The Bridge - Ch. 14 A Plan Emerges

The Bridge -- Chapter Fourteen -- Holly's Torment Continues -- And a Plan Emerges

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. This work is copy written by the author. All sexually active characters are eighteen years of age or older.

This work will, at times, contain instances of pregnancy, interracial sex, lesbianism, romance and affection. There are also threats of Non-consensual sex, violence, some Dominance and submission, and a fair amount of medical treatment, heroism and family love and fun.

This chapter, given its contents is in the Non Erotic category. This story has been in the Romance category, the Lesbian Sex, NonConsent/ Reluctance category, and Interracial category, where it could also have been posted, and will probably move around if it progresses. Which it will do if enough people like it and comment.

This chapter is more about human struggle and how a family deals with it, as well as the plan to eradicate those would cause it. It is the prelude to the next chapter which will be the climax of the first iteration of the Bridge House tales, which I think is a doozie. Don't expect much more than reference to sex in this chapter, and I would ask that what you are looking for is just sex, this is not the chapter for you. If you have not been following this story, this is definitely not the chapter for you.

Holly's Torment and Care Continues -- And a Plan Emerges

My Holly was as tough as they come. She was strong, in mind, body and constitution. She worked on it. I believe for those reasons, and her being a Bridge House girl, has kept her alive, although wrought with PTSD. The redness of her flesh was fading into a light shade of pink. Most of the welts appeared to be on the way to healing, but they'll be more than a few scars that will probably remain without some form of surgery. That's what the chart said.

"Well, I'll tell you, Ms. Todd. I should keep her here in Paoli just to get you to bring in some more of that lasagna. Its reputation has proceeded it."

"Oh Dr. Como, please don't let Bertha's lasagna be the reason we can't get our Holly home. She is missed, and we all want to take part in her care. I'll ask her to cook up a whole trove of lasagna, which I know she would do willingly, if we could get her home. Also, on a professional level, we are better equipped to accommodate her needs."

"I totally agree. For that very reason, I feel compelled to let her go today. However, I'd like to keep her under my service. With that in mind, I offer a concierge service to my patients, which includes immediate callbacks and home visits. And in psychiatry, home visits can be an important part of ongoing care. If you wish, that can start immediately."

"Say no more, doctor. Let's get a schedule set up for Holly to have a visit with you starting the day after she gets home. I also have a friend who is a psychologist who has helped us with family and children's issues. She helped Holly and her daughter when they were dealing with a custody issue. She already has a relationship with Holly on a whole different level, and I think that bringing her in could help us make some inroads."

"I agree. My ego is not so big that I can refuse help from a colleague. Surround her with loved ones, keep her mind off what has happened to her, and don't put any undue stress on her. I have no problem letting her go."

"Today?"

"Right now. As long as GYN clears you, I think you're good to go. Are you bringing in a nurse for some of her more clinical needs?"

"Great. But at our house, I'm the nurse. Degrees from Penn State and West Chester. Worked out at Hershey Medical and here at CHOP. In fact, in our neighborhood, I'm the nurse and local first aid station. Some days it's a gas. When she gets home, I will be tending to her in every way. Her gynecologist treating her here at the hospital is her regular doctor, and we have a concierge arrangement with her."

"Excellent. With all that in mind, I expect she will be going home today. I sent you a link to my supercell if you need to reach me. I'll have my office contact you to make any arrangements."

"Thanks, doctor, we'll see you soon. Do you think it will be a problem if I attend your sessions with Holly?"

"That's up to Holly now, isn't it?"

"I guess it should be."

We shook hands, and she went on her way. And as soon as one goes, the next one comes walking in. As soon as I caught her eye and waved at her, Dr. Rubin, our gynecologist, was on me.

"Hannah, have you reviewed Holly's chart?"

"Yes. I review it front to back whenever I come here, and I reviewed all new entries made since I last reviewed it last night."

"Good. Then you can see we are making very good progress in a lot of areas, and not so much in others. Other than what you see resulting from the assault upon her person, what I've seen with the tools of my trade would make you shudder. I have never seen such a case of vaginal tearing and anal stretching in all my years of practice. It's going to take some looking after for a while. I'm going to go in there now and perform an internal exam. Would you like to be there for it and see close up what your job is going to entail?"

