens.”
“I know. I worked quite a few accidents myself.” Matt tried to keep his tone light as he pointed at Darryl’s car. “How’s the guy who was driving that one?”
“I’m not sure. They were just pulling the passenger out when I got here.”
Matt closed his eyes, hoping against hope he was wrong. “Passenger?”
“Yeah.” The cop nodded. “A woman.”

It felt like someone had punched him in the stomach. He prayed it wasn’t Rion, but he knew it was. She and Darryl had been slipping away together a lot lately.

“Whe….” He swallowed hard, trying to keep the quiver out of his voice. “Where is she now?”
“They took her away in an ambulance about twenty minutes ago. I was just finishing up here and headed in that direction when I saw you…. Well when you did what you did.”
“Take me with you.”
“What?”
Matt gripped the man’s shirt. “Take me with you!”
The cop looked down at the hand on his arm. “But what about your vehicle?”
“They can tow it. Impound it. Burn it for all I care. I just need to get to the hospital as quickly as possible.”
A look of understanding crossed the officer’s face. “You know her, don’t you?”
Matt nodded, his voice little more than a whisper. “She’s my best friend.”

*************

The first thing to reach her was the beeping noise. A fast, monotonous sound that instantly grated on her nerves. Next came the voices. One male, one female. At least she thought there was only one of each. The main thing was she didn’t recognize any of them. She let her eyes drift open, trying to determine where exactly she was.

“She’s coming around, doctor.”
“Miss Matthews?”

She looked up into a pair of light brown eyes. Why did that action seem so familiar? Oh yeah, the guy in the blue uniform. He had looked at her the same way this guy was.

“Can you hear me, Miss Matthews?”

She tried to answer, but flinched as she drew in a breath to speak.

“Just nod if you can.”

She did as she was told.

“She understands verbal commands. That’s a good sign.” The doctor looked to the nurse at his side. “Stay with her. I’m going to go light a fire under radiology. See what’s taking so long with her x-rays.”

He disappeared out of sight, leaving her with the young, red headed nurse. The woman looked down at her with kind eyes and opened her mouth to speak just as an the adjoining door to the room next door banged open.

“Gretchen! We need an airway kit in here stat!”

She followed the young woman with her eyes as she moved without hesitation. She hated hospitals, but the doctors and nurses were amazing in her book. Jumping in to save the lives of complete strangers. It wasn’t all that different from what she and her sisters did for innocents. She continued to watch as the door banged open again and Gretchen started to hand the needed kit to another nurse. But she never saw the exchange. Her eyes were drawn to the body laying on a gurney instead.

“No.”

Her voice was muffled by the oxygen mask over her nose and mouth. She reached for it with her right hand but stopped as sheer agony shot through her body. She quickly shoved the pain aside and used her left hand instead.

“Darryl?”

His name slipped from her lips as she started to swing her legs over the side of the bed. Her body protested violently but she ignored it, determined to get to the other room. To find out what was going that they needed some kind of kit for him.

“Ms. Matthews!” The nurse sounded shocked as she turned to find her patient standing b