Nathan grabbed Crystal by the shoulders and shook her. "If you didn't poison Helen," he shouted, "then prove it!"
"Okay!" Crystal cried. "And if I cannot, then I will apologize. There. Are you happy?"
Nathan: "I am. But how will you prove it?"
Crystal: "By reviewing all of the security footage."
Nathan nodded to Vic and said, "Make it so."
Vic wasn't gone long, and when he returned, he had an unhappy expression on his face. He looked at Nathan and said, "I'm sorry, sir, but for various reasons, certain rooms - such as the servants' quarters - cannot be displayed..."
"What a coincidence!" Crystal sneered. "Don't you think it's strange that these monitors cannot be displayed at the mont when we most need them?"
Nathan: "No surveillance equals no evidence. So, why don't you just apologize? Sooner begun, sooner done - right?"
Crystal sighed as she nodded. Then she walked over to Helen's bed, looked her in the eyes, and said, "Helen, I am sorry for trying to kill your baby... even though I didn't."
Helen: "How can you expect to believe you without proof? We all know that you don't like , that you're afraid of the baby, and that you resent having in your house."
Crystal: "I said it wasn't . Believe or don't, I don't care. It's a free world."
Helen turned to Nathan. "Is this matter concluded?" she asked. "Or will Crystal be held accountable for trying to kill my baby?"
Nathan: "What do you want to do?"
Helen blinked her eyes innocently, and after thinking for a mont, she lowered her head and said, "Don't worry about punishing her, but let move into the manor early."
"So be it," Nathan growled. "Now, I don't want to hear another word about this!"
Crystal's face turned white when she heard Nathan's proclamation. Suddenly all of the pieces fell into place. Helen had poisoned the cookies, then blad her, and all to ensure a place for her in the manor. She opened her mouth to argue with Nathan, but he shut her up with a look, and then he led her to the living room.
Crystal thought her situation was hopeless. Thus, she was surprised when Nathan said, "You said you didn't do it, and I believe you. I'll send soone to spy on Helen. Give it so ti. The truth will co out, you'll see. I love you, and I will not allow you to be wronged!"
Nathan sat down on the sofa and folded his legs, and it seed to Crystal that he had more to say, but then his phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket, looked at the screen, hesitated for a mont, and finally accepted the call. He said hello, and after a second, he covered the microphone and whispered to Crystal: "Can you give so privacy?"
Crystal nodded and went into the kitchen to get sothing to eat. Then, once she was gone, Nathan pulled his hand away and said, "Barret, what is it?"
Barret: "I heard from Vic that you have been suffering from frequent headaches lately?"
Nathan: "Yes... And...?"
Barret: "Have you been taking your dication? Is it still working, or is HE erging again?"
Nathan smiled bitterly and said, "I've been taking my ds, but I'm afraid..." He couldn't figure out why, but HE would insert himself into the equation every ti the Old Davis wanted sothing from him.
It first happened when he was nine years old. While hunting, the old Davis had forced him to shoot a boar several tis his size. He had been so frightened, and he'd wanted to pretend to be dead. He hadn't wanted to kill the animal. Instead, he had wanted to get away from it. The old Davis had forced him to stand his ground, though, and he had refused to take the shot for him. But Nathan had been so scared that he'd peed his trousers and completely forgotten why he was there.
When the boar slled the acrid scent of Nathan's urine, he opened his mouth and charged toward them. As it approached, the old Davis began to curse him for his cowardice until he finally lifted the rifle and fired.
The boar dropped dead, but Nathan was not pleased. He glared at the old Davis and stuck out his tongue, but this amused the old man, and Nathan never forgave him.
In the future, the old Davis tried countless tis to train Nathan into the best soldier, but his cowardice hindered the young man's progress. He showed great potential and was skilled, but his natural instinct was to run from danger.
The old Davis worried that Nathan suffered from PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, so he asked the doctor to examine him. The doctor could not explain what the problem was, but he discovered that if there were no way to evade conflict, the side of Nathan that had killed the bear would take over, and it would've done whatever needed doing. "It is like two people are living inside of him," the doctor had suggested. "The coward and the warrior."
Nathan was the coward, but HE was a warrior.
The second ti that HE had erged was just after Helen's suicide. The old Davis had taken him to a boxing ring and pitted him against ten n, all of whom had been specially trained. In the beginning, he was beaten badly, but then one of the blows hit him in the forehead. Suddenly, the pain went away. His body went numb, and the pained expression on his face was replaced by utter calm, and within minutes, he had beaten all ten n to within an inch of their lives. Almost imdiately after that, he passed out, and when he ca to, he had no recollection of what had happened.
That was when Nathan had first begun to suspect that there was sothing seriously wrong with him. Later, when the doctor explained about PTSD, he thought that there was more to it. He thought he had an MPD -a Multiple Personality Disorder. Thankfully, with dication, he was able to suppress the warrior, HE.
There was a lot of stress in Nathan's life now, though, and he knew that the headaches were a sure sign that HE was trying to erge once more, and he felt like Bruce Banner was trying to contain the Incredible Hulk.
Barrett: "Are you still there?"
Nathan blinked twice and took a deep breath before answering. For a second, he had been so lost in thought that he'd forgotten where he was. "I'm here," he replied.
"It sounds like sothing's wrong," Barret said. "Have you considered increasing the dosage of your dication?" He was one of the few people qualified to make such an assessnt.
Nathan hadn't thought about increasing his dosage, and he said so. Then: "Barret, where are you now? When will you be back?" "I'm on Vancouver Island," Barret replied.
"I have a beautiful woman in my arms, so I don't plan on returning any ti soon."
Nathan: "Forget that. My health is more important than your sex life!"
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