"Yes. Very much so. She deserves the best and I will strive to give her the best possible care."

When we approached the observation window looking into Holly's room, she was sitting in the lounge chair on a special air pillow because of her wounds, and Ursula was standing there talking to her.

"Let's do this then. Understand she is still very tender, so this is going to go very slowly. You know it's uncomfortable under the best of circumstances. It's going to be extremely painful for her. If you feel comfortable with this, just follow my lead."

And we entered her room together. I approached her first and gave her a hug around her head and a kiss on her forehead. Then the doctor approached.

"Holly, how are you doing this morning? Do you remember me?"

She looked at me, then she looked at the doctor and nodded her head. Then she half smiled.

"We have known each other a long time, haven't we, Holly?"

Again, she nodded her head and looked over at me. When I smiled at her, she tried to smile back at me. It looks like we're getting there. Then it got tough. What the doctor said next struck terror in Holly. I never expected the reaction.

"Holly, I need to perform a full examination right now, including an internal ex..."

And Holly staggered out of the chair and wrapped her arms around me, doing her best to hide herself from the doctor. "Pleeeease." croaked out of her throat. At least that is what I think she called out. Her jaw did not appear to be fully in her control.

For twenty minutes, the doctor and I did everything in our power to coerce Holly into the wheelchair so we could take her to the GYN examination suite. When we finally got her into the exam chair, she would only get into position but not let us near. So, the doctor made it very easy on us all. She went behind the chair and went into one of the drawers. I couldn't see what she was doing, but when she was done, she came out with a small syringe and hit Holly in the arm with a dose before she knew what hit her. And she was out.

Understand that I am intimately familiar with Holly's special parts. And I do mean intimately. I like to think I knew every square millimeter of that twat. But what I saw this morning looked like no vagina I've ever seen, and I've seen a few, up close and personal. The sensitive skin was torn asunder, both front and back, inside and out. She instructed me on the balm's application. She wanted me to apply to Holly's genital area and bottom twice a day and had me apply it. Even under sedation, she whimpered. This was going to be tough. The doctor must have been reading my mind.

"Hannah, does Holly smoke cannabis, or does she have an aversion to it?"

"We've both been known to hit the occasional vape pen or one of Bertha's tightly rolled joints, but not habitually."

"I'm only saying that because if she smokes some therapeutically before you treat her, it may go easier on her. And you, for that matter. Since they legalized it in Pennsylvania for all uses, it makes it easier for a medical professional like myself to use it as another tool in the toolbox. You may want to take a hit off that joint as well. For therapeutic reasons, of course."

"You're a card, doc. But don't think I haven't considered it."

"Here she comes. She's coming around. She's a little sore down there, so be sensitive to that."

When she opened her eyes and looked at us back and forth, head unmoving, she had a pained look on her face. Her eyes stopped at me and she did her best to whisper, "Hurts."

I immediately hugged her around her head, as the tears ran down both our eyes. I looked over at the doctor and mouthed silently, "Discharge?" And she nodded with an encouraging smile.

"We're going home, Holly. Come on, let's get you dressed. I'll call Bertha and have her make us a late lunch and by the time you're good and settled in, the kids will be home. Are you ready for that?"

She looked up at me and smiled. She was having a problem moving her jaw, so it wasn't a broad smile, and the words weren't coming, but it felt like progress. I helped her into the wheelchair, and we sped into her hospital room.

Duane called the house and got Operation Homecoming rolling, while I got Holly checked out. I don't think my concerns about Holly and black men were unfounded, but she appeared very comfortable around Duane. She was broken in spirit, but they did not take her mind. She seemed to remember the people in her life and their significance.

Holly was decked out in heavy sweats, covered by her long puffy coat, usually worn in January and February, but we felt it was appropriate for this trip. When we wheeled her out of the hospital and she was hit by the full sunlight she did as so many of us do, she put her hand up to her face to block the sun's rays. Duane was driving, so he jumped out of the car and lifted Holly from the wheelchair and placed her gently into the back seat of the vehicle. I scurried around to the other side of the back seat as Duane threw her bag in the back.

Duane jumped in the car and started it, but he just sat there. "What's the story, Duane? I got a woman here looking to get home." And he just stuck his finger up as if to tell me to wait a minute. Ever the minimalist. Holly and I huddled close together in the back seat. After about two more minutes, I was getting ready to speak out when a car pulled up behind us, and Duane started to move the car forward. It was the guards from the hospital and they would escort us home. One would be staying with us.

The ride home was very quiet. I didn't want to beat Holly up with a lot of expectations and preparations. I just wanted it to happen organically for her. This trip to Paoli will become a well-worn path for Holly, on her road to recovery. And I plan to walk that path beside her. Her vision was still fixed and unfocused when we pulled up the driveway. All the girls were there to meet us; Lizzie, Bertha and Aggie. Duane got out of the car and lifted Holly up in his arms, and carried her into the house with everyone hanging on her. She looked more frightened and confused than happy to be home.

Everyone was grabbing at her and asking Holly how she was and if she needed anything and if she wanted to get changed or did she need a nap? Duane carried her up to our bedroom. I decided that for now, either Celeste or I would sleep with Holly. She just shouldn't be alone overnight. I told Duane I wanted Caroline, my ex-Marine, on house duty in general and to oversee Holly in particular. He made the contact and as of tomorrow she would be on Holly duty. But for now, I wanted to get Holly into the hot tub. I asked the doctor if she could tolerate the hot tub, and she thought we were past the point of infection and that Holly would probably find it comforting between diaper changes.

Duane sat Holly down on the lounge chair in our bedroom. As Lizzie ran the tub, I stripped down Holly. By the time I was finished, Lizzie was stripped bare and in the tub. We carefully transferred Holly to Lizzie and into the tub. When she sat down, we ran the jets, and she just laid back and closed her eyes. I stripped down and jumped in with them. On either side of Holly, Lizzie and I stroked her hair, held her hands and tried our best to bring her comfort and see if we could get her to be verbal before Celeste got home.

Lizzie was trying a little too hard, so I backed her off. She took it well and followed my lead.

"Holly, Celeste will be home in about an hour and a half. We're gonna dry you off, do your hair and makeup and take you down to the living room. When Celeste gets home from school, you'll be ready for her there, and believe me, she will be ready for you. Would you like to get dressed in street clothes or pajamas?"

She looked at me and then looked down at the water in the tub. When she picked her head up, she looked at Lizzie and then at me. It looked like she was trying to say something, but nothing came out. "How about jammies, Hol?" Her expression did not change, but she nodded her head. Weak though, it was.

"Jammies it is."

Once we'd had enough of the hot tub, Lizzie and I helped Holly out of the tub, dried her off, and sat her at the vanity we shared. I whispered into Lizzie's ear, and she shot out of the bedroom while I was starting Holly's makeup. The entire time I kept talking to her, hoping to turn this monologue of mine into a dialogue. I was having no success and was really worrying about that first meeting between Holly and Celeste. Then Lizzie returned to our bedroom. She was holding a Vape pen. "I decided to bring my vape pen. I believe the THC level is higher than yours."

After her time in the tub, I needed to apply the balm onto Holly's most intimate parts. While I completed her makeup, Lizzie was encouraging her to hit off the vape pen with no success. I asked her to let me try and she had no problem letting me take a shot at it.

"Holly, it's coming time for me to apply some medicine. You know the drill by this time. Take a hit off the vape pen. If you do, it won't hurt as much." She nodded her head, and I put the pen up to her lips. She drew in a little and then coughed it out. "Take it easy, Holly. Hit it gently and hold it in for a little while." She gave me sad eyes and rubbed her jaw.

Holly took another hit and held it for a while. No coughing this time. She hit it two more times and laid her head back, closing her eyes. I looked over at Lizzie and nodded my head. While Lizzie tried to distract her, I went 'downstairs' on her, and applied her balm. It didn't go as badly as I'd expected, and I decided we would get her stoned before each application.

"C'mon Holly, it's time to get you downstairs." Lizzie took one side, and I took another and we walked her down the steps. By the time we sat Holly down in the lounge chair in the living room, she could barely keep her eyes open. She closed them, and in a minute or two she was asleep.

When the kids were about five minutes out, I gently shook Holly awake. "Holly, Celeste is going to be home from school soon. Why don't you wake up and be ready for her?" She looked at me expressionless and then laid back and closed her eyes again. But I don't think she was going to sleep. I think she was preparing herself inside for something she was not ready to handle. She was whimpering as she lay back in the lounge chair. I left Lizzie with Holly and went to the kitchen to look out the kitchen window for the kids.

As the car containing the kids pulled up the driveway, I grew more and more nervous. What will happen when Holly and Celeste finally confront each other? Will I be able to handle the fallout if it goes bad?

The car pulled up and parked and almost before it stopped, Celeste jumped out of the rear passenger side door and ran to the kitchen door. When I opened the door for her, she looked up at me and said, "Mommy?"

"Living room," I said. And she never stopped, just ran by me and into the livingroom where she virtually threw herself at Holly. She wrapped her arms around her and looked up at her face, and Holly was staring straight ahead. Before my kids came into the livingroom Celeste was bawling. They tried to get to Holly, but I backed them off and sent them to Bertha in the kitchen.

"Kids, Celeste needs her space right now and she and Mommy Holly need some time together before you two can give her a hug and kiss. Bertha baked some cookies to make Holly feel at home and make the place smell delicious. Go have some and after a little while, maybe you can bring some cookies into the living room for Mommy Holly and Celeste."

The kids ran into the kitchen, and I stood there watching the Bernstein girls crying. And then things changed up, just a little. But for the better. As Celeste held Holly tighter and tighter, pleading for her to recognize her and to say something, Holly started stroking Celeste's hair. Celeste instantly stopped crying and looked up at Holly. "I love you, Mommy. I love you."

"I love you too, Celeste. You are my dearest girl." It was weak, little more than a croak of a whisper. But the little girl understood every word. Of course she did. She's Celeste.

She spoke. And boy, did she say the right thing. Celeste jumped up and started kissing Holly on the face. Holly didn't move, but she smiled. She winced, but she smiled, and Celeste noticed and crawled up on Holly's lap. Holly gave her no resistance, but again she winced as Celeste sat down on what was one of many tender spots for her. It didn't prevent her from wrapping her arms around Celeste.

"Lizzie," I called out. "Cookies please. Send the kids in with the cookies."

The kids came charging in, Georgia with a plate of cookies in hand. "Mommy Holly, Mommy Holly." They called as they ran into the room toward Holly. Celeste held her hand out and said, "Stop. Mommy's not ready for too much love right now. Just give me the cookie and I'll make sure she gets some." And they did, respecting the seniority she has earned as the oldest child. Our little Alpha.

"Holly and Celeste, why don't you two spend some time alone together and we'll all get together at dinnertime, as a family?"

"Mommy too?"

"Absolutely. Mommy too. Just enjoy this time together. Dinner's soon."

"Okay. Mommy Hannah?"

"Yes, Celeste."

"Thank you for bringing my mommy home."

"Well, darling, she's not completely here with us yet. We have a lot of work to do. Are you in?"

"I'm in!"

"Good girl. I'm going to visit with my babies now. I'll call you for dinner. Enjoy your time with mommy."

"Thank you, Mommy Hannah."

I went into the kitchen and visited with the kids a little, and we all helped Bertha and Aggie with dinner. Holly's homecoming dinner. The instructions we got when we collected Holly from the hospital said to keep the food either in small quantities or light. Bertha made chicken soup with dumplings, from the recipe she got from Holly's mom with carrots and celery. Maybe taking this opportunity to get Holly in touch with her past will help us nurse her back to health.

Dinner started out as a solemn affair. Holly would not break her stare, and Celeste would not move an inch from her. She was not crying, but her eyes were a permanent state of wet. Holly could not do a decent job of using her spoon, so I fed her. And she took every spoonful and sucked it down, looking to me like a child for the next one. I have never seen Holly so dependent on another. The wildly independent and feisty woman I fell in love with had checked out